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Creator
Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation
Call number
MssCol 17768
Physical description
168.31 linear feet (307 boxes, 37 volumes, 18 oversized folders, 93 tubes); 11.76 gb (3613 computer files); 120 video files
Preferred Citation
Artkraft Strauss records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

The Arkraft Strauss Sign Corporation was New York City's preeminent sign designer and manufacturer in the 20th century, responsible for creating some of the great icons in American advertising. Particularly known for their "spectaculars"—giant illuminated signs often incorporating special effects and moving parts—Artkraft Strauss' most famous works include the "smoking" Camel Cigarettes sign, the "flying" Anheuser-Busch eagle, and the Coca-Cola sign at 2 Times Square. The company was also responsible for the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square, a tradition they began in 1907, until 1996. The records of Artkraft Strauss document over seventy years of operations of this family-owned and family-operated business. The records date primarily from the mid-1930s through 2005; little material pertaining to its early decades is present. The collection contains executive office files; management correspondence; electrical division records; ledgers; press and promotional material; photographs; and, most notably, job files, which document the creation of many of Artkraft Strauss' projects in New York City, Atlantic City, Boston, and elsewhere, from 1936 to 2007. Work represented includes numerous projects for the Anheuser-Busch Company, such as breweries, stadium signage, and multiple Budweiser spectaculars; a British Air spectacular in Times Square involving a half-size scale model of a Concorde jet; theater marquees; and movie signage.

Biographical/historical information

The Arkraft Strauss Sign Corporation created some of the great icons of American advertising. A major presence in Times Square since its earliest days, Artkraft Strauss was responsible for the "smoking" Camel Cigarettes sign, the "flying" Anheuser-Busch eagle, the 2 Times Square Coca-Cola sign, and numerous other large-scale illuminated signs referred to in the trade as "spectaculars." Artkraft also leased outdoor advertising locations in Time Square and throughout New York City, and was responsible for the New Year's Eve ball lowering in Times Square, a tradition they began in 1907, until 1996.

The Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation had its roots in Strauss Signs, a small sign-painting operation founded in 1897 by Benjamin Strauss. Strauss Signs had a reputation for producing meticulously painted showcards and applying gold leaf lettering to office doors and storefronts, but by the 1920s, the company had grown to become the principal builder of theatre marquees on Broadway, whose work included the original marquees of the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street, the Ziegfeld Follies, and many of the original Loew's Theatre buildings.

One of Strauss' employees, a Russian immigrant named Jacob Starr, quickly rose to the position of company foreman. He was dubbed "the lamplighter of Broadway" for the enormous quantities of incandescent bulbs used in his signs. In the 1920s, Starr struck out on his own. In 1929, he purchased the Artkraft Company of Lima, Ohio, which held the exclusive North American franchise for neon, a burgeoning technology at that time. Starr returned to New York in 1932 and merged his new company with Benjamin Strauss' Strauss Signs to become Artkraft Strauss.

During World War II, Artkraft supplied custom metal work to the United States military, including hand-made airplane wings and containers for installation in aircraft and tanks. When blackouts and energy shortages limited their ability to illuminate their signs through electricity and neon, the company developed alternative methods, including the use of rechargeable battery packs and dangling mirrors that picked up ambient light.

In the postwar decades, Artkraft grew to employ more than 200 people, many of whom were second- and third-generation artisans. During this period, they dominated the outdoor advertising market, and created many of the instantly recognizable signs which would become synonymous with Times Square: the Kleenex sign featuring Little Lulu; the animated Canadian Club whisky sign; the Bond Clothing waterfall; and a Budweiser sign atop the Brill Building with an animated neon eagle and "galloping" neon Clydesdales. In addition to the spectaculars of Times Square, Artkraft Strauss was responsible for a number of stadium scoreboards, including those in Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis; Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium; Anaheim Center in California; and Shea Stadium in New York.

Artkraft Strauss has historically been a family affair: Starr's son, Mel, became the company's primary designer and salesman in 1939, and later, its president; Mel's daughter, Tama, and son, Jonathan, took the company into the third generation of family ownership and operation after Mel's death in 1988. Tama Starr acquired sole ownership of the company in 1994, and as of 2011 continues to serve as its president and CEO.

