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Robert Wetherill Company Records

Creator:
Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company  Search this
Wetherill Company  Search this
Collector:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering  Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry  Search this
Names:
Wetherill Company  Search this
Extent:
80 Cubic feet (49 boxes )
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Card files
Specifications
Drawings
Trade catalogs
Ledgers (account books)
Date:
circa 1875-1930
Scope and Contents:
These records document the activities of the Wetherill Plant of the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, originally the Wetherill Company, particuarly the manufacture of steam and diesel engines. Included are engine specification cards; bound lists and charts of specifications and prices; a bound index of drawing numbers, 1886-1928; steam engine catalogs, ca. 1895-1910; drawings and plans for compound and Corliss steam engines, 1875-1921; engine record books, 1876-1902; order books, 1888-1891, 1895-1912; a delivery book, 1916; ledgers, 1876-1885; and drawings for the SunDoxford diesel engine, ca. 1920-1930.
Arrangement:
1 series. Arrangement: By type of material.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Steam-engines  Search this
Diesel engines  Search this
Genre/Form:
Card files
Specifications
Drawings
Trade catalogs
Ledgers (account books)
Citation:
Archives Center, Robert Wetherill Company Records, National Museum of American History.
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0992
See more items in:
Robert Wetherill Company Records
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8a7c2333c-f002-405f-9cd4-e9d0b9f04153
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0992

"A Quick Way to Clean Silver" item of ephemera

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
1900s-1950s
Object number:
2009.2033.1.14.1-.2
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm87eaddc27-b496-467e-8bdd-793ab8424259
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.14.1-.2
Online Media:

"Canned Corn" item of ephemera

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
1900s-1950s
Object number:
2009.2033.1.5.1
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8c8a265ef-8a82-4db3-965a-9bad0b2c7329
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.5.1
Online Media:

Rocheport, Missouri RFD patrons’ names book page 14

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
1900s-1950s
Object number:
2009.2033.1.14
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8ab0b834f-59db-42db-9cb5-1879031f0cf1
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.14

Rocheport, Missouri RFD patrons’ names book page 5

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
1900s-1950s
Object number:
2009.2033.1.5
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8e15de521-dc02-4905-a3ba-551e66fae2f1
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.5

Anne Ryan papers

Creator:
Ryan, Anne, 1889-1954  Search this
Names:
McFadden, Elizabeth  Search this
Extent:
3.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Travel diaries
Diaries
Drawings
Date:
circa 1905-1970
Summary:
The papers of New York-based painter, printmaker, collagist and writer Anne Ryan measure 3.8 linear feet and date from circa 1905 to 1970. The papers document her career as an artist and writer in New York, New Jersey and Spain through biographical material, correspondence, diaries and journals, writings, printed material, photographic material and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York-based painter, printmaker, collagist and writer Anne Ryan measure 3.8 linear feet and date from circa 1905 to 1970. The papers document her career as an artist and writer in New York, New Jersey and Spain through biographical material, correspondence, diaries and journals, writings, printed material, photographic material and artwork.

Biographical material includes a mixture of legal and financial records as well as other personal documents. There are account books, art inventories, biographical statements, estate papers, exhibition lists, price lists, loan and consignments records, bills and receipts, banking and tax records, assorted travel documents, and other miscellaneous items.

Correspondence is with editors, museums, galleries, family and friends. Many of the letters have typed transcriptions that go along with the original handwritten correspondence. There is also correspondence with Anne Ryan's daughter, Elizabeth McFadden.

There are six diaries, journals, and travel diaries. The diaries and journals describe progress on artwork and writing, as well as daily appointments and activities.

Writings consists of notes, notebooks, poetry and manuscripts. The bulk of the series consists of handwritten and typescript drafts of books, short stories and essays. There are a few items written by others.

Printed material includes exhibition announcements, catalogs, clippings and magazines. Most of the periodicals include essays and stories written by Ryan. There are some printed materials such as postcards, travel brochures and clippings from Ryan's time in Spain.

Two family albums and photographs depict Anne Ryan, family, friends, colleagues, artwork, exhibition installations and houses.

Also found are materials Ann Ryan used to make artwork, such as engraved metal plates for prints, engraved woodcuts for woodblock prints, and handmade stencils. Some drawings are also included.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1920-circa 1970 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1922-1968 (Box 1; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Journals, 1924-1942 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1923-circa 1954 (Boxes 2-3; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1925-1970 (Boxes 3-4; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1905-circa 1954 (Boxes 4-5; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1930-circa 1954 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Anne Ryan (1889-1954) was a painter, printmaker, collagist, graphic artist and author who primarily worked in New York City, but also in New Jersey and Spain.

Anne Ryan was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1889. She attended St. Elizabeth's Academy and College. She married lawyer William J. McFadden and had three children – William, Elizabeth and Thomas. They lived in Newark, New Jersey and divorced in 1923. Ryan often went to Greenwich Village in New York City and was something of a fixture in the arts and literary community. In 1925 she published a book of poetry, Lost Hills, and her novel Raquel was also published around this time.

Around 1931, Ryan moved to Spain and lived there for roughly four years, mostly in Mallorca and Ibiza, though she traveled to Paris as well. She then returned to New York City and moved into 124 West Fourth Street, which was occupied by many artists and writers. She opened a restaurant called The Hearthstone in the building's basement.

Ryan began painting around 1938. Artist Hans Hofmann lived nearby and visited her studio to provide encouragement, telling her to pursue her own course artistically and not to seek formal instruction. Ryan's first exhibition was in 1941. During this time she joined the printmaking studio Atelier 17 run by British artist William Stanley Hayter who had fled from Paris, France due to World War II. Thanks to the studio, Ryan befriended many European expatriate artists and started making woodblock prints and engravings.

In 1948, Ryan saw an exhibition of collages by Kurt Schwitters that inspired her to begin creating collages herself. During her late career, she made hundreds of collages and had multiple exhibitions at Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. Ryan was also a prolific writer and many of her short stories and travel essays were published in magazines and periodicals. She died in 1954 in Morristown, New Jersey.
Provenance:
The Anne Ryan papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1971 by Elizabeth McFadden, Anne Ryan's daughter.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- Spain  Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Collagists -- Spain  Search this
Topic:
Printmakers -- Spain  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Travel diaries
Diaries
Drawings
Citation:
Anne Ryan papers, circa 1905-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.ryananne
See more items in:
Anne Ryan papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9338d8d6c-21ed-442d-ba7b-52ac24daef94
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ryananne

Carlen Galleries, Inc., records

Creator:
Carlen Galleries  Search this
Names:
Peale family  Search this
Davies, Albert Webster, 1889-1967  Search this
Feuillate, Raymond, 1901-1971  Search this
Gainsborough, Lee  Search this
Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849  Search this
Kollwitz, Käthe, 1867-1945  Search this
Pippin, Horace, 1888-1946  Search this
Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924  Search this
Extent:
10.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Date:
1775-1997
bulk 1940-1986
Summary:
The Carlen Galleries, Inc., records measure 10.4 linear feet (gift portions) and date from 1775 to 1997 (bulk 1940-1986). Correspondence, business records, subject files, a scrapbook, printed matter, and photographs document the operation and activities of Carlen Galleries, Inc., and its founder Robert Carlen.
Scope and Content Note:
The Carlen Galleries, Inc., records measure 10.4 linear feet (gift portions, Parts 1 and 3) and date from 1775-1998 (bulk 1940-1986). Correspondence, business records, subject files, a scrapbook, printed matter, and photographs document the operation and activities of Carlen Galleries, Inc., and its founder Robert Carlen.

Part 1: Received in 1986 as a gift from Robert Carlen, these records document the activities of Carlen Galleries and its founder, 1937-1986. Correspondence mainly concerns the sale and purchase of works of art. Also included are artist files containing correspondence, receipts, and printed matter regarding Albert Davies, Edward Hicks, Käthe Kollwitz, Horace Pippin, and Maurice Prendergast. Subject files concern African American artists, Raphael Peale, Raymond Feuillate, and the French Moderns. Business records consist of loan forms, documentation of exhibitions at Carlen Galleries, inventories, a scrapbook and clippings concerning the gallery, conservation reports, appraisals (not microfilmed), and financial records.

Part 2: Additional records documenting the activities of Carlen Galleries and its founder, 1937-1986, were loaned by Robert Carlen for microfilming in 1988. Included are letters about Horace Pippin and rare letters from the artist. Other correspondence concerns Carlen's search for paintings by Edward Hicks, and there is also a small selection of letters regarding more routine gallery business. Among the business records are and account book and receipts. Printed matter consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, and clippings; a scrapbook contains printed matter about Horace Pippin. Photographs are of Allan Freelon and works of art.

Part 3: Received in 2002 as a gift from Robert Carlen's daughter Nancy Carlen, this portion of the Carlen Galleries, Inc., Records consists of two letters, business records, photographs, and selections from the galleries' library. Letters are from Joan Baez, circa 1960 and Charles M. Mount, 1968. Previously sealed letters from Charles M. Mount, undated, and 1962-1975, relating to John Singer Sargent have been integrated into this portion.

Part 4: Additional records borrowed for microfilming from Nancy Carlen in 2002 include documents dated 1775-1997 (bulk 1940s-1990). Correspondence concerns gallery business, but a small amount of personal correspondence is also included. Business records consist of appraisal reports, receipts for sales and purchases, and the contract and program for the 1964 University [of Pennsylvania] Hospital Antiques Show in which Carlen Galleries exhibited. Subject files document Edward Hicks, Anatol Jal, the Captain James Lawrence Goblet, Horace Pippin, and Antoine Roux. Five notebooks, containing material similar to that in the subject files, are about Horace Pippin (vols. 1-3), Edward Hicks (vol. 4), and chronicle the career of Robert Carlen (vol. 5).

Printed matter consists of clippings and other items concerning art and antiques, Robert Carlen and Carlen Galleries, Inc., and the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the State Department where two Hicks paintings owned by Carlen were on extended loan. Among the miscellaneous records are biographical documents, personal financial records, business and research notes (including original documents and photocopies of archival materials), and four prints. Photographs are mostly of antiques and art work; also included are a few pictures of people, places, and miscellaneous subjects.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four parts, representing gift and loan accessions received and microfilmed at various times. The two loans for microfilming (Parts 2 and 4) overlap and partially duplicate one another-particularly records relating to Horace Pippin and Edward Hicks-but are far from identical. Some of the Pippin and Hicks material was significantly rearranged in the interim between the first loan (1988) and the second (2002).

Missing Title

Part 1: Gift (1986), 1906-1986 (Boxes 1-7; 7.0 linear feet; Reels 4166-4175)

Part 2: Loan (1988), 1937-1986 (Reel 4175)

Part 3: Gift (2002), 1835-1992 (Boxes 8-12; 3.4 linear feet; Reel 5745)

Part 4: Loan (2002), 1775-1997 (Reels 5746-5748)
Historical Note:
Robert Carlen (1906-1990) worked as a secretary and attended evening classes at the Graphic Sketch Club in Philadelphia right after graduating from high school. He studied painting full-time at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts during the academic year 1928-1929, and from 1929-1936 he continued to study painting in the evenings while employed at a brokerage firm.

Since he wanted to be associated with the art world and needed to earn a living, Carlen decided to establish an art gallery that would show the works of young artists. In 1937, he opened in Carlen Galleries in his home at 323 South 16th Street, Philadelphia; the galleries operated in the same location for the remainder of Carlen's life. In its earliest years, Carlen Galleries housed exhibitions of the Associated American Artists' Group and featured prints by Wanda Gag, Käthe Kollwitz, Louis Lozowick, Lynd Ward, and other print makers.

In 1941, paintings by Horace Pippin were exhibited at Carlen Galleries. Carlen soon befriended the artist and began providing him with art supplies. He remained Pippin's agent for many years following the artist's death in 1946, and was a sought-after authority on the artist's work and life.

By the mid-1940s, Carlen had discovered a painting by Edward Hicks in Bucks County, Pa. He began researching the then-obscure Quaker artist. Through contacting descendants of Hicks's patrons, Carlen was able to acquire many of Hicks's paintings and Carlen Galleries became known for handling important early American folk paintings and antiques. Among his clients were Edward W. and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Del., Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Williamsburg, Va., and the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vt.

