New-York Historical Society public relations material
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Language of Materials
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.
Subjects
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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.
Location of Materials
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.
Sponsor Note
Repository
Series I. Press Releases, circa 1939-2006
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
This series includes press releases distributed by N-YHS to various publications from 1941-1993, primarily publicizing the institution's public events, such as exhibitions, lectures, film series, school programs, and walking tours. These materials include fact sheets, schedules and calendars of events, checklists, exhibition contributor biographies, brochures, and other background information. This information often includes historical and other context related to the publicized program; examples include a "Sampler of Ballroom Etiquette" from a 1988 exhibition. The series includes a small amount of material from prior to 1941 and after 1993.
Press releases also concern N-YHS organizational matters, such as new collection acquisitions, changes in senior management positions, the establishment of a new conservation program, and fundraising initiatives, such as the announcement for N-YHS's first ever major fundraising gala in 1988. The final press releases of the series, from 1993, concern N-YHS's efforts to resolve its financial troubles.
Particularly for the 1980s-1990s, the files include so-called "press round-ups." These were summaries compiled by N-YHS of the coverage in the press of N-YHS exhibitions and other events.
Arrangement Note
This series is arranged chronologically. The bulk of the releases appear to have come from the original files of the Public Relations Department, but these have been filled out with additional copies by releases found by the archivists in the files of other departments.
Press Releases (17 folders), circa 1939-1958
Scope and Contents Note
The first folder includes a list, possibly incomplete, of press releases from 1955-1960. The 1958 folder includes a checklist of objects from the Stuyvesant Family Portraits exhibition.
Press Releases (20 folders), 1959-1975
Scope and Contents Note
The 1959 folder includes the checklists for The Hudson, River of History, from Lake Champlain to the Sea, 1609-1959 and Rediscovered Painters of Upstate New York, 1700-1875 exhibitions. There are two lists of releases: one for 1968 through 1973, the other for 1974-1979.
Press Releases (13 folders), 1975-1983
Scope and Contents Note
The 1980 folder includes the checklist for the exhibition Tiffany Silver. The 1981 folder includes a Report of the Museum Committee concerning the acquisition of Portrait of Philip Hone (1780-1851) by Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860). The 1982 folder includes the press release for A Collector's Sampler: Library Accessions 1980-1982, which includes significant library gifts and purchases of the prior two years. The 1983 folder includes the location plan for paintings in the North Gallery of the 4th floor.
Press Releases (9 folders), 1984-1988
Scope and Contents Note
The 1984 (July-Dec.) folder includes a list of Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates between 1789-1984 and the winner of the election. The 1986 (July-Dec.) folder includes a "Sampler of Ballroom Etiquette" to accompany the press release for The Pleasure of Your Company: Parties and Balls in NYC exhibition. The 1987 (Jan-June) folder includes materials on a series of walking tours organized through N-YHS to notable neighborhoods including Astor Place and Gramercy Park.
Press Releases (8 folders), 1988-1991
Scope and Contents Note
The 1988 (Jan.-June) folder includes the release for the film series "Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem: Crime Films at the New-York Historical Society." Descriptions of each film are included as well as descriptions of the original newsreels that preceded each film presented. The 1988 (July-Dec.) folder includes the press release regarding N-YHS's first-ever Fundraising Gala, held October 31, 1988. Major celebrities and dignitaries such as George Plimpton, Mayor Ed Koch, and Mary Tyler Moore were guests.
Press Releases (13 folders), 1991-2006
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the 1994 press release from the New York State Attorney General announcing the conditions under which the office agreed that N-YHS could sell (deaccession) collection items. Includes the 1995 press release from Town & Country concerning the display of a previously unseen Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis portrait at N-YHS (with photograph and related issue of Town & Country), as well as the releases related to the exhibitions marking the re-opening of N-YHS's galleries in 1995. Press releases after 1993 are spotty and are often print-outs of announcements from N-YHS's Internet website.
Series II. Press Kits, 1976-1995
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
This series includes press kits on exhibitions produced by the New-York Historical Society dating between 1976 and 1994. The press kits typically contain press releases and fact sheets, with basic information such as names of contacts, sponsors, and curators, opening events, and a brief historical background of the subject. Many kits include additional documents, such as programs, checklists, brochures, and photographs concerning each exhibition. The exhibitions were an eclectic mix of themes, ranging from the portrayal of domestic life in 19th century America to exhibitions of the work of artists and photographers to the opening of the N-YHS conservation lab.
Arrangement Note
This series is arranged chronologically.
The Dutch Republic in the Days of John Adams, 1976
Remember the Ladies: Women in America, 1977
Scope and Contents Note
Abigail Adams is one of many women celebrated in this exhibition. Includes photo and biography of historian Linda Grant DePauw, consultant for the exhibition.
Small Folk: A Celebration of Childhood in America, 1980-1981
Scope and Contents Note
A comprehensive view of American childhood from the 17th-19th centuries.
Artists and Architects Collaboration, 1981
Scope and Contents Note
Explores the history and future collaboration between artists and architects. Includes booklet on works and architects involved.
Oom Pah Pah: The Great American Band, 1982
Birth of New York: Nieuw Amsterdam 1621-1664, 1982
The World of Tiffany: The Egon Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Lamps., 1983
Scope and Contents Note
This gift collection from Dr. Egon Neustadt represents pieces from each of Tiffany's major periods.
Firefighting on Parade: 1700 to 1865, 1983-1984
Scope and Contents Note
Traced the history of firefighting in America from Colonial times to the Civil War. Includes The New York Fire House Fact Sheet.
Lights, Camera, Action! New York's Silent Film Studios, 1983-1984
Scope and Contents Note
Featured photographs, including of stars such as Marion Davies, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and W.C. Fields, posters, and artifacts from the Astoria Motion Picture and Television Foundation and other museums. Folder includes a newsletter of the Astoria Foundation.
Lost in the Shuffle: Playing Cards and Board Games from Bygone Days, 1984
Scope and Contents Note
Materials of nearly 100 rare European and American playing card decks and board games from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
New York and the China Trade, 1984
Scope and Contents Note
Traces the history of the China trade chronologically and its contribution to the decorative arts to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the sailing of the ship Empress of China. Includes a list of distinguished exhibition committee members.
A Pageant of Heraldry in Britain and America. , 1984-1985
Scope and Contents Note
Commemorated the quincentennial of the incorporation of the College of Arms by King Richard III in 1484. It was the first major heraldic exhibition of its kind to be mounted in the United States.
The Lawrence Scripps Wilkinson Collection of Toys, 1985
Scope and Contents Note
Focused on the manufacturing period from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to the 20th century.
Visions of Liberty, 1984-1985
Scope and Contents Note
Photographs relating to the Statue of Liberty to celebrate the centennial of the statue. Approximately 75 original photographs from the 1870s to the present were assembled for the exhibition, which was divided into three sections: Bartholdi's Vision, "...To Breathe Free," and "Liberty Enlightening the World."
Centuries of Childhood in New York: 275th Anniversary of the Trinity School, 1985
Scope and Contents Note
Focused on the changing image of children in New York from 1709 to 1984. Also celebrated the 275th anniversary of the Trinity School, the oldest continually operated school in New York City.
Audubon's Birds of North America: The Original Watercolors, 1985
Scope and Contents Note
Celebrated the bicentennial of the birth of John James Audubon. All of Audubon's 433 known original watercolors painted for his monumental volume, The Birds of America. Also includes a release for the exhibition John James Audubon: Science into Art at the American Museum of Natural History, which coincided with the N-YHS exhibition.
