STEINER Archive (1927-2000)

Albe Steiner (1913-1974) , Lica Covo Steiner (1914-2008)

This Archive contains a lot of documentation on the personal and professional activities in graphics and industrial design of Albe and Lica Covo Steiner (1927-2000): i.e., 335 archive units of projects, executive designs, models and prototypes; 297 archive units of documents and correspondence; 11 archive units of texts for publications and conferences; 136 printed posters and flyers; 29 archive units of printed collected posters; 123 archive units of printed brochures and leaflets; 86 archive units of printed covers and advertising pages; 101 archive units of brands, letter paper and greeting cards; 4 archive units of photographic settings; 20 archive units of photographic settings concerning works to do; 123 archive units of photographs settings concerning works already done; 8 archive units of travels plans, places and portraits; 65 archive units of collected photographs; 57 archive units of the so-called “Fondo Deportazione”; 33 archive units of objects, packs and packaging; 25 archive units of newspapers and magazines clippings; 28 archive units of the Triennale Board of Directors; 20 archive units of prizes and awards; a section of graphics drafting (174 archive units for monographs, 72 archive units for periodicals).   

The Archive also comprises bibliographic materials (newspapers, books and magazines) with graphics edited by Albe Steiner, and a specialized library set up in 1939 with the LAS studio (Lica Albe Steiner). The library is subdivided into three sections: the “library of volumes collected since 1939”, the “graphics drafting” (also inventoried in Archivista since 2014) consisting of a total of 3,277 items (books and periodicals) available online (www.biblio.polimi.it, www.sbn.it), and the modern library including 254 books and 298 periodicals.   

Stored at the Historical Archives since January 2012.

Additional documentation

The Historical Archives intend to allow an easier use of the archive to users, inside and outside the University, supplying further materials online. The inventory of the fonds is published on the Lombardia Archives website https://lombardiarchivi.servizirl.it/, and on Archivista  http://www.archivistaweb.polimi.it/groups/Polimi-ArchiviStorici/.

The “Reorganization and analytical inventory of the Albe and Lica Steiner funds” project, approved by the Lombardy Archival Superintendence, has kept track of all the preceding items and entered all the records into a database.

In 2000-2002 the Archive patrimony has been organised and described in a short inventory accompanied by a list of the clients names - Albe Steiner Archive, order and overview of Anna Steiner’s works under the supervision of Lica Steiner, inventory edited by Graziella Leyla Ciagà, Milan, 2003 - drawn up with the contribution of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, Lombardy Archives Superintendence. The Fondo Deportazione analytical inventory, still in progress, was drawn up in 1998-1999 by Monica Di Barbora on behalf of the Historical Institute of Resistanceand Contemporary Society in Novara and Verbania territories Cusio Ossola - Piero Fornara.

The library’s patrimony was inventoried in 1981 by the CAeB of Milan (Archival and Librarian Cooperative) with the support of Leila Di Domenico, thanks to a funding from the Province of Milan. In 2006-2007 it was catalogued in the SBN opac under the supervision of the Dipartimento di Progettazione dell’Architettura library. 

In 1998 the Albe and Lica Steiner Archive was recognized of “considerable historical value” by the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, pursuant to the current Legislative Decree 42/2004, Title I.