Dear Collective Wisdom,

Here at the Picture Collection we have a wonderful collection of unpublished[?] bound volumes of fashion drawings from 1938 through the 1970s that were the product of a company called Creators Studio. We wish to digitize and feature this collection, and I am trying to learn more about the company, but I have tried most of the first line of fashion research sources to no avail. Here's what I've been able to discover about them so far:

In 1994 they went out of business and donated this fabulous material to us.
One of the fashion illustrators was named Howard Steele.
One of the designers was named Pearl Levy Alexander
In the earlier years the firm might have been called "André" [that's Andre with an accent]
On a sheet in one of the bound volumes they describe their services thusly:

NOT YESTERDAY'S BUT TOMORROW'S FASHIONS TODAY. Giving you new fashion ideas is the objective of our service at CREATORS STUDIOS. Each week we will mail to you our complete line of fashion sketches. These will give you all the latest fashion trends, details, trimmings, fabric suggestions, etc. The designs are created by our own staff of New York designers. Our service is used widely by manufacturers and designers to help them gain a current and overall trend of the industry. It can be put to many uses and is readily adaptable to your individual needs.

Conjecture : It was a mid-level fashion house that marketed fashions for in-house labels at retail stores like Macy's and Gimbels etc. Maybe weary salesmen with big black briefcases of these bound volumes hawked these drawings adapted from the designs of the couturiers each season to buyers in department stores all over the country. The illustrations are, I must admit, sensational.

You see the problem. How can I find out about what this company did? How did they stay around for so many years? Exactly what service did they provide? Other than scanning microfilm of Women's Wear Daily year after year, does anyone have any ideas how I can find out more about their influence?

[BTW the donation happened before my time, and there appear to be no accession records. It's one of the liabilities of a circulating visual collection.]

Thanks for your help,

--Susan