Tama Starr's ascendancy coincided with the company's extension into marketing and promotion, sign design and maintenance, and media consulting. It also marked an era in which Artkraft Strauss would become known for more than just their signs; they played an active role in the redevelopment of Times Square through their participation in the 42nd Street Development Project, a joint initiative of the City of New York and the New York State Urban Development Council. Tama was a member of Community Board 5's Times Square and Land Use committees, and subsequently became chair of the board. The company was awarded an exclusive contract to market ten new advertising displays in the heart of the revitalization area.

Their 1993 creation of an anti-gun sign, the Dehere Gun Fighters of America's Gun Clock—colloquially known as the "Death Clock," a play on the Durst Foundation's Debt Clock, another Artkraft Strauss creation—raised hackles among area businesses and the Times Square BID, who felt that broadcasting crime statistics in Times Square flew in the face of their efforts to rid the neighborhood of crime and to rehabilitate its reputation. This controversy had lingering and deleterious effects for Artkraft Strauss; most notably, it led to a falling out with the Times Square BID, who had promoted the New Year's Eve ball drops since the early 1990s. In 1996, Times Square BID announced that Artkraft Strauss would no longer provide or operate the New Year's Eve ball.

Artkraft Strauss continued to produce some of the most recognizable and innovative displays in New York City in the 1990s. During this period, neon had been eclipsed by other technologies, such as LED, video, and complex computer-operated robotics. Artkraft remained on the cutting edge of these technologies, as evidenced by their work on a number of large, technically sophisticated projects, including a 12 ton, half-scale model of a Concorde jet for British Airways; a 48 foot mechanically animated lava lamp for Target; block-long Dow Jones and NASDAQ stock tickers on the face of the Morgan Stanley building; a new Coke sign at 2 Times Square featuring a 40 foot high, 3-dimensional Coke bottle with animated fiber optics and a popping cap; and the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza marquee, which included an installation of over 15,000 square feet of signage. The company also managed a number of historically significant projects, such as the restoration of Radio City Music Hall's original art deco marquees, the contribution of a bronze marquee, vitrines, and a chandelier to Carnegie Hall, and the refurbishment of the Long Island City Pepsi-Cola sign which the company had originally manufactured and erected in 1936.

Over the years, Artkraft Strauss acquired the assets of smaller companies, and created a number of subsidiaries. Companies that have operated under the umbrella of Artkraft Strauss include Artkraft Strauss Leasing, Inc; Artkraft Infocenter Network; 212 West 43rd Street Corp.; A&S Electrical Displays; Electric Display, Inc; West Side Neon; Globe Maintenance; ESP Signs LTD; Calvano Erectors; El Advertising; and Crossroads Outdoor Advertising. By the end of the 1990s, it had diversified its operations to include marketing and promotion; advertising space leasing; sign design and engineering; and sign fabrication and installation.

Artkraft Strauss Sign Company closed its factory in 2006, and currently operates as a sign design and consulting company.

Scope and arrangement

Artkraft Strauss designed, fabricated, installed, leased, and maintained an extensive range of sign products, including exterior identification signs, theater marquees, billboards, sports scoreboards, bus shelters, directional signage, and the giant illuminated signs known in the trade as "spectaculars," for which the company was particularly famous. The records of the Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation document over 70 years of work in the field of outdoor advertising. The collection is arranged in eight series: Executive Office Files; II. Management Correspondence Files; III. Job files; IV. Electrical Division Records; V. Ledgers; VI. Press and Promotional Material; VII. Photographs; and VIII: Administrative Files. The collection also contains audiovisual material, which is closed pending preservation transfer.

The records date primarily from the mid-1930s through 2005. Little material dating prior to the 1930s is extant, as the company did not begin to maintain its corporate records until 1932, the year it moved into its factory on the west side of Manhattan. The company chose not to retain records for all of their jobs, but rather to highlight select jobs which they felt represented the technical and artistic scope of their work. After closing its factory in 2006 the company held an auction of its holdings, including signs, memorabilia, and blueprints. As a result of these factors, the records are not a comprehensive chronicle of the work of Artkraft Strauss, and some of its most recognizable works are underrepresented—or not represented at all—in the collection.

