New-York Historical Society Library Department records
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
The New-York Historical Society Library Department records group includes a broad range of material related to the administration of the Library and its component sections, including the Reading Room, Manuscripts Department, Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC, often referred to as the Print Room), and the Conservation Lab. The subject matter spans the entire breadth of the Library's activities: acquisition of materials for the collection, curatorial and conservation surveys and assessments, collection inventorying and cataloging projects, in-house exhibitions and outgoing loans, and patron access and use of the collections.
Arrangement Note
The New-York Historical Society Library records are organized in the following series:
Series I. Collection Descriptions & Inventories (1815?-2003)
Series II. Acquisition Records (1962-2001)
Series III. General Office Files (1959-2009, bulk 1980s-2002)
Series IV. Librarian & Curatorial Files (1959-2013)
Series V. Exhibitions (1969-2011, bulk 1992-2001)
Series VI. Outgoing Loans (1960-1992, bulk 1979-1992)
Series VII. Board Library Committee Matters (RESTRICTED IN PART) (1950-2015)
Series VIII. Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC, a/k/a Print Room) (1940-2015, bulk 1970s-2013)
Series IX. Conservation (1989-2004)
Series X. Public Service (RESTRICTED IN PART) (1829-2011)
Scope and Contents Note
The New-York Historical Society Library Department records group includes a broad range of material related to the administration of the Library and its component sections, including the Reading Room, Manuscripts Department, Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC, often referred to as the Print Room), and the Conservation Lab. The subject matter spans the entire breadth of the Library's activities: acquisition of materials for the collection, curatorial and conservation surveys and assessments, collection inventorying and cataloging projects, in-house exhibitions and outgoing loans, and patron access and use of the collections.
The record group includes correspondence and memos, surveys, management reports, statistical information, policies, planning documents, budgets, appraisals, acquisitions (purchase, donation) and sales, contracts, visitor registers, grant applications and project implementation files, exhibition files (e.g., checklists, loan agreements, label texts), cataloging worksheets, and conservation reports. Most of these records date from the last three decades of the twentieth century and into the early twenty-first century (see the Related Materials Note for most earlier documents). An exception to this are the visitor registers; though there are sizable gaps in the nineteenth century, these records date from as early as 1838. The record group also holds nineteenth century admission tickets and calling cards used to introduce and permit non-members to use library resources.
The record group holds an array of collection descriptions and inventories compiled for various purposes over time, and these range from throughout N-YHS's history. For example, there is a circa 1826 inventory of maps, John Delafield's 1833 manuscript-form catalogue of the books in the library, the 1941 inventories of material sent off-site for storage during World War II, and a card catalog of comic books deaccessioned in the 1970s. Most of these inventories were prepared by N-YHS staff, but some in the record group were prepared by the collection donor or other outside party, such as the inventory of the Lathrop Colgate Harper Spanish-American War Collection distributed by Harper's estate.
Subjects
Organizations
Genres
Topics
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers, though some material is restricted. N-YHS restricts Board of Trustee and Executive Office files for 50 years following the departure of a President and Chief Executive Officer. This restriction pertains to portions of this record group. Also, the records related to patron research inquiries are restricted for a time. Any restrictions are further described in an Access Restrictions Note at the relevant series level.
The bulk of the material is 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 collection should be cited as the New-York Historical Society Library Department records (NYHS-RG 21), The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
Accruals Note
Accruals to the record group were added subsequent to the major 2016 processing of the record group and additional accruals are expected over time.
About this Guide
Processing Information Note
Various portions of records from the Library Department were physically processed during the early 1990s to the early 2000s, mostly in terms of compiling related material together in boxes and refoldering some documents to archival folders. In the fall of 2016, project archivist Larry Weimer established an overarching arrangement for all the Library Department records in the archive, added new material, and completed a baseline inventory and finding aid for the entire record group. Certain steps were taken with the material in 2016, including the refinement of the physical arrangement of folders and re-boxing, in order to facilitate its use by researchers, but an overall minimal level of physical processing was implemented. Consequently, most of the material remains in its original folders and unarranged within folders.
Sponsor Note
Repository
Series I. Collection Descriptions & Inventories, 1815?-2003
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The Collection Descriptions & Inventories series includes primarily manuscript form inventories, catalogues and other material describing the content of N-YHS's library collections. The bulk of these were prepared by N-YHS library staff from the nineteenth to early twenty-first century. Some inventories in the series were prepared by the original creator, donor, auction house, or other person outside of N-YHS. The series includes both standalone documents, such as John Delafield's 1833 catalogue of books in the library, and working files for projects requiring the inventorying or cataloging of the collections. The container lists include reference to the specific descriptive material in the files.
Arrangement Note
The Collection Descriptions & Inventories series is organized in two subseries:
Subseries I.A. Descriptions Prepared by N-YHS
Subseries I.B. Descriptions Prepared Outside N-YHS
Processing Information Note
The series was compiled from standalone discrete material, arranged and processed in November 2016 by project archivist Larry Weimer.
Subseries I.A. Descriptions Prepared by N-YHS, 1815?-2003
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries includes primarily manuscript form inventories, catalogues and other material describing the content of N-YHS's library collections. The subseries includes many standalone documents from the nineteenth century, such as John Delafield's 1833 catalogue of books in the library and lists of manuscripts and maps from the 1820s.
Material from the twentieth century ranges beyond inventories to include broader descriptions of the library collections, working files of cataloging and other projects involving collection descriptions, bibliographies and guides to the collection. These files include, among others, records of the collections sent outside of New York City for safekeeping during World War II, the index to a comic book collection deaccessioned in the 1970s, annotated typescripts of Arthur J. Breton's Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS, and the survey/inventory sheets from the NEH-funded project to catalog N-YHS's maps (1989-1994 ). In addition to the map project, several other cataloging or other collection classification and control projects from the 1980s-1990s are documented in the subseries. The container list includes reference to the specific descriptive documents in the files.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged in rough chronological order. Much of the nineteenth and early twentieth century material is undated; an approximate date is supplied based on the latest date of the items in the inventory or other indicators. Some map-related documents from the mid-1800s and later appear to have been used as source material for a 1990s NEH-funded cataloging project and were filed as found with that material.
The NEH-funded map cataloging project of August 1992-December 1994 is shown in the container list in two segments, designated I and II. Segment I includes records from the pilot project and the records through early 1993 when the project was shut down when N-YHS closed its doors at the time. Segment II includes the reactivated project records from 1994, as well as some earlier records that were carried forward.
Access Restrictions
Some of the material related to the NEH-funded map cataloging project, specifically most of the survey and inventory worksheets, is expected to be stored offsite and requires advance notice to access.
Political Pamphlets of N-YHS, circa 1815?
Duplicates in N-YHS Library, circa 1820?
List of Manuscripts in the Library of N-YHS, 1824
Catalogue of Manuscripts Belonging to N-YHS, circa 1820s?
Catalogue of Maps Belonging to N-YHS, circa 1826
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a list of maps as well as records of loans of maps and their return to the Library. Includes a tipped-in letter from Joseph Delafield requesting a loan of particular maps in support of the United States's claims on the Northwest Territory under the Treaty of Ghent. See also folder below: Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Maps & Charts for a nineteenth century inventory apparently referenced during the 1990s project.
Catalogue of the Books in the Library of N-YHS, 1833 May
Scope and Contents Note
Compiled and arranged by John Delafield and presented to the Society.
Manuscripts of N-YHS?; Miscellaneous Revolutionary Papers, circa 1830s?
Manuscripts in the N-YHS Library, circa 1840?
Untitled [Accessions?], 1844?
Catalogue of a Library [N-YHS?]. B-Z (2 folders), circa 1840s?
Catalogue of a Library [N-YHS?]. F-Z, circa 1840s?
Library Inventory?, 1840s?
Scope and Contents
Handwritten list, alphabetical by title of volumes. (Added to record group in December 2020.)
Newspapers, circa 1849
[Collection Inventories] (1 of 21 folders). Associate Reformed Synod, circa 1840s?
Scope and Contents Note
The following set of folders contain inventories for various collections that were found boxed together by the processing archivist and appear to have been created by the same person. The circa date of 1840s is taken from the printed material that wraps some of the packets.
[Collection Inventories] (2 of 21 folders). Bayard; Bellomont, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (3 of 21 folders). Boundaries, New York and Massachusetts and New Jersey, circa 1840s?
Scope and Contents Note
See also the Collection Inventories-Various folder below for other boundary-related inventories.
[Collection Inventories] (4 of 21 folders). Colden, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (5 of 21 folders). Duer, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (6-11 of 21 folders). Gates (6 folders), circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (12 of 21 folders). Horsmanden, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (13 of 21 folders). Indian Deeds, Transports & Conveyances (copies) in the Secretary's Office at Albany, Translated from the Original Dutch, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (14 of 21 folders). Sir William Johnson; Leisler; McKesson, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (15 of 21 folders). Allen McLane, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (16 of 21 folders). Miller; Osgood; Miscellaneous Revolutionary, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (17 of 21 folders). Lord Stirling, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (18 of 21 folders). Steuben, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (19 of 21 folders). Stewart; Williamson, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (20 of 21 folders). U.S. Military Philosophical Society, circa 1840s?
[Collection Inventories] (21 of 21 folders). Various, circa 1840s?
Scope and Contents Note
Includes various lists, some headed but most not, found together with breaks between lists that are difficult to perceive. Headings include Schenectady papers, Revolutionary Army Orders, Boundary between New York & Connecticut, Salt Manufacture in North America, Mr. Trumbull's Maritime Opinions, Presbyterian Church in Wall Street, Military Journals of the French War, Plans for the Defense of New York City, and Lands Offered Society for Ameliorating the Condition of the Jews.
Catalogue of Almanacs, circa 1840s?-1960s, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Handwritten volume of almanacs, with entries entered as late as the mid-1960s.
Manuscript Catalogue. N-YHS. A-C, circa 1850
Manuscript Catalogue. N-YHS. D-J, circa 1850
Manuscript Catalogue. N-YHS. K-Q, circa 1850
Manuscript Catalogue. N-YHS. R-Z, circa 1850
Royal Society London Catalogue, 1850s?
Untitled [List of Donations], circa 1854
Scope and Contents Note
Includes what appears to be a summary of accessions from 1809-1853.
Books Purchased for the Library by G.H.M. [George H. Moore], circa 1856-1859
Scope and Contents Note
Loose sheets in booklet refer to some maps also and possibly to binding costs.
Draft Catalogue of Engravings, Photographs, Lithographs, Paintings, Statuary, & Medallions, circa 1860?
Catalogue of the Gelston Collection, circa 1860?
De Peyster Collection. Catalogue of Books in the Library of N-YHS. Part I (Printed Pamphlet), 1868 January
Catalogue of Magazines in the Store Room, circa 1870s-1880s
Catalogue of the De Peyster Collection (4 folders), circa 1880?
Scope and Contents Note
This version of the catalogue includes handwritten entries glued to pages. The 216 pages are brittle.
Catalogue of the De Peyster Collection, circa 1880?
Scope and Contents Note
This version of the catalogue includes mostly entries cut from printed material and glued to the pages. There are handwritten additions.
Connecticut Election Sermons, circa 1880s?
U.S. Congressional Documents, 1880s?
Society for the Propagation of the Gospel List of Sermons, 1880s?
U.S. Government Documents, circa 1885
List of Capt. Richard H. Green's Books in Basement, 1897-1913
Scope and Contents Note
Folder includes lists of books and genealogical information.
Magazine Subscriptions, 1902-1916
New York State Documents, circa 1910?
Regimental Histories of the War of the Rebellion, etc., circa 1910?
Ordination, Funeral and Thanksgiving Sermons, Not Catalogued, circa 1910?
Scope and Contents Note
Indicates that the sermons were mainly those purchased from Thomas J. Taylor of Taunton, Mass.
Untitled. [Miscellaneous Documents] (8 folders), 1800s-circa 1920s?
Scope and Contents Note
These folders include various lists, descriptions, notes, clippings, a few letters, cards, labels, and other documents. These were found together by the archivist and kept as found. The documents as a whole appear to be a mix of materials used perhaps to summarize some accessions, identify gaps in holdings, form shelf location guides, develop catalog records, and other purposes. There seems no overall coherence to the whole or to the overall content of each folder, but some individual documents might be useful in their accession or other references.
King Collection, 1921 May
Survey of the Manuscript Collections in N-YHS (Printed document, with annotations), 1941
Wartime (WWII) Storage Shipments (5 folders), 1941-1943
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the original inventory of the library and museum materials shipped off-site for storage during WWII, a copy of the inventory with annotations relating to the return of the materials to N-YHS, lay-out of the storage locations, and working papers.
Almanac Survey, circa 1940s
List of Books Presented by the Beekman Family Association, 1948 November 24
Kilroe Papers, Items Added in 1950, 1950
DeWitt M. Lockman Fiction Collection, circa 1950?
Items Sent to Parke-Bernet Galleries, 1952-1953
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (7 of 17 folders), circa 1972
Scope and Contents Note
This set of 17 folders includes the manuscript of Breton's Guide, both text and index, marked-up for publication and returned to N-YHS by Greenwood Press.
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (7 of 17 folders), circa 1972
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (3 of 17 folders), circa 1972
Arthur J. Breton. Notes, circa 1972
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (Vol. 1 in 2 folders), circa 1972
Scope and Contents Note
This disbound volume and the following three bound volumes include photocopies of Breton's entries with red underlining, possibly indicating potential headings for the index.
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (Vol. 2), circa 1972
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (Vol. 3), circa 1972
Arthur J. Breton. "Guide to the Manuscript Collections of N-YHS" (Vol. 4), circa 1972
Index to Deaccessioned Comic Books (1 of 2 boxes), 1970s
Scope and Contents Note
This first box holds the A-Z index of comic books owned, by volume and number. The entry for each book includes a list of the features for that issue. This box and the next also hold an A-Z index by feature title, linking it to the relevant book title/issue. The entries are on oversize slips of paper held by metal prongs. Because of the way the slips are secured some may be difficult to read fully; should those cards need to be read, the preservation lab should be consulted for document access. It is possible that these cards were compiled, not by N-YHS, but by the creator/donor of the collection.
Index to Deaccessioned Comic Books (2 of 2 boxes), 1970s
Magazines & Newspapers Received by N-YHS, 1979 August
Newspaper Cataloging Project (NEH) (5 folders), 1982-1986
Print Room Collection Guide. Public Version, 1983
Print Room Collection Guide. Curator's Copy (2 folders), 1983
RLG Conspectus Worksheets. Art & Architecture, 1983-1988
Inventory of Uncataloged Material (RLG Survey), 1986
Current Periodicals in the Library, circa 1987
Collections. General & Specific Descriptions, 1986-1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a (disbound) binder of various documents with fact sheets, general holdings descriptions and some of specific collections , collecting policies, and stack location lists.
