The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.
Biographical Information includes multiple essays related to Alexander, his family, and others in his circle. Also found is an extensive oral history of Alexander's wife Elizabeth conducted in 1928. Correspondence includes letters written by Alexander to his family from New York and Europe at the start of his career, and later letters from fellow artists, art world leaders, and portrait sitters of Alexander's. Significant correspondents include Charles Dana Gibson, Florence Levy, Frederick Remington, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, John La Farge, Francis Davis Millet, and Andrew Carnegie. Correspondence includes some small sketches as enclosures and illustrated letters.
Certificates and records related to Alexander's career are found in Associations and Memberships, Legal and Financial Records, and Notes and Writings, which contain documentation of Alexander's paintings and exhibitions. Scattered documentation of Alexander's memberships in various arts association exists for the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy in Rome, the National Academy of Design, the Onteora Club in New York, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, the Ministère de L'Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts, the Union Internationale des Beaux Arts et des Lettres, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notes and Writings include speeches written by Alexander, short stories and essays written by his wife, and articles by various authors about Alexander. Extensive documentation of the planning and construction of the Alexander Memorial Studio by the MacDowell Club is found, along with other awards, medals, and memorial resolutions adopted by arts organizations after Alexander's death.
Artwork includes fourteen sketchbooks with sketches related to Alexander's commercial illustration and cartooning, murals, paintings, and travels. Dozens of loose drawings and sketches are also found, along with two volumes and several dozen loose reproductions of artwork, among which are found fine prints by named printmakers. Many sketches are also interspersed throughout the correspondence. Eight Scrapbooks contain mostly clippings, but also scattered letters, exhbition catalogs, announcements, invitations, and photographs related to Alexander's career between 1877 and 1915. Additional Exhibition Catalogs and later clippings, as well as clippings related to the career of his wife and other subjects, are found in Printed Materials.
Photographs include many portraits of Alexander taken by accomplished photographers such as Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Aimé Dupont, Curtis Bell, Elizabeth Buehrmann, and several signed Miss Huggins, who may have been Estelle Huntington Huggins, a New York painter and photographer. Portraits of others include Alexander's friends William Merritt Chase and Edward Austin Abbey. Also found are photographs of groups, juries, family, friends, and studios in New York, Paris, and New Jersey, and a handful of scenic photographs of Polling, Bavaria, where Alexander had an early studio. A large number of photographs of works of art are found, many with annotations. Among the photographs of murals are a small collection of snapshots of the Carnegie Institute murals in progress. Miscellaneous artifacts include a palette, several printing plates, and an inscribed souvenir engraving of a self-portrait caricature of Mark Twain.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 11 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1887-1968 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1870-1942 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Associations and Memberships, circa 1897-1918 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 4: Legal and Financial Records, 1775, 1896-1923 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1875-1943 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Awards and Memorials, circa 1870-1944 (Box 2, OV 24; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1875-1915 (Boxes 2-3, 6, 14-16, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, circa 1877-1915 (Boxes 17-22; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 9: Printed Materials, circa 1891-1945 (Boxes 3-4, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 10: Photographs, circa 1870-1915 (Boxes 4-8, MGP 1-2, OV 25-43, RD 44-45; 4.2 linear feet)
Series 11: Artifacts, circa 1899-1915 (Box 6, artifact cabinet; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
John White Alexander was born in 1856 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He was orphaned at age five and taken in by relatives of limited means. When Alexander left school and began working at a telegraph company, the company's vice-president, former civil war Colonel Edward Jay Allen, took an interest in his welfare. Allen became his legal guardian, brought him into the Allen household, and saw that he finished Pittsburgh High School. At eighteen, he moved to New York City and was hired by Harper and Brothers as an office boy in the art department. He was soon promoted to apprentice illustrator under staff artists such as Edwin A. Abbey and Charles Reinhart. During his time at Harpers, Alexander was sent out on assignment to illustrate events such as the Philadelphia Centennial celebration in 1876 and the Pittsburgh Railroad Strike in 1877, which erupted in violence.
Alexander carefully saved money from his illustration work and traveled to Europe in 1877 for further art training. He first enrolled in the Royal Art Academy of Munich, Germany, but soon moved to the village of Polling, where a colony of American artists was at its peak in the late 1870s. Alexander established a painting studio there and stayed for about a year. Despite his absence from the Munich Academy, he won the medal of the drawing class for 1878, the first of many honors. While in Polling, he became acquainted with J. Frank Currier, Frank Duveneck, William Merritt Chase, and other regular visitors to the colony. He later shared a studio and taught a painting class in Florence with Duveneck and traveled to Venice, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
Alexander returned to New York in 1881 and resumed his commercial artwork for Harpers and Century. Harpers sent him down the Mississippi river to complete a series of sketches. He also began to receive commissions for portraits, and in the 1880s painted Charles Dewitt Bridgman, a daughter of one of the Harper brothers, Parke Godwin, Thurlow Weed, Walt Whitman, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Alexander met his wife Elizabeth, whose maiden name was also Alexander, through her father, James W. Alexander, who was sometimes mistaken for the artist. Elizabeth and John White Alexander married in 1887 and had a son, James, in 1888.
Alexander and his family sailed for France in 1890, where they became a part of the lively literary and artistic scene in Paris at the time. Among their many contacts there were Puvis de Chavannes, Auguste Rodin, and Whistler, who arrived in Paris shortly thereafter. Alexander absorbed the new aesthetic ideas around him such as those of the symbolists and the decorative style of art nouveau. Critics often note how such ideas are reflected in his boldly composed paintings of women from this period, who titles drew attention to the sensual and natural elements of the paintings. His first exhibition in Paris was three paintings at the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1893, and by 1895 he has become a full member of the Société.
