Notes

Notes

2

Preface

3

4

1.

J. Baldwin, Bucky Works: Buckminster Fuller’s Ideas for Today (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1996), 62--65. An anticipatory comprehensive designer is a generalist who tries to use current technology to anticipate future needs.

2.

Ibid., 197.

3.

Ibid., 74--75. Two scientists, Harry Kroto and Richard Smalley, confirmed tetrahedra in nature in the 1980s when they discovered C₆₀, a carbon molecule named buckminsterfullerene and called buckyball.

4.

For typical treatments of Fuller’s work, see Kenneth Frampton, Modern Architecture: A Critical History, 3rd ed. (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1992), which discusses Fuller’s work as an alternative to modernist architecture, and Reyner Banham, Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1980), which praises Fuller’s use of technology Fuller’s designs, especially the Dymaxion House and the Wichita House, 1944--1946, are often treated as prototypes for futuristic housing as in H. Jandl Ward, with John A. Burns and Michael J. Auer, Yesterday’s Houses of Tomorrow: Innovative American Homes 18y0 to 1950 (Washington, DC: Preservation Press, 1991).

5.

Richard Hamilton, ‘‘Work of R. B. Fuller: Design Initiatives and Prototype Engineering,’’ Hamilton Extracts, R. Buckminster Fuller Papers, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

6.

Y. C. Wong, ‘‘Geodesic Works of Richard Buckminster Fuller, 1948--68 (The Universe as a Home of Man)’’ (Ph.D. diss., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1999).

7.

Karl M. Conrad, ‘‘Buckminster Fuller and the Technocratic Persuasion’’ (Ph.D. diss., University of Texas at Austin, 1974).

8.

R. Buckminster Fuller, New York, NY, ‘‘Letter and Autobiographical Essay to Joe Bryant,’’ New York, NY, July i, 1939 (typed October 2, 1939), Chronofile, vol. 46 (^J939), R. Buckminster Fuller Papers, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. The first example of Fuller’s manipulation of the development of the Dymaxion House is found in the draft for a press release Fuller noted was written by Miss Dorothy Baker. See ‘‘Draft of Philadelphia Art Alliance Press Release,’’ Chronofile, vol. 42 (1932). The press release may have served as the starting point for Fuller’s further elaboration in the Bryant essay.

5

1 Building Stockade

6

7

1.

Anne Hewlett Fuller (henceforth AHF), Diary, August 7, 1927, Cbronofile, vol. 30 (1927). Anne had sole responsibility for the diary until December 14, 1927, when she stopped making entries. Buckminster Fuller (henceforth RBF) began the diary again on January 1, 1928. After this, Anne and Fuller both wrote entries. For a complete transcription of the diary, see L. Lorance, ‘‘Building Values: Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House in Context’’ (Ph.D diss., CUNY Graduate Center, 2004), Appendix 1.

2.

Hewlett was granted patent number 1,450,794 on April 3, 1923, for the Stockade Building System. In 1926 and 1927, Hewlett and Fuller were awarded additional patents for improvements to the Stockade system. See chap. 1, n. 30

3.

Stockade Patented; The Invention of James Monroe Hewlett, FA.I A. (New York: Stockade Building System, n.d.), [2]. This brochure probably dates from 1925. It is identical to the Stockade brochure published in The American Architect, January 5, 1926.

4.

Ibid., [1-2]. Emphasis in original.

5.

James Monroe Hewlett (1868--1941) graduated from Columbia University in 1890 and briefly worked for McKim, Mead, and White before studying in Paris. He became a partner in the New York-based architectural firm of Lord & Hewlett upon his return in 1894. The firm designed a number of public and residential buildings in the New York metropolitan area and throughout the United States. He also served as the president of the Architectural League and was a director and fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Although a respected architect, Hewlett is now more known for his mural paintings than for his architecture.

6.

C. W Young, New York, NY, to J. McCarthy, Quebec, Canada, June 6, 1922, Chronofile, vol. 23 (1922). The $69 weekly salary was determined by dividing 83,600 by 52, the number of weeks in a year. In 2007 dollars, Fuller was earning an equivalent of $863.23 per week and 845,037.93 annually ( www.bls.gov).

7.

R. Buckminster Fuller, ‘‘Resume’’ (hand-dated 5/18/44), Chronofile, vol. 93 (1944),

8.

In the semi-autobiographical The Dymaxion World, Fuller also claims that Kelly-Springfield went out of business (Buckminster Fuller and Robert Marks, The Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller [Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1973], 13). His job at the company may have ended in May 1922 as listed in his 1944 resume, but nothing in the Chronofile supports or negates this claim.

9.

The 2007 monetary equivalents for $50 and $100 in 1922 are $625.53 and $1,251.05 respectively (www.bls.gov).

10.

Chronofile, vol. 17 (1920). Fuller attended a naval training camp in Plattsburg, NY, during July 1916 where he made corporal and won the marksmanship award (Chronofile, vol. 3 [1916}). Fuller next volunteered his mother’s boat, the Wgo, to patrol the Maine coast. He was enlisted as chief botswain in the Fourth U.S. Naval Reserve Force on April 18, 1917, and was given active duty for the duration of the war. He served in this capacity until September 25, 1917 (Chronofile, vol. 10 [1917]). Then, with the support of his superiors, he eventually became a junior grade lieu tenant in 1918. He resigned from the navy on September 2, 1919 (Chronofile, vol. 17 [1920])

11.

Robert Snyder, R. Buckminster Fuller: An Autobiographical Monologue/Scenario (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980), 25. It is difficult to verify many of the specifics of Fuller’s life and experiences during this period. In Chronofile, vol. r (1895--1917), are letters postmarked 1914 from his mother, Caroline Wolcott Fuller, to him in Sherbrooke in response to correspondence he sent her about his activities in Can ada. His letters, however, are not in the Chronofile in its present state. They maybe in some of the damaged volumes. ii. Chronofile, vols. 6-n (1917).

12.

RBF, Hampton Roads, VA, to C. W. Fuller, New York, NY, December 2, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 9 (1917).

13.

Rebecca Livingston, National Archives and Record Administration, Washington, DC, to the author, June 11, 2002.

14.

Alden Hatch, Buckminster Fuller: At Home in the Universe (New York: Crown Publishers, 1974), 59. According to Teri Hedgpeth, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, nothing in Bellinger’s files supports this claim (letter to the author who was not granted access to the files, January 24, 2002). Fuller wrote to his mother on February 4, 1918, that Bellinger wanted him to stay in Virginia Chronofile, vol. 12 [1918]).

15.

Beverly Lyall, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, to the author, January

16.

2002. According to Lyall, this ‘‘was a 90 day program established at the Naval Academy during World War I and II to provide the Navy with sufficient officers.’’

17.

RBF, Hampton Roads, VA, to C. W Fuller, New York, NY, February 4, 1918, Chronofile, vol. 12 (1918).

18.

RBF, Hampton Roads, VA, to C. W Fuller, New York, NY, May 2, 1918, Chronofile, vol. 12 (1918).

19.

Beverly Lyall, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, to the author, July 18, 2002.

20.

Chronofile, vols. 13--17 (1918-1920).

21.

Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 23.

22.

Barry Farrell, ‘‘The View from the Year 2000,’’ Life 70, no. 7 (February 26, 1971): 46--448,50-51,53,55-58.

23.

RBF, ‘‘Summary of Developments October ist, 1922, to October 1st, 1923,’’ Chronofile, vol. 24 (1923-1924), 1.

24.

Ibid.

25.

Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 80.

26.

RBF, ‘‘Summary of Developments,’’ 1.

27.

Ibid., 1--2.

28.

Ibid., 2. $900 in 1923 is equivalent to 811,061.95 in 2007 ( www.bls.gov).

29.

Stockade Building System, Inc., A New and Better Method of Home Construction with Proven Units (New York: Stockade Building System, Inc., 1927), 17.

30.

Chronofile, vols. 24--34 (1923-1928). There are many letters debating or declining various opportunities for expansion. Stockade Corporation of Florida letterhead exists, but no franchise was set up in that state. In an August 9, 1926, letter to Fuller, Sam Hoffman, SBS general manager, informed Fuller of a cable from Havana inquiring about licensing the patents to manufacture blocks in Cuba Chronofile, vol. 26 {1926}). Fuller responded on January 15, 1927, to an inquiry from Kiam Hoa Seng & Company, Bangkok, Siam, about the costs of setting up a plant and the different types of materials appropriate for the blocks Chronofile, vol. 31 [1927]). To protect his interests, Hewlett took foreign and American patents on Stockade. To officially present their product as Stockade, foreign companies were required to pay a licensing fee to use the name and the method of construction.

31.

Hamilton Extracts, volume 14, box 3. The patent numbers and dates are as follows: number 1,631,373 on June 7, 1927, to Hewlett for a Stockade partition wall; number 1,633,702 on June 18, 1927, to Hewlett and Fuller for a supporting wall number 1,631,373 on June 7, 1927, to Hewlett for a Stockade partition wall; number 1,633,702 on June 18, 1927, to Hewlett and Fuller for a supporting wall made of Stockade blocks; and number 1,634,900 on July 5, 1927, to Fuller for the mold and the process to make Stockade blocks.

