Collection Info
Charrette Corporation and Lionel Spiro
In 1964, Harvard Graduate School of Design students Lionel Spiro (AB ’60, MArch ’63) and Blair Brown (AB ’62, MArch ’67) could not find a dependable retailer for drafting equipment and materials. So they formed their own business and opened their own store to address the need. For decades, Spiro and Brown’s Charrette Corporation supplied New England’s and the nation’s architects, graphic designers, and artists with state-of-the-art equipment.
Mr. Spiro was kind enough in 2015 to donate a group of drafting, drawing, and architectural supplies to CHSI from his private collection. Many of these supplies were regularly sold through Charrette. Mr. Spiro also visited CHSI in 2015 to tell some stories and provide additional information about these objects, which can be found in the Waywiser records where applicable.
