john weitz papers, 1945-1998 ka · john weitz was an american fashion designer best known for his...

Kellen Design ArchivesSeptember 19, 2011

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John Weitz papers, 1945-1998 KA.0047

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February 28, 2017

Describing Archives: A Content Standard


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Table of Contents

Collection Overview .................................................................................................................................. 2

Biographical note ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Scope and Contents note ........................................................................................................................... 4

Organization and Arrangement ................................................................................................................. 5

Administrative Information ....................................................................................................................... 6

Related Materials ....................................................................................................................................... 6

Keywords for Searching Related Subjects ................................................................................................ 6

Other Finding Aids note ............................................................................................................................ 7

Collection Inventory .................................................................................................................................. 8

I. Exhibition files ................................................................................................................................. 8

II. Professional files ............................................................................................................................. 8

III. Project files .................................................................................................................................. 10

IV. Publicity ....................................................................................................................................... 15

V. Scrapbooks .................................................................................................................................... 21

Collection Overview

Repository Kellen Design Archives

Creator - Designer Weitz, John

Title John Weitz papers

Date [inclusive] 1945-1998

Extent 70 linear ft: 23 boxes, 33 oversize boxes, 5 oversize folders


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Abstract A leading figure in the development of American ready-to-wear clothing,

John Weitz (1923-2002) established one of the first American signature

menswear lines. Through various licensing arrangements combined with

self-referential advertising campaigns, he established an international

consumer base. In addition to fashion design, Weitz pursued an array

of other interests, becoming a successful race car driver, yachtsman,

bestselling author and photographer. Weitz was a visiting lecturer at

Parsons School of Design between 1975 and 1995. The collection includes

sketches and design drawings, exhibition files, scrapbooks, newspaper and

magazine clippings, publications, photographs, and audiovisual recordings

of promotional campaigns, fashion shows and television commercials.

Preferred Citation note

[Identification of item], [date (if known)], John Weitz papers, KA.0047, box __, folder __, New SchoolArchives, The New School, New York, New York.

Return to Table of Contents »

Biographical note

John Weitz was an American fashion designer best known for his menswear collections and for hispioneering in the field of fashion licensing. Additionally, Weitz's effective use of his name and likeness infashion marketing presaged the widespread practice in later decades.

Born in Berlin in 1923, John Weitz (born Hans Werner) completed his education in London at the HallSchool and at St. Paul's School, after which he apprenticed with fashion designer Edward Molyneux.Weitz's parents, assimilated German Jews, immigrated to the United States in response to the rise ofNational Socialism. Weitz was able to re-join his family in the United States after a stay in Shanghai,a city in which many German and Austrian Jewish refugees lived during the late 1930s. Weitz becamea naturalized citizen of the United States in 1943 and enlisted in the U.S. Armed Forces that year. Heserved through 1945, returning to Germany as an American soldier. Over four decades later, the FederalRepublic of Germany honored him with a First Class Order of Merit for his wartime contributions.

In the late 1940s, Weitz began designing women's apparel and was noticed by Dorothy Shaver of Lord &Taylor, thus beginning a multi-decade relationship with the retailer. Weitz initially specialized in women'ssportswear and was often featured in print advertisements with sports cars, a serious hobby that he wouldcultivate and employ extensively in fashion styling and marketing (in 1979, he designed his own car, theX600, and used Bloomingdale's store windows as the site of its first public display). Weitz also made


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numerous in-store appearances to promote his clothing, serving as commentator for his own fashionshows, an uncommon idea at the time. He would continue this practice into the 1980s.

By the mid-1960s, Weitz had primarily shifted his attention to menswear and is recognized today as oneof the first American menswear designers. He received a Special Menswear Coty Award in 1974. Weitzalso frequently expressed his opinions regarding how American men should dress, groom, and conductthemselves, writing articles, being interviewed by style journalists, and appearing on television and radioprograms to promote his mantra of functionality, modernity, and masculinity. Cosmopolitanism playeda large role in the marketing of Weitz's menswear, with Weitz proposing that a modern man should beat home anywhere in the world. Weitz returned to designing women's apparel in 1979 with a much-publicized women's collection. He would design both men's and women's clothing for the rest of hiscareer as a fashion designer.

A savvy businessman, Weitz was one of the earliest American designers to enter into licensingagreements. His name, likeness, and signature were associated with numerous accessories and a widerange of men's apparel, making him a multi-millionaire. In 1954, Weitz left Lord & Taylor to found anindependent company, John Weitz Designs, Inc., although his menswear continued to be sold throughLord & Taylor's Man's Shops.

In 1968, Weitz entered into a major licensing deal with Teijin, which at that time was a fabricmanufacturer. Teijin sold John Weitz Design fashions and home furnishings to Japanese consumersthrough the Daimaru department store chain, a venture that lasted several decades. Weitz traveledregularly to Japan, making in-store appearances throughout the country. As in American campaigns,Japanese print and television advertising relied heavily on Weitz's likeness and represented him as an"all-American" man. By 1981, the Japanese market represented approximately 30% of Weitz's retailsales ("Japan Ready Market for U.S. Clothing," DNR, June 29, 1981). Weitz also entered into licensingagreements with department stores in Mexico and in the U.K.

