Simon Lissim Papers
name: label: Collector
content: Lissim, Simon, 1900-1981
label: Names
content: Carl Sorensen & Son
label: Names
content: Castleton China, Inc.
label: Names
content: City University of New York. City College
label: Names
content: Claude Boulme, Inc.
label: Collector
content: Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive
label: Names
content: Cooper-Hewitt Design Archive
label: Names
content: Georg Jensen, Inc.
label: Names
content: Jonals & Co.
label: Names
content: Lenox China (Firm)
label: Names
content: Manufacture nationale de Sèvres
label: Names
content: Boulme, Claude
label: Donor
content: Dee, Elaine Evans
label: Author
content: Philip, Prince, consort of Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain, 1921-
topic: label: Topic
content: Theater designers
label: Topic
content: Theater design -- History -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Porcelain design -- History -- 20th century -- France
label: Topic
content: Designers -- Porcelain
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: These materials were donated to Cooper-Hewitt by the museum's former Curator of Drawings and Prints, Elaine Evans Dee, in 1996. Transferred to the Archives Center in 2012.
creator: label: Collector
content: Lissim, Simon, 1900-1981
setName: label: See more items in
content: Simon Lissim Papers
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Porcelain, theater, and metalwork designer. Born, Kiev, Russia, 1900. Lissim left Russia in 1919 and moved to Paris where he resided until 1940. In all of Lissim's designs, his appreciation for nature is apparent in his use of fish, birds, flowers, and other motifs.

In 1921, he began designing scenery and costumes for the Theatre de l'Oeuve in Paris. In 1924, he created his first designs for the Sevres porcelain factory. His relationship with Sevres lasted for more than 40 years and some of his designs are still being produced. His work achieved a gold medal at the 1929 Exposition Internationale Des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Barcelona. Lissim made his first journey to the United States in 1935, and by 1936, his designs for the theater were featured in exhibitions in this country. His porcelains were featured in exhibitions at The Smith College Museum of Art, 1939, and Georg Jensen, Inc., 1941.

Lissim became Head of the Art Education Project at the New York Public Library in 1942. In 1947 he began teaching at the City Univerity of New York's City College campus, where he also designed commencement costumes for the Chancellor, President, and Chief Marshal. In 1952, Lissim became an art consultant for Castleton China, Inc. in New Castle, Pennsylvania. His work was featured in the exhibition, "A Designer's Interpretation of Nature", held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 1953. In 1954, Lissim created his first silver pieces of jewelry and flatware manufactured by Carl Sorensen & Son, Copenhagen, Denmark. In the early 60s, Lissim created three designs for plates that were executed by Claude Boulme. He continued to work and hold exhibitions at his studio in Dobbs Ferry, New York, until his death in 1981.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1.5 Cubic feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1924 - 1981
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1276
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photostats
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Clippings
label: Type
content: Correspondence
label: Type
content: Contracts
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Slides
label: Type
content: Catalogs
label: Type
content: Brochures
label: Type
content: Invoices
label: Type
content: Press releases
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection is unprocessed.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photostats
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Clippings
label: Genre/Form
content: Correspondence
label: Genre/Form
content: Contracts
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Slides
label: Genre/Form
content: Catalogs
label: Genre/Form
content: Brochures
label: Genre/Form
content: Invoices
label: Genre/Form
content: Press releases
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection covers the period 1924-81 and consists of exhibition catalogs, correspondence, photographs, slides, drawings, photostats, contracts, book proofs, and related biographical material on Lissim. Extensive material on the designer's work for the Sevres porcelain factory includes correspondence, original contracts, photographs of porcelains and designs for porcelains, slides, drawings, and invoices.

Most of the material relating to Sevres is in French. A copy of the brochure for the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, 1925, is included, which features many of his designs. Also included are his designs for commencement caps and gowns, and other related ephemera for the City University of New York's City College.

The collection contains a mock-up of his 1952 publication, "How to be an Artist", which describes different techniques and how to apply them to greeting cards, porcelains, and textiles. Copies of the introduction and biographical sections of his book "An Artist's Interpretation of Nature", published in 1958 are included.

A scrapbook consists of articles, reviews, personal correspondence, press releases, and brochures. Among Lissim's personal correspondence are letters exchanged with Prince Philip of England, an avid collector of his work. Material on Lissim's work for the theater consists of exhibition brochures, correspondence, and lists of institutions in possession of his work. In addition, the collection contains photographs of Lissim's designs for jewelry, flatware, and textiles.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Archival Materials
content: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Applied Arts Department

A Lenox vase, plates, cups, and saucers. A sterling silver pin, paperweight, and cutlery. 

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Department of Drawings and Prints

Designs for plates, vases, and other porcelain pieces, silver cutlery, stage designs, playing cards, and greeting cards. Drawings of commencement robes, a gavel, and a mace designed for City College. Poster for the Musée Céramique de Sévres. 

Additional archival materials can be found at The New York Public Library, Theater Division; City University of New York, City College Archives; and Columbia University Libraries, Bakhmeteff Archive, New York City. 

Porcelains designed by Lissim are in the collections of the following museums: Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris; The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York; and The Museum of the City of New York, New York City, among others.