During the course of his long career, Robert Carlen served as an advisor to many Philadelphia collectors and developed an extensive knowledge of the genealogies and heirlooms of the city's prominent families. Because of his extensive experience and expertise, Carlen's opinion was widely valued and his services as an appraiser of art and antiques were in great demand.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 4175 and 5746-5748) including material relating to Horace Pippin. Loaned material was returned to the lender and is described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The collection was acquired in various accessions of gifts and loans. Part 1: gift of Robert Carlen, 1986; Part 2: loaned by Robert Carlen for microfilming, 1988; Part 3: gift of Nancy Carlen, 2002 (previously sealed letters and appraisals received with Part 1 are housed with Part 3 and integrated for microfilming); Part 4: loaned by Nancy Carlen for microfilming, 2002.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Decorative arts -- United States  Search this
African American artists  Search this
Folk art  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions  Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- Pennsylvania
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Carlen Galleries, Inc., records, 1775-1997, bulk 1940-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.carlgall
See more items in:
Carlen Galleries, Inc., records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9438ea128-b58f-400f-9bb2-cb74b6c20041
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-carlgall
Online Media:

"Rheubarb Conserve, Ham Loaf" item of ephemera

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
1900s-1950s
Object number:
2009.2033.1.175.10.1-.2
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8d432a1fd-8d21-46b8-a3c9-93969c18075d
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.175.10.1-.2
Online Media:

"Yeast" self-titled item of ephemera

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
March 13, 1935
Object number:
2009.2033.1.175.11
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm842e79c40-34bf-4f67-ac64-96362c03c8bf
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.175.11
Online Media:

Account Books

Collection Creator:
Zorthian, Jirayr  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 7
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1970-1982
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jirayr Zorthian papers, circa 1937-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Jirayr Zorthian papers
Jirayr Zorthian papers / Series 2: Professional Activity Files
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9370b1dfc-b3ce-4a01-9a20-121b49883b42
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-zortjira-ref13

Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers

Creator:
Parsons, Betty  Search this
Names:
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Bess, Forrest, 1911-1977  Search this
Congdon, William, 1912-1998  Search this
Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this
Extent:
61.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Video recordings
Drawings
Date:
1916-1991
bulk 1946-1983
Summary:
The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection. Personal papers also include personal photographs.

Artists files, the largest and most extensive series, consist of a wide variety of documents, including biographical materials, correspondence with or related to the artist, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales and expense invoices, clippings, price lists, and photographs of the artist, exhibitions, and artwork. The files reflect Parsons's close personal relationships with certain artists, particularly Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and Barnett Newman. Extensive documentation is also found for Forrest Bess, William Congdon, Paul Feeley, Thomas George, Alexander Liberman, Seymour Lipton, Richard Pousette-Dart, Jesse Reichek, and Jack Youngerman. Historians and researchers will find these files to be an invaluable resource both in tracing Betty Parsons's role in promoting Abstract Expressionism and researching individual artists.

Exhibition files primarily document the gallery's infrequent group or themed exhibitions. Of particular note are the files on The Ideographic Picture, which was organized by Barnett Newman and included his work, as well as that of Pietro Lazzari, Boris Margo, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, and Clyfford Still. Price lists, artist biographies and exhibition schedules are housed in the general exhibition files. Loan exhibition files provide documentation of artwork borrowed by other galleries or institutions for exhibitions, as well as shows outside of the gallery that were organized by Betty Parsons. Also found are gallery exhibition guest books, and announcements and catalogs.

Gallery correspondence is primarily with galleries and dealers, museums, arts organizations, and collectors. Scattered letters from artists are also found, although the bulk of the artists' correspondence is filed in the Artists Files. Also found here are memoranda and letters between Betty Parsons and her staff that contain detailed information concerning Parsons's schedule and gallery activities. Similar correspondence is found amongst the correspondence files within the series Betty Parsons papers.

Appraisal and conservation files include correspondence, appraisal invoices, forms, and appraisal requests and other information from the Art Dealers Association of America, and conservation invoices and reports. The majority of the appraisal records contain information about the specific works of art, including artist, title, date, current owner and the estimated value at the time of the request. Conservation records document conservation treatments undertaken by outside conservators to gallery stock.

Sales, purchases, stock and inventory are well documented in the sales and inventory records. The records provide detailed information about individual sales, prices of individual pieces of artwork, consignments, and loans. Most sales records also include detailed information about the buyer and are a valuable resource for provenance research. Files documenting the general administration, routine business operations, and financial transactions (not individual sales) of the gallery are housed in the general business and financial records. These records include ledgers, receipts, tax records, and banking records. There is some limited information about works of art scattered amongst the receipts and in the "in/out slips" files. Legal records house general legal documents and those concerning specific lawsuits. Of particular note is the file detailing the lawsuit between Betty Parsons and Sidney Janis over the fifth floor of 24 West 57th Street.

The remainder of the collection consists of Betty Parsons's personal papers which document her career prior to opening her own gallery, her work as an artist, and her personal art collection.

Some information about Parsons's work prior to opening her own gallery is found in the early curatorial files she retained from her curatorial and administrative work at the Wakefield Gallery and the Mortimer Brandt Gallery. Clippings, correspondence, announcements, exhibition lists and exhibition files are found. For both positions, she kept only the exhibition files for a small group of exhibitions organized around a specific theme, the most notable being the exhibition of Pre-Columbian Sculpture at the Wakefield Gallery.

Biographical materials include copies of her biography, family genealogies, photographs of Parsons, interviews with Colette Roberts and WYNC radio, memberships, photographs, and ephemera, including a collection of programs and invitations from events that she attended. Throughout her life Parsons gave generously of her time to various cultural and charitable institutions and was awarded for her contributions. There are also a number of files that document her speaking engagements, her participation as a juror in numerous juried exhibitions, charitable work, and awards that she received.

Parsons's personal correspondence files reflect how deeply Parsons's life was intertwined with the gallery. There are letters from museum directors, dealers, artists seeking representation, and personal letters from artists with whom she had close personal relationships, most notably Larry Bigelow, Alexander Calder, William Condon, and Ad Reinhardt. There are also letters from the English artist Adge Baker, with whom Parsons was romantically involved. Correspondence also includes several files of postcards and Christmas cards.

Pocket diaries and engagement calendars, spanning from 1933-1981, record social engagements, meetings, vacations, and telephone numbers. Also found are circa two linear feet of notebooks and sketchbooks, many of which are annotated with addresses, poetry, journal entries, and other observations of people, places, and travels. Writings by others include writings about Betty Parsons or the Betty Parsons Gallery, such as Lawrence Alloway's unpublished typescript titled "An American Gallery" and other topics.

Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, art magazines, and newspaper and magazine clippings about Betty Parsons, her family and acquaintances, artists, and other art related topics, coupled with a miscellaneous selection of clippings, and a video recording, on topics that presumably captured Parsons's attention.

Personal art work records document Betty Parsons's career as an artist through inventories, group and solo exhibitions files, price lists, appraisals, sales and consignment invoices. Photographs are primarily reproductions of her works of art, although there are scattered photographs of exhibition installations.

Betty Parsons's private art collection files document her extensive personal collection of art that included works by Jackson Pollock, Agnes Martin, Romare Bearden, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, in addition to Amlash sculpture from ancient Persia and primitive sculpture from New Hebrides. These files include inventories, lists, exhibition records, sales and purchase invoices, and photographs. There are also files for donations and loans from Parsons's personal collection to museums and fund raising auctions for several non-profit institutions.

Finally, the personal financial records provide information about the Parsons's family finances and her personal financial success as an art dealer. In addition to her own investments, Parsons inherited shares in family investments through the estates of her parents, J. Fred Pierson, Jr. and Suzanne Miles Pierson, and younger sister, Emily Rayner. Real estate files include correspondence, utility bills, receipts, area maps, and land plots for houses in Sheepscot, Maine and St. Maartens, Netherlands Antilles. Tax returns, ledger worksheets, receipts, banking statements, deposit slips, and cancelled checks are among the other financial records.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series. Many of the series are further divided into subseries.

Missing Title

Series 1: Artists Files, 1935-1983 (19.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-18, 51, 55-56, OVs 53, 65)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1941-1983 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 18-21, 51, 55, OVs 54, 66)

Series 3: Correspondence Files, 1941-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 21-24, 52, 56)

Series 4: Appraisal Files, 1954-1983 (0.7 linear feet; Box 24)

Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1946-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 25-28, 51)

Series 6: General Business and Financial Records, 1946-1983 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 28-38, 51, 56)

Series 7: Betty Parsons Personal Papers, 1916-1991 (21 linear feet; Boxes 38-51, 55-64, OVs 65-67)
Historical Note:
Betty Parsons (1900-1982) was one of the leading art dealers in New York City specializing in modern art, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists, and an abstract painter and sculptor in her own right. She opened Betty Parsons Gallery in 1946 at 15 E. 57th St., later moving to 24 W. 57th St.

The history of the Betty Parsons Gallery is inextricably bound to the life and experiences of its founder. Betty Parsons was born Betty Bierne Pierson on January 31, 1900 in New York City. She enjoyed a privileged childhood, which included vacation homes in Newport and Palm Beach. Her only formal education was a five-year stint at the prestigious Chapin School from 1910-1915, where she met many of the women who would become life-long friends and supporters. In the spring of 1920, she married Schuyler Livingston Parsons from one of New York's oldest families. The marriage ended after only three years and the couple traveled to Paris where they could obtain a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. She retained her married surname and purchased a house on the rue Boulard in Paris, where she remained for ten years, pursuing studies in painting and sculpture.

Financial constraints forced Parsons to return to the United States in 1933. She first traveled west to California, but it was her return to New York in 1935 that marked the start of her career as an art dealer. Her first opportunity to connect with the New York art world came after a successful exhibition of her watercolors at the Midtown Galleries where the owner, Alan Gruskin, noted Parson's faithful and wealthy group of supporters and offered her work installing exhibitions and selling paintings on commission. Her work for the Midtown Galleries led to a second position in the Park Avenue gallery of Mary Sullivan, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art. Here, Parsons learned the business of running a gallery. By 1940 Parsons was ready to take on more independent responsibility and agreed to manage a gallery within the Wakefield Bookshop. In this job, she exercised full curatorial control by selecting artists and organizing exhibitions. She championed then unknown contemporary American artists and the gallery's roster soon included Saul Steinberg, Hedda Sterne, Alfonso Ossorio, Joseph Cornell, Walter Murch, and Theodore Stamos. Although the majority of the exhibitions were solo shows, there were a few group shows and themed exhibitions, such as Love in Art (1941) and Ballet in Art (1942). Under Parson's direction, the gallery hosted an important exhibition of Pre-Columbian sculpture, curated by Barnett Newman.

When the owners of the Wakefield Bookshop decided to close the gallery late in 1944, Mortimer Brandt, a dealer who specialized in Old Master paintings and drawings, offered her a position as head of the newly created contemporary section of his gallery. Many of the artists who had shown with Parsons at the Wakefield Gallery followed her to her new gallery, where they were joined by Ad Reinhardt, Boris Mango, and Hans Hofmann. While the exhibitions garnered attention from the press and the interest of contemporary artists, the contemporary section was not a financial success and Brandt opted to close his gallery in 1946.

Using $1000 of her own money and an additional borrowed $4000, Parsons sublet the space that previously housed Mortimer Brandt's contemporary section, on the fifth floor of 15 East 57th Street, and opened the Betty Parsons Gallery.

In many respects the early years of the Betty Parsons Gallery were the most vital, as it was during the period of 1947-1951 that the gallery became linked with the Abstract Expressionists and the history of post-WWII American Art. In an unpublished history of the gallery, noted art critic Lawrence Alloway stated that the significance of the gallery's early exhibitions ranks with Durand-Ruel's Impressionists exhibitions or Kahnweiler's shows of the Cubists. Betty Parsons Gallery quickly became one of the most prestigious galleries in New York City associated with new American Art of all styles. Her close friend Barnett Newman organized the gallery's inaugural exhibition of Northwest Coast Indian Art and he soon began to exhibit his own work at the gallery. When Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery closed, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, and Mark Rothko joined Parsons' growing stable of artists. Although Parsons continued to promote and exhibit many of the artists whom she had previously discovered, these four artists dominated this period. Newman, Pollock, Still, and Rothko worked closely together, holding themselves apart from the other artists somewhat. They were actively involved in the curatorial process and often hung their own shows. For these artists, the exhibition itself was an artistic act of creation.

Parsons provided a supportive environment and allowed her artists enormous freedom in planning and designing their exhibitions. She was not, however, an aggressive salesperson. During this early period the gallery ledgers document sales to an impressive array of museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as important collectors such as Edward Root and Duncan Phillips. Nevertheless, the art that the gallery promoted was not yet widely accepted. Sales were few, prices were low and the business would not turn a profit for several years. Meanwhile, there was mounting pressure from Pollock, Newman, Still, and Rothko to drop some of the other artists from Parsons' stable and focus all resources on them. They wanted to be promoted to a larger audience and have their work sold at higher prices, but Parsons enjoyed discovering new artists and did not want to be restricted in this endeavor. The year 1951 marks the last time that Pollock's drip paintings or the monumental works of Newman, Rothko or Still were shown at the Betty Parsons Gallery.

In the following years the Betty Parsons Gallery continued to attract a diverse group of talented artists. Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Tuttle, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jack Youngerman had their first New York exhibitions at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Parsons opened Section Eleven in 1958, a short-lived annex to the main gallery, so that she could promote younger, less well-known artists. It closed in 1960 due to the administrative difficulties in running two essentially separate galleries.

In 1962, Sidney Janis, another prominent art dealer, started proceedings to evict Parsons from the floor that they shared on 15 East 57th Street. The Betty Parsons Gallery moved to 24 West 57th Street in 1963, where it remained until it closed in 1983, following Parsons' death the preceding year. Throughout the gallery's history, Parsons continued to promote faithful artists such as Hedda Sterne and Saul Steinberg, who had been with her from the beginning and to seek out new talent, both for her main gallery and for other venues, such as the short-lived Parsons-Truman Gallery, which she opened in 1974 with former Parsons Gallery director Jock Truman to show works on paper by emerging artists.