In 1970, Weitz published a best-selling novel about the fashion world, The Value of Nothing (his firstbook Sports Clothes for Sports Cars, appeared in 1958). Four years later, he released an advice bookfor men, Man in Charge: The Executive's Guide to Grooming, Manners, and Travel. In 1982, he turnedhis attention to historical fiction, writing about a young man in Nazi-era Germany in Friends in HighPlaces. This was followed by two works of non-fiction in the 1990s, Hitler's Banker and Hitler'sDiplomat. In addition to book-length works, Weitz wrote extensively for a variety of publications as acolumnist and contributor. Frequent topics include fashion and style, cars and driving, New York City,and Nazi Germany.

John Weitz died in 2002 in Bridgehampton, Long Island at the age of 79. His is survived by his third wife,actress Susan Kohner, and four children.


Scope and Contents note

The John Weitz papers document the practice of fashion design and marketing in the United States duringthe second half of the twentieth century through administrative files, artwork, clippings, correspondence,


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drawings and design sketches, exhibition records, photographs, printed materials and publications,reports, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials.

The papers are of a professional nature, either created and received by John Weitz in his capacity asa designer, artist, or author, or by John Weitz Designs employees Helen Berkowitz, Barbara Khoury,Andrea Peterson, and Michael Wynne. Files chronicle the relationship between fashion designers,textile manufacturers, and the garment industry. In addition to men's, women's, and children's clothing,the papers also include designs for a sports car and a yacht. Weitz's roles as author and artist are alsodocumented, though not extensively.

In addition to fashion and product design, the papers evince a range of fashion merchandising practices,from fashion illustration and photography, to advertising copy and marketing campaigns representedby press kits, publications, and highly choreographed fashion shows. Roughly five decades of fashionmarketing materials are present. The John Weitz papers also provide a window into a vanished world offamily-owned, regional retailers and localized fashion merchandising. Because Weitz was one of the firstAmerican designers to enter the post-war Japanese retail market, the papers are noteworthy for includingdocumentation on promoting American fashions to Japanese consumers.

Advertisements for John Weitz Designs were innovative in their use of celebrity and lifestyle marketing.They also frequently exploit anxieties regarding evolving gender roles, such as humorous campaigns forwomen's office attire and seasonal collections with suggestive titles like "Big Man." Weitz, along withhis longtime advertising agency, C. J. Herrick Associates, recognized the increasing sophistication ofAmerican consumers, developing brand-focused advertising featuring John Weitz's face, name, and logorather than products. In 1979, Weitz became the first designer to advertise on New York City municipalbuses ( WWD, Janaury 31, 1979, p. 27). Another campaign involved excerpts of mock stories (writtenby Weitz) in which John Weitz Designs' products are mentioned by name within the context of the story.The increasingly self-referential advertising generated much publicity on its own. The papers includeextensive publicity materials for John Weitz Designs' apparel and licensed products.


Organization and Arrangement

Organized in 5 series:

I Exhibition files, circa 1979-1989II Professional files, 1956-1996III Project files, 1958-1991IV Publicity, 1945-1998V Scrapbooks, 1951-1993

The papers are organized into five series by function, and arranged alphabetically. Fashion shows andpress kits in the Publicity series and some scrapbooks are arranged chronologically because of repetitionin or absence of original folder titles.



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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Kellen Design Archives September 19, 2011

Conditions Governing Access note

Collection is open for research use. Please contact [email protected] for appointment.

Use Restrictions

To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the NewSchool Archives. Please contact: [email protected].

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Donated by Susan Kohner Weitz, John Weitz's wife, 2004.

Processing note

Because John Weitz Designs consistently re-used older materials in new advertising campaigns, multiplecopies of materials in a variety of formats were encountered throughout the files. Additionally, manyreproductions of clippings, photographs, and other printed materials were created in the preparation ofpress kits and mailings. When multiple copies were encountered during the processing of this collection,a sample was retained, with preference given to formats closest to the original (i.e., negatives, sketches)and to the final product. Materials documenting the design process, such as proofs with markings orreproduced sketches with annotations have also been saved.

File titles have been changed or altered when the original title was absent, unclear, repetitive, orinaccurately labeled.


Related Materials

Photographs of John Weitz acting as a visiting critic for the Fashion Design Department of ParsonsSchool of Design will be found in the Parsons School of Design photograph collection (pre-2008accessions) (PC.04.01.01).

The Fashion Institute of Technology holds an oral history recording conducted with John Weitz and videorecordings of his fashion shows.


Keywords for Searching Related Subjects

Corporate Name(s)


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• C. J. Herrick Associates (Firm).• Daimaru, Inc.• Galey & Lord.• John Weitz Designs, Inc.• Lord & Taylor.

