Naval History Society Records
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Abstract
The collection includes records of the Society's financial, membership, library, and manuscript collecting and publishing activities, as well as general correspondence.
Historical Note
According to the 1915 catalog of the library of Naval History Society founder John Sanford Barnes (see Series 3), "The Naval History Society has been established for the purpose of publishing and preserving manuscripts, documents, and writings relating to our naval history, naval art and science, and the surroundings and experiences of seamen in general and of American seamen in particular."
The Naval History Society Collection began with the donation to the Society in 1915 of Barnes's personal collections by his son, Col. James Barnes (see Series 4). The donation included library materials now cataloged in the XN classification in the New-York Historical Society Library, artifacts now included in the New-York Historical Society's museum collections, as well as the manuscript materials described in Series 1-52 of this Collection. The entire collection was donated to the New-York Historical Society, where the Naval History Society collections and office were then located, in 1925. Additional materials were donated by Naval History Society members and others or acquired by purchase after that date, some from the Naval History Fund established at the New-York Historical Society from the Naval History Society's monies.
A chronology of the Society's publishing activities is provided in Subseries VI. Manuscript collections and Society publication records.
Chronology of the Naval History Society
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Arrangement
The Naval History Society Records form Series 53 of the Naval History Society Collection, comprising 53 individual collections named for famous naval figures and ships, as well as the records of the Naval History Society itself, and donated to the New-York Historical Society by the Naval History Society in 1925.
The collection is arranged in seven series. Within each series materials are in chronological order unless otherwise noted; original order within folders has been retained.
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- Series I. Administrative records
- Series II. Correspondence
- Series III. Membership records
- Series IV. Library records
- Series V. Financial records
- Series VI. Manuscript collections and Society publication records
- Series VII. Ephemera
Scope and Content Note
The collection consists of the Naval History Society's organizational and financial records (including account books, checks, and receipts). They document the establishment and administration of the Society from its foundation until it ceased independent operations: its formation, officers and bylaws, membership, finances, library and manuscript collecting activities, and its editing and publication of volumes based on materials in its manuscript collections. It shows the context of naval and maritime collecting by the Society through its officers' correspondence with members and other collectors, authors, historical societies and repositories, and the Office of Naval Records, Washington, DC; as well as the organization's internal governance and workings.
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Access Restrictions
Materials in this collection may be 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
This collection should be cited as NHSC-NHS Records, The New-York Historical Society.
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Provenance
Donated to the New-York Historical Society by the Naval History Society in 1925.