In addition to being an art dealer, Betty Parsons was a respected artist and collector. With her connoisseur's eye and connections, Parsons amassed an impressive private collection of art. She bought her first piece while an art student in Paris in the 1920s, a small gouache by Zadkine, but did not begin acquiring works in earnest until she was established as an art dealer. Partial inventories of her personal collection show that the majority of her collection contained works by artists associated with the gallery. Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Ad Reinhardt, Agnes Martin, and Kenzo Okada were among the artists represented. Many were gifts from the artists, such as an ink drawing by Jackson Pollock, inscribed "For Betty." Selections from her collection appeared in small museums across the United States, including a traveling exhibition organized by Fitch College, New York, in 1968. In her role as a promoter of contemporary American art, Parsons lent generously from her collection, particularly to the federal Art in the Embassies Program. Throughout her life she also donated works to a variety of museums, most notably, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.

Parsons frequently claimed that her desire to pursue a career as an artist stemmed from a visit to the Armory Show when she was thirteen. In her late teens, after pressuring her father for art lessons, she studied with the sculptor Gutzon Burglum of Mount Rushmore fame. In Paris, she continued her studies first with Antoine Bourdelle, whose sculptures she had admired at the Armory Show, and later with Ossip Zadkine. The first exhibition of her work, figurative watercolors and sculptures, took place in Paris in 1927. As she matured as an artist, her art became more abstract. Her late works were painted wood sculptures that she pieced together from wood that she found near her studio in Long Island. Parsons's work was exhibited in more than thirty solo exhibitions, including, Betty Parsons; Paintings, Gouaches and Sculpture, 1955-1968, at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. During her lifetime, she would not allow her works to be shown in her own gallery. Shortly after she died of a stroke in 1982, In Memoriam, Betty Parsons: Late Sculptures, opened at the Betty Parsons Gallery.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Betty Parsons, June 4-9, 1969, by Paul Cummings, and June 11, 1981 by Gerald Silk.
Separated Material:
Some of the material originally loaned for microfilming in 1968 and 1969 was not included in later donations and can be viewed on microfilm reels N68/62-N68/74 and N69/105-N69/106. Loaned materials are not described in the container listing in this finding aid.
Provenance:
The gallery donated some records in 1974, many of which had been loaned earlier for microfilming. The bulk of the collection was donated in 1984 and 1986 by William Rayner and Christopher Schwabacher, executors of the Estate of Betty Parsons. Additional material was donated by William Rayner in 1998 and Christopher Schwabacher in 2017. Additional material was donated in 2018 by the Lee Hall estate via Carolyn Crozier and Deborah Jacobson, co-executors. Hall was Parsons's biographer and had the material in her possession at the time of Parsons's death. An additional photograph of Parons and Marie Carr Taylor by Henri Cartier-Bresson was donated in 2021 by Mary Carpenter, who inherited the photograph from her mother, Nan Thorton Jones, who received it as a gift from Taylor.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women art dealers  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Abstract expressionist  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Video recordings
Drawings
Citation:
Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, 1916-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.parsbett
See more items in:
Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw956c1036f-b673-4dc1-8c1b-cde0bd641c60
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-parsbett
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers digital asset number 1
Online Media:

account book, tailor's

Object Name:
Account Book, Tailor's
Credit Line:
Historical Dresses Fund
ID Number:
1978.1005.001
Accession number:
1978.1005
Catalog number:
1978.1005.001
See more items in:
Home and Community Life: Costume
Data Source:
National Museum of American History
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a1-4c72-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmah_353395

MS 1887 Miscellaneous notes

Collector:
Mooney, James, 1861-1921  Search this
Extent:
5 Notebooks
Culture:
Kiowa  Search this
Indians of North America -- Great Plains  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Notebooks
Newsclippings
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents:
Concerns tipis and shields, Kiowa tales, etc. Also notes on peyote. 1 page list of contents by David F. Aberle, May 2, 1952 accompanies Manuscript. Also newsclipping of story of peyote ceremony entitled, "Eating the Mescal; the Strange Ceremony Wittnessed by an Ethnologist," signed by James Mooney. Augusta, [Ga.] Chronicle, January 24, 1892.
From David Aberle: Besides notebooks contains aggitated correspondence from Warren K. Moorehead to H. C. Phillips, and other letters on the same subject, concerning adequate presentation of a pro-peyote position at the Mohonk conference and at congressional hearings. Dates 1915. Also lists of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 66th Congress, 1st session, r. Chippewa, printed 1919. Also a map of Southern Texas, with a series of towns, etc., and names, small towns along the Rio Grande considerably below El Paso--presumably peyote towns. Very hard, if not impossible to decipher. Also a reprint of Prentiss and Morgan's article in the Med. Record, August 22, 1896. There are three notebooks headed Department of Interior, 1 small black "ledger," 1 paper-covered account-book, and 14 pages from a bound notebook, held together by a brass stud. All are difficult to read but would be worth going over with care. I cannot be confident that any of these are completely lacking in peyote materials. The "ledger" contains accounts of the cost of a peyote meeting--gives figures for several specific meetings.
Local Numbers:
NAA MS 1887
Local Note:
Re tipis and shields. I see nothing outstanding- no colored drawings, etc.- re. heraldry. MCB 3/59.
Other Title:
Eating the Mescal; the Strange Ceremony Wittnessed by an Ethnollogist
Topic:
Tipis -- Kiowa Indians  Search this
Peyote -- Kiowa  Search this
Shields -- Kiowa  Search this
Folklore -- Kiowa  Search this
Language and languages -- Documentation  Search this
Genre/Form:
Newsclippings
Citation:
Manuscript 1887, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NAA.MS1887
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw30216583f-57db-4b41-b2ce-4cc20c34d604
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-naa-ms1887

Membership Lists and Related Correspondence

Collection Correspondent:
Nash, Philleo, 1909-1987  Search this
Zimmerman, Lorraine May  Search this
Wolfe, Alvin W. (Alvin William), 1928-  Search this
Tax, Sol, 1907-1995  Search this
Wheeler-Voegelin, Erminie, 1903-1988  Search this
Sebeok, Thomas A. (Thomas Albert), 1920-2001  Search this
Schwartz, Douglas W., 1929-  Search this
Silverberg, James Mark  Search this
Sellers, Mary  Search this
Sahlins, Marshall David  Search this
Hart, Charles William Merton  Search this
Schnitt, Ivan  Search this
Schneider, Harold Kenneth, 1925-1987  Search this
Stout, David Bond  Search this
Titterington, P.F.  Search this
Titiev, Mischa  Search this
Spicer, Edward Holland  Search this
Smith, Marian W. (Marian Wesley), 1907-1961  Search this
Spuhler, James Norman  Search this
Spier, Robert Forest Gayton  Search this
Wallis, Wilson D. (Wilson Dallam), 1886-1970  Search this
Warner, William Lloyd  Search this
Watson, James B. (James Bennett), 1918-2009  Search this
Weckler, Joseph E., Jr.  Search this
Useem, John  Search this
Vaughan, James Herbert  Search this
Vaughan, Wilson Herbert  Search this
Wallace, Anthony F. C., 1923-  Search this
White, Leslie A., 1900-1975  Search this
Whiteford, Andrew Hunter  Search this
Whitten, Norman E.  Search this
Wittry, Warren L.  Search this
Wedel, Waldo R. (Waldo Rudolph), 1908-1996  Search this
Weer, Paul  Search this
Weitzner, Bella, 1891?-1988  Search this
Angel, J. Lawrence (John Lawrence)  Search this
Aginsky, Ethel G.  Search this
Aberle, David F. (David Friend), 1918-2004  Search this
Bittle, William Elmer  Search this
Black, Robert A.  Search this
Boggs, Stephen Taylor  Search this
Borhegyi, Stephan F.  Search this
Bourguignon, Erika Eichhorn  Search this
Carlson, Gustav G.  Search this
Casagrande, Joseph B. (Joseph Bartholomew), 1915-1982  Search this
Champe, John L. (John Leland), 1895-  Search this
Christensen, James Boyd  Search this
Cobb, W. Montague  Search this
Cole, Fay-Cooper  Search this
Collier, Donald, 1911-1995  Search this
Henry, William E.  Search this
Field, Henry  Search this
Hoijer, Harry  Search this
Herskovits, Melville J. (Melville Jean), 1895-1963  Search this
Honigsheim, Paul  Search this
Holmes, Lowell Don  Search this
Jantzen, Carl Raymond  Search this
Isaac, Barry Lamont  Search this
Jones, Volney H. (Volney Hurt), 1903-1982  Search this
Johnson, Frederick, 1904-1994  Search this
Kaplan, Bernice Antoville  Search this
Haag, William George  Search this
Harding, Charles  Search this
Hanna, Katherine  Search this
Griffin, James B. (James Bennett), 1905-1997  Search this
Goldschmidt, Walter, 1913-2010  Search this
Guthe, Alfred K. (Alfred Kidder), 1920-1983  Search this
Griswold, Charles H.  Search this
Frantz, Charles  Search this
Fox, George R.  Search this
Godfrey, William S.  Search this
Gallagher, Art  Search this
Estel, Leo  Search this
Eggan, Fred, 1906-1991  Search this
Force, Roland W.  Search this
Deuel, Thorne, 1890-  Search this
Douglas, Frederick Huntington  Search this
Dragoo, Don W.  Search this
Guthe, Carl E. (Carl Eugen), 1893-1974  Search this
Driver, Harold E. (Harold Edson), 1907-1992  Search this
Bennett, John William  Search this
Culver, Dwight W.  Search this
De Pena, Joan Finkle  Search this
Despres, Leo Arthur  Search this
Bates, Marston  Search this
Helm, June, 1924-  Search this
Bauxar, J. Joseph  Search this
Beardsley, Richard K. (Richard King), 1918-1978  Search this
Bee, Robert L.  Search this
Baby, Raymond S.  Search this
Baerreis, David A., 1916-1989  Search this
Barnouw, Victor  Search this
Bascom, William Russell, 1912-1981  Search this
Meggers, Betty Jane  Search this
Melin, Mary  Search this
Neumann, Georg K. (Georg Karl), 1907-1971  Search this
Nesbitt, Paul  Search this
Nash, Manning  Search this
Moss, Leonard Wallace  Search this
Morgan, Richard G.  Search this
Miner, Horace M.  Search this
Merriam, Alan P. (Alan Parkhurst), 1923-1980  Search this
Rowe, Chandler William  Search this
Robinson, J.T.  Search this
Ritzenthaler, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1911-1980  Search this
Quimby, George I. (George Irving), 1913-2003  Search this
Pilling, Arnold R.  Search this
Philips, Jane  Search this
Osmundsen, Lita S.  Search this
Noon, John A.  Search this
Collection Creator:
Central States Anthropological Society (U.S.)  Search this
American Anthropological Association. Central States Branch  Search this
Kelley, J. Charles, 1913-1997  Search this
Kneberg, Madeline D.  Search this
Keyes, Charles Fenton  Search this
La Barre, Weston, 1911-1996  Search this
Kurtz, Ronald Joseph  Search this
Lewis, Thomas M. N. (Thomas McDowell Nelson), 1896-  Search this
Lily, Eli  Search this
Lessa, William Armand  Search this
Lewis, Oscar  Search this
Laughlin, William Sceva  Search this
Lehman, Edward J.  Search this
Lange, Charles Henry  Search this
Lasker, Gabriel Ward  Search this
McGregor, Jo  Search this
McKern, W. C. (Will Carleton), 1892-  Search this
Marriott, McKim  Search this
Martin, Paul S. (Paul Sidney), 1899-1974  Search this
Lurie, Nancy Oestreich  Search this
Mandelbaum, David G.  Search this
Container:
Box 1
Type:
Archival materials
Text
Scope and Contents:
Missing Title

1929 2 pp

1952 5 pp

1957 11 pp., with covering letter, Nancy O. Lurie to William Bittle, 5 December 1957

1959 3 pp., with covering letter, Bernice Kaplan to Betty Meggers, 3 October 1959

1962 7 pp., with covering letter, Bernice Kaplan to Stephen Boggs, 2 March 1963

1964 14 pp

1966 20 pp

1967 13, pp

November 17, 1948, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 2 pp.

January 12, 1949, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 1 p.

February 17, 1949, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 1 p.

February 17, 1949, letter, Paul Nesbitt to Erminie Voegelin, 1 p.

February 21, 1949, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Paul Nesbitt, 1 p.

February 21, 1949, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 1 p.

March 2, 1949, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 4 pp.

March 15, 1949, letter P. M. Barclay to E. G. Aginsky, 2 pp.

March 29, 1949, letter, Erminie Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 1 p.

April 12, 1949, letter, P. M. Barclay to Madeline Kneberg, 1 p.

May 9, 1949, letter, E. Voegelin to Madeline Kneberg, 1 p.

May 16, 1949, letter, P. M. Barclay to Madeline Kneberg, 2 pp.

June 16, 1949, letter, E. Voegelin to M. Kneberg, 1 p.

September 13, 1949, letter, E. Voegelin to M. Kneberg, 1 p.

n.d., "Dues Not Paid for 1949-50" 1 p.

n.d., "Dues Not Paid for 1950", 4 pp.

