Beatrice and Sidney Berry scrapbooks
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The collection holds 8 scrapbooks documenting the married lives and, to a somewhat lesser extent, careers of a New York City Jewish couple, Beatrice and Sidney Berry. The scrapbooks begin in 1931, shortly before they marry, and end in 1961, with a gap from 1952-55. The scrapbooks include photographs; programs to various cultural, sporting, and other events; travel souvenirs; ephemera; menus; letters and greeting cards; and announcements and invitations for weddings, births, opening ceremonies, events at Rodeph Sholom temple, and other religious, political, etc. events. Sidney's career with the Office of War Information during World War II and with Voice of America in the 1940s-1950s, and Beatrice's career as a fashion saleswoman and columnist, are also represented in the scrapbooks.
Biographical / Historical
Sidney Norton Berry was born October 30, 1908, in Brooklyn. He attended City College of New York, New York University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and Columbia Law School. Sidney was admitted to the New York bar in 1932 and started practice as an insurance lawyer. He married Beatrice Mendelson in 1931, of whom less is known at this writing of her life before her marriage. They lived at 898 West End Avenue on Manhattan's Upper West Side in a penthouse apartment with a roof garden that appears often in the scrapbook's photographs. Beatrice and Sidney had at least one son, Roger Julian Berry (1935-2018), who would move to England and have a prestigious career in atomic energy research.
After a short stint in 1933 as a special assistant attorney-general, Sidney continued his private law practice, based at 116 John Street, through the 1930s. In 1942, as America entered World War II, he joined the Office of War Information and the Armed Forces Radio Service. After the war, Sidney joined the Voice of America (VOA) as a commentator and special events coordinator, a position he held through the mid-1950s. During his radio career, Sidney covered the United Nations while it was based in its early years at San Francisco, President Harry Truman's inauguration, the Berlin airlift, receptions for Chaim Weizmann and Jawaharlal Nehru, and the Lincoln Center groundbreaking ceremony. Sidney left VOA at some point in the early to mid-1950s, eventually forming his own film production company. He remained in that line of work until his death in New York in 1975.
Beatrice worked as a saleswoman for the Laura Grayson Company, selling what were then known as "made-to-measure-lines." She later wrote fashion articles for "C&D," a Michigan newspaper, reporting on the latest Hollywood, Paris and New York styles. Both Beatrice and Sidney were active members of their temple, Rodeph Sholom. Sidney was a Cantor there and, briefly in 1932, a vice-president. Both Berrys were in the temple's League Players, Sidney as an actor, Beatrice as a director. Both were also involved in B'nai B'rith, including as editor (Sidney) and associate editor (Beatrice) of the organization's "Manhattan-Washington Chronicle."
(The above note was based primarily on a biographical sketch written by an unknown author at N-YHS for an internal document describing the scrapbooks; the sources used for that note are unknown, but likely were drawn, at least in part, from the scrapbooks. Sidney's obituary in the New York Times of February 20, 1975, was also used for the above note.)
Arrangement
The scrapbooks are in chronological order.
Scope and Contents
The collection holds 8 scrapbooks documenting the married lives and, to a somewhat lesser extent, careers of a New York City Jewish couple, Beatrice and Sidney Berry. The scrapbooks begin in 1931, shortly before they marry, and end in 1961, with a gap from 1952-55. The scrapbooks advance in chronological order and the pages and contents are often captioned to provide some context and a sense of narrative flow.
There is a wide range of documents in the scrapbooks: photographs of family, friends, celebrities, the Berrys' apartment and gatherings in their rooftop garden, and others; programs from theaters, opera, dance/ballet, nightclubs, horse shows, flower shows, sporting events, museum exhibitions, etc.; announcements and invitations for weddings, births, opening ceremonies, events at Rodeph Sholom temple, and other religious, political, etc. events; travel memorabilia, such as maps, souvenir postcards, photographs, brochures, and pamphlets; menus; ephemera, such as train and other ticket stubs, matchbook covers, 1939 World's Fair items, etc.; and letters and greeting cards. Sidney's career is represented with Voice of America documents, Overseas Press Club information, news clippings, broadcast transcripts, and other material. Beatrice's career is represented with her "Fashion Chats" newspaper columns and some documents related to her work for the Laura Grayson Company.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers. Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: Beatrice and Sidney Berry Scrapbooks, MS 3204, New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The acquisition source has not been determined, but is likely to have been a gift of either Beatrice Berry or the Berrys' son, Roger.
