Louis Kahn Archive, Approx. 55 Pcs, Relating to One of His Most Famous Buildings in Philadelphia A fascinating archive relating to modern architect Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974), and the design, construction, and eventual demolition of the American Federation of Labor Medical Services Building in Philadelphia. The archive, ca. 1955-1967, consists of eleven documents signed by Louis Kahn including seven typed letters on personalized letterhead; 14 vintage photographs of the completed building; and a group of approximately 30 pieces of miscellany, including legal and insurance paperwork and contemporary press clippings concerning the building's slated destruction through eminent domain. The materials are housed in a sturdy red clamshell case. The gilt embossed black leather label on the spine reads "Louis Kahn / AFL / Medical / Building." Overall size of the case is 9.5" x 12.275" x 1.125." Individual condition issues are elaborated below; please also refer to catalog photos for additional information. Provenance: Ex-Christie's. Kahn completed construction of the American Federation of Labor (A.F.L.) Medical Services Building in Philadelphia in 1957. Located on 1326-1334 Vine Street in downtown Philadelphia, Kahn's 4-storey square-shaped glass and granite building was used as a medical facility offering free medical services to local union members. Sadly, the building was demolished in 1973 to make way for Interstate 676, also known as the Vine Street Expressway, the primary connector between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. Though no longer extant, the A.F.L. Medical Services Building in Philadelphia is regarded by Kahn scholars as one of his greatest achievements, combining his interests in "authenticity, monumentality" and "techno-organicism" with his own left-leaning politics. Historian Sarah Williams Goldhagen wrote: "In the A.F.L [building], Kahn sought to create a public building that, through both spatial and symbolic means, would remind users of their role as participants in the collectivity of their organization and in the larger public realm" [Sarah Williams Goldhagen, "Louis Kahn's Situated Modernism" (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001), p. 80]. The lot includes: 1. A group of 11 documents signed by Louis Kahn, including seven typed letters, signed by him as "Louis I. Kahn." Altogether featuring twelve signatures. The typed letters are all on customized stationery featuring "Louis I Kahn Architect FAIA" letterhead. Expected wear including flattened paper folds and isolated rusted paperclip impressions or staples. The February 13, 1957 letter has moderate chipped edges. Else near fine. 8.5" x 11." In chronological order: - February 28, 1955 typed letter signed by Kahn at lower right, and addressed to Isidore Melamed, Executive Director of A.F.L. Medical Service Plan of Philadelphia. Concerning major events in the upcoming construction project timeline, such as the proposed April 6, 1955 ground-breaking. - February 27, 1956 carbon copy memorandum on "United Building Construction Co." letterhead regarding proposed fiberglass ceiling insulation installation, signed and dated by Kahn at lower left as "Louis I Kahn III-1-56." - March 7, 1956 typed letter signed by Kahn at center, and addressed to Melamed, regarding approval of insulation costs. - March 8, 1956 typed letter signed by Kahn at center, and addressed to Melamed, concerning "stainless steel work approval." Stapled to a carbon copy memorandum signed and dated by Kahn as "Louis I Kahn III-8-56." - March 8, 1956 typed letter signed by Kahn at center, and addressed to Melamed, regarding the "furnishing [of] metal doors, H.M. bucks for wood and lead lined doors, metal framing for partitions in waiting spaces and metal framing for corridor partitions…" Stapled to a carbon copy memorandum signed and dated by Kahn as "Louis I Kahn III-3-56." - March 8, 1956 typed letter signed by Kahn at center, in addition to the added autograph inscription, "The door pulls for the main entrance door have not as yet been designed. The cost of this item is not part of this letter. Louis." The letter concerns a nearly $12,000 hardware contract. Stapled to a carbon copy memorandum signed and dated by Kahn as "Louis I Kahn III-8-56." - October 8, 1956 typed letter signed by Kahn at center, and addressed to Melamed, regarding a partial bill in the amount of $100,933.73. Stapled to an itemized ledger listing such items as "Excavation," "Granite Base," "Brickwork," "Roofing," and "Electrical Work." - February 13, 1957 typed letter signed by Kahn at center, and addressed to Melamed, regarding an additional pay installment. 2. A group of 14 vintage photographs of the A.F.L. Medical Services Building, including one color 8" x 10" photo signed and inscribed by an A.F.L. Medical Services Plan employee verso; five 7"x 5" photos (three color, two black and white); and eight 3.5" square photos (seven color, one black and white.) The largest and smallest photographs were printed on Kodak photo paper. The largest photo has isolated surface loss. Expected wear including warping and curling to the rest of the group, else near fine. 3. A group of approximately 30 pieces of miscellany comprised of internal A.F.L. Medical Plan internal memoranda; legal paperwork; insurance documents; and newspaper clippings, including one from the "Philadelphia Inquirer" dated March 8, 1966 entitled "Kahn Design Will Yield To Expressway: Doomed Structure Stirs Architects." The clipping reads in part: "The news that one of Philadelphia's finest architectural landmarks is to be torn down to make way for the proposed Vine Street Expressway has brought howls of anguish from prominent architects and art lovers…" Louis I. Kahn, who was of Estonian Jewish heritage, immigrated with his family to the United States in 1906. After receiving his bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts, Kahn engaged in private architectural practice in the Philadelphia area. In addition to serving as a Professor of Architecture at Yale University from 1947-1957, and Professor of Architecture at University of Pennsylvania from 1957 until his death, Kahn also taught at MIT and Princeton. He was awarded a Fellowship from the American Institute of Architects in 1953. Please see our terms and conditions for large lots. This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses. WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!