Review of the Catalogued & Uncatalogued Collections in the N-YHS Stacks, 1989
Collections Notebook (2 of 4 folders), 1980s
Scope and Contents Note
Includes (disbound) binder of material including a procedural handbook and descriptions and inventories of particular collections. Appears to have been compiled over time in the1980s but includes photocopies of earlier material. Some of the originals of these copies are also in this series in the above folders.
Collections Notebook (2 of 4 folders), 1980s
Diagrams of Stacks & Collection Locations (Oversize), 1990?
New York City Atlas Inventory, 1990
N-YHS Archives. Archiva Report, 1991-1992, 1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the contents of a binder plus related reports. Includes archivist Tom Dunnings's survey of the institutional archive as of 1991, a call number system (1992), and the report and inventories prepared by archival consultants Archiva in 1999.
Retrospective Catalogue Conversion (RECON) (4 folders), 1991-1992
Map of Stacks, 1992
Policies & Procedures of the Library, circa 1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes overview descriptions of the library, its collections, public service statistics, and preservation strategies.
Bibliography. African-American History. Items in N-YHS Collections Suitable for Exhibit, 1992
Rare Book Inventory (2 folders), 1992
Rare Book Bibliographical Information (5 folders), 1992
Regional American Cataloging Project (3 folders), 1992
Great Collections Microfilming Project II, 1992?
Library Inventory Project. Documentation & Procedures, 1991-1993
Early U.S. Government Documents Inventory Project, 1984, 1992-1993
Fast-Cat Items List, 1989
Fast-Cat Items List, 1990s?
Scope and Contents Note
Includes list of materials and their location on the 5th floor.
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Maps & Charts, circa 1850?
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a 19th century inventory of maps in the N-YHS library.
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Early Research Notes (9 of 36 folders). A-G, circa 1800s-1920s
Scope and Contents Note
The set of folders in this and the following boxes were noted as "early research notes" and appear to have been inventories from the late 1800s to early 1900s that were used as sources by the NEH map cataloging project staff.
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Early Research Notes (10 of 36 folders). H-Q, circa 1800s-1920s
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Early Research Notes (8 of 36 folders). New York City, circa 1800s-1920s, 1989
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Early Research Notes (9 of 36 folders). R-Z, circa 1800s-1920s
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Reference Sources & Administration (17 of 69 folders), 1991-1993
Scope and Contents Note
This box and the following includes various map inventories and other reference material relevant to the N-YHS collection and project. Also includes project statistics, activity reports, grant information, and other administrative material.
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Reference Sources & Administration (23 of 69 folders), 1991-1993
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Reference Sources & Administration (29 of 69 folders), 1991-1993
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Survey Sheets (1 of 2 boxes), 1989-1992
Scope and Contents Note
These two boxes of survey sheets were boxed for off-site storage.
Map Cataloging Project I (NEH). Survey Sheets (2 of 2 boxes), 1989-1992
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Reference Sources & Administration (17 of 34 folders), 1992-1994
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Reference Sources & Administration (17 of 34 folders), 1992-1994
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Preservation/Inventory Forms (3 folders), 1992-1994
Scope and Contents Note
Includes rolled maps and map cases H-L.
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Preservation/Inventory Forms (3 folders), 1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes map case P.
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Preservation/Inventory Forms (1 of 4 boxes). #1-2699, 1994
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Preservation/Inventory Forms (2 of 4 boxes). #2700-5699, 1994
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Preservation/Inventory Forms (3 of 4 boxes). #5700-8499, 1994
Map Cataloging Project II (NEH). Preservation/Inventory Forms (4 of 4 boxes). #8500-11143, Erskine-DeWitt Maps, 1994
Manuscripts Cataloging Project (29 folders), 1998-2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes progress reports, monthly production statistics, draft catalog records, and other production-related documents in connection with the Mellon-funded N-YHS/NYU project to catalog manuscript holdings.
Family Bible Inventory, 1998
Reference Guides, 2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes guides to research in American Revolution, military history, architecture, and newspapers.
Subseries I.B. Descriptions Prepared Outside N-YHS, 1881-1976
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries includes inventories and other material describing the content of particular collections held by N-YHS that were prepared by the original creator of the collection, donor, auction house, or other party outside of N-YHS. Four manuscript form inventories are currently in the subseries, primarily concerning the collection of Randall J. Le Boeuf, Jr. The subseries also holds at least some auction catalogues that included sales of N-YHS duplicate and other holdings from the 1940s-1960s. The container list includes reference to the specific inventories held.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged in chronological order.
Alphabetical List of Books from the Executors of Stephen Whitney Phoenix Estate, 1881
"Catalogue and Description of American Revolutionary Diaries", 1922
Scope and Contents Note
Includes William S. Thomas's manuscript version of this catalogue, the entries of which were published over several installments of the N-YHS Bulletin, beginning with the April 1922 issue. Much of the preparatory work for the entries was done by Thomas at N-YHS and many or most of the entries include N-YHS holdings, though there are non-N-YHS references as well.
W. Johnson Quinn Collection. New York Hotels, 1942
Auction Catalogue. Parke-Bernet, Sale 540 (4 copies, some marked), 1944 March 13
Auction Catalogue. Parke-Bernet, Sale 569 (3 copies), 1944 May 15
Auction Catalogue. American Book Auction, Sale 89 (marked), 1946 April 26
Auction Catalogue. Parke-Bernet, Sale 777 (3 copies, some marked), 1946 May 16
Auction Catalogue. Parke-Bernet, Sale 784 (marked), 1946 September 18-21
Auction Catalogue. American Book Auction, Sale 137 (marked), 1948 November 19
Spanish-American War Collection, circa 1950
Scope and Contents Note
Includes an inventory of the Lathrop Colgate Harper Spanish-American War Collection distributed by Harper's estate, and an earlier version referring to the Daniel C. Edgar Collection of the Spanish-American War apparently prepared by Harper in his lifetime.
Auction Catalogue. American Book Auction, Sale 192 (marked), 1952 January 25
Auction Catalogue. American Book Auction, Sale 197 (2 copies, marked), 1952 April 25
Auction Catalogue. Parke-Bernet, Sale 1432 (marked), 1953 April 21
Auction Catalogue. American Book Auction, Sale 223 (marked), 1953 November 20
Auction Catalogue. Parke-Bernet, Sale 2095 (marked), 1962 March 17
Auction Catalogue. American Book Auction, Sale 377 (2 copies, one marked), 1964 April 10
Randall J. Le Boeuf, Jr. Catalogue. Volume IA. Autograph Material, circa 1976
Randall J. Le Boeuf, Jr. Catalogue. Volume I. Robert Fulton Collection. Books, Pamphlets, & Newspapers, circa 1976
Randall J. Le Boeuf, Jr. Catalogue. Volume II. Robert Fulton Collection. Books, Pamphlets, & Newspapers, circa 1976
Randall J. Le Boeuf, Jr. Collection Bookplates, Undated
Le Boeuf's Typescript "The Origin of My Robert Fulton Collection", 1970
Le Boeuf Catalogue Pages & Correspondence (6 folders), 1976
Scope and Contents Note
Includes prints, engravings, lithographs, glass, and other objects.
Le Boeuf Catalogue. Photocopy with annotations (5 folders), circa 1976
Louis Durr Collection Catalogue (2 volumes), annotated by John A. Weeks, 1882
Series II. Acquisition Records, 1962-2001
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes correspondence concerning acknowledgements of donations accepted, offers of items for purchase or donation, and declined offers. These relate principally to the period 1976 to 2001, though there are some records for 1964-1975. Appraisals and related inventories for many of these donations are included through about 1986. Slips of paper with summary information by donor for the 1960s-1993 are in the series, as are a small number of acquisition related logs and system print-outs. The series also includes some records of library purchases, including purchases from 1979-1982 from Baker & Taylor, Gale Research, Heckman Bindery, university presses, subscription services, microfilm vendors, bookshops, publishers, and others.
This series includes those acquisition records found as standalone files during processing of the archive in 2016. References to acquisitions can also be found in the administrative files described in other series of this record group.
Arrangement Note
The acquisition files are arranged in chronological order. Some files that include documents from a wide date range, such as files of pending donations and of multiple donations by individual over time, are placed at the latest date found in the file. At the end of the principal acquisition files are found boxes of donor slips, which include summary donation information, and copies of bills for library purchases.
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1964-1969
Streeter, Thomas R., 1964
Scope and Contents Note
Includes lists of Streeter's donations from 1947-1964.
Appraisals, 1962-1969
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1970-1975
Appraisals (6 folders), 1970-1975
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the extensive inventory of the collection of Edith McC. Heaphy, Ethel McC. Scott, and John G. McCullough.
Goelet, Robert G., 1971-1977, 1985
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1976
Appraisals, 1976
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1977
Appraisals, 1977
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1978
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1979
Appraisals, 1979
Orders, 1979
Proposed Acquisitions (Offers), 1976-1979
Declined Offers, 1975-1979
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1980
Appraisals, 1980
Declined Offers, 1980
Maritime Association of the Port of New York, 1978-1980
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (3 folders), 1981
Appraisals, 1981
Declined Offers, 1981
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (3 folders), 1982
Appraisals, 1982
Proposed Acquisitions (Offers), 1980-1982
Declined Offers, 1982
Donald Clark Bequest, 1981-1983
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1983
Appraisals, 1983
Proposed Acquisitions (Offers), 1983
Declined Offers, 1983
Alland, Alexander (Bracklow Photographs), 1983
Greenberg, Morris/Stanley, 1983
Schwartz, Robert R., 1979-1983
Orders, 1980-1983
Serials, 1980-1985
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (4 folders), 1984
Proposed Acquisitions (Offers), 1984
Acquisition Procedures and Statistics (2 folders), 1984
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1985
Proposed Acquisitions (Offers), 1984-1985
Orders, 1984-1985
Kemble, William, 1983-1986
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1986
Proposed Acquisitions (Offers), 1986
Declined Offers, 1984-1986
Appraisals, 1984-1986
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (4 folders), 1987
Additions to the Manuscript Collection Log, 1986-1988
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1988
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements, 1989
Steinway, Henry Z., 1986-1989
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1990
Broadway United Church of Christ, 1987-1990
Schneck, Jerome, 1985-1990
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1991
Alpern, Andrew, 1976-1991
Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service, 1990-1991
Wyle, D. (Ensko Collection), 1991
Acquisitions, Donations, Acknowledgements (2 folders), 1991-1992
Whitlock, Bache McE., 1987-1992
Wheeler, Charles B., 1986-1992
Donors. Miscellaneous, 1988-1992
Acquisition Records (Print-outs, from Binder) (3 folders), 1991-1992
Acquisition Records (Print-outs, from Binder) (4 folders), 1992
New Acquisitions (2 folders), 1991 July-1992 March
Miscellaneous Acquisitions-Related Notes, 1988-1992
Donations FY1993, 1992-1993
Donations Accepted & Rejected FY1994, 1993-1994
Donations Pending FY1994, 1987, 1994, 1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a medallion with religious imagery and Cyrillic (?) characters.
Donation Files FY1995 (4 folders), 1994-1995
Donation Files FY1996 (1 of 4 folders), 1996
Donation Files FY1996 (3 of 4 folders), 1995-1996
Donation Files FY1997 (8 folders), 1996-1997
Donation Files FY1998 (1 of 8 folders), 1998
Donation Files FY1998 (7 of 8 folders), 1997-1998
Donation Files FY1999 (6 of 11 folders), 1998-1999
Donation Files FY1999 (5 of 11 folders), 1998-1999
Unsolicited Donations, 1995-1999
Donation Files FY2000 (2 of 7 folders), 1999-2000
Donation Files FY2000 (5 of 7 folders), 1999-2000
Donation Files FY2001 (1 of 6 folders), 1999-2001
Donation Files FY2001 (6 of 7 folders), 2000-2001
Donation Files FY2001. Print Room (4 folders), 2000-2001
Donor Slips. A-K, 1960s-1979
Donor Slips. L-Z, 1960s-1979
Donor Slips, 1978, 1980
Donor Slips. A-M, 1980-1989
Donor Slips. N-Z, 1980-1989
Donor Slips. A-Z, 1990-1993
Library Purchases (11 folders), 1979-1982
Newspapers (14 folders), 1972-circa 2003, inclusive
Scope and Contents
These are files transfered to the Archives in 2021 by longtime librarian Marian Touba. They include information on newspaper acquisition, with some deaccessioning information.
Series III. General Office Files, 1959-2009 (bulk 1980s-2002)
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The General Office Files appear to have been maintained over time by the administrative assistants to the Library Director, including Mary Nathanson, Xenia Zielyk, Grace Hernandez, Patricia Contino, Sarah Grossman and others, though other files were likely mixed into these over time. Accordingly, the files hold a combination of management-level material (e.g., budgets and expense information, grants and grant proposals, annual or other management progress reports, activity statistics, staff memos, correspondence, general exhibition planning, fellowship proposals, donations, and acquisitions) as well as routine transactional documents (e.g., invoices for Baker & Taylor, Readmore, Blackwell, RLG/RLIN and other library purchases and subscriptions).
There is considerable overlap in the subject matter of this series and the next, Series III. Librarian and Curatorial Files. There likely is no sharp distinction between them, but generally the content of the files in Series III seems more attributable to particular leaders in the library, while these general files seem to have a more varied provenance, including miscellaneous files added to the series by archivists over time.
Arrangement Note
The series is arranged with what appears to be five relatively well-defined original sets of correspondence and subject files first, followed by various miscellaneous administrative and topical files. The five well-defined sets are identified in the container list by the prefixes
Correspondence Files. Subjects. A-P (30 of 70 folders), circa 1986-1993
Scope and Contents Note
This set of folders includes correspondence with outside parties and internal memos on a wide variety of matters, including offers of donations, purchase offers, requests for information, proposals for programs, compliments and complaints from the public, staff meeting notes, public remarks by Jean Ashton, professional matters, and more. Subject files are arranged by either subject or institutional addressee; individual files are arranged by a particular person's name. Librarians James Mooney and Jean Ashton appear to be the principal N-YHS correspondents.
Correspondence Files. Subjects. P-Z (16 of 70 folders), circa 1986-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on the publication of the papers resulting from a series of conferences hosted by N-YHS in the 1980s.
Correspondence Files. Individuals. A-Z (24 of 70 folders ), circa 1986-1993
Subject Files. A-D (51 of 237 folders), circa 1986-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Topics include, among others, accessioning procedures; acquisitions, especially Livingston Papers (including inventory); Advisory Committee ("AC" on labels); appraisals; attorney general; Baker & Taylor; buildings & construction; collections management and descriptions/profiles of the collections; conference "Power of the Press"; deeds of gift (originals); directory listings; and disaster plan.
