Jandl-Stevenson collection
Collection
0184-MDHC
H. Ward Jandl and Katherine C. Stevenson were both architectural historians who collaborated to compile research data involving the Sears, Roebuck and Company mail-order house designs prevalent in the first half of the twentieth century. The collections include correspondence, research notes, photographs, and negatives relating to the research and production of their book Houses by Mail (Preservation Press, 1986), which serves as a guide to the homes manufactured and sold by Sears, Roebuck and Company from 1908 to 1940. The designs and materials for approximately 450 houses were featured in the company's mail-order catalogs, which the authors bring to light in their informative book.
This collection is open for research.
Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.
12.25 Linear Feet
The Jandl-Stevenson Collection consists of research data involving the Sears, Roebuck and Company mail-order house designs prevalent in the first half of the twentieth century. Authors H. Ward Jandl and Katherine H. Stevenson, both architectural historians, used this material to compile the book, Houses by Mail (Preservation Press, 1986).
H. Ward Jandl
H. Ward Jandl was born March 17, 1946 in Princeton, New Jersey. He attended the Hotchkiss School, a preparatory school, and graduated in 1964. He received a degree in art history from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1968. After college, Jandl served two years in the U.S. Peace Corps teaching English in Ankara, Turkey. In 1970 he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University where he received a graduate certificate in historic preservation in 1971. While living in New York, he worked for the New York Public Library. Jandl moved to Washington, D.C. in 1974 and began working for the National Park Service as an architectural historian with the National Register of Historic Places, where he reviewed and evaluated nominations. He advanced to the position of Chief, Technical Preservation Services Branch in the Preservation Assistance Division (PAD), then Deputy Chief, PAD, and Chief Appeals Officer. He was responsible for overseeing the Historic Preservation Certification Program by which property owners receive tax incentives for rehabilitating historic buildings. In 1984 President Ronald Reagan awarded him the Presidential Design Award for the Rehabilitation Tax Incentive Program. Jandl also received several awards from the Department of the Interior, including the Meritorious Service Award. As chief appeals officer, Jandl ruled on appeals of denials for certification under the Tax Incentives Program. Having worked for many years developing policy and advising national and state historic preservation programs, he was a nationally known figure in historic preservation. In addition to Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company, published in 1986, Jandl co-authored Yesterday's Houses of tomorrow: Innovative Homes: 1850-1950 in 1991 along with numerous official publications and reports. H. Ward Jandl died March 18, 1995 of heart disease in Washington, DC at the age of forty-nine.
Katherine Stevenson
Katherine H. Stevenson was born January 20, 1948. She attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, graduating in 1969. She continued her education at the University of Delaware, completing a Master's degree in Art History in 1971. After college, Stevenson worked as a researcher for the National Portrait Gallery before beginning work at the National Park Service as the assistant to the Chief of Archaeology and Historic Preservation. She remained in Washington, D.C. until 1980, when she became the Assistant Regional Director of the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Services division of the National Park Service in Denver, Colorado. In 1983 Stevenson was promoted to the Chief of Division of Cultural Resources. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1987 to become the Mid-Atlantic Region's Associate Director for Planning and Resource Preservation in the National Park Service. In 1995 Stevenson returned to Washington, D.C. to take the position of the Associate Director for Cultural Resources, National Park Service. In addition to Houses by Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company, published in 1986, Stevenson has written numerous official publications and reports for the National Park Service. The Department of the Interior awarded her the Meritorious Service Award in 1995.
The collection is organized as five series.
On December 1, 1995, Katherine H. Stevenson and Margaret Jandl, sister of H. Ward Jandl, donated the papers and related materials to the National Trust for Historic Preservation Library Collection of the University of Maryland Libraries. The donors as per the deed of gift have retained all copyrights. The University of Maryland Libraries received additional materials on April 9, 1997. The collection was transferred to the Archives and Manuscripts Department of the University of Maryland Libraries in May 2002.
The original order of the Jandl-Stevenson Collection was preserved. The only exception to this is in Series V. Photographs from Series II were photocopied and placed in Series V in catalog order rather than in their original order in Series II. Photographs from Series II were also placed in Series V. All paper clips and staples were removed from the collection. All duplicate material was discarded. The records were placed in acid-free folders in acid-free boxes.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives