Series I. Publications (1940s-1960s), 1939-1982, 2009
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
This series includes the Editorial Department files concerning certain publications of the 1940s and into the early 1960s. George C. Groce and David H. Wallace's Dictionary of Artists in America, published in 1957, is the best documented publication in the series. There is extensive correspondence between N-YHS editors Charles E. Baker and David Wallace and Groce, as well as with Yale University Press concerning production and royalty payments. The original cards used to record research notes and sources for the DAA entries are in the series. And the series also holds much correspondence and notes concerning information about artists provided after the DAA's publication in anticipation that a supplement to the DAA might be prepared. The series also includes a 2015 donation of documents from David Wallace that includes extracts from his diaries and other documents dating from his years working at N-YHS and with Groce on the DAA.
In addition to the DAA, the series includes correspondence related to articles for the Quarterly and various book-length works. Unfinished and unpublished projects are represented in the series as well as published works. Although much of the general correspondence files concern administrative matters, such as acquiring image reproduction permissions, many files touch on more substantive matters, such as the editorial and management decisions regarding whether or not to publish a piece and the sometimes fraught relationship between editor and author. William Sawitzky, Susan Clay Sawitzky, Paul Downing, Mary Bartlett Cowdrey, and Theodore Bolton are among the several correspondents represented in the general correspondence of the series.
Arrangement Note
The series is organized in three subseries:
I.A. General Correspondence
I.B. Dictionary of Artists in America Records
I.C. David H. Wallace Papers
Subseries I.A. General Correspondence, 1939-1982
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The General Correspondence subseries includes the files maintained principally during the tenure of N-YHS publications editor Charles E. Baker, from 1943 to 1963. Some of Baker's files appear to have been maintained for a time after his departure so the date range of the correspondence extends into the mid-1960s and, in the case of a file of copyright registrations, to the early 1980s. The correspondence concerns the editorial process for articles and book reviews for the Quarterly, as well as various book-length works. The material relates to works that were either published, unfinished and unpublished, or proposed but declined from the 1940s through the mid-1960s.
Many of the files primarily include only administrative matters related to the editorial process, such as transmittal letters, photograph reproduction requests and permissions, arrangements for printing, requests for book reviewers, mailings of copies of the published work, and other such matters. Nevertheless, more substantive content can be found in several files; these include Baker's recommendations to the N-YHS Publications Committee regarding a proposed publication and the Committee's response and editorial comments to the author. Only a few files have manuscript drafts of the work and these are noted in the container list. A few files hold photographs and negatives; these are also noted in the container list.
Among the more substantive topical files are those concerning Susan Clay Sawitzky's efforts through the late 1940s and into the early 1960s to continue the late William Sawitzky's publications on American artists; the unsuccessful Rockefeller Foundation-funded attempt to publish a book by Paul Downing on historic carriages; differences of historical interpretation with Eugene F. Kramer in connection with his proposed Quarterly article on the Harry Croswell case of 1802; and publication of Harold Edward Dickson's John Wesley Jarvis, American Painter. Among the many other correspondents with substantive content are Theodore Bolton, Irwin Cortelyou, Rita and Callman Gottesman, Fenwick Beekman, Mary Bartlett Cowdrey, Stuyvesant Fish, Lawrence H. Leder, Arthur Merritt, J.E. Strickland, Leonidas Westervelt, and George Zabriskie.
This subseries does not include the principal editorial records for the Dictionary of Artists in America (see subseries I.B for those). However, this subseries does include a set of folders dating from after the DAA's publication that refer to corrections, updates and other matter related to a possible supplement. References to the DAA are also made at points in other correspondence in this subseries and these are identified in the container list notes.
Arrangement Note
The General Correspondence subseries is arranged alphabetically, following the order and labels of the original files. For the most part, the alphabetical order is based on correspondent name (which can be either an individual or an institutional affiliation), though some documents were foldered by a publication title or other topic.
Processing Information Note
This subseries was processed perhaps circa 2000, with documents transferred from original folders to archival containers. In December 2015, project archivist Larry Weimer made minor changes to the arrangement and provided description in a finding aid for the subseries.
A. General (2 folders), 1946-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include William Akin, Albany Institute of History & Art, William M. Armstrong, J. Earl Arrington. Includes carbon copy of the Editorial Department Report at May 20, 1947.
Accomplice for Treason, 1952-1955
Scope and Contents Note
Principal subject concerns arrangements for publication with Evans Printing Company and others.
Ames Book & Ames Supplement, 1950-1960
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns the book Ezra Ames of Albany, a related exhibition at the Albany Institute of History & Art, and a published supplement to the Ames book. Principal correspondents: Irwin (Mrs. George B.) Cortelyou, Robert Wheeler (Albany Institute), Theodore Bolton. See also the folder below: Bolton, Theodore.
Arts & Crafts in New York (3 folders), 1947-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Primarily concerns Rita Gottesman's Arts & Crafts in New York, 1777-1799 and the posthumously published Arts & Crafts in New York, 1800-1804, but also includes documents related to other writings and proposals of Gottesman. Principal correspondents include Rita Gottesman and Callman Gottesman.
B. General (2 folders), 1948-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Prncipal correspondents include Helena Baer, Alexander S. Balinky, James F. Beard, Martin J. Becker, Whitfield J. Bell, Jr., George A. Billias, Walter H. Blumenthal, Metchie J.E. Budka.
Beekman, Fenwick (2 folders), 1946-1959
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Philip White's The Beekmans of New York in Politics and Commerce and articles and other writings by Fenwick Beekman. Includes research notes compiled for Beekman with biographical information on physicians who were N-YHS members.
Benson, Egbert, 1959
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Phyllis Ross's manuscript essay "The Early Life of Egbert Benson." Ross was a graduate student at Columbia University and used N-YHS resources in researching the paper.
Bolton, Theodore (2 folders), 1939, 1947-1959, 1965
Scope and Contents Note
Primarily concerns Bolton and Cortelyou's Ezra Ames of Albany and also other writings and review work done by Bolton. Includes some correspondence and references to George Groce and William Savitzky (1939). See also the folder above: Ames Book & Ames Supplement.
Budget & Bills, 1951-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Includes informal yearly budget estimates and some printing bills for, primarily, the Annual Report and the Quarterly.
Bulletin / Quarterly (14 folders), 1943-1951
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence primarily arranging for book reviews (obtaining reviewers and review copies, transmittals of drafts and comments, exchanges with the N-YHS Publications Committee members). Most are carbon copies of outgoing letters, though there are many incoming letters as well. Principal correspondents (i.e., those with more than basic exchanges) include Stuyvesant Fish, Lucy Stewart, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Charles Larned Robinson, John Perry Pritchett, Frank Weitenkamp, Harry C.W. Melick, Victor Hugo Paltsis, Alvin F. Harlow, George Zabriskie, Louis Wills (includes compliments of various correspondents to Wills for his 1947 article), Lockwood Barr, Kenneth Scott, D.G. Brinton Thompson, Roger L. Williams, Theodore Sizer, Thomas A. Larremore, Samuel White Patterson, Mary Bartlett Cowdrey, Robert Ernst, Paul H. Downing, J. Earl Arrington, Mrs. W.E. Smith, Leroy E. Kimball. There is one letter each from Eleanor Roosevelt (1945) and Irving Berlin (1948).
C. General (2 folders), 1948-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Frances S. Childs, Mary E. Cunningham, Alexander B. Callow, Jr., Vincent P. Carosso, Roger Champagne, Annie R. (Mrs. Francis J.H.) Coffin, Thomas J. Condon, Irwin (Mrs. George B.) Cortelyou.
Case, Lockwood & Brainard (Printers), 1951-1952
Cooper, J., 1945, 1951-1954
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns a Quarterly article and photograph(s) related to the artist, J. Cooper. Principal correspondents include George C. Groce, Mary (Mitzie) Bartlett Cowdrey, and various museums and galleries.
Copyright (2 folders), 1939-1982
Cowdrey, Mary (Mitzie) Bartlett (4 folders), 1946-1956
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Cowdrey's American Academy of Fine Arts and American Art-Union, 1816–1852 and other writings, as well as other matters Cowdrey comments on. George Groce and the Dictionary of American Artists are referred to.
D. General, 1950-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Joseph Downs, Curtis Carroll Davis.
Dana, Nathalie, 1962, 1964-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Dana's Quarterly article "Lenox Hill in the 1800s" and her proposed longer work Flight from the Rectory, and other writings. Other correspondents include agent Virginia Rice and Jarvis Cromwell.
Dictionary of Artists in America (4 folders), 1956-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Includes comments, inquiries, information on additional artists, corrections, and other matter from readers of the DAA. See also series II.B for the continuation of this correspondence in the late 1960s and after. See also subseries I.B, box 62 labeled "Note Cards. Some for Included Entries and Some for Excluded Entries. Abbott - Zieber" for related notes from circa 1956-1961.
Downing, Paul H. (4 folders), 1946-1962
Scope and Contents Note
Primarily concerns Downing's attempt, which was not completed, to write a history of American carriages to 1800. Also includes documents concerning an earlier article written by Downing. Other correspondents include Dana Creel, Kenneth Chorley, Irving S. Olds, John E. Parsons, George R. Clay
E. General, 1949-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include David M. Ellis, Robert Ernst, John C. Ewers.