Subject Files. E-F (37 of 237 folders), circa 1986-1997
Scope and Contents Note
The bulk of the box includes exhibition files, including general files of proposals, schedules, descriptions, etc. These principally concern the library/reading room exhibitions, but also include other N-YHS exhibitions. Specific matters include, among others, the Spanish-American War Project, map collection, Markers of Change, Letters From a War, McLoughlin woodcuts, Early New York Printing (includes an 1981 inventory of paper money in N-YHS's collection), Rufus King, and unique slavery material. The rest of the box includes four folders of fiscal crisis letters, clippings, and staff memos.
Subject Files. F-L (40 of 237 folders), circa 1986-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Topics include, among others, fundraising, gifts/exchanges (includes index cards and other documents recording exchanges with other institutions in 1979-1983), Harper Fund, income from endowments/restricted funds, IRLA, and library matters (organization charts, conservation lab, collections management, acquisitions policy, refurbishing, staff meeting notes, and Library Night labels.
Subject Files. L-O (33 of 237 folders), circa 1986-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Topics include, among others, library loans, Luce Center planning (including vendor software proposals), McLoughlin blocks (see also the folders for exhibitions above), manuscript room matters, microfilm readers, lists of new titles/acquisitions in the library, N-YHS matters (website, bibliography, capital budget for 1993-94, report to the state on its financial stabilization plans), newspaper collections, Old Print Shop, Zenger letter.
Subject Files. O-R (36 of 237 folders), circa 1986-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Topics include, among others, OPAC, personnel (job descriptions, postings, policies, staff lists), planning, publishing/royalty statements, appraisals for publishing-related donations, quiz show filming in library, and RLG/RLIN projects, invoices, etc.
Subject Files. R-Z (40 of 237 folders), circa 1986-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Topics include, among others, RLG/RLIN, security, library signage, space planning, stack 15 relocation, technical services/cataloging, and a collective bargaining agreement. The box also holds many folders concerning library statistics for 1988-1998 (reading room, manuscripts, Print Room, with some gaps).
General Files. FY1991-1992 (16 of 25 folders), 1988-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes budget files for FY1989 and 1990 as well as 1991 and 1992.
General Files. FY1991-1992 (9 of 25 folders), 1990-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, a report on duplicates in the caricature collection, a bibliography of N-YHS library holdings bearing on Native American history, collections profiles, and a file for the proposed exhibition Patrons, Collectors & Collections.
General Files. FY1993 (9 folders), 1992-1993
General Files. FY1994 (4 of 22 folders), 1993-1994
General Files. FY1994 (18 of 22 folders), 1993-1996
Scope and Contents Note
Includes documents related to staffing plans, N-YHS's discussions with New York University and a file of calendars and other documents related to public programs from 1993-1996.
General Files. FY1995 (5 of 24 folders), 1994-1995
General Files. FY1995 (19 of 24 folders), 1994-1995
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, reading room statistics and working papers of a survey of other libraries regarding their admission and service fees.
General Files. FY1996 (12 of 22 folders), 1995-1996
General Files. FY1996 (10 of 22 folders), 1995-1996
General Files. FY1997 (13 of 25 folders), 1996-1997
General Files. FY1997 (12 of 25 folders), 1996-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, text for labels to exhibition Love Letters, a report on a steam leak in the stacks, a middle school program called Shadow Day, and a copy of the agreement between N-YHS and New York University for library services.
General Files. FY1998 (15 of 20 folders), 1997-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, correspondence concerning the Fabres collection.
General Files. FY1998 (5 of 20 folders), 1997-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, the microfilming project for the Astor papers, public service statistics, and a survey of reproduction service fees.
General Files. FY1999 (23 folders), 1998-1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, the results of a survey of library users and the donation of the American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter records.
General Files. FY2000 (22 folders), 1999-2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, Ebsco subscription service proposal, and acquisition of daguerreotypes from Jerry Spagnoli.
General Files. FY2001 (30 of 58 folders), 2000-2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on, among other topics, Civil War Digitization Project, New York Inside Out exhibition, and a draft of Beyer Blinder Belle's Facilities Program for N-YHS.
General Files. FY2001 (28 of 58 folders), 2000-2001
General Files. FY2002 (20 of 57 folders), 2001-2002
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, copies of documents related to a financial legacy from the estate of Ramona Lazare and exhibition files (especially Independence and Its Enemies wall text and checklist).
General Files. FY2002 (19 of 57 folders), 2001-2002
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, donation files for FY2002, the original deed of transfer of Landauer collection objects from the library to the museum (though the list of items is not included), and a document considering the impact on the library of the affiliation with New York University.
General Files. FY2002 (18 of 57 folders), 2001-2002
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, permissions and the results of a survey to assess the quality of library public service.
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (1 of 8 boxes), 1989-1992
Scope and Contents Note
This set of boxes includes invoices, billings, correspondence, purchase orders, and related documents for the acquisition of books, subscriptions, supplies, office equipment, services, etc. for the library. Principal vendors include Baker & Taylor, Readmore, Ebsco, Blackwell, and RLG. Date range is primarily fiscal years 1991-2001, but there are some earlier files back to 1986.
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (2 of 8 boxes), 1986-1995
Scope and Contents Note
This box holds RLG invoices from 1986-1995 and other invoices for FY 1993.
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (3 of 8 boxes), 1994, 1996-1997
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (4 of 8 boxes), 1997-1998
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (5 of 8 boxes), 1999-2000
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (6 of 8 boxes), 2000-2001
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (7 of 8 boxes), 2001-2002
General Files. Purchases & Invoices (8 of 8 boxes), 2001-2002
Calendars, 1990-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes what appears to be the master calendars for the library staff, 1990-93, and the daily calendar for the administrative assistant (1992).
Grants (1 of 4 boxes), 1982-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Annie Laurie Aitken Charitable Trust (library preservation, book conservation), Vincent Astor Foundation, U.S. Dept. of Education (Rufus King Collection), Gladys Brook Foundation, Library of Congress, and NEH (renovations & rehousing).
Grants (2 of 4 boxes), 1992-1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes NEH Map project.
Grants (3 of 4 boxes), 1990-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes NEH Regional Americana Project (RAP), NHPRC (general information), and Pew Charitable Trust (library cataloging).
Grants (4 of 4 boxes), 1986-1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes New York State grants (Erskine-Dewitt maps, manuscript survey, conservation).
Fellowship Proposals (29 folders), 2002-2003
Friends of the Library (22 folders), 1988-1989
Library Statistics (6 folders), 1981-1991
Long Range Planning Project, 1986
Annual Reports (4 folders), 1980-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the Library annual report for 1980-82 and 1992, Reading Room for 1986, and Technical Services for 1987.
Acquisition Policy Amendments, 1959-1975
Scope and Contents Note
Includes two bound copies of the 1959 policy annotated with the 1971 amendments. One copy also has loose sheets that include an outline of trustee John Parsons's proposed changes to Jim Heslin and the proposed revisions circulated to the Library Committee in 1971. Also includes a copy of the 1975 statement.
Acquisitions [Accessioning] Procedures, 1985
Cataloging Projects. Memos (9 folders), 1974-1987
Cataloging. Statistics (3 folders), 1984-1989
Staff Guidelines, Manuscript Department, 2002-2004
Miscellaneous Processing Procedures, 1982-1993
Library Forms, Undated
Library Documents (from binder) (3 folders), circa 1992
Library Documents (from binder) (3 folders), circa 1992
Library Documents (from binder) (2 folders), circa 1992-1993
Disaster Recovery and Emergency Plans (3 of 4 folders), 1989-2009
Disaster Recovery and Emergency Plans (1 of 4 folders), 1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a second copy of the library's disaster recovery plan found above.
Library Staff Party and Event Announcements, 1985-1991
Miscellaneous Memos (9 folders), 1982-1992
Budgets (6 folders), 1961-1988
Scope and Contents Note
Includes some workpapers for budgets from 1961-early 1980s with fuller budget documents for fiscal years 1985-88.
IRLA and RLG correspondence and reports (8 folders), 1981-1993, inclusive
Series IV. Librarian & Curatorial Files, 1959-2013
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes files that can be attributed, at least in large part, to particular individuals who headed the Library and/or played manuscript curatorial roles. These include Librarians (i.e., head of the Library) James Gregory (1966-1980), Larry Sullivan (1980-1984), Paul Cohen (1984-1987), James Mooney (1987-1989), Jean Ashton (1990-1993), Margaret Heilbrun (1993-2003), and, returning to N-YHS from Columbia University, Jean Ashton (2006-2012). Also included are files from manuscript curators Arthur Breton (1960s), Thomas Dunnings (1970s-1980s and institutional archivist, 1990-1993), Margaret Heilbrun (1987-1993), and Donna Davey (circa 2001-2004).
The series includes a broad range of subject matter, including budgets, management reports, statistics, library policies, exhibition planning, grants and projects (e.g., microfilming, cataloging, institutional archive, digitization), acquisitions and sales through Swann Galleries and other dealers, donations, collection surveys and consultant reports, general correspondence including inquiries and permissions, conservation, research fellowships, and more. The container list below includes further content description at the box level.
Arrangement Note
The series is arranged by individual principally associated with a set of files, in rough chronological order.
Reflecting her two separate tenures at N-YHS, Jean Ashton's files are in two sets, designated in the container list as Jean Ashton I (1985-1993) and Jean Ashton II (2003-2013).
Margaret Heilbrun's files are presented in four sets that reflect the state of the records as found by the processing archivist in 2016. There is significant overlap in the content and date range of the sets. Set 1 includes relatively well-structured subject files in alphabetical order that date primarily, though not exclusively, from Heilbrun's tenure as head of the Library. Set 2 includes a less structured mix of subject matter that date primarily, though not exclusively from Heilbrun's years as curator of manuscripts prior to leading the Library. Set 3 includes records from her last two years at N-YHS. Set 4 includes various materials associated with Heilbrun and Heilbrun's years in the Library that were compiled from loose and unorganized documents by the processing archivist in 2016.
Arthur Breton Files (3 folders), 1962-1972
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence including that concerning Breton's manuscript guide.
Thomas Dunnings Files (1 of 4 boxes), 1963-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, exhibition (manuscripts on display, FDR, Washington, Great Fire, and Constitution), papers location guide, and AMC logs. There is also a set of folders containing a report by Richard B. Morris and the Mayor's Task Force on the New York City Municipal Archives (1966) (Heslin was a member of the Task Force) and Frank G. Burke's report on selected archival problems in New York's records.
Thomas Dunnings Files (2 of 4 boxes), 1959-1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among other topics, memos, inventories and other documents related to Dunnings's development of the institutional archive.
Thomas Dunnings Files (3 of 4 boxes), 1971-1993
Thomas Dunnings Files (4 of 4 boxes), 1970-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes general correspondence of the Manuscripts Department, principally reference-related.
James Gregory Files (1 of 3 boxes), 1967-1983
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the general correspondence files A-Z and subject files A-C, including Burleigh's Views of New York, Aaron Burr papers microfilm project, and Christie's (including sale of N-YHS's S.V. Hoffman items in 1975).
James Gregory Files (2 of 3 boxes), 1970-1984, 1988
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, subject files D-P, including Gates paper microfilm project, sale of S.V. Hoffman books, the LeBoeuf Fulton collection, an auction catalogue for Gregory's personal library (1988), Microfilming Corp of America (MCA), Old Print Shop, Papprill's View of New York, and trustees Andrew Oliver and John E. Parsons.
James Gregory Files (3 of 3 boxes), 1961-1983
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files R-W, including donations from A. Pennington Whitehead, N-YHS sales at Swann Galleries, the 1969 list of Treasures of Americana, and correspondence with trustees Frank Streeter, Thomas Streeter, and Alexander Vietor.
Larry Sullivan Files (1 of 3 boxes), 1976-1984
Scope and Contents Note
Includes general correspondence files A-Z and subject files that include, among other topics, loans to the American Antiquarian Society for their early American imprints project, NYU paper conservator Konstanze Bachmann's report on N-YHS's architectural collections, and dealings with bookseller Roger Butterfield.
Larry Sullivan Files (2 of 3 boxes), 1977-1990
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files D-T including, among other topics, deaccessions, statements of work goals made by individual library staff members, a report by John F. Dean of Johns Hopkins on N-YHS's collections care/conservation, dealings with the Old Print Shop (a ledger in the file also includes records related to dealings with Roger Butterfield; some documents in this file extend to 1990) and Swann Galleries.
Larry Sullivan Files (3 of 3 boxes), 1979-1984
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence concerning research requests and other forms of library resource-related assistance.
Paul Cohen Files (8 folders), 1984-1987
Scope and Contents Note
Includes general correspondence files A-Z, the final report to the NEH on N-YHS's grant-funded participation in RLG (1982-86), a summary of a meeting at N-YHS of the Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Preservation Service Facility (MASCPS, of which N-YHS was a member) and a related microfilming grant proposal, loan of objects for the U.S. Grant centennial exhibition, and a grant proposal for cataloging the Rufus King collection.
James Mooney Files (1 of 4 boxes), 1986-1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes general correspondence files A-Z, primarily for 1987. Also includes files of correspondence with specific individuals, principally consultants concerning various aspects of the library collection.
James Mooney Files (2 of 4 boxes), 1984-1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes weekly calendars, monthly reports from the library to Director James Bell, and files of offsite storage and general conservation matters.
James Mooney Files (3 of 4 boxes), 1985-1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files including, among others, the Summer Institute for history teachers, Long Island fishing documentary project, US-China trade film, the exhibition at the Nippon Club, playing card collection, planning, Print Room (Zinkham guide), and the Encyclopedia of New York City.
James Mooney Files (4 of 4 boxes), 1986-1988
Scope and Contents Note
Includes exhibition files, primarily Government by Choice: Inventing the U.S. Constitution, but also Strong on Music, New York Bestiary, Putting New York on the Map, and Ex Libris Rufus King.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 1 of 6), 1987-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files A-E including, among other topics, advisory committees, library annual reports, conservation procedures, general correspondence (1993), development, and education programs.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 2 of 6), 1989-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files related to proposed or installed exhibitions including Library Treasures, Letters from a War, "Patronage," "Tokyo Map Show," "Bicentennial of the US Constitution," "Thomas Jefferson," and Markers of Change.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 3 of 6), 1985-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files F, primarily including correspondence related to the fiscal crisis.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 4 of 6), 1985-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files G-N including, among other topics, grants, Jewish Museum, lecture series, general manuscript matters, memo files, microfilming, and newspapers.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 5 of 6), 1987-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files O-P, including among other topics, organizational charts, permissions, planning (including collection management policies), preservation, public service, and publications.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 6 of 6), 1990-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files R-V, including among other topics, the Gallery Reinstallation Committee, RLG, RECON project, series and standing orders cancelled, library de-selections, stacks planning, Technical Services, and Ashton's testimony at a public hearing on the preservation of historical records (1990).
