Large, important manuscript archive of essays, presentations, class notes, book and lesson plan drafts, and illustrations by the artist-educator Conrad Rossi-Diehl (1842-1933).

This impressive and important archive consists of over 1,500 manuscript pages and more than 850 hand-drawn illustrations, by Rossi-Diehl between the 1880s and 1925. Included are complete manuscripts, drafts of manuscripts, lesson plans and notes, designs, teachers? aids, and miscellaneous papers relating to art education, especially what Rossi-Diehl called Form ? Language, along with geometric designs, the art of Nature (for instance, the Acanthus leaf), and other rather esoteric art-related subjects. Rossi-Diehl often quotes Goethe and other philosophers, and cites biblical references, as he attempts to explain his concept of art and its meaningfulness to mankind and his belief that Nature is art?s pure form. Also included in the collection are four writings by Rossi-Diehl regarding social issues, war and politics, and two interesting ?letters? addressed to Samuel L. Clemens and the director of the Leopold Schepp Foundation (both listed below under Miscellaneous). Contents;Conrad Rossi-Diehl (1842-1933) was born in Bavaria but came to the United States as a young boy with his parents in 1848 where the family settled in Philadelphia. His artistic talents were recognized early and resulted in his studying art in Germany and Paris, where he concentrated on fresco painting and elements of design. Returning to the United States around 1868, Rossi-Diehl taught at the Chicago Academy of Design and later at the St. Louis Art School. From 1879 to 1885 he taught art at the Missouri State University. He relocated to New York in 1886 where he taught at the Hebrew Technical Institute and perfected his course in freehand work. He and John Ward Stimson established the Artist Artisan Institute (New-York Institute for Artist-Artisans), where Rossi-Diehl directed the drawing and design classes and taught craft as an artform. He was a strong believer in the notion that manufactured products should contain an artistic nature. He prepared drafts for numerous books, manuals, and articles on design, ornament and anatomy for artists and how to teach art. However, no copies of his published work were located. Perhaps they were intended to be used at the various institutions where he taught. He also found time to obtain two patents on devices for teaching drawing. His own artwork seemed to be focused on allegorical and literary subjects, such as scenes from Shakespeare. [See the on-line article on Rossi-Diehl by the Graphic Arts Collection of Princeton and a biography under his name on WorthPoint.]The illustrations included in the collection were drawn or cut-out for illustrating Rossi-Diehl?s various drafts of art education texts. They consist primarily of designs (floral and geometric), diagrams and charts. Several sketches are also included.Incidentally, the only records for Conrad Rossi-Deihl to be found on OCLC are 18 original works of art. Sadly this means that all of his real contributions to art and art history and education were lost to history until this archive reared its interesting head. Perhaps there are publishable manuscripts among all of the many to be found in this archive but at the very least this archive would provide students a much clearer picture of art education and thought in the 19th century. The following is a brief listing of the various manuscripts in the Rossi-Diehl collection being offered here.ART & ART EDUCATIONAdvisement, Obsolete (Dic). Seven-page manuscript relating, in part, to ?the only teachable Form-System thus far known? Geometry, or that part of the Science of Learning, called Mathematics?? Written on 7 x 9 inch lined paper.Art ? Its Mission and its Missionaries. Twenty-seven (27) page manuscript written in ink on 5 x 8 inch pager tied together with string through two punched holes on the left side. The manuscripts ends abruptly in mid-sentence at the end of page 27. Rossi-Diehl begins this essay, ?The first Art ? Effort was made by man to satisfy an innate demand, which the conscious mind sums up in the sens.…