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Collection Photo, Print, Drawing Balthazar Korab collection Balthazar Korab photographic archive

[ Archival Collection Storage Example ]

Full online access to this resource is only available at the Library of Congress.

About this Item

Title

  • Balthazar Korab collection

Other Title

  • Balthazar Korab photographic archive

Summary

  • Balthazar Korab is one of the three most significant American architectural photographers of the second half of the 20th century. His archive documents America's architectural ascendancy in the post-WWII period, including the works of famous architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Eero Saarinen, I. M. Pei, and more. Korab's interests also include the Prairie and Chicago Schools of architecture, Italian architecture, American automobile culture, the Midwest, historic houses, sculptures, and natural environments.

Names

  • Korab, Balthazar, photographer
  • Balthazar Korab Studios, Ltd.

Created / Published

  • 1944-2011, bulk 1970-2000.

Headings

  • -  Birkerts, Gunnar
  • -  Breuer, Marcel,--1902-1981
  • -  Chabot, Maria,--1913-2001
  • -  Dinkeloo, John G.--(John Gerard),--1918-1981
  • -  Gehry, Frank O.,--1929-2025
  • -  Girard, Alexander
  • -  Johansen, John MacLane,--1916-2012
  • -  Johnson, Philip,--1906-2005
  • -  Kahn, Albert,--1869-1942
  • -  Kahn, Louis I.,--1901-1974
  • -  Kessler, William H.--(William Henry),--1924-2002
  • -  Kiley, Dan--(Dan Urban)
  • -  Le Corbusier,--1887-1965
  • -  Lin, Maya,--1959
  • -  Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig,--1886-1969
  • -  Miller, J. Irwin--(Joseph Irwin),--1909-2004
  • -  Nevelson, Louise,--1899-1988
  • -  Noguchi, Isamu,--1904-1988
  • -  Noyes, Eliot
  • -  Pei, I. M.,--1917-2019
  • -  Pelli, Cesar
  • -  Roche, Kevin
  • -  Saarinen, Eero,--1910-1961
  • -  Saarinen, Eliel,--1873-1950
  • -  Weese, Harry,--1915-1998
  • -  Wright, Frank Lloyd,--1867-1959
  • -  Yamasaki, Minoru,--1912-1986
  • -  Zarina, Astra,--1929-2008
  • -  Cranbrook (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.)
  • -  Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum
  • -  International Business Machines Corporation
  • -  Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • -  Architecture--1940-2020
  • -  Architectural photography--1940-2020
  • -  Art--1940-2020
  • -  Design--1940-2020
  • -  Columbus (Ind.)--1940-2010
  • -  Detroit (Mich.)--1940-2010
  • -  Troy (Mich.)--1940-2010
  • -  Rome (Italy)--1940-2010
  • -  IBM

Format Headings

  • Architectural photographs--1940-2020.
  • Contact sheets--1940-2020.
  • Film negatives--1940-2020.
  • Photographic prints--1940-2020.
  • Slides--Color--1940-2020.
  • Transparencies--Color--1940-2020.

Genre

  • Architectural photographs--1940-2020
  • Contact sheets--1940-2020
  • Film negatives--1940-2020
  • Photographic prints--1940-2020
  • Slides--Color--1940-2020
  • Transparencies--Color--1940-2020

Notes

  • -  Arrangement: The photographs, contact sheets, black & white negatives, color transparencies, color slides, manuscript materials, and other visual materials are in filing series KORAB. They are primarily arranged by project title according Korab's filing system with separate series for the Eero Saarinen book project, oversize materials, and optical discs at the end of the collection. The Eero Saarinen book project, 2005-2008 covers 19 projects designed by architect Eero Saarinen. Oversize items, optical discs and born digital materials are represented in the KORAB filing series by surrogate prints but have been separated for storage purposes. Nitrate negatives are represented in the KORAB filing series by surrogate prints and are filed as LC-MISC-23-999 to LC-MISC-23-1041 and LC-MISC-25-306 to LC-MISC-25-350.
  • -  Title devised by Library staff.
  • -  Cite as: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Balthazar Korab collection, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-DIG-ppmsca-12345]
  • -  Digitized images of some materials display with their associated catalog records in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog, https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.krb
  • -  Eero Saarinen book project, 2005-2008 Gift; Balthazar Korab; 2007; (PR 13 CN 2007:033).
  • -  Purchase; Balthazar Korab Ltd; 2011, 2019; (DLC/PP-2011:125).
  • -  General information about the Balthazar Korab collection is available at: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.krb
  • -  Born in Budapest, Hungary, Korab traveled in Europe and attended school in Paris in his youth. In 1955 Korab began working as an architect for Eero Saarinen at his office in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. His work at that office afforded him the opportunity to develop his craft as both an architect and as a photographer. Korab first experimented and explored photography's uses in documenting working models and finished structures with projects in the Saarinen office.
  • -  Finding aid is available online https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/eadpnp.pp020001
  • -  Vendor : Balthazar Korab Ltd.