Membership list compiled by Barry Isaacs from dues records in 1939-46 Accounts book (see above)
Collection Restrictions:
Materials relating to CSAS award applicants and selected correspondence from 1976-77 are restricted until 10 years after the death of the correspondents. Computer disks are restricted due to preservation concerns.

Access to the Central States Anthropological Society records requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
See more items in:
Central States Anthropological Society records
Central States Anthropological Society records / Series 1: History and Administrative Files / 1.6: Membership
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3033edad9-5975-405a-94de-c01c214c45a1
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-naa-1977-55-ref101

Accounts Book, 24 July 1939 to 31 May 1946

Collection Correspondent:
Nash, Philleo, 1909-1987  Search this
Zimmerman, Lorraine May  Search this
Wolfe, Alvin W. (Alvin William), 1928-  Search this
Tax, Sol, 1907-1995  Search this
Wheeler-Voegelin, Erminie, 1903-1988  Search this
Sebeok, Thomas A. (Thomas Albert), 1920-2001  Search this
Schwartz, Douglas W., 1929-  Search this
Silverberg, James Mark  Search this
Sellers, Mary  Search this
Sahlins, Marshall David  Search this
Hart, Charles William Merton  Search this
Schnitt, Ivan  Search this
Schneider, Harold Kenneth, 1925-1987  Search this
Stout, David Bond  Search this
Titterington, P.F.  Search this
Titiev, Mischa  Search this
Spicer, Edward Holland  Search this
Smith, Marian W. (Marian Wesley), 1907-1961  Search this
Spuhler, James Norman  Search this
Spier, Robert Forest Gayton  Search this
Wallis, Wilson D. (Wilson Dallam), 1886-1970  Search this
Warner, William Lloyd  Search this
Watson, James B. (James Bennett), 1918-2009  Search this
Weckler, Joseph E., Jr.  Search this
Useem, John  Search this
Vaughan, James Herbert  Search this
Vaughan, Wilson Herbert  Search this
Wallace, Anthony F. C., 1923-  Search this
White, Leslie A., 1900-1975  Search this
Whiteford, Andrew Hunter  Search this
Whitten, Norman E.  Search this
Wittry, Warren L.  Search this
Wedel, Waldo R. (Waldo Rudolph), 1908-1996  Search this
Weer, Paul  Search this
Weitzner, Bella, 1891?-1988  Search this
Angel, J. Lawrence (John Lawrence)  Search this
Aginsky, Ethel G.  Search this
Aberle, David F. (David Friend), 1918-2004  Search this
Bittle, William Elmer  Search this
Black, Robert A.  Search this
Boggs, Stephen Taylor  Search this
Borhegyi, Stephan F.  Search this
Bourguignon, Erika Eichhorn  Search this
Carlson, Gustav G.  Search this
Casagrande, Joseph B. (Joseph Bartholomew), 1915-1982  Search this
Champe, John L. (John Leland), 1895-  Search this
Christensen, James Boyd  Search this
Cobb, W. Montague  Search this
Cole, Fay-Cooper  Search this
Collier, Donald, 1911-1995  Search this
Henry, William E.  Search this
Field, Henry  Search this
Hoijer, Harry  Search this
Herskovits, Melville J. (Melville Jean), 1895-1963  Search this
Honigsheim, Paul  Search this
Holmes, Lowell Don  Search this
Jantzen, Carl Raymond  Search this
Isaac, Barry Lamont  Search this
Jones, Volney H. (Volney Hurt), 1903-1982  Search this
Johnson, Frederick, 1904-1994  Search this
Kaplan, Bernice Antoville  Search this
Haag, William George  Search this
Harding, Charles  Search this
Hanna, Katherine  Search this
Griffin, James B. (James Bennett), 1905-1997  Search this
Goldschmidt, Walter, 1913-2010  Search this
Guthe, Alfred K. (Alfred Kidder), 1920-1983  Search this
Griswold, Charles H.  Search this
Frantz, Charles  Search this
Fox, George R.  Search this
Godfrey, William S.  Search this
Gallagher, Art  Search this
Estel, Leo  Search this
Eggan, Fred, 1906-1991  Search this
Force, Roland W.  Search this
Deuel, Thorne, 1890-  Search this
Douglas, Frederick Huntington  Search this
Dragoo, Don W.  Search this
Guthe, Carl E. (Carl Eugen), 1893-1974  Search this
Driver, Harold E. (Harold Edson), 1907-1992  Search this
Bennett, John William  Search this
Culver, Dwight W.  Search this
De Pena, Joan Finkle  Search this
Despres, Leo Arthur  Search this
Bates, Marston  Search this
Helm, June, 1924-  Search this
Bauxar, J. Joseph  Search this
Beardsley, Richard K. (Richard King), 1918-1978  Search this
Bee, Robert L.  Search this
Baby, Raymond S.  Search this
Baerreis, David A., 1916-1989  Search this
Barnouw, Victor  Search this
Bascom, William Russell, 1912-1981  Search this
Meggers, Betty Jane  Search this
Melin, Mary  Search this
Neumann, Georg K. (Georg Karl), 1907-1971  Search this
Nesbitt, Paul  Search this
Nash, Manning  Search this
Moss, Leonard Wallace  Search this
Morgan, Richard G.  Search this
Miner, Horace M.  Search this
Merriam, Alan P. (Alan Parkhurst), 1923-1980  Search this
Rowe, Chandler William  Search this
Robinson, J.T.  Search this
Ritzenthaler, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1911-1980  Search this
Quimby, George I. (George Irving), 1913-2003  Search this
Pilling, Arnold R.  Search this
Philips, Jane  Search this
Osmundsen, Lita S.  Search this
Noon, John A.  Search this
Collection Creator:
Central States Anthropological Society (U.S.)  Search this
American Anthropological Association. Central States Branch  Search this
Kelley, J. Charles, 1913-1997  Search this
Kneberg, Madeline D.  Search this
Keyes, Charles Fenton  Search this
La Barre, Weston, 1911-1996  Search this
Kurtz, Ronald Joseph  Search this
Lewis, Thomas M. N. (Thomas McDowell Nelson), 1896-  Search this
Lily, Eli  Search this
Lessa, William Armand  Search this
Lewis, Oscar  Search this
Laughlin, William Sceva  Search this
Lehman, Edward J.  Search this
Lange, Charles Henry  Search this
Lasker, Gabriel Ward  Search this
McGregor, Jo  Search this
McKern, W. C. (Will Carleton), 1892-  Search this
Marriott, McKim  Search this
Martin, Paul S. (Paul Sidney), 1899-1974  Search this
Lurie, Nancy Oestreich  Search this
Mandelbaum, David G.  Search this
Container:
Box 1
Type:
Archival materials
Books
Scope and Contents:
Hand labeled on outside cover: "Accounts of the Central States Branch of the American Anthropological Association July 24, 1939—Mischa Titiev—Sec-Treas., Paul Nesbitt—Sec-Treas."This "Accounts book" covers the war years—1943, 1944, 1945—during which there was no Annual Meeting and, thus, no other record of finances and membership. Regarding dues schedules, throughout this account book an entry of $6.00 means: $5 collected for AAA dues, $1 collected in CSB dues; the $1 was retained in the CSB Treasury, and the $5 was mailed to the Treasurer of the AAA (Bella Weitzner during most of the period covered by this Accounts Book). The entry of $1.00 followed by "Associate" means: the person was a member of the CSB but not of the AAA itself and hence owed only $1 in dues—for an "Associate Membership" in this Central Section ("Central States Branch"—sic) of the AAA. But the entry of $1.00 designated "Weitzner," "from B. Weitzner," "our share," etc., means: AAA had rebated the CSB its (CSB's) portion ($1) of $6.00 dues paid direct to the AAA. (See the Correspondence files for an extensive discussion of the joint billing procedure.)
Collection Restrictions:
Materials relating to CSAS award applicants and selected correspondence from 1976-77 are restricted until 10 years after the death of the correspondents. Computer disks are restricted due to preservation concerns.

Access to the Central States Anthropological Society records requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
See more items in:
Central States Anthropological Society records
Central States Anthropological Society records / Series 1: History and Administrative Files / 1.5: Financial Records
Archival Repository:
National Anthropological Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nw3d804d81d-1cda-4127-954d-c399675b23cb
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-naa-1977-55-ref97

Robinson and Via Family Papers

Collector:
Robinson, Franklin A., Jr., 1959- (actor)  Search this
Creator:
Quinn, Terry (photographer)  Search this
Conner, Mary Robinson, 1930-2009  Search this
Names:
Capital Transit Company (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Serenity Farm, Inc.  Search this
Howes, Grace Bourne, ?-1976  Search this
Robinson, Adina Theresa, 1963-  Search this
Robinson, Amanda Baden, 1849-1940  Search this
Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1892-1976  Search this
Robinson, Frank A., 1883-1970  Search this
Robinson, Franklin A., 1841-1905  Search this
Robinson, Franklin A., Sr., 1932-  Search this
Robinson, Martha Walls, 1807-1897  Search this
Robinson, Robert David, 1962-  Search this
Robinson, Robert Henry, 1851-1937  Search this
Robinson, Thomas Wells, 1803-1869  Search this
Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1880-1961  Search this
Via, Adina Mae, 1937-1966  Search this
Via, Ida Virginia Woods, 1914-2010  Search this
Via, Robert Delano, 1933-  Search this
Via, Robert Milton, 1906-1983  Search this
Extent:
31.1 Cubic feet (93 boxes, 3 map-size folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Motion pictures (visual works)
Correspondence
Photographs
Postcards
Baby books
Phonograph records
Postcard albums
Ephemera
School yearbooks
Diaries
Albums
Housebooks
Snapshots
Home movies
Family papers
Scrapbooks
Funeral registers
Architectural drawings
Place:
Maryland -- Family farms
Washington (D.C.)
Prince George's County (Md.)
Arizona -- Motion pictures
Benedict (Md.)
Charles County (Md.) -- Family farms
Calvert County (Md.) -- Family farms
California -- Motion pictures
Bahamas -- Motion pictures
Yosemite National Park (Calif.)
Puerto Rico -- Motion pictures
Washington -- motion pictures
Oregon -- Motion pictures
Disneyland (California)
Brandywine (Md.)
St. Thomas, V.I. -- Motion pictures
Florida -- Motion pictures
United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Westminster
United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- Marston
United States of America -- Maryland -- Carroll County -- New Windsor
Date:
1838-2023, undated
bulk 1872-1985
Summary:
Papers documenting the farming and family life of the Robinson family of Prince George's County and after 1975, Charles County, Maryland. Papers documenting the farming and family of the Via family of Greene County, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Prince George's and Calvert Counties, Maryland, by 1949.
Scope and Contents:
An extensive and comprehensive collection of papers relating to family, farming, and the Southern Maryland tobacco culture, the Robinson and Via Family Papers cover many aspects of family and farm life. The papers are particularly important in regard to the tobacco culture that defined Southern Maryland for generations. The papers concern two distinct family groups, the Robinson and Via families who are connected through the marriage of Franklin A. Robinson and Adina Mae Via. The papers consist of material generated by the Robinson and Via families in their personal and working lives and as farm owners and operators.

The papers are especially strong in 20th century material. They consist of various types of farm records: account books, bills, receipts, tenant farming agreements, ephemera, land rental and purchase agreements, insurance policies, photographs and 8mm and 16mm films of farming practices and procedures, equipment and landscapes, related to the farming of tobacco, small grains, and livestock. The personal records include diaries, letters both personal and business, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, high school yearbooks, baby books, house plans, recipe books, photographs and 8mm films of birthdays, holidays, weddings, baptisms, family occasions, and family travel, oral histories, and funeral ephemera including photographs, and transcription discs. Of particular interest are the "Serenity Farm Tobacco Production Photographs" documenting the crop year 1999-2000 and the films detailing agricultural practices. There is a memorandum book for Black Walnut Thicket, 1885-1901, the Baden farm in Baden, Prince George's County.

This collection includes a comprehensive range of 8mm and 16mm films and photographs documenting farming practices and landscapes as well as family gatherings, birthdays, holidays, and vacations. The researcher is alerted to the fact that in some cases with the memorandum and account books, books printed for a given year were often saved and used for subsequent years, some were dated, some were not.