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 1 of 2), 1980s-1992, inclusive
Scope and Contents
This and the following box were found after processing was completed on the record group and was added here. The files are not processed and are in original folders. The content includes a broad range of library adminstration matters.
Jean Ashton I Files (Box 2 of 2)
Scope and Contents
This and the following box were found after processing was completed on the record group and was added here. The files are not processed and are in original folders. The content includes a broad range of library adminstration matters.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (1 of 8 boxes), 1993-2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files A-C, including among other topics, acquisitions, access policies, library annual reports, Beekman Family Association, capital funding, and Collections Advisory Committee.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (2 of 8 boxes), 1984-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files C-G, including among other topics, collections management, general correspondence (1993-94), Friends of the Library, and grants and grants proposed (Cass Gilbert, negatives, maps, Mellon).
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (3 of 8 boxes), 1992-1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files G-L, including among other topics, various grant projects, correspondence with former mayor Edward Koch about a possible donation of materials, an original receipt acknowledgement from the Holland Society of a returned deposit, various library administrative matters (e.g., budget, fees, staffing, stacks, etc.), and Luce Center.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (4 of 8 boxes), 1989-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files M, including manuscript department matters (collection descriptions, cataloguing, etc.) and microfilming (Archives Preservation Microfilming Project/RLG).
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (5 of 8 boxes), 1990-2003
Scope and Contents Note
This box and the next includes subject files for the Mellon grant-funded project to catalog N-YHS collections in partnership with New York University as well as general N-YHS-NYU subject files.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (6 of 8 boxes), 1990-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the continuation of the Mellon-related files.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (7 of 8 boxes), 1990-2002
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files N-S, including among other topics, planning, public service, Rockefeller Foundation proposal, and bequest of the estate of Steutel-Dean..
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 1 (8 of 8 boxes), 1991-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files T-Z.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 2 (1 of 4 boxes), 1988-2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a mix of subjects, including among others, acquisition notes, collection development, planning, and development.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 2 (2 of 4 boxes), 1981-2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a mix of subjects, including among others, space allocation, technical services (Innopac, RLIN, microfilming, conservation, etc.), manuscript department matters, public service (including statistics), and public programs.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 2 (3 of 4 boxes), 1989-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a mix of subjects including small work files for a few exhibitions and records of temporary removals/loans from the collection.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 2 (4 of 4 boxes), 1989-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a mix of subjects including records of temporary removals/loans from the collection and general correspondence (1989-1993).
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 3 (1 of 2 boxes), 2001-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes memos, permissions, general correspondence, donation files, fellowships, statistics, and some subject files.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 3 (2 of 2 boxes), 2001-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes grants, memos, and some subject files.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 4 (1 of 3 boxes), 1989-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a compiled mix of files generally concerning acquisitions, collection surveys and descriptions, a few small exhibition files, a library procedures manual (circa 2000), public service and other statistics, the World Trade Center/9-11/History Responds project, N-YHS web site, and other matter.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 4 (2 of 3 boxes), 1983-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a compiled mix of files generally concerning grants (including actual and potential Mellon projects), budgets, some bills and invoices, goals, planning, consultants, conservation, space planning, "Resources in New York City History" project, Bobcat (library catalog) search procedures, and a cataloging department quick reference notebook.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Set 4 (3 of 3 boxes), 1994-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes a compiled mix of general correspondence, memos and printed emails.
Margaret Heilbrun Files. Phone Messages and Desk Calendars, 1993-2000, 2003
Mellon Digital Project. "Civil War Treasures at N-YHS", 1998-2000
Donna Davey Files (1 of 3 boxes), 2001-2004
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files A-S (end), including among other topics, budgets, grants (including Delmas for organizing the institutional archive and Mellon), small files on some exhibitions, and statistics and library survey sheets.
Donna Davey Files (2 of 3 boxes), 2001-2004
Scope and Contents Note
Includes notes, research, and photocopies of documents related to the library's revolving exhibition of presidential letters.
Donna Davey Files (3 of 3 boxes), 2002-2004
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the drafts and finals of the various consultant reports on the Mellon-funded Contemporary Collecting policy project. Also includes general administrative files on meetings and correspondence.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 1 (1 of 3 boxes), 2006-2008
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files A-B, including among other topics, "About the Library" fact sheet, African-American History Trust booklet, African Free School presentation book, conservation of Arthur Curtiss James scrapbook, final report for the Brown Brothers Harriman project, and buildings and stacks plans.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 1 (2 of 3 boxes), 2006-2010?
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files B-L, including among other topics, buildings/space planning, Chairman's Council "Weekend with History" packet (2007), proposed exhibition re: Winston Churchill, general exhibition information, library collection policies, collections reviews (e.g. for duplicate holdings), Friends of the Library, N-YHS's Graduate Institute in American History, and library administration (statistics, lists of tours, priorities, staffing, etc.)
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 1 (3 of 3 boxes), 2006-2009
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files L-Y, including among other topics, Library Night, nitrate film project report, Questions about New York Author Guide & Checklist, New York Genealogical & Biographical Society Library proposal, N-YHS records from Bobcat database, stacks planning, diaries of Gouverneur Morris project, project proposals, general Print Room matters, rare book collection project, records management proposals, electronic reference database assessment, renovation planning, John Rink's plan of Central Park, proposal to Russell Sage, and Shattuck exhibition proposal.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (1 of 11 boxes), 2005-2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files of deeds of gifts for FY 2006-FY2013 and acknowledgement letters for FY2006-FY2010.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (2 of 11 boxes), 2007-2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes acknowledgement letters for FY2011-FY2013, files on individual donations or potential donations (including Causeries du Lundi, Central Park Conservancy, Children's Aid Society, New York Foundling, among others), and routing slips with acquisition data.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (3 of 11 boxes), 2006-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on purchases, deaccessioning policies, permission requests, and finding aids/inventories for various collections.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (4 of 11 boxes), 2003-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on acquisitions, general collection policies, and grants (e.g. Delmas, Mellon, Irene Diamond, Pine Tree).
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (5 of 11 boxes), 2006-2011
Scope and Contents Note
Includes grants (NEH, NHPRC, and New York State) and budgets.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (6 of 11 boxes), 2009-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes exhibition files (including among others, Santa Claus, Malcolm X, Stamp Act, Founders Collection, WWII) and files on Alexander Street Press (digitization of Civil War material).
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (7 of 11 boxes), 2003-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes project files (including Children's Aid society processing, Columbia School of Journalism, Questions About New York trivia book), New York University service agreement, and digital projects (including Alexander Street Press and others).
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (8 of 11 boxes), 2008-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes digitization files, EBSCO, and IRLA.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (9 of 11 boxes), 2006-2011
Scope and Contents Note
Includes library administration (goals, tours, ADA compliance) and planning (reading room design upgrade), and miscellaneous reference files.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (10 of 11 boxes), 2006-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on fellowships and book prizes.
Jean Ashton II Files. Set 2 (11 of 11 boxes), 2008-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning off-site storage.
Series V. Exhibitions, 1969-2011 (bulk, 1992-2001)
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes files concerning various installed and proposed exhibitions. These files are only those found as standalone records during processing; many other exhibition files found with curatorial and conservation lab records remain with those series. Principal exhibitions represented in this series are actual and proposed "Library Treasures" shows from 1969-1995, Letters from a War (1993-1994) and the related Pray for Me (2000), Militant Metropolis: New York City and the Spanish-American War (1998), and Inventing the Skyline: The Architecture of Cass Gilbert (2000). The series also holds many original exhibition labels, though most are not identified as to which exhibition they were part of.
Arrangement Note
The exhibition files are presented first, in chronological order, followed by the boxes of exhibition labels.
General Exhibitions File, 1980s
Blizzard of '88, 1988
George Washington in New York, 1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes bound exhibition text only.
Library Treasures / Treasury of the Past (1 of 2 boxes), 1969-1991
Scope and Contents Note
These two boxes include documents related to N-YHS's 1995 exhibition Treasury of the Past and predecessor exhibitions (actual and proposed) that had a similar thematic underpinning. This first box includes the checklist for the 1969 exhibition Treasures of Americana from the Library of the N-YHS, a checklist from a 1971-1972 "manuscripts show," documents related to the 1984 Treasures of Manuscript Americana, and principally files on selections for a proposed Library Treasures exhibition (circa 1991) that was not installed.
Library Treasures / Treasury of the Past (2 of 2 boxes), 1994-1996
Letters from a War / Pray for Me (23 folders), 1992-2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the files of, principally, curator Margaret Heilbrun concerning two related exhibitions: Letters from a War, held at New York University in 1993-94, and Pray for Me, an extended version of Letters, held at N-YHS in 2000.
Navy Signal Books, 1992
Curators Lab exhibition (proposed), 1993
Creating American Cultural Heroes (proposed), 1993
Edith Wharton / Age of Innocence, 1993
Clement Clarke Moore, 1995
Becoming Eleanor Roosevelt: The Early New York Years, 1996
New York's Independence Day, 1996
Presidential Politics: Election Year Documents, 1996
Negative Politics (not installed), 1996
Robert Fulton (2 folders), 1996
Audubon, 1997
To Hell with Reform: The Race to Become Mayor of Greater New York, 1997
Love Letters (2 folders), 1997
Henry James (3 folders), 1997
William Sidney Mount, 1998
Militant Metropolis: New York City and the Spanish-American War (4 folders), 1998
New York City Police, 1998
George Washington: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times (3 folders), 1998
John Genin / American Institute, 1998
General Exhibitions File, 1999-2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes schedules and proposals.
Inventing the Skyline: The Architecture of Cass Gilbert (1 of 4 boxes), 1992-1994, 1999-2000
Scope and Contents Note
These four boxes include files concerning the exhibition and catalogue for Inventing the Skyline. In large part, they appear to be those of exhibition curator and catalogue editor Margaret Heilbrun. Most of the documents relate to the catalogue but exhibition material can be found in the first two boxes.
Inventing the Skyline: The Architecture of Cass Gilbert (2 of 4 boxes), 2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes color slides of the exhibition and actual labels. Also includes photographs used in the catalogue.
Inventing the Skyline: The Architecture of Cass Gilbert (3 of 4 boxes), 1997-2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence related to the production of the catalogue and drafts of the text. (Later drafts, especially those from the copy editor and print proofs, were discarded by the processing archivist.)
Inventing the Skyline: The Architecture of Cass Gilbert (4 of 4 boxes), 1999-2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes drafts of catalogue text, photographs and floppy disks from the essay authors with their submissions.
75 Years of Holiday Magic: Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2001
The British in New York Since 1770, 2001
The Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (proposed), 2003
Scope and Contents Note
Traveling expedition proposed to N-YHS by Lewis & Clark College.
John Lansing, 2011
Exhibition Labels (1 of 4 boxes), circa 1995-2004
Scope and Contents Note
These four boxes include original labels, some associated with identified exhibitions, others not. Identified exhibitions in this box include: George Washington: A Man of His Time (1998), Letters from a War (1992), Erskine-DeWitt Maps, First Ladies (2004), Abraham Lincoln Selections, Treasures Show (1984), and possibly Treasury of the Past (1995).
Exhibition Labels (2 of 4 boxes), 1970s?
Scope and Contents Note
Includes no specifically identified exhibition.
Exhibition Labels (3 of 4 boxes), circa 1995-2005
Scope and Contents Note
Identified exhibitions in this box include: Presidential Manuscripts, possibly Clement C. Moore (1995), Cass Gilbert (2005), possibly Treasury of the Past (1995), possibly Robert Fulton.
Exhibition Labels (4 of 4 boxes), Undated
Scope and Contents Note
Includes no specifically identified exhibition.
Exhibition Files (17 folders), 1973-2006, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Most of these files were transfered to the Archives in 2021 by long-time N-YHS librarian Mariam Touba. Exhibitions include Treasury of the Past, Evacuation Day, Greetings f the Year, blizzard of '88, First in the Hearts, Ardent Spirits and Demon Rum, To the Publick, Militant Metropolis Suspicious Truths, Thomas Paine, Independence and its Enemies. Also, here is a docent resource manual for Without Sanctuary.
Series VI. Outgoing Loans, 1960-1992 (bulk, 1979-1992)
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes records of library items loaned to other institutions. (Other records of loans can be found in other series, especially Series VIII. Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC, a/k/a Print Room) and Series IX. Conservation.)
Arrangement Note
The files are in two sets, following original order: loans to 1985 and loans 1985-1992. The loans to 1985 are in chronological order and the subsequent set is in alphabetical order by borrowing institution.
Loans, 1978-1982 (6 folders), 1960-1983
Loans, Art Institute of Chicago, 1981-1983
Loans, 1983-1985 (6 folders), 1983-1986
Loans, A-B (7 folders), 1986-1988
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Abigail Adams Smith Museum, Albany Institute, Amon Carter Museum, Anacostia Neighborhood Museum, Bard College, Brooklyn Historical, Brooklyn Musum.
Loans, B-L (26 folders), 1985-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Bronx Museum, Chicago Historical, Columbia University, Cooper-Hewitt, Connecticut Historical, Corcoran, Erasmus Hall, Alice & Hamilton Fish Library, Fort Stanwix, Fraunces Tavern, Grey Art Gallery, Grolier Club, Herbert Hoover Library, Historical Society of Delaware, Hudson River Museum, Huntington, International Museum of Photography, Jordan-Volpe, Library of Congress.
Loans, M-Y (41 folders), 1985-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum of Brooklyn, National Archives, National Gallery of Art, National Portrait Gallery, New Jersey State Museum, New York Public Library, Operation Sail, Parrish Art Museum, The Octagon, Philadelphia Maritime, JP Morgan Library, Queens Museum, Rainbow Room, South Street Seaport, Tiffany & Co., Timken Art Gallery, US Senate Commission, Utah Museum, Valentine Museum,Vassar, Washington State Capitol Museum, Williams College, Yeshiva University Museum.
Series VII. Board Library Committee Matters (RESTRICTED), 1950-2019, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes Library management's copies of Board of Trustee meeting materials, principally those of the Library Committee. The series also holds the Library's work files and other underlying material prepared in support of Board and Board Committee deliberations. As of 2017, only Library Committee reports to 1959 are open for research. See the Access Restrictions note.
Access Restrictions
N-YHS generally restricts the records of the Board and the Executive Office for fifty years following the conclusion of the tenure of a President and CEO (formerly, Director). Accordingly, only those few files in the series dating up to 1959 are open. Subsequent files relate to the tenure of James Heslin (1960-1982) and later administrations, and so are restricted until 2033 and later.