About this Guide
Processing Information
The scrapbooks were described in a hard-copy finding aid, perhaps in the 1980s or 1990s. That finding aid was transcribed with slight revision by archivist Larry Weimer in February 2022 for this on-line finding aid. Other than boxing for storage, no physical processing was done with the albums.
Repository
View Inventory
Scrapbook #1, 1931-1933, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume begins with Beatrice and Sidney's courtship. It includes wedding (1931) memorabilia, concert and theatre programs, invitations to formal dances at Rodeph Sholom and elsewhere, menus (among them, one from Rumpelmayer's and one from the Empire State Observation Room Fountain and Tea Room), ticket stubs, Ziegfield Follies programs; and cards, menus, photos from the Berrys' honeymoon trip to San Francisco by train, pamphlets from Hollywood openings, and other incidentals from the trip. Also includes photos of family and New York apartment, 1932 map of Broadway theaters, brochures of Halloween formal, business meetings and social gatherings at Rodeph Sholom, and ephemera from the mayoral campaign of Joseph V. McKee of the Recovery Party (1933).
Scrapbook #2, 1934-1935, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds programs from theatre, opera, horse show, 1935 Madison Square Garden Tennis Tour, 1935 Auto Show, and other events (including Radio City and the Billy Rose Music Hall Revue); series of informal profiles of members and officers of Rodeph Sholom; menus (The Claremont); brochure from the New York Central Railroad for a trip to Cleveland; and letters outlining Beatrice's promotional work for the Laura Grayson Company of Los Angeles, with examples of styles and fabrics and a photograph of her at work. Also included are maps, menus, photos and postcards from their "3rd honeymoon" to Canada and Maine; birth announcements of son, Roger (1935), with photos and congratulatory letters; photos of furniture and kitchen designs of the 1930s.
Scrapbook #3, 1935-1937, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds admission tickets, ballet programs (among them Les Ballets Russes and Ted Shawn and his Ensemble of Men Dancers), Rodeph Sholom material, match book covers, menus, 1936 Hayden Planetarium program, art exhibition programs, assorted others (Billy Rose's Jumbo, Cotton Club Revue, Madison Square Garden); items from Beatrice's trip to Cleveland and a cruise to Cuba and the Bahamas.
Scrapbook #4, 1938-1940, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds playbills, personal letters, program to international flower show, menus; Beatrice's "Fashion Chats" columns for a Grand Rapids, Michigan, paper; baseball scorecards; college football and basketball programs, items from the 1939 and 1940 World's Fair, catalog for Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo; and assorted other items.
Scrapbook #5, 1940-1945, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds invitations to museum openings, theatre programs, menus (e.g., Grossinger's); newspaper clippings outlining the war chronology of 1941; Sidney's campaign for assemblyman; summer camp material; Sidney's career change as announcer on WNEW's Morning Meditation, as part of the Office of War Information; material on San Francisco trip to cover a United Nations Conference; and a large colored war map with dated events. Includes Fight for Freedom, Inc. material, including a program for a "Salute to Negro Troops" at the Cosmopolitan Opera House (1942).
Scrapbook #6, 1945-1949, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds material on Overseas Press Club, clippings and photos of a Tanglewood concert recorded by Voice of America to broadcast in 15 languages and other work-related memorabilia of Sidney's; playbills, matchbook covers, family photos; VOA programs and schedules; museum openings; Boy Scouts of America memorabilia; news clippings of Sidney's broadcasts; anniversary cards; small photos of Joe Louis, Ella Fitzgerald, Babe Ruth, Thomas E. Dewey; many items from Sidney's mission for the Department of State in November 1948 for his Berlin airlift story (photos, programs, maps, and a transcript of the broadcast); invitation to the inauguration of Harry Truman; and reception program for Chaim Weizman.
Scrapbook #7, 1949-1951, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds items from members of the press covering the arrival of the president of Brazil for Voice of America; various other VOA broadcasts documented (Nehru's visit, the Berlin airlift) ending in 1950 when Sidney became Vice President of a surveyors' instrument manufacturer; theatre and ballet programs; pamphlets in celebration of Israel's independence; and matchbook covers.
Scrapbook #8, circa 1956-1961, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This volume holds theatre and exhibition programs; invitation to the groundbreaking ceremony for Lincoln Center; catalogs for the USSR exhibition in New York in 1959 at the New York Coliseum; and assorted other loose photos and items.