This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
Series I: Projects and Studies is made up of sketches, design drawings, paper models, research materials, and notes. Montgomery's more developed project in Series I is his Prefabricated Home Project, which was his solution to the housing problem toward the end of WWII and after. As the population rose the need for housing was in demand. Montgomery's low cost housing unit designs were built with inexpensive material and long term sustainability in consideration to the housing solution. Prefabricated or Homes for the Masses (1930-1944) as Montgomery titled it, include multiple styles, pencil on trace and paper drawings with design elements of kitchens, bathrooms, and wall sections. His projects have no record of being built aside from the multiple paper models included in this collection. Included in Series I is his finances and research documents, particularly on philosopher Samuel Butler, who was a major inspiration for the theory behind Montgomery's housing solution. He designed various inventions and each was certified in an enveloped self addressed to prove its patient authorization. His invention of The Mayne Metal Plank Floor System a Cellular trussed structure (1930 -1932) appears to have been built as a prototype, evidence based on a photograph demonstrating the amount of weight it held with little distortion. The miscellaneous inventions are separated into two groupings, those that are structural inventions such as the Montgomery brick, window seal and window transom. The Miscellaneous Inventions folder includes the "auto life saver," which enabled cars to ride on their flat tires without destroying the rim. Other inventions included are a portable greasing station that could double as a barbecue, a store or a portable building of any use. The invention of a galosh fastener on the back side of the shoe instead of the front side gives the allure that Montgomery was a prolific man who wanted to take advantage of being an entrepreneur in an age when industry was booming.
Series II: Personal Photographs are speculated to be Max A. Montgomery and his family, and include 20 black and white photographs.
1928-1945
This collection is made up of two series: Series I: Personal Photographs and Series II: Projects and Studies.
This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
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Max A. Montgomery papers, 1928-1945, Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University.
Source of acquisition--Mrs. Max A. Montgomery. Method of acquisition--Donated;; Date of acquisition--1947. Accession number--1947.004.
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
This collection was processed by Allison Termine (Archives Intern) under the supervision of Shelley Hayreh, Avery Archivist, in 2012.
2012-03-30 File created.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Max A. Montgomery (1889-1946) lived and worked in Hudson, Ohio as architect. Montgomery was educated at the University of Illinois and served in World War I. Montgomery primarily designed residential houses, however, he also worked on structural designs and inventions to enhance objects that have already been created.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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