Executive Office Files represent jobs and special projects managed by Tama Starr in her capacity as president of Artkraft Strauss. Management Correspondence Files consist largely of correspondence between Artkraft Strauss' executive, management, and sales teams and their clients. A small quantity of material from the electrical division illustrates the work of the company's electricians in the 1940s through 1970s, as well as providing some of the earliest administrative material in the collection. Ledgers of accounts receivable date from 1946 to 1968, but are not inclusive. Promotional material demonstrates Artkraft Strauss' popularity in the trade and popular presses, while a collection of souvenir postcards of Times Square demonstrates the impact of these outsized displays on the popular imagination.

The signs and spectaculars of Artkraft Strauss are documented in various ways throughout the records, but of particular importance are the Job files, which represent the bulk of the collection and illustrate the creation of many of Artkraft Strauss' famous projects in New York City, Atlantic City, Boston, and other locations from 1936 through the 2000s. Job files are records of sign construction, which may include sign fabrication, installation, maintenance, alteration, and repairs. Job files may also include cost sheets, labor records, materials specifications, engineering and other technical information, contracts, permits, insurance policies, drawings, layouts, mechanicals, blueprints, photographs, and other material. The projects documented range in scope from street and directional signage to illuminated spectaculars to three-dimensional installations featuring computer-operated robotics. Location presentations and client proposals are also included here, as are contracts, leases, and construction records. Project management files provide an extensive record of large-scale, technologically complex projects undertaken in the 1990s and 2000s, such as the Morgan Stanley world clock, the renovation of the Dow Jones stock zipper, and state-of-the-art Budweiser, the Coca-Cola signs at 1 and 2 Times Square, and the Samsung sign in Times Square.

The photographs series is extensive, and contains not only images of the company's signs, but often of their fabrication and installation. Artkraft Strauss' employees and facilities are also featured. Photographs show sign locations and proposed locations throughout New York City and beyond. Audiovisual material places the company and its work in historical and cultural context through interviews, documentary footage, and b-roll. The small section of Administrative files contains blueprints, by-laws, leases, and documents pertaining to incorporation and company stock.

Researchers should note that material relating to specific signs may be present in multiple locations. This is especially true of work dating from the 1990s; researchers pursuing information on projects from this period should consult Series I. A. Project Files; Series III. A. Job Files; and Series III. B. Project Management Files. Likewise, while some job files may contain photographs or images, researchers looking for visual documentation of specific signs should also refer to Series VII. Photographs.

The Artkraft Strauss records are arranged in eight series:

  • Series I: Executive Office Files
    1927-2004 (1984-2004)

    These files were created and maintained by Tama Starr in her capacity as president of Artkraft Strauss, and represent jobs and special projects managed directly by Starr, including the 42nd Street Development Project, the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square, and a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Artkraft Strauss in conjunction with an exhibit on the history of Times Square's iconic signage at the New-York Historical Society. Subseries: I.A. Project Files; I.B. 42nd Street Development Project; I.C. Times Square; I.D. New Year's Eve; I. E. Signs and Wonders.

    Project files consist predominantly of correspondence with clients, vendors, and city agencies relating to jobs and special projects. Included are internal memoranda and meeting notes; bid applications; project proposals; cost studies and related research; as well as drafts of contracts, license agreements, leases, and other legal instruments. These files also document activity at locations in New York City, particularly in the Times Square vicinity, where Artkraft Strauss erected or maintained signage and spectaculars.

    Times Square files contain material regarding the history and development of Times Square, as well as practical information concerning business operations in the area. Included here are files relating to Artkraft Strauss' participation in the 42nd Street Development Project, a redevelopment initiative establishing a 13-acre renewal site along 42nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. Additional items pertaining to Times Square and specific signs located in Times Square are located in Series III: Job Files.