The collection is divided into seven series arranged by subject and most often chronologically at folder level within each series.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into seven series:

Series 1: Ferndale Farm (Potomac Landing), Prince George's County, Maryland, 1861-1973, undated

Subseries 1.1: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, and publications, 1861-1973, undated

Subseries 1.2: Farm papers, bill, and receipts, 1945-1960, undated

Subseries 1.3: Farm papers, bills, and receipts, 1960-1965, undated

Series 2: Robinson Family, 1845-2017, undated

Subseries 2.1: Family Papers and Publications, 1845-1993, undated

Subseries 2.2: Townshend, Martha Robinson, 1896-1961, undated

Subseries 2.3: Robinson, Frank A., 1899-1970, undated

Subseries 2.4: Robinson, Elizabeth Bourne, 1841-1976, undated

Subseries 2.5: Conner, Mary Robinson, 1938-1985, undated

Subseries 2.6: Robinson, Franklin A., 1932-1997, undated

Subseries 2.6.1: Farming, 1948-1976, undated

Subseries 2.6.2: Financial, 1948-1988, undated

Subseries 2.6.3: 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA), 1945-1954, undated

Subseries 2.6.4: Travel, 1959-1970, undated

Subseries 2.7: Robinson, Jr., Franklin A., 1959-2001, undated

Series 3: Serenity Farm, Charles County, Maryland, 1962-2000, undated

Series 4: Via Farm, Calvert County, Maryland, 1954-1987, undated

Series 5: Via Family, 1932-2010, undated

Subseries 5.1: Family papers, 1941-1983, undated

Subseries 5.2: Via, Robert M., 1933-1987, undated

Subseries 5.3: Via, Ida Virginia, 1928-2010, undated

Subseries 5.4: Via, Robert D., 1933-1988, undated

Subseries 5.5: Robinson, Adina Via, 1937-1966, undated

Series 6: Photographs, Photographic Slides, and Photographic Negatives, 1860-2000, undated

Subseries 6.1: Photographs, 1872-2000, undated

Subseries 6.2: Photographic negatives, 1927--2000, undated

Subseries 6.3: Photographic Slides, 1955-1979, undated

Series 7: AudioVisual, 1943-1988
Biographical / Historical:
Robinson Family

The Robinson family is thought to be of Scottish origin and appear in the records of Prince George's County, Maryland by the early 18th century. The line has been definitively traced to James Robinson (?-1849). James' father was probably Benjamin Robinson (?-1810), of Prince George's County, Maryland. (Will Book TT1, pg. 15, Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Maryland State Archives (MSA))

James Robinson and Sarah Wynn were issued a marriage license on February 28, 1802 in Prince George's County, Maryland. (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland) Eleven children lived to maturity (not listed in birth order); Thomas Wells (1803-1869), Ann, Priscilla, James Monroe, Benjamin (1813-1882), John C. (1819-1895), Mary Sophia, Thomas Stanley (1800-1874), Alfred, Sarah Ann, Matilda, and Rebecca Maria.

James worked as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden near Upper Marlborough, Prince George's County. (Oden Papers, Maryland Historical Society) The Robinsons and their children, moved to Wood County, Virginia (now West Virginia) by April 18, 1818 where James acted as Oden's land agent (Deed Book 6, pg. 123, Land Records of Wood County, West Virginia). They brought with them three enslaved described in the above reference as, "Kate a woman 45 years of age very black; Colonel a boy aged 8 years yellow complexion: and George a boy aged six years of a dark brown complexion." They settled on part of what was known as the "Burnt Mill" tract in the general area where the Hughes River meets the Little Kanawha River. (Deed Book 9, pg. 110 and Deed Book 14, pg. 40, Land Records of Wood County)

Thomas Wells Robinson may not have accompanied his family to Virginia as he has a presence in Prince George's County prior to 1822 and was employed as a farm manager for Benjamin Oden at least until 1832. He married Elizabeth J. Richards on December 15, 1829 (Robinson Family Bible). They had nine children; Richard Thomas (1831 1906), Rebecca Maria (1832-1895), Mary Wynn (1834-1916), James George (1835-1883), Virlinda Victoria (1837-1838), Elizabeth Ann (1839-1916), Sarah Ann Sophia (1840-1874), Franklin Alexander (1841-1905) and John Alfred (1843); seven lived to maturity. (Robinson Family Bible) Elizabeth died on August 17, 1843 from complications in childbirth. She was buried in the graveyard of Page's Chapel (later known as St. Thomas Episcopal Church), Croom, Prince George's County. In 1843, Thomas purchased the plantation of Dr. Benjamin B. Hodges for $10,000 or approximately $15 an acre. Hodges was a brother-in-law of Benjamin Oden. The deed dated September 7, 1843 describes the parcel as containing, "Six hundred and twenty nine acres of land more or less and constitute that plantation or Estate of the said Benjamin Oden heretofore commonly called "Brown's Quarter Place" being the Land tracts and parcels of land sold by the said Benjamin Oden to the said Benjamin B. Hodges and by deed bearing date the tenth day of December eighteen hundred and thirty five and recorded in Liber AB no. 10 folio 162 also one of the land Records of the County aforesaid". (JBB no. 3 pgs. 312 314, Land Records of Prince George's County) The land was level to rolling bordered on the north by a tributary of Piscataway Creek and generally termed "white oak land". Underlying the whole property was a large strata of gravel and sand. The entire parcel went by the name, Potomac Landing.

Thomas supplemented his land holdings with later purchases. With the exception of twenty acres purchased from Sarah Talbert in 1844, (JBB no. 3 pg. 475, Land Records of Prince George's County) and the purchase of lot #3 consisting of 195 acres, part of the estate of John Townshend in 1856, these purchases were not contiguous to Potomac Landing. By the time of his death in 1869 these non-contiguous parcels had been sold. Thomas sold eighty-six acres of Potomac Landing and Jeffries to Edward Eversfield in October of 1843. (JBB no. 3, pg. 198, Land Records of Prince George's County) On January 13, 1846 Thomas married the widow Martha Ann Walls, daughter of George and Martha Naylor Walls. They had two sons; Benjamin Wells (1848-1849) and Robert Henry (1851-1937).

In addition to his sons, Thomas owned enslaved. The number varied from six in 1849 (JBB 6, folio 186, Land Records of Prince Georges' County) to eleven as noted in the census for 1850, and finally six as noted in the census of 1860. The 1867 Maryland Slave Statistics noted that, "at the time of the adoption of the Constitution of Maryland, in the year 1864, . . ." Thomas owned six enslaved, their names and ages being; Isaac Franklin age 31, Alfred West age 19, Susan West age 17, Margaret Franklin age 14, Fannie Franklin age 12, and Peter Franklin age 9. All were noted as being in good physical condition. (Prince Georges' County Slave Statistics 1867 1869, C 1307 1, MdHR:6198, page 185, MSA)

Thomas's financial problems began in the mid-1800s when Deeds of Trust appear in the county records securing outstanding loans. In 1856 and 1857 Thomas joined with others as bondsman for his son, Richard who was serving as "Collector of the State and County Taxes" for the 4th collection district, making he and the other signatories liable for any uncollected taxes. This, coupled with poor investments, led to his almost being "sold out" in 1859-1860 by J.W. & E. Reynolds of Baltimore to pay his debts. He executed three drafts on Penn & Mitchell, also of Baltimore, to pay off J.W. & E. Reynolds. (Equity Case #597, Prince Georges' County) Thomas was in poor health and his son James managed the farm in 1857 and 1858, and again from 1861 to October of 1862 (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County)

In October of 1862 Thomas' two sons, James and Franklin, traveled to Richmond to join the Confederate States Army. James enrolled in the 5th Battalion, Local Defense Arsenal and Franklin enrolled in the 5th Virginia Infantry, the Stonewall Brigade. (CSA Military Records, National Archives) James visited home frequently but was captured by the Union Army in St. Mary's County, Maryland on May 15, 1864 and spent the remainder of the war in Point Lookout Prison Camp. He was released on May 14, 1865. Franklin was not able to visit home at all during the war but survived to return home in 1865. In 1865, Thomas surveyed a parcel of 172 acres for his daughter Rebecca Maria. Rebecca had married her second cousin, William B. Robertson, on November 18, 1855. He made a gift of fifty acres, and Rebecca agreed to purchase the remainder. The Robertsons named this parcel Holly Grove. In Equity Case #849 (1872) filed after Thomas' death, his widow Martha and Samuel H. Berry, as executrix and executor, sought to recover payment for this land. At that time, William B. Robertson described this 172 acres of Potomac Landing: "There was no fences on the line which separated this land from the old gentleman's land, but he was to put a fence on it which he agreed to do before we agreed to come there. The land was thin, unimproved, with gullies and scrubby pine. If witness had been a judge of land he would not have given five dollars for it. All the improvements were one comfortable quarter the other indifferent with a poor oak shingle roof, worn out which made it not tenantable." Further along in his testimony, William gave an account of a conversation, "In a few days my father in law Thos. W. Robinson came to Washington and told me there his children had returned from the South, his two sons, that his debts were small and he was a happy man." Rebecca and William built a house on the property, a side-hall, double parlor plan that most likely her brother James was builder. They also built accompanying farm structures. (Records of Prince George's County, Maryland, Equity Case #849, MSA)

Thomas' son, Franklin, managed the farm after the War. In December 1868 Thomas entered into a sharecropping agreement with Edward Hanson, an African-American. After about a year-long illness, on May 16, 1869, Thomas died, deeply in debt. He was buried beside Elizabeth in the graveyard at St. Thomas' Church. He named as executrix his wife, Martha, and his friend and lawyer, Samuel H. Berry, as executor. His will divided the farm into thirds, one third going to his wife and their son Robert Henry, one third to his son James, and one third to his son Franklin. The land was surveyed according to the will. His personal property was sold but not enough profit was realized to pay off his creditors. The Commissioners of Prince George's County sued the estate on behalf of Thomas' creditors. The outcome was that in 1876 the property was sold at public auction. The Notice of Sale dated September 1, 1876 in the local county newspaper, The Prince Georgian, describes the farm as, "containing 514 2/3 acres More or less. The Improvements consist of a SMALL DWELLING, Three Barns, Stabling, and other necessary outbuildings. It is well wooded and watered, and the soil of fair quality. It has recently been divided into three lots and will be offered in lots, a description of which will be given at the time of sale." The sale was held on September 27, 1876, Lot No. 1 was purchased by Robert for $6.00 an acre, Lot #2 was purchased by Franklin for $5.00 an acre and Lot #3 was purchased by James for $4.00 per acre. Robert and Franklin eventually paid off their mortgage, but James defaulted on his purchase and later moved to St. Mary's County, Maryland. His portion later came to be owned by the Hawkins family, some members who had worked on the Robinson farm. (Equity Case #873, Prince Georges' County, MSA)

Lot #1, purchased by Robert from his fathers' estate, consisted of 177-1/3 acres, including the dwelling and farm buildings. On July 24, 1872, he married Amanda Malvina Baden (1849-1940), daughter of Robert W. G. and Margaret Caroline Early Baden. The Baden and Early families were both prominent south county families. Robert and Amanda had eight children; Caroline Early (1873 1967), Lucy Tennent (1875 1958), Albert Henry (1878 1914), Martha Perry (1880 1961), Robert Gover (1882 1882), Frank Alexander (1883 1970), Margaret Baden (1886 1956) and Grace Malvina (1889 1965).

By 1880 Robert had paid off his debt on the property and was fully engaged in farming. Unlike his father, or perhaps because of his father, Robert did not add to his land holdings, choosing to remain relatively debt free for his lifetime. The only land transactions he participated in were the sales of 79-3/4 acres in 1921 of Amanda's inheritance from her father and her interest in two smaller parcels of her father's land sold in 1894 and 1928 respectively. In 1928 he transferred 3.09 acres to his son Frank.

As late as the Federal census of 1880, Franklin was living with Robert and his household, both men engaged in farming. Sometime after 1880, Franklin took up residence on his part of Potomac Landing. His brother James most likely built the side-hall double parlor house that copied the main house at Potomac Landing. On February 18, 1897, Martha Robinson, died at the age of ninety. She was buried in the graveyyard of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden, Prince George's County. Robert continued cultivation of tobacco and small grains as his father before him. The first reference to the farm being named Ferndale is found in the "Communion Record" of Robert's daughter, Martha Perry "Pattie", dated 1896. (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The exact origin or reason for this new name is lost but perhaps the name Potomac Landing held such bitter memories of debt and hardship that, as a symbolic break with the past, a new name was found. It also may have simply been a way to distinguish this portion of Potomac Landing from the others. The farm continued to be listed on tax bills as Potomac Landing well into the 20th century, but was known to the general public and businesses as the Ferndale Farm. (Robinson and Via Family Papers)

Robert served as deputy inspector at the State Tobacco Warehouse in Baltimore for eight years under W.B. Bowie. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Brandywine. In July of 1905, Franklin died, a bachelor farmer. He was buried facing south in the graveyard of the Church of the Atonement, Cheltenham, (a chapel in St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish) where he had served as vestryman, treasurer, and cemetery custodian. Franklin died intestate and a lengthy process of dividing his estate began. This resulted in the sale of his part of Potomac Landing (Lot #2) in July 1908 to William E. Boswell. The court declared Robert ineligible for any inheritance due to his being " . . . a brother of the half blood." The Boswell family later sold the property to the Billingsley family of St. Mary's County. (Equity Case 3209, Prince George's County)

In 1910, after living in the farm's original home for approximately sixty seven years, the Robinson family built a new home. It was described in a 1956 insurance policy as, "2 story, frame, metal roof, 16x43, wing 14x28, 9 rooms." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) The house design was a simple Victorian with plastered walls, and lit by carbide gas. Electrical lighting was installed in 1951. The house was built with monies from Robert and Amanda, and their son Frank, who served as builder and contractor.

On Tuesday March 9, 1937, "During a celebration in honor of his wifes birthday anniversary, Mr. Robinson collapsed at the table and died immediately without a word or a sigh." (Robinson and Via Family Papers) Robert was buried beside his mother in the cemetery at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden.

