PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF THE FRANK BROTHERS RECORDS, 1929-2005
Finding aid prepared by Antonio Beecroft
Descriptive Summary
Title: Frank Brothers records
Date (inclusive): 1929-2005
Number: 2009.M.19
Creator/Collector:
Frank Brothers
Physical Description:
21.4 linear feet
(23 boxes, 7 flatfile folders)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
Research Library
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/library/reference_form.html
Abstract: The Frank Brothers records contain material from the Frank Brothers furniture company, an influential, Long Beach, California-based
organization, active between 1930 and 1982, credited with defining and promoting mid-century modern furniture design on the
West Coast.
Language: Collection material is in
English.
Biographical/Historical Note
The Frank family's path toward redefining interior design in America began with a store named Cash Furniture, located at 219
East 4th Street in Long Beach, California, where Louis Frank sold modestly-priced, old and new furniture and resale appliances.
In 1930, he joined forces with his son Maurice and changed the name of the business to L. Frank and Son. It was Louis's younger
son Edward, who saw an opportunity to create a niche in the market by shifting exclusively to contemporary furniture sales,
and when he joined the organization in 1937, Frank Brothers was born.
Ed was the visionary and creative force of the operation, while Maurice handled the business affairs. The initial years of
the company were difficult, as a result of the Great Depression and World War II. As the economy gained strength, however,
Frank Brothers' scope of operations rapidly expanded to include furniture sales, the manufacturing of original furniture designs,
upholstery, drapery, and on-site, interior design services. In 1947, the store moved to 2400 Long Beach Boulevard. The eighty-foot-wide
corner lot featured two hundred feet of large, street-facing display windows. The organization eventually became a full service
interiors company with a two-story showroom, warehouse, and factory all under one roof.
In addition to the retail store, Frank Brothers operated a wholesale company named "Moreddi," a combination of Maurice and
Ed's names. Moreddi imported furniture from Denmark and other Scandinavian countries, supplying the Frank Brothers store and
various retail outlets.
In 1960, Maurice died unexpectedly at the age of 51. His son, Ron Frank, then joined his uncle Ed and further developed the
business. Because he was only thirteen years younger than his uncle, most new customers assumed that the two relatives were
the original "Frank Brothers." In 1965, the business was split between the two partners. Ed took over the Moreddi import business
and Ron led the retail store.
Frank Brothers' critical involvement with
Arts and Architecture magazine launched the company into the international design scene. Ed Frank met the magazine's editor, John Entenza, in the
1940s and eventually became a contributing member of the publication. By providing the furnishings for many of the Case Study
House Program's innovative homes, including all of the carpet and drapery for the Eames House in Pacific Palisades, California,
Frank Brothers became an extremely influential force in shaping the progressive aesthetic of mid-century modern design.
The marketing and promotion of Frank Brothers was exceptional. Their unique and graphically bold advertisements published
in
Arts and Architecture helped to publicize the clean lines of the avant-garde furniture they sold in their store. Popular print advertisement campaigns
and mass mailers announced upcoming sales, in-store exhibitions, and other special events. In order to attract customer traffic
to the store in the late 1960s, Ron Frank curated and designed a furniture exhibition series. Topics included plastic, vinyl,
and inflatable, "see through" furniture, and Italian designs featuring the work of Carlo Scarpa.
The store diversified the audience for modern furnishings. With the advent of the freeway system, Frank Brothers' strategic
and accessible location, midway between Los Angeles and Orange County, allowed the business to cater to a large geographic
area. It also appealed to a broad economic range of customers. Frank Brothers sold "good design at every price." The store
even sold less expensive copies of many of the contemporary designs they stocked, as well as allowing customers to pay for
merchandise with a popular layaway program.
In 1969 Ed sold his ownership of Moreddi and moved to New York, where he served briefly as the company's president. Ron Frank
continued to run the Frank Brothers store until 1982, when he sold the business to the Danica furniture company. He retained
ownership of the architecturally significant building at 2400 Long Beach Blvd., however, until it was burned to the ground
during rioting in 1992.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Frank Brothers records, 1929-2005, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 2009.M.19
Acquisition Information
Gift of Ron Frank in 2009.
