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== Zoroastrians and the Theosophical Society ==
'''Irving Kane Pond''' (1857-1939) and his brother Allen Bartlitt Pond (1858–1929)


=== Early history ===
== Personal life ==
[[File:Irving_Kane_Pond,_1876.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Irving Kane Pond, 1876]]


Zoroastrians of the Parsi community were heavily engaged with the [[Theosophical Society]] [[Founders]], [[Henry Steel Olcott]] and [[Helena Petrovna Blavatsky]], even before the two stepped ashore at Bombay for he first time in 1879. Colonel Olcott wrote of his early contacts in his autobiography, [[Old Diary Leaves (book)|''Old Diary Leaves'']].
== Architectural work ==


=== Training and early work ===
=== Philosophy and style ===
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
It has been remarked already that the Bombay Parsis were friendly from the beginning, calling upon us with their families in numbers, asking us to their homes, dining with us, and pressing me to preside and distribute prizes at an anniversary of a Parsi girls’ school. While
The Ponds sought to create a modern American architecture without rejecting architectural stylistic traditions, but simplifying them through the emphasis of geometry and the inherent quality of building materials and construction. In that regard, the Ponds were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with the emphasis on honest materials used honestly.<ref>David Swan, Preface to ''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Eliihu'' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum (Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009), vii.</ref>
still in America, I had made friendly overtures to Mr. K. M. Shroff, who had just completed a lecturing tour in my country and returned home. He accepted membership and on all occasions after our arrival at Bombay, rendered us loyal help.<ref>H. S. Olcott, "Old Diary Leaves Oriental Series - Chapter III" The Theosophist 16 no. 3 (December 1894): 138.</ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Strong sense of social responsibility .....


<blockquote>
<blockquote>
Influential Parsi gentlemen ... called on us, among them Mr. K. It. Cama, the Orientalist, and his famous father-in-law, the late Mr. Manockjee Cursetjee, the reforming pioneer, whose charming daughters were with him, received at several European Courts and universally admired.<ref>H. S. Olcott, "Old Diary Leaves Oriental Series - Chapter III" The Theosophist 16 no. 3 (December 1894): 138.</ref>
Stylistically Irving Pond did not totally fit in one category or another. He stood in the role of an intermediary, halfway between the revolutionary aesthetics and technology of the Chicago School and the Prairie School and the taste for traditional architecture his clients often felt that precedent or literary aesthetics required. His architecture used traditional materials especially brick and employed traditional forms such as gable roofs, but his designs embraced a geometric simplicity with no embellishments — a tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement.<ref>from Ravinia School nomination ..... </ref>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>


The small Zoroastrian community was generally wealthy, literate, and open to interfaith cooperation. Parsis and Hindus worked together to form the Bombay Branch of the Theosophical Society. Representatives of both faiths, including Parsi [[Sorabji J. Padshah]], joined a delegation in a good-will visit to the Buddhists of Ceylon in May, 1880.
=== Participation in architectural organizations ===
 
=== Gallery of architectural projects ===
'''The L. W. Rogers Building and similar structures'''
[[File:Rogers_Building_1a.jpg|center|400px|thumb|L. W. Rogers Building, 1926]]


They made their public meeting halls available for Theosophical lectures, as when the President-Founder Olcott inaugurated his public Theosophical activities in India with an address delivered at the Framji Cawasji Hall early in 1879.<ref>K. J. B. Wadia.''[https://archive.org/details/WadiaFiftyYearsOfTheosophyInBombay/page/n17 Fifty years of theosophy in Bombay: being a history of the Blavatsky Lodge, Theosophical Society, Bombay,1880-1930]'' (Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1931), 6.</ref> The community was very generous furnishing the residence of the Founders, and for many decades provided funding for Theosophical causes.
<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:MIchigan Union, 1919.png|Michigan Union, 1919
File:Purdue Memorial Union, 1924.JPG||Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
File:Kansas Memorial Union, 1927.png|Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
File:Michigan League, 1929.jpg|Michigan League, 1929
</gallery>


=== Prominent Zoroastrian Theosophists ===
'''Examples of other buildings'''
These practitioners of Zoroastrianism were Theosophists and significant to the [[Theosophical Movement]]. Two culturally distinct groups of Zoroastrians exist in India: '''Parsis or Parsees''', who descended from Persians who emigrated to India in the 8th and 10th centuries CE; and '''Iranis''', who made a similar migration many centuries later. Theosophists were generally Parsis.


