The Cass Gilbert Papers include photographs of Gilbert’s sketches for a variety of completed and proposed Oberlin College buildings. These depict sketched floor plans, site plans, renderings, elevations for a variety of buildings. Also included are index specifications for construction of the Art Building in 1915 and its mechanical equipment. A pamphlet of sketches for the Theological Quadrangle and a photograph of the plan for the third floor of the Seminary are included. The remainder of the collection includes a photograph of Gilbert himself, a photographic reproduction of a graphic portrait of Gilbert, newspaper articles and clippings about Gilbert’s architecture at Oberlin, and correspondence regarding pending and proposed projects.

The papers have been organized into five series: Correspondence, Drawings and Specifications, Writings by Others, Photographs, and Exhibit Materials.

Series I. Correspondence (1905-1909, 1922-24)

The correspondence series contains letters from Cass Gilbert to C.P. Doolittle and other contractors concerning Finney Chapel, and letters to Cass Gilbert by administrators and official representatives of Oberlin College relating to various other architectural projects on the Oberlin College campus.

Series II. Project Records (1903, 1907, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1921, 1923, n.d.)

The second series, Project Records, includes blueprints, photostats, copy photographs, sketches, and one large, framed presentation painting for proposed projects. These include a clock tower, the Theological Quadrangle, the Administration Building (Cox), and others. Many of these are photographs of the sketches themselves, or are accompanied by such photographs, with a total of eleven photographs included in this series. Also included are specifications for the Art Building, the Administration Building and Finney Chapel.

Series III. Writings by Others (1904, 1968-82)

The writings consist primarily of news and magazine articles relating to Cass Gilbert. In addition, there is a biographical study of Gilbert’s Oberlin architecture.

Series IV. Photographs (1907)

This series contains one photographic print of Cass Gilbert taken in 1907.

Series V. Exhibit Materials (n.d.)

Consists of reproductions of Cass Gilbert drawings and a graphic portrait of Gilbert, all mounted for exhibition by the Allen Memorial Art Museum.

The first lot of the collection was not accessioned. 1997/071 consists of correspondence and specifications concerning Finney Chapel, integrated into the collection in 2010. These materials, and those in 2006/096, were transferred from the Facilities Planning and Construction Office. 2006/096 consists of specifications for the Administration Building (plumbing, hardware, and doors), 1914. 2007/076 consists of photographic reproductions of six drawings by Cass Gilbert and one graphic portrait of Gilbert, mounted for exhibition in window mats and frames by the Allen Memorial Art Museum. These were displayed in the Cox Administration Building from roughly 1986 to 2006, after which they were removed from their frames and transferred to Archives.

Further materials relating to Cass Gilbert can be found in several other collections held by the Oberlin College Archives. Oversized architectural records by Gilbert are listed in RG 53, Architectural Records, and housed in the Maps and Drawings case. Records by Kimball and Gilbert are also listed in RG 53. The George Feick Papers (RG 30/303) contain a number of architectural records by Cass Gilbert for Finney Chapel. More extensive records concerning Gilbert's correspondence can be found in Records of Oberlin College Presidents, the Henry Churchill King Papers (RG 2/6), and Records of Assistants to the Presidents (RG 3).

See also the Cass Gilbert Collection (PR 0221) at the New York Historical Society, New York, NY.