32.

‘‘Order Blank and Guaranty,’’ Gordon-Van Tine Company, 117 House Designs of the Twenties: Reprint Edition of the Gordon-Van Tine Co.’s 1923 Catalog (New York: Dover Reprints, 1992), 135, and ‘‘Easy Payment Plan,’’ Sears, Roebuck and Company, Honor Bilt Modem Homes (Chicago: The Company, ca. 1927), 144.

33.

RBF, ‘‘Summary of Developments,’’ 2. The equivalent production cost of 8¢ in 2007 would be 98¢ per block ( www.bls.gov). 33. Scott Derks, ed., The Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States 1860--1999 (Lakeville, CT: Grey House Publishing, 1999), 486. The 2007 equivalent of $19.81 in 1923 is $243.49, which means the blocks would cost about 25¢ each. In 1924, the price per 1,000 bricks was $17.04 ($209.44 hi 2007) ; $14.70 in 1925 ($176.55 in 2007); $16.46 in 1926 ($195.45 in 2007); $13.88 in 1927 ($167.66 in 2007); and $13.00 in 1928 ($159.78 in 2007) ( www.bls.gov). 34. RBF, ‘‘Summary of Developments,’’ 2. In 2007, the cost of the 15¢ block would be around $1.84 ( www.bls.gov). 35. Stockade Building System, Inc., 4--7. In 2007, Gill’s 20¢ block would be about $2.40 and the 4,000 blocks purchased by Skinner would cost about $10,088.50 and be around $2.88 each ( www.bls.gov). The two letters were dated 1925; therefore, the equivalents are adjusted for 1925, not 1926.

34.

‘‘Copy of Report by the Mechanical Engineering Laboratory,’’ Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, April 1924, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

35.

‘‘Copy of Test Results Performed by the Department of Acoustics,’’ Riverbanks Laboratories, Geneva, IL, July 23, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927). According to River banks, the acoustic absorption of other materials was: 1 inch hair felt: 50 percent; heavy rugs: 25 percent; and hard plaster on tile: 2.5 percent. Perhaps because their textures were similar, hair felt blocks (cattle hair free from excessive dirt and felted together to a uniform thickness) were often compared to Stockade blocks in these types of tests.

36.

‘‘Copy of Test Results by Robert W. Hunt Company, Engineers,’’ Chicago, IL, May 3, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

37.

‘‘Report of Architecture and Allied Arts Exposition,’’ New York, NY, April 1925, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

38.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Robert McAllister Lloyd, New York, NY, July 12, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927).

39.

Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 8.

40.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to E. B. Millar, New York, NY, January 14, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 31 (1927)-

41.

B. T. Betts, New York, NY, to RBF, New York, NY, June 1, 1925, Chronofile, vol. 25 (1925-1926).

42.

The American Architect: Golden Anniversary Issue, vol. 129, no. 2488 (January 5, 1926): 81.

43.

See ‘‘Sources,’’ in Robert L. Sweeney, Wright in Hollywood: Visions of a New Architecture (New York: Architectural History Foundation, 1994), chap. 8.

44.

RBF, ‘‘Later Developments ofMy Work,’’ in Ideas and Integrities: A Spontaneous Auto biographical Disclosure (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963), 44.

45.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Alfred and Pauline Fuller, Daytona Beach, FL, January 9, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

46.

Carl Condit, American Building: Materials and Techniques from the First Colonial Settle ments to the Present, 2nd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), 43.

47.

Ibid., caption to illustration 42, n.p.

48.

‘‘Blocks of Straw ‘‘Yet Houses of Reinforced Concrete,’’ Scientific American, vol. 134, no. 5 (May 1926): 331.

49.

‘‘Lower-Cost Houses Coming,’’ Babson’s Reports (June 1, 1926): 1. This weekly newsletter kept tabs on financial developments in the United States.

50.

The balance sheet of December 31, 1925, shows Stockade even with assets of $122,282.03 and liabilities of $122,282.03 (which is approximately $1,468.621.16 in 2007 [ www.bls.gov]). It was prepared by W. S. Whittlesey, CPA, 101 Park Ave, New York, NY Chronofile, vol. 25 (1925-1926).

51.

Sam Hoffman, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, Chronofile, vol. 26 (1926).

52.

Wolcott Fuller, Boston, MA, to RBF, Chicago, IL, August 17, 1926, Chronofile, vol. 26 (1926). 55- ‘‘Report of Stockade Building System, Inc. Board Meeting,’’ Chronofile, vol. 26 (1926).

53.

‘‘Report of Stockade Midwest Corporation Board Meeting,’’ Chronofile, vol. 26 (1926).

54.

Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Strong, Lisle, IL, ‘‘To Whom It May Concern,’’ Stockade Midwest Corporation, Chicago, IL, undated, Chronofile, vol. 27 (1926).

55.

William Otterley, Lisle, IL, to The Stockade Building Company, Chicago, IL, November 16, 1926, Chronofile, vol. 27 (1926).

56.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Mac (Robert McAllister Lloyd), New York, NY, January 10, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 33 (1928). Mac is not identified beyond the nickname but the sequence of their correspondence and its content indicates Mac is Robert McAllister Lloyd.

57.

Ibid.

58.

Ibid.

59.

Ibid. $1,000 in 1927 is about $12,079.14 in 2007 ( www.bls.gov).

60.

‘‘Balance Sheet,’’ Chronofile, vol. 26 (1926). $57,177.58 in 1927 is equivalent to $690,655.88 in 2007 ( www.bls.gov).

8

2 Corporate Restructuring

9

10

1.

Correspondence between Sam Hoffman, New York, NY, and RBF, Chicago, IL, Chronofile, vols. 25--32 (1926--1927).

2.

DeCoursey Fales, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, October 19, 1926, Chronofile, vol. 27 (1926).

3.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Sam Hoffman, New York, NY, November 15, 1926. Chronofile, vol. 27 (1926).

4.

Minutes, November 18,1 926, SBS Board Meeting, Chronofile, vol. 27 (1926).

5.

Farley Hopkins’s papers have not been located. His involvement with Stockade is only known through the company papers in the Fuller archives.

6.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, September 27, 1926, Chronofile, vol. 25 (1925-1926). In 2007 Hewlett would need around $59,372.03 ( www.bls.gov).

7.

Telegram, J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, September 27, 1926, Chronofile, vol. 25 (1925-1926). Unfortunately, the whereabouts of Hewlett’s papers are not known, and the story can only be pieced together from documents in Fuller’s papers. Hewlett’s financial problems also prompted him to sell part interest in the Stockade foreign patents. Hopkins purchased a one-third interest in these. Foreign patent ownership did not affect Fuller’s relationship with Stockade and will not be discussed in more detail.

8.

Snyder, AutobiographicalMonologue/Scenario, 34, and Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 13. Stockade was a privately owned and traded company, there is no public record of its financial transactions.

9.

Sam Hoffman, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, January 4, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 31 (1927).

10.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to SBS Board of Directors, New York, NY, February 10, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

11.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to W. J. McCarty, Detroit, MI, February 16, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927).

12.

Chronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927). Fuller gave his talk ‘‘New and Better Methods of Home Construction’’ at 1:00 p.m. on the Chicago radio station WMAQ. Fuller’s notes for the talk are primarily drawn from a Stockade brochure.

13.

Telegram, Andrews King, unknown city, to RBF, Chicago, IL, February 17, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927).

14.

Sam Hoffman, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, February 28, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927).

15.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, undated letter, Cbronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927).

16.

Frances Freeman, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, March 14, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927). In 1931, when Fuller was trying to establish a Manhattan office, he contacted her about working for him. She was willing, but there was not much work for her. Eventually, she took another job and offered to moonlight for him. No work materialized for her Chronofile, vol. 38 [1931].

17.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to DeCoursey Fales, New York, NY, March 8, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

18.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Mr. O. A. Rasin, New York, NY, July 1927, Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927)-

19.

Minutes, Special Meeting of Board of Directors [Stockade Midwest], Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927). Hopkins would be proposing close to $2,415,827.59 in 2007 dollars ( www.bls.gov).

20.

RBF to Mac, Chronofile, vol. 33.

21.

Ibid. Emphasis in original.

22.

AHF, Diary, November 21, 1927.

23.

AHF, Diary, November 23, 1927.

24.

AHF, Diary, November 22, 1927.

25.

W. R. Smythe, F. R. Muller Co., Inc., Waukegan, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, November 22, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 37 (1927). $50 per week in 1927 is equivalent to $603.96 in 2007; ie in 1927 is about 12¢ in 2007 ( www.bls.gov).

26.

RBF to Mac, Chronofile, vol. 33.

27.

See AHF diary entries for November 21 and 23, 1927.

28.

RBF to Mac, Chronofile, vol. 33.

29.

Ibid.

30.

AHF, Chicago, IL, to J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, September 14, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927).

31.