Processing History
Antonio Beecroft processed the collection in 2010 and made a complete inventory under the supervision of Ann Harrison, who
also devised the arrangement and adapted the descriptive notes from curatorial reports.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Frank Brothers records contain material from the Frank Brothers furniture company, an influential, Long Beach, California-based
organization, active between 1930 and 1982. With its retail store and related services and with its furniture importing company,
Frank Brothers is credited with defining and promoting mid-century modern furniture design on the West Coast. The company
provided, marketed, and sold the furnishings for many of the innovative homes featured in
Arts and Architecture magazine's Case Study House Program. It also launched many of Charles and Ray Eames' revolutionary furniture pieces.
Documentation of the Frank Brothers retail store comprises Series I and forms the bulk of the archive. It covers the entire
range of operations of the retail aspect of the business. This documentation is primarily visual, including photographs, slides,
trade catalogs, scrapbooks and various printed materials. Frank Brothers' committment to design in all its aspects is overwhelmingly
evident, in the furnishings they sold, the ways in which they marketed them, and even in the store itself.
The business enjoyed an especially productive and close relationship with a number of designers. Charles and Ray Eames launched
many of their new chair designs in the Frank showroom, including the 1968 unveiling of the Eames chaise lounge. The archive
includes at least five of Charles Eames' original photographs used for Frank Brothers’ print ads and mailings.
Frank Brothers' "integrated interiors" were pioneering for their asymmetrical arrangement of objects and mix of different
masses and colors. Well-respected in the industry, Ed Frank would travel to Europe to meet with designers and discover new
examples of "West Coast style" contemporary furnishings that were warmer than the austere, Bauhaus machine aesthetic embraced
on the East Coast. These interiors are documented in the archive in images by such leading photographers as Marvin Rand, Todd
Walker and Julius Shulman.
The forty-year collection of advertisements, mailers and exhibition invitations in the archive reveals the evolution of California
modern graphic design. Art Shipman and Steve Madden were the graphic designers behind Frank Brothers’ popular print advertisement
campaigns and mass mailers announcing upcoming sales, in-store exhibitions, and other special events. All of the marketing
copy was written in-house by Ron Frank.
The Frank Brothers store at 2400 Long Beach Boulevard also reflected this commitment to superior design. Edward Killingsworth,
the noted Southern California Modern architect, was a close high school friend of Ed Frank and a supporter of the business.
In 1963, he redesigned a new north entrance and interior for the store, for which extensive documentation is included in the
archive.
Two smaller groups of material round out the archive. Series II contains documentation of Moreddi, the wholesale, import division
of the family business, run by Ed Frank, which supplied furnishings for the Frank Brothers store and other retailers. Personal
material relating to family members, especially Ed and Ron Frank, comprises Series III. Of particular interest is the documentation
of Ed Frank's home, Case Study House #25, designed by Ed Killingsworth.
Arrangement
Arranged in three series:
Series I. Frank Brothers store, 1930-2002;
Series II. Moreddi, 1957-1971;
Series III. Frank family papers, 1929-2005.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Names
Killingsworth, Edward
Subjects - Topics
Advertising layout and typography--United States--20th century
Architect-designed furniture
Architecture, Modern--20th century--California, Southern
Furniture design--exhibitions
Furniture--California--20th century
Graphic arts--California--Los Angeles--20th century
Interior decoration--California--20th century
Modern movement (Architecture)--California
Genres and Forms of Material
Color slides
Direct mail
Gelatin silver prints--United States--20th century
Photographic prints--20th century
Photographs, Original
Printed ephemera
Scrapbooks
Trade catalogs
Contributors
Frank, Edward
Frank, Ron
Container List
Series I.
Frank Brothers store,
1930-2002
Physical Description:
17.2 linear feet
(17 boxes, 6 flatfile folders)
Scope and Content Note
Documentation of the Frank Brothers retail store and its related operations comprises this series. It contains an extensive
visual record of the store itself, the furnishings they sold and the creations of the store's interior design service, as
well as Frank Brothers marketing and promotional materials.
Arrangement
The series is arranged in six subgroups: documentation of the store and showroom, furnishings, interior design, promotions
and general publicity, direct mail and print advertising, scrapbooks.
Box 1, 9, 10, 15*, 17
Documentation of store and showroom,
circa 1930-1992
Scope and Content Note
Primarily photographic documentation of the Frank Brothers store at 2400 Long Beach Boulevard both in its original 1947 form
and after the 1963 expansion and renovation by Edward Killingsworth. Also includes limited material relating to the earlier
location of the Cash Furniture store at 219 East 4th St. Also in Flatfiles 1**-5**.
