Administrative/Biographical History
LeRoy Adams Grumbine (1862-1953) attended Oberlin College intermittently as a special student in the Oberlin Academy, the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and the College of Arts and Sciences (1898-1907). Born June 21, 1862 in Frekericksburn, Letanon County, Pensylvania, he was the son of Roie Adams Grumbine (d. 1935) and her husband (b. August 25, 1848). The family moved to Oberlin OH (n.d.), and resided at 218 Forest Street for nearly 25 years. His mother taught private piano lessons from this residence until her death in 1938.
LeRoy Grumbine's career focused on architectural design. His practice furnished architects and landscape architects with models of their designs of proposed buildings and layouts for presentation purposes, including perspectives in water color, pen, pencil, and ink. Grumbine began his architectural design business in Cleveland, Ohio, then he moved his firm to Los Angeles, California in 1928. In the same year, he married Ruth Banks Colburn.
Military service interrupted his post-college years in 1917-18 and included a tour of duty in France and Germany at the height of the first World War. LeRoy Grumbine died July 15, 1953 in Los Angeles California. No surviving family was mentioned in his papers.
Sources Consulted
LeRoy Adams Grumbine Collection (RG 30/135) and student file (RG 28).
Author: Sabra Henke Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationThe papers of LeRoy A. Grumbine detail mainly his time spent at Oberlin (1899-1907) when he took various courses in Greek and Latin, English Literature and Bible studies, and Organ and Harmony. Included are grade reports (restricted) for various subjects in the academy, the College and Conservatory as well as his student schedules for the Conservatory which include his term bill.
The greatest volume of the collection is devoted to items from the scrapbook Grumbine kept during his years at Oberlin College. The items have been removed and stored in envelopes for preservative purposes. These items include lists of the names, hometowns, and grade levels of the students in his boarding house for each semester. Also included are the names of instructors for the aforementioned classes. In addition to these lists, Grumbine collected concert programs and ticket stubs as well as church bulletins to place in his scrapbook. Many of these were filed elsewhere. Grumbine often composed poetry for various female students for valentine's Day and included them in his scrapbook. Copies of all the original documents in the scrapbook have been made for reference use.
Several letters--both incoming and outgoing--describe Grumbine's interest in Oberlin's building plans and his suggestions to use a model both to promote the project and to aid in its planning.
The printed matter of the collection includes clippings and illustrations relating to Grumbine's models, a pamphlet promoting their use, and three articles written by Grumbine for various publications, including "Cardboard models-I," The Architectural Review (2 August 1922); "A Florida House and Garden in Model," House & Garden (February 1924); and "The Use of Scale Models as an Aid to the Architect," The Western Architect (June 1925).
A final addition to the collection [2001/072] consists of two items: Grumbine's typescript journal of his training and tour of duty as an officer in the U.S. Army (1917-18) during World War I, and a typescript of a play by Leonard Barkan. The journal is an extensive, daily account of events, and provides extensive daily accounts of Grumbine's activities both in the United States and Europe (France and Germany). The donor of the journal and the play by Barkan stated that the play pertained to LeRoy A. Grumbine, but in what way has not been determined.
INVENTORY
Box 1
Academic Records [1980/025] (2f)
Grade Reports, Academy, 1899, 1901-02,
1906-07 (restricted)
Student Schedule, Oberlin Conservatory of
Music, 1903-1907
Scrapbook, disassembled, 1899-1907 [1980/025] (6f)
File - Photostat copies of lots of boarding
house students, class schedules, music
manuscript by L.A.G., and detailed
drawings of lamps and tools for
metal workers
Envelopes (in files) - Original contents of O.C.
memorabilia scrapbooks
Journal, 1917-18 [2001/072]
Daily journal of WWI experience in France and
Germany, 1917-18
Correspondence, 1924, 1930 (1f)
with Oberlin College officials re: use of models
to promote building project, 1924, 1930
Printed matter and Writings, 1922, 1924-25 (1f)
"Cardboard models-I" The Architectural Review
(2 August 1922)
"A Florida House and Garden in Model" House &
Garden (February 1924)
"The Use of Scale Models as an Aid to the Architect"
The Western Architect (June 1925)
"Scale Models," booklet, n.d.
Miscellaneous illustrations of building models, n.d.
"See How They Run," one-act play (copy of typescript, 25 p.)
by Leonard Barkan, n.d. [2001/072] (Reference only)
Box 2
"See How They Run," one-act play (original typescript, 25 p.)
by Leonard Barkan, n.d. [2001/072] (CLOSED)