Fuller traced the American branch of his family to Thomas Fuller, a lieutenant in the British navy who arrived in the colonies in 1630. Many of Thomas Fuller’s male descendants, primarily Harvard-educated lawyers and ministers, were community leaders and political activists. Margaret Fuller, the nineteenth-century feminist, author, and editor, was Buckminster Fuller’s great aunt. His father, Richard Buckminster Fuller Sr. attended Harvard but did not graduate although his bachelor of arts, out of course, was given to him in 1908 (‘‘Notice from Harvard University,’’ Chronofile, vol. 1 [1895--1917]). Fuller Sr. was a ‘‘merchant-importer’’ and ‘‘the only Fuller in eight generations who had not been either a minister or lawyer’’ (Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 11). Other sources give the number of generations as five. Whether it was five or eight generations, his son, Buckminster, was the first (male) Fuller not to earn a degree from Harvard. The Hewlett family began to climb the social ladder in 1824 when Anne’s great-grandfather, Thomas, purchased Rock Hall, a house with 124 acres of farmland, in Lawrence, Long Island. Thomas was from a family of small farmers of ‘‘respected and industrious Long Island Stock’’ (Shirley Hibbard, Rock Hall: A Narrative History [Lawrence, NY: Friends of Rock Hall, 1997], 3i).Thomas’s second son, James Augustus, became a prominent Manhattan businessman, securing the family’s place in New ‘‘York society See Chronofile, vols. 17--22 (1920-1922), for information about Anne’s and Fuller’s listings in the New ‘‘York Social Register.’’

32.

AHF, Lawrence, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, July 21, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927). These letters demonstrate Anne knew about Fuller’s problems with Hopkins as well as Stockade Midwest’s reluctance to reimburse his expenses. She wrote to him on July 13: ‘‘What does old skunk Farley say about your expense acct. I was wild when I heard the 1000 was from your stock & not the account money at all. You are going to get that paid aren’t you darling?’’ A few days later she wrote, ‘‘I guess with Geo. Cross around you can fix things so that Farley can’t do any nasty tricks while you’re away’’ Chronofile, vol. 29 [1927]. 33. Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 39--40.

33.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Uncle Waldo, unknown city, January 10, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

34.

The rate for number 922 was $12.50 per week (about $150.99 in 2007) and for number 823 was $15.55 P^er week (about $187.83 in 2007) Chronofile, vol. 29 [1927] and www.bls.gov.

35.

AHF, Diary, December 5, 1927.

36.

Sandborn Fire Insurance Maps: Chicago 1905--1951, vol. 9, reel 24.

37.

Unidentified clipping from the Northside Sunday Citizen (December 30, 1927) from History of the Lakeview Community in Chicago Historical Society: Documents: History of Chicago, 6 vols. (Chicago: Chicago Historical Society, 1925--30): document 16.

38.

RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant,’’ and Richard Hamilton, ‘‘Notes on [RBF’s] Career,’’ 11.

39.

This story is drawn primarily from Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 13--14, and Snyder, Autobiographical Monologue/Scenario, 34--40. It is the accepted account of his life immediately after Stockade. Variations of it are found in every synopsis of his late 1920s activities that are too numerous to list.

40.

RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant.’’ In 2007 dollars, the $22 apartment would be about $265.74 ( www.bls.gov).

41.

Richard Hamilton, ‘‘Buckminster Fuller: Comprehensive Designer,’’ unpublished manuscript, n.d., 11, in Hamilton Extracts, vol. 2, box 2.

42.

Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 91. Hatch is discussing room 411, which was $17.50 per week (about $211.38 in 2007), Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927). This was probably not their first Lake View quarters since it was more expensive than number 823 in the Virginia ( www.bls.gov).

43.

RBF, Diary, February 1, 1928.

44.

Martin Chamberlain, Joliet, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, November 6, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

45.

AHF, Diary, November 23, 1927.

46.

RBF, Diary, January 28, 1928.

47.

RBF, Diary, February 25, 1928.

48.

Cover letter and patent application, Martin Chamberlain, Joliet, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, November 6, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 32 (1927).

49.

Ibid.

50.

Ibid.

51.

Ibid.

52.

Martin Chamberlain, Joliet, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, October 24, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

53.

RBF, Diary, February 20, 1928.

54.

AHF, Diary, March 8, 1928.

55.

RBF, Diary, March 17, 1928.

56.

Ibid.

57.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, handwritten copy of telegram sent March 28, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 33 (1928).

58.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, March 19, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

59.

Handwritten draft or copy of undated letter from RBF to J. M. Hewlett in response to his letter of March 19, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928). Fuller was not hon est in claiming complete dissociation from Chamberlain. They kept in touch and Chamberlain invited the Fullers to his wedding; they did not attend. Fuller and Chamberlain never again collaborated.

60.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, March 26, 1928, Cbronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

61.

Handwritten draft or copy of undated letter from RBF to J. M. Hewlett.

62.

Sam Hoffman, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, March 28, 1928, Cbronofile, vol. 34 (1928). Hoffman was employed by Stockade for about a year longer. He wrote to Fuller in May 1929: ‘‘You have no doubt heard that I am through with Stockade, our Chicago friends having used me to clean up a lot of dirty work and suddenly in forming me that they had decided to close the New York office, and left me practically stranded without paying me the last two week’s salary while I was still in their employ. I suppose this is typical of their business ethics and altogether in line with their methods’’ {Cbronofile, vol. 34 [1928]).

63.

Legal agreement signed by RBF and Farley Hopkins, March 29, 1928, Cbronofile, vol 33 (1928).

64.

RBF, Diary, March 21, 1928. Hopkins may have been willing to accept Fuller’s stock as a way to keep the company’s problems under wraps, avoid negative publicity, and prevent a drop in the share price.

65.

Andrews King, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, January 21, 1929, Cbronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

66.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to The Stockade Corporation, Chicago, IL, February 18, 1929, Cbronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

67.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to George Buffington, Chicago, IL, August 31, 1928, Cbronofile, vol. 35 (1928).

68.

RBF to Mac, Chronofile, vol. 33. $200,000 in 1928 is equivalent to $2,458,210.53 in 2007 ( www.bls.gov).

69.

The pain of his father’s death must have been amplified by its date. Fuller was open about the anguish caused by his father’s death, but he did not publicly acknowledge that his father died on his fifteenth birthday Fuller noted the fact on an envelope in Chronofile, vol. 17. He hand-dated the envelope ‘‘March 23, 1917’’ and wrote on it: ‘‘My Father Richard Buckminster Fuller died on my birthday July 12th, 1910.’’ In the unpublished essay to Joe Bryant, he wrote: ‘‘He was married on July 12, 1917, with three days’ leave from the Navy. This was his birthday, his grandfather Fuller’s birthday, the anniversary of his father’s death, his wife’s brother’s birthday’’ (RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant’’).

70.

Conrad, ‘‘Buckminster Fuller and the Technocratic Persuasion,’’74.

71.

Snyder, Autobiographical Monologue/Scenario, 34, and Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 13.

72.

Sydney Rosen, Wizard of the Dome: R. Buckminster Fuller, Designer for the Future (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1969), 41.

73.

Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 86.

74.

Ibid.

75.

Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 13.

76.

RBF, ‘‘Resume,’’ Chronofile, vol. 93.

77.

Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 13.

78.

Snyder, AutobiographicalMonologue/Scenario, 40.

11

3 Project Development

12

13

1.

AHF, Diary, November 26, 1927.

2.

3.

AHF, Diary, November 29, 1927.

4.

RBF, Diary, January 27, 1928, andAHF, Diary, March 1, 1928. Fuller regularly manipulated his financial portfolio with stock holdings of Bancitaly, Curtiss Aero, Radio
A, Auburn Com., TransContinental Air Way, Wright Aero, and Casein Co. (See Chronofile, vol. 34 [1928]. Investing $128 in 1928 is like investing Si,573.25 in 2007 [ www.bls.gov].)

5.

AHF, Diary, March 1, 1928.

6.

4- 5- 6. Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 91.

7.

AHF, ‘‘Budget,’’ Chronofile, vol. 34 (1927). Missing from Fuller’s papers during this time are bank statements and tax forms that would shed much light on his financial situation. Some tax returns for earlier years are in the Chronofile, but not for the late 1920s. The 2007 equivalents of $1,153.41 and $842.25 are $13,932.20 and $10,173.65 respectively ( www.bls.gov).

8.

AHF, Lawrence, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, July 17, 1929, Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927).

9.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to The Goodrich Transportation Co., Municipal Pier, Chicago, IL, January 17, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928). In 2007, Fuller would be paying $921.83 in monthly rent ( www.bls.gov). This is typical for Fuller. He had a tendency to enter into a contract and then ignore the commitment. For example, even though he did not graduate, Fuller pledged $100, payable in $25 installments, in 1920 to the Harvard Alumni Fund. By 1927, he had only paid Sio toward the pledge despite Harvard’s threats to send his ac count to a collection agency. In her summary of their financial situation at the end of 1927, Anne included the remaining $90 in the accounts payable column Chronofile, vol. 34 [1927]). It is not known if the pledge was fulfilled, but, on March 27, 1939, Harvard again requested Fuller fulfill it Chronofile, vol. 64 [1939]). In 2007, Fuller’s 1920 $100 pledge is the same as a 81,050.88 pledge; he paid the 2007 equivalent of $105.09, which left a balance equivalent to $845.79 ( www.bls.gov). RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant.’’