Independent and secession artist societies emerged throughout Europe during this period, and Alexander exhibited with several of them, including the Société Nouvelle in Paris, the Munich Secession, and the Vienna Secession. He was also elected an honorary member of the Royal Society of Belgian Artists and the Royal Society of British Painters in London. His exhibited works sold well, and his influence began to be felt back in the United States. Andrew Carnegie and John Beatty of the Carnegie Institute consulted closely with Alexander in the planning and execution of the first Carnegie International Exhibitions. Alexander also became active in supporting younger American artists who wanted to exhibit in Europe, a stance which resulted in his resignation from the Society of American Artists in Paris, which he felt had become a barrier to younger artists. His promotion of American art became an central aspect of his career for the remainder of his life, most visibly through his presidency of the National Academy of Design from 1909 until shortly before his death in 1915. He also served frequently on juries for high-profile exhibitions, and was a trustee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the national Institute of Arts and Letters. Around 1912, he helped to form the School Art League in New York, which provided art instruction to high school students.
Alexander returned to the United States nearly every summer while based in Paris, and among his commissioned paintings were murals for the newly-constructed Library of Congress, completed around 1896. In 1901, the Alexanders returned to New York permanently. The demand for portraits continued, and he had his first solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1902. Around 1905 he received a commission for murals at the new Carnegie Institute building in Pittsburgh for the astounding sum of $175,000. He created 48 panels there through 1908. During this period, the Alexanders spent summers in Onteora, New York, where Alexander painted his well-known "Sunlight" paintings. There they became friends and collaborators with the actress Maude Adams, with Alexander designing lighting and stage sets, and Elizabeth Alexander designing costumes for Adams' productions such as Peter Pan, the Maid of Orleans, and Chanticleer. The couple became known for their "theatricals" or tableaux, staged at the MacDowell Club and elsewhere, and Elizabeth Alexander continued her design career when her husband died in 1915.
Alexander left several commissions unfinished upon his death at age 59, including murals in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Alexander held a memorial exhibition at Arden Galleries a few months after his death, and a larger memorial exhibition was held by the Carnegie Institute in 1916. Alexander won dozens of awards for artwork in his lifetime, including the Lippincott Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1899, the Gold Medal of Honor at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, the Gold Medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1901, and the Medal of the First Class at the Carnegie Institute International Exhibition in 1911. In 1923, the Alexander Memorial Studio was built at the MacDowell colony in New Hampshire to honor his memory.
Provenance:
Papers were donated in 1978 and 1981 by Irina Reed, Alexander's granddaughter and in 2017 by Elizabeth Reed, Alexander's great grandaughter.
Restrictions:
Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
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:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Records of the Pullman Company, manufacturers and operators of railroad sleeping cars. Pullman also manufactured hospital and dining cars at its Chicago facilities. Dating from 1867 to 1982 (bulk 1900-1930s), the collection includes background materials, correspondence, financial, personnel and operating records, drawings and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of materials from 1867-1982 (bulk 1900-1930s), and includes background materials, correspondence, financial records, operating records, personnel records, drawings, and photographs. Of note is the documentation of hospital cars and instructions for porters. The collection is not a complete record of the Pullman Palace Car Company's activities.
Series 1, Historical Background, 1867-1982, contains newspaper clippings and articles about the Pullman Palace Car Company and George Pullman. Also included is a 318-page typescript titledThe History of the Sleeping Car 1923, by Charles S. Sweet; documentation on how Pullman cars were named; and other histories of the Pullman Company including its hospital cars and maquetry design.
Series 2, Correspondence, 1912-1960, consists primarily of documentation about the sale of cars and equipment by Pullman Palace Car Company to specific railroad companies. The correspondence details the cost per car and in some instances, leasing costs, operating costs, and other relevant statistical and financial information about the transactions. There is some consolidated data on cars sold to the railroads as well as summary data on the type of car sold, name of car, selling price, purchasers, and the date the sale was approved. The correspondence is organized chronologically within Pullman Company correspondence wrappers which were used to maintain the correspondence in a uniform manner and in consecutive date order.
Correspondence about hospital cars contains information on the rental of Pullman cars to the United States government as well as letters discussing specifications for building hospital unit cars for the United States Army. There is one folder of miscellaneous correspondence with individuals seeking copies of photographs from the company and/or offering their historical writings about the company.
Series 3, Financial Records, 1875-1930, consists primarily of details of cost documentation created by the Pullman Company's Manufacturing Department. The cost sheets are arranged chronologically and represent an itemized financial breakdown of costs by material, labor, extra equipment, sundries, and recapitulation for a variety of Pullman cars. The cover sheet for work orders notes the lot number, plan number, type of Pullman car (e.g. baggage, parlor, private) being manufactured or serviced/repaired, to whom the order belongs, and associated dates. For example, one private, steel car for Mr. D. J. Reid or general service parlor car for Southern Railway.
Series 4, Operating Records, 1875-1972, consists of records used by the company for daily operations, particularly instructions for porters as well as repair logbooks, volumes detailing car building completion, published supplements noting specific changes to cars, correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, and lists of cars built by Pullman and cars withdrawn from service. Also included is the Illustrations Accompanying the Report of the Engineer-in-chief, H.C. Mais, on Observations on Railways Made During His Tour in 1883. Henry Coathupe Mais (1827-1916) was an English born civil engineer who spent most of his career in Australia. Mais toured railways and other works in Europe and America. His lengthy report with many detailed illustrations was printed in 1884 as a parliamentary paper. Some report pages were moldy and have been separated. These pages include: the index, pages 1-7; page 58; and pages 98-111.
The reports found in the "general file" include Sleeping, Parlor and Lounge Equipment (1945) and Pullman Passenger Survey A Continuing Study--Part II, (1955). The latter report by McFarland, Aveyard and Company studied attitudes and opinions of Pullman passengers. There is a typescript of a presentation made by George W. Bohannan of the Pullman Company to the American Association of Passenger Traffic Officers (1964).