<gallery widths="130px" heights="150px" perrow="5">
<gallery widths="200px" perrow="4">
File:N._D._Khandalavala.jpg|<center>|N. D. Khandalavala</center>
File:Highland Park Club House..png|Highland Park Club House, 1891
File:B._J._Padshah.jpg|<center>Burjorji J. Padshah</center>
File:Oregon Public Library.jpg|Oregon Public Library, 1909
File:Col_Ghadiali.jpg|<center>Dinshah P. Ghadiali</center>
File:Manor House Kenosha.jpg|Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926
File:B_P_Wadia_1.jpg|<center>B. P. Wadia</center>
</gallery>
</gallery>
'''[[N. D. Khandalavala]]''' (Khān Bahādur Navroji Dorabji Khandalavala) was a provincial judge who greatly assisted the [[Founders]] after becoming a member in 1879. He corresponded with [[H. P. Blavatsky|Madame Blavatsky]], who disclosed to him important information about the Mahatmas and other matters.


'''[[K. M. Shroff]]''' was a highly educated Parsi member in Bombay. In 1874 he lectured in the United States, and Shroff joined the [[Theosophical Society]] by corresponding with the [[Founders]] before they left New York, making him one of the earliest Indian members. He was vice president of the Bombay Branch from 1882 to 1885, a member of the TS General Council, and a major speaker at the 1882 convention. [[Henry Steel Olcott|Col. Olcott]] referred to him as “the all-accomplishing Mr. K. M. Shroff.”<ref>H. S. Olcott, "Charities" ''Lucifer'' 3 no. 18 (February, 1889): 503.</ref> Certainly, he was persuasive and energetic; and he helped to establish the Homeopathic Charitable Dispensary and Bombay Veterinary College and Hospital, working with [[Tukaram Tatya]]. Shroff testified in support of HPB in the [[The Vega Incident|Vega incident]]. In 1883 he become editor of the ''Jam-e-Jamshed'' daily newspaper published in Gujarati and English.
== Other activities ==


'''[[Khurshedji N. Seervai|Khurshedji Nusserwanji Seervai]]''' (?–1897) was a highly educated and devoted Parsi Theosophist, and an eloquent speaker. Serving as Joint Recording Secretary of the Theosophical Society in 1880, he signed up about 200 two hundred subscribers to ''The Theosophist'' when it was a new publication. He helped organize the Bombay Branch, and was one of its founding officers. He worked as a tax collector, but found time to author ''Zoroastrianism and Theosophy'' and several other texts. After the [[Hodgson Report]] was published, he resigned from membership in the Society.
Chicago Literary Club
Hull-House


'''[[Sorabji J. Padshah]]''' (1856-1927) was another Parsi who joined the Society in 1880. He traveled with the Founders on their first trip to Ceylon, and served as Assistant Recording Secretary and on the General Council. In 1881 he received [[Mahatma Letter to Padshah - LMW 2 No. 77|an encouraging letter from Master K.H.]], but after a few years he lost interest in Theosophy.
=== Circus and acrobatics ===
His younger brother '''[[Burjorji J. Padshah]]''' (1864-1941) was a mathematics professor trained at Cambridge. He exerted great influence on the development of India’s largest conglomerate, the Tata Group, and on establishment of the Indian Institute of Science. He practiced Theosophical principles his whole life, abstaining from meat, leather, alcohol, and tobacco and advocating for animal welfare.


'''[[B. P. Wadia]]''' (1881-1958) was an important figure in the Theosophical Movement in the twentieth century. After joining the [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] in Bombay in 1904, he worked in the publishing house of the Society. He was interned by the British in 1917 with [[Annie Besant]] and [[George S. Arundale]]. In 1922, he resigned very publicly from the Adyar-based Society to embrace the [[United Lodge of Theosophists]] and its strict focus on the original writings of [[H. P. Blavatsky]]. He was a prolific and influential writer and editor.
=== Social clubs and memberships ===


'''[[Dinshah Ghadiali|Dinshah P. Ghadiali]]''' (1873-1966) was born in India but became a naturalized American citizen. His interests in medicine and electrical engineering led to patenting the Spectro-Chrome device for light therapy. He was a member of the [[Theosophical Society]] from 1891 to 1966, and published at least 16 books.
== Writings ==