Genre(s)

• Drawings.• Exhibition records.• Fashion photographs.• Photographs.• Posters.• Press kits.• Scrapbooks.• Sketches.• Slides (photographs).• Tear sheets.

Occupation(s)

• Fashion designers.

Subject(s)

• Advertising -- Fashion.• Automobiles -- Design and construction.• Department stores -- United States -- 20th century.• Fashion design.• Fashion merchandising.• Fashion shows.• Fashion -- Forecasting.• Japan -- Description and travel.• Licensed products.• Men's clothing industry.• Uniforms.• Women's clothing -- United States -- 20th century -- Pictorial works.


Other Finding Aids note

For selected item-level description and images from the John Weitz papers, see The New School ArchivesDigital Collections at http://digitalarchives.library.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/KA0047.

http://digitalarchives.library.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/KA0047


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Collection Inventory

I. Exhibition files circa 1979-1989 Although he had earlier participated in art showings in the 1980s Weitz began actively planning and exhibiting originalworks of art and design in New York galleries, often using the opening receptions or previews to raise funds forlocal charities. Files here may include original artwork, photographic documentation of artwork and the installation,publicity materials for mailings, and exhibition and event planning records. Scrapbooks featuring publicity generatedby the exhibitions will be found in the Scrapbooks series.

Box Folder

All-American Sportswear (Fashion Institute of Technology),

1984-1985

1 1

1 2-6

17 1-4

k_OSxxx-3 11

OSx-25 1

Berlin Summer, 1988-1989 For video recordings of television journalist Morley Safer interviewing Weitzabout Berlin Summer, consult the Publicity series, Audiovisual recordings.

OSxx-5 2

Design Project 82, 1982 1 7-15

Future Four, 1984 1 16-17

17 5

2 1-10

OSx-25 2-8

A Happy Look Back, 1985 John Weitz Designs' scrapbook pages used in preparing this historicalexhibition have been retained here as part of the exhibition files.

OSxx-5 3-4

Manhattan Faces, 1983-1985, 1988 2 11-17

Night of 100 Trees (charity auction), 1986-1987 2 18

2 19

OSx-26 1

X600 (sports car), circa 1979-1980

OSxx-5 2

II. Professional files 1956-1996 Professional files are divided into three subseries: Awards and citations; Travel; and Writings. Travel includesitineraries, business cards, dayplanner sheets, correspondence, and clippings documenting Weitz's domestic travel,often for conferences or speaking engagements. Writings includes clippings and tear sheets, drafts, and correspondenceregarding article and book projects. It also includes materials created for presentations, presumably given by JohnWeitz.

Awards and citations 1956-1994 Includes clippings, correspondence, photographs, programs and other printed materials. Additional clippingswill be found in the Scrapbooks series under Thematic scrapbooks. The General folder includes reproductionsand color prints of awards and citations that are not part of this collection.

Box Folder


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General, 1956-1994 3 1

Brilliant Pen Award (MFI), 1975 3 2

Cartier Award for Design Excellence, 1981 3 3

Caswell-Massey Awards, 1964-1967 OSx-26 2

Coty American Fashion Critics' Award, 1974 3 4

Cutty Sark Menswear Award, 1986 3 5

Ellis Island Medal of Honor, 1990, 1992 3 6

Mayor's Liberty Award, 1986 3 7

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1988 3 8

Travel 1975-1994 Files on international travel will be found in the Publicity series under Foreign licensing.

Box Folder

Chicago, 1978-1994 3 9

Cleveland, 1983-1990 3 10Includes correspondence regarding Weitz's donation of his X600 sports car to the Crawford Auto-AviationMuseum, Western Reserve Historical Society.

Dallas, 1990 3 11

Detroit, 1986-1994 3 12

Kansas City, 1985 3 13

Tampa: Maas Brothers in-store appearance, 1975 3 14

Writings 1958-1996

Box Folder

Articles and short pieces 1961-1996 Files may include clippings, correspondence with editors, and drafts. Articles and short pieces include on-going columns and series as well as one-time contributions.

General, 1961-1996, undated 4 1-3

Automobile magazine, 1988-1989 4 4

Cosmopolitan magazine, 1967-1969 4 5

Esquire, 1994-1995 4 6

F.I.T. Review, "Licensing a Designer Name," 1987 4 7

New York magazine, "Home Away from Home: Berlin Diary,"

1990

4 8

New York Times magazine, "On Wearing Your Car," 1988 4 9

Parents Review magazine, "On Becoming a Fashion Designer,"

1978

4 10

Sportscar magazine, 1972-1973 4 11


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Town and Country magazine, 1993-1995 4 12-13

Books 1958-circa 1992 A large sample of video and audio recordings of Weitz being interviewed about his later books will befound in Audiovisual recordings subseries. Most documentation here concerns The Value of Nothing (Steinand Day, 1970), Weitz's first novel. Files primarily concern publicity and marketing activities. Weitz's bookmanuscripts are not included in this collection.

