MC 00331 Guide to the Samuel S. Scherr Papers, 1940 - 2002

Quantity

6.0 Linear feet

General Physical Description note

14 archival storage boxes

Location

For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Special Collections Research Center Reference Staff .

Language

English

Acquisitions Information

Gift of Mary Ann Scherr in 2003 (Accn. no. 2003-0013).

Processing

Processed by: Jason Smith; machine-readable finding aid created by: Jason Smith

Scope and Content Note

The Samuel S. Scherr Papers document the professional and personal life of Samuel Scherr. The primary focus of this collection is Sherr's career as an industrial designer, but it also includes information about Scherr's private life, especially his time in the Army during World War II. The collection contains patent information, drawings, trademarks, pictures, sketches, videos, correspondence, and personal memorabilia from World War II. The collection spans the early 1940s to 2002.

Biographical Note

Samuel S. Scherr (1923-2002) was a respected professional in the fields of industrial and product design. Born October 31, 1923 in Akron, Ohio, Scherr began schooling in 1941 at the Cleveland Institute of Art majoring in Industrial Design. His schooling was interrupted when in 1943 he enlisted with the United States Army Air Force. While in the Army Air Force, Scherr was attached to the 5th Air Force Combat Camera Unit. Stationed in the Pacific Theatre, Scherr was a part of many military operations; he quickly advanced to the rank of sergeant. He was awarded a Bronze Star along with two Air Medals. Upon his honorable discharge from the Army Air Force in 1945, Scherr returned to the Cleveland Institute of Art.

After Scherr graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1946, General Motors hired him to work in its design department, specializing in automobile accessories and interiors. In 1948, Samuel Scherr, along with Eugene Smith and Jim McDermott, formed Smith, Scherr & McDermott International, a design firm working in the fields of industrial, environmental, and graphic design. The company later changed its name to Scherr & McDermott upon the departure of Eugene Smith. Scherr served as Scherr & McDermott International's President until 1977. During his 29 years at Scherr & McDermott, Scherr saw the design firm open offices in diverse places such as New York, South Korea, Peru, Columbia, and Ecuador. Headquartered out of Akron, Ohio, Scherr & McDermott served a plethora of clients, including Hoover, Rubbermaid, the City of Akron, General Electric, and the Government of Korea. Products that were designed by Scherr & McDermott include the Hoover Suitcase Vacuum (included in the Louvre's 100 Best Product Designs of the 20th Century) and the City of Akron's seal (it served as Akron's official seal from 1965 until it was officially replaced in 1996).

In 1955 as CEO and President of Scherr & McDermott, collaborating with the International Cooperation Administration, Scherr helped establish the Korean Small Scale Industry & Handicraft Design Center in South Korea. In 2000 as a result of this work, Scherr was named "Father of Industrial and Product Design in Korea." In 1974, Scherr joined Kromex, a Cleveland Ohio Company. At Kromex, Scherr was named Design and Product Development Manager for the Housewares Division.

In 1977, Scherr & McDermott was dissolved. Samuel Scherr became the President of the American Crafts Council. Headquartered in New York City, the American Crafts Council is a non-profit organization that represents craftsmen and artists. As part of his job as President of the American Crafts Council, Scherr had to oversee the sale of the American Craft Museum to the Museum of Modern Art. He also had to supervise the design and construction of new American Craft Museum and office facility. Scherr served in this position for two years.

Samuel Scherr continued to design late into his life. He spent many of his retired years working on the Tri-Cap Spire, a tower that Scherr had envisioned for Raleigh, North Carolina. The Tri-Cap Spire would have stood 625 feet, placing it amongst the taller towers of the world.

At the end of his tenure from the American Crafts Council, Scherr went on to form a new business, Samuel Scherr & Partners. This business served to provide design and marketing services to multi-national corporations, advertising agencies, industrial design firms, and marketing service organizations. In 1989, Samuel Scherr & Partners dissolved.

Samuel Scherr, while working for Samuel Scherr & Partners, joined Fulton + Partners as a Vice President. Fulton + Partners is a New York City-based design firm founded in 1966 by James Fulton, a past president of the Industrial Designers Society of America.

From 1989 until his death in 2002, Samuel Scherr was a design and marketing consultant in North Carolina and Ohio. He was involved with real estate and rehabilitation of older buildings for uses in commercial and living environments.

Samuel Scherr was a member of the American Marketing Association, the Industrial Design Society of America, the Mayor's Commission-Urban, the Design-City of Akron, the Board of Directors-Weathervane Playhouse, the Hart Directors Club of New York, and the Board of Directors-City Gallery Museum, Raleigh, North Carolina. Among his honors, Samuel Scherr was named the Father of Industrial Design in Korea in 2000. Also in 2000, Samuel Scherr and his wife were awarded the Design Guild Award by North Carolina State University School of Design.

Samuel Scherr married a fellow designer, Mary Ann Weckman in May 1947. Mary Ann Scherr is a noted metal smith and jeweler. She teaches at Meredith College, in Raleigh North Carolina. The Scherrs had three children, Randall, Scott, and Sydney Jo.

Controlled Terms

1. American Crafts Council.
2. American Society of Industrial Designers.
3. Appointment books
4. Art
5. Chung, Kyung Won.
6. Clippings
7. Graphic arts
8. Industrial design--Korea (South)
9. Industrial design--United States
10. Letters (correspondence)
11. Memorabilia
12. Photographs
13. Postage stamps
14. Resumes
15. Scherr, Mary Ann, 1931-
16. Scherr, Samuel S., 1923-2002
17. World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Ocean
18. World War, 1939-1945--Military currency
19. World War, 1939-1945--Personal Narratives, American

Access to Collection

This collection is open for research; access requires at least 24 hours advance notice.

For more information contact us via mail, phone, fax, or our web form.

Mail

Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111

Telephone

(919) 515-2273

Fax

(919) 513-1787

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Samuel S. Scherr Papers, MC 331, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Access to Collection

The nature of the NCSU Libraries' Special Collections means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The NCSU Libraries claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.