Box 1, Folder 2A
Press coverage of opening
Box 1, 17
Expansion and remodeling of store,
1946-1964, undated
Scope and Content Note
Also in Flatfiles 1**-5**.
Box 1, Folder 3
Demolition for parking lot,
undated
Box 1, 17
Construction,
1946, 1960-1964, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes photographs of "Exposed to smoke sale." Also in Flatfiles 1**-5**.
Box 1, Folder 4
Black-and-white photographs and notes
Flatfile 1**-5**
Architectural plans and drawings,
1946, 1960-1963, undated
Flatfile 4**
Plans for original store by Louis Shoall Miller,
1946
Scope and Content Note
Diazotype with black-and-white photographs attached.
Flatfile 2**
Original perspective drawing for exterior of store,
circa 1960
Flatfile 1**
Diazotypes of floor plans and small original perspective drawing,
1960
Flatfile 3**
Floor plans of original and remodeled building on board,
undated
Flatfile 5**
Copies of Killingsworth plans for store renovation,
1963
Box 1, Folder 5
Press coverage of renovations,
1963-1964
Scope and Content Note
Includes related correspondence.
Box 15*, 17
Destruction of 2400 Long Beach Blvd.,
1992
Box 15*, Folder 1
Press coverage of riots with photograph of Danica ruins
Box 17, Folder 3
Demolition of damaged structure
Box 1, 9, 17
General interior and exterior views,
1947-1968, undated
Box 1, Folder 6-7
Black-and-white photographs
Box 9, Folder 1
Oversize black-and-white photographs
Box 1, 17
Views of previous store at 219 E. 4th St.,
circa 1930-1946
Box 1, Folder 8
Black-and-white photographs
Box 2, 11, 12, 17, 21
Furnishings,
1945-1983, undated
Scope and Content Note
Documentation of the furnishings carried by the Frank Brothers retail store, primarily photographic, but also includes occasional
notes, letters, layouts, sketches, tearsheets, stockbooks, and price lists. Also includes documentation of the custom work
done by the upholstery shop.
Box 2, 17
Individual designers and manufacturers,
1945-1979, undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Charles and Ray Eames (Herman Miller),
1969, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence.
Box 2, 17
Glenn of California,
1945, undated
Box 2, Folder 3
Trade catalog with Greta Grossman designs,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Materials in folder from a disassembled stockbook (binder) containing photographs and printed matter.
Box 17, Folder 4
Slides of Stan Young and Milo Baughman designs for Glenn of California,
circa 1945
Box 2, Folder 4
Paul McCobb,
1951, undated
Box 2, Folder 5
Peter Murdoch child chair,
undated
Box 2, Folder 6
Neal Small designs,
undated
Box 17, Folder 5
Thayer Coggins factory views,
1979
Box 2, 12, 17
Frank Brothers departments,
1961-1972, undated
Box 2, 12, 17
Upholstery shop,
1962-1972, undated
Box 2, Folder 7-8
Black-and-white photographs,
1972, undated
Box 17, Folder 6
Slides and negatives,
1962, undated
Box 12
Stock book with prices and yardage,
undated
Box 17, Folder 7
Accessories department,
1961, undated
Box 2, Folder 11
Ron Frank's notes and price lists,
1981-1983
Scope and Content Note
Includes notes on Danica transition.
Box 2, Folder 12
Letters from Maurice Frank to Ed and Ron Frank,
1956
Scope and Content Note
Letters from travel in Europe and Asia include discussion of potential items for the store to stock.
Box 2, 9, 11, 17, 21
Various furnishings,
1950-1972, undated
Box 2, Folder 9-10
Papers and black-and-white photographs,
1950-1958, undated
Box 9, Folder 4-5
Oversize black-and-white photographs,
undated
Box 17, Folder 7A
Color photographs and transparencies,
1972, undated
Box 17, Folder 8
Slides,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Unidentified slides of interiors and furniture.
Box 21, Folder 1-2
Stereo transparencies,
undated
Box 21, Folder 9
Rolls of negatives,
undated
Box 3, 9, 13, 19, 21
Interior design services,
1948-1992, undated
Box 3, 9, 19, 21
Projects,
1948-1970, undated
Scope and Content Note
Contains both black-and-white prints and mounted color stereo slides.