Niagara: Two Centuries of Changing Attitudes, 1986
Jackie Robinson: An American Journey, 1987
N-YHS Walking Tours, 1987
Scope and Contents Note
New-York Walks explored the history and development of New York's varied neighborhoods. Includes a brochure of the program and maps of the various walking tours.
Student Tours, 1987-1988
Scope and Contents Note
N-YHS tours offered to students from grade K-High School. Included are descriptions of tours appropriate for each grade level.
Government by Choice: Inventing the United States Constitution , 1987-1988
Scope and Contents Note
Major exhibition, lecture series, catalogue, workshops, and tours as part of the Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the US Constitution. Includes photos of artifacts on display and a small copy of the Constitution published by the N-YHS.
Jasper F. Cropsey: Artist and Architect, 1987-1988
Scope and Contents Note
Featured 75 paintings and drawings by Cropsey (1823-1900), 19th century American landscape artist.
Artistic Houses: Lavish Interiors of Nineteenth-Century New York, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
Illustrated the manner in which upper class New Yorkers of the 19th century lived, highlighting figures such as William H. Vanderbilt and the Astors.
Francis W. Edmonds: American Master in the Dutch Tradition, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
Focused on the work of Francis W. Edmonds (1806-1863), and the stylistic debt 19th century American art owed to Dutch paintings. Included 27 paintings, 13 oil studies and drawings, sketchbooks, and 3 engravings.
Arnold Newman: Five Decades, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
Traveling retrospective of Newman's work in honor of his 50th anniversary as a photographer. Included were 150 predominately black and white images featuring portraits of many influential personalities of the 20th century.
Thanksgiving Harvest: Food and Wine Festival 1988, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
N-YHS celebrated Farm-City Week by promoting ten restaurants and NY state wineries. Organizations provided information on how each group's agricultural /horticultural programs were interspersed throughout the metropolitan area. Included are the pamphlets on the food and wine festival and The Virtuosi Quintet, which provided music for the event.
Bellows, Bobbins, and Butter Churns: Keepings House in Nineteenth-Century America, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
This exhibition provided an in-depth look at what domestic life was like in rural working-class America in the 19th century. The exhibition was divided into several sections such as tending the hearth, cooking and baking, and food service.
The Rise and Fall of New York: Building and Unbuilding Manhattan, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
Exhibition on architectural drawings, photographs, and prints exploring the changes in the urban landscape of New York City from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Highlights included the Woolworth Building, the Crystal Palace, and the second Madison Square Garden built in 1890.
Celebrating the Holidays in Old New York, 1988-1989
Scope and Contents Note
The spirit of New York was captured in this presentation of 19th century photographs and other materials, such as Washington Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York (1809).
Hard Cider and Hot Air: The Selling of the President, 1988-1989
Scope and Contents Note
Presidential campaign ephemera captured 150 years of presidential salesmanship. Included were eclectic examples of campaign rhetoric and marketing tactics of political parties such as the Free-Soil party and the Bull Moose (Progressive) party.
Opening of Book and Paper Conservation Lab, 1989
Scope and Contents Note
Included are pamphlets and photos announcing the new conservation lab, and a 1988 NY Times article on N-YHS's efforts to raise funding for its future.
Cased Images: The 150th Anniversary of Photography, 1989
Scope and Contents Note
Celebrated the invention of photography with an exhibition of over 40 unique daguerreotypes dating from 1840-1860 from the N-YHS collections. Also included is a leaflet announcing a lecture on The Modern Daguerreotype.
Encyclopedia of New York City, circa 1989
Irving Browning: City of Contrasts, 1989
Scope and Contents Note
Focused on the changing urban architecture, lifestyle, and people of New York in the 1920s and 1930s. On display were 80 photographs by Browning (1895-1961) that documented both the glamorous and destitute environment that existed in the city at that time.
An American Sampler: Folk Art from the Shelburne Museum, 1989-1990
Scope and Contents Note
Included more than 120 works from the Shelburne Museum's extensive Americana collection, including quilts, coverlets, rugs, weathervanes, and carved figures.
