Warren Shattuck Locke (June 10, 1854- March 1, 1912) of Lancaster, MA, attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute during the 1870s, receiving a B.S. in 1874. He returned to WPI in later years and earned a M.E. in 1904. He began his career in manufacturing in Boston, 1874-1880, and then managed a machine company in Mexico City, 1883-1886. Locke joined RISD in 1887 as Instructor of the Mechanical Department, replacing Gardner C. Anthony. Locke taught Freehand, Elementary Mechanical, Machine, and Architectural Drawing. While at RISD, he wrote An Outline in Mechanical Drawing, published from 1888 until 1903. He left the school in 1891 to work in Canon City, CO as Superintendent of the American Zinc Lead Company.
Locke returned to RISD in 1893 as Headmaster, a position he held until 1901 when the RISD Board of Management appointed Eleazer B. Homer as the first Director of RISD. Locke served as head of the Mechanical Department from 1901 until his resignation in 1908. He joined the Providence Technical High School staff, teaching until his death.
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Warren S. Locke papers, Rhode Island School of Design Archives.
The letterpress book, September 6, 1893-June 15, 1901, contains letters written primarily by Warren S. Locke as well as an occasional letter by Theodore H. Pond, instructor of Decorative Design, 1894-1902. The letters to suppliers and manufacturers, newspapers, state officials, and RISD Treasurer Stephen O. Metcalf may contain information on school supplies ordered by Locke, subscriptions, exhibitions, student registration numbers, bills for state and city scholarship students, and reports on yearly cash expenses and income. Typed and written lists of manufacturers providing the name of company, agent or superintendent, and address are included.
The three diaries, 1899-1901, contain intermittent entries by Locke and occasionally Pond that generally correlate with Board of Management meetings held during the academic year. Entries may contain marginal notes by Board members Howard Hoppin, Hermon C. Bumpus, and Eliza G. Radeke indicating action taken upon the written requests of Locke. An entry for March 3, 1901 indicates that the diaries were kept in an office drawer and used to provide written communication between Headmaster Locke and the Board. Subjects include student prizes, magazine subscriptions, library regulations, weather, classroom needs (supplies, furniture, equipment), catalogs, office procedures and Locke's ideas on operations, building conditions and maintenance (heat, lights, janitorial services), student attendance, and relations with students and instructors. The last entry is on March 21, 1901, the day before the Board hired Eleazer B. Homer as the first RISD Director.
The papers are arranged in two series:
No further materials are expected for this collection.