Correspondence, minutes, accession records, building records, and records of the Department of Prints and Drawings.
REELS 536-565: Archives of the Museum, 1875-1954, including: correspondence of the President, Gardiner M. Lane, 1910-1914 (8 letterpress books and 1,256 items); correspondence of the Director, Charles Greely Loring, 1876-1901 (6 vols. and 11,355 items); correspondence of the Assistant Director, Benjamin Ives Gilman, 1894-1902 (6 vols. and 272 items); minutes of the Board of Trustees, 1870-1954 (17 vols.); minutes of the Committee on the Museum, 1875-1954 (25 vols.); minutes of the Executive Committee, 1876-1946 (5 vols.); and Visiting Committee records, 1906-1949 (1 loose leaf binder).
REELS 584-587: Records of the Department of Prints and Drawings, including 2 vols. of correspondence, 1904-1915, 14 accession books, 1872-1946, and 14 record books. Record books include the following: The Sylvester Rosa Koehler Collection, 1893 (3 vols.); the Harvey D. Parker-Henry F. Sewell Collection, 1897-1900 (4 vols.); Objects Entering the Department of Prints and Drawings, 1935-1947; Prices of Prints, 1877-1885; Engravings and Photographs Purchased in Europe, 1886-1887; Visitors to the Gray Collection, 1872-1889; Vistors Register, 1890-1915; and a register of books.
REELS 2493-2497: Building records, including: records of the Copley Square Building with correspondence, 1870-1901, reports, minutes of the Executive Committee, financial records, and a prospectus and subscription list for the William Morris Hunt Memorial Exhibition, 1879; records of the Huntington Avenue Building, with reports, correspondence and financial records related to its personnel, departments, collections, and competitions; and clippings.
REEL 2715: Papers of the print department, ca. 1841-1901, including: letters from Sylvester R. Koehler, curator of the print department, to Charles G. Loring, director of the museum; letters to Koehler concerning printmaking techniques from W. H. Dougal, John M. Falconer, Henry Farrar, Thomas Moran, Walter Rowlands, Walter Shirlaw, James David Smillie, Frederick T. Stuart and Charles A. Walker; a report by Koehler on the print department, January 10, 1888; correspondence regarding the acquisition of the Henry F. Sewall print collection; a handwritten catalog of the Sewall collection, ca. 1880, including printmaker, title, catalog number, collector's mark and value, 463 p.; notes by Koehler; and printed material.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1973-1983 by Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Extensive correspondence and subject files, ca. 1864-1977, containing mainly letters received from photographers, photography clubs and societies, authors, friends, models, colleagues, and others, and some drafts of letters sent. Some of the files contain writings, printed material, photographs, or correspondence of the Norwood Historical Society, 1961-1977. The correspondence refers to Day's photography, the 1904 fire which destroyed Day's studio, his involvement with literary groups and the Linked Ring, requests for articles on photography from publishers, requests for Day to exhibit and judge photography exhibitions, his interest in John Keats and collecting Keatsiana, and fine printing and his firm Copeland and Day.
Several notable files are "Day," containing correspondence, letters from his father, Lewis Day, 1870-1904, writings by Day, "Is Photography Art?", "Sacred Subjects in Photography," and reviews and essays Day contributed to "Knight Errant," an article on Day by Ralph Hazell, "A Visit to Mr. Fred Holland Day," 1899, clippings on Day, 1899-1935, and an annotated photograph regarding Day's photo collaboration with Estelle Baston. "Photography" containing: letters from Roger Clark, George C. Cox, Sylvester Rosa Koehler, Charlotte Perkins, Robert Redfield, Mathilde Weil and others, exhibition catalogs and announcements, undated and 1901-1902; "Gertrude Kasebier," consisting of a letter from Arthur B. Davies to Day and her own letters to Day, which give a sense of tension between Day and Alfred Stieglitz, and her own frustration with Stieglitz; "Ralph Adams Cram," with correspondence, 4 photos of Cram, excerpts from his book "My Life in Architecture," and obituaries; and "Copeland and Day," containing correspondence with authors and artists, material on book and printing exhibitions, and letters from customers.
Other notable subjects and/or correspondents include: C. Yarnell Abbott, W. Fred Allen, Anthony Angotti, J. Williams Beall, Curtis Bell, Lord Alfred Douglas, Edgar Farwell, Kahil Gibran, Bertram Goodhue, Laura Hills, Maxfield Parrish, William Ordway Partridge, Eva L. Watson Schutze and Anne Whitney.
Also included are ca. 150 photographs and tintypes of Day, 1865-ca.1930, some taken by Alvin Langdon Coburn, Reginald Craigie, Frederick H. Evans, Fred Hollyer, Gertrude Kasebier, Edward Steichen, Thomas Walter, Clarence White, and Jennie Woodbury; and photos of Lewis Day. Other photographs included are: photos by Day (and some probably by Day but unidentified), of Herbert Copeland, Anna Day Smith, Lewis Day, Alice Brown, Louise Guiney, and other subjects; photographs of Day's home in Norwood and his chalet in Maine; and photographs of various subjects by Frederick Evans, Gertrude Kasebier and Clarence White, Sr.
Arrangement:
Files are arranged alphabetically by file title and photographs and photograph albums are arranged in random numerical order as assigned by the Norwood Historical Society which owned the original papers at the time it was lent for microfilming.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer; Norwood, Mass. Day began photography in the late 1880s. By 1895 he had established a reputation as a pictorial photographer, and was elected to the Brotherhood of the Linked Ring. In 1900 he arranged in London the first major exhibition of pictorial photography in Europe. A fire in his Boston studio destroyed over 2,000 glass negatives in 1904, which ended his photography career. Day was also a collector of Keatsiana. He published fine books of poetry and other literary works at his firm of Copeland and Day from 1893-1899.