The records documenting the completion of cars are bound volumes arranged chronologically. The volumes detail lot number, plan numbers, date of order, type of car, account name, date of delivery, destination route, estimate price, cost price, and contract price. In some instances, new information was glued or taped into the volume. The repair books capture the date, name of car, yard, name of porter, and date shipped.
Series 5, Personnel Records, 1873-1979, includes a payroll list for the General Ticket Department, 1876; instructions for passengers with cholera, 1873; reward notices for an 1878 robbery; instructional manuals for Pullman porters; photographs of Pullman Company employees working, and general correspondence, 1896-1979; ancedotes about Pullman porters; an obituary for George Arthur Kelly, an executive vice president for the Pullman Company; articles and newspaper clippings about porters and conductors, particularly the Society for the Prevention of Calling Pullman Car Porters "George." Started in 1916, the Society for the Prevention of Calling Pullman Car Porters "George" was founded by George W. Dulany, Jr., an Iowa lumber merchant. Dulany organized the society for fun after hearing passengers call every porter George. The society became a hobby and there were no meetings, dues, or activities associated with his work. Dulany's campaign was solely to have passengers use a porter's correct name or simply call them "porter."
Series 6, Drawings, 1907-1939 and undated, contains bound volumes arranged chronologically of records of tracings of drawings for Pullman cars. The volumes detail the negative number, date, type of car, job number, and remarks.
Series 7, Photographs, 1932-1950s and undated, consists primarily of black-and-white copy prints (8" x 10") documenting employees, especially porters, passengers, and hospital cars. Many of the hospital cars depict both the exterior and interior, but none with patients. The passenger photographs are almost exclusively interior images of persons dining, sleeping, playing cards, and in general seating areas. The Southern Pacific dining car photographs are original prints and bear the Pullman Car Company embossed stamp and unique number. This range of photographs is (Pullman photograph #32867 to #32873) and the images depict exterior and interior views of the dining cars. There is one album of ninety-nine photographs taken by Ricardo Villalba (active 1860-1880) in Peru. The album was made for W.W. Evans, Esquire in 1875. The images depict landscapes, bridges, train tracks, railroad cars, railroad engines, and buildings, such as the Pano Cathedral.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into seven series:
Series 1, Historical Background, 1867-1982
Series 2, Correspondence, 1912-1960
Series 3, Financial Records, 1875-1930
Series 4, Operating Records, 1875-1972
Series 5, Personnel Records, 1873-1979
Series 6, Drawings, 1907-1939 and undated
Series 7, Photographs, 1932-1950s and undated
Biographical / Historical:
George M. Pullman (1831-1897) developed the railroad passenger sleeping car service into a major 19th century industry. He created the Pullman Palace Car Company in 1867. George Pullman was succeeded as president of the company by Robert Todd Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln's son, who served until 1911. In 1900, after buying competing companies, the firm was reorganized as the Pullman Company.
The idea for specially designed sleeping cars came to Pullman while traveling from Buffalo to Westfield, New York in 1854. He altered existing railroad cars in September, 1858, for service on the Chicago and Alton Railroad. They first sleeping car built to Pullman's specifications was the "pioneer," which carried part of the Lincoln funeral party from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois in 1865. In 1867 "hotel cars" were introduced. These sleeping cars, equipped with kitchen and dining facilities, eliminating the need for trains to stop at stations for passengers to buy food. In 1868, Pullman built the "Delmonica," devoted to restaurant purposes. The Pullman firm also built streetcars and trolleys.
In 1880 George Pullman built the town of Pullman, just south of the city of Chicago along the Illinois Central Railroad line, as the site for his manufacturing plant. Intended as a model manufacturing town, it had 12,000 residents in 1893. It suffered from the usual company town problems and was annexed to Chicago in 1889.
In the wake of the depression of 1893 Pullman reduced wages for its workers by 25% or more. The American Railway Union, lead by Eugene V. Debs, sought to bring wage issues to arbitration but Pullman refused. In June, 1894 some 4,000 employees struck the company gaining support from thousands of railroad workers who refused to handle trains with Pullman cars. President Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Chicago in July and after a period of sporadic violence the strike was over by the end of the summer.
In later years the Pullman company introduced several innovations. It built lighter, articulated cars of alloy steel beginning in 1936. The following year, it introduced the roomette car with eighteen enclosed private rooms. In 1956 Pullman introduced the dome sleeper car with an upper deck observation level.
The United States anti-trust suit against Pullman Manufacturing and Operating Company resulted in a 1944 decision requiring a separation of car building and car operation activities. Pullman sold its sleeping car service, transferring its operating unit to a group of fifty-nine railway firms in 1947.
George Pullman introduced two notable practices. First, rather than operating railroads, his firm leased sleeping cars to the railroads and provided the complete services on them, including supplying porters, conductors, dining staff, and food and linens. Second, Pullman named each of his sleeping and dining cars rather than assigning them numbers. This was intended to enhance the company's image by creating a personality for the car. Different categories of names signified different categories of cars and geographical names also helped to promote travel to the areas in which they operated.
Arthur Detmers Dubin assembled these Pullman Company materials. Dubin was born in 1923 in Chicago, Illinois. He began his architectural education at the University of Michigan in 1941 but was interrupted by World War II, and he served with distinction in the United States Army until 1946. After completing his studies in 1949, Dubin joined his father's and uncle's architectural firm, Dubin and Dubin, as a second--eneration architect. The leadership of the firm soon passed to Arthur and his brother, Martin David, and in 1965 they were joined by John Black and in 1966 by John Moutoussamy. Arthur's life--ong interest in trains and transportation and their implications for architecture is evident in transit stations commissions and service on transportation--elated advisory boards (Dubin was a member of the Illinois Railroad Commission), as well as in his writings and personal collections. Dubin was an avid train enthusiast and collector.