Hitler's Diplomat, circa 1992 4 14File originally titled, "Position Paper -- John Weitz's Qualifications for This Book."

Man in Charge, 1974-1975 4 15

Sports Clothes for Your Sports Car, 1958 4 16

The Value of Nothing, 1969-1974

Correspondence: Agent, 1970-1974 4 17

Correspondence: Congratulations, 1970 4 18

Correspondence: Publicists, 1970 4 19

Correspondence: Publishers, 1970-1971 4 20

4 21Publicity materials, 1969-1970

k_OSxxx-3 12

U.K. edition, 1970-1973 4 22

Presentations, reports and speeches circa 1960s-circa 1990s These mostly-typed presentations probably date from the 1970s and 1980s when Weitz was activelypresenting his views on marketing and forecasting. Additional documentation of Weitz's presentationson the subjects of international licensing, fashion design, and marketing will be found in the Audiovisualrecordings subseries. Another presentation given at a 1994 Detroit Autoweek event will be found in Travel.

General, circa 1970s-1990s 4 23

"I am certain that fashion designers should be seen," circa

1986

4 24

"Shoes: A Presentation in 23 Slides," probably 1960s 4 25

III. Project files 1958-1991 Originally labeled, "Files," the bulk of the series consists of fashion design project files. Project files document variousdesign and styling projects, including fashion design, product design, and designs for a sports car and a yacht. Inaddition to design drawings and sketches, files may include correspondence with manufacturers and licensees, fabricswatches, legal documents, photographs, press kits and publicity materials. There is also substantial documentation onthe design, construction and publicity surrounding the unveiling of Weitz's X600 sports car.

Link to selected images from this series., 1958-1991

[http://digitalarchives.library.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/KA0047]

Fashion design 1958-1991 Documents Weitz's designs and styling for products ranging from men's, women's, and children's apparel toaccessories such as ties, watches, socks, and footwear. Folders are arranged alphabetically by commissioner,manufacturer, licensee, or client.

http://digitalarchives.library.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/KA0047


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All publicity materials associated solely with a particular manufacturer or licensee will be found here. Publicitymaterials such as press kits, posters, or tear sheets, created for or featuring products associated with multiplemanufacturers or licensees will be found in the Publicity series.

Box Folder

General 1962-1970 Includes designs for men's and women's clothing.

Coolcoat, 1970 5 1

Current fabrics and labels, undated 5 2

19 5General Tire & Rubber sportswear, 1962 Includes illustrated publication, "Fashion '63." 5 3

17 6-8

21 1-4

k_OSxxx-3 12

Simplicity Pattern Co., 1980-1984 Includes correspondence, sketches, catalog pages, and promotionalmaterials. Weitz models some of his own designs in Simplicitycatalogs.

OSxx-6 1

Children's and teen's 1965-1982

Brooks Industries/J.J. MacIntyre (Spring 1973), 1972 5 4-5

Go Getter Sportswear, 1982 5 6

Outwear (Fall 1968), 1967 5 7

Supak outerwear, 1965-1968 5 8-11

Menswear 1965-1988

General

19 6At Ease shirts, 1977-1978 Includes a print advertising campaign featuring classic moviestars in casual dress.

5 12

Calvin Clothing Co. (Fall 1977), 1976 5 13

Cotton, Inc., 1976 5 14

Glasgo Knits, 1967 5 15

Great George, 1981 5 16

Hickok, 1976 5 17-18

Host, 1968-1988 5 19-24

Lord Jeff, 1980-1981 5 25

Monaco, 1972-1973 5 26

Playboy Creative Menswear Show, 1970 5 27

Shelbourne Shirt Co., 1981-1986 6 1-2

Solomon Brothers Thomasville, Alabama, circa 1965 6 1-3

Sutton Shirt Corp., 1987-1988 6 4


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Trevira/Hoechst fabrics, 1969-1984 6 5-8