10.

AHF, Diary, December 3, 1927.

11.

RBF, jDzlzzy, March 16, 1928.

12.

RBF, Diary, March 27, 1928.

13.

RBF,Diary, January 28, 1928.

14.

RBF, Diary, January 26, 1928.

15.

RBF, Diary, February 3, 1928.

16.

RBF, ‘‘Reference List for 4D Timelock,’’ Chronofile, vol. 35 (1928). The entire reference list can be consulted in Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’ Appendix 5.

17.

RBF, Diary, February 4, 1928.

18.

RBF, Diary, February 5, 1928.

19.

RBF, Diary, February 23, 1928.

20.

RBF, Diary, January 30, 1928.

21.

RBF, Diary, February 21, 1928.

22.

RBF, Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder 9, R. Buckminster Fuller Papers, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

23.

French was a required subject at Milton Academy, which ‘‘takes its French seriously.’’ According to Mr. Feather, the Milton Academy archivist, Fuller’s Milton transcript has disappeared so it is difficult to gauge his proficiency in the lan guage (telephone conversation with the author, March 13, 2002). On his unsuc cessful application for a Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for Advanced Study in 1934, Fuller wrote that he adequately read and wrote both French and German, but needed practice in order to speak them Chronofile, vol. 41 [1932]).

24.

All texts mentioned in the diary and in the reference list are in English. As the notes about Urbanisme and LArt Decoratif d’Aujourd’hui show, Fuller knew of developments in architecture outside the United States, or at least in France. There are also reprints of buildings at the Weissenhofseidlung, Stuttgart, Germany, 1927, from the French magazine LArchitecture d’Aujourd’hui slipped into Chronofile, vol. 33 (1928). Fuller never referred to these. When he acquired them and when they were slipped into the volume are not known. They are loosely placed inside the back cover, not incorporated into the volume.

25.

RBF, Diary, February 21, 1928. He does not state whether this is the diary of Rever end Timothy Fuller, his great-great-grandfather, or that of the Honorable Timothy Fuller, his great-grandfather. On May 3, 1928, he wrote to his mother: ‘‘I am…astounded further that I should have gown to this age + never have read anything of [the writings of Margaret Fuller Osoli] or Grandfather Fuller’s. His artistry is excel lent.’’ He does not clarify which Grandfather Fuller Chronofile, vol. 34 [1928]).

26.

AHF, Diary, March 28, 1928.

27.

AHF, Diary, December 12, 1927.

28.

AHF, Diary, January 7, 1928.

29.

RBF, Diary, January 24, 1928.

30.

AHF, Diary, January 23, 1928.

31.

AHF, Diary, February 6, 1928.

32.

RBF, Diary, February 5, 1928.

33.

Ibid.

34.

AHF, Diary, March 4, 1928.

35.

RBF, ‘‘Sketches for 4D Furniture,’’ R. Buckminster Fuller Papers, Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford University Stanford, CA

36.

AHF, Diary, March 4, 1928.

37.

RBF, Diary, March 5, 1928.

38.

AHF, Diary, January 10, 1928.

39.

RBF, Diary, March 5, 1928.

40.

AHF, Diary, January 23, 1928.

41.

RBF, Diary, January 24, 1928.

42.

Ibid.

43.

AHF, Diary, March 8, 1928. To which drawing Anne is referring is not known.

44.

RBF, Diary, February 4, 1928.

45.

Ibid.

46.

RBF, Diary, January 26, 1928.

47.

RBF, Diary, February 3, 1928. How this outline relates to the one given to Bob Hussey on March 8 and the one given to Mr. Morgan on November 29 is not clear. None of these outlines have been identified, although they may relate to the early Cosmopolitan Homes Corporation texts or ‘‘Lightful Houses’’; see chapter 5. It is also not known if they were incorporated into 4D Timelock.

48.

RBF, Diary, February 20, 1928.

49.

Ibid.

50.

RBF, Diary, February 1, 1928.

51.

RBF,Diary, February 23, 1928.

52.

AHF, Diary, March 2, 1928.

53.

RBF, Diary, March 6, 1928.

54.

RBF, ‘‘Fuller Houses,’’ Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder 6,10.

55.

Ibid., 2--3.

56.

Ibid., 8.

57.

Ibid., 5.

58.

Ibid.

59.

Ibid.

60.

AHF, Chicago, IL, to Wolcott Fuller, Boston, MA, August 10, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 35 (1928). Fuller had an affinity for the name Fuller Houses; he revived it for the name of the corporation he set-up in the mid-i94os to manufacture the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine, popularly known as the Wichita House.

61.

RBF, 4D Timelock (Albuquerque, NM: Lama Foundation, 1972), 10.

62.

Rosen, Wizard of the Dome, 59--60. Emphasis in original.

63.

RBF, ‘‘Lightful Houses,’’ Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder3,16. Emphasis in original.

64.

RBF, Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder 9, 7.

65.

RBF, ‘‘Lightful Houses,’’ 16. Emphasis in original.

66.

Linda Dalrymple Henderson, Fourth Dimension andNon-Euclidian Geometry in Modem Art (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1983), 235. Emphasis in original.

67.

RBF, New York, NY, to Paul Nelson, Paris, France, August 10, 1928, 4D Timelock (1972), 85.

68.

Ibid. Emphasis in original.

69.

American Institute of Aschitects, A Filing Systemfor Architects’ Offices: What It Is and How to Use It (A.I.A. Document, No. 172) (Washington, DC: AIA, 1928),

70.

R. Buckminster Fuller, Inventions: The Patented Works of R. Buckminster Fuller (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1983), 11.

71.

D. H. Sweet, of Emery, Booth, Janey and Varney, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, November 1, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

72.

D. H. Sweet, of Emery, Booth, Janey and Varney, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, January 22, 1929, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

73.

D. H. Sweet, of Emery, Booth, Janey and Varney, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, January 24, 1929. In this letter, Sweet informed RBF of costs and ‘‘requirements for filing and prosecuting patent applications in various countries based on your U.S. patent application (our file 1793)’’ Chronofile, vol. 36 [1929]).

74.

Roland C. Rehm, of Emery, Janey and Varney, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, May 29, 1929, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

75.

L. A. Janey, Emery, Booth, Janey and Varney, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, June 29, 1929, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

76.

Invoice, Emery, Booth, Janey and Varney, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, July 1, 1929, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929). In 2007, $75 is equivalent to $921.83 and $342.20 is like $4,206.00 ( www.bls.gov).

77.

Roland C. Rehm, ofWilson, Dowell, McCanna & Rehm, Chicago, IL, to RBF, New York, NY, October 27, 1930, Chronofile, vol. 37 (1930). Rehm must have been referring to Fuller’s desire to take out American and foreign patents.

78.

Ibid.

79.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, June 8, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928). Emphasis in original.

80.

Sweet to RBF, November 1, 1928. On the back of this letter, RBF made a list of the claims included in these nine patents; all forty-three claims in the 4D House application are on his list.

81.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 236,141, dated January 4, 1881, to William F. Beecher, Cleveland, OH, for ‘‘Heating and Ventilating.’’

82.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 1,026,406, dated May 14, 1912, to Charles W. Nichols, Rahway, NJ, for ‘‘Arrangement for Inclosing Vacuum Conduit Systems.’’

83.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 504,544, dated September 5,1893, to William van der Heyden, 'Yokohama, Japan, for ‘‘Sanitary House.’’

84.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 1,667,484, dated April 24, 1928, to Paul Liege, Berlin-Tempelhof, Germany, for ‘‘Translucent Wall, Ceiling and Floor Structure.’’

85.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 439,376, dated October 28, 1890, to Dudley Blanchard, Brooklyn, NY, for ‘‘Tornado-Proof Building,’’ 1.

86.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 1,470,935, dated October 16, 1923, to Allan C. Rush, Los Angeles, CA, for ‘‘Observation, Amusement, and Utility Tower,’’ 1.

87.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 1,529,516, dated March 10, 1925, to Alexander Thomson Thorne, Tulsa, OK, for ‘‘Cantilever Building Construction.’’

88.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 1,543,134, dated June 23, 1925, to Libanus M.Todd, Rochester, NY, for ‘‘Shelter.’’

89.

United States Patent Office, Letters Patent No. 1,683,600, dated September 11, 1928, to Archibald Black, Garden City, NY, for ‘‘Building Construction.’’

90.

Ibid., 1. Fuller and Black both proposed manufacturing and assembling entire sections of the house at the factory and then shipping those to the site, like modular housing. This is in contrast to the type of prefabricated houses manufactured by companies such as Sears, which sold the house as a kit of individual pieces that were assembled one-by-one much like custom housing.

91.

RBF, Inventions, 11. Fuller acknowledged problems with the claims resulted in the abandonment of the application without revealing all the claims were problematic. According to Marjorie Ciarlante, archivist, National Archives and Records Administration, a patent application is abandoned when ‘‘the applicant fails to pay fees or submit documentation requested by the examiner within the allowed time; when claims made for the invention are not patentable or were previously patented; or when another applicant has filed an application for the same invention and can demonstrate an earlier date for the conception of the invention’’ (Marjorie H. Ciarlante, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD, to the au thor, April 11, 2002).