References
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Area Architects Oral History Project
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Pullman Palace Car Company Photographs (NMAH.AC.1175), contains photographs of Pullman cars: freight, passenger, private and street railway/rapid transit cars. The bulk of the collection contains approximately 13,500 original glass plate negatives, film negatives, and copy prints.
Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507) contains Reel #99, Servicing Sleepers, 1952. The Pullman Coach Company, Chicago, Illinois.
Materials In Other Organizations
Art Institute of Chicago
Bombardier Corporation
California State Railroad Museum
Chicago Historical Society
Arthur Dubin Collection at Lakeforest College
Illinois Railway Museum
Newberry Library, Pullman Company Archives
The Pullman Company archives consists of 2,500 cubic feet of records from the Pullman Company and Pullman heirs. The collection is comprised of business archives of the Pullman Palace Car Company from 1867 and include records of the entire firm up to the 1924 split into operating (sleeping car operation, service, and repair) and manufacturiung companies. From 1924 to 1981 the records chronicle the activities of the operating company only.
Pennsylvania State Archives
Pullman State Historic Site
Pullman Technology (Harvey, Illinois)
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Arthur D. Dubin Papers (83-015; 83-076; 83-101)
South Suburban Genealogical & Historical Society (South Holland, illinois)
Provenance:
Collection materials were donated by Arthur D. Dubin in 1980 and on January 30, 1986. Additional materials were donated by Lorrain Douglass, Kiara S. Winans and Kristin Peterson on April 3, 2012.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
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.
The collection consists of two issues of the Niles' National Register. Includes articles on the American Colonization Society, B & O Railroad, the African Slave Trade, and the annexation of Texas.
Biographical / Historical:
The Niles National Register was founded in Baltimore, MD in 1811 by Hezekiah Niles. The weekly publication covered national and international news and events, and provided non-partisan political coverage. The text-heavy paper contained no advertising, few illustrations, and no local news. Instead, the paper focused on commercial, agricultural, industrial, and political news broadly. In 1836, Niles gave control of the paper to his son, William Ogden Niles, due to his age and declining health. William changed the weekly's name from the Niles Weekly Register to the Niles National Register and moved the establishment to Washington, DC. Relocating the paper was unsuccessful so it returned to Baltimore in 1839.
William Ogden Niles' tenure as editor also ended that year after his step-mother, who retained his father's legal title to the paper, sold it to Jeremiah Hughes. Hughes published the paper until July 1848, when George Beatty assumed editorship and moved the headquarters to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the paper ran for a year. The last full issue of the weekly appeared in June 1849 followed by abbreviated issues in September 1849.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at ACMarchives@si.edu.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Four scrapbooks containing items relating to the Baldwin Locomotive Works, including: blueprints, photographs, examples of company letterhead and blank company forms, clippings and articles, business records such as contracts and specifications, trade literature, and miscellany.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was started as a sole proprietorship by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831. The company was the largest railroad engineering plant of its kind in the world. It is now out of business.
Provenance:
Collection donated by James C. Macinnes.
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.
Book of minutes; notebook, "List of articles loaned to the Union League" (commonly known as [James] Claghorn's notebook) contains titles, owners, and insurance values for art works; printed materials, consisting of Art Reception exhibition catalogs, printed circulars, annual reports, tickets and invitations, "Catalogue for the Exhibition of Pictures of Scenes of the Lehigh Valley Railroad," catalog for the Art Association collection, circulars for the purchase of a painting "Soir d'Ete" by Daniel Ridgway Knight, description of a painting "Honorable Mention" by E.L. Weeks, and notices of a 1903 painting of Abraham Lincoln by George B. Ayers; and letters regarding a portrait by Edwin Benson.
Biographical / Historical:
Art association affiliated with the Union League; Philadelphia, Pa. Union League was founded 1862. The Art Association was established shortly thereafter to maintain and sponsor exhibitions of the League's art collection. During the 1870's, the Art Association sponsored several Art Receptions which were important events in Philadelphia, attracting the participation of artists and art collectors.
Provenance:
All records were filmed except for membership applications and specific information about individual members of the Union League, which are not open to researchers.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- History -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Art -- Exhibitions -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
A collection of black and white photographic negatives depicting railroad scenes and locomotives in the United States and Canada, taken by Clayton M. Hall of Princeton, New Jersey.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of approximately 445 (3 inches by 4 inches) photographic negatives of railroad trains taken by Clayton M. Hall of Princeton, New Jersey. The majority of these images are of steam locomotives in service at rail stations and rail yards. The collection primarily documents eastern railroad lines, especially the Baltimore and Ohio, Boston and Maine, Central of New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania, but also includes views of railroads in New Mexico and Canada. A printed guide to the negatives exists in the Archives Center's reading room along with video disc #38105 of all of the photographs in this collection. This guide has detailed information on the prints in this collection. Some envelopes contain two negatives.
Series 1, Photographic Negatives, 1936-1966, undated, is arranged numerically by negative number and then alphabetically by the name of railroad. These numbers were assigned by the National Museum of American History in 1986. There are a few exceptions when the negative number does not correspond with the usual alphabetical placement of the railroad pictured. There are two dates on the negative sleeve. Under the heading "Year" is the date of the construction of the locomotive pictured. The date listed under "Photo Description" is the date the photograph was taken by Hall. The date recorded in the finding aid data is the one listed under "Photo Description"; if no date was recorded then it is listed as "undated".The locomotives depicted range in construction date from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century. There are sometimes two negatives in a sleeve depicting the same subject but with slight differences.
