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Leon Gordon Miller Papers

An inventory of his papers at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 27 Oct 2010

Biographical History

Leon Gordon Miller (1917-1985) was an American painter, printmaker, stained glass worker, industrial designer, architect and teacher.

Miller had numerous solo exhibitions of his work and won awards in sculpture, art and design. He was active in professional organizations relating to art, architecture and industrial design, being a founding member of the Artists Equity Association and a Fellow of the Industrial Design Institute, and a U.S. delegate to the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) to Stockholm in 1959, Venice in 1961, London in 1969, Mexico in 1971, and Japan in 1973. He was a frequent guest speaker and panelist on topics dealing with the arts and the environment, and represented the U.S. abroad in Canada, Yugoslavia, and Israel, as well as for ICSID.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Leon Gordon Miller Papers consists of correspondence-subject files, printed material, and writing. The bulk of the collection is directly related to Miller's work with the Industrial Designers Institute (IDI), for which he served as president in 1960 and 1961 and chairman of the board in 1962 and 1963.

Correspondence-subject files include general correspondence (much of which is related to IDI); material pertaining to several IDI committees such as Fellows and Nominating; and the ICSID General Assemblies in 1959 and 1961, to which Miller was the U.S. delegate.

Printed material contains brochures, pamphlets, booklets, newsletters and similar items, most from IDI but also some material from the ICSID and Miller's firm, Leon Gordon Miller Associates, Inc.

Writings are subdivided into those by Miller and those by others. Those by Miller consist of speeches, addresses, an interview, a booklet on patio design, and assorted other items. Those by others include an address by designer Jon Hauser.

Arrangement of the Collection

Alphabetically by type or title. Within the correspondence-subject series, material in each folder is (where possible) arranged chronologically.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Special Collections Research Center has extensive holdings in the area of industrial design. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.

Subject Headings

Persons

Hauser, Jon W.
Lahti, Aarre.
Miller, Leon Gordon.

Corporate Bodies

American Society of Industrial Designers.
Industrial Designers' Institute.
International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. -- Congress and Assembly.
Leon Gordon Miller Associates.

Subjects

Artists -- United States.
Industrial design -- United States.
Industrial designers -- United States.

Genres and Forms

Brochures.
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Photographs.
Press releases.

Occupations

Industrial designers.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Leon Gordon Miller Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Leon Gordon Miller, 1965.

Table of Contents

Correspondence-subject files

Printed material

Writings

Inventory