Herbert Sondheim collection
Scope and Contents
Original black and white sketches, some with swatches, of womenswear from 1926 to 1961, and scrapbooks containing clippings from 1945 to 1946.
Dates
- Creation: 1925-1961
Creator
- Herbert Sondheim, Inc. (Organization)
- Sondheim, Herbert (1895-1966) (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Access is open to researchers by appointment at the Fashion Institute of Technology Library, Department of Special Collections and FIT Archive. If you wish to schedule an appointment to view this material or have any questions, visit our website.
Conditions Governing Use
The Department of Special Collections and FIT Archive does not own copyright for all material held in its physical custody. It is the researcher's obligation to abide by and satisfy copyright law (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#108) when copying or using materials (including digital materials) found in or made available from the department. When possible, the department will inform a researcher about the copyright status of material, the researcher's obligations with regard to such material, and, wherever possible, the owner or owners of the copyrights. Any and all reproduction of originals is at the archivist's discretion.
Biographical / Historical
Son of a shirtwaist manufacturer, Herbert Sondheim's first experience with apparel manufacturing was with Woolf and Schuloff. He formed his own company in 1923 and managed it for 39 years. The Herbert Sondheim label meant style and fashion sense at a moderate price. Designs were based on Paris trends, but modified for mass production and offered casual and sophisticated lines for women whose lives involved city and country living. The designer Frances Troy Stix worked for Sondheim for a number of years. Sondheim became an industry spokesman both on fashion trends and the economic aspects of dressmaking. During World War II he served on the Industry Advisory Committee of the War Production Board and the Office of Price Administration, and lectured at Parsons School of Design in 1946. His son Stephen is the noted composer.
Full Extent
13.25 Linear Feet (11 bankers and half-bankers boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donation of Herbert Sondheim, 1964 March 10
Existence and Location of Originals
The Library of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Department of Special Collections and FIT Archive, 27th St. at 7th Ave., NY, NY , USA, 10001
Processing Information
When donated, the sketchbooks in this collection seem to have been bound, and were removed from these original bindings by previous SPARC staff.
- Title
- Herbert Sondheim collection
- Author
- unknown
- Date
- 2022-05-26
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Edition statement
- Finding aid updated by Julie Sandy Boyle, May 2026
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections and FIT Archive Repository