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Helen Faith Keane fashion merchandising files

 Collection
Identifier: KA-0121-01

Online Access

Available digital items: https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/KA012101

Summary

Helen Faith Keane (née Kahn) Reichert (1901-2011) was a professor at the New York University School of Retailing from approximately 1946 until 1977. The files consist of clippings, course materials, handwritten notes on fashion press, print publications of a vocational nature by other merchandising educators, and programs and invitations for fashion shows.

Dates

  • 1926 - 1996

Creator

Extent

0.5 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Scope and Content of Collection

Collection consists of clippings, course materials for Keane's classes at New York University's Institute of Retail Management, handwritten notes on fashion press, print publications of a vocational nature by other merchandising educators, and programs and invitations for fashion shows. Many of the clippings as well as other printed materials are heavily annotated by Keane, often emphatically and contrarily. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1970s, although the vocational publications were mostly published in the 1950s into the 1960s. The collection does not comprehensively document Keane's career, nor does it document Keane's personal life.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research use. Please contact archivist@newschool.edu for appointment.

Use Restrictions

To publish images of material from this collection, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.

Biographical Note

Helen Faith Keane (née Kahn) Reichert (1901-2011) was a professor at the New York University School of Retailing, which later became the Institute of Retail Management, from approximately 1946 until 1977. Keane, who used her maiden name professionally, was an expert on fashion merchandising and a certified psychologist. She hosted a network television program in 1951, The Helen Faith Keane Show...For Your Information. Additionally, she served for over a decade as the director of the Fashion Group's "Career Course."

Keane was a 1925 graduate of Cornell University and a 1931 graduate of Teacher's College, Columbia University. In addition to her career in academia, she worked in the fashion industry as a copywriter.

Helen Faith Keane Reichert died in 2011. She and her centenarian siblings were frequent subjects of medical and psychological research into human longevity.

Organization and Arrangement

Organized in 3 series: 1. Clippings and ephemera, 1957-1996 2. Publications, 1926-1969 3. Research and teaching materials, 1970s-1995

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Internal transfer from Adam and Sophie Gimbel Design Library, Parsons The New School for Design, 2008. Prior custodial history is unknown.

Related Materials

Keane is depicted in a folder of Parsons School of Design Alumni Association records (PC.03.02.01, Box 15, Folder 12) photographs documenting a fashion design discussion sponsored by Parsons School of Design in 1951. Keane is identified in a caption as a fashion consultant.

The University of Maryland holds materials from Keane's 1951 television program, http://www.lib.umd.edu/LAB/exhibits/leadingrole/keane-dig.html

Keane's undergraduate student work is held by Cornell University.

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Helen Faith Keane fashion merchandising files
Status
Completed
Author
New School Archives and Special Collections Staff
Date
November 23, 2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English