Series 2, Photographic Prints, 1986, contains the later prints (3 and one-half inches by 5 inches) made directly from Hall's negatives by the Division of Work and Industry in 1986. They are arranged numerically by the negative number.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Photographic Negatives, 1936-1966, undated
Series 2: Photographic Prints, 1986
Related Materials:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Charles B. Chaney Railroad Photographs, circa 1900-1940 (AC1167)
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, (NMAH.AC0060, Series: Railroads)
Haskell and Barker Car Company Photographs, 1926-1949 (NMAH.AC1183)
Thomas Norell Railroad Photographs Collection, circa 1840-1900 (NMAH.AC1174)
Harry A. McBride Railroad Photographs (NMAH.AC.1171)
Railroad History Collection of America (NMAH.AC.1327)
Railroad Trade Literature (NMAH.AC.1136)
Thomas Norrell Railroad Photographs Collection NMAH.AC1174)
Lantern Slide Collection (NMAH.AC.0686)
John H. White, Jr. Railroad Reference Collection (NMAH.AC0523)
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Clayton M. Hall of Princeton, New Jersey in 1972.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The papers of arts administrator, museum director, collector, dealer, and editor Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909), measure 27.74 linear feet and date from 1843-1990 (bulk dates 1884-1909). The bulk of the collection consists of detailed chronological correspondence between Kurtz and his wife and family, friends, colleagues, and business associates that documents many notable exhibitions, galleries, museums, private collections, as well as cities, people, and events of the period. Also found in the collection are Kurtz's diaries, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Charles M. Kurtz papers measure 27.74 linear feet and date from 1843 to 1990 with the bulk of the material dating from 1884 to 1909. The bulk of the collection consists of chronological correspondence between Kurtz and his family, most notably his wife, friends, colleagues, and business associates. Kurtz's letters are amazingly detailed and document many notable exhibitions, galleries, museums, private collections, as well as cities, people, and events of the period. The letters between Kurtz and his wife are most interesting for their descriptive commentary on late 19th century life and offer a complete picture of Kurtz's activities. Many of Kurtz's letters to Halsey C. Ives can be found in the Halsey C. Ives Papers. Some of the letters in the collection are illustrated. Also found in the collection are Kurtz's diaries, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into twelve series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1885-1931, undated
Series 2: Correspondence, 1843-1940, undated
Series 3: Circulars/Requests for Submissions of Works of Art, 1886-1905
Series 4: Legal Records, 1881-1928
Series 5: Financial Records, 1870-1989, undated
Series 6: Diaries, 1894-1901
Series 7: Notes and Writings, 1872-1980, undated
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1878-1909
Series 9: Printed Material, 1873-1990, undated
Series 10: Photographs, 1898-1990
Series 11: Photographs of Works of Art, undated
Series 12: Miscellany, undated
Biographical Note:
Charles M. Kurtz's name is known to many scholars and students of American art history. To some he is important for his critical writings, others are interested in his management of exhibitions for the Art Union and the American Art Association. Many are aware of him because of his publication of National Academy Notes, which continued for nine years. Still others are familiar with Kurtz in his role as an art administrator for late 19th century art exhibitions like those at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the St. Louis Fair, or for his accomplishments as the first director of the Albright Gallery in Buffalo, New York. Sometimes researchers have become familiar with his name through the sale catalogue for his considerable collection, which was sold at auction after his death in 1909. His career, which encompassed the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, touched on virtually every aspect of art in America during that period.
Born in 1853 to Davis Brook Kurtz (1826-1906), an attorney, and Julia Wilder, Charles Kurtz enjoyed a genteel upbringing. The Kurtz family originated in Darmstadt, Germany, and migrated to America in the eighteenth century. D.B. Kurtz, a leading member of the Lawrence County bar, was also a vice-president of the National Bank of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. As a local representative of many important railroad and business interests, he accumulated assets estimated at one million dollars by the time of his death, just three years before that of his son, Charles, the eldest of his five children. Unlike his brothers Louis, who also became an attorney, and Edward, a professor at Columbia University, Charles eschewed a professional career to enter the art world, as did his sisters Emily, an artist, and Catherine, a musician.
After his graduation from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, Kurtz visited the Centennial Exposition, held in 1876 in Philadelphia, before coming to New York to study art at the National Academy of Design. These two activities foreshadowed the direction that his career would eventually take. As the chronology indicates, his early efforts revolve around writing for a variety of publications, most notably, his own National Academy Notes. In 1881 he took what was to be the first of many trips abroad to survey the art scene in Europe. Later in his career, his fascination with foreign art and his own entrepeneurial interests led him to become an outspoken opponent of tariffs on imported art.
Kurtz's personal life changed significantly in 1884 when he met Julia Stephenson, a physician's daughter and fledging art student from Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Throughout their courtship and after their marriage the couple was frequently separated. Consequently, they wrote lengthy letters which document not only their personal relationship but also Kurtz's aspirations and activities in the art world.
With his appointment as one of Halsey C. Ives's (1847-1911) chief assistants of the Fine Arts Department of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1891, Charles Kurtz's career achieved international stature. Among the most notable European artists he introduced into this country through circulating exhibitions were the Glasgow School, the Danish School, the Hungarian artist, Mihaly Munkacsy, and the subject of his final exhibition, the Spanish artist, Sorolla.
Throughout his life, Kurtz was plagued by health problems and, in 1899, illness forced him to resign as Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States for the Paris Exposition of 1900. Throughout the following decade, his work was increasingly interrupted by ill health. His death in 1909 at the age of 54, while sudden, was not entirely unexpected. However it most certainly cut short a cosmopolitan career that encompassed virtually every aspect of the art world and the pertinent issues of the day.
Kurtz is remembered for his editorial work with the National Academy of Design; as Art Director for the Southern Exposition, 1883-1886, and the St. Louis Exposition, 1894-1899 (where he introduced the Glasgow School of Painting); and as Assistant Chief/Director for the World's Columbian Exposition, the 1900 Paris Exposition, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. He was also director of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy.