92.

RBF, Inventions, 12.

93.

For examples of the treatment of the 4D House patent application, see Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 87; RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 55--69; and RBF, Inventions, 10--29 (figure 7 is correctly numbered in this reproduction).

94.

RBF, ‘‘What I Claim Is,’’ Chronofile, vol. 35 (1928). For a complete transcription of the forty-three claims from the patent application, see Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’ Appendix 2.

95.

Ibid., 12, and RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 55. 97. RBF, Inventions, 11.

96.

RBF to J. M. Hewlett, June 8, 1928. Emphasis in original.

97.

RBF to J. M. Hewlett, June 8, 1928.

98.

RBF, Diary, February 23, 1928.

99.

RBF, Diary, February 22, 1928.

100.

ABF, Diary,January 21, 1928.

101.

RBF, Diary, February 3 and 4, 1928.

14

4 Trial Offer

15

16

1.

Inventors customarily include a model with their patent application. Yet, no model of the 4D House is mentioned in reprints of the patent application and Fuller’s de scription of the patent process includes only drawings and verbal instructions. It is now impossible to consult the original 4D patent application because patents dated before June 8, 1995, are destroyed twenty years after closure unless they are referred to in an issued patent (M. H. Ciarlante to the author, April n, 2002).

2.

Earl Reed, Chicago, IL, to RBF, New ‘‘York, NY, February 13, 1940, Chronofile, vol.

1775 (1940). In St. Louis Fuller discussed the 4D House with Reed and gave him an essay On May 21, 1928, Fuller sent him additional material (jD Timelock [1972], 45.). Reed probably confused the 1928 convention in St. Louis with the 1930 conven tion in Washington, DC. At the Washington convention, Reed and Fuller shared a room and Fuller made an unofficial presentation about the project {Chronofile, vol. 37 ([i93°])-

3.

See various letters from RBF to persons he hoped to interest in the 4D House in

18Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928), and 4D Timelock (1972). 4. American Institute of Architects, Program ofthe Sixty-First Annual Convention (Wash ington, DC: AIA, 1928), and Board of Directors, AIA, Proceeding of the Sixty-first Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects (Washington, DC: ALA, 1928). 5. RBF, ‘‘Essay about the May 1928 AIA Convention,’’ Chronofile, vol. 33 (1928). For a transcription of the essay, see Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’ Appendix 3. 6. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 31.

7.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to H. W. Tomlinson, Joliet, IL, undated draft of letter, Chronofile,

19vol. 34 (1928). He made the same claim in other letters he wrote immediately after the convention.

8.

Author’s correspondence with Sarah Turner, AIA Library and Archives, Washing

20ton, DC; Mary Sullivan, St. Louis AIA Chapter; and Joan Pomaranc, Chicago AIA Chapter.

9.

RBF to J. M. Hewlett, June 8, 1928.

2110. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 38.

11.

RBF, ‘‘Draft of Speech for May 1928 AIA Convention,’’ Cbronofile, vol. 33 (1928).

22Emphasis in original.

12.

RBF, ‘‘Essay about the May 1928 ALA Convention.’’ Emphasis in original. The essay

23is in Fuller’s characteristically difficult, convoluted prose and typically highlighted by a few words of his own invention.

13.

RBF to Tomlinson, undated draft of letter.

14.

Fuller made no notes on the program or on any other documents from the St. Louis

24convention confirming that he had made a presentation. This is in contrast to his handwritten entry on the program of the AIA convention in Washington, DC. At the bottom of the schedule for May 22, 1930, he wrote: ‘‘10:30 [p.m.] talk by Buck minster Fuller at request Chicago Chapter.’’ The Chicago Chapter did support Fuller this time, and Earl Reed tried unsuccessfully to get Fuller slated into the con vention schedule. Reed contacted Charles Butler, the convention organizer, on May 10, 1930, to request that Fuller be added to the program. Butler responded: ‘‘Regret no time for Fuller.’’ Fuller and his supporters must have chosen that evening as the most opportune time to insert his presentation into the convention (Chronofile, vol. 37 [1930D.

15.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to A. P. Herman, Seattle, WA, May 21, i<)2%,4DTimelock (1972), 45.

16.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to T. R. Kimball, Omaha, NE, May 21, 1928,4D Timelock (1972), 45.

17.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, June 4, 1928, 4D Timelock

25(1972), 50.

18.

A. E. Erickson, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, June 12, 1928,4D Timelock (1972), 50.

19.

Boyd and Holden were much taken by the 4D House project and they corresponded

26with RBF about it. Their unedited letters are in Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928). Some of their correspondence was reprinted in 4D Timelock, although a few important de tails were edited out. For example, beginning on page 49 is a May 31, 1928, letter ‘‘To R.B.F. from a New York Architect and Architectural Author,’’ which refers to ‘‘Mr. X.’’The ‘‘New York Architect and Architectural Author’’ was John Boyd Jr. and ‘‘Mr. X’’ was Arthur Holden. Their identities are confirmed through consultation of the original letter. Fuller may have wanted to keep Holden’s and Boyd’s identities secret because their office related high housing costs to land and financing. Holden had already published some of his findings and these may have influenced Fuller’s thinking. It is not known if he read Holden’s work, but the references to them in Boyd’s letter to Fuller were edited out (see page 50). Fuller offered to make Holden his representative in New ‘‘York. Although Holden declined, he was willing to help: ‘‘I feel that it would be a grave injustice to you to accept this because I am not able at the present time to put the time that should be given to work in your behalf…I am anxious to support and help you. I don’t think you ought to count on me to be an official representative, as you put it, but I will do what I can for you, especially if you give me concise and brief information as to what you want’’ (A. Holden, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, August 13, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 {1928]). 20. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 20, and Snyder, Autobiographical Monologue/ Scenario, 57.

21.

‘‘Cities Becoming ‘Peas of a Pod,’ Architects Warn: Report of Board to American

27Institute Here Deplores Standardization,’’ St. Louis Star (May 17, 1928), 11. Excerpts are in Chronofile, vol. 35 (1928).

22.

Ibid.

23.

Ibid.

2824. Kenneth Frampton, Towards a Critical Regionalism: Six Points for an Architecture of Resistance, in Hal Foster, ed., The Anti-Aesthetic: Essays on Postmodern Culture (Port Townsend, WA: Bay Press, 1983), 16-30. According to Frampton: ‘‘The fundamental strategy of Critical Regionalism is to mediate the impact of universal civilization with elements derived indirectly from the peculiarities of a particular place’’ (21; em phasis in original). The AIA’s concerns about the disappearance of local architec tural character in 1928, generally accepted as conservative in the wake of increasing modernism, makes an interesting companion to Frampton’s criticism of the lack of local architectural character, generally understood as progressive given the chal lenges to modernism’s hegemony in 1983. In one sense, Frampton’s essay serves as a confirmation of the AIA’s assessment that restricting architectural design to a few proscribed characteristics would have negative effects. 25. ‘‘Cities Becoming ‘Peas of a Pod’ ’’ 26. Board of Directors, AIA, Report to the Sixty-First Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects (Washington, DC: AIA, 1928): 33.

27.

Ibid.

28.

Ibid.

29.

Ibid.

30.

‘‘Cities Becoming ‘Peas of a Pod,’ ’’ n.

31.

Fuller, 4D Timelock (1972), 3.

32.

Fuller Houses, Inc., The Fuller House (Wichita, KS: Fuller Houses, Inc., 1945): 29.

33.

The final version of the 4D/Dymaxion House was realized by the time it was exhib

29ited at the Architectural League in Manhattan in February 1930 (Chronofile, vol. 37, 1929). There are at least three variations of this project. Fuller did not discuss the formal changes and chose to represent the last version as if it were the only one. Fuller included the patent application as part of the house’s history, but he did not point out that it was much different in appearance than the well-known model.

34.

RBF, ‘‘Essay about the May 1928 Al A Convention.’’

35.

Ibid. Ataxia is loss of muscle coordination, especially in one’s limbs.

36.

RBF, ‘‘Form Letter for First Announcement Letter, May 21, 1928,’’ 4D Timelock

30(1972), xiv. This letter was adjusted to appeal to the specific recipient. For example, the letter he sent to the author Gamaliel Bradford praised Bradford’s book Life and I and his brief biography of Fuller’s great-aunt, Margaret Fuller.

37.

Ibid.

38.

Ibid.

3139. AIA, Program of the Sixty-first Annual Convention, [2]. 40. RBF, handwritten note on Milton B. Medary, ‘‘Opening Address,’’ Report of the Board of Directors to the Sixty-first Convention ofthe American Institute of Architects (Washing ton, DC: AIA, 1928), 7-8, Chronofile, vol. 35 (1928). 41. E. V. Meeks, ‘‘Collaboration in Art Education,’’ Journal of the American Institute of Architects, vol. 16, no. 2 (February 1928): 45-53, and R. F. Bach, ‘‘Our Industrial Arts: Reflections on the State of Design, "Journal of the American Institute of Architects, vol. 16, no. 2 (February 1928): 53-59.

