These records consist of the administrative, correspondence, and exhibition files of the department. Curator David R. McFadden and his predecessors created most of the records, but some were compiled by assistants in the department, guest curators, and exhibition organizers. Some files were created before the department was organized, and document exhibition research and the storage of objects that later came under the curatorial care of the department.

The administrative records contain object documentation files; staff meeting notes, memoranda, and reports; files on the work of interns and graduate students in the department; materials documenting the museum's participation in the Decorative Arts Association (DAA); and subject files. The correspondence files contain letters exchanged by department staff and the general public, other museums, object donors, and professional associates regarding the collections and exhibitions of the museum. The exhibition records consist largely of files on lenders to exhibitions curated or organized by the department. In addition, the files include exhibition proposals and budgets; research files and bibliographies; installation plans and blueprints; object checklists and photographs; publicity files and press clippings; and catalogue publication files.

Box 1 of 39

• Elimination, Object for
• Furniture - Chair Survey, July 1952
• Thefts, 1956-69
• Research Files, Various Exhibitions, 1943-89 (17 folders)
• Objects offered to C.H.M., 1964-72
• Evaluation of Ceramics Collection, Janet Thorpe, 1971
• Public Inquiry Files, 1964-71 (4 folders)
• Lists of Objects by Categories, 1969-70
• Correspondence Files, 1950-54, 1956-72 (4 folders)
• Wilcomb Washburn, 1962
• Inquiries, 1958-65 (4 folders)
• Notes on Colored Slides, 1956-58
• Incomplete References, 1961-62
• Objects Refused, 1969-70
• Donors, 1962
• Objects Offered, 1963-64
• Gifts & Purchases Offered, 1961-62
• Objects Suggested for Purchase, 1952
• Accession Lists, 1950-52
• Eliminations, 1951-53
• Label Information (2 folders)
• Special Displays, 1957-63
• Repairs, 1961-64
• Storage, 1941-67 (4 folders)
• Checklists, 1960s
• Objects for Publication, 1957-59
• Repairs/Conservation, 1950s-60s
• Inventory Listings, 1963-65
• Museum Procedures

Box 2 of 39

• Reports, 1950s
• Reports to the Curator
• Special Reports, 1955-58
• Quarterly Reports, 1955-70
• Annual Reports, 1955-63
• Monthly Reports - Johnson
• Monthly Reports, 1955-67
• Current Involvement
• C.U.M. Exhibitions, 1960s
• UNESCO "World on View," 1952
• "Toward an Eight-Year Plan," 1952
• G.E. - Ham.- Schlemmer, 1960
• AID Loans, 1966-67
• Decorative Arts Gallery
• Ceramics Gallery
• Decorative Arts Section Objects Used in Street Windows, and Special Exhibitions
• Stair Landing
• Miscellaneous Drawings for Gallery Books
• Master Sheets for Labels in Center Gallery
• Old Gallery Books (3 folders)
• Ceramics - Unpacked
• Dec. Arts Box Lists Notebook (5 folders)
• Room 10-11 Inventory Notebook
• Inquiries and References, Arranged by Subject, 1968-77
• Correspondence 1978-80, A-H

Box 3 of 39

• Correspondence 1978-80, I-Z
• AAC - Academic Advisory Committee, Philadelphia
• Auction - Channel 13
• Book orders
• Decorative Arts Archives Conference
• Decorative Arts Committee - Board meetings and minutes, 1979
• Decorative Arts Association correspondence - 1979, 1980
• Friends of Decorative Arts - 1969-75
• Decorative Arts Society of Great Britain
• Decorative Arts Committee, Smithsonian Institution, 1976-79
• Decorative Arts Committee (DAC) & Decorative Arts Assn. (DAA), Tifft Memorial
• Exhibition: Bugatti (declined)
• Exhibition: Pressed Glass (declined)
• Exhibition: Scent Bottles in Japan (declined)
• Institute of Museum Sciences
• Landmark Commission
• New York Times: Collecting in the '80s
• Procedures and Policies
• Tours: Ashville, NC
• Tours: Charleston, SC
• Video Project
• Wallpaper Seminar, Sept. 13, 1980

Box 4 of 39

• Decorative Arts inventory worksheets, 1979-83
• Lisa Taylor Memorial files, 1991
• Short term loan files, 1983-91

Box 5 of 39

• Staff Meeting Notes, 1988-89
• Administrative Memos, 1988-89
• Master's Program Theses, 1984-89
• Acquisitions and Accessions Meeting files, 1978-89
• Short term loan files, 1979-88
• Donor files, 1977-83
• Interns, 1979-82
• Miscellaneous Organization files, 1981
• Administrative Memoranda, 1979-83
• Quarterly Reports, 1979-83
• Loans, 1986-89

Box 6 of 39

• Decorative Arts Association (DAA) files, 1979-89

Box 7 of 39

• Decorative Arts Association (DAA) files, 1986, 1990
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1981-83, A-K

