Charles Hamm Collection
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Abstract
Materials documenting the life and career of Charles Hamm, an advertising executive, bank president and philanthropist. Photographs, awards, collected artwork and items concerning his mother, socialite Lisbeth Higgins Hamm are included.
Biographical
Charles J. Hamm was born in Brooklyn in 1937, the son of Lisbeth Higgins Hamm and Frank Hamm. His childhood home was on Pierrepont Street in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. He attended Brooklyn Friends School, Packer Collegiate Institute, Berkeley Carroll School, and Polytechnic Preparatory School; all in the borough. He went on to Phillips Exeter Academy and after serving in the Army, he attended Harvard, then received a graduate degree in business at New York University. During his advertising career, Hamm worked for McCann Erickson Worldwide as Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman of their United States division. In 1975, he became Trustee of Independence Community Bank Corporation, then President in 1985. For much of his time with the bank, he and his wife, Irene, lived in Brooklyn Heights. After retiring in the early 2000s, they resided in Mystic, Connecticut and kept an apartment in the Bronxville neighborhood of Manhattan. His board memberships have included Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in four series by type. Items in each series are not arranged.
Scope and Contents
This collection includes items from the life and career of Charles Hamm and his mother, Lisbeth Higgins Hamm. Photographs are formal and candid, showing the Higgins and Hamm families and various charitable events attended by Charles Hamm. Honors and awards include personal and professional recognitions, as well as Hamm's philanthropic work. Items in the Artwork series were created or collected by the family, including two drawings by Juan De'Prey. This series also inlcudes books highlighting items from Hamm's art collection and his own work. Audiovisual items show Hamm during television appearances and an event at the Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Conditions Governing Access
Open to researchers without restriction.
Conditions Governing Use
While many items at the Center for Brooklyn History are unrestricted, we do not own reproduction rights to all materials. Be aware of the several kinds of rights that might apply: copyright, licensing and trademarks. The researcher assumes all responsibility for copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item/descriptive title, date (if known), Charles Hamm Collection, 2019.004, Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated by Charles Hamm in 2019.