42.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to E. V. Meeks, New Haven, CT, May 21, 1928, 4D Timelock

32(i97²). 47-

43.

Meeks, ‘‘Collaboration in Art Education,’’ 51.

44.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to R. F. Bach, New York, NY, May 21, 1928,4D Timelock (1972), 47.

45.

Bach, ‘‘Our Industrial Arts,’’ 58.

46.

Ibid., 59.

47.

Ibid., 47.

48.

RBF to J. M. Hewlett, June 8, 1928.

49.

John T. Boyd, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, June 6, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34

33(1928). Emphasis in original. Boyd did not elaborate upon how the two approaches toward standardization differed.

50.

RBF to J. M. Hewlett, June 8, 1928.

51.

On May 4, 1928, Fuller signed an agreement with Russell Walcott and John W. Doug

34las, a Chicago business associate, to finance the project’s development with up to $5,000. It is not certain whether they each contributed $5,000.00 or $2,500.00—$61,455.26 and $30,727.63, respectively, in 2007 ( www.bls.gov). They were to receive stock or trust certificates in the 4D corporation {Chronofile, vol. 34 [1928]).

52.

RBF to J. M. Hewlett, June 8, 1928.

53.

Ibid.

54.

Ibid.

55.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, July 9, 1928, Cbronofile, vol. 34

35(1928).

56.

Ibid.

57.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to J. M. Hewlett, New ‘‘York, NY, July 12, 1928, fiD Timelock (1972), 72.

58.

J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, July 17, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34

36(1928).

59.

Ibid.

60.

RBF, unidentified, undated note, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

61.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Mr. Sternfeld, unknown city, July 30, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34

37(1928) and RBF, Chicago, IL, to Raymond Hood, New York, NY, July 30, 1928,4D Timelock (1972), 76.

62.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to George Buffington, Chicago, IL, August 31, 1928, Chronofile,

38vol. 35 (1928).

5 Supporting Documents

39

401. RBF/CHC, ‘‘Lightful Products,’’ Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder 3, [1]. For a transcription of the Cosmopolitan Homes Corporation documents, see Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’ Appendix 4.

1.

Conrad, ‘‘Buckminster Fuller and the Technocratic Persuasion,’’ 220.

2.

RBF/CHC, ‘‘Lightful Products,’’ {2]. Emphasis in original. 4. RBF/CHC, ‘‘Lightful Products Trademark,’’ Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder}, [3].

3.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to J. M. Hewlett, New York, NY, June 6, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34

41(1928). This article is in theD Timelock reference list.

6.

Fuller revisited the concept of the drudgery-proof home in the 1940s as he devel

42oped the Dymaxion Dwelling Machine (Wichita House). In the mid-i92os, the discussion of reduced drudgery was equivalent to the discussion of industrial pro duction. In the mid-i94OS, industrial production was forefronted.

7.

RBF/CHC, ‘‘Lightful Products,’’ [1]. Emphasis in original.

8.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to C. W. Fuller, Deer Isle, ME, July 16, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34

43(1928).

9.

RBF/CHC, ‘‘Lightful Products Trademark,’’ [1].

44

89

28.

Ibid., 3-4. In 2007, a $50,000 automobile would be about $614,552.63

90( www.bls.gov).

29.

Ibid., 4-5.

30.

Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder 9. The note is on the outside of the folder and not in Full

91er’s handwriting. Its author is unknown.

31.

‘‘Labeled Cover of Copy #155 of 4D Timelock,’’ R. Buckminster Fuller Papers,

92Stanford University, M1090, Series 2, Box 20. The notes are in an unknown hand. 32. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), xi.

33.

Ibid., 6. Emphasis in original.

34.

Ibid., 8.

35.

Ibid. $45,000 would be close to $553,097.37, and $800 about $9,832.84 in 2007 dol

93lars (wwwbls.gov).

36.

Ibid., 7.

37.

Ibid., 10. He is using conventionalized to mean stylized or abstracted.

38.

Roger Babson, ‘‘There’s Magic in the Air,’’ Collier’s Weekly (April 7, 1928): 8-9,50-52.

39.

RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 13. Emphasis in original.

40.

Ibid., 13.

41.

Ibid., 16. Emphasis in original.

42.

Ibid., 17.

43.

Ibid., 20.

44.

Ibid., 21.

45.

Ibid., 22.

46.

Ibid., 24.

47.

The abandoned patent application was added to 4D Timelock when it was first re

94printed in 1970.

48.

RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 1. According to Dietrich Neumann, Brown University, the

95first sentence is taken from subchapter VI; the last two sentences are from sub chapter X. These are found on page 173 and page 176 of the 1981 paperback edition of The Seven Lamps of Architecture published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Dietrich Neumann, Brown University, Providence, RI, to the author, July n, 2000).

49.

Ibid., 1.

50.

Ibid., 28.

51.

For a transcription of the4D Timelock reference list, see Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’

96Appendix 5.

52.

RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 33. In 2007, they would earn about $12,292.05 ( www.bls.gov).

53.

Ibid. In 2007, they would earn approximately $1,229.11 (wwwbls.gov).

54.

Ibid., 35.

55.

U.S. Copyright and Trademark Office, Washington, DC, to the author, New York,

97NY, January 20,2003.

56.

RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 48. L. J. Stoddard, Cleveland, OH, to RBF, Chicago, IL,

98May 28, 1928.

57.

Ibid., 50. Bruce Barton, New York, NY, to L. J. Stoddard, Cleveland, OH, June 8, 1928,

994D Timelock (1972), 50. Stoddard forwarded Barton’s reply to Fuller with the disclaimer. ‘‘The enclosed came today as well as prospectus No. 55 returned. Sorry—but all in life is not a bed of roses’’ (Stoddard to RBF, June 11, 1929,4!) Timelock [1972], 50).

58.

Ibid., 48. Gamaliel Bradford, Wellesley Hills, MA, to RBF, Chicago, IL, May 28,

1001928.

59.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to John T. Boyd, New York, NY, June 15, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34

101(1928). Grammar is original.

60.

AHF toWolcott Fuller, August 10, 1928.

61.

A number of the pages Mrs. Nelson translated into French are among her husband’s

102papers in the Paul Nelson Collection, Avery Library, Columbia University, New York, NY.

62.

See the correspondence between RBF and Scribner’s Manhattan office in Chrono

103file, vol. 36 (1929). Fuller knew by the end of 1929 that Scribner’s would not publish the book, although he insinuated it was still a possibility until 1932. (See Chronofile, vols. 37-43 [1930-1932].)

63.

‘‘Draft of Invitation to Co-operative Lecture,’’ Chronofile, vol. 39 (1931). It is un

104known if this invitation was sent or if the lecture was given as planned. There is nothing further in Fuller’s papers, and the author was not permitted to research in the archives of the Architectural League in Manhattan.

64.

Charles Pearce, Harcourt Brace and Company, Inc., New York, NY, to RBF, New

105York, NY, February 9, 1933, Chronofile, vol. 44 (1933).

6 Prototype

106

107

1.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to L. Pierce, Boston, MA, July 9, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

2.

RBF to C. W Fuller, July 16, 1928.

3.

AHF to Wolcott Fuller, August 10, 1928.

4.

Fuller and his three siblings owned two rental properties in Cambridge, MA. In 1928

108Fuller transferred his share to Anne (Chronofile, vol. 34 [1928]). Then, in 1929 they were sold for $26,500 (approximately $325,712.89 in 2007 [ www.bls.gov]) and the proceeds were equally divided among the four owners (Chronofile, vol. 36 [1929]). 5. Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 91.

6.

AHF, Lawrence, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, July 13, 1927, Chronofile, vol. 29 (1927).

7.

RBF, Buffalo, NY, to AHF, Lawrence, NY, July 31, 1932, Chronofile, vol. 41 (1932).

109Fuller never considered that his wife could have felt selfishly betrayed if he con sumed her money while attempting to get the house into production. Fuller tended to find selfish betrayal something others did to him, not what he did to them. His single-mindedness reflected his mother’s warning to Hewlett not to let Anne marry Fuller because he was ‘‘irresponsible, thoughtless, and selfish’’ (Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 47).

8.

‘‘Dymaxion House Chronology,’’ Hamilton Extracts, box 49, folder 6, no date, [1].

110For a complete transcription, see Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’ Appendix 6.

9.

Ibid.

11110. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 21. 11. Marshall Field & Company, ‘‘Announcement for Exhibition of the Dymaxion House,’’ April 1929, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929). 12. Various written and telephone correspondence between the author and Tony Jahn, Marshall Field & Company archivist, between June 1997 and August 2003. The au thor was not permitted to research in the archives. 13. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 21.

14.

Ibid. A variation of this story crediting the creation of ‘‘dymaxion’’ to two advertis

112ing men is found in Snyder, AutobiographicalMonologue/Scenario, 54.

15.

Mary Reynolds, Chicago, IL, to RBF, New York, NY, May 4, 1933, Chronofile, vol. 44

113(i933)-

16.

RBF, undated, unaddressed draft of letter, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928).

17.

Chamberlain to RBF, October 24, 1928.

18.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Paul Nelson, sailing from New York to Paris, August 11, 1928,

114Chronofile, vol. 35 (1928).

19.