Subseries VII.A. Board & Committee Meetings, 1950-2019, inclusive
Extent
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged in chronological order.
Library Committee Reports (7 folders) (RESTRICTED IN PART), 1950-1982, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Folders for 1950-1959 are open. Foldes for 1960-1982 are restricted.
Series VIII. Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC, a/k/a Print Room), 1940-2018 (bulk, 1970s-2013), inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC) series includes files maintained by the curators and directors of the department, commonly referred to in the records as the Print Room. These records principally concern exhibitions, both those curated by PPAC staff and those mounted by the museum and other library units to which PPAC contributed. The series also includes records of loans from the Print Room to other institutions. Also included are files concerning the collections (e.g., acquisitions, conservation, surveys, inventories, cataloging projects) and administrative matters (e.g., budgets, reports, memos, statistics).
Arrangement Note
The Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture series is organized in the following subseries:
Subseries VIII.A. Curatorial & Administrative Files (1950s-2015)
Subseries VIII.B. Exhibition Files (1940-2018)
Subseries VIII.C. Loans (1984-2015)
The exhibition files in subseries VIII.B are those that were maintained as standalone sets of files, or at least were found in that way during archival processing in 2016. Exhibition files found integrated with a curator's general files remain there and so can be found in subseries VIII.A.
Biographical/Historical Note
Although prints, photographs and architectural plans have been collected at N-YHS since the nineteenth century, the institutional history of what is now known as the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC) begins more recently, in 1939. In that year, N-YHS opened its newly expanded and renovated building on Central Park West. Within the larger space, a new room was designated the "Map and Print Room" to house the collection (which included photographs even though the word was absent from the "M&P" Room's title). More importantly, staff was hired and assigned to the care of these collections. At the same time, as the professional staff expanded throughout N-YHS, an organizational division developed between the Library and the Museum, each gaining its own head who reported to the chief executive officer, then called the Director. Prior to 1938, both branches of N-YHS's cultural resources reported to the Librarian. The Map and Print Room did not form a third branch, remaining within Library management.
Over the following decades, the scope of the collections of the Map and Print Room evolved with institutional changes. Responsibility for architecture was added from the Manuscript Department while maps were transferred to the Reading Room. Drawings were transferred to the Museum while the Bella Landauer collection was added. Landauer's collection of business and advertising ephemera came to N-YHS in 1926. It too was housed in a separate room at Central Park West where Landauer continued to add to the collection and work on it as honorary curator until her death in 1960. By 1973, Wilson Duprey was no longer Curator of Maps and Prints, but simply Curator of Prints. Similarly, the Map and Print Room became known as the Print Room, a name that, although referring to a physical location, has stuck informally over time to refer to the print, photograph and architecture collections and staff more generally. Certainly, in the records of this series and the institutional records overall, reference to Print Room will be commonly found, as in the title of the 1983 Print Room Collection Guide, an unpublished in-house finding aid.
The 1980s and 1990s, the years that are most extensively documented at present in this series, saw significant developments in the management of these collections. In terms of overall responsibility, in the early 1980s executive management considered transferring the Print Room collections from the Library to the Museum, but with no appetite for this within either department, the move did not take place. But this proved to be just a postponement as the transfer eventually did occur, in 1989. As part of a reorganization of N-YHS at that time, a number of functions were consolidated under the leadership of the new Museum Director, Holly Hotchner. With their transfer to the Museum, the Print Room collections and staff took on a new name, which remains today: the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC).
PPAC remained with the Museum only eight years, transferring back to the Library in 1998, where it remains today. Yet during that brief time, several important initiatives were implemented. In 1992, Helena Zinkham, a former curator of prints in PPAC, completed her work on a preliminary guide to the print, photograph and architecture collection. Initially only an in-house guide, funds were eventually raised for the publication of the Guide in 1997. Wendy Shadwell, who had been Curator of Prints since 1974, was joined by two additional experts, Mary Beth Betts as Curator of Architectural Collections (1990-1999) and Dale Neighbors as Curator of Photography (1987-1998). The extent of surveying and cataloging of the collections increased, as did exhibitions drawing on them, including McKim, Mead & White's New York (1991) and Building City Hall: Competition, Construction and Context (1992). With the shift of PPAC back to the Library in 1998, PPAC continued both in its traditional role of providing material in support of exhibitions mounted by the Museum and Library, as well as installing exhibitions based on its collections. And under the leadership of Marilyn Kushner, PPAC's Curator and Head since 2006, the department has moved beyond these boundaries, perhaps most notably in Dr. Kushner's curatorship of the landmark Armory Show at 100 exhibition and its related Internet-based resources.
Processing Information Note
The Mary Beth Betts files were arranged and placed in archival folders at some point, perhaps circa 2004. Most of the other documents remain in their original files, with their arrangement refined by project archivist Larry Weimer in 2016. Many of the documents associated here with Dale Neighbors, especially those concerning the Zinkham guide, were found loose in 2016, and were arranged and foldered by Larry Weimer.
Additional exhibition files were transferred to the archives in 2017 and 2018 by curator Marilyn Kushner and were processed into the record group by Larry Weimer.
Subseries VIII.A. Curatorial & Administrative Files, 1950s-2015
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
This subseries includes files of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century curators and directors of the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (PPAC), referred to commonly in the records and in the institution as the Print Room. Specifically, the subseries includes files of Curator of Prints Wendy Shadwell (1974-2002), Curator of Architecture Mary Beth Betts (1990-1999), Curators of Photographs Dale Neighbors (1987-1998) and Holly Hinman (1998-2004?), and Directors Pamela Dewey (1998-2000?) and Valerie Komor (2000-2003). The date ranges indicate the time the individual held the position, not necessarily the date range of the records held in their files. The records, although associated here with particular individuals, commonly hold documents from their predecessors and likely also include files of other individuals that mixed in over time.
The files hold a range of materials concerning exhibitions, collections, conservation, and administrative matters. The container list provides summary descriptions for the principal subject content that is held within each box. The content can be further summarized as follows:
Wendy Shadwell's files include the broadest range of materials over the longest period of time. These files include internal memos, statistics, monthly reports, planning documents, budgets, consultant reports, collection inventories, acquisition documentation, reference inquiries, presentations to school groups, and conservation matters. The acquisition documents include index cards maintained by Shadwell's predecessor with notes on donations from 1969-1974.
Mary Beth Betts's files center on the architectural collections and primarily include her working files for several exhibitions, especially McKim, Mead & White's New York and Building City Hall: Competition, Construction and Context, which drew on the John McComb collection. Betts's files also include correspondence related to the architectural collections and grants, particularly for Cass Gilbert-related projects. Associated with Betts, though not directly attributed to her files in the container list, are cataloging worksheets for the McComb, Pollard, Davis and Cass Gilbert collections.
Dale Neighbors's files also include exhibition-related material, especially related to the 1995 gallery re-opening Treasury of the Past. Various exhibition possibilities are documented here, including some material for the planning in the late 1990s of a rotation of core New York City history-themed exhibitions. Likely in connection with one of these possibilities is a set of mounted newspaper photograph clippings apparently from the 1950s-1970s and at least in part from a series "New York's Changing Scene." Some administrative files relevant to the photograph collections are found here, including grants, acquisition possibilities, planning, and facilities. In connection with this last subject, there are three oversize plans from architect Richard Jansen for the existing and planned lay-out of the Print Room (1990).
Neighbors's files also hold documentation of two projects: Helena Zinkham's A Guide to Print, Photograph, Architectural and Ephemera Collections at N-YHS and consideration of creating a "daybook"/calendar with photographs and other images from the collections. The Zinkham records include correspondence, inventories, drafts, and other materials concerning the development of her unpublished preliminary Guide (1992) and the final published edition (1998).
Files from Neighbors's successor, Holly Hinman, primarily include information on various then-active photographers, likely in connection with potential acquisitions or exhibition. Many of the files have color slides, photographic prints, or digital media of the photographers' works; the container list entry includes the names of those photographers with such media in the files. Also included in the subseries are files concerning various surveys of the collections of negatives.
The Pamela Dewey and Valerie Komor files include grant proposals for conservation, digitization, and other matters; processing and project plans for cataloging and other description initiatives, including the monthly status reports for the Mellon-funded visual materials cataloging project; general correspondence and internal memos; collection descriptions, such as inventories, lists, surveys, counts, and acquisitions/donations; and administrative issues, such as the move of the Print Room to the 2nd floor. These files also include reports from the Mellon-funded studies on contemporary/contemporaneous collecting and information about the Landauer collection, such as the transfer of objects to the museum and a folder of clippings and original magazines with articles dating from the 1940s-70s, among other documents.
The subseries also holds files concerning the "Here is New York" collection and, to a lesser extent, the 2007 exhibition of the same name.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged by curator/director files in roughly chronological order. Integrated into the arrangement at an appropriate spot based on chronology and subject are three subject files (architectural collection cataloging worksheets, negative collections surveys, and "Here is New York" collection).
Wendy Shadwell Files (1 of 6 boxes), 1964-1995
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files principally concerning statistics, monthly reports, goals, planning, and reports from advisers.
Wendy Shadwell Files (2 of 6 boxes), 1967-1996
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files principally concerning collections, including inventories, collection management, and reports from advisers.
Wendy Shadwell Files (3 of 6 boxes), 1978-1994
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning specific collections, including Bracklow, Long Island Fishermen, photographs, and the MTA collection (including documents related to the MTA's claims on the collection), and conservation matters.
Wendy Shadwell Files (4 of 6 boxes), 1969-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on acquisitions and correspondence with dealers (purchases, offers), including index cards with entries for acquisitions 1969-74. Also includes budget data (1989-1994) and a compiled list of Print Room staff (1917-80).
Wendy Shadwell Files (5 of 6 boxes), 1976-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes staff memos, both to general staff and to specific individuals, including the heads of the Library (Larry Sullivan, James Mooney) and the Museum (Holly Hotchner), and some correspondence.
Wendy Shadwell Files (6 of 6 boxes), 1984-1995
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence regarding reference inquiries and various subject files (volunteer hour summary for fiscal year 1995, blank forms, "show & tell" presentations to school groups, and emergency/safety procedures).
Mary Beth Betts Files (1 of 16 boxes), 1989-1994
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence concerning research requests, reproductions, and other architectural collections use.
Mary Beth Betts Files (2 of 16 boxes), 1994-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes correspondence concerning research requests, reproductions, and other architectural collections use.
Mary Beth Betts Files (3 of 16 boxes), 1991-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning grants, particularly for Cass Gilbert-related projects.
Mary Beth Betts Files (4 of 16 boxes), 1990-1996
Scope and Contents Note
Includes 14 folders concerning grants, primarily for conservation and general information. Also includes 2 plastic containers and a folder of 3" and 5" floppy disks; the labeling indicates these include various general work memos and exhibition matter.
Mary Beth Betts Files (5 of 16 boxes), 1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition McKim, Mead & White's New York.
Mary Beth Betts Files (6 of 16 boxes), 1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition McKim, Mead & White's New York.
Mary Beth Betts Files (7 of 16 boxes), 1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition McKim, Mead & White's New York.
Mary Beth Betts Files (8 of 16 boxes), 1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition McKim, Mead & White's New York.
Mary Beth Betts Files (9 of 16 boxes), 1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition Building City Hall: Competition, Construction and Context [McComb].
Mary Beth Betts Files (10 of 16 boxes), 1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition Building City Hall: Competition, Construction and Context [McComb].
Mary Beth Betts Files (11 of 16 boxes), 1956, 1991-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition Building City Hall: Competition, Construction and Context [McComb]. Includes the pamphlet "The Rehabilitation of City Hall" by Frederick H. Zurmuhlen (1956) with a ticket to the Rededication Ceremony of July 12, 1956.
Mary Beth Betts Files (12 of 16 boxes), 1994
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition The Grand American Avenue [Fifth Ave].
Mary Beth Betts Files (13 of 16 boxes), 1995-1996
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition In Cold Blood: Five Murders that Shocked New York.
Mary Beth Betts Files (14 of 16 boxes), 1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition Signs and Wonders: The Spectacular Lights of Times Square.
Mary Beth Betts Files (15 of 16 boxes), 1996-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the exhibition Signs and Wonders: The Spectacular Lights of Times Square. Includes a pre-publication version of the book Signs and Wonders by Tama Starr & Edward Hayman.
Mary Beth Betts Files (16 of 16 boxes), 1995-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files for exhibitions concerning food (proposed), Landmarks of New York, Kid City, George B. Post, and notes and other documents related to other exhibitions or proposed exhibitions.
Cataloging Worksheets (1 of 2 boxes), circa 1990
Scope and Contents Note
Includes worksheets for the McComb and Pollard architectural collections.
Cataloging Worksheets (2 of 2 boxes), circa 1990
Scope and Contents Note
Includes worksheets for the Davis and Cass Gilbert architectural collections.
Dale Neighbors Files (1 of 5 boxes), 1994-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files concerning the 1995 Treasury of the Past ("Treasures") exhibition and plans for developing a "daybook"/calendar with photographs and other images from the collections.
Dale Neighbors Files (2 of 5 boxes), 1950s-1970s, 1994-1996
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on the planning for a rotation of core New York City history-themed exhibitions, exhibition New York:Then and Now, and a set of clippings apparently from the 1950s-1970s and at least in part from a newspapers series "New York's Changing Scene."
Dale Neighbors Files (3 of 5 boxes), 1987-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on various exhibition proposals or possibilities (Bowery, Summer, Spanish-American War collection-based theme), as well as general exhibition matters; general correspondence (research inquiries, reproduction requests, loan requests, etc.); acquisition possibilities, including the Long Island Fisherman collection; administrative matters, including priorities, goals, activities, procedures; and facilities. Three oversize architectural plans from Richard Jansen were moved to a drawer.
Dale Neighbors Files. Oversize, 1990
Scope and Contents Note
Includes three plans from Richard Jansen, architect: Existing Furniture Layout, Third Floor; Third Floor Print Room: Proposed Furnishings; and Third Floor Print Room: Proposed Construction.
Dale Neighbors Files (4 of 5 boxes), 1988-1998
Scope and Contents Note
This box and the next includes Helena Zinkham's working files for her 1992 A Guide to Print, Photograph, Architectural and Ephemera Collections at N-YHS, a 1991 draft and the 1992 "Preliminary Edition" of the Guide, the working files for the 1998 publication of the Guide, mounted examples of publication format possibilities, and related correspondence. Three oversize images of the book's proposed covers were moved to an oversize box.
Dale Neighbors Files. Oversize, 1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes three oversize images of the proposed covers for Helena Zinkham's 1997 guide to the Print Room collections.
