A Short Biography
of Carl Austin Rietz
Collector of the Rietz Collection of Food Technology
Collecting
Rietz's
storehouse of information about international cuisine and cooking technologies
was gained first-hand during his world travels. He disdained places with typical
"tourist fare" and sought out the cuisine peculiar to a specific locale.
Intrigued by the cooking methods of the various cultures he encountered, he
began to collect objects related to the foodways of these local cultures. Anything
that had been used in the procuring, preparing, cooking, serving or eating of
food was fair game. He collected what was available in the places he traveled,
places where he had sampled the cuisine. His collection reflects his travels.
Collecting as an engagement in the world was nothing new to Rietz. He had been
actively collecting jade and Asian ceramics since the 1930s. He was also an
avid collector of books and liturgical music. Later he became interested in
folk arts and textiles. However, the greatest extent of his collecting focused
on objects related to the history of cooking and food processing.
Palestinian and Middle Eastern items from the Rietz Collection of Food Technology.
Left to right: CAS 0389-0656, CAS 0389-0443, CAS 0389-0657.
The Rietz
archive located in the library of the California Academy of Sciences provides
a modest paper trail of his collection travels and practices. Receipts from antique
dealers, galleries, curio shops and even museums give clues to what he purchased
as well as where and when. Customs papers, Tax Duty receipts and income statements
give descriptions of objects and their origins along with contemporary estimated
values. All of these documents attest to the variety of his collecting tastes,
but also to his desire to share his finds. The archive describes, through some
limited correspondence and money transfers, his support of universities and museums
through donations of his collections or support of foundations dedicated to education.
Equally valuable in the archive is a chronology of his travels and purchases,
outlining how he built his various collections.
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