Elinor Noteboom History of Screen Printing Records

The Elinor Noteboom Research Papers document the research process of Elinor Noteboom, an artist, teacher, author, and scholar of the history of screen printing. Materials primarily consist of Noteboom’s research and writing on the medium of screen printing, which is also known as serigraphy and silkscreen.

Series One: Research is comprised of reference materials gathered by Noteboom to inform her research on screen printing and includes three sub-series. The first sub-series, “Artists,” contains individual folders documenting the artistic career and background of over fifty silkscreen artists, identified by Noteboom as the “most prominent of the 20th century.” These materials include clippings, scrapbook pages, notes, images, and inventories compiled by Noteboom, as well as a collection of cassette tape recordings of Noteboom’s interviews with eight selected artists: James Watrous, Bill Weege, Dean Meeker, Tim Quigley, Vincent Mariani, Timonthy High, Harry Sternberg, and Lou Stovall. The second sub-series, “Subjects,” contains a significant amount of photocopied primary and secondary source materials, including 19th and early 20th century writings, covering topics from early office duplicating machines and stencils to the commercial use and fine art of silkscreen. The third sub-series, “General research and reference,” contains survey lists of artists, galleries, and museums and compiled reference documents on the general history of screen printing.

Series Two: Writing consists predominantly of original writing by Noteboom. The sub-series "Screenprinting Origins and History in the U.S.” features multiple drafts, excerpts, and chapters from an unpublished original college textbook on the origins and history of screen printing in the United States. Additionally, this series contains material from “Color Reigns!” A century of Screenprinting in America,” a lecture delivered by Noteboom at IMPACT, an International Printmaking Conference hosted in Bristol, England in September of 1999, as well as documentation surrounding an exhibition proposal on “The Silkscreened Print: A History of America’s Own Graphic Medium 1870-1959 or 1970.”

Series Three: Correspondence documents communications between Noteboom and various museums, institutions, and third parties with screen print artworks in their collections. The subject of this correspondence largely surrounds her inquiry for materials and resources, to support her research on the history of the screenprint medium.

Series Four: Images features images of Noteboom, images of Noteboom’s original artwork, and a selection of image clippings intended to be used in publication.