Box 3, Folder 11
The Pilot House, Mutual Housing Association,
1948
Box 3, 19, 21
Maurice and Mary Frank House,
1948-1951, undated
Box 3, Folder 12
Black-and-white photographs
Box 19, Folder 2-3
Slides and color photograph
Box 3, Folder 14
Black-and-white photographs
Box 19, Folder 5
Terra Casa model home,
circa 1960
Box 3, 9, 19
Pomona Fair projects,
1969-1970
Box 9, Folder 2-3
Press coverage,
1969-1970
Box 3, Folder 16
Killingsworth office and Clock, Waestman, Clock building,
undated
Box 3, Folder 17
Philmer Ellerbroek House,
undated
Box 19, Folder 9
College Park model homes,
undated
Box 19, Folder 10
New Orleans interior job,
undated
Box 3, Folder 18
Portofino marinapartments,
undated
Box 3, Folder 20
Miscellaneous interior design jobs,
undated
Box 13, Folder 1-3
Clippings relating to Ed Frank as a designer,
1953-1965
Scope and Content Note
Includes Ed Frank's decorating advice column and participation in "Living with Famous Paintings."
Box 3, Folder 21
Stan Young obituary,
1992
Box 3, 5, 15*, 18
Promotions and general publicity,
circa 1940-1974, undated
Box 3, Folder 11
Window displays,
1947-1950, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes images from previous store at 219 E. 4th St.
Box 3, 15*, 18
Exhibitions and store events,
1960-1974, undated
Box 3, 18
International Fair,
1960 August
Box 3, Folder 1
Invitation and photograph
Box 3, 15*
Arts of Denmark exhibition,
1961
Box 18, Folder 2
Knoll exhibition,
1967 February
Box 3, 18
See-Thru exhibition,
1967 August
Box 3, 18
Italian exhibition,
1967 October
Box 3, 18
Selections from California Design,
1968 April
Box 15*, 18
Around the Clock bedroom exhibition,
1968 August
Box 15*, Folder 3
John Nyquist plans for bed in exhibit,
1968
Box 18, Folder 7
Eames exhibition,
1968 November
Box 3, 15*, 18
New Forms exhibition,
1969 February
Box 3, 18
Neal Small exhibition,
1969 August
Box 3, 15*, 18
Emotional Eye exhibition,
1970 March
Box 3, Folder 7
Debut '72 exhibition,
1972 September
Box 3, 18
44 Years exhibition,
1974 October
Box 3, Folder 8
Black-and-white photographs
Box 3, 18
Various event and exhibition photographs,
1950-1972, undated
Box 3, Folder 10
Black-and white photographs
Box 5, 13
General publicity,
1951-1971, undated
Box 5, Folder 6-7
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Box 5, Folder 8-9
Promotional materials,
1951-1971
Box 13, Folder 6
Oversize materials,
1958-1968
Box 3, 15*
General press coverage,
1948-1971, undated
Box 15*, Folder 6
Newspaper clippings,
1948-1970
Box 3, Folder 22
Magazine articles and photocopies,
1965-1971, undated
Box 4, 5, 13, 15*, 19
Direct mail and print advertising,
1949-2002
Scope and Content Note
Also in Flatfile 6**.
Box 4, 13
Direct mail,
circa 1958-1981, undated
Scope and Content Note
Also in Flatfile 6**.
Box 4, Folder 1-3
Sales events,
circa 1958-1981
Scope and Content Note
Also in Flatfile 6**.
Box 4, Folder 1
Anniversary sale mailers,
1958-1981
Flatfile 6**
33rd anniversary sale posters and prints,
1963
Scope and Content Note
Drawing by Carlos Diniz.
Box 4, Folder 2
Summer and June sale mailers
undated
Box 4, Folder 3
Special sale mailers,
undated
Box 4, Folder 4
Holiday mailer,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Also includes holiday cards and pamphlets with gift ideas, recipes and ideas for holiday entertaining.
Box 13, Folder 4-5
Cybernetic Art holiday mailer,
undated
Box 4, Folder 5
Miscellaneous mailers and announcements,
undated
Box 5, Folder 1
Advertising awards,
1958-1959, undated
Box 5, 19
Arts and Architecture advertising,
1949-1962
Box 19, Folder 11
Slides
Scope and Content Note
Slides of published advertising in
Arts & Architecture, includes reproductions of images used in ads.