Edwards Brothers, Inc. (Lithoprinters), 1949-1961
Exhibition Catalogues, 1956, 1961
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a few notes concerning price quotes and estimates for printing from Grady Press.
F. General, 1950-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Paul Fatout, William N. Fenton, Kent Forster, Alfred Frankenstein, Warren G. French, Frick Art Reference Library.
Fish, Stuyvesant, 1944-1950
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Fish's opinions on various publications and his related book reviews and proposed reviews.
Furman, Gabriel, 1945
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Charles Baker's notes and proposal to publish Furman's circa 1845 manuscript of "The Customs, Amusements, Style of Living, and Manners of the People of the United States...."
G. General, 1948-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Helen P. Geng, Don R. Gerlach, Laurence B. Goodrich (in connection with William and Susan Clay Sawitzky's work on Ralph Earl), George C. Groce (1956-58, concerning the Dictionary of Artists in America).
George Grady Press, 1941-1962
H. General (3 folders), 1947-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Loyd Haberly, Hermann Hagedorn, Milton W. Hamilton, Paul M. Hamlin, William Hartman, (Rear Admiral) John D. Hayes, Leo Hershkowitz, Codman Hislop, Harry P. Havell, Elliot Baldwin Hunt, Beatrice Hyslop.
Harbor Press, Inc., 1962-1965
History Written with Pick and Shovel, 1950, 1954-1955
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns reviews and other publicity for the 1950 book, and printing costs and publicity for the 1955 reprint.
I. General, 1953, 1958-1959, 1965
J. General, 1949-1964
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Herbert A. Johnson, William R. Johnson, Jacob Judd (includes Judd's unpublished manuscript article "A Tale of Two Cities: Brooklyn and New York, 1834-1855").
John Wesley Jarvis, American Painter (3 folders), 1947-1951, 1954
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Harold Edward Dickson's book on Jarvis.
K. General, 1953-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Alice P. Kenney, Herbert Kriedman.
Knickerbocker Birthday, 1954-1955
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns post-publication matters related to R.W.G. Vail's history of N-YHS, including requests for review copies and sales offers. There is also an informal list of printing costs.
Kramer Article, 1962-1964
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Eugene F. Kramer's unpublished article "The Harry Croswell Case: A Milestone in the Freedom of the Press." Includes a version with N-YHS's proposed edits.
L. General (3 folders), 1948-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Vincent Peter Lannie, L. Jesse Lemisch, Ira M. Leonard, Edwin R. Lewinson, W. David Lewis, Clifford L. Long, Roy Lubove, Paul V. Lutz, Lila Parish Lyman.
Leder, Lawrence H. (2 folders), 1952-1955
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns various writings of Leder. Includes a manuscript of his "The Missing New York Assembly Journal of April 1692."
M. General (2 folders), 1948-1966
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Robert M. McClung, John F. McDermott, Philip Marsh, M. Bernard Mason, James R. Masterson, Harry C.W. Melick, Emma deLong Mills, Elizabeth (Mrs. Clement C.) Moore, Katherine Prentis Murphy.
McClellan, George B., Jr., 1953
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence with the J.B. Lippincott Company concerning publication of the manuscript autobiography of McClellan.
Merritt, Arthur, 1949-1961
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Arthur Hastings Merritt's autobiography, his article on Parson Weems and the Washington cherry tree story, and other writings. Includes a photograph of Merritt.
Miller, Perry, 1957-1961
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns attempts to have Miller review various books.
N. General, 1951-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include Eric P. Newman (in conection with an article by Kenneth Scott).
New York Past and Present, 1955-1956, 1963
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence with John Davis Hatch concerning a proposed reprint of I.N. Phelps Stokes's book.
New York State Historical Association, 1949-1958
Scope and Contents Note
Primarily concerns the historical association's acquisition of N-YHS publications. 1957-58 correspondence with Dorothy Barck at the association includes references to the Dictionary of Artists in America.
O. General, 1953-1954
Olds, Irving S., 1954, 1957, 1960
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns two articles written by Olds.
P and Q. General, 1949-1954
Scope and Contents Note
Principal correspondents include John Marshall Phillips.
R. General, 1949-1954
Romig, Edgar F., 1944-1963
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns various articles and book reviews by Romig.