    Artkraft Strauss is closely identified not only with Times Square, but with the New Year's Eve ball lowering at One Times Square, which Benjamin Strauss and Jacob Starr originated in 1907. New Year's Eve files contain photographs, press releases, publicity files, and other documentation of annual celebrations in Times Square between 1982 and 1999. No material relating to earlier events is present in this series, though some photographs of ball lowerings in the 1950s are present in Series VII, Photographs.

    Signs and Wonders files relate to an exhibit hosted by the New-York Historical Society, ''Signs and Wonders: The Spectacular Lights of Times Square." The exhibit, which featured many of Artkraft's famous signs, coincided with the 100th anniversary of Artkraft Strauss. A companion book written by Tama Starr and Edward Hayman was published by Anchor Press in 1998.

  • Series II: Signcorp Management Files
    1940-2002

    Management files consist largely of correspondence with clients generated by members of the executive, management, and sales teams of Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation (referred to internally as Signcorp). Clients include advertising agencies, contractors, and corporate entities working directly with Artkraft Strauss, such as Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, and Hiram Walker. Subject matter is administrative and account-related, including sales, letters of agreement, change and maintenance requests. Correspondence with executive officers of West Side Neon, whose assets were acquired by Artkraft Strauss in 1988, is also present.

    General correspondence files, which contain both chronological files and files alphabetized by client, are preceded by files identified by staff member. The content is consistent throughout the staff, client, and chronological files; researchers may need to review multiple files. Management staff represented here includes company president Mel Starr; Vice-presidents Herman Hirsch, Gene Kornberg, Michael Lettera, Philip "P.J." Marshall, Robert Neuberger, Jonathan Starr, and Tama Starr (see also Series I.); controller Victor Balitzer; project managers James Manfredi (see Series III. B.) and Roger Mazzuchelli; salesmen Herbert Blank, Bill Levy, Chaim Ratki, and Lou Grasso; service manager Mike Peras; and executive secretary Helen Nielson.

    The material dates almost exclusively from the 1980s onward.

  • Series III: Job Files
    1936-2007

    Artkraft Strauss designed, fabricated, installed, and maintained an extensive range of sign products, including exterior identification signs, theater marquees, billboards, directional signage, and the giant illuminated signs known in the trade as "spectaculars," for which the company was particularly famous. These signs are documented in various ways throughout the collection, but of particular importance are the Job Files.

    Job files are records of sign construction, which may include sign fabrication, installation, maintenance, alteration, and repairs. Many job files contain work orders (sometimes referred to as "Commercial Orders") which give the name of the customer, the date and location of the job, a job number, and a general description of the work. Job files may also hold cost sheets, labor records, materials specifications, engineering and other technical information, contracts, permits, insurance policies, drawings, layouts, mechanicals, blueprints, photographs, and other material. Note that not all job files contain all these elements; the degree of documentation varies widely from job to job.

    Files are arranged alphabetically and are not comprehensive. Artkraft Strauss completed as many as 1000 jobs per year; as a result, the company opted to retain only those files they deemed interesting or notable in some way, whether because they contained interesting visual material, had historic or aesthetic significance, or contained other records of particular value. The longstanding relationship between Anheuser Busch and Artkraft Strauss is strongly represented in this series. Extensive documentation is present for work on Anheuser Busch breweries in Boston, Columbus, Houston, Jacksonville, Newark, and St. Louis; as well as material relating to the scoreboard display at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, and to numerous Budweiser signs and spectaculars in New York City, Atlantic City, and elsewhere in the United States. The company was also responsible for a number of signs for Coca-Cola in Times Square and elsewhere. A number of designs for theatre marquees are present, including many Loews,Broadway, AMC, United Artists, and RKO theaters.

    Artkraft Strauss' largest and most technologically sophisticated projects from the 1980s onward, such as the British Airways installation in Times Square, the Morgan Stanley world clock and real-time financial information display, the refurbishment of the Long Island City Pepsi sign, and the 2002 Samsung Times Square display are documented in the project management files maintained by the company's Vice President of Design and Engineering Robert Jackowitz and Vice President of Special Projects James Manfredi. Additionally, some files documenting work for specific clients in the 1980s and 1990s can be found in Tama Starr's executive files, Series I.A.

