The Nicolas Remisoff papers includes more than 400 original works, consisting of full-size watercolor drawings, some black and white drawings, and numerous oil paintings. The earliest dated drawing is from 1921. The archive covers all aspects of Remisoff's career and shows in detail his strengths as a set designer, costumer, muralist, portrait painter, professional designer, caricaturist, and illustrator. There are also several files of correspondence and photographs related to Remisoff's professional commissions for salons and movies. In addition, there are three personal scrapbooks that contain numerous original photographs (many of them studio shots), newspaper clippings, and printed ephemera. Looked at in its entirety, the archive provides both a detailed record of Remisoff's career and an important, if incomplete, personal record of his life.

I. In Russia before the Revolution

Remisoff achieved fame in Russia for his satirical views of Russian life as published in the Russian journals, Satiricon and Novy Satiricon, which were read throughout Europe. His archive contains clippings of hundreds of his early contributions to both magazines mounted in three journals, plus a comprehensive run of the rare Satiricon in original wrappers (essentially complete from 1908-11). (There is but one Union List location: the Library of Congress).

II. The Chauve-Souris

The Remisoff archive contains many original press clippings from Russia and Paris as well as rare programs concerning the Chauve-Souris. Most important, there are more than 75 original watercolor costume and set designs (some with fabric swatches) dating from the 1920s.

III. New York and Chicago

The archive contains a substantial amount of correspondence, photographs, and original articles concerning Remisoff's work for Elizabeth Arden, Adolph Bolm, Morris Gest (New York Century Roof Theater), and Ruth Page. Many original drawings are present, including those for Bolm's Tragedy of the Cello (1927), as well as original drawings for magazines and projects such as the Club Petrushka, the State Street lamp post gargoyles, catalog covers, and the Lake Forest Public Library murals.

IV. San Francisco and Los Angeles

The archive maintains a comprehensive record of Remisoff's years in California in the form of letters, reviews, and original articles. In addition to these materials are many original drawings and designs for Remisoff's various projects, such as: Inspector General, for which there are 21 drawings in the archive; Faust, with 22 original drawings; and The Firebird, including many drawings for sets and costumes. Remisoff produced considerable work in Hollywood, designing sets for 31 movies and 4 television series. The archive provides original drawings and photographs for some of these productions, including Of Mice and Men (a 1939 movie with Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney, Jr.); Guest in the House (a 1944 movie with Anne Baxter and Ralph Bellamy); The Red Pony (a 1947 movie with Myrna Loy and Robert Mitchum); and Ocean's Eleven (a 1960 movie with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.). In addition, there are many unidentified drawings related to Remisoff's movie and television career.