Box 5, Folder 4-5
Advertising artwork,
undated
Box 5, Folder 10
Press coverage of advertising and direct mail,
1967-1969, undated
Box 15*, Folder 7
Review of book by Jim Heimann on graphic design featuring Frank Brothers advertising,
2002
Box 22*-23*
Scrapbooks,
1947-1975
Scope and Content Note
Includes newspaper and magazine clippings, tearsheets, awards and certificates, mailers and advertisements.
Series II.
Moreddi,
1957-1971, undated
Physical Description:
2.6 linear feet
(3 boxes, 1 flatfile folder)
Scope and Content Note
This series is comprised of material related to Moreddi, the furniture import side of the Frank family business, run by Ed
Frank after the business was divided in 1965. Included here are correspondence, advertising and press coverage relating to
the company, but of particular interest are the trade catalogs and photographs of Moreddi furniture.
Arrangement
Arranged by topic.
Box 6, 20, 21
Designs,
1958-1967, undated
Scope and Content Note
Also in Flatfile 7**.
Box 6, Folder 1-2
"Presenting the Moreddi Collection" catalog,
undated
Box 20, Folder 1
Showroom display,
undated
Box 6, Folder 4
Photographs of designs with price lists
Scope and Content Note
Contents from binder; includes photographs, prices, dimensions and specifications of furniture finishes.
Box 6, 21
Upholstered furniture,
undated
Box 6, Folder 5
Black-and-white photographs
Box 6, Folder 6
Edward Frank patent for convertible couch,
1962
Flatfile 7**
Edward Frank drawing of desk cabinet with storage,
1967
Box 7, Folder 1-3
Correspondence,
1957-1969, undated
Scope and Content Note
Primarily letters from Ed Frank to Maurice Frank reporting on buying trips to Europe. Also includes images and price lists
for some of the furnishings discussed.
Box 13, 16*
Press coverage,
1965-1971
Box 13, Folder 7
Interview with Ed Frank,
1969
Box 16*, Folder 2-4
Moreddi employee embezzling case,
1965
Series III.
Frank family papers,
1929-2005
Physical Description:
1.6 linear feet
(3 boxes)
Scope and Content Note
Personal papers of the various members of the Frank family comprise this series. The material consists primarily of family
photographs, but also contains items such as documents related to Ed Frank's military service and cartoons drawn by Ron Frank.
Of particular interest is the documentation of Ed Frank's home, Case Study House #25, designed by his high-school friend,
Edward Killingsworth.
Arrangement
Arranged by family member.
Box 8, Folder 1
Louis and Rose Frank,
circa 1930-1950
Scope and Content Note
Family photographs, obituary.
Box 8, 9, 13, 14, 16*, 20
Box 14
Scrapbook,
1929-1932
Scope and Content Note
Scrapbook contains family photographs and ephemera with notations.
Box 13, Folder 8
Certificates and diplomas,
1929-1957
Box 8, Folder 2
Military service,
1941-1945
Box 8, Folder 4
Portraits and promotional material,
undated
Box 8, 9, 16*, 20
Case Study House # 25,
1955-2000
Box 8, Folder 3
Photographs,
circa 1962-1963
Scope and Content Note
Black-and-white photographs, and clippings documenting the construction and finished house of Edward Frank in Naples, California
designed by Killingsworth/Brady.
Box 20, Folder 3
Slides,
1962
Scope and Content Note
Includes color slides of ground breaking ceremonies and slides of magazine editorials on the finished house.
Box 16*, Folder 5
Newspaper clippings,
1963
Box 9, Folder 7-9
Magazine articles,
1955-2000
Scope and Content Note
Includes other material relating to Edward Killingsworth.
Box 8, Folder 5
Miscellaneous,
1957-1990, undated
Box 8, Folder 6
Black-and-white portraits
Box 21, Folder 8
Stereo transparencies
Scope and Content Note
Also includes Bruce Hill and Bill Lassiter.
Box 8, 20
Ron Frank,
1972-1992, undated
Box 8, Folder 7
Black-and-white photographs,
undated
Box 20, Folder 4
Color photographs and slides,
1977, undated
Box 8, Folder 8
General interviews,
1972-1982
Box 20, Folder 5-6
Color photographs related to travel and Frank Brothers events,
1979-1992, undated