Dale Neighbors Files (5 of 5 boxes), 1994-1998
Scope and Contents Note
Includes one folder of page proofs for Zinkham's 1998 Guide, an NEH grant request for preservation of negatives, and Durr collection photographs.
Pamela Dewey/Valerie Komor Files (1 of 4 boxes), 1999-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on exhibitions (principally small working files for Jesse Tarbox Beals and The Changing Face of Liberty); loan requests and returns; an agreement with Lehman Brothers concerning rights for material supplied by N-YHS for use on Morgan Stanley's HoloPro System; and acquisitions/donations and collection development policies.
Pamela Dewey/Valerie Komor Files (2 of 4 boxes), 1940s-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes collection descriptions, such as inventories, lists, surveys, counts, etc. The Landauer collection includes information about the transfer of objects to the museum and a folder of clippings and original magazines with articles dating from the 1940s-70s, among other documents. Also includes processing and project plans for cataloging and other description initiatives, including the monthly status reports for the Mellon-funded visual materials cataloging project.
Pamela Dewey/Valerie Komor Files (3 of 4 boxes), 1997-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Continues with files on collection description, including reports from the Mellon-funded studies on contemporary/contemporaneous collecting. Includes files concerning conservation, move of the Print Room to the 2nd floor, statistics, administrative matters (copyright, organization charts, and job descriptions), and a file related to Mary Beth Betts' presentation at a food/culinary historian program (1998).
Pamela Dewey/Valerie Komor Files (4 of 4 boxes), 1992-2004
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on grant proposals (conservation, digitization, institutional archives, etc.), general correspondence, internal memos, a research folder on the history of the Dakota, and four color slides of abstract artworks by Pamela Lawton related to the World Trade Center (1998).
Holly Hinman Files. Photographers, 1993-1995, 2000-2004
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Hinman's files (A-Z) on photographers, likely in connection with potential acquisitions or exhibition. Many of the files have color slides, photographic prints, or digital media of the works; photographers with such original media include: Walter Chandoha, Jerry Dantzic, Stephanie Diamond, Morris, Engel, Gina Fuentes-Walker, Anders Goldfarb, Stephen Hoffman, Sheila Kove, G. David Marshall, Barbara Mensch, Elaine Norman, Christine Osinski, Gerald Panter, Orville Robertson, and Lynn Saville (other artists not named here commonly have print or other reproduction forms of their work). The box also holds a file of Hinman's notes for a presentation at N-YHS to an NYU class.
Negative Collections Surveys, 1948-2006
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on various surveys of negative collections in the Print Room in the 1990s and early-mid 2000s. A small number of inventories, notes, correspondence, and other documents dating as early as 1948 related to negatives are in the files. Among this early material is a 1948 list of the Thomas H. Franklin Collection (Steamship Historical Society of America) glass plates deposited with N-YHS and notations concerning railroad photos in the George T. Bagoe collection.
Here is New York (30 folders), 2003-2012
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files primarily on the collection, with one folder regarding the 2007-2008 exhibition.
General Administrative Files, 1960-1999, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Includes acquisitions, correspondence, and loans.
General Administrative Files, 1980-1998, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Mainly correspondence about Architectural Collections.
Subseries VIII.B. Exhibition Files, 1940-2018, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries includes sets of exhibition files that were maintained as standalone sets of files, or at least were found in that way during archival processing in 2016. The earliest files, from the 1940s and 1950s, appear to have been compiled at a later date by Wendy Shadwell and often include photographs of objects and the exhibition galleries. Later files often include photocopies of images of objects, but not of the galleries. Generally, the records are working files recording selections from the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture (i.e., PPAC, or sometimes referred to as the Print Room) for museum and library exhibitions and the return of the items to the Print Room. Later files have the call slips for the selected documents. Many of the files have checklists, text, some research files, etc. The container list includes notes indicating those exhibitions that appear to have folders with more substantive or extensive documentation; the exhibition names used in the container list generally come from the original folder labels and likely do not match the actual exhibition titles precisely.
A particularly rich set of documents in this subseries relates to the 2013 exhibition The Armory Show at 100. The subseries holds the files of exhibition curator Marilyn Kushner, which include checklists, loan documentation, design plans, publicity, and other documents.
Subsequent to the major processing project in 2016, additional files of exhibitions curated or organized by the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architecture from 2016 and later were transferred to the archives and these are included in the subseries as well.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged in chronological order by the year of an exhibition's opening year.
Exhibitions. 1940s (7 folders), 1940-1949
Scope and Contents Note
Includes photographs for Emma Thursby Memorial, Allied Artists, Jenny Lind, Our GIs in Seven Wars, American Presentation Silver, Audubon, Historic Hudson in Prints, News Artists to the American People, American & European Bookplates, American Quilts, and California Gold Rush.
Exhibitions. 1950s (2 folders), 1950, 1958
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Erie Canal and America in Daguerreotypes.
Exhibitions. 1960s (15 folders), 1960-1969
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Niagara Falls, New York's Crystal Palace, Transportation in New York, America in Allegory, Maps/Prints, Central Park, Advertising Posters, Summer in New York, Theatrical Posters.
Exhibitions. 1970s (12 folders), 1970-1974
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Eye on the City and Old New York in Early Photographs.
Exhibitions. 1970s (12 folders), 1974-1979
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Manhattan Now, Americans in Silhouette, Ain't I A Woman?, Landauer, Fashions & Facades, Feininger, Views of New York State, and 1939 World's Fair.
Exhibitions. 1980s (24 folders), 1981-1984
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Silhouettes by Edouart, George Washington in New York State, Birth of New York, A Bridge Opens to Brooklyn, Postcards, Her Voice Was Heard.
Exhibitions. 1980s (11 folders), 1984, 1986
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Chicago & New York: Architectural Interactions and Prized Portraits.
Exhibitions. 1980s (16 folders), 1984-1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Strong on Music, New York Bestiary, Government by Choice, Artistic Houses, George Washington, 1939 World's Fair.
Exhibitions. 1980s (6 folders), 1989
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Treasures, Patronage (proposed; also known as Patrons, Collectors and Collections), Irving Browning, Burr McIntosh: Polite Society.
Exhibitions. 1990s (9 folders), 1990-1991
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Thomas Jefferson Bryan Prints, Archives Week, While They Fought: New York City Homefront During World War II.
Exhibitions. 1990s (18 folders), 1992-1994
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Strobridge Circus and Theater Posters (at Paine-Webber Gallery), Board Games, proposed gallery reinstallation of the permanent collections, Jefferson, Exhibition Lab.
Exhibitions. 1990s (12 folders), 1995-1997
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Treasury of the Past, Creating Fame, Age of Innocence, Audubon, World War II, Etchings from James Boyd Collection, Portraits of a New Yorker, Prints from the Reba and Dave Williams Collection.
Exhibitions. 1990s (10 folders), 1997-1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Signs & Wonders, Audubon, Feathers, Currier & Ives, George B. Post, Spanish-American War, Yadda Yadda Yadda.
Exhibitions. 1990s (10 folders), 1999
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Building History, Her Beautiful Face, Future Works, Genin the Hatter, Beals on Assignment
Exhibitions. 2000s (18 folders), 2000-2001
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Italians of New York, Strobridge Circus & Theater Posters, Jenny Lind, Up on the Roof, Against the Storm/Lighthouse Collection. See also Series VIII.C. Loans subseries; some exhibition folders appear to have been misfiled there including "Walkabout" and "Lady Liberty."
Exhibitions. 2000s (20 folders), 2001-2003
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Irwin Silver: Nightwalks, Flophouses, The British in New York Since 1770, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Flatiron, Jules Feiffer, Before Central Park.
Exhibitions. 2000s (15 folders), 2002-2004
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Magnum, Three Women Photographers, Petropolis, Home Sewn, Impressions of New York: Prints from N-YHS.
Exhibitions. 2000s (15 folders), 2004-2005
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, From Abyssinian to Zion, If Elected, Tunnel Visions, Hamilton, Children at Risk, Beekman Coach, First Ladies, Hudson River.
Exhibitions. 2000s (19 folders), 2005-2007
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Slavery, Group Dynamics, Great Hall installation, John B. Snook, Sugar, and various mini-exhibitions.
Exhibitions. 2000s (19 folders), 2007-2008
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Carry Me Home, Tiffany/Clara Driscoll, Civil War Zouaves, Lafayette.
Exhibitions. 2000s (17 folders), 2007-2009
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Life's Pleasures/Ashcan Artists and Advertising/Ashcan, Grant & Lee, John Rogers, Landmarks of New York City.
Exhibitions. 2000s (8 folders), 2009
Scope and Contents Note
Includes only Nation at the Crossroads: New York Debates the Constitution (also referred to for short as Ratification).
Exhibitions. 2000s (10 folders), 2009, 2012, inclusive
Scope and Contents Note
Includes mostly the 2009 exhibition Harlem: Photographs by Camilo Jose Vergara. Also includes one folder for the "Harlem 2" exhibition of Vergara's photographs in 2012. Also includes 2 folders for Lincoln in New York.
Exhibitions. 2010s (12 folders), 2010-2011
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, World of Asher B. Durand, John Rogers, peter Marie Cabinets, Remembering 9/11.
Exhibitions. 2010s (5 folders), 2012-2013, inclusive
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Freedom Now: Photographs by Platon, New York Buildings, Landmarks, Vergara Traveling Show re: Harlem, and Vergara Martin Luther King, Jr. photographs..
Exhibitions. 2010s. The Armory Show at 100 (1 of 4 boxes), 2013
Scope and Contents Note
This set of 4 boxes plus an oversize folder include the files of exhibition curator Marilyn Kushner. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject matter. This first box includes files on, among other topics, budgets, catalogue information, checklists, design (see also the oversize noted below), text, and representative wall text panels.
Exhibitions. 2010s. The Armory Show at 100 (2 of 4 boxes), 2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on, among other subjects, development/funding, digital/website, education programs, and labels.
Exhibitions. 2010s. The Armory Show at 100 (3 of 4 boxes), 2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on, among other subjects, loans, programs, publicity, and symposia, and a list of unlocated works (as of June 2010).
Exhibitions. 2010s. The Armory Show at 100 (4 of 4 boxes), 2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on, among other subjects, travel and miscellaneous.
Exhibitions. 2010s. The Armory Show at 100. Oversize, 2013
Scope and Contents Note
Includes the floor plan, elevations, and other design plans for the exhibition.
Exhibitions. 2010s (13 folders), 2012-2014, inclusive
Scope and Contents Note
Includes primarily Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (2014). Also includes Urban Views (2012), Stories in Sterling (2012), Farley Post Office (2013), Bill Cunningham Facades (2014), and Chinese Exclusion Act(2014).
Exhibitions. 2010s (9 folders), 2014, 2016, inclusive
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Annie Leibovitz: Pilgrimage (2014) and Anti-Semitism (2016).
Exhibitions. 2010s (6 folders), 2016-2018, inclusive
Scope and Contents Note
Includes "Larry Silver Photographs" (1 folder), "American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life & Times" (2 folders), "Rebel Spirits: Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr." (1 folder), Kalinsky photographs of Muhammad Ali (1 folder), and "New York Through the Lens of George Kalinsky" (1 folder).
Subseries VIII.C. Loans, 1984-2016
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries includes loan requests, primarily for material outgoing to other institutions, but also includes some records of internal loans for exhibitions.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged chronologically. The material remains in its original folders and original order. Loans through 1995 or so are foldered together. After 1995, loans are foldered individually.
Loan Requests From Other Institutions, 1984-1998
Loans Out at Other Institutions, 1985-1995
Loans Rejected & Cancelled, 1991-1993
Loans Out to Other N-YHS Departments, 1979-1996
Loans Miscellaneous, 1984-1985
Loans Returned (3 folders), 1984-1989
Loans Returned, 1989-1995
Individual Loan Files (15 folders), 1996-2000
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Parrish Art Museum, Stony Brook Museum, Yale, "Hair" (appears to be a proposed N-YHS exhibition), Brandywine River Museum, Nassau County Museum, Columbia University, MOMA, Baltimore Museum, Fraunces Tavern.
Individual Loan Files (18 folders), 2000-2002
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, South Street Seaport, From Indian Princess to Lady Liberty (likely an N-YHS exhibition of a similar name), Stony Brook, Berry-Hill, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Walkabout (likely an N-YHS exhibition of a similar name), Museum of Sex.
