The Kahn Family Papers have come to the library from five sources: from Carol Kahn, the granddaughter of Albert and Ernestine Kahn and daughter of Edgar A. Kahn; from William R. Brashear, who was married to Albert's and Ernestine's granddaughter, Lydia Rothman Brashear; from William Brashear's daughter, Ruth Brashear Carrigan; from Edgar Kahn's daughter, Elizabeth Kahn Lehndorff; and from Richard Addison Chamberlin, Jr., the grandson of Moritz Kahn. The Albert Kahn Family Papers received from Carol Kahn include letters and photographs which contribute to our understanding of Kahn's relationship with his wife, children and grandchildren. The materials also illuminate the distinguished military and professional careers of his son Edgar (1900-1985), who served as Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Hospital from 1949 to 1971. The papers received from William R. Brashear and his daughter Ruth Carrigan document the personal and professional lives of Albert and Ernestine Kahn, Ruth Kahn Rothman, Edward E. Rothman and other members of the extended Kahn family, including Albert Kahn's granddaughters, Josephine Rothman Treutner and Lydia Rothman Brashear. Mr. Brashear's collection also encompasses family letters and photographs, which are contained in his book, Albert Kahn and His Family in Peace and War, published by the Bentley Historical Library in 2006. The materials donated by Elizabeth (Betsy) Lehndorff relate to her recent careers as a journalist in Colorado and as a jewelry artist in Alpena, Michigan, and document the internationally acclaimed art collection of Lydia Winston Malbin, Albert Kahn's daughter. Mr. Chamberlin has donated an original copy of a book by his grandfather Moritz Kahn, published in 1917 and entitled The Design and Construction of Industrial Buildings.
As America's most influential industrial architect, Albert Kahn revolutionized the health and safety conditions of early twentieth-century factories and worked closely with Henry Ford to implement his vision of the assembly line at the Highland Park and River Rouge automobile plants. Kahn pioneered the use of reinforced concrete, non-intrusive steel structures, natural ventilation and glass building skins to respond to the changing functional needs of the American factory. His pragmatism, ability to listen to the needs of the client and experimentation with innovative building technologies resulted in a new industrial architecture, which inspired the development of European Modernism by Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier. Hugely versatile in his design capabilities and strongly interested in historic architecture, Kahn also produced many commercial and institutional icons in Detroit and at the University of Michigan, including the Fisher Building, Detroit Athletic Club, General Motors Building, Hill Auditorium, Angell Hall, William L. Clements Library and Burton Memorial Carillon Tower. This most prolific of American architects built over 2000 projects in his lifetime, including 521 factories in Russia between 1929 and 1932, and in 1938 was constructing 19% of all architect-designed industrial facilities in the United States. When he died in 1942, he had signed defense contracts totaling $200 million for the construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant and naval bases in Honolulu, Midway Island, Puerto Rico and Kodak, Alaska, among other war-time facilities.
In 1896, Kahn married Ernestine Krolik, the daughter of Adolph Krolik, who was a successful dry goods merchant and a client of the young architect. A graduate of the University of Michigan in 1892, Ernestine was a talented gardener and interior designer, who often advised Albert on matters of color and fabric selection. When speaking of her parents, their daughter Rosalie Kahn Butzel said years later that "they complemented each other wonderfully."[1] Albert and Ernestine had two other daughters, Lydia and Ruth, and one son, Edgar (1900-1985). "Eddie" became the first scorer and captain of the University of Michigan hockey team, graduating from the University Medical School in 1924. From 1949 to 1971, he served as the Chairman of Neurosurgery at the University of Michigan Hospital (designed by his father in 1919).
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1) Richard Bak, "Blueprint for Detroit," HOUR Detroit (May, 2000, reprinted by Albert Kahn Associates, Inc.), p. 2.
The Albert Kahn Family Papers are arranged in four series, named for the donors of the materials: Kahn Family Papers, Carol Kahn, collector; Kahn Family Papers, William R. Brashear and Ruth Brashear Carrigan, collectors; Kahn Family Papers, Elizabeth (Betsy) Kahn Lehndorff, collector; and Kahn Family Papers, Richard Addison Chamberlin, Jr., collector.