Luman Reed Gallery 1830s Permanent Installation of American and European Art , 1990
Why History?: Keynote Address and Panel Discussions, 1990
Scope and Contents Note
Explored the pivotal role of history's influence on American culture in a three-part multi-disciplinary program.
Below the Line: Living Poor in America, 1990
Scope and Contents Note
A display of Eugene Richards' black and white photos.
ART what though EAT: Images of Food in American Art, 1990-1991
N-YHS Programs and Exhibitions, 1990-1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes material on the following: Luman Reed Gallery, Thomas Jefferson Bryan Gallery, Audubon's Birds of America, and general N-YHS program brochures.
McKim, Mead and White's New York: Turn-of-the-Century Architectural Drawings and Photographs , 1991
The Thomas Jefferson Bryan Gallery: Changing Attributions, 1990
Scope and Contents Note
Includes photographs of some of the paintings.
The Taste of Andrew Carnegie, 1991
Imagining the New World: Columbian Iconography, 1991-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Marked the Quincentenary of Christopher Columbus' voyage to the Americas in 1492.
While They Fought: The Home Front in New York City, 1991-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Commemorated the 50th anniversary of the U.S. entry into World War II.
Building City Hall: Competition, Construction, and Context, 1992
Scope and Contents Note
Featured 47 architectural drawings, as well as watercolors, prints, and manuscripts. Includes a list of architectural collections held by N-YHS as of 1994.
The Equitable Gallery: 19th Century American Masterworks, 1994
Scope and Contents Note
Exhibition at The Equitable Gallery of 50 American paintings and sculpture from N-YHS's collection.
Thomas Cole: Landscape into History, 1994
Scope and Contents Note
Retrospective of works by Cole (1801-1848), an early 19th century landscape painter.
Treasury of the Past, 1995
Scope and Contents Note
Exhibition celebrating the May 1995 re-opening of the N-YHS galleries after being closed for two years; includes object photographs and checklist. Also includes Executive Director Betsy Gotbaum's Vision Statement released in conjunction with the re-opening. The checklist for the exhibition On the Avenue, Fifth Avenue that also opened then is included in the packet.
Series III. Compiled Public Relations Files, 1950s, 1970s-2002, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
The series includes files primarily concerning exhibitions, development of the Luce Center, and other programs, with some files related to general public relations activities and notes on "image overhaul," signage, and the like. A small number of documents (press releases) date to the 1950s and 1970s, but the bulk are from the 1980s-1990s.
Arrangement
The files are arranged by topic/exhibition in rough chronological order.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The files were compiled from various sources within N-YHS. They were found during and shortly after the institutional archives processing project of 2015-16, and added to the finding aid in 2021.
Working files, 1950s, 1970s-1989, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Holds a few items from the 1950s and from the 1970s. Bulk of the box dates from the 1980s and primarily relates to exhibitions. There is a "recommended public relations strategic plan" from Brown Boxenbaum (January 1987).
Working files, 1989-1991, inclusive
Scope and Contents
The box holds primarily files concerning exhibitions and other programs, with some files related to general public relations activities and notes on "image overhaul," signage, and the like.
Alternative Logo Proposals from Waters Design Associates. Oversize, circa 1990, inclusive
Working files, 1991-2002, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This box holds files primarily related to exhibitions and other program, especially regarding the Luce Center, and some administrative files.
Series IV. Stewart Desmond Files, 1995-2001, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents
The series includes files of Stewart Desmond, Director of Public Relations and Public Programs during the mid-late 1990s and into the early 2000s. These files are relatively lean and include publicity material, exhibition text, press coverage, etc.
Arrangement
The files have no particular arrangement but are presented as transfered to the archives.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These files were initially transferred to the museum at some point, likely in the early 2000s, and later transferred to the archives by the museum in 2018. They were added to this finding in 2021 by archivist Larry Weimer.