Individual Loan Files (16 folders), 2003-2016
Scope and Contents Note
Includes, among others, Hirschl & Adler, Times Square exhibition, New York Botanical, Yeshiva University, Bard Graduate Center, Bronx Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, Museum of the City of New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College
Subseries VIII.D. Collection Files, 1940-, inclusive
Mixed Material Collections A-Ge
Scope and Contents
Album File (PR 02) [3 folders]
Artistic Houses (PR 87) [1 folder]
Bagoe Collection (No PR-Dispersed) [1 folder]
Bannerman, Jane. Sketchbooks (PR 297) [1 folder]
Benney, Robert L., Research Collection (PR 250) [1 folder]
Ben Brown WWII Drawings (PR 274) [1 folder]
Clark, Horace B. (PR 02-098) [1 folder]
Certificate File (PR 014) [3 folders]
Cruikshank Collection of NYC Views (No PR) [1 folder]
Delano, William Adams (PR 244) [1 folder]
Dorsey (PR 17) [1 folder]
Draper, Ruth (PR 245) [1 folder]
Ephemera File (PR 264) [1 folder]
Oscar Fabres (PR 79) [1 folder]
Geographic File (PR 20) [8 folders]
Mixed Material Collections Gi-R
Scope and Contents
Richard Gilbert Advertising (PR 309) [1 folder]
Graff, Washbourne & Dunn Silversmiths (PR 243) [1 folder]
Hamilton, Alexander Morgan, Family Collection (PR 103) [1 folder]
Hudson-Fulton Celebration (PR 268) [1 folder]
Karp, Marilyn & Ivan (PR 279) [2 folders]
Landauer (PR 31) [18 folders]
Lighthouse Print & Photograph Collection (PR 38) [1 folder]
McCullough, Hall Park–Graphic Arts (PR 22) [1 folder]
[Naval History Society]–Maritime History Collection (PR 100) [1 folder]
Mark David Olds WWII Collection (PR 287) [1 folder]
Pagliaro (PR 282) [1 folder]
Paul Gillespie Collection of New York World's Fair Materials (PR 283) [1 folder]
Portrait File (PR 52) [3 folders]
Harry Rosen El Borracho Collection (PR 308) [1 folder]
Mixed Material Collections S-W
Scope and Contents
Schafler Graphic Collection (PR 331) [1 folder]
Subject File (PR 68) [1 folder]
Theatrical Portrait File (PR 104) [2 folders]
Vanderbilt House and Collection (PR 173) [1 folder]
Winston Weisman Architectural Photographs (PR 73) [1 folder]
Photo Collections A-Be
Scope and Contents
Agassiz Association (PR 167) [1 folder]
John Albok Collection (PR 01) [3 folders]
Alexander Alland Collection (PR 110) [1 folder]
Anaconda Smelter Photo Collection (PR 222) [1 folder]
Armbruster Collection (PR 81) [1 folder]
Bill Aron Collection (PR 192) [1 folder]
Jessie Tarbox Beals (PR 04) [11 folders]
Photo Collections Bi-Car
Scope and Contents
Billboard Collection (PR 5) [3 folders]
Blackstone-Shelbourne Studio Portrait Collection aka Jacobs (PR 114) [1 folder]
Herman Blumenthal Collection (PR 119) [1 folder]
Bracklow Collection (PR 08) [8 folders]
George Bradley Civil War photos (PR 218) [1 folder]
Brady Studio Portrait Collection (PR 85) [1 folder]
David Brandin Photo Collection (PR 273) [1 folder]
Margaret Brown Dutch Houses (PR 118) [1 folder]
Louise Browne Photograph Collection (PR 171) [1 folder]
Browning Photograph Collection (PR 09) [3 folders]
Carte de Visite Photograph File (PR 11) [1 folder]
Photo Collections Cas-Dod
Scope and Contents
Cased Image Collection (PR 12) [5 folders]
Lucius H. Cathan Collection (PR 132) [1 folder]
Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine - Hervey Collection (PR 13) [1 folder]
Arthur D. Chapman Photos (PR 15) [1 folder]
H. M. Chester Photos (PR 131) [1 folder]
Civil War Photographs ( PR 164) [1 folder]
Ernst Cohen Photos (PR 280) [1 folder]
Con Edison Photograph Collection (DISPERSED to other collections) [2 folders]
Costume Ball Collection (PR 223) [1 folder]
Cotterell Negative Collection (nitrates) (PR 238) [1 folder]
Frank W. Crane Collection (PR 128) [1 folder]
Cross and Brown Architectural Photos (PR 111) [2 folders]
Bill Cunningham Photos (PR 307) [1 folders]
Bruce Davidson Photos (PR 89) [1 folder]
DeGroot Family Photos (PR 120) [1 folder]
Dept. of Docks and Ferries Photos (PR 262) [1 folder]
George C. Dodd Photos (PR 168) [1 folder]
Photo Collections Dog-Gor
Scope and Contents
Burhan Dogancy Photos (PR 183) [1 folder]
Asher B. Durand Negative Collection (PR 165) [1 folder]
Wilberforce Eames Negative Collection (PR 112) [1 folder]
Early American West Photos (PR 266) [1 folder]
Edouart Silhouette Photo Collection (PR 101) [1 folder]
Equitable Building Fire Photos (PR 330) [1 folder]
Andreas Feininger Photo Collection (PR 207) [3 folders]
Fifth Avenue Coach Company Photos (PR 18) [2 folders]
Rhoda Galyn Photos (PR 197) [1 folder]
Robert Gambee Photos (PR 198) [1 folder]
Arnold Genthe Photos (PR 19) [6 folders]
Michael George Photos (PR 199) [1 folder]
George Washington Bridge Construction Photos (PR 137) [1 folder]
Ray Germann Collection (PR 311) [1 folder]
Gettysburg War Memorials Photos (PR 214) [1 folder]
Goodwill Delegation Collection (PR 124) [1 folder]
Eugene Gordon (PR 248) [1 folder]
Photo Collections Got-Ha
Scope and Contents
Bernard Gotfryd (PR 276) [4 folders]
William Grabowski (PR 321) [1 folder]
Norvin Green Elevated Railroad Photos (PR 23) [1 folder]
Arthur Grumbine Photos (PR 97) [1 folder]
George P. Hall Photos (PR 24) [3 folders]
Lathrop and Mabel Urner Harper Photos (PR 121) [1 folder]
Hassler Photographs (PR 83) [3 folders]
Alexander Hatos Photos (PR 48) [1 folder]
Havemeyer/de Loosey Family Photos (PR 130) [1 folder]
Photo Collections He-Ken
Scope and Contents
Mattie Hewitt and Richard Smith Photos (PR 26) [5 folders]
Chester Higgins Photos (PR 176) [1 folder]
Eugene Higgins House Photos (PR 140) [1 folder]
Charles Gilbert Hines Photos (PR 82) [4 folders]
Lewis Hine "Newsies" Photos of Newsboys (PR 188) [2 folders]
Henry B. Hoffman Photos (PR 236) [1 folder]
Kim Hoffman Photos (PR 77) [1 folder]
Holland Society Photos of Cortelyou and Bergen Houses (PR 328) [1 folder]
Raymond Hood Photos (PR 148) [1 folder]
Howe Family Photos (PR 292) [1 folder]
Morris Huberland Photos (PR 194) [1 folder]
Daniel Huntington Study Portraits (PR 256) [1 folder]
Julian Hyman Photos (PR 320) [1 folder]
Charles G. Johnson Photos (PR 172) [1 folder]
J.S. Johnston Photos (PR 219) [1 folder]
Imperial Portrait Photo File (PR 210) [1 folder]
Frank M. Ingalls Photos (PR 28) [1 folder]
Jennings Photo (PR 135) [1 folder]
Kabakov Photos (PR 278) [1 folder]
Kalinsky- empty folder marked "see N-YHS RG21 Box 339"
Charles S. Kelly Photos (PR 260) [1 folder]
Frederick Kelly Photos (PR 246) [1 folder]
Roy Kemp (rejected photos) [1 folder]
William Sargent Kendall (PR 156) [1 folder]
Photo Collections Ke-N
Scope and Contents
Sidney Kerner Photos (PR 193) [1 folder]
Theron W. Kilmer Portraits (PR 30) [1 folder]
Landmarks (PR 310) [1 folder]
Richard Hoe Lawrence Photos (PR 32) [1 folder]
Rebecca Lepkoff Photos (PR 295) [1 folder]
Robert M. Lester Photos (PR 215) [1 folder]
Edwin Levick Studio Photos (PR 34) [1 folder]
Herman Liberman Photos (PR 36) [1 folder]
William E. Light Photos (PR 37) [1 folder]
Livingston Family Photos (PR 138) [1 folder]
Carl Lobozza Photos (PR 269) [1 folder]
Lower East Side Photos (PR 251) [1 folder]
Pirie MacDonald Portraits (PR 39) [2 folders]
Jack Margolin (PR 316) [1 folder]
Edwin Martin (PR 96) [1 folder]
Fred McDaragh (No PR) [1 folder]
Burr McIntosh (PR 41) [3 folders]
McLaughlin Air Service Photos (PR 43) [1 folder]
Ron Meisel Photos (PR 377) [1 folder]
Meserve Historical Portraits (PR 231) [1 folder]
Metropolitan Street Railway Photos (PR 177) [1 folder]
Metz/Greene Family Collection (PR 133) [1 folder]
William Meyers (No PR) [1 folder]
Lida Moser Photos (PR 123) [1 folder]
George Murdock Steamboat Photos (PR 44) [2 folders]
Eadweard Muybridge Photos (PR 205) [1 folder]
George Nash Photos (PR 239) [1 folder]
New York City Photographic Slides (PR 278) [1 folder]
New York City Public Works Construction Photos (PR 302) [1 folder]
New York Subway Construction Negatives (PR 232) [1 folder]
N-YHS Field Exploration Committee (PR 240) [1 folder]
New York Inside Out (No PR) [3 folders]
Photo Collections O-Rom
Scope and Contents
Ruth Orkin Photo Collection (PR 190) [1 folder]
Pach Brothers Portraits (PR 84) [5 folders]
Packard Junior College Photos (PR 109) [1 folder]
Ferdinand Pecora Collection (PR 150) [1 folder]
Photographer File (PR 50) [7 folders]
Harris Pierce Photos (PR 270) [1 folder]
Richard Pieronek Slides (PR 327) [1 folder]
James T. Powers and Rachel Booth Photos (PR 105) [1 folder]
Victor Prevost Photos (PR 56) [3 folders]
Larry Racioppo Photos (PR 208) [1 folder]
Ramppen Family Photos (PR 136) [1 folder]
Ransom Collection (PR 237) [1 folder]
Raven Poetry Circle Collection (PR 108) [1 folder]
William F. Reeves Elevated Railroad Photos (PR 154) [2 folders]
Rettinger Glass Plate Negatives (PR 174) [1 folder]
Jacob Riis Reference Photo Collection (PR 59) [2 folders]
William J. Roege Photos (PR 181) [1 folder]
John Rogers Photos (PR 122) [1 folder]
James Romeo Photos (PR 180) [1 folder]
Photo Collections Ros-Su
Scope and Contents
Mel Rosenthal Photo Collection (PR 90) [1 folder]
Harold Roth Photos (PR 195) [1 folder]
June Rovenger (PR 291) [1 folder]
David Sagarin Photos (PR 200) [1 folder]
Salmagundi Club Photos (PR 182) [1 folder]
Savastano Hell's Kitchen Photos (PR 178) [1 folder]
Joseph Scanlon Steamboat Photos (PR 60) [1 folder]
Carl W. Schmidt Jr. Photos (PR 275) [1 folder]
Kenneth Siegel Photos (PR 298) [1 folder]
Irwin Silver Photos (PR 209) [1 folder]
S.S. Silver Company Collection (PR 61) [1 folder]
Caleb Smith Photos (PR 253) [1 folder]
James Reuel Smith Springs and Wells Photos (PR 62) [1 folder]
Frederick H. Smyth Fire Photos (PR 63) [1 folder]
Stephen Somerstein Photos (PR 314) [1 folder]
Michael Sonnenfeldt Photos (PR 305) [1 folder]
South Side Sportsmen's Club of Long Island (PR 211) [1 folder]
Jerry Spagnoli Photos (PR 157) [1 folder]
Jan Staller (PR 201) [1 folder]
Stella Snead Photos (PR 185) [1 folder]
Steinway and Sons Photos (PR 166) [1 folder]
Stereograph File (PR 65) [2 folders]
Henry A. Stimson Family Photos (PR 155) [1 folder]
Erica Stone Photos (PR 267) [1 folder]
Stonebridge Collection (PR 66) [4 folders]
Helen Stummer Photos (PR 235) [1 folder]
Subway Construction Photos (PR 69) [5 folders]
Photo Collections Sy-Woo
Scope and Contents
Jack Sydow Collection (PR 289) [1 folder]
Harry Tarzian Photos (PR 255) [1 folder]
Thomas Air Views (PR 106) [1 folder]
Emma Thursby Photos (PR 126) [1 folder]
Daniel F. Teimann Family Photos (PR 134) [1 folder]
H.N. Tiemann and Co. Photos (PR 129) [1 folder]
Philip Trager ( PR 202) [1 folder]
Transparency FIle (PR 70) [2 folders]
John Judson Trappan Photos (PR 71) [1 folder]
Doris Ulmann Photos (PR 72) [5 folders]
United Nations Construction Photos (PR 91) [1 folder]
U.S. Army Supply Base Construction Photos (PR 249) [1 folder]
Camilo Jose Vergara (PR 286) [1 folder]
John J. Vrooman Photos (PR 252) [1 folder]
Harvey Wang Photos (PR 175) [1 folder]
War of the Rebellion Albums (PR 88) [1 folder]
Watkins, Carleton (No PR) [1 folder]
James Watson Webb Jr. Collection (PR 318) [1 folder]
Arthur Weindorf Collection (PR 127) [1 folder]
Norman Weisberg Collection (PR 179) [1 folder]
Wells Family Photos (PR 139) [1 folder]
Wenzel Collection (PR 74) [1 folder]
Westchester County Historical Pageant Photos (PR 184) [1 folder]
Lewis White Photos (PR 196) [1 folder]
Orrin Sage Wightman Collection (PR 94) [1 folder]
Harry Wilks Photos (PR 186) [1 folder]
William Winters' Shaker Community Photos (PR 206) [1 folder]
Winkowski (No PR) [1 folder]
Woolworth Building Photos (PR 187) [1 folder]
Photo Collections Wor-Y
Scope and Contents
World Financial Center Photos (PR 191) [1 folder]
World Trade Center Photos (PR 169) [4 folders]
World War II Photos (PR 76) [1 folders]
Wright Photos (PR 203) [1 folder]
Claire Yaffa Photos (PR 290 and PR 299) [2 folders]
Architecture Collections A-M
Scope and Contents
Michael Arad 9/11 Memorial (PR 422) [1 folder]
Architects and Engineers (PR 03) [1 folder]
Adler and Neilson Iron Works Drawings (PR 415) [1 folder]
Clarke and Rapuano Landscape Architecture (PR 80) [1 folder]
Donnelly Architectural Sculpture (PR 233) [1 folder]
A.J. Davis Drawings (PR 16 ) [9 folders]
James W. Martens (PR 113) [1 folder]
John McComb (PR 40) [10 folders]
Architecture Collections N-W
Scope and Contents
Siebrand Niewenhous Architectural Specs (PR 93) [2 folders]
Calvin Pollard Architectural Drawings (PR 51) [1 folder]
George B. Post Collection (PR 53) [6 folders]
John Rink Central Park Drawing- in Arch & Eng File (PR 03) [1 folder]
Stanley R. Rosenberg Architectural Records (PR 254) [1 folder]
Emery Roth Architectural Prints (PR 170) [1 folder]
Thomas Sopolsky and Slobodien Collection (PR 439) [1 folder]
John B. Snook Architectural Records (PR 64) [4 folders]
Warren & Wetmore- in Arch and Eng. File (PR 03) [1 folder]
Print Collections A-Bou
Scope and Contents
American Art Union Prints (PR 159) [2 folders]
Alexander Anderson Prints (PR 216) [1 folder]
Audubon Print Collection (PR 162) [1 folder]
John Bachman (PR 353) [1 folder]
James Carroll Beckwith Study Collection (PR 158) [1 folder]
William James Bennett Collection (PR 220) [1 folder]
William Birch (No PR) [1 folder]
Bookplate File (PR 06) [2 folders]
Mortimer Bourne Drypoint Collection (PR 226) [1 folder]
Print Collections Boy-H
Scope and Contents
James Boyd Etchings (PR 07) [1 folder]
Bryan Gallery of Christian Art (PR 143) [1 folder]
Caricatures and Cartoons (PR 10) [2 folders]
Clipper Ship Cards (PR 116) [2 folders]
Isaccher Cozzens Collections (PR 145) [1 folder]
Currier and Ives Prints (PR 230) [1 folder]
Homer C. Davenport Caricatures (PR 125) [1 folder]
Detroit Publishing Company (PR 272) [1 folder]
John Ward Dunsmore (No PR) [1 folder]
Asher B. Durand Prints (PR 221) [1 folder]
Louis Durr Collection (PR 142) [1 folder]
European Print File (PR 151) [1 folder]
Feinstein Collection (PR 300) [1 folder]
Graphic Arts File (PR 22) [1 folder]
Henry O. Havemeyer Portraits of American Statesmen (PR 25) [1 folder]
Hershkowitz Collection of Civil War Illustrations (PR 263) [1 folder]
John Hill Prints (PR 217) [1 folder]
Samuel Hollyer's Old New York Views (PR 86) [1 folder]
James Hazen Hyde (PR 27) [2 folders]
Print Collections I-Postcard
Scope and Contents
Anthony Imbert Prints (PR 225) [1 folder]
Kane-Greenberg Cigar Labels (PR 242) [1 folder]
Steven Katz (No PR) [1 folder]
Keppler Cartoon Collection (PR 29) [1 folder]
James King Print Collection (PR 227) [1 folder]
Landauer Reference and Writing Collection (PR 149) [2 folders]
LeBoeuf Collection (PR 33) [1 folder]
Charles M. Lefferts Military Uniforms (PR 99) [1 folder]
Liberman Collection of Wall Street Prints (PR 35) [1 folder]
Marco Luccio Drypoint Prints (PR 409) [1 folder]
Reginald Marsh (PR 341) [1 folder]
Peter Maverick Prints (PR 224) [1 folder]
McGuigan Collection of Chapman Etchings (PR 265) [1 folder]
Manhattan Graphics Center 9/11 prints (PR 257) [1 folder]
William Rickaby Miller Study Collection (PR 152) [1 folder]
NY State Legislature Portrait Prints (PR 213) [1 folder]
Ogden Collection (PR 147) [1 folder]
Alfred Olcott Hudson River Steamboat (PR 98) [1 folder]
Irving S. Olds Collection (PR 47) [1 folder]
Ottman Collection (PR 281) [2 folders]
Paper Doll Collection (PR 161) [1 folder]
Patriotic Envelopes (PR 117) [1 folder]
Harry T. Peters Collection (PR 49) [3 folders]
Pictorial Letter Sheet Collection (PR 144) [1 folder]
Playing Cards and Games Collection (PR 115) [5 folders]
Postcard File (PR 54) [1 folder]
Print Collections Poster-Y
Scope and Contents
Poster File (PR 055) [1 folder]
Printing Plate File–Alexander Anderson woodblocks (PR 057) [1 folder]
Printing Plate File (PR 057) [1 folder]
Printmaker File (PR 058) [5 folders]
Prized Prints (NO PR) [2 folders]
Luman Reed NY Gallery of Fine Arts (PR 141) [1 folder]
Jacques Reich Portrait Prints (PR 102) [1 folder]
Saint-Memin Print Collection (PR 226) [1 folder]
Lockwood Sanford Wood Engraving Proof Books (PR 247) [1 folder]
Society of Iconophiles Prints (PR 160) [1 folder]
Strobridge Poster Collection (PR 67) [2 folders]
Ira Unschuld Print Club of NY Collection (PR 388) [1 folder]
Vache Family Embroidery Pattern Collection (PR 163) [1 folder]
Sidney Voice Collection of Cigar Bands (PR 241) [1 folder]
Wattman Bookmark Collection (PR 204) [1 folder]
WPA Prints Collection (PR 345) [1 folder]
Charles Lennox Wright Collection (PR 75) [1 folder]
George Henry Yewell Collection (PR 153) [1 folder]
Cass Gilbert Collection
Scope and Contents
Cass Gilbert (PR 21) [24 folders]
McKim, Mead and White Collection
Scope and Contents
McKim, Mead and White (PR 42) [27 folders]
Series IX. Conservation, 1989-2004
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The series includes three principal sets of records from the library's conservation lab. First are the lab's files of outgoing loans and in-house exhibitions from 1989 to 2005. Second are the files (1990-1993) of Associate Librarian for Preservation Duane Watson and those of his colleague, Stacks Manager Christine Seeto. Finally, there are records of a daguerreotype (cased images) conservation survey from 1992-1993.