Missing Title
1855 -- Charles McMeen Kurtz born
1876 -- receives B.S. degree from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
1876-78 -- studies at the National Academy of Design, N.Y. with Lemuel Wilmarth and William Morgan; writes a column, "New York Letters," for The Courant published in New Castle, Pennsylvania
1878 -- edits a small daily paper published during a "National Camp Meeting for the promotion of Holiness" held that summer in New Castle, Pa.; its critical stance resulted in his public denouncement and earned him a reputation as a journalist in western Pennsylvania; receives M.A. from Washington and Jefferson College
1878-79 -- becomes the local editor of The Guardian of New Castle
1879 -- publishes The Daily Reporter, a financial success
1881 -- publishes the first issue of National Academy Notes; travels in Europe, spending time in England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France (Paris)
1881-82 -- prepares Illustrated Notes for Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition
1882 -- writes "Art Notes" in The New York Tribune and resigns Dec. 23rd
1882-83 -- accepts position to write for Music and Drama, a new daily paper
1883 -- becomes the general manager of the American Art Union; exhibits a large collection of Art Union paintings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Louisville, Ky., where they became part of the Southern Exposition's first great art display
1883-86 -- accepts offer to become Director of the Art Department, Southern Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky
1884 -- edits Art Union magazine until December; applies for position to head the Art Department of the New Orleans World's Fair in September
1884-86 -- accepts a position offered by the American Art Association; terminates uncongenial relationship in March, 1886
1885 -- writes catalogues for the sale of the George Seney Collection and for the Watts exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; October 1, marries Julia Stephenson (1861-1931), daughter of Dr. A. T. Stephenson of Harrodsburg, Kentucky; they had two daughters who survived them: Julia Wilder Kurtz (1889-1977), and Isabella Starkweather Kurtz (1901-1991); another daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson Kurtz (1886-1897), predeceased them
1886 -- terminates employment with the Art Association; daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson Kurtz, born
1886-87 -- manages the circulation of Mihaly Munkacsy's Christ Before Pilot for Charles Sedelmeyer to American venues: New York, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Nashville, Phildelphia, Indianapolis; tour generates $90,000 in ticket receipts
1889-91 -- February 24, appointed art critic ("Art Notes") and book reviewer for New York Daily Star; later literary and art editor of the Sunday Star
1890 -- writes for the Sunday edition The Press, a New York paper
1891 -- writes for The World; art editor for The New York Recorder; contributes to the New York Truth
1891-93 -- contributes to Chicago Evening Post ; writes artist biographies for The Chicago Graphic, a regional magazine; appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of Fine Arts of the World's Columbian Exposition
1894 -- contributes column, "Art at the Exposition" to St. Louis Life
1895 -- tours Denmark, Scotland, and France during the summer on behalf of the St. Louis Exposition
1894-99 -- appointed Director of the Art Department of the St. Louis Annual Exposition
1896 -- elected member of The Japan Society, London
1897 -- daughter, Elizabeth (Daisy), dies
1898 -- receives a diploma and medal "in recognition of valuable services in connection with the Fine Arts Exhibit" from the directors of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition, Omaha
1899 -- appointed Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900; resigned in July due to ill health
1901-04 -- appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of Art of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, August
1901 -- daughter, Isabella Starkweather Kurtz, born
1902 -- receives honorary Ph.D from Washington and Jefferson College "in recognition of distinguished ability and services as an art critic and writer"
1905 -- receives the cross of the Order of Merit from Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria; appointed Director, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, in January; exhibits Glasgow paintings at Albright Art Gallery from November until the following April
1906 -- writes Academy Notes, a bulletin pubished by the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and the Albright Art Gallery; father, D.B. Kurtz, dies in Newcastle, Pennsylvania
1907 -- accused of importing German pictures free of duty for exhibition purposes and then selling some for profit
1908 -- Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree conferred by Washington and Jefferson College
1909 -- Charles M. Kurtz dies in Buffalo, New York on March 21
1910 -- Sale of the private collection of Charles M. Kurtz at auction, Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, February 24-25
1931 -- Widow, Julia Stephenson Kurtz dies October 30
1977 -- Daughter, Julia Wilder Kurtz, dies
1991 -- Daughter, Isabel Starkweather Kurtz, dies in Buffalo, N.Y.; remaining Charles M. Kurtz Papers bequeathed to the Archives of American Art and the National Academy of Design, New York
Related Material:
The St. Louis Exposition/Halsey C. Ives papers in the Archives of American Art contain material relating to Charles M. Kurtz.