Unidentified: Fall '77, 1976 6 9

Unidentified: "A look ahead...", 1977 6 10

Unidentified: Spring '80, 1979 6 11-14

Unidentified: '80 Men, 1980 6 15

21 5

6 16-23

Van Baalen robes and swimwear, 1966-1980

OSxx-6 2

Accessories 1965-1987

Bally shoes, 1969-1971 7 1-2

Better Made Headwear, 1968-1969 7 3

Bonwit [Teller?] tie swatches, possibly 1980s 7 4

Burma Bibas ties, 1966-1975, 1980 7 5-10

7 11-15Camp Men's Hosiery, 1966-1981

OSxx-6 2

7 16-17Daniel Hays Co./Gates-Mills gloves and slippers,

1965-1966 OSx-26 3

Destino design and patents, 1967-1976 7 18-19

Elmer Little & Sons gloves, 1973-1978 7 20-21

Hickok Jewelry, 1976 7 22

Maro Hosiery, 1985, 1987 7 23

Paris Men's Accessories, 1969-1973 8 1-3

Sheffield Watch, 1972-1973 8 4

Watches, 1967-1972 8 5

Outerwear 1965-1979

General, 1965 8 6

Alligator, 1965-1966 8 7

Barrie Walt, 1967 8 8

Breezy Point/Pollack Leather (Fall 1969), 1968 8 9

19 7Casualcraft, 1976-1982

8 10-11

Creative Menswear (Playboy), 1969, 1972 8 12

Excel (Fall 1968), 1967 8 13

Falk, circa 1966 8 14

Harbor Master, 1970-1976 8 15-17


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OSxx-6 2

8 18-21Lakeland Manufacturing ("Brawny Breed"),

1964-1968 OSx-26 4

McGregor, 1971-1973 8 22

Schacter & Salles, 1979 8 23

Zebco, 1966 8 24

Uniforms 1961-1990

General and unidentified, 1961-1990 9 1-2

American Airlines, 1967 9 3

Baseball uniform sketches, 1990 9 1

Clairol, 1961 9 2

9 4Dick Cavett Show, 1969 Includes an enlarged proof of a TV Guide piece, "Unisexing withCavett and Caron," featuring these designs.

OSxx-6 2

Henry Dreyfuss & Co., 1961 9 2

Michael Brown Enterprises Inc. for Du Pont's World's Fair

Show, 1964

9 5

Pan-American Airlines, 1979 9 6

Pepsi-Cola, 1969-1972 9 7

Sag Harbor Community Band, undated 9 1

St. Regis-Sheraton Hotel (New York, New York), 1971 9 1

State of South Carolina uniforms sponsored by U.S. Rubber

Co., 1966-1967

9 8-9

U.S. Bobsled Team, 1966-1967 9 1

U.S. Forest Service, 1975-1976 9 10

U.S. Marine Corps, 1971-1994 9 11

17 9Western Airlines, 1977

9 12

Women's 1958-1991

General, probably 1960s 9 13

General: Spring 1967 9 14

General: Tiger print dinner dress, 1963 OSx-26 5

Abercrombie and Fitch, 1967-1969 9 15-18

Alligator coats and jackets, 1966 9 19

Bert Paley, 1966-1967 9 20


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Creslan Shows, after 1956 9 21Creslan was an acrylic fiber manufactured by the American Cyanamid Company (Cytec) beginning in1956.

Crest Apparel/Wavelengths swimwear, 1978-1980 9 22

Dorian-Macksoud, 1967 9 23

Glamour Sportswear tank tops, 1983-1984 10 1

10 2-8Haspel Bros., 1979-1981 Fashion photographs depict a professional dressed in office attirethroughout her workday. The office in which she works appears tobe the John Weitz Designs office.

OSxx-6 3

10 9Her Shirt, 1977

OSxx-6 3

Host Apparel, 1989-1991 10 10

Leather Line (Hygrade Handbags), 1982 10 11

Mallory Leather Collection, 1958 10 11

March & Mendl junior raincoats, circa 1960s 10 12

Perma-Lift, 1966 10 13File originally titled, "A. Stein." Designs for a line of corsets.

PRL, circa 1960s 10 14

Shoe-Town, 1987-1989 10 15

U.B.A. International (Spring 1987), 1986 21 6

Wallis Shops, circa 1960s 10 16

10 17-19Weatherbee, 1981-1982

OSxx-6 3

Product Design 1964-1988

11 1Burlington bedding, 1978

21 7

Flents Product Co. eyeshades, 1964 11 2

Ford car project, 1979-1980 11 3

H.B. Strauss ice buckets, 1977 11 4

Henry Rosenfeld Luggage, 1987-1988 11 5

Stanley Roberts flatware and aprons, 1980-1983 11 6-7

Storm Hero boots and umbrellas, 1977-1984 11 8

Sports car "X600" 1979-1980 Files document a sports car designed by Weitz and built by Mallalieu Cars in England. The "600" is a referenceto the address of Weitz's Madison Avenue office. Weitz debuted the car at Bloomingdale's and later transportedit to Japan. He also designed a line of racing-inspired clothing incorporating the X600 logo. In 1981, Weitzreceived the Cartier Award for Design Excellence for his work on the X600. Documentation regarding the


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award will be found in the Awards subseries. Weitz used the car extensively in his fashion marketing; examplesof clippings, proofs and tear sheets featuring the X600 will be found in the Publicity series.

Photographs depict models of the X600 photographed by John Weitz, the vehicle under construction in England,its installation in Bloomingdale's department store, and the car in various locations in New York and Japan.

Box Folder

Armband, circa 1980 12 1

Design drawings, circa 1979-1980 12 2-4

12 5-16Photographs, 1979-1980

17 10

Press kits and invitations, 1979-1980 12 17-19

Publicity, 1979 12 20

Stencil for logo, circa 1979 OSx-26 6

Automobile Quarterly, 1980 12 21

Yacht "Milagros" 1971-1973 Weitz designed this boat, named "Milagros," and featured its flag in some of his nautically-inspired fashioncollections. He also used photographs of himself aboard the yacht for publicity purposes. Files includescorrespondence with the ship builder, yacht stationery, photographs, and publicity materials.

