New-York Historical Society public relations material
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Abstract
The New-York Historical Society public relations material record group contains press releases and press kits produced by N-YHS's Public Relations Department primarily between 1941 and the 1990s, with some subsequent material. The materials principally hold descriptive information about exhibitions, film series, and other programs presented by N-YHS. The releases also include publicity about organizational matters, such as new collection acquisitions, fundraising initiatives, and the like.
Biographical/Historical Note
From its founding in 1804, N-YHS has publicized its institutional objectives, programs, galleries and exhibitions, publications, fundraising needs, and other matters. Indeed, N-YHS printed a public announcement of its mission in February 1805, just three months after its inaugural meeting. Printed appeals, newspaper advertisements, and other materials were produced throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. Publicity took on a special focus beginning about 1939 as N-YHS began to expand its programs and the professional staff to support them. The increased programming and staffing at that time was principally the result of the receipt of a substantial bequest from the Mary Gardiner Thompson estate. This bequest was used, in part, to complete the expansion of the Central Park West building and to fund the growth in staff size. Part of this growth was directed toward greater publicity about N-YHS's varied programs and for much of the following decades the Public Relations Department also held responsibility for conducting tours, school visits, film series, and other programs.
Among N-YHS's publicity initiatives was increased outreach to the press, and this record group focuses on the press releases and, later, press kits that were produced. The first supervisor of these publicity initiatives was Alexander J. Wall, Jr., son of N-YHS's then-director. Wall Jr. left the position to serve in the military during World War II, returning in 1945. While he was away, the work was continued by others, including Dorothy Barck and Richard Baker, editors of N-YHS's publications. Wall Jr. left N-YHS about 1950 and Meryle Evans took the publicity position for about six years. Evans was succeeded by Susan McMahon in 1957, George Sykes in 1960, Richard Cunliffe in 1963, and Lawrence Skutch in 1968. After Skutch's departure about 1972 through the end of the date range of this record group in the early 2000s, various individuals appear as contacts on press releases and in the files including Joyce Crawford (circa 1976-1979), Edith Sakell (circa 1979-1983), Gail Rentsch (circa 1983-1986), Nancy Donner (circa 1986-1992), Jennifer Carlson (1990s), and Stewart Desmond (from the mid-1990s to early 2000s).
(Principal sources for the above were R.W.G. Vail's Knickerbocker Birthday, N-YHS's Annual Reports, and the press releases.)
Arrangement Note
The record group is organized in four series:
Series I. Press Releases, circa 1939-2006
Series II. Press Kits, 1976-1995
Series III. Compiled Public Relations Files, 1950s, 1970s-2002
Series IV. Stewart Desmond Files, 1995-2001
Scope and Contents Note
This record group contains press releases and press kits produced by the New-York Historical Society's Public Relations Department between 1941 and 1993, and various public relations and administrative files, especially for the 1980s-1990s, with some subsequent material to 2006. The releases contain information about recent acquisitions, staff appointments, the N-YHS's mission and collecting policy, current exhibitions, children's programs, lectures, film and concert series, and other events at the institution. Press kits were folders of press releases and other documents with facts about N-YHS exhibitions, such as brief historical context and dates, and other events.
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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 Note
This record group should be cited as New-York Historical Society public relations material (NYHS-RG 8), The New-York Historical Society.
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About this Guide
Processing Information Note
The first two series of the public relations files were processed perhaps circa 2000, with documents transferred from original folders to archival containers. In July 2015, archival intern Margaret Kaczorowski implemented additional processing steps, created the inventory and other descriptive notes, and produced this finding aid. Some additional material, mostly from post-1993, was added by project archivist Larry Weimer in 2016.
In 2021, Weimer updated the finding aid for additional material, which comprises Series III and Series IV.