Additional Charles Kurtz papers, 1870-1910, including 340 letters which discuss exhibitions, sales of art, patronage, atelier visits, and submissions to publications, and letters to his parents in which he discsses the art market and art world new; as well as manuscripts, notebooks, a diary, and printed ephemera relating to exhibitions and publications, are available at the Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Los Angeles, California.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 4912) including Charles Kurtz's Glasgow painting diary. The loaned diary was returned to the lender and can now be found at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
For many years, the Kurtz Papers were thought to have been destroyed in a fire. Isabel Kurtz, a school teacher who lived with her older sister in Buffalo, New York, was vague when initially approached about her father's papers by Archives Regional Director, Robert Brown in the mid-1980s. However upon her death in 1991, her will revealed that the papers were indeed in her house in Buffalo and the bulk of them were bequeathed to the Archives of American Art. Paintings and a diary relating to the Glasgow School were given to the Yale Center for British Art. That diary has subsequently been duplicated on microfilm and is now also available in the Archives. Scorch marks on some of the papers and also on the paintings given to Yale suggest that there was indeed a fire. The material that was not bequeathed to the Archives included duplicates of printed documents along with books from the Kurtz library and a coin collection, all of which were dispersed in an estate auction that was held in Buffalo in 1991.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
Glasgow painting diary, Microfilm reel 4912: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Yale Center for British Art. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 museum directors -- New York (State) -- Buffalo Search this
Kurtz, Charles M. (Charles McMeen), 1855-1909 Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1843-1940, undated
Scope and Contents note:
Charles M. Kurtz had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances that often overlapped his personal friends and professional colleagues with his career activities. Certain individuals whose names may not be particularly well known, such as the artists, D.F. Hasbrouck, William Morgan and Patty Thum, for example, were both personal and professional friends. Their letters, often seeking Kurtz's help, are informative about their own and Kurtz's careers. Kurtz's close friends, the Starkweathers, his own relatives, and his wife's family, the Stephensons, were particularly interested in Kurtz's professional activities and also kept him informed. His sister, Emily "Clootie" Kurtz, for example, also studied art in New York under H. Siddons Mowbray and her letters, especially those written while she was in Europe in 1891, occasionally commented on the art world of the day. His father, D.B. Kurtz, an important attorney for railroad and banking concerns in western Pennsylvania, details many of his legal activities in his letters to his son. His letters have been highlighted because of his own prominence and their references to his son's collecting activities, for which he often advanced funds. There is also the occasional letter from the distinguished New York photographer, William Kurtz, who was not related to Charles M. Kurtz. His letters have been indicated by the inclusion of his first name so as to distinguish him from the Kurtz family.
Many of the names noted in the description of Kurtz's personal and professional correspondence represent individuals of interest to art historians and those studying American social history. Although some merely record a brief professional contact with Kurtz (e.g. Stanford White sending regrets), they do place the individual at a certain place in time. Several correspondents who contacted Kurtz throughout his career solely on behalf of personal concerns (e.g. his college fraternity) have not been noted. In the case of a letter written on behalf of a well known individual or organization by someone whose name may not be immediately recognizable, the appropriate identification has been indicated in brackets the first time it appears, e.g. James Grant [for John Wanamaker].
The correspondence between Kurtz and his wife is among the richest in the collection and most interesting for its descriptive commentaries on late 19th century life. Consequently the most successful method of using the Kurtz papers is for the researcher to identify a date and/or event for which information is needed (e.g. the blizzard of 1888) and then read their correspondence for that period. Another approach for arriving at useful information (e.g. a description of the Baltimore collector, Benjamin Walters' house) is to consult the chronology and ascertain Kurtz's itinerary during a given period. He invariablycomments on notable people, places and the ambiance in the cities that he visited while managing various expositions and exhibitions. Gaps in the correspondence between husband and wife usually correspond to periods when they were living or travelling together.
Many letters are illustrated (see Index), usually by Kurtz himself. The majority of these are to his wife. Some may be difficult to decipher because a fire scorched some of the letters while they were in the possession of the Kurtz family.
Reel 4805 contains letters, primarily from artists and art committee members; concerning loans for the Southern Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky (Aug.16-Oct.25, 1884) and related details. Frequent correspondence to and from Charles Kurtz to his fiancée Julia Stephenson is regularly interspersed beginning in September, 1884. Many of the letters from E. Wood Perry refer to the Art Union; others from Kurtz refer to the Art Association.
See Appendix for a list of illustrated letters in Series 2.
Appendix: List of Illustrated Letters in Series 2:
American Art Association galleries with Dutch fireplace: AAA 4805 (1345) letter from CMK to Julia Stephenson, Dec. 17, 1884 by CMK, with extensive description of galleries at Six East Twenty-third Street (Madison Square South, entrance on B'way).
Portrait of Charles M. Kurtz, 1884 by Julia Stephenson: AAA 4805 (1409) end of year note with illustration
Self-Portrait (caricature) of Charles M. Kurtz, undated, as signature on brief letter to Julia W. Kurtz: AAA 4804 (394)
Holiday banner of cherubs on 1884 letter by Julia S. to CMK: AAA 4805 (1414)
Anonymous portrait, pencil sketch, circa 1877: AAA 4804 (753)