Box 8 of 39

• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1981-83, L-Z
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1984-85, A-L

Box 9 of 39

• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1984-85, M-Z
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1986, A-Z
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1987, A-E

Box 10 of 39

• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1987, F-Z
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1988, A-Z

Box 11 of 39

• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1989, A-Z
• DAA Cave Dinner, 1991: expenses, invitations, menu, White Flower Farm brochure
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1990, A-L

Box 12 of 39

• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1990, M-Z
• Symposia, 1991-92
• Administrative Memoranda, 1991
• Staff Meeting Notes, 1991
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1991, A-R

Box 13 of 39

• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1991, S-Z
• Department of Decorative Arts correspondence, 1992, A-Z

Box 14 of 39

• Small Wonders: The Scent Bottle Through History (defunct?), 1981-1982
• Bon Voyage! Designs for Travel, April-July 1986: research, installation photos, lenders A-M

Box 15 of 39

• Bon Voyage! Designs for Travel, April-July 1986: Lenders M-Z, essays, catalogue captions, photo orders and permissions, research

Box 16 of 39

• Bon Voyage! Designs for Travel, April-July 1986: research, bibliography, events, sponsor (Louis Vuitton), press and promotion
• Gardens of Delight, June-August 1981: research, lenders, exhibit labels

Box 17 of 39

• Gardens of Delight, June-August 1981: lenders, objects needed, label copy, bibliography
• Art Nouveau Bing: The Paris Style 1900, July-October 1987: object research, exhibit labels, SITES photos
• Safe and Secure: A World of Design in Locks and Keys, June-October 1987: catalogue, installation, funding, bibliography, research

Box 18 of 39

• Safe and Secure, June-October 1987: publicity, lenders, unidentified videotape
• Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980, September 1982-January 1983: correspondence A-Z, visit of King Carl Gustav and Queen Silvia, grant, object labels, lectures, lenders

Box 19 of 39

• Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980, September 1982-January 1983: lenders, photo orders

Box 20 of 39

• Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980, September 1982-January 1983: correspondence, lenders, press, publicity, exhibit and object photos, proposal, symposium, tours, travel, catalogue

Box 21 of 39

• Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980, September 1982-January 1983: research (history of Scandinavian design), fabric swatches
• Courts and Colonies: The William and Mary Style in Holland, England, and America, November 1988-February 1989: lenders, object lists, photographs

Box 22 of 39

• Courts and Colonies, November 1988-February 1989: lenders, catalogue planning and illustrations, budget, photographs

Box 23 of 39

• Courts and Colonies, November 1988-February 1989: research, catalogue content, correspondence, proposal, budget, funding, royal patronage, registrar, installation, label copy, opening, related programs

Box 24 of 39

• Courts and Colonies, November 1988-February 1989
• L'Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France, 1789-1989, March-August 1989

Box 25 of 39

• L'Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France, 1789-1989, March-August 1989: lenders M-Z, pre-lenders A-L

Box 26 of 39

• L'Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France, 1789-1989, March-August 1989: pre-lenders M-Z, cc correspondence A-Z

Box 27 of 39

• L'Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France, 1789-1989, March-August 1989: French and English press

Box 28 of 39

• Wine: Celebration and Ceremony, June-October 1985: lenders A-M, pre-lenders, research

Box 29 of 39

• Wine: Celebration and Ceremony, June-October 1985: lenders A-M

Box 30 of 39

• Wine: Celebration and Ceremony, June-October 1985: lenders M-Z, lenders (French) A-M

Box 31 of 39

• Wine: Celebration and Ceremony, June-October 1985
• L'Art de Vivre: Decorative Arts and Design in France, 1789-1989, March-August 1989

Box 32 of 39

• L'Art de Vivre, March-August 1989

Box 33 of 39

• L'Art de Vivre, March-August 1989
• Gilt Bronze (defunct?), 1980-81, 1986-87

Box 34 of 39

• Platinum (defunct), 1979-82
• The Modern Spirit: Glass from Finland, October 1985-January 1986
• The Four Continents, February-May 1985

Box 35 of 39

• The Four Continents, February-May 1985
• Exhibit proposal files, 1981-86

Box 36 of 39

• Correspondence regarding proposed exhibits, 1977-84
• Ornament in the Twentieth Century, September-November 1978
• Files about other exhibitions, 1979-82

Box 37 of 39

• The Cooper-Hewitt Collection: Silver, October 1980-January 1981
• Berlin 1900-1933: Architecture and Design, November 1986-January 1987
• Button, Button, June-August 1982
• Matchsafes, February-April 1981
• Files about other exhibitions, 1983-87

Box 38 of 39

• Press clippings about several exhibits, 1979-85
• Publication files for several exhibits, 1979-85

Box 39 of 39

• Publication files for several exhibits, 1978-80
• Correspondence with publishers, 1979
• The Triumph of Simplicity: 350 Years of Swedish Silver, March-June 1988
• Files about other exhibitions, 1980-89