Verna Cook Shipway Papers
Mandeville Special Collections Library
Mandeville Special Collections Library
The UCSD Libraries
9500 Gilman Drive
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Phone: (858) 534-2533
Fax: (858) 534-5950
URL: http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/
Copyright 2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Creator:
Shipway, Verna Cook, 1890-
Title: Verna Cook Shipway Papers,
Date (inclusive): 1894 - 1979
Extent:
13.40 linear feet
(7 archives boxes and 71 oversize folders)
Abstract: Papers of Verna Cook Shipway, American architect and author. Shipway designed homes in New York State and California, and
wrote, with her husband Warren Shipway, five books on contemporary Mexican residential architecture and interior design.
The papers include correspondence, travel diaries, sketches, plans and photographs of her homes and details of interiors,
and measured drawings of furniture details. Also included are manuscript materials, photographs and paste-ups for her books.
The collection dates from 1894 to 1979 and is arranged in four series: 1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS,
and 4) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS.
Repository:
University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.
La Jolla, California 92093-0175
Collection number: MSS 0105
Language of Material:
Collection materials in English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Information
Not Available
Preferred Citation
Verna Cook Shipway Papers, MSS 0105. Mandeville Special Collections Library, UCSD.
Publication Rights
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
Biography
Verna Cook Shipway was born October 19, 1890, in Spokane, Washington. She attended the Ecole Speciale d'Architecture in Paris
and the School of Architecture at Columbia University where she met and married Edgar Salomonsky, also a student of architecture.
Together they opened an architectural firm in 1920. When Edgar died in 1929, Verna continued to run the business on her own,
specializing in Georgian, colonial and English style homes. She published a study of American furniture entitled MASTERPIECES
OF FURNITURE DESIGN (1931).
Shipway designed homes built in numerous New York suburbs including Berkley and Scarsdale. In 1936, she was selected to design
the first "Ideal House" for HOUSE AND GARDEN. In 1939, Shipway designed a model home for the New York World's Fair that was
practical and affordable for the American family in the suburbs. Her home designs featured abundant closet space, natural
light, circular staircases, bay windows, large hallways, and light-colored walls to make rooms appear larger.
In the 1940s, Verna Salomonsky married Warren Butler Shipway, an architectural engineer, and moved to California in 1947.
During a tour to Mexico, the Shipways met a builder who encouraged them to write a book on Mexican architecture. Warren documented
the construction of homes and took photographs, while Verna noted the planning and design and drew sketches. Together they
published five books on Mexican architecture and design: THE MEXICAN HOUSE, OLD AND NEW (1960), MEXICAN INTERIORS (1962),
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964), DECORATIVE DESIGN IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966), and HOUSES OF MEXICO: ORIGINS AND TRADITIONS (1970).
After the death of her husband in 1972, Shipway moved to La Jolla, California, where she died in 1978.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Verna Cook Shipway Papers consist of correspondence, sketches and measured drawings, manuscripts and production materials
for many of Shipway's published books, photographs of architectural details and furniture, travel logs, diaries, and newspaper
and magazine clippings. The materials cover the years 1904-1979, occupy 3.6 linear feet and are arranged in four series:
1) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 2) CORRESPONDENCE, 3) WRITINGS, and 4) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS.
SERIES 1: BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS
The BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS series, arranged alphabetically, includes address books, documents, reference notebooks on design
and culture, sketchbooks, travel diaries, and other memorabilia. An early photograph of Verna Cook is also included.
SERIES 2: CORRESPONDENCE
The CORRESPONDENCE series consists of personal correspondence, as well as professional correspondence pertaining to Shipway's
architect's license. The materials arranged alphabetically.
SERIES 3: WRITINGS
The WRITINGS series is arranged alphabetically, and includes photographs, layouts and text for her books books on Mexican
architecture and design. The series also includes the specifications for Shipway's home design for the New York World's Fair
in 1939 and are accompanied by a proof of a booklet of the housing exhibit, "The Home Building Center."
SERIES 4: ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS
The ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNS series is arranged in three subseries: A) Measured Drawings, B) Photographs and Illustrations, and
C) Architectural Plans.
A) The Measured Drawings subseries contains Shipway's analysis of furniture and design details and includes published drawings,
as well as sketchbooks containing original pencil drawings.
B) The Photographs and Illustrations subseries, arranged alphabetically, includes photographs of Shipway-designed homes that
show interiors and exteriors. There are also photographs pertaining to Mexico, and illustrations from a book on French architecture.