=== Adyar headquarters ===
* '''''The Meaning Of Architecture: An Essay In Constructive Criticism'''''. Boston, Marshall Jones Company, 1918. 226 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/971540.html Hathitrust] and several versions at [https://archive.org/details/meaningofarchite00pond Internet Archive]. A historical reproduction of the 1923 edition is available at [https://www.amazon.com/meaning-architecture-essay-constructive-criticism/dp/1117177548 Amazon.com].
While the number of Zoroastrians in India has decreased sharply since the early days of the Theosophical Society,  
* '''"Eliel Saarinen and his work a word of appreciation and greeting"'''. 1923. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=bctPAAAAMAAJ and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008062880&seq=1 Hathitrust]. Pages extracted from ''The Western Architect'' 32 no. 7 (July, 1923): 75-76 plus plates.
this religious group is still honored at the Society's international headquarters. The residence of international [[Theosophical Society (Adyar)|Theosophical Society]] president [[Radha Burnier]] in the headquarters estate was called '''Parsi House'''. That [[Adyar (campus)|campus]] also has a '''Zoroastrian Temple'''. '''Zarathustra''', the founder of Zoroastrianism, is carved in relief on a wall of the Great Hall of the Headquarters building.
* '''''A Day Under the Big Top, a Study in Life and Art'''''. Chicago: Chicago Literary Club, 1924. 40 pages, with 4 diagrams. "Edition, five hundred and fifteen copies, printed for members of the club in the month of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-four." About circus and acrobatics. Available at [https://books.google.com/books?id=tWB0SUDY1JoC Google Books] and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015062226652&seq=7 Hathitrust].
* '''''The College Union'''''. [New York], 1931. 16 pages. Limited availability at [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004162973 Hathitrust] and [https://books.google.com/books?id=a_fVAAAAMAAJ Google Books].
* '''"Pullman - America's First Planned Industrial Town"'''. Illinois society of architects. ''Monthly bulletin'' vol. 18-19, nos. 12-1, June-July, 1934. 6-8 pages.
* '''''Big Top Rhythms: A Study in Art and Life''''', written and illustrated by Pond. Chicago, New York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937. 229 pages, illustrations.
* '''''A Strange Fellow, and Other Club Papers''''', written and illustrated by Pond New York, Chicago, Priv. Print. by Willett, Clark and Company, 1938. 224 pages, illustrations. Available at [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2976903.html Hathitrust], [https://libsysdigi.library.illinois.edu/OCA/Books2012-05/strangefellowoth00ilpond/ Open Content Alliance], and  [https://archive.org/details/strangefellowoth00ilpond Internet Archive].
* '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond''''', written in the 1930s and published posthumously. Edited by Terry Tatum and David Swan. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009.


<gallery widths="130px" heights="150px" perrow="5">
== Additional resources ==
File:Zoroastrian_Temple_-_Adyar.jpg|<center>Burjorji J. Padshah</center>
 
File:Parsi House.JPG|<center>Dinshah P. Ghadiali</center>
=== Articles ===
File:Zarathustra.jpg|<center>B. P. Wadia</center>
 
</gallery>
* Szuberla, Guy. "⁨Irving Kane Pond: a Michigan Architect in Chicago" ''Old Northwest'' 5 no. 2 (Summer, 1979): 109-140.
 
=== Books ===
 
* Pond, Irving Kane. '''''The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu''''' ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009.
 
=== Archival collections ===
 
* '''The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library'''.
** [https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-852090 Pond Family Papers, 1841-1939]. "Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials."
* '''The Art Institute of Chicago: Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/262324/pond-and-pond-collection Pond and Pond Collection, c.1895-1938]. "Correspondence, albums, black and white photographic prints, architectural drawings, and architectural reprographic prints."
* '''The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts''', Chicago, Illinois.
** [https://explore.chicagocollections.org/ead/newberry/72/xw4 American Circus Collection, 1891-1939]. "Late 19th and early 20th century circus and theater related illustrations, publicity, programs, photographs and memorabilia" donated by Irving Kane Pond, 1939.
** [https://archives.newberry.org/repositories/2/resources/398 Chicago Literary Club records]. Irving Kane Pond was active in this club, and its records include "weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks."
* '''Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library''', New York.
** [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/pdf/cul-3460598.pdf Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue architectural drawings and papers 3460598]. Materials related to Irving Kane Pond, Claude Bragdon, and many other architects.
* '''Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog''' Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, Washington DC.
** [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/il1014/ Junior League of Chicago, 1447 North Astor Street, Chicago, Cook County, IL]
* '''The Athenaeum of Philadelphia''', Philadelphia, PA.
** [https://archives.philaathenaeum.org/agents/people/116 Pond, Irving K. (Irving Kane), 1857-1939]. "Correspondence to Seeler from architects, designers, and/or members of theAmerican Institute of Architects, both in Boston and Washington DC."
 
== Notes ==
<references/>
 
[[Category:Architects|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Writers|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:Nationality American|Pond, Irving Kane]]
[[Category:People|Pond, Irving Kane]]

Latest revision as of 18:40, 19 May 2026

Irving Kane Pond (1857-1939) and his brother Allen Bartlitt Pond (1858–1929)

Personal life

Irving Kane Pond, 1876

Architectural work

Training and early work

Philosophy and style

The Ponds sought to create a modern American architecture without rejecting architectural stylistic traditions, but simplifying them through the emphasis of geometry and the inherent quality of building materials and construction. In that regard, the Ponds were strongly influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, with the emphasis on honest materials used honestly.[1]

Strong sense of social responsibility .....