At Robert's death, Ferndale Farm was valued at $30.00 an acre, the total acreage, 174 acres, being valued in the whole at $5,220.00. Robert died intestate, again the fate of the land was in question. He left eight heirs, his widow, Amanda, six of his children and his son Albert Henry's only surviving child, R. Henry Robinson. Rather than have the farm sold and his mother's life disrupted, Frank purchased the estate and personal property from the heirs. Before this could take place, a deed had to be granted the heirs for the property since one had never been recorded after the 1876 sale. Equity case 873 was reopened sixty-two years after its supposed resolution. Frank testified, "over a period of about thirty years I would on a number of occasions, talk about the fact that he had purchased and paid for this property and that a deed had never been executed to him and [he] kept saying he was going to have someone straighten this matter out for him." It was discovered that Robert had fully paid for his part of Potomac Landing. On February 14, 1938 the farm was deeded from Amanda along with Robert''s heirs to Frank. (Book 499, page 334, Land Records of Prince George's County) According to the deed and a 1937 fire insurance policy the farm consisted of 177 1/3 acres, "1 two story dwelling, one tenant house, 1 barrack, 1 tobacco barn, 1 corn house & cow stable, 1 Stable, and 1 Granary & Stable." (Robinson and Via Family Papers)

Frank A. Robinson, now the sole owner of Ferndale Farm, was born August 17, 1883. He learned farming and in addition took up the trade of builder and contractor. As a young man, he worked in the general store of his uncle Robert Baden. He was the contractor for the first Bank of Brandywine and many homes in and around the town of Brandywine, including the home of his cousin Robert E. Baden, DDS. He was secretary of the Building Committee for construction of the Chapel of the Incarnation in Brandywine, a mission chapel for St. Thomas' Episcopal Parish. His success in the building trade gave him disposable income that he invested in land. His first purchase was in August, 1915 of a 2-9/100 acre of land in Brandywine that was being sold by the Board of County School Commissioners; the purchase price was $300. In March 1916 he purchased 38.09 acres of his Uncle Franklin's farm. This property adjoined Ferndale Farm. Over the next fifty-four years of his life, Frank bought and sold many pieces of real estate. Perhaps his most significant purchases were: 18-1/3 acres purchased from The German American Colonization Land Company of Maryland in October 1915 (Book 115, pg. 140, Land Records of Prince George's County); 147.99 acres purchased from August and Wilhelmina Noltensmeir in December 1917 (Book 129, pg. 263, Land Records of Prince George's County) and 320 acres called the Vineyard purchased from William M. Wilson in March 1928. Frank used these three parcels as collateral for other purchases. Never once did he mortgage Ferndale Farm, insuring that no matter what financial stormy seas might blow, his home was secure. Over the course of his life, especially in the case of the Noltensmeir farm, when cash was needed a parcel of land would be surveyed off and sold. He inherited his grandfather Thomas' love of land but had fortunately developed a shrewd business sense to go along with it.

On November 20, 1929, he married Elizabeth Freeland Bourne, daughter of Joseph Blake and Maria Gantt Bourne of Calvert County, Maryland. They had three children: Mary Elizabeth (1930-2009), Franklin Alexander (1932-2023), and Robert Lee (1935-1997). In addition to his construction business he continued farming, raising tobacco, hay, and small grains. He engaged in sharecropping with tenants on his various properties. He was active in community affairs serving on the Board of The Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Vestry of St. Thomas Parish, and as sheriff of Brandywine. On January 9, 1940 Amanda Baden Robinson died. She was buried next to her husband at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baden. In February 1958, Frank and Elizabeth conveyed 1.57 acres of Ferndale Farm to son Franklin where he and his fiancée, Adina M. Via, were building their new home prior to their marriage in July of that same year.

The booming economy and suburbanization of the Washington metropolitan area in the early 1960's led to the high quality gravel lying beneath Ferndale into becoming a valuable commodity. In October 1962, Franklin and his parents granted a three-year lease to William C. Nolte for mining sand and gravel on the Ferndale Farm at .174 per yard. (Book 2747, pg. 11, Land Records of Prince George's County) From now until 1975 when the property was sold, gravel would be mined from under the farm by various companies. In November 1962, Elizabeth and Frank transferred to Franklin the 38.09 acres Frank had purchased from Fitzhugh Billingsley in 1916. (Book 2754, pg. 99, Land Records of Prince George's County) That same year they transferred 6.754 acres, part of the Vineyard, to son Robert and his wife Lois, (Book 2765, pg. 201, Land Records of Prince George's County)

On December 28, 1965, Frank and Elizabeth participated in a land exchange/purchase of the farm of Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown located along the Patuxent River in Benedict, Charles County, Maryland. Franklin had rented this farm the year before and was impressed enough by its location and arability to work out a purchase. Frank and Elizabeth traded 65.9920 acres that would eventually become Franklin's under Frank's will. On February 21, 1966 they deeded the Charles County farm to Franklin and Adina. Adina named this property Serenity Farm. The property consisted of 480.66 acres. (Liber 179, page 708 etc., Land Records of Charles County)

On February 5, 1970, after a short illness, Frank died at Cafritz Memorial Hospital. He was buried at St. Paul's Episcopal Church near his parents. In his will, probated March 4, 1970 he left thirty acres of the property purchased from the German American Land Company and A. Noltensmeir to Elizabeth. He willed forty acres of the same parcel to daughter Mary Robinson Conner. The remainder of Ferndale Farm was willed to Franklin and the remaining acreage of the Vineyard was left to Robert Lee. Franklin Alexander Robinson was born August 13, 1932 at the Garfield Hospital in Washington, D.C.. He received his schooling in the public school system of Prince George's County, graduating from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. He was a charter member of Gwynn Park's chapter of The Future Farmers of America. He was extremely active in FFA, achieving the Degree of Maryland Farmer in 1950 and their highest award, the Degree of American Farmer at their convention in Kansas City, Missouri in October 1953. He obtained his private pilots license in 1954. He entered the United States Army in February 1955 and went through basic training at Camp Gordon, Augusta, Georgia. After basic training he was transferred to Camp Hanford, Washington State. There he worked part time on the farm of Dick and Theresa Laurent during his off duty hours and began a lifelong friendship with them. He returned home to farming on an agricultural discharge in October of 1956. On July 27, 1958 he married his high school sweetheart, Adina Mae Via, daughter of Robert Milton and Virginia Woods Via. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962), and Adina Theresa (1963).

Franklin continued expanding and improving the farming operation by modern methods and means. At times, he farmed over one thousand acres, both owned and rented. On February 21, 1966, his parents deeded their purchase of the Ralph W. and Cordelia H. Brown farm in Benedict to he and Adina, later known as Serenity Farm Franklin and Adina engaged an architect to draft house plans for an anticipated new residence. A small A frame vacation home was built on the property so the family could spend weekends there.

On December 14, 1966, after a long illness, Adina died from complications associated with Hodgkin's Disease. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Waldorf, Charles County. Franklin married Margaret Walker Lennox (nee Tallen, known as Rita) on August 21, 1970 (Marriage Records of Prince George's County, Maryland). This marriage ended in divorce in 1977. There were no children from this marriage.

On July 14, 1975 the Robinson family, Franklin, his second wife, Margaret, her daughter Margaret W. Lennox, Franklin, Jr., R. David, A. Theresa and Elizabeth B. Robinson, moved to Serenity Farm. On July 17, 1975 Franklin and Elizabeth sold the remaining acreage of Ferndale Farm to Brandywine Sand and Gravel, thus ending 131 years of ownership by the Robinson family. Elizabeth Bourne Robinson died on July 15, 1976 and was buried beside her husband at St. Paul's Church, Baden. Franklin married Hiltrud (Ceddie) Harris (nee Sedlacek) on July 15, 1978. (Robinson Family Bible) This marriage ended in divorce in 1986. There were no children from this marriage. Franklin married Diedre Gale Merhiage on April 19, 1989; this marriage ended in divorce in 1997. There were no children from this marriage. He married Remelda Henega Buenavista on January 13, 2007.

The Robinson family continue day-to-day operations of Serenity Farm. The land is well suited to the growing of tobacco and small grains, which crops, (with the exception of tobacco) along with a flock of sheep, are cultivated there to the present time. After the crop year 2001 the Robinson family took the tobacco buyout program offered by the state of Maryland and ceased growing tobacco. Franklin is active in farming and community affairs having served on the vestry of St. Thomas Episcopal Parish, the Board of Directors of the Maryland Tobacco Growers Association (MTGA), the Board of the Production Credit Association, the Boards of three schools, Holy Trinity Day School, Queen Anne School, and Calverton School, and numerous other organizations. Currently the farm consists of approximately 275 acres. In 1981 a state agricultural land preservation district of 222.755 acres was created. This was the first such district in Charles County and one of the first in the state of Maryland.

Via Family

The Via family traces its origins to the colony of Virginia, where the probable progenitor of the line, Amer Via, a French Huguenot, settled in Manakin Town, Albemarle County between 1670-1700. It is impossible to trace the Via line definitively due to the loss of Virginia county records during the Civil War.

The Via family line covered in this collection can be definitively traced to William Via of Fredericksville Parish, Louisa (later Albemarle) County, Virginia. The William Via family lived west of the present day town of Whitehall at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, an area commonly known as Sugar Hollow. William Via III served in the Virginia Line during the Revolutionary War. He married Mary Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig and Jane Jameson, on March 17, 1784. William died on June 27, 1836, in Albemarle County (Rev. War Pension Appl. 6363, National Archives). His son Thomas married Sally, widow Griffin, on January 1, 1811 (Albemarle County Marriage Records). Their son, Hiram Karl Via (1812-1893), married Harriet Ardenia Naylor by license dated March 7, 1836 (Albemarle County Marriage Records).

Hiram and Harriet's son, Robert St. Clair Via (1844-1925), served as a private in Company I, 7th Virginia Infantry of the Confederate States Army (CSA Military Service Records, National Archives). After the war he married his first cousin, Mary Frances Naylor, daughter of Samuel Chapman Naylor and Eliza Jane Gardner, on April 3, 1866 in Rockingham County (Rockingham County, Virginia, Marriage Records). Sometime between 1870 and 1872, they moved to Linn County, Missouri, and settled about seven miles from the town of Bucklin. Their son, Hiram Chapman Via (1872-1933), was born there. In 1893, the family returned to Virginia, and settled on a farm in Greene County near the town of Stanardsville.

Hiram Chapman Via operated a mill as well as a farm. On March 15, 1899, he married Adina Eleanor Eusebia Runkle, daughter of Milton D. L. Runkle and Roberta A. Beadles (Greene County, Virginia, Marriage Records). They had three children: Bernice Olive (1902-1999), Robert Milton (1906-1983), and Deward Daniel (1909-1977).

Robert moved to Washington, D.C.. In December 1927 he began employment with the Capitol Traction Company as a streetcar conductor (Robinson and Via Family Papers). During the early 1930s, Robert rented a townhouse at 715 A St., SE, where he lived with his sister Bernice V. McMullan and her son, William C. McMullan; his brother and sister in law, and his parents. Next door, at 717, lived the Moses Albright family, including Moses's stepdaughter Ida Virginia Woods (1914-2010), daughter of Jesse Lee Woods (1894-1918) and Donna Mae Barker (1896-1928) of Frederick County, Maryland. Robert and Virginia began a courtship and on September 3, 1932 were married in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland (Frederick County, Maryland, Marriage Records).

After their marriage, Robert and Virginia lived in various locations in the Washington metropolitan area. Their first child, Robert Delano, was born on March 24, 1933, and their second child, Adina Mae, was born on April 12, 1937. Virginia was employed outside the home while her children were in school. Her first job before her marriage had been with Woolworth's in Martinsburg, WV working the candy counter and then before the birth of her son at The Hecht Company on F St. in Washington, D.C.. After her marriage she worked briefly for the United States Postal Service in Capitol Heights, Maryland. Beginning in the 1950s, she worked first at the Hecht Company department store on 7th Street in the District and later for Charles of the Ritz as a receptionist in their beauty salon located in Woodward & Lothrop's F Street store in Washington, D.C.. She also worked as salon manager at the Charles of the Ritz salons in the Woodward & Lothrop stores in Seven Corners, Virginia, and Chevy Chase, Maryland. She retired due to health reasons in 1973.

On September 10, 1941, Robert and Virginia purchased Lot #43 in Woodlane subdivision in Prince George's County. (Book 619, pg. 12, Land Records of Prince George's County) A house was designed for them for this lot by Clyde E. Phillips. They did not construct a home on this property due to the outbreak of World War II. Robert, due to his employment in public transportation, did not serve with the Armed Services in World War II. On October 18, 1946, they purchased approximately thirty acres bordering on Burch's Creek near the towns of Clinton, also know as Surrattsville, and T.B. in Prince George's County from Joseph H. and M. Pauline Blandford. (Book 873, pg. 483, Land Records of Prince George's County) Over the next three years, hiring private contractors, doing work themselves, and with the help of Robert's brother Deward, they built the two story house designed by Phillips in 1941. They moved to the farm from Capitol Heights in 1949. Robert raised hogs, small grains and a crop of tobacco yearly on this farm and also maintained his job with Capitol Transit (formerly Capitol Traction). In 1954, Robert and Virginia purchased a farm of approximately 150 acres in Island Creek, Calvert County, Maryland. The intention was for Robert and his son to enter into a full time farming operation on expanded acreage. Robert D. Via, known as Delano, graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June 1951. Delano was a part-time farmer and pursued a career as a country and western singer with Bashful Bob and the Rhythm Rangers, he being Bashful Bob. He was employed in various jobs, and began a tour in the Army in 1953. By the time the Via family moved to Calvert County in 1956, he decided to pursue careers other than farming. He eventually traveled and worked in various parts of the United States. He married first Delores Cooper, second Gloria J. Irick, and finally Candice Marinelli in December 1974, they had two children, Robert Marin (1975) and Kirstin Marin (1976).