C) The Architectural Plans subseries, arranged chronologically, document's Shipway's plans for specific homes. Undated plans
are located at the end of the subseries.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Shipway, Verna Cook, 1890- -- Archives
Solomonsky, Edgar
Architecture, Domestic -- United States
Architecture, Domestic -- United States -- Designs and plans
Architecture, Domestic -- California -- Designs and plans
Architecture -- United States -- 20th century
Architecture, Domestic -- Mexico
Women architects -- United States
Interior decoration -- Mexico
Architectural drawings.
Photographic prints -- 20th century.
Contributors
Shipway, Verna Cook. -- Decorative designs in Mexican homes
Shipway, Verna Cook. -- Houses of Mexico
Shipway, Verna Cook. -- Mexican homes of today
Shipway, Verna Cook. -- Mexican house old and new
Shipway, Verna Cook. -- Mexican interiors
Collection Contents
box 1, folder 2
Alien registration booklets and identity cards - England
1945 - 1946
Note
Includes Certificate of Registration for Warren Shipway, 1945.
box 1, folder 3
Family history scrapbook of Josephine Merryman Van Ness
box 1, folder 4, oversize MC04317
Diplomas and certificates
1907 - 1946
Note
Washington state high school and university diplomas, State of Connecticut Arch. Board License (1935), North Council of Arch.
(1937), and American National Red Cross (1946) certificates.
box 1, folder 5
Memorabilia
Note
Includes a mounted photograph of Verna Cook at the age of 6 (1894), ration and clothing books (1945/46), health certificates
(1945), her calling card, American National Red Cross certificate and collage. Also includes a photograph of unidentified
people.
box 1, folder 6
Newspaper articles about Shipway
1937 - 1979
box 1, folder 7
Notebook: Personal Reference Guide (Part 1)
Note
Notes on design, architecture and Mexican and South American culture. Includes newspaper clippings.
box 1, folder 8
Notebook: Personal Reference Guide (Part 2)
Note
Includes clippings and notes.
box 1, folder 11
Travel Diary - London
1945 - 1946
Note
October 23 - April 17. Typescript of diary entries with some editing.
box 1, folder 12
Travel Diary - London
1945 - 1946
box 2, folder 1
Travel Diary - London
1945 - 1946
Note
October 23 - January 10.
box 2, folder 2
Travel Diary - London
1946
Note
January 10 - April 4.
box 2, folder 3
Travel Diary - Paris
1946
box 2, folder 4
Travel Log - "Our European Whiz"
1953
Note
October 15 - November 27.
box 2, folder 5
Travel log - Europe
Note
Ca. 1960. Includes reference notes.
box 2, folder 6
Travel log - "Go Around; With Lena Gordon" - Europe
1966
Note
August 22-December 12.
box 2, folder 7, oversize MC04318
box 2, folder 8
Architectural licensing
1930 - 1947
Note
Includes registration materials and brochures.
box 3, folder 3
Bird House Architecture: A Bird's Eye View of the Comfortable Well Designed House. THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL
1931
box 3, folder 4, oversize FB21103
DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966)
Note
Work drawings and photographs.
box 3, folder 5, oversize FB21104
DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966)
Note
Miscellaneous photographs.
box 3, folder 6
DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966) - pp.1-99
Note
Photographs and layouts.
box 3, folder 7, oversize FB21101
DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966) - pp.100-199
box 3, folder 8, oversize FB21105
DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966) - pp. 200-247
box 3, folder 9
DECORATIVE DESIGNS IN MEXICAN HOMES (1966)
Note
Photographs not used, final discards.
box 3, folder 10
Dignity and the Small House. From HOUSE PLANS FROM THE AMERICAN HOUSE, pp.87-90
box 3, folder 11
Elegant Card Table is Returning
Note
From FURNITURE MANUFACTURER, July 1931:18-20, 48.
box 3, folder 12
Exemplar of Old and New Colonial Details
1927
Note
THE HOUSE BEAUTIFUL. A series of 12 installments.
box 3, folder 13
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - Foreword and table of contents
1970
box 3, folder 14
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970)
Note
Lists of photograph headings and captions.
box 3, folder 15, oversize FB21302
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970)
Note
Drawings and photographs.
box 4, folder 1
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.1-35
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 4, folder 2
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.36-80
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 4, folder 3
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.81-107
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 4, folder 4
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.108-135
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 4, folder 5
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.136-157
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 4, folder 6
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.158-189
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 5, folder 1
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.190-210
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 5, folder 2
HOUSES OF MEXICO (1970) - pp.211-249
Note
Photographs and layout.
box 5, folder 3, oversize FB21304
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964)
Note
Miscellaneous photographs.