Architektur Louis I. Kahn: Complete Works 1935-1974. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, / Birkhäuser, Basel 1977. 437 S. Quer.-Folio. Lwd. im Schuber. Erste Ausgabe. First Edition. - Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) was an American architect based in Philadelphia as well as design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. Kahn is considered one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. Includes about 1700 personal and office drawings (479 more than in the first edition) in order to document the work process underlying Kahn's major projects and buildings.
Architektur Louis I. Kahn: Complete Works 1935-1974. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, / Birkhäuser, Basel 1977. 437 S. Quer.-Folio. Lwd. im Schuber. Erste Ausgabe. First Edition. - Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) was an American architect based in Philadelphia as well as design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. Kahn is considered one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. Includes about 1700 personal and office drawings (479 more than in the first edition) in order to document the work process underlying Kahn's major projects and buildings.
Louis I. Kahn: Complete Works 1935-1974. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, / Birkhäuser, Basel 1977. 437 S. Quer.-Folio. Lwd. im Schuber. Erste Ausgabe. First Edition. - Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) was an American architect based in Philadelphia as well as design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. Kahn is considered one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. Includes about 1700 personal and office drawings (479 more than in the first edition) in order to document the work process underlying Kahn's major projects and buildings. Architektur Modern Literature and Art
Louis I. Kahn: Complete Works 1935-1974. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, / Birkhäuser, Basel 1977. 437 S. Quer.-Folio. Lwd. im Schuber. Architektur Louis I. Kahn: Complete Works 1935-1974. Westview Press, Boulder, CO, / Birkhäuser, Basel 1977. 437 S. Quer.-Folio. Lwd. im Schuber. Erste Ausgabe. First Edition. - Louis I. Kahn (1901-1974) was an American architect based in Philadelphia as well as design critic and professor of architecture at Yale School of Architecture from 1947 to 1957. Kahn is considered one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. Includes about 1700 personal and office drawings (479 more than in the first edition) in order to document the work process underlying Kahn's major projects and buildings.
LOUIS KAHN (AMERICAN, 1901-1974) DESK FOR THE MORTON AND LENORE WEISS HOUSE, EAST NORRITON TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA, 1947-1950 THE DESK DESIGNED 1949 AND FABRICATED BY THE ALEXANDER WOODWORK CO., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, 1950 Walnut veneer, birch, brass. H: 27 3/4, W: 78, D: 36 in. PROVENANCE: Morton (Bubby) and Lenore Weiss, East Norritown Township, Pennsylvania Thence by descent to Private Collection, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
KAHN, Louis (1901-1974), Architect. Seven typed letter signed ("Louis I. Kahn") to Isidore Melamed, ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE AFL MEDICAL PLAN BUILDING, 1955-1957. Together 7 pages, 4to, personal stationery, with 14-photographs of the building, carbons of incoming correspondence and a separate folder of newspaper clippings. A RARE LOUIS KAHN ARCHIVE RELATING TO ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS BUILDINGS Kahn cut his teeth working for the New Deal Resettlement Administration during the 1930s designing new public housing. He helped build the Jersey Homesteads (now Roosevelt, N.J.) in 1937, and during World War II build thousands of apartment buildings for defense workers. His architectural sensibility coexisted with a strong political belief in collective action at the local level by workers and residents against both corporate and governmental abuse. In the postwar years, Kahn received many commissions from labor unions, such as this one, to create a new home for the A. F. of L. Medical Service Plan. These letters discuss the costs of the contractors working on the building, and touch on issues of design and materials: 8 March 1956: He explains that doors will be left out of the second floor corridors. "We do not want or need these doors and they were only included at the city department's insistence in the first place." This building is regarded by Kahn scholars as one of his great achievements, combining his interests in "authenticity, monumentality" and "techno-organicism." Given his commitment to the labor union movement, Kahn envisioned it as a "palace" for workers. "In the AFL [building] Kahn sought to create a public building that, through both spatial and symbolic means, would remind users of their role as participants in the collectivity of their organization and in the larger public realm" (Sarah Williams Goldhagen, Louis Kahn's Situated Modernism, 80). Kahn's work on this building came as his powers and prestige were reaching their summit. The late 1950s and 1960s saw him receiving commissions from all across America and the world. He built laboratories at the Salk Institute, the library at Phillips Exeter Academy, the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas and the national assembly building in Dahka, Bangladesh. The AFL medical Plan building was destroyed in 1973 to make way for the Vine Street Expressway, one year before Kahn died of a heart attack in the men's room of the Pennsylvania Station in New York City.