On June 1, 1956 Robert resigned from his position at Capitol Transit due to health reasons. He and his family moved to the farm in Island Creek, Calvert County where he began full time farming. He and Virginia sold the thirty-acre farm in Prince George's County on June 21, 1956 to Melvin C. and Geraldine H. Rardia. (Book 2003, pg. 564, Land Records of Prince George's County) Virginia continued her employment with Charles of the Ritz. Adina, now a graduate of Gwynn Park High School, was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. They both commuted daily from Calvert County to their places of employment.

Robert farmed in Calvert County, raising hogs, cattle, small grains and tobacco. Over the course of the next twenty-seven years, Robert and Virginia sold smaller parcels off the farm. In 1974, Robert and Virginia built a small retirement home designed for them by Calvert Masonry Contractors. Robert died on December 22, 1983. He was buried beside his daughter Adina in Trinity Memorial Gardens. At the time of Robert's death, the farm consisted of 28.694 acres. In 1998, Virginia deeded the remainder of the farm, then less than six acres, to her grandson, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr. who sold all but a one-acre lot in April 1999.

Virginia continued to live on the farm in Calvert County, maintaining a small herd of cattle. In the fall of 1989 Franklin, Jr. went to live with her. In 1993, the onset of Alzheimer's Disease required her to move to Serenity Farm and take up residence with her granddaughter A. Theresa. Virginia participated in various studies on Alzheimer's Disease conducted by the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland beginning in 1992. She was profiled in the September 1997 issue of Washingtonian Magazine. In October of 1998 she moved to All American Senior Care in Brandywine, Maryland and in 1999 she moved to Morningside, an elderly care facility in Waldorf, Maryland. In 2002, she moved to St. Mary's Nursing Center in Leonardtown, Maryland. The remainder of the farm was sold in 1999 and 2002. She died January 14, 2010 and was buried at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf.

Adina Mae Via was born April 12, 1937 at the Homeopathic Hospital in Washington, D.C.. Adina grew up in Washington, D.C. attending public schools. She moved with her family to the Burch's Creek farm, Prince George's County, in 1949. She enrolled in the Prince George's County school system, and graduated from Gwynn Park High School in June of 1955. After graduation, she was employed by the USAF at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs.

In July of 1956, she moved with her family to the Via farm in Island Creek, Calvert County. On July 27, 1958 she married Franklin A. Robinson at the Chapel of the Incarnation. They had three children: Franklin Alexander (1959), Robert David (1962) and Adina Theresa (1963). In the fall of 1958, she and Franklin took up residence in the home they had built on Ferndale Farm. She resigned from her position with the USAF in 1959.

On December 14, 1966, at Providence Hospital in Washington, DC, Adina died from complications due to Hodgkin's Disease. She had been battling this disease for many years prior to her death. She was buried in Trinity Memorial Gardens, Charles County.
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations

The Maryland Historical Society holds items (costume, farming related implements) related to the Robinson and Via families.
Separated Materials:
Materials at the National Museum of American History

The Division of Work and Industry (Agriculture Collection) holds agricultural implements and artifacts associated with both the Robinson farms and the Via farm; the Division of Home and Community Life holds clothing, textiles (crib quilt), jewelry, cosmetics and Adina M. Robinson's sewing box and dress patterns; (Costume and Textiles Collection). See accession numbers: 1989.0688, 1990.0394, 1991.0010; 1991.0722, 1992.0184, 1992.0283, 1992.0321, 1992.0474, 1992.3106, 1994.0064, 1994.0304, 1997.0327, 1998.0038, 1998.0129, 2001.0196, 2002.0087, 2003.0015, 2005.0009.

Division of Armed Forces History (now Division of Olitical and Military History, National Numismatics Collection) holds the Robert M. Via Trolley Token Collection.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Museum of American History, Archives Center, by Franklin A. Robinson, Jr., in November 1993.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but negatives and audiovisuial materials are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Some papers of living persons are restricted. Access to restricted portions may be arranged by request to the donor. Gloves required for unprotected photographs. Viewing film portions of the collection and listening to LP recording requires special appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
The Archives Center does not own exclusive rights to these materials. Copyright for all materials is retained by the donor, Franklin A. Robinson, Jr.; permission for commercial use and/or publication may be requested from the donor through the Archives Center. Military Records for Franklin A. Robinson (b. 1932) and correspondence from Richard I. Damalouji (1961-2014) are restricted; written permission is needed to research these files. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Farms -- Maryland  Search this
Holidays  Search this
Amusement parks -- California  Search this
Children's parties  Search this
Rural women  Search this
Sheep ranches  Search this
Parks -- California  Search this
Rural families  Search this
Tobacco -- Harvesting  Search this
Tobacco -- Storage  Search this
Street-railroads  Search this
Street-railroads -- Employees  Search this
Travel  Search this
Urban transportation  Search this
Work and family  Search this
Tobacco curing  Search this
Women in agriculture  Search this
Farm equipment  Search this
Farm buildings  Search this
Family recreation  Search this
Family festivals  Search this
Farm ownership  Search this
Farm life -- 20th century  Search this
Farm management  Search this
Illiterate persons  Search this
Christmas  Search this
Soldiers  Search this
Students  Search this
Family -- 20th century  Search this
Family farms  Search this
Easter  Search this
Electric railroads  Search this
Acting -- 1980-2000  Search this
Amateur films  Search this
Agricultural machinery  Search this
Agriculture -- 20th century -- Maryland  Search this
Tobacco farmers  Search this
Housewives -- United States  Search this
Weddings  Search this
Farmers  Search this
Dairy farms  Search this
Genre/Form:
Motion pictures (visual works)
Correspondence -- 1930-1950
Photographs -- 20th century
Postcards
Baby books
Phonograph records
Postcard albums
Ephemera
School yearbooks
Diaries
Albums
Housebooks
Photographs -- 19th century
Snapshots
Home movies
Family papers
Scrapbooks
Funeral registers
Architectural drawings
Citation:
The Robinson and Via Family Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0475
See more items in:
Robinson and Via Family Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep86b1972cf-a789-45ec-8f3e-fb780d43456d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0475
Online Media:

Henry Mosler papers

Creator:
Mosler, Henry, 1841-1920  Search this
Names:
Beard, James Henry, 1812-1893  Search this
DuprĂ©, Julien, 1851-1910  Search this
Ferrier, Gabriel, 1847-1914  Search this
Flameng, François, 1856-1923  Search this
Howe, William Henry, 1846-1929  Search this
HĂ©bert, Ernest, 1817-1908  Search this
Partridge, William Ordway, 1861-1930  Search this
Pelouse, L. G., 1838-1891  Search this
Read, Thomas Buchanan, 1822-1872  Search this
Extent:
4.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Illustrated notebooks
Drawings
Sketches
Place:
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Journalists
Date:
1856-1929
Summary:
The papers of painter Henry Mosler (1841-1920), who began his career in Cincinnati, Ohio, lived in Germany and Paris for at least 2 decades, and finally settled in New York, measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1856-1929. The collection documents Mosler's life and career through biographical material, personal and professional letters from members of the military, museums, family, friends and colleagues, writings including an 1862 Civil War diary, personal business records, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographs of Mosler, his family, colleagues and artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter Henry Mosler (1841-1920), who began his career in Cincinnati, Ohio, lived in Germany and Paris for at least 2 decades, and finally settled in New York, measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1856-1929. The collection documents Mosler's life and career through biographical material, personal and professional letters from members of the military, museums, family, friends and colleagues, writings including an 1862 Civil War diary, personal business records, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographs of Mosler, his family, colleagues and artwork.

Biographical material includes passports for Mosler's travel during the Civil War and to the American West in 1875-1876, as well as identification cards and awards from Mosler's years in Germany and Paris, including the Ordre National Légion d'Honneur awarded to him in 1892.

Letters record Mosler's service as an aide-de-camp for the Army of Ohio and his activities as an artist correspondent for Harper's Weekly from 1861-1863 in the Western Theater of the Civil War. However, the bulk of the letters document Mosler's career from the 1880s onward. Found are letters from museums, art associations, government agencies including the Minsistere de l'Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts, and colleagues in Europe and the United States including artists James Henry Beard, Julien Dupré, Gabrier Ferrier, Ernest Hébert, William Henry Howe, William Ordway Partridge, and Leon Germain Pelouse, among others. There are also scattered letters from Mosler.

Writings and notes include an 1862 Civil War diary and two illustrated notebooks from 1862 and 1863 containing sketches, and travel and financial notes. Also found are two biographical accounts of Mosler's career and poems by various authors, many inspired by Mosler's paintings.

Personal business records include an account book documenting Mosler's income and expenses from 1869-1878 and 1886-1892, and Library of Congress copyright certificates for four of Mosler's pictures.

Printed material documents Mosler's career in the United States and Europe through news clippings, a brochure, and an exhibition catalog for an 1897 exhibition of his paintings at Galleries of Pape Bros.

Artwork and sketchbooks include six sketches and an engraving by Mosler, and two books containing sketches by Mosler and other artists including James Henry Beard. The series also contains one ink drawing each by Leon Germain Pelouse and E. Hillery.

Photographic material includes albums and individual photographs of Mosler in his studio and with others including his immediate and extended family, and students. Also found are photos of artists including Gabriel Ferrier, Ernest Hébert and Thomas Buchanan Read, Brigadier General R. W. Johnson and opera singers Emma Nevada Palmer and Renée Richards. Photographs of artwork are primarily found in 2 oversized albums dedicated by Mosler to his children, Edith Mosler and Gustave Henry Mosler respectively.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1863-1892, 1921 (Box 1, OV 10; 4 folders)

Series 2: Letters,1861-circa 1920 (Boxes 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1860-circa 1900 (Boxes 2-3, 6; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1869-1905 (Box 3; 4 folders)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1860s-1929 (Box 3; 10 folders)

Series 6: Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1856-1917 (Box 4, OVs 10-11; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographic Material, 1860-circa 1910 (Boxes 5-9, BV 12; 2.0 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Henry Mosler (1841-1920) worked primarily in Ohio, New York City, and Europe as a painter of portraits and scenes of rural life in Europe. Mosler served as an artist correspondent for Harper's Weekly during the Civil War.

Born in Silesia (Poland) in 1841, Henry Mosler immigrated to New York City with his family in 1849. In the early 1850s the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Mosler received art instruction from James Henry Beard, becoming an accomplished portrait painter and an active participant in the Cincinnati art scene.

Following the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Mosler became an artist correspondent for Harper's Weekly, documenting the Western Theater in Kentucky and Tennessee. He served as a volunteer aide-de-camp with the army of Ohio from 1861-1863 and was present at the engagement at Green River, and "present and under fire" at the battles of Shiloh and Perryville.

Immediately thereafter, Mosler relocated to Dusseldorf for two years and attended the Royal Academy, followed by six months in Paris where he studied with painter Ernest Hébert. In 1866 Mosler returned to Cincinnatti where his portraits and genre scenes enjoyed growing popularity.

In 1875 Mosler traveled to Munich and two years later settled in Paris from where he enjoyed critical and financial success both in Europe and in the United States. Mosler was known for his genre paintings of peasant life in rural Brittany and he became a regular participant in Salon exhibitions and won honorable mention in the Salon of 1879, when his painting Le Retour, became the first work by an American artist to be purchased by the French government. In 1888 he won the gold medal at the Paris Salon and in 1892 he was made chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur and officier de l'Académie.

Mosler returned to the United States temporarily during this period, including a trip in 1885-1886 to visit the West and collect material for paintings of Native American life.