box 5, folder 4, oversize FB21303
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964) - pp.1-109
box 5, folder 5, oversize FB21401
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964) - pp. 111-246
box 5, folder 6
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964)
Note
Sketches and photographs.
box 5, folder 7
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964)
Note
Contents, picture locations, foreword and glossary.
box 5, folder 8
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964)
Note
Photograph captions and credits.
box 5, folder 9
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964) - Suggested layout
box 5, folder 10
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964) - Suggested layout
box 5, folder 11, oversize FB21402
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964) - Final layout
box 5, folder 12, oversize FB21403
MEXICAN HOMES OF TODAY (1964) - Final layout
box 5, folder 13, oversize FB21404
MEXICAN HOUSE OLD AND NEW (1960)
Note
Miscellaneous photographs.
box 5, folder 14, oversize FB21405
MEXICAN HOUSE OLD AND NEW (1960)
Note
Original scale drawings.
box 5, folder 15
MEXICAN HOUSE OLD AND NEW (1960) - pp.1-99
box 6, folder 1, oversize FB21501
MEXICAN HOUSE OLD AND NEW (1960) - pp.100-187
Note
Photographs and drawings.
box 6, folder 2, oversize FB21503
MEXICAN HOUSE OLD AND NEW (1960)
box 6, folder 4, oversize FB21505
Period Furniture
1925
Note
May - December. Eight installments.
box 6, folder 5
Phyfe Table a Family Heirloom
1931
Note
From FURNITURE MANUFACTURER, September 1931, pp. 32-33.
box 6, folder 6
MASTERPIECES OF FURNITURE
1967
Note
Record of complimentary copies and receipt.
box 6, folder 7, oversize FB21502
Residences Designed by Verna Cook Salomonsky, Architect
1936
box 6, folder 8
Small Tables and Stands
Note
From FURNITURE MANUFACTURER, August 1931, pp. 24-26.
box 6, folder 9
Specification of Labor and Materials Required for the Erection and Completion of Housing Exhibit No.13...
1938 - 1939
Note
Design for the New York World's Fair. Includes "The Home and Building Center" preliminary proof pages.
box 6, folder 10
Study of Fret Cut Work of the Chippendale Era
Note
From FURNITURE MANUFACTURER, March 1932, p. 30.
box 6, folder 11
Miscellaneous materials and photographs
Note
Relating to the Mexican architecture books.
box 6, folder 12, oversize FB21102
The Architect's Assistant or, an Exemplar of Colonial Mouldings...
box 6, folder 13, oversize FB21201
Drawings of interior doorways
box 6, folder 14, oversize MC04319
Empire Sideboard
Note
Blueprint of furniture design.
box 6, folder 15
House drawings and details by Edgar and Verna Cook Salomonsky
Note
Includes Sheets No. 1-3, 5-9, 11-12 and Second Series Sheets No. 1-3, 5-11 Colonial School.
box 6, folder 16
Measured drawings and sketches - Part 1
box 6, folder 17, oversize FB21305
Measured drawings and sketches - Part 2
box 6, folder 18
Measured Drawings of Card Table, Duncan Phyfe Lyre Back Chair, and Double Chair Style of Chippendale
Note
From FURNITURE MANUFACTURER, 1931-1933.
box 6, folder 19
Measured Drawings of American Maple Table and American Walnut Highboy
Note
From THE ARCHITECTURAL FORUM, January and February 1923.
box 6, folder 20, oversize FB21504
Measured drawings of tables
Note
Includes a photograph.
box 6, folder 25
Measured Colonial Details sketchbook
box 6, folder 26
Miscellaneous measured drawings by others
Photographs and Illustrations
box 6, folder 27
Illustrations of French architecture
1926
Note
From THE SMALLER HOUSES AND GARDENS OF VERSAILLES FROM 1680-1815, by Leigh French, Jr. and Harold D. Eberlein.