Stylistically Irving Pond did not totally fit in one category or another. He stood in the role of an intermediary, halfway between the revolutionary aesthetics and technology of the Chicago School and the Prairie School and the taste for traditional architecture his clients often felt that precedent or literary aesthetics required. His architecture used traditional materials especially brick and employed traditional forms such as gable roofs, but his designs embraced a geometric simplicity with no embellishments — a tenet of the Arts & Crafts movement.[2]

Participation in architectural organizations

Gallery of architectural projects

The L. W. Rogers Building and similar structures

L. W. Rogers Building, 1926
  • Michigan Union, 1919
    Michigan Union, 1919
  • Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
    Purdue Memorial Union, 1924
  • Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
    Kansas Memorial Union, 1927
  • Michigan League, 1929
    Michigan League, 1929

Examples of other buildings

  • Highland Park Club House, 1891
    Highland Park Club House, 1891
  • Oregon Public Library, 1909
    Oregon Public Library, 1909
  • Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926
    Manor House, Kenosha, WI, 1926

Other activities

Chicago Literary Club Hull-House

Circus and acrobatics

Social clubs and memberships

Writings

  • The Meaning Of Architecture: An Essay In Constructive Criticism. Boston, Marshall Jones Company, 1918. 226 pages, illustrations. Available at Hathitrust and several versions at Internet Archive. A historical reproduction of the 1923 edition is available at Amazon.com.
  • "Eliel Saarinen and his work a word of appreciation and greeting". 1923. Available at and [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008062880&seq=1 Hathitrust. Pages extracted from The Western Architect 32 no. 7 (July, 1923): 75-76 plus plates.
  • A Day Under the Big Top, a Study in Life and Art. Chicago: Chicago Literary Club, 1924. 40 pages, with 4 diagrams. "Edition, five hundred and fifteen copies, printed for members of the club in the month of March, nineteen hundred and twenty-four." About circus and acrobatics. Available at Google Books and Hathitrust.
  • The College Union. [New York], 1931. 16 pages. Limited availability at Hathitrust and Google Books.
  • "Pullman - America's First Planned Industrial Town". Illinois society of architects. Monthly bulletin vol. 18-19, nos. 12-1, June-July, 1934. 6-8 pages.
  • Big Top Rhythms: A Study in Art and Life, written and illustrated by Pond. Chicago, New York, Willett, Clark and Company, 1937. 229 pages, illustrations.
  • A Strange Fellow, and Other Club Papers, written and illustrated by Pond New York, Chicago, Priv. Print. by Willett, Clark and Company, 1938. 224 pages, illustrations. Available at Hathitrust, Open Content Alliance, and Internet Archive.
  • The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond, written in the 1930s and published posthumously. Edited by Terry Tatum and David Swan. Oak Park, IL: Hyoogen Press, 2009.

Additional resources

Articles

  • Szuberla, Guy. "⁨Irving Kane Pond: a Michigan Architect in Chicago" Old Northwest 5 no. 2 (Summer, 1979): 109-140.

Books

  • Pond, Irving Kane. The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Elihu ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum. Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009.

Archival collections

  • The University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library.
    • Pond Family Papers, 1841-1939. "Correspondence of Elihu B. Pond, editor of Michigan Argus, his sons, Chicago architects, Irving Kane and Allen Bartlit Pond, founders of firm of Pond & Pond, and other family members; include materials concerning family affairs, architectural projects, Jane Addams and the work of Hull House, European travels, politics especially as relates to period of the Civil War and the election of 1896; also photographs, architectural drawings and other visual materials."
  • The Art Institute of Chicago: Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, Chicago, Illinois.
  • The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts, Chicago, Illinois.
    • American Circus Collection, 1891-1939. "Late 19th and early 20th century circus and theater related illustrations, publicity, programs, photographs and memorabilia" donated by Irving Kane Pond, 1939.
    • Chicago Literary Club records. Irving Kane Pond was active in this club, and its records include "weekly papers read by over 250 members, but also correspondence, minutes, a visitors' register, cashbook, and scrapbooks."
  • Columbia University Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, New York.
  • Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, Washington DC.
  • The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.

Notes

  1. ↑ David Swan, Preface to The Autobiography of Irving K. Pond: The Sons of Mary and Eliihu ed.David Swan and Terry Tatum (Oak Park, Ill: The Hyoogen Press, 2009), vii.
  2. ↑ from Ravinia School nomination .....
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