In 1894 Mosler returned to the United States and settled in New York, where he became a popular teacher and an active participant in the New York art scene. In 1895 he was made an associate member of the National Academy of Design, and in his last decades took up landscape painting during summers in the Catskill mountains, and produced genre paintings depicting scenes from colonial and rural life. Mosler continued to enjoy widespread popularity until his death in 1920.
Provenance:
The bulk of the collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by J. F. McCrindle, a great-grandson of Mosler, in 1976 and 1977, having been previously lent to AAA for microfilming. A photograph album was donated in 1993 by Paul M. Hertzmann, a dealer who acquired it through purchase. Additional materials were donated in 2008 and 2009 by McCrindle via John T. Rowe, president and CEO of the Joseph F. McCrindle Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Expatriate painters -- France -- Paris  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Illustrated notebooks
Drawings
Sketches
Citation:
Henry Mosler papers, 1856-1929. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.moslhenr
See more items in:
Henry Mosler papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw908db6548-40c0-4817-8902-a69bacd65e62
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-moslhenr
Online Media:

Jane Teller papers

Creator:
Teller, Jane  Search this
Names:
Albright-Knox Art Gallery  Search this
Montclair Art Museum  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
National Council on the Aging  Search this
Newark Museum  Search this
Noyes Museum  Search this
Parma Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Princeton Gallery of Fine Art  Search this
Squibb Gallery (Princeton, N.J.)  Search this
Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this
Brodsky, Judith K.  Search this
Caparn, Rhys, 1909-1997  Search this
Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994  Search this
Fuller, Sue, 1914-  Search this
Gatch, Lee, 1902-1968  Search this
Johnson, Margaret K. (Margaret Kennard)  Search this
Kadish, Reuben, 1913-1992  Search this
Lamis, Leroy, 1925-  Search this
Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003  Search this
Siskind, Aaron  Search this
Extent:
8.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Interviews
Prints
Sketchbooks
Slides (photographs)
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Sound recordings
Date:
1911-1991
Summary:
The papers of printmaker and sculptor Jane Teller measure 8.6 linear feet and date from 1911 to 1991. The papers include biographical materials, correspondence, business records, notes, writings, three sketchbooks, sketches and prints, five scrapbooks, printed material, subject files, photographs, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of printmaker and sculptor Jane Teller measure 8.6 linear feet and date from 1911 to 1991. The papers include biographical materials, correspondence, business records, notes, writings, three sketchbooks, sketches and prints, five scrapbooks, printed material, subject files, photographs, sound and video recordings, and motion picture film.

Biographical material includes a birth certificate, school work, and passports. General correspondence includes letters from several artists including Rhys Caparn, Sue Fuller and Lee Gatch, and from art galleries, including the Museum of Modern Art, Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Additional correspondence is found in the Subject Files.

Business records include an account book, lists of expenses and prices of art works, and sales records. Notes and writings include Teller's notes about art and travel, artists' statements, autobiographical writings, and a compilation of many artists' statements regarding "The Nine Bean Question."

Artwork includes three sketchbooks, 30 sketches and three prints primarily depicting nature and sculpture designs.

Five scrapbooks contain clippings, exbition announcements and catalogs. Additional printed material includes magazines, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a booklet by Teller entitled Art, Age and the River, published posthumously by her husband, and a manuscript of Poems or Poetic Expressions of Sculptors, collected by L. Lamis.

Subject files are arranged by name or subject and may contain letters, photographs, and printed material. Many of the files focus on galleries and museums, including the Montclair Art Museum, the Newark Museum, Noyes Museum, Parma Gallery, the Princeton Gallery of Fine Art and the Squibb Gallery. There are also subject files for associations, travel, projects, and colleagues including Margaret K. Johnson, Reuben Kadish, Ibram Lassaw, Aaron Siskind and Dorothy Dehner.

Photographs and slides depict Teller, her friends, works, gallery installations, and travels. Also included are photographs of trees, bark, and other natural formations used by Teller in her work.

The audio-visual materials include several sound recordings, videocassettes and 16 mm motion picture films. The videocassettes include television programs in which Teller, printmaker Judith Brodsky and actor Harry Hamlin are interviewed, a retrospective at Skidmore College and a film featuring Teller speaking for the National Council on Aging. Sound recordings include two interviews and a "Talk on Malta" by Teller and Joan Needham. The 16 mm films are black and white footage of Teller's first Parma Gallery show.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series. Records are generally arranged by material type and chronologically thereafter.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1911-1985 (Box 1; 4 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1956-1991 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Business Records, 1961-1990 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 4: Notes, 1960-1987 (Box 1; 13 folders)

Series 5: Writings, 1960-1989 (Boxes 1 and 9; 5 folders)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1950s (Boxes 1 and 9; 6 folders)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1948-1990 (Boxes 1-2; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1957-1991 (Boxes 2-3 and 9; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Subject Files, 1951-1990 (Boxes 3-5; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, 1934-1985 (Boxes 5-9; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Audio-Visual Materials, 1961-1989 (Box 8, FC 10-12; 0.6 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Jane Teller (1911-1990) worked as a printmaker and sculptor primarily in New Jersey. She specialized in working with wood and studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Skidmore College, and Barnard College. She also attended Federal Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) classes in New York City, studying sculpture with Aaron J. Goodelman and wood carving with Karl Nielson. She later studied welding in the studio of Ibram Lassaw. She was also a lifelong friend of photographer Aaron Siskind. In 1960, she was awarded the Mary and Gustave Kellner Prize at the National Association of Women Artists Annual Exhibition at the National Academy of Design in New York, and in 1966 the Sculpture Prize at the Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition, Philadelphia Art Alliance in Philadelphia. She exhibited mainly in New York and New Jersey and was married to author and editor Walter Teller.
Provenance:
The Jane Teller papers were donated by Jane Teller in 1990 and in 1991 by Walter Teller, widower of Jane Teller.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Printmakers -- New Jersey  Search this
Sculptors -- New Jersey  Search this
Topic:
Printmakers -- New Jersey  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Interviews
Prints
Sketchbooks
Slides (photographs)
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Sound recordings
Citation:
Jane Teller papers, 1911-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.telljane
See more items in:
Jane Teller papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95c6d3902-ef80-4ea1-ba58-b2abe402072c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-telljane

W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2

Creator:
W. Atlee Burpee Company  Search this
Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915  Search this
Burpee, David, 1893-1980  Search this
Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)  Search this
James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).  Search this
Extent:
200 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Trade catalogs
Business records
Commercial correspondence
Instructional materials
Ledgers (account books)
Date:
circa 1873-1980
Summary:
The W. Atlee Burpee & Company records, dated circa 1873-1986, document the firm's business activities developing plant varieties, working with contract seedsmen, and marketing and selling seeds. They include seed trial records, seed contracts, sales and acccounting records, inventories, office correspondence, seed catalogs, promotional and instructional materials, advertisements and advertising reports, contest letters, daybooks, photographs, reference materials, and other items relating to the company and some of its competitors. The collection also includes Burpee family papers.
Content Description:
This collection documents W. Atlee Burpee & Co., a mail-order seed company based in Philadelphia, from its early beginnings in 1876 when its founder, W. Atlee Burpee, started in the agricultural business, to the 1970s when his son, David Burpee, sold the firm. The collection also includes personal papers of the Burpee family dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Business-related content in the collection consists of crop propagation and management records; company correspondence; administrative and personnel records; advertising files; legal papers; property records and plans; reports, studies, and technical data; notes and drafts; files on professional outreach activities and events; trade literature (published by both the Burpee company and a number of its competitors); and awards and certificates received by the company. Significant topics documented in these files include the development of notable flower and vegetable varieties introduced by the company; the impact of World Wars I and II on gardening and the global seed trade; advertising strategies, technology, and innovation; and David Burpee's advocacy of the marigold as the national floral emblem of the United States.

The Burpee family papers consist of personal files unrelated to the company's business operations. These include records generated by W. Atlee's father (David Burpee, 1827-1882) and grandfather (Washington L. Atlee, 1808-1878), as well as W. Atlee's wife, Blanche (1863-1948); David Burpee (1893-1980) and his wife, Lois (1912-1984); and W. Atlee Burpee II (1894-1966). There are genealogical surveys conducted on both the Atlee and Burpee families as well as clippings about family members. W. Atlee and David Burpee's series are the most extensive, and cover their involvement with numerous social and philanthropic clubs and organizations. The series include personal correspondence; financial, accounting, and tax records; travel-related files; reference material; and will and estate papers.

The Burpee collection also has a large number of images related to the Burpee business and family in a variety of formats including photographs, film and glass plate negatives, and advertisement mock-ups. Other formats include architectural and site plans, original artwork for advertisements, films, cassettes, audio tapes, and ephemera.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into six series:

Series 1: Plant/Farm Related Material Series 2: Business Records Series 3: Material Published About the Burpee Company Series 4: Awards and Certificates Series 5: Photographic and A/V Materials Series 6: Burpee Family Papers

The collection's original order was maintained wherever possible, though many records were found scattered throughout the collection and artificial files were necessarily created for them.

Most files are arranged chronologically or alphabetically by person or topic.

Various photographs interspersed in correspondence files were kept where they were originally found. All other photographic and audio/visual materials found on their own were grouped in Series 5 Photographic and A/V Material which documents aspects of both the Burpee company and Burpee family.
Biographical / Historical:
Washington Atlee Burpee (1858-1915) began a mail-order poultry and livestock business in 1876 in Philadelphia, which he soon expanded to include corn seed for chicken feed. In 1878, he founded W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to sell livestock and vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds through the mail. His company went on to become one of the most notable seed distributors in the world.

In 1888, W. Atlee bought a tract of land named Fordhook Farms in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It was initially established as an experimental farm to test and evaluate new varieties of vegetables and flowers and to produce seeds for the mail-order market. Burpee spent many summers traveling throughout the United States and Europe visiting farms and searching for the best flowers and vegetables. Certain plants he found were shipped back to the firm for testing and propagation; other seeds were obtained through contracts with growers throughout the U.S., a practice common in the seed industry at that time. Promising varieties were bred with healthier specimens to produce hardier hybrids that were more resistant to disease. Other Burpee trial grounds were later established at Sunnybrook Farm near Swedesboro, New Jersey, and at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California (1909/1910). The company went on to purchase more land for farming in California, and established sales branch headquarters in Sanford, Florida (circa 1930s), Clinton, Iowa (1942), and Riverside, California (1949).

W. Atlee Burpee married Blanche Simons (1863-1948) in 1892. They had three sons: David (1893-1980); W. Atlee Jr. ("Junior") (1894-1966); and Stuart Alexander (1901-1934). Both David and Junior attended the Blight School in Philadelphia for elementary school and Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana for preparatory school. While they both attended Cornell University as undergraduates, they left before graduating due to W. Atlee's poor health. Junior married Jeanetta Lee (1893-1981) in November, 1916, and they had two children: W. Atlee III (1917-1971) and Jeanette (1919-2002). David married Lois Torrance (1912-1984) in 1938, and they had two children: Johnathan (b. 1941) and Blanche (b. 1943). Stuart Alexander was apparently born with a disability; according to census records he worked on farms during his lifetime.

David Burpee took over the family business upon his father's death in 1915; W. Atlee Burpee, Jr. served as treasurer of the firm once he returned from serving in the military. At that time, the Burpee company had 300 employees and was the largest mail-order seed company in the world. It distributed over one million catalogs a year and received on average 10,000 orders a day. Under David's tutelage, the company adapted to contemporaneous shifts in business and advertising methods, advancements in plant science, ever-changing consumer demands, and two World Wars. In response to food shortages experienced during World War I, the Burpee company helped promote a "war gardens" campaign that evolved into a "victory gardens" campaign during World War II.

Both W. Atlee and David used their position as head of a major seed house to lobby congressional debates in regard to two topics: postage rates (W. Atlee) and the designation of a national floral emblem for the United States (David). Both men belonged to The Union League of Philadelphia and The Canadian Society of Philadelphia (which W. Atlee helped found), and served on the boards of directors for hospitals and other charitable organizations. Both father and son were politically aligned with the Republican Party.

The firm reorganized its governing structure in 1917 at which time it changed its name from W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to W. Atlee Burpee Co. Burpee's acquired three seed companies between 1878 and 1970: Luther Burbank Seed Company, James Vick's Seeds, Inc., and the William Henry Maule Company. David Burpee sold the company to the General Foods Corporation in 1970 and served as a consultant for the business until 1973. The Burpee brand was bought by its current owner, George J. Ball, Inc., in 1991.
General:
The project to arrange and rehouse the W. Atlee Burpee & Co. Records received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The project to digitize select Burpee records affected by water damage and mold received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Related Materials:
Burpee seed catalogs donated to the Smithsonian in 1982 by the W. Atlee Burpee Co. can be found in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History.

The Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division includes a series of images of Burpee company operations taken in 1943.

The Black Gold Cooperative Library System's Asian/Pacific - Americans on the Central Coast Collection includes images dated 1933-1939 of Japanese employees of the Burpee Co. working at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California.
Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Topic:
Seed industry and trade  Search this
Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this
Gardens -- United States  Search this
Horticulture  Search this
Vegetables  Search this
Trial gardens  Search this
Victory gardens  Search this
Prize contests in advertising  Search this
Advertising, Newspaper -- 20th century  Search this
Advertising, magazine -- 20th century  Search this
Flower shows  Search this
Genre/Form:
Trade catalogs
Business records
Commercial correspondence
Instructional materials
Ledgers (account books)
Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records
Identifier:
AAG.BUR2
See more items in:
W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Gardens
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kb697bb6243-1e96-416d-b552-0925a2866fbc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aag-bur2
Online Media:

Rocheport, Missouri RFD patrons’ names book page 38

User:
Lou Slade  Search this
Mary Slade  Search this
Medium:
paper; ink
Type:
Archival Material
Place:
Missouri
Date:
1900s-1950s
Object number:
2009.2033.1.38
See more items in:
National Postal Museum Collection
Data Source:
National Postal Museum
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8b26db10f-b4fd-49b3-a215-d8670a1311ae
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npm_2009.2033.1.38

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