S. General, 1946-1954
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. General (4 folders), 1939-1961
Scope and Contents Note
The 19 Sawitzky folders include some material related to William's Carnegie-funded activities at N-YHS in the early 1940s, including an outline and some notes for the lecture he taught at N-YHS on early American painters for New York University's Institute of Fine Arts (IFA), his publication of a monograph on Matthew Pratt (1942), and his work on other monographs in the early-mid 1940s. Most of the material dates from after William's death in 1947 and concerns Susan Sawitzky's efforts to continue William's work toward publications concerning Ralph Earl, Reuben Moulthrop, Lawrence Kilbourn, Abraham Delanoy, Jr., and others. In addition to letters, the folders include photographs, negatives, reproduction permissions, manuscript drafts, and other matter. (See also the William Sawitzky papers in N-YHS's manuscript collection; that collection includes typescripts of Sawitzky's 1940s lectures at N-YHS, which refer to some extent to artworks and exhibitions at N-YHS.)
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. General (2 folders), 1943-1954
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. Ralph Earl (5 folders), 1942-1951, Undated
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. Reuben Moulthrop (5 folders), 1947-1950, 1956
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. Matthew Pratt, 1939, 1942
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. Three New York Painters, 1942-1946, 1950-1952
Sawitzky, William and Susan Clay. John Watson, 1951
Strickland, J.E., 1952, 1956-1960, 1965
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns the proposed publication of a 1794 journal by William Strickland.
Supreme Court of Judicature of the Province of New York (3 folders), 1948-1965
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Paul M. Hamlin and Charles E. Baker's three volume edition of the court's minutes. Includes some editorial correspondence, but most concerns enlisting book reviews and fulfilling orders.
T. General, 1952-1954
Taylor, Walter A., 1961, 1964
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns requests of Taylor for book reviews.
Tolman, Ruel P. (2 folders), circa 1950s
Scope and Contents Note
Includes photographs, color transparencies, transcripts of historic documents, and some notes related to Tolman's The Life and Works of Edward Greene Malbone, 1777-1807.
U, V, and W. General, 1947-1954
Westervelt, Leonidas, 1945-1950
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Westervelt's article "General Marion and the Sweet Potatoes" and various Jenny Lind collection-related matters.
White, Philip L., 1957-1958
Wright, Charles L., 1951-1956
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns Wright's article "The Pioneer of Zinc Etching." Includes his early manuscript version.
Y. General, 1950, 1954
Zabriskie, George A., 1942, 1945-1954
Scope and Contents Note
Concerns various writings of Zabriskie and his editorial comments on the Quarterly. Also concerns Charles Baker's survey of Zabriskie's writings in 1945 and after his death in 1954. Includes two snapshots of Zabriskie from the late 1940s.
Subseries I.B. Dictionary of Artists in America Records, 1944-1982
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries includes two principal document types: correspondence from over ten years related to the production of the DAA and the note cards used during the research process to record information on artists, most of which were used for the entries in the DAA.
The correspondence includes the extensive exchanges between the Washington, D.C.-based George Groce and the New York-based editors Charles Baker and David Wallace (who was also co-credited with Groce as an author). The DAA and specific artist entries are the principal subjects of the letters, but other subjects also appear at times, including other articles and book reviews by Groce, exhibitions, comments on the work of William Sawitzky and others in the field, and the like. The files of Groce's correspondence also include the originals, copies, or typescripts of letters sent to Groce or N-YHS by other correspondents and DAA contributors in connection with Groce's inquiries.
The correspondence also includes files from a wide range of curators, editors, scholars, descendants of artists, and others providing information about artists for the DAA. Some correspondents also discuss their own interests or advance inquiries of tangential relevance to the DAA. Principal correspondents include J. Earl Arrington, Rudolf Berliner, Wolfgang Born, Ralph Catterall, David C. Duniway, Edward H. Dwight, Elliot A.P. Evans, Sinclair Hamilton, John Davis Hatch, Jr., Bertha L. Heilbron, H. Maxson Holloway, Cliff Lord, Wilbur D. Peat, Francis W. Robinson, Anna Rutledge, Robert Taft, and Edna T. Whitley.
Finally, the correspondence includes exchanges between N-YHS and the publisher, Yale University Press, concerning arrangements for the production of the book and payment of royalties to N-YHS. These files include the original agreement with Yale concerning royalties and the records of royalties forwarded to N-YHS from 1959-1982.
The subseries includes 19 boxes of note cards. All but one of these boxes appear to hold the original notes about artists developed by Groce and shipped to N-YHS. Several of the boxes are original and some have the shipping label on them. Paperclipped to many of the original note cards are added slips of paper with revisions, updated entry information, some correspondence, and other documents. Sixteen of the boxes relate to entries in the DAA and two boxes relate to artists that were "rejected" from inclusion. One box holds cards dating from shortly after the DAA's production and these record new information received in anticipation of a possible supplement to the DAA.
