Benjamin Benedict
Green-Field photograph collection
Finding Aid for the Collection at Chicago
History Museum, Research Center
By Diane Ryan, 1989; rev. by D. Rinder, 2008
Please address questions to:
Chicago History Museum, Research Center
1601 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60614-6038
Web-site:
http://www.chicagohistory.org/research
© Copyright 2014, Chicago Historical
Society, 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614-6038
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Title:
Benjamin Benedict
Green-Field photograph collection [graphic]
Main entry: Green-Field,
Benjamin B. (Benjamin Benedict), 1898-1988.
Inclusive dates: ca. 1920-1988
Size:
Call #: 1989.0562
PPL:
23
boxes of photographs, albums and scrapbooks.
Call #: 1989.0562 PFL:
19
posterboards with mounted clippings and photographs.
Call #: 1989.0562 PCT-0046:
19 transparencies : col. ; 35 mm. or smaller.
Call #: 1989.0562 PPN-0094:
119
negatives : b&w ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller.
Collection ID#: CHM4145
Restriction: Advance appointment required to view color material in cold
storage.
Provenance statement: Gift
of the Benjamin Benedict Green-Field Foundation (1989.0562).
Terms governing use: Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Please cite this collection as: Benjamin Benedict Green-Field photograph collection (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and
box/folder number of a specific item.
This finding aid contains the following sections:
Biographical/historical note,
Summary description of the collection,
Description of some material related to the
collection,
List of online catalog headings about the
collection,
List
of contents of the collection.
Biographical/historical note:
Benjamin
Green-Field and
his sister Bessie Green-Field Warshawsky operated Bes-Ben, a Chicago millinery
shop for many decades. Green-field became widely known for his unusual and imaginative
hat designs. The shop, at 938 North Michigan Avenue, catered to international
celebrities as well as women from Chicago's elite society. Some of his fanciful
hats were decorated with miniature animal replicas--farm animals, stuffed
zebras, plastic mice; other hats had fake fruits and vegetables; or modern products
such as cigarette packages, matches, razor blades, and kitchen utensils.
Benjamin
Green-Field also was known for his flamboyant life style. He was an inveterate
traveler and is credited with almost annual trips around the globe since the
1930s. He designed much of his own apparel and is remembered for his brilliant
brocade formalwear. His home was a showcase for the artistic and decorative
items he purchased while travelling.
The
Chicago Historical Society honored Green-Field with two exhibitions of his hat
and clothing designs in 1976 and 1984. The society holds many Green-Field hats
in the Costume Collection and parts of his workshop in Decorative and
Industrial Arts. In addition,
Green-Field endowed gallery space for the society.
Summary description of the collection:
Primarily photographs and clippings
relating to the life and business of Chicago milliner Green-Field, who was
known for his imaginative women's hat designs and his unique personal sense of
style. Twenty-one photograph albums (containing several thousand snapshots)
relate to Green-Field's personal life and travels in Italy, Hawaii, India,
Southeast Asia, South America, other destinations and on cruises (ca.
1930-1969). Nineteen posterboards, 12 scrapbooks of clippings and photographs
and approximately 850 loose photographs and visual items regard his social
life, his designs and his Michigan Avenue salon Bes-Ben, Inc. The loose
photographic items also include several portraits of Green-Field and others,
numerous snapshots of people who remain largely unidentified, and interiors of
the Green-Field apartment showing his art and decorative art collections.
Negatives show travel scenes and have matching photoprints. Transparencies show
models with Bes-Ben hats and interiors of the Green-Field workroom. Twenty
negatives of large posterboards with mounted clippings and photographs were
made by Chicago Historical Society, 1989.
Description of some material related to the collection:
Related materials at Chicago
History Museum, Research Center, include the Benjamin Benedict Green-Field
photograph collection (1989.0562) and the Jeanette Gaffin Original Millinery
Shop records. Hats by Bes-Ben are among the costume artifacts of Chicago
History Museum.
List of online catalog headings about the collection:
The following headings were made in the
online catalog for this collection:
Green-Field, Benjamin B. (Benjamin
Benedict), 1898-1988--Portraits.
Warshawsky,
Bessie Green-Field, -1987.
Bes-Ben (Firm)
938
North Michigan Avenue (Chicago, Ill.)
Art
-- Illinois -- Chicago.
Family-owned
business enterprises -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Hats
-- Illinois -- Chicago.
Ocean
Liners.
Men
-- Clothing & dress -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Interiors
-- Illinois -- Chicago.
Women
-- Clothing & dress -- Illinois -- Chicago.
Chicago
(Ill.)--Commerce--20th century.
Hawaii
-- Pictorial works.
India
-- Pictorial works.
Italy
-- Pictorial works.
South
America -- Pictorial works.
Asia,
Southeastern -- Pictorial works.
Form/genre:
Fashion
photographs.
Group
portraits.
Photograph
albums.
Portrait
photographs.
Snapshots.
Photographic
prints -- Color.
Silver
gelatin prints.
Added
entries:
Warshawsky,
Bessie Green-Field, -1987.
Bes-Ben (Firm)
Container list
of box numbers and titles:
Call #: 1989.0562
PPL:
box
1 Loose photographs, ca. 1920-1988
box
2 Loose photographs, ca. 1920-1988
box
3 Green-Field, Benjamin
Benedict--Portraits, ca. 1920-1988
box
4 Travel snapshots, 1930-1960
box
5 Scrapbooks 1-2, 1933-1976
box
6 Scrapbooks 3-4, 1943-1976
box
7 Scrapbooks 5-6, ca. 1945-1949
box
8 Scrapbooks 7-8, 1950-1961
box
9 Scrapbooks 9-10, 1950-1962
box
10 Scrapbooks 11-12, 1952-1965
box
11 Album--Parties, people, etc., ca.
1920-1988
box
12 Album--Parties, people, etc., ca.
1920-1988
box
13 2 albums--Parties, people, etc. ca.
1930-1945
box
14 2 albums--Interiors of shop and home,
cruise, ca. 1940s
box
15 Album--Parties, people, ca. 1940-1988
box
16 Album--Chicago Historical Society
exhibit, 1976
box
17 Album--Parties, people, interiors,
ca. 1980s
box
18 2 albums--Travel to South America,
ca. 1930s
box
19 2 albums--Travel to South America,
ca. 1930s
box
20 2 albums--Travel to Asia and
Scandinavia, 1933-1936
box
21 2 albums--Travel to South America,
1935-1936
box
22 2 albums--Travel cruise and to
Mexico, 1941-1943
box
23 2 albums--Travel to Hawaii and
cruise, ca. 1950s
Call #: 1989.0562 PFL:
19
posterboards with mounted clippings and photographs (30 x 40 in.)
Call #: 1989.0562 PCT-0046:
Restriction: Advance appointment required to
view color material in cold storage.
19 transparencies : col. ; 35 mm. or smaller.
Call #: 1989.0562 PPN-0094:
119
negatives : b&w ; 4 x 5 in. or smaller.
Negatives: 20 4 x 5 negatives created by Chicago
Historical Society of the above posterboards (temporarily stored in box 1)
dmr
September 12, 1989