Box Folder

Correspondence, 1971-1973 11 9

Photographs, circa 1970s 11 10

Publicity, 1972-1973 11 11

IV. Publicity 1945-1998 Includes publicity materials that encompass multiple products, manufacturers, and licensees. Materials advertising JohnWeitz Designs generally; or products for which no design records exist will be found in the Project files series. Projectfiles should be consulted for publicity created for specific products, licensees, and manufacturers. Weitz is not alwaysidentified as the designer in advertising publicity from the 1950s.

Materials created for marketing purposes outside of the United States will be found in Foreign licensing. However,Japanese commercials produced for Daimaru and video footage of the Tokyo International '85 fashion show will befound in the Audiovisual recordings.

General 1945-1988

Box Folder

Consolidated Cigar Corp., 1974-1979 11 12A 1975 16mm film commercial for Capitan cigars will be found in the Audiovisual subseries. Fashionphotographs of models - including John Weitz - smoking cigars will be found in the Fashion shows andPress kits subseries.

Correspondence, 1966-1978 18 2Includes three cartoons parodying advertisements for John Weitz products, addressed to John Weitz fromthe graphic designer Henry Wolf, with holiday and birthday greetings.

Fashion illustration, circa 1959 k_OSxxx-3 13


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The illustration, which depicts a woman holding a rifle, was used in an advertisement for Galey & Lordtextile manufacturers, a division of Burlington Industries. The newspaper advertisement in which thisillustration appeared was reproduced in Weitz's historical exhibition, A Happy Look Back.

Photographs

General, 1950s-1980s 18 1

11 13-15John Weitz portraits, 1950s-1980s

18 3

Le Cirque for Palm Beach, 1985 Dec 4 11 16

Military, circa 1945 11 17

Outerwear (Photographer: Guyon), circa 1973 18 4

Store windows and displays, circa 1951-1973 11 18

Rendering of a John Weitz booth, undated k_OSxxx-3 14

Ricky Hall & Associates speakers bureau, 1988 11 19

Transcript: "Interviewed by Eric Ullman," 1982 11 20

Audiovisual 1950-1993 Includes recorded sound and moving images in a variety of formats as well as some textual documentationregarding the recordings. Recorded sound is primarily on audiocassette, while moving images are on videocassette (including Ampex masters) and 16 mm film. Recordings consist of domestic and foreign (Japan andU.K.) commercials for John Weitz Designs products, products advertised by licensees, and public serviceannouncements; interviews with journalists and news programming; and documentation of events such asfashion shows and lectures.

With the exception of the earliest recordings, most interviews, particularly those from the late 1980s onwards,focus on Weitz's books about Nazi Germany, Hitler's Diplomat (1992) and Hitler's Banker (1997).

Box Folder

General, 1950s-1992 16 1

Burrell's T.V. Clips, 1982-1993 16 2

Charlie Rose show, 1992 16 3

16 4Jockey, Inc., 1969-1972

OSx-26 7

X600 fashions for Macy's commercial, 1980 16 5

24

25

26

27

Audiovisual recordings, 1974-1997

28

Commercials

Bag of three short commercials, circa 1979 28

Burton Menswear Music Track (30 seconds) 28


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Cannister of four short commercials, undated 28

Cigar commercial, undated 28

Japanese Commercial, 1974 28

John Weitz Commercials: Sweater, Tie, Pajamas, Blazer, circa

1988

28

Original print of 10 min. J. W. film, 1975 28

Our X600 [?] Commercial, circa 1979 28

Safari -- Tennis, undated 28

Sebring 1955 28

Tomorrow Man, undated 28

Unidentified film reel, undated 28

Unidentified film reel with Japanese characters, undated 28

Unlabeled reels, undated 28

Fashion shows

Interviews and news programming

Clippings and tear sheets 1950-1998 Formerly labeled, "Press," these files consist of printed materials in their final format as they were published anddistributed. Includes advertisements, articles, and excerpts of books either wholly about John Weitz or in whichWeitz is referenced. Additional newspaper and magazine clippings will be found in the Scrapbooks. Clippingsof articles authored by John Weitz will be found in the Writings subseries.

18 5

21 8-11

Advertisements, 1959-1989

OSxx-6 4

18 5-10Articles, circa 1950-1998

21 12-24

Boardroom Reports interviews, 1976-1988 22 1

Book excerpts, 1965-1968 22 2

Lord & Taylor, 1965-1976 21 24

Women's Wear Daily full-page advertisements, 1979-1986 OSxx-6 5

Fashion shows 1951-1981 Files may include swatched sketches of garments with notes about fabrics and construction, correspondencewith manufacturers, room lay-outs, line-ups, menus, invitations, guest lists and correspondence with journalistsand publicists, fashion photographs, model headshots and composites, and press releases, some written byfashion publicist Eleanor Lambert. Shows feature garments produced by multiple manufacturers and licensees.Sketches of clothing and accessories featured in the shows may be found in the Project files. Weitz served ascommentator for his own shows, and can be seen on-stage with a microphone in some photographs.