See various correspondence between Atwood and RBF in volumes 42-50 of the

115Chronofile (1932-1934).

20.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to C. W. Fuller, New York, NY, February 4, 1929, Chronofile, vol.

11636 (1929).

21.

It is unclear when Fuller began to give a twenty-five-year period of development for

117the house. One of the first instances was in the autobiographical essay to Joe Bryant (RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant,’’ 5).

22.

Theodore Morrison, ‘‘The House of the Future: Dymaxion House Designed by

118Buckminster Fuller Embodies the Principles and Advantages of Scientific Hous ing,’’ The House Beautiful 66, no. 9 (September 1929): 292-293,324,326,328,330.

23.

Ibid., 292.

11924. Page 65 of Pencil Points, January 1929, Chronofile, vol. 33 (1928). 25. Page 607 ofPencil Points, September 1928, Chronofile, vol. 33 (1928). 26. Arthur Holden, New York, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, June 15, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928). Emphasis in original. 27. ‘‘What the Offing Holds,’’ New fork HeraldTribune (November n, 1928): 10, Chrono file, vol. 34 (1928). After the design of the Dymaxion House model was finalized in early 1930, Fuller received two letters about European designs similar to it. In the summer of 1930, William Crane, Jr., wrote Fuller about ‘‘a young architect from Odessa, Air. Seigfried Ebelling’’ who ‘‘had a model and plans of a cylindrical shape metal and glass apartment house and on which he was anxious to get American comments’’ (W. M. Crane Jr., New York, NY, to RBF, New York, NY, July 18, 1930, Chronofile, vol. 37 {1930]). In March of the following year, Herr Schafer sent a let ter of inquiry to Fuller noting: ‘‘We were informed by Mr. Robert L. Davison, Di rector of Research, that you have developed a very interesting theory of low-cost construction which is similar in principle to the Rasch Brothers apartment houses hung from a mast’’ (Herr Schafer, Internationaler Verband fur Wohnungswesen, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, to RBF, New York, NY, March 3, 1931, Chronofile, vol. 38 [1931]). 28. Loretta Lorance, Buckminster Fuller—Dialogue with Modernism, Part 7, http://dsc.gc .cuny.edu/part/part7/articles/l0ranc.html (Spring 2001): 8-11. 29. RBF, ‘‘A Tree-like Style of Dwelling Is Planned,’’ and ‘‘Toward a New Architecture,’’ The Chicago Evening Post Magazine ofthe Art World, Part III (December 18, 1928): 5. 30. RBF, Manuscript 28.01.01, Folder 9. 31. RBF, to Rosamund Fuller, August 11, 1928. 32. Morrison, ‘‘The House of the Future,’’ 293. 33. Banham, Theory and Design in the First Machine Age, 326-327. 34. Le Corbusier, Towards a New Architecture (New York: Dover Publications, 1986), 247-248: ‘‘Modern achievement…replaces human labour by the machine…Ser vants are no longer of necessity tied to the house: they come here, as they would a factory, and do their eight hours; in this way an active staff is available day and night.’’ 35. Orson Fowler, The Octagon House, A Home for All (New York: Dover Reprints, 1973). 36. Hatch, Buckminster Fuller, 24.

37.

RBF, ‘‘Mass Production of Houses in Factories,’’ text of address given to the City

120Club Forum, Tuesday, May 28, 1929, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

38.

R. G. McPhail, ‘‘How Many Outlets? Modern Electric Equipment Demands More

121ofThem as Well as Better Planning,’’BuildingAge (June 1929): 94-95, and ‘‘Consider the Refrigerator When Planning Homes,’’ American Builder, vol. 44, no. 5 (February 1928): 120-122.

39.

See J. A Ryan, ‘‘Efficient Slaves of Intelligent Masters; Proper Care of Electrical Ap

122pliances,’’ National Safety News, 20 (October 1929): 116,126, and ‘‘Electric Servants Accomplish Many Household Tasks,’’ Dun’s International Review 53 (July 1929): 31-34. 40. Mrs. C. S. Peel, ‘‘At the Ideal Home Exhibition,’’ The Queen: The Lady’s Newspaper and Court Chronicle, vol. 163, no. 4237 (March 7, 1928): 38-39. 41. Deborah S. Ryan, The Ideal Home through the 20th Century: Daily Mail—Ideal Home Exhibition (London: Hazar Publishing, Ltd., 1997), 55-57.

42.

See C .A. Coffin, ‘‘C. A. Coffin’s Vision of Future of Electricity in the Home,’’ Forbes,

123vol. 18, no. 3 (May 15, 1926): 12,124,126-127; ‘‘Consumer Possibilities of the Residential Customer,’’ Journal of Electricity, no. 57 (October 15, 1926): 300-302; and Sophia Malicki, ‘‘Utility Women Help —Abstract,’’ Electrical World, no. 91 (June 9, 1928): 1223-1224: ‘‘A utility company should be the community household management center. It should answer the plea of housewives for a place to which they can turn for advice…The fact that women need to place a higher value on their energy and time brings a direct responsibility to the utilities for a liberal portion of education in standards of health and decency.’’ One approach was for electric companies and appliance manufacturers to sponsor symposia in the use of their products. See, for example, ‘‘Women from Fifteen States Attend Pioneer Course in Electrical Equip ment Economics at Iowa University,’’ Public Service Management, no. 42 (May 1927): 139-140.

43.

Mrs. Christine Frederick, ‘‘Selling Small Electric Appliances: Sound Sales Argu

124ments for National Electric Week—Contrasting New with Obsolescent Cleaning Methods in the Home,’’ The Electrician, no. 99 (November n, 1927): 590-591.

44.

AHF, Woodmere, NY, to RBF, New York, NY, September 12, 1929, Chronofile, vol.

12536 (1929).

45.

RBF, Chicago, IL, to Henry H. Saylor, New York, NY, May 9, 1929, Chronofile, vol.

12636 (1929).

46.

‘‘Announcement of February 1930 Dymaxion House Exhibition at the Architectural League,’’ Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

12747. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 18. 48. Undated, unidentified clipping, Boston Evening Transcript, Chronofile, vol. 36 (1929).

49.

RBF, ‘‘A Tree-like Style of Dwelling Is Planned,’’ 5. In 2007, the cost per ton would

128be equivalent to $6,145.53 (wwwbls.gov).

50.

Morrison, ‘‘The House of the Future,’’ 328. The price would be about $36,873.16 in

1292007 ( www.bls.gov).

51.

Ibid., 238. The monthly cost would be close to $61.46 in 2007 ( www.bls.gov).

13052. Albert T. Reid, The World’s Strong Man, cartoon from unidentified source, Chronofile, vol. 28 (1926-1927). 53. Inez Cunningham, ‘‘Fuller’s Dymaxion House on Display’’ The Chicago EveningPost Magazine of the Art World (May 16, 1930): 10. 54. Russell Walcott, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Chicago, IL, May 29, 1928, Chronofile, vol. 34 (1928). Walcott sent Fuller a note exclaiming, ‘‘You see that Leonardo had a part of your scheme worked out as far back as 1515!’’ Included was the following excerpt from Edward McCurdy’s book The Mind of Leonardo da Vinci (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company, 1928): ‘‘Changed arrangement (mutatione) of houses seems in some details almost to anticipate the conditions of standardization consequent upon modern mass production: Let the houses be changed and arranged in order, and this will easily be done when they are first made in parts on the open places and then the framework can be fitted together on the site where they are to be perma nent (From Leonardo’s notebook).’’ 55. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 39.

56.

RBF, New York, NY, to Eugenia Walcott, Barrington, IL, September 10, 1929, Cbro-

131nofile, vol. 36 (1929).

57.

RBF, Woodmere, NY, to H. W. Corbett, New York, NY, April 4, 1930, Chronofile,

132vol. 37 (1930).

58.

Chronofile, vol. 37 (1930). The 2007 equivalents are $1,258.54 and $629.27 ( www.bls

133•gov).

59.

R. C. Sacketter, Advertisers Incorporated, Detroit, MI, to RBF, Woodmere, NY,

134April 26, 1930; Fuller responded on June 30, 1930, Chronofile, vol. 37 (1930).

60.

Mrs. Helen Hodgdon, Medford, MA, to RBF, Chicago, IL, May 29, 1929, Chrono

135file, vol. 36 (1929).

61.

G. B. Olmstead, Brooklyn, NY, to RBF, Chicago, IL, September 4, 1929, Cbronofile,

136vol. 36 (1929). Emphasis in original.

62.

RBF, Woodmere, NY, to Mrs. Rothwell Hyde, Kailau, HI, July 2, 1930, in reply to

137her letters of January 8 and April 9, 1930, Chronofile, vol. 37 (1930).

63.

RBF, Bridgeport, CT, to Richard Reed, Lancaster, PA, May 16, 1934, Chronofile, vol.

13850 (1934). 64. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 22-23.

65.

RBF, Woodmere, NY, to G. Keeble, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh,

139PA, April 3, 1930, Chronofile, vol. 37 (1930).

66.

RBF, Woodmere, NY, to Henry H. Saylor, New York, NY, April 4, 1930, Chronofile,

140vol. 37 (1930).