Pencil drawing of train "The Next Station is New Castle:" AAA 4804 (783)
Floor plan of Detroit house of Col. Crowell: AAA 4804 (1152) (Col Crowell was brother-in-law of a Mr. Elwood of the Wayne Co. National Bank. Kurtz says he "lives in probably the finest house in Detroit. I never saw more elegant or more beautiful furnishing. It is really finer than that in the Power's establishment in Rochester! 3 page description follows of the furnishings: carved woodwork, stained glass etc. also mentions he went to see "an artist named Melchers with Bacher")
Pencil sketch by Julia Stephenson of herself "pulling" CMK's wiskers: AAA 4804 (1235), November 23, 1883 letter, page 9
Post card sketch "The Boy That Did As He Pleased," Dec. 1883 by CMK to Julia Stephenson, sketch of cow & boy in meadow: AAA 4804 (1238)
Caricature of CMK by himself as signature on letter to Julia Stephenson, Dec. 2, 1883 letter: AAA 4804 (1253)
Double Self Portrait of Julia Stephenson as a "coquette," Dec. 9, 1883 letter to CMK: AAA 4804 (1254)
Upraised hand of truth from CMK to Julia Stephenson, Dec. 1883: AAA 4804 (1264)
Logo designs on back of envelope, with upraised hand, & "North Gallery" with palettee, 1885: AAA 4806 (81)st
Pencil sketch (finished drawing) of child sitting under tree with calligraphic date "June second, 1885" [a copy of Mrs. Loop's picture in my "81 book" of Mrs. Loop's daughter] see letter, June 14, 1885 AAA 4806 (634): AAA 4806 (623)
Monogram designed for pin given as gift for bridesmaids at wedding of CMK & Julia Stephenson: AAA 4806 (1039)
Sketch of a painting by unidentified artist acquired by CMK in letter to JSK, June 11, 1886: AAA 4807 (401)
Sketch of Victorian era townhouse: AAA 4822 628
Street in Bologna, Italy: AAA 4822 (1083)
Poem circa March, 1897 with self-portrait caricature: AAA 4823 (240)
Maps: Massachusetts, Boston, & handwritten, of Mt. Vernon St. in letter from CMK to JSK, July 8, 1887: AAA 4808 (480)
Floor plan of Kurtz's room at 123 E. 23rd: AAA 4808 (1211)
Self-portrait for his daughter, July 26, 1888: AAA 4809 (279)
Street map of section of New Orleans, Jan. 1889: AAA 4809 (986)
Floor plan, Washington Artillery bldg., New Orleans (Muncky. exh), Jan. 26, 1889: AAA 4809 1014)
Marine sketch by J. C. Nicoll, March 28, 1889: AAA 4809 (1250)
Sketch of building and floor plan of St. Louis Museum by Halsey C. Ives, June 7, 1889: AAA 4809 (1484)
Sketch by Charles M. Kurtz of curtain valence, June 12, 1889: AAA 4809 (1505)
Sketch by Charles M. Kurtz of General di Cesnola's [director, Metropolitan Museum of Art] country house in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., August 5, 1889: AAA 4810 (195)
Small, self-portrait sketch by Charles M. Kurtz at end of letter to his daughter, Nov. 17, 1891: AAA 4811 (238)
Small, self-portrait sketch by Charles M. Kurtz at end of letter to his daughter, Nov. 27, 1891: AAA 4811 (308)
Sketch of arrangement of pictures for exhibition by Henry Ward Ranger in letter to Charles M. Kurtz from Ranger, December 8, 1891: AAA 4811 (381)
Sketch of holder for Christmas candles by Charles M. Kurtz, December 16, 1891: AAA 4811 (429)
Print (?) as invitation for exhibition of work by J.H. Dolph and Hamilton Hamilton, January, 1892: AAA 4811 (614)
Child's watercolor drawings by Elizabeth Kurtz, February 4, 1892: AAA 4811 (743-745)
Child's drawings by Elizabeth Kurtz, May 12, 1892: AAA 4811 (1195-6)
Sketch illustrating decorations worn on official European uniforms at dinner for 1893 Fair, May 5, 1893: AAA 4812 (1306),
Thumb nail sketch of painting by Will H. Low, "a female tying the Sandals of Love" by Charles Ward Rhodes, June 19, 1893: AAA 4812 (1453)
Sketch of proposed picture frame by Charles Ward Rhodes, August 23, 1893: AAA 4813 (205)
Installation diagram of St. Louis Exposition [annual regional fair] by Charles Ward Rhodes, Sept. 8, 1893: AAA 4813 (247-248)
Sketch of painting by Gagneau by Charles Ward Rhodes, exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition, October 5, 1893: AAA 4813 (308)
Sketch of Charles M. Kurtz's college fraternity pin, February 2, 1894: AAA 4813, (623)
Diagram of arrangement of seating for table on board ship by Charles M. Kurtz, March 10, 1894: AAA 4813 (738)
Diagram of boats on sea and pig-skin water cask by Charles M. Kurtz, March 18, 1894: AAA 4813 (818)
Diagram of gallery for St. Louis Exposiion by Charles Ward Rhodes, April 27, 1894: AAA 4813 (938)
Floor plan of vestibule exhibition area of St. Louis Museum by Charles Ward Rhodes, May 17, 1894: AAA 4813 (1022)
Floor plan of galleries for St. Louis exhibition with measurements by Charles Ward Rhodes, August 13, 1894: AAA 4813 1246
Thumbnail sketch of beer drinker by Botto, October 1, 1894: AAA 4814 (5)
Sketch of fur wrap by Charles M. Kurtz, June, 16, 1895: AAA 4814 (574)
Diagram for hanging America pictures at St. Louis Exposition, 1899 by Charles Ward Rhodes: AAA 4816 (901)
Floor plan by Charles Ward Rhodes for Second Annual Exhibition of the Architectural Club of St. Louis, April 11, 1900: AAA 4816 (1152)
Floor plan and elevation sketch by Halsey C. Ives of his country house: AAA 4816 (1354-55)
Thumbnail sketch of sailboat at sea by Frederick E. Bartlett, January 23, 1901: AAA 4817 (36)
Valentine from Julia Wilder Kurtz to Charles M. Kurtz, February 13, 1902: AAA 4817 (619)
Illustrated letter: sketch of toddler [Isabella S. Kurtz] by Julia Wilder Kurtz, March 3, 1902: AAA 4817 (661)
Thank you note from Julia Wilder Kurtz to Charles M. Kurtz illustrated with ink drawing of bunny, February 16, 1902: AAA 4817 (1076)
Self-portrait caricature as signature by Charles M. Kurtz June 10, 1903, June 15, 1903, June 16, 1903: AAA 4817 (1208), (1217), (1221)
Self-portrait caricature with hat as signature by Charles M. Kurtz, June 28, 1903: AAA 4817 (1237)
Self-portrait caricature as signature by Charles M. Kurtz November 14, 1903: AAA 4817 (1307)
Sketch of retriever dog by Dudlee, Dec. 19, 1904: AAA 4818 (182)
Sketch of Bulgarian Order of Merit Cross awarded to Charles M. Kurtz by himself enclosed in March 3, 1905 letter: AAA 4818 (305)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Collection Rights:
Glasgow painting diary, Microfilm reel 4912: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Yale Center for British Art. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Charles M. Kurtz papers, 1843-1990 (bulk 1884-1909). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Danville & Pottsville Railroad Company Search this
Former owner:
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation Search this
Extent:
0.5 Cubic feet (2 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Place:
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Date:
1808-1881
Scope and Contents:
The main