The outgoing loan files are generally fairly slender, with uneven content. Many include conservation treatment notes, but others include just the record of the approved loan or general correspondence about the loans. Some post-2000 files include color slides of the loaned objects. In-house exhibition files tend to be more extensive, reflecting the broader involvement of the lab with these activities. These exhibition files commonly include not only condition and treatment reports, but also basic information about the objects in relation to the exhibition, including labels, checklists, display logistics, etc. The loan and exhibition files include folder lists at the front of each box.
The Watson records are generally of a more administrative and broader nature, and less focused on individual objects. Watson's records include budgets, survey results, performance statistics, internal memos, conservation reference material, grants, and grant project activities. Seeto's records are concerned with stack surveys, movements of material within the stacks and other such logistical matters.
Arrangement Note
Outgoing loans and exhibition files are presented first. They are in their original folders and original order, which is chronological. These are followed by a carton of detailed records of a daguerreotype survey. Watson's and Seeto's records close the series. Watson's files are in their original folders and original order, which is alphabetical by subject. Seeto's files are also in their original folders and original order, which seems to have no particular arrangement.
Biographical/Historical Note
Aside from a bindery that operated from 1929 until about 1960, N-YHS had no in-house conservation unit until the mid-1980s when it began to build such a staff, initially for the museum. Professional conservators arrived in the library when paper and book conservation labs were opened in early 1989. In 1990, Duane Watson was hired as Associate Librarian for Preservation, a position he held until he left N-YHS in early 1993. In this position, Watson was responsible for overseeing object-level conservation efforts for the library and the management of the collection in the stacks. This latter responsibility was carried out in the early 1990s principally by Stacks Manager Christine Seeto. Down to the present (2016), N-YHS's library has continued to maintain a conservation lab, headed since the mid-1990s by chief conservator, Alan Balicki. Among the conservation staff's many responsibilities has been the assessment of outgoing loans of objects (e.g., conditions of objects, proper housing, conditions at the borrower site) and preparation of objects for in-house exhibitions.
Outgoing Loan Files (1 of 2 boxes), 1989-1999
Outgoing Loan Files (2 of 2 boxes), 2000-2004
Exhibition Files (1 of 3 boxes), 1991-1998
Exhibition Files (2 of 3 boxes), 1999-2001
Exhibition Files (3 of 3 boxes), 2002-2005
Daguerreotype (Cased Images) Conservation Survey Cards (RESTRICTED), 1992-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Because of the fragile condition of these records, they may be used only by advance appointment with the Manuscripts Reference Librarian and in consultation with the library's conservator.
Duane Watson Files (1 of 3 boxes), 1990-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files A-G including, among other subjects, budget/financial, preservation consultant reports (including results of a statistical survey by Richard Frieder of the New York State and City Collection), conservation plans, permanent collections gallery re-installation planning, floor plans, grants.
Duane Watson Files (2 of 3 boxes), 1990-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files G-R including, among other subjects, grants, OPAC/cataloging statistics, staff memos/monthly status reports (under Personnel), RLG projects.
Duane Watson Files (3 of 3 boxes), 1990-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Includes subject files R-W including, among other subjects, RLG projects (e.g. preservation microfilming), wood block conservation.
Christine Seeto Files (65 folders), 1990-1993
Scope and Contents Note
Includes files on collection surveys, inventories, locations and relocations in the stacks, stack maps, and other stacks/collection management matters.
Series X. Public Service (RESTRICTED IN PART), 1829-2011
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The Public Service series primarily includes the visitor sign-in registers for the library's main Reading Room and its separate Print Room. The bulk of these date from the twentieth century, but there are some registers from the nineteenth century. From the nineteenth century, the series also holds a Librarian Receipt Book used to record books borrowed by the members and admission tickets and cards of introduction for non-members.
Although the series hold correspondence and print-outs of emails with reference inquiries, the bulk of these are from recent years and are therefore restricted and not available for public access. Some such letters from the 1950s-1970s are in the series and are available.
Arrangement Note
The Public Service series is organized in the following subseries:
Subseries X.A. Visitor Sign-in Registers and Related Material (1829-2010)
Subseries X.B. Reading Room Records (1949-2007)
Subseries X.C. Print Room Public Service Records (1942-2008)
Access Restrictions
Late twentieth and early twenty-first reference inquiries in the form of correspondence and print-outs of emails from patrons are currently restricted and are not available for public access.
Processing Information Note
This subseries was processed by project archivists Margaret Kaczorowski and Larry Weimer in December 2016.
Subseries X.A. Visitor Sign-in Registers and Related Material, 1829-2010
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries primarily includes the books or loose sheets that visitors were required to sign when using N-YHS's resources, principally in connection with access to the library's holdings. The bulk of these records date from about 1909-2010 and record both member and non-member use of the library. A few records from the nineteenth and early twentieth century, from as early as 1838, include non-member visits, but there are relatively few of these, and there are sizable gaps in the date coverage. These records hold only spare indicators of individual visits, with no details such as specific resources used. Any such detailed records that might exist are not held in the institutional archive.
In addition to the required sign-ins, the subseries includes a ceremonial "Register of Distinguished Visitors" that includes signatures from three events: the 1939 opening of the renovated N-YHS building, the 1954 dinner held at the Union Club to celebrate N-YHS's 150th anniversary, and the 1957 event for the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's birth. Other registers include visitor comment books (1990-1992, 2005-2007) on the galleries and various exhibitions. The subseries does not include comment books from specific exhibitions; these can be found with the files of the pertinent exhibition, principally in the New-York Historical Society Museum Department records (NYHS-RG 20).
The subseries also includes various documents related to visitors and access to N-YHS resources. These include a Librarian Receipt Book in which books borrowed from the library, a member privilege in the organization's early years, were recorded (1829-1853); daily visitor counts from certain periods (1869, 1918-1937, and 1987-1990); and member and non-member admission cards (mostly undated but likely from the mid-late 1800s).
Arrangement Note
The subseries opens with the visitor sign-in books and sheets, followed by the various forms of related material.
Visitors Register, 1838-1846
Visitors Register, 1859-1873, 1889
Scope and Contents Note
Entries for October 1868 and October 1889 consist of the names of delegates to the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church held in New York City in those years. The register has no entries for 1869 and 1871. The entry for April 5, 1872 consists of sign-ins from six Asian individuals.
Visitors Register, 1903-1907
Visitors Register, 1908-1909
Visitors Register, 1909
Visitors Register (Box 1 of 2), 1909-1927
Visitors Register (Box 2 of 2), 1909-1927, inclusive
Visitors Register (Box 1 of 2), 1927-1937
Visitors Register (Box 2 of 2), 1927-1937, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 1 of 12), 1939-1979
Visitors Register. Library (Box 2 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 3 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 4 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 5 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 6 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 7 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 8 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 9 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 10 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 11 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library (Box 12 of 12), 1939-1979, inclusive
Visitors Register. Library, 1980-1984
Scope and Contents Note
Entries for January 4, 1984 begin here and continue in Box 296.
Visitors Register. Library, 1984-1988 March
Visitors Register. Library, 1988 March-1995
Visitors Register. Library, 1996-2000
Visitors Register. Library, 2001-2005
Visitors Register. Library, 2006-2010
Register of Distinguished Visitors to N-YHS, 1939, 1954, 1957
Scope and Contents Note
Includes visitors from the official opening in 1939 of the renovated N-YHS building; a dinner held at the Union Club in 1954 to celebrate N-YHS's 150th anniversary; and signatures of Marquis de Lafayette's descendants on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his birth
Guest Register, 1988-1989
Scope and Contents Note
The purpose for this register is unknown.
Guest Register, 1990-1992
Scope and Contents Note
Entries for visitors to N-YHS events and exhibitions including Paris 1889 opening, Luman Reed Gallery opening, Mary Dieryck's Politicians and Panoramas, and Hope Cooke's Early Guide Books to NYC.
General Gallery Comment Books (3 books), 2005-2007
Scope and Contents Note
Entries include comments from visitors about exhibitions including First Ladies of New York and the Nation, Thomas Paine: Patriot and Provocateur, A New Light on Tiffany, Slavery in New York, and New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War.
Librarian Receipt Book, 1829-1853
Scope and Contents Note
This bound book contains a record of N-YHS materials loaned to members, the name of the item loaned, and signatures of librarians and dates documenting the return of item. Includes a receipt by Washington Irving dated January 28, 1848.
Visitors Log, 1869
Scope and Contents Note
Record of the number of patrons visited the museum (includes groups such as Baptist Church) each day between January 1 and December 31, 1869.
Building Attendance Statistics (2 folders), 1918-1937
Scope and Contents Note
Consists of attendance statistics with daily and weekly totals per month, as well as totals for lectures given.
Building Daily Attendance Counts, 1987-1990
Member's Tickets, circa 1860s-1880s?
Lecture Admission Tickets, circa 1860s-1880s?
Tickets of Introduction, circa 1860?
Calling Card Introductions, circa 1860s-1880s?
Subseries X.B. Reading Room Records, 1949-2011
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The bulk of the subseries includes late twentieth and early twenty-first reference inquiries in the form of correspondence and print-outs of emails; these recent documents, however, are currently restricted and are not available for public access. Earlier materials and logs are accessible. These include the correspondence of Geraldine Beard, the head of the Reading Room from the late 1940s until the early 1960s. There are also a few logs of books called and letters received for some periods in the 1960s and 1970s.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged chronologically within format.
Geraldine Beard Acknowledgements, 1952-1964
Geraldine Beard Correspondence, 1949-1964
Sue A. Gillies Correspondence, 1971-1980
Books Called (3 notebooks), 1973-1998
Daily Letters Received (2 logbooks), 1968-1974
Daily Letters Received (1 logbook), 1974-1976, 1980
Statistics of Copies Made, 1985
Reading Room. Telephone Reference Questions (4 folders), 1989-1991, 2000
Reading Room. Reference Call Log Sheets, 1991-1992
Reading Room. Reference Call Log Sheets, 1993-1996
Reading Room Coverage, 1995
Manuscript Department. Telephone Reference Questions, 1989-1991
Subseries X.C. Print Room Public Service Records, 1942-2008
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The subseries primarily holds the sign-in sheets and appointment calendars for users of material in the Print Room, which was run apart from the library's main Reading Room. The subseries also holds a small amount of reference inquiries, which are currently restricted and are not available for public access.
Arrangement Note
The subseries is arranged chronologically within format.
Visitors Register. Print Room, 1942-1959
Visitors Register. Print Room, 1960-1979
Visitors Register. Print Room, 1980-1992
Visitors Register. Print Room, 2000-2002;2004-2008
Print Room. Telephone Registers (2 notebooks), 1966 December-1977
Print Room. Appointment Books, 1978-1989, 1999-2007
Scope and Contents Note
Missing 2001 book.