    A small quantity of proposals and presentations are also contained within this series. These records document proposed signs and spectaculars, or provide statistics and feasibility studies relating to particular sign locations. Files are divided into two categories: those relating to specific commercial clients, and those relating to sign locations. Also included are card files containing alphabetized records of construction and maintenance for many Artkraft jobs.

    Series: III.A. Jobs; III.B. Project Management Files; III.C. Presentations; III.D. Proposals; III.E. Contracts, Leases, and Construction Card Files; and III.F. Audiovisual Documentation of Signs (closed until preservation copies are made).

  • Series IV: Electrical Division Records
    1915-1982

    A small amount of material exists to document the work of Artkraft's electricians, such as a payroll book, foreman's records, an electrician's book, Underwriters Laboratories notebooks, and unidentified technical specifications. Early material is notable for hand-drawn schematics and illustrations.

  • Series V: Ledgers
    1946-1967

    Ledgers contain records of accounts receivable between 1946 and 1967, arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by client. The run is incomplete, with volumes missing in 1958, 1963, and 1965-1967.

  • Series VI: Promotions, Press, and Public Relations
    1945-2004

    Artkraft Strauss, its clients, and its signs appeared frequently in both the mainstream and trade presses. This series chronicles those appearances through press releases, media alerts, and correspondence with press agents and representatives. Press kits and promotional ephemera, including flyers, postcards, posters, and fact sheets are present, as is a selection of commercial postcards featuring images of Times Square and famous Artkraft Strauss signs. Although published material from mainstream news sources have not been included, some material from foreign or niche trade publications have been retained. Material dates predominantly from the 1960s, and from the 1980s through 2004. Arrangement is by format.

  • Series VII: Photographs
    1938-2011

    Artkraft Strauss maintained a significant, though not entirely comprehensive, library of photographs documenting its signs and locations. The early decades of Artkraft Strauss' work are not covered here; photographs generally date from the 1950s through 1990s. Also held here are photographs of AKS staff members and facilities, and photographs taken with clients at press events. Photographers whose work appears frequently within the collection include Jon Simon, David Handschuh, Louis Nemeth, Ross Photo, Braun Photo Services, Tom Murtaugh, and Peter S. Kaufmann. Prior to the auction of their assets, Artkraft Strauss digitized a significant quantity of photographs, which are available in addition to the physical images. Photographs which have been digitized are housed in the photo albums listed in subseries VII. D.

  • Series VIII: Administrative Files
    1925-1992

    The Administrative Files contain blueprints, by-laws, leases, and documents pertaining to incorporation and company stock.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The Artkraft Strauss Company did not begin maintaining their records until 1932, the year they moved into their West Side factory, thus no files from their early years of operation are present. In addition, the company chose not to retain records for all of their jobs, but rather to highlight select jobs which they felt represented the technical and artistic scope of their work. The company closed its factory in 2006 and held an auction of its holdings, including signs, memorabilia, and blueprints. As a result, the records are not a comprehensive chronicle of the work of Artkraft Strauss.

Source of acquisition

Donated by Artkraft Strauss, 2007-2012.

Processing information

Compiled by Kit Messick in 2012. Additions integrated and finding aid updated by Susan M. Kline, 2017. The additions primarily consist of blueprints, drawings, and digitized photographs and visual material. The records of the Artkraft Strauss Company have been largely retained in their original order. A notable exception is Series III. Job Files. Artkraft Strauss originally organized their job files by an internally-issued job number, however, these numbers were frequently recycled, leading to duplicate numbers connected with different projects. The job files are now arranged alphabetically by client name. Researchers should note that material relating to specific jobs may be present in multiple locations. This is especially true of jobs dating from the 1990s; researchers pursuing information on projects from this period should be prepared to consult Series I.A. Project Files, Series III. A. Job Files, and Series III. B. Project Management Files. Likewise, while some job files may contain photographs or images, researchers looking for visual documentation of specific signs should also refer to Series VII. Photographs.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright transferred to New York Public Library.