Box Folder

General, 1951-1975 11 21


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National Cotton Council of America, 1966 18 11

Unidentified show, circa 1969 OSx-26 8-9

Big Man, 1969 11 22

Big Man in the Sun (Spring 1970), 1969 11 24

American Designer Showings (Spring 1970), 1969 11 23

Menswear (Fall 1970), 1970 13 1Folder was originally labeled, "Cigar Institute -- Press Show -- Fall Menswear." Includes correspondencefrom the Cigar Institute outlining its contributions to a menswear show and fashion sketches labeled,"cigar."

Casual Man II (Spring/Summer 1971), 1970 13 2-3

American Designer Showings (Spring 1971), 1970 13 4

Big Man (Fall 1971), 1971 13 5-7

Big Man Freestyle (Spring 1972), 1971 13 8

American Designer Showings (Fall 1972), 1972 13 9

Fountain House Show, 1979 13 10-14Show was notable for reintroducing Weitz as a women's fashion designer after many years designingmenswear. It is also identified as the "Special Women's Collection."

13 15-16X600, 1979 Folder was originally titled, "Doubles," as the show took place in theprivate club of that name, located in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel.

14 1

Man in the Sun (Spring 1981?), 1980 14 2-3

X600, 1981 14 4Show may be connected to Weitz's acceptance of the Cartier Award for Design Excellence.

Playboy Club and Great Gorge, 1981 14 5

Foreign licensing 1965-1994

22 3-4Germany, 1969-1994

k_OSxxx-3 15

Japan 1970-1990 Materials documenting John Weitz Designs' marketing activities in Japan include correspondence, a photoalbum, and a program for a fashion show organized by one of Japan's largest newspapers, Asahi Shimbun.The album includes photographs of Weitz visiting the Japanese exhibition of his photographs, ManhattanFaces. More photographs of John Weitz visiting Japan will be found in the Scrapbooks.

Japanese commercials for John Weitz clothes and a video recording of the Tokyo International fashionshow will be found in the Audiovisual subseries.

19 8

22 5

k_OSxxx-3 15

Clippings and publicity materials, 1970-1988

OSx-26 7


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Fashion show: Snapshots, 1982 22 6-7

19 9Fashion show: Tokyo International Collection '85,

1984-1985 Includes clippings, correspondence, photographs, and a program.

22 8-15

Printed materials, 1975, 1977, undated 22 16

Teijin/Daimaru, 1972-1975 22 17

Travel, 1984-1990 22 18

Women's Wear Daily Japan multi-product advertisement

materials, 1981

23 1

U.K. 1965-1979

Austin Reed, 1972-1974, undated 23 2

Burton Group, 1976-1979 23 3-7Includes press kit, promotional book of John Weitz matches, and a document titled "Report on theQualitative Evaluation of the John Weitz Concept."

19 10Clippings, 1965-circa 1980

23 8

Mexico, 1972-1973 23 9-11

Press kits circa 1950-1986 Generally for a specific season's fashions, kits may include press releases, fashion photographs with captions,product information, reproduced clippings, and portraits of John Weitz. Original folders housing the kitmaterials have been retained. Files identified as "General" include materials that may have comprised press kitsat one time. Press kits for Weitz's exhibitions and for specific products, manufacturers or licensees will be foundin the Exhibition files and the Project files, respectively.

14 6General: Fashion photographs, circa 1950-circa 1973

19 11

General: Illustration reproductions, circa 1960-1969 14 7

General: Textual materials, 1962-circa 1993, undated 14 8

Esquire's International Designers Conference, 1968 14 9

John Weitz Takes His Men's Fashions to Europe, 1968 14 10

Big Man (Fall 1969) 14 11

Big Man in the Sun (Summer 1970), Casual Man (Fall 1970) 14 12

Casual Man (Summer 1971), Big Man (Fall 1971) 14 13

American Designer Showings (Spring 1972) 14 14

Big Man Freestyle (Summer 1972), Big Man (Fall 1972) 14 15

1972 Dec 14 16

1974 Jul 14 17

1976 May 14 18


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John Weitz Boy, 1976 14 19

Glentex gloves (Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter 1977) 14 20

MEM Company/John Weitz Toiletries, 1978-1982 15 1

Spring/Summer and Fall, 1979 15 2-3

Women's Collection (Fountain House Benefit), 1979 15 4

X600 Collection, 1979 15 5

U.S. Luggage and Leather Products, circa 1980 15 6-7

Fall 1980 15 8

Palm Beach (Spring 1981) 15 9

Fall 1984 15 10

Palm Beach (Fall 1984) 15 11

Palm Beach (Spring 1986) 15 12

Fall 1986 15 13

Proofs, posters and ad slicks 1949-1995

19 1-4

OSx-26 10

General, 1949-circa 1990, undated

OSxx-6 6

Dan's Paper, 1995 19 12

Lord & Taylor Man's Shop, 1969-1972 OSxx-6 7-8

Palm Beach, circa 1973-1979 OSxx-6 9

Publications 1959-1993 Includes pamphlets, brochures, catalogs, and other multi-page printed materials intended for distribution.