box 6, folder 28, oversize FB21202
Homes Designed by Verna Cook Shipway - Part 1
box 6, folder 29, oversize FB21203
Homes Designed by Verna Cook Shipway - Part 2
box 6, folder 30, oversize FB21301
Homes Designed by Verna Cook Shipway - Part 3
box 6, folder 31
Miscellaneous photographs of homes - Interiors and exteriors
box 6, folder 32
Miscellaneous photographs including Mexican design and architecture
box 7, folder 1, oversize MC02513
1923: Salomonsky, Edgar - Edgemont, Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 2, oversize MC02514
1926: Phillips - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 3, oversize MC02403
1926: Salomonsky, Edgar - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 4, oversize MC02404
box 7, folder 5, oversize MC02512
1928: Crocker, Weyman - Massachusetts
box 7, folder 6, oversize MC02511
1929: Owen, Margaret - Bedford, N.Y
box 7, folder 7, oversize MC02405
1929: Lots 77 and 79 - Berkeley, Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 8, oversize MC02406
1929: Phillips, Lot #2 - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 9, oversize MC02510
1929: Waught, George M. - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 10, oversize MC02401
1929: Waught, George, Jr. - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 11, oversize MC02509
1932: Lot #67 - Berkeley, Scarsdale
box 7, folder 12, oversize MC02508
1933: Brown, Marjorie Warren - North Castle, N.Y
box 7, folder 13, oversize MC02507
1933: Brown, Marjorie Warren - Whipporwil, N.Y
box 7, folder 14, oversize MC04201
1933: Greenwood, Ernest C
box 7, folder 15, oversize MC04202
1933: Ledbetter - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 16, oversize MC04203
1934: Crane - Berkeley Corp. - Taunton Rd., Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 17, oversize MC04204
1934: Lot #70 - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 18, oversize MC04205
1934: Lot #71 - Berkeley, Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 19, oversize MC04206
1934: Prange, Dr. Herman - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 20, oversize MC04207
1934: Sheridan - Cortland, N.Y
box 7, folder 21, oversize MC04208
1935: Davis, Phillip M. - Greenwich, Connecticut
Note
Plans and details, includes specifications.
box 7, folder 22, oversize MC04209
1935: Lot #46 - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 23, oversize MC04210
1935: Richbell Estates - Taunton Rd., Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 24, oversize MC04211
1936: Claxton, W.M. and Enid - Darien, Connecticut
box 7, folder 25, oversize MC04212
1936: Cohen, Gertrude P. - Fairfield, Connecticut
box 7, folder 26, oversize MC04213
1936: Ford, Hannah M. and Thomas M. - Pennsylvania
box 7, folder 27, oversize MC04214
1936: Friedman - Scarsdale, N.Y
Note
Plans and details, includes specifications.
box 7, folder 28, oversize MC02501
1936: McCutchan, Dr. Frank - Salisburg, North Carolina
box 7, folder 29, oversize MC02502
1936: Rigers, Frank C. - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 30, oversize MC02503
1936: Scott, Elmer P. - Pelham, N.Y
box 7, folder 31, oversize MC02402
1937: Chandler - Ridgefield, Connecticut
box 7, folder 32, oversize MC02504
1937: Lowenthal - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 33, oversize MC02505
1937: Spates, Thomas G. - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 34, oversize MC02506
1937: Kelley, Walter M. - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 35, oversize MC04301
N.D.: Eckstein, Adolph W. and Grace
box 7, folder 36, oversize MC04302
1937: World's Fair #1 - Preliminary Scheme for Small House
box 7, folder 37, oversize MC04303
1938: Spencer, Herman, House #2 - Harrison, N.Y
box 7, folder 38, oversize MC04304
1938: New York World's Fair Lot #13
box 7, folder 39, oversize MC04305
1939: Pugliese, Joseph, Lot #17 - Harrison, N.Y
box 7, folder 40, oversize MC04306
1939: Wilson, J.T. - Lynchburg, Virginia
box 7, folder 41, oversize MC04307
1938: Hotckin, E.W., Game Room Elevation. 1938: Meyer Construction Co. - Munsey Pk., N.Y (plans only)
Note
1947: Mr. and Mrs. Donald Ryan - Los Angeles, California (plans only).
box 7, folder 42, oversize MC04308
1939: Fitzgerald, Dr. Edgar - Wallace, Idaho (details only). Gerar Corp., Dwelling #2 - Scarsdale, N.Y
box 7, folder 43, oversize MC04309
1947: Shipway - Los Angeles, California
box 7, folder 44, oversize MC04310
1957: Ryway - Rancho Santa Fe,
Note
Plans only, includes specifications.
box 7, folder 45, oversize MC04311
1959: Ryan - Rancho Santa Fe, CA (details only). 1930: Lot #1 - Scarsdale, N.Y. (plans only)
Note
1937: Scott - Lake Waramaang, Connecticut (plans only).
box 7, folder 46, oversize MC04312
box 7, folder 47, oversize MC04313
N.D.: Better Homes and Gardens, Bildcost Homes Plans for #806, 604, 510
Note
Includes two unidentified plans.
box 7, folder 48, oversize MC04314
N.D.: House #3 and 4, McLean Alterations, Spanish House, Sales Office - Harrison, N.Y
box 7, folder 49, oversize MC04315
box 7, folder 50, oversize MC04316
N.D.: Arthur V. Wilker Residence - Fox Meadow, Scarsdale, N.Y
