The Edith Head Collection consists of 28 boxes of materials relating to her work as one of the leading costume designers of the motion picture industry.
The first 20 boxes contain assorted watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil sketches done on sketch paper or tissue paper; many of these sketches are mounted on cardboard or tagboard. In addition, many of the sketches are annotated by character, scene, actress, fabric, cost, approvals, or rejections. Though most of the designs are for female characters, there are a few designs for male characters, e.g., Paul Newman, Brandon De Wilde, and Melvyn Douglas in Hud. For the most part, these sketches are for motion pictures. There are sketches for 55 different motion pictures from the period 1934 to 1965, including Academy Award winning designs for All About Eve (1950) and Sabrina (1954). The Pleasure of His Company (1958) is the only stage play for which there are designs (see Box 11, Folder 1). Also included in this part of the collection are designs for the “Lucille Ball Television Special” (1964) (see Box 19, Folder 2); designs especially for celebrities, including Lucille Ball, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Greer Garson, Grace Kelly, and Natalie Wood; and 81 unidentified watercolor and pencil sketches.
Boxes 21-25 contain records of her awards and appearances, serialized portions of her first book, The Dress Doctor, limited related correspondence, newspaper and magazine articles by Edith Head, and newspaper and magazine articles about Edith Head. The period covered primarily is from 1959 to 1963, although the earliest clippings date from 1936.
Boxes 26-27 contain dress patterns by Edith Head, patterns based on her designs, and patterns based on Hollywood costumes not done by Edith Head. The patterns were donated by Elizabeth Barranca in 2011.
Box 28 has two scrapbooks of publicity, primarily newspaper clippings, dating from 1936 to 1944.