15 14General, 1970-1988

19 13

General: Event programs, 1959-1992 15 15

Contour Clothes Wardrobe for LWL, circa 1966 23 12

15 16In-Stock Program, 1986-1993

19 15

The John Weitz Lifestyle...Love It & Live It, circa 1983 19 14

John Weitz Slacks, circa 1980s 15 17

Lord & Taylor catalogs, 1967-1970 20 1

Palm Beach Advertising Support Guide (Fall 1993) 23 13

Signature Collection leather accessories, 1984 15 18

10 Years: John Weitz Menswear, 1974-1975 23 14-16

Unidentified menswear portfolio, probably 1970s 20 2-4


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V. Scrapbooks 1951-1993 Scrapbooks maintained by John Weitz Designs to document publicity regarding John Weitz. Contents are of aprofessional nature, although family members are sometimes featured in publicity materials. Scrapbooks primarilyconsist of original or reproduced newspaper and magazine clippings, as well as ad slicks, proofs, and tear sheets. Allphotographic materials, print publications, press kits, and posters have been removed for preservation purposes and willbe found elsewhere in the John Weitz papers. Original scrapbook backing pages have also been removed, except whenglue was used to adhere contents.

Scrapbooks are divided into two categories, General scrapbooks (arranged chronologically) and Thematic scrapbooks(arranged alphabetically by topic). Weitz used the scrapbooks as a resource during the curation of his 1985 exhibition,A Happy Look Back, a restrospective of fashion advertisements for his women's wear. Scrapbooks documenting theyears 1955-1964 are frequently missing elements or entire pages, some of which may be found in the Exhibition filesunder A Happy Look Back.

Chronological 1951-1993

Box Folder

Loose pages and clippings, 1950s-1960s OSx-2 1-7

1951-1952; 1953-1954; 1953-1965; 1956; 1958; 1959 OSx-1 1-6

1955; 1956; 1956-1964 OSxx-1 1-7

1956-1959 (Women's) OSx-23 1-4

1957-1958 OSxx-2 1-6

1957-1960 OSxx-3 1-7

1958-1961 OSxx-4 1-6

1959 OSxx-5 5-8

1965-1967 OSx-3 1-6

1967-1968 OSx-4 1-6

1968-1969 OSx-5 1-7

1969-1971 OSx-6 1-7

1971-1972 OSx-7 1-7

1972-1973 OSx-8 1-8

1973-1974 OSx-9 1-7

1974-1975 OSx-10 1-5

1975-1976 OSx-11 1-8

1977 May-Sep (Men's); 1977-1981 (Boy's) OSx-13 1-7

1976-1978 (Boy's); 1976-1978 (Women's); 1978 (Men's) OSx-14 1-7

1979-1984 (Women's) OSx-23 5

1979-1980 (Men's) OSx-15 1-6

1981-1982 OSx-16 1-5

1983 OSx-17 1-9

1984-1985 OSx-18 1-6


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1985-1986 OSx-19 1-6

1987-1988 OSx-20 1-5

1988-1990 OSx-21 1-4

1991-1993 OSx-22 1-2

Thematic 1956-1987

Box Folder

Awards: Cutty Sark Award, Mayor's Liberty Award, 1986 OSx-24 1

Books: Man in Charge, 1974-1975 OSx-24 2-4

Books: Value of Nothing, 1970-1971 OSx-24 5

Exhibitions: Design Project 82, 1982 16 6Reproduction of scrapbook. Original was provided to American Airlines magazine. The scrapbook providesidentifying information absent from the Design Project 82 files in the Artwork and exhibitions series.

Exhibitions: Future Four, Manhattan Faces, Tokyo International

'85, A Happy Look Back, 1984-1985

OSx-24 6-7

OSx-24 8Foreign, 1968-1979

OSx-27 1-4

Hang tags, labels and logos, circa 1970s-1987 16 7-9

"John Weitz Non-Stop Sales for H. Liebes," 1956 16 10Small, hand-made scrapbook documenting an in-store appearance and fashion show on September 6, 1956.Weitz was promoting his sportswear collection for Amco at H. Liebes & Co.'s San Mateo, Californiadepartment store.

"John Weitz Signature Collection," circa 1986 16 11-13

Racing, 1955-1957 OSx-27 5Consists of a single scrapbook page. It is unclear from which scrapbook this page originated.

Unidentified scrapbook, 1979-1985 20 5-6Scrapbook comprised of clippings, photographs and printed materials covering all aspects of Weitz's life,including car racing, writing, and designing.