Medium

  • whole collection ca. 541,723 items.
  • ca. 286,500 photographs : color transparencies ; 35mm (slide format).
  • ca. 110,700 photographs : color transparencies ; 20 x 25 cm and smaller (8x10 format)
  • ca. 93,400 photographs : b&w negatives ; 10 x 13 cm or smaller (4x5 format)
  • ca. 23,200 photographs : color and b&w prints ; mostly 22 x 28 cm or smaller.
  • ca. 14,200 photographs : mostly b&w contact sheets ; 22 x 28 cm or smaller.
  • ca. 13,700 manuscripts : mostly correspondence, notes, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, books.
  • 23 optical discs (containing 2,064 images) : digital, mostly tiff and jpg files.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Guide Record [P&P]

Repository

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2011645089

Rights Advisory

Access Advisory

  • Collection is open for research. Access restrictions apply. All content stored offsite. Due to safety regulations, nitrate negatives cannot be served to the public. Original images served only by appointment because material requires advanced processing. Advance notice is needed to view materials in this collection, which is stored offsite. Because of space and resource constraints, the amount that can be requested at one time is limited. Researchers may request up to 10 folder headings from no more than 5 containers per request and should allow 10 business days after the call-slip is received before arriving to view the material. If more material is needed for viewing in a single visit, please consult reference staff regarding the feasibility of arranging for more material to be brought on site and the time needed to make it available. For more information on appointment requests, see: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.info.apptonly

Online Format

  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For information about assessing rights, see the Rights and Restrictions Information page.

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. For information, see: "Balthazar Korab collection" https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/res.598.kora
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
  • Access Advisory: Collection is open for research. Access restrictions apply. All content stored offsite. Due to safety regulations, nitrate negatives cannot be served to the public. Original images served only by appointment because material requires advanced processing. Advance notice is needed to view materials in this collection, which is stored offsite. Because of space and resource constraints, the amount that can be requested at one time is limited. Researchers may request up to 10 folder headings from no more than 5 containers per request and should allow 10 business days after the call-slip is received before arriving to view the material. If more material is needed for viewing in a single visit, please consult reference staff regarding the feasibility of arranging for more material to be brought on site and the time needed to make it available. For more information on appointment requests, see: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.info.apptonly

Obtaining Copies

Generally, Guide Records describe large groups of items from which a selection must be made. The individual items in the group may or may not be represented online.

  1. 1. Determine whether the desired materials can be retrieved online.
    • Select the "About this Item" tab and look for a note about tools for searching the group
    • If there is a note such as "Digitized images of most prints along with associated descriptive information are available through the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog," try searching the name of the collection in Search All
    • Select the "Obtaining Copies" tab for any retrieved items that are of interest.
  2. 2. If the desired material cannot be retrieved online:

Access to Originals

Please use the following steps to determine whether you need to fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room to view the original item(s). In some cases, a surrogate (substitute image) is available, often in the form of a digital image, a copy print, or microfilm.

  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

To contact Reference staff in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room, please use our Ask A Librarian service or call the reading room between 8:30 and 5:00 at 202-707-6394, and Press 3.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Balthazar Korab Studios, Ltd, Korab, Balthazar, photographer. Balthazar Korab collection. Indiana Troy Columbus Detroit Michigan Italy Rome, 1944. to 2011, Bulk 1970 to 2000. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2011645089/.

APA citation style:

Balthazar Korab Studios, L., Korab, B., photographer. (1944) Balthazar Korab collection. Indiana Troy Columbus Detroit Michigan Italy Rome, 1944. to 2011, Bulk 1970 to 2000. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2011645089/.

MLA citation style:

Balthazar Korab Studios, Ltd, photographer by Korab, Balthazar. Balthazar Korab collection. to 2011, Bulk 1970 to 2000. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/2011645089/>.