67.

RBF to H. W. Corbett, April 4, 1930. Emphasis in original.

68.

J. C. Folsom, A Century of Progress, Chicago, IL, to L. Levinson, Shelter, Philadel

141phia, PA, December 14, 1932, Chronofile, vol. 42 (1932).

69.

L. Levinson, Shelter, Philadelphia, PA, to J. C. Folsom, A Century of Progress, Chi

142cago, IL, December 12, 1932, Chronofile, vol. 42 (1932).

70.

J. C. Folsom, A Century of Progress, Chicago, IL, to RBF, Bridgeport, CT, March

14310, 1934, Chronofile, vol. 49 (1934).

71.

RBF, Bridgeport, CT, to J. C. Folsom, A Century of Progress, Chicago, IL, May 12,

1441934, Chronofile, vol. 50 (1934).

72.

Lewis Mumford, ‘‘Mass-Production and the Modern Home,’’ The Architectural Rec

145ord, vol. 67, no. 1 (January 1930): 20.

73.

See Chronofile, vols. 38-41 (1931), for information about Fuller’s work for the Pierce

146Foundation.

74.

See Chronofile, vols. 41-44 (1932), for information about Fuller’s work at Shelter.

75.

Deborah Dependahl Waters, Museum of the City of New ‘‘York, New York, NY, to

147the author, Long Island City, NY, March 11, 1998.

76.

See Chronofile, vols. 73-86 (1940-1941).

77.

Donald Deskey, New York, NY, to RBF, Bear Island, ME, August 7, 1930, Cbronofile,

148vol. 37 (1930).

78.

RBF, Bridgeport, CT, to Mr. Parsons, Yonkers Chamber of Commerce, Yonkers,

149NY, May 15, 1934, Cbronofile, vol. 50 (1934).

79.

Cbronofile, vol. 64 (1939), and ‘‘Dymaxion House Chronology,’’ Lorance, ‘‘Building Values,’’ Appendix 6.

150

80.

RBF, New York, NY, John McAndrew, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY,

151February 15, 1939, Cbronofile, vol. 63 (193).

81.

Telephone conversation between Pamela Wilson, managing archivist, lune, Inc.,

152New York, NY, and the author, January 24, 2003. On the advice of legal council, Ms. Wilson refused to send written confirmation that the Dymaxion House model had been thrown away

7 End Product

153

154

1.

RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant.’’

2.

See RBF, ‘‘A Tree-like Style of Dwelling Is Planned,’’ 5, and ‘‘Builds Unique House to Sell by the Ton,’’ Chicago Daily News (April 1, 1929): 2.

155

3.

See ‘‘Unique Dynamic House of Arboreal Design Will Solve Future Dwelling Problems—Inventor Claims Harmony with Nature,’’ The Harvard Crimson, vol. 95, no. 76 (May 21, 1929): 1, and Morrison, ‘‘The House of the Future.’’

156

4.

Cunningham, ‘‘Fuller’s Dymaxion House on Display,’’ 1.

5.

Mme. X, ‘‘Buckminster Fuller Explains His New Housing Industry,’’ Chicago Sunday

157Tribune (May 18, 1930): Part 8,1.

6.

Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, n. See chapter 2, note 31. For a more detailed discussion of Fuller’s forebears, see Conrad’s dissertation, ‘‘Buckminster Fuller and the Technocratic Persuasion.’’ He devotes part of one paragraph to Fuller’s mother’s family and about fifteen pages to his subject’s paternal ancestors.

158

7.

‘‘Draft of Philadelphia Art Alliance Press Release,’’ Chronofile, vol. 42 (1932). Fuller was from Milton, a Boston suburb, although it made sense to use the better-known city.

159

8.

Ibid.

9.

RBF worked for Fortune magazine, and Bryant worked for Time magazine. Both were owned by Time, Inc., and housed in the company’s Rockefeller Center headquarters. The essay is divided into Dymaxion House, thirteen pages; Dymaxion Car,

160nine pages; Miscellaneous Observations, five pages; Personal, five pages; Family it Ca reer, twenty-two pages; and The Book, three pages.

10.

RBF, ‘‘Letter and Essay to Joe Bryant.’’ The monetary equivalents are as follows: $50

161in 1919 is close to $607.45 in 2007; $55 is about $668.19; $80 in 1922 is like $1,000.84 in 2007; $50 in 1927 is around $603.96 in 2007; $700 is about $8,455.40; and $22 is almost $265.74.

11.

Fuller admitted that he deserved to be ‘‘fired’’ from Harvard, but he shifted the

162blame onto factors beyond his control: Myfather died when I was quite young, and though my family was relatively poor I had come to Harvardfrom a preparatory school for quite well-to-do families. I soon saw that I wasn’t going to be included in the clubs as 1 might have been if I had been very wealthy or had a father looking out for me.. .. I considered myself about to be ostracized or compassionately tolerated by the boys I had grown up with. Ifelt that my social degradation would bring dis grace to my family…I became panicky …went on a pretended ‘‘lark," ait classes, as was ‘‘fired."…I went to work and worked hard…reports went to Harvard that I was a good and able boy and that I really ought to go back to college; so Harvard took me back. However, I was now considered a social maverick, and I saw none of my old friends; it hurt too much. Again I ait classes, spent all my year’s allowance, and once more was ‘‘fired. ‘‘ (Buckminster

163

164Fuller, Education Automation: Freeing the Scholar to Return to His Studies [Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1962]: 4-y)

165Fuller may have been an outcast as he claimed, but it is unlikely poverty was the cause. After all, there were uncles and family friends to sponsor his memberships. One must wonder why Fuller thought dismissal from Harvard was less embarrassing than not being accepted into clubs.

12.

Fuller probably contributed to his dismissal from Kelly-Springfield. On April 5, 1922, he wrote letters to C. W. Young, the company president, and E. O. McDon nell, the friend who recruited him, about dishonest distributors in New York and Boston. According to Fuller, parts were removed from new trucks and then in stalled in old trucks. They then sold new trucks with bad parts and old trucks with new parts. There is no response in Fuller’s papers from either ‘‘Young or McDonnell, which makes it impossible to establish a connection between his disclosure and his dismissal (Chronofile, vol. 22 [1922]).

16613. Chronofile, vol. 23 (1922) 14. Allegra Fuller Snyder, Pacific Palisades, CA, to the author, January 29, 2003, and www.timeanddate.com/calendar. 15. Geoffrey H. Movius, ed., The Second Book of Harvard Athletics, 1923-1963 (Cambridge, MA: The Harvard Varsity Club, 1964), r42. 16. Anne noted: ‘‘Bucky had very good talk with Mr. Deffenbacher, owner of Virginia about leaving our bill unpaid. It will be alright. He told Bucky all his troubles & Bucky is going to see …if he can help him in any way & thereby cancel our bill’’ (AHF, Diary, December 5, 1927). 17. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 4T. 18. Sometimes the period of silence is given as longer, almost two years. Hatch explains that Fuller spoke to Anne and Allegra, but no one else, during this period. 19. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 20. 20. Rosen, Wizard of the Dome, 46-47. 21. Muller is last mentioned by name on March 8, 1928. There are other references to bids Fuller was preparing on Muller’s behalf on March 12,16, and possibly 17. 22. RBF, Diary, February 1, 1928. 23. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 2. 24. There are ninety-six pages in the 4D Timelock manuscript (ninety pages of text, one page for Christopher Morley’s poem ‘‘To a Child,’’ and the five-page reference list). 25. RBF, 4D Timelock (1972), 76.

26.

RBF to Alfred and Pauline Fuller, January 9, 1928.

27.

RBF, to AHF, July 31, 1932.

28.

Ibid.

16729. Fuller and Marks, The Dymaxion World, 22-23. 30. Dan P. McAdams, The Stories We Live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self (New York: The Guilford Press, 1993), 12.

31.

Ibid., 11.

32.

Ibid., 12.

33.

Many of the significant events of Fuller’s private life were never made public, such

168as the 1932 letter he wrote to Anne from Buffalo about their marriage problems. Al though he and Anne never divorced, Fuller had numerous affairs after their return to the East Coast from Chicago, which are documented in the Chronofile but not publicly disclosed. 34. McAdams, The Stories We Live By, 301m.

35.

AHF, Diary, March 8, 1928.

36.

See Bertrand Russell, Education and the Good Life (New York: Boni & Liveright,

1691926); Bertrand Russell, Selected Papers of Bertrand Russell (New York: The Modern Library, 1927); and Bertrand Russell, ‘‘The Training of Young Children,’’ Harper’s Monthly Magazine 155, ser. no. 927 (August 1927): 313-319.

37.

AHF, Diary, March 8, 1928.

17038. Bertrand Russell, 'A Free Man’s Worship,’’ in Selected Papers of Bertrand Russell (New York: The Modern Library, 1927), 7-9. 39. Fuller codified the official version of his activities in the 1920s by i960 when the semi-autobiographical Dymaxion World of Buckminster Fuller was published. He gave a more mystical adaptation twenty years Xates'in Buckminster Fuller: An Autobiographical Monologue/Scenario. 40. McAdams, The Stories We Live By, 12.