Darwin D. Martin Correspondence with O.S. Lang

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: MS-0022-0007

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Correspondence between Darwin D. Martin and O.S. Lang, the general contractor for the Martin House, and correspondence of Martin and Lang with suppliers of building materials and furnishings for the Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York. Includes correspondence with suppliers of fixtures, glass, tiles, rugs, plaster and other materials, and correspondence between Martin and E.M. May, a New York City buyer for the Larkin Company who also acted as agent for Martin for the purchase of hardware and other materials. With the Lang Martin correspondence are several rough sketches and a blueprint of the Gardener's Cottage, dated 7/25/05 enclosed in a letter from Lang to Martin dated July 28, 1905.

Dates

1904-1921
Majority of material found within ( 1904-1909)

Creator

Martin, D.D. (Darwin D.) (Person)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English.

Terms of Access

Darwin D. Martin, Contractor (O.S. Lang) Correspondence, 1904-1909, is open for research.

Copyright

Copyright of papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the University Archives before publishing quotations from materials in the collection. Most papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures unless otherwise specified.

Chronology

1865
: Darwin D. Martin born - Boucville, Madison Co., New York
1867
: Frank Lloyd Wright born - Richland Center, Wisconsin
1869
: Isabelle Reidpath, the future Mrs. Martin, born - Buffalo, New York
1878
: Brothers Darwin D. Martin and Louis Frank Martin selling soap for Larkin Company in New York City
1879
: Darwin D. Martin, aged thirteen, begins work at Larkin Company in Buffalo
1885
: Darwin D. Martin invents cardex
1887
: Frank Lloyd Wright begins studies at the University of Wisconsin
1888
: Darwin D. Martin begins building house on Summit Avenue in Buffalo
1889
: Darwin D. Martin marries Isabelle Reidpath; Frank Lloyd Wright builds Home and Studio in Oak Park
1890
: Frank Lloyd Wright joins Alder and Sullivan; Darwin D. Martin replaces Elbert Hubbard as Secretary of Larkin Soap Company
1893
: Frank Lloyd Wright starts his own practice
1902
: October 29 -- Darwin D. Martin meets Frank Lloyd Wright; Darwin D. Martin purchases site for Martin House Complex, Jewett Parkway
1903
: October 11 - Construction begins on Barton House
1904
: July 20 - Construction begins on Martin House; October - Barton House occupied
1905
: Martin House Complex completed
1910
: Frank Lloyd Wright designs Bar Beach Cottage (Bay Beach, Ontario, Canada) for Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted)
1923
: Darwin D. Martin commissions Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for James and Dorothy Martin Foster, daughter of Darwin D. Martin (unexecuted)
1925
: Martin retires from the Larkin Company
1926
: Construction begins on Graycliff
1928
: June 20 - Graycliff occupied; Frank Lloyd Wright designs the Blue Sky Mausoleum for Darwin D. Martin's plot in Buffalo's Forest Lawn Cemetery (unexecuted)
1935
: Darwin D. Martin dies in Buffalo
1936
: Fallingwater (Bear Run, PA), designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufmanns
1945
: Isabelle R. Martin dies in Buffalo
1959
: Frank Lloyd Wright dies

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (1 manuscript box)

Additional Description

Abstract

Arrangement

Correspondence is arranged in alphabetically by contractor, then chronologically.

Acquisition Information

Please see University Archives staff for acquisition information.

Accruals and Additions

No further accruals are expected to this collection.

Related Materials

For a list of collections related to Darwin D. Martin and Frank Lloyd Wright see the University Archives' research guide at https://research.lib.buffalo.edu/martin-wright/collections.

Separated Materials

Plans and Drawings: These plans are shelved with other architectural drawings of the Martin House in MS 22.0, as items 40, 41, 44 and 45:

Gardner's Cottage. O.S. Lang. Blueprints, July 28, 1905 3 pieces (12.5 x 26 cm) [MS 22.0, item 40]
Casement. O.S. Lang [?]. Blueprint, October 16, 1905 1 piece (28 x 18 cm) [MS 22.0, item 41]
Martin House, Tracing of Glass for Window. Tracing, undated 1 piece (40 x 70 cm) [MS 22.0, item 44]
Martin House, Plan of Pergola from House to Conservatory. Blueprint, 10/9/05. 1 piece (19.5 x 41 cm) [MS 22.0, item 45]