The sub-series also includes a small number of topical files related to publicity and requests for copies of the DAA and a copy of the DAA inscribed by Groce to Baker.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged principally by format, with Groce's 1943 typescript opening the subseries, followed by correspondence, the inscribed book, and the note cards. The correspondence is arranged by correspondent, with the files of correspondence with George Groce first, followed by other correspondents in alphabetical order. These are followed by a small number of topical correspondence files.
There are two sets of Groce correspondence files. The first set includes two folders of documents spanning the years 1945 to 1953 that were binder-clipped together in the original files and so were kept together as found. The second, and much larger, set are the principal, chronological files of Groce correspondence, spanning 1945 to 1956.
Groce, George C. Typescript of expanded version of 1440 Early American Portrait Artists (5 folders), 1943
Groce, George C. (Binder-clipped documents) (2 folders), 1945-1950, 1953
Groce, George C. (Chronological files) (19 folders), 1945-1953
Groce, George C. (Chronological files) (2 folders), 1954-1956
Other Correspondents. A-L (12 folders), 1944-1956
Other Correspondents. M-Z (7 folders), 1944-1956
Other Correspondents. Yale University Press (3 folders), 1952-1982
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the agreement for royalty payments and the ensuing receipts (1959-82). Also includes 1952 correspondence with publisher Thomas Y. Crowell Company.
Publicity, 1944, 1956
Requests for the Publication, 1948-1956
The New-York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860, 1957
Scope and Contents Note
Copy of the DAA inscribed by George Groce to Charles Baker. A few of the entries are lightly annotated. This copy of the book was used to hold sheets dating from the 1970s and afterward that noted corrections and other possible revisions in the event a supplement or revised edition should be produced. These sheets were removed from the book and placed with similar material in Series II.B.
Note Cards. Aamond - Behan [Behrens], 1940s-1950s
Scope and Contents Note
This and the following 15 boxes (Aamond to Zimmer) include the notes on artists used by Groce and Wallace for entries appearing in the Dictionary of Artists in America.
Note Cards. Biegel [Beigel] - Breflchl?, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Brehan - Cave, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Cazenova - Cuypers, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Dacre - Eiseman, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Elder - Geyer, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Giampaoli - Hazlitt, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Head - Jay, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Jeanneret - Le Roy, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Le Serrurier - Melrose, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Menchilli - Ozanne, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Pabodie - Reinke, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Reisner - Sherwood, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Sheys - Symon, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Taber - Ward, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards. Wardell - Zimmer, 1940s-1950s
Note Cards for Entries Not Used in the Dictionary. Ahlborn Jayne, 1940s-1950s
Scope and Contents Note
This box and the next one include Groce and Wallace's notes on artists that did not receive entries in the Dictionary of Artists in America.
Note Cards for Entries Not Used in the Dictionary. Jeffers - Yvon (and a few misc.), 1940s-1950s
Scope and Contents Note
The "few misc" cards in the box label refers to several cards that are out of alphabetical order and are found after Yvon.
Note Cards. Some for Included Entries and Some for Excluded Entries. Abbott - Zieber, circa 1956-1961
Scope and Contents Note
This box appears to include notes on artists recorded in anticipation of a possible supplement to the Dictionary of Artists in America. The cards include both artists with entries in the DAA and those without entries.
Subseries I.C. David H. Wallace Papers, 1950-1958, 2009
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries includes documents created or compiled by David H. Wallace, Assistant Editor at N-YHS from September 1952 to December 1956. A major responsibility of Wallace's during his tenure at N-YHS concerned the New-York Historical Society's Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860, which was published in 1957 and for which he was credited as co-author with George C. Groce. Wallace's papers include two transcripts he prepared in 2009 that include extracts from a diary he maintained and other documents from the 1950s. One of these transcripts recounts Wallace's day-day involvement with the DAA and the other provides a view of Wallace's overall activities at N-YHS, as well as his perspective as an N-YHS staff member in the early 1950s. The papers include a few letters, including those of 1952 from Director R.W.G. Vail leading to Wallace's employment, a 1953 letter from Louise Hall Tharp, and a 1958 letter from Wallace's successor as Assistant Editor. The subseries includes three photographs of N-YHS staff, including Charles Baker and Wallace, and publicity ephemera for the Bella Landauer collection, with a poem by Wallace.
Immediate Source of Acquisition Note
The documents in this subseries were donated to N-YHS on November 9, 2015, by David H. Wallace, former Assistant Editor at N-YHS (1952-1956) and co-author of the Dictionary of Artists in America.