Provenance:
Material on reels 3565-66 was lent for microfilming by the Norwood Historical Society in 1985. Material on reels 4950-4956 was lent in 1994. Six letterpress books, files of his publishing firm of Copeland and Day, and a scrapbook of European travel clippings were not microfilmed.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Lowell, Anna C. (Anna Cabot), 1811-1874 Search this
Extent:
125 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1848-1897
Scope and Contents:
Papers gathered by Ednah Cheney, wife of Seth Wells Cheney, for her memoirs of the two brothers, Seth and John Cheney, prominent 19th century engravers, composed of correspondence, clippings, notes, lists, a diary, and family photographs.
Included are 89 letters to Ednah Dow Cheney, 1873-1897, most from authorities on engraving, chiefly, Sylvester Rosa Koehler and Charles Henry Hart concerning the location and identification of engravings pursuant to compilation of a Cheney catalog; a letter describing an 1892 meeting of the National Suffrage Association; 2 lists of casts for a sculpture collection; a diary, August 1848, kept by Anna Cabot Lowell during Seth Cheney's stay while executing family portraits, describing his activities and character; a phrenological study of Cheney; 33 family photographs and daguerrotypes of John Cheney's drawings (not microfilmed); and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Seth Wells Cheney was an engraver, as was his brother John Cheney, of Manchester, Connecticut. Ednah Cheney wrote Memoirs of Seth Wells Cheney, 1881, and Memoirs of John Cheney, 1889.
Provenance:
Donated 1960 by Alice Williams (married to Corcoran Gallery of Art director Hermann Warner Williams, Jr.), who inherited the Cheney's studio remains.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
The Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1833 to 1904, with the bulk of the material dating from 1870 to 1890. The collection consists primarily of Koehler's extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists and printmakers such as Jean F. Harfin, John M. Falconer, Frederick Juengling, and James D. Smillie, as well as friends, and family members and professional correspondence concerning Koehler's activities as a writer, curator, and editor of the American Art Review. The collection also contains financial records and other miscellaneous items.
Scope and Content Note:
The Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1833 to 1904, with the bulk of the material dating from 1870 to 1890. The collection consists primarily of Koehler's extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists and printmakers such as Jean F. Harfin, John M. Falconer, Frederick Juengling, and James D. Smillie, as well as friends, and family members and professional correspondence concerning Koehler's activities as a writer, curator, and editor of the American Art Review. The collection also contains financial records and other miscellaneous items.
Correspondence includes hundreds of letters to and from Koehler. Correspondents include many prominent artists, engravers, architects, art critics, curators, historians, journalists, authors, educators, publishers, and others during the late 1800s. Also found is correspondence with family, most of which is in German. Much of the correspondence concerns Koehler's role as editor of the publication American Art Review, and his work promoting American graphic arts.
Financial Records include Koehler's receipts, primarily from 1885, and a handwritten estimate of costs for publishing the American Art Review.
Miscellany includes biographical information on the wood engraver, Alexander Anderson, various notes by unidentified authors, news clippings, programs and handwritten song texts for music performances.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 3 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1833- circa 1904 (Box 1-6; 5.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Financial Records, circa 1870-circa 1890 (Box 6; 14 folders)
Series 3: Miscellany, circa 1859-circa 1896 (Box 6; 11 folders)
Biographical Note:
Art historian and curator Sylvester Rosa Koehler was born in Leipsic, Germany in 1837. He came to the United States with his family in 1849 and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1868 he became the Technical Manager of Louis Prang and Company, a lithograph publisher. Koehler was the founding editor of the American Art Review, which commissioned artists for original etchings, and ran from 1879-1881. Through this publication, as well as his work as writer and exhibition curator, Koehler encouraged an American etching revival in the 1880s. Koehler also published many books on American art and was the first Curator of Prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From 1886 to 1900 he served as the first Curator of Graphic Arts at the United States National Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution. While there, he created a permanent and traveling exhibition of graphic arts. His knowlege of the art world and his extensive personal contacts brought many important collections to the museum. Koehler died in Littleton, New Hampshire in 1900.
Related Material:
Additional correspondence can be found at the Library of Congress, which houses the Papers of S. R. Koehler, 1868-1904, and includes approximately 3,500 letters. Syracuse University Library houses S. R. Koehler Correspondence, 1879-1896, and includes 107 items.
Provenance:
The collection was purchased from Argosy Book Stores, Inc, in 1959. A letter from John Sartain and eleven letters from William Merritt Chase were donated by Charles E. Feinberg, 1955-1962. Two postcards were donated in 2009 by William A. Turnbaugh, an autograph collector. In 2017, John F. McGuigan Jr. and Mary K. McGuigan donated
sixty-nine letters from A. Barry, Truman Howe Bartlett, William Merritt Chase, Timothy Cole, Edward Henry Clement, Cyrus Edwin Dallin, Robert Swain Gifford, George Inness, Anna Lea Merritt, Stephen Parrish, John Sartain, Francis Hopkinson Smith, and Frederic Porter Vinton.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Art historians -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 2
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1879-1889
Scope and Contents note:
Despard, Matilda
Despard, W. D.
Deutsch Verlags-Anstalt
Deutscher Frauenstimmerechts-Derein
Devens, Charles
Devoe, Frederick W. & Co.
Dewson, Edward
Dewson, Francis A.
Dexter, Arthur
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 23
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1881
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 24
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1882-1889
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 26
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1880-1881
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 27
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1881-1882
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 40
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1883-1889
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 42
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1880
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 43
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1881-1887
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 45
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1881-1889
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 53
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1887
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Koehler, S. R. (Sylvester Rosa), 1837-1900 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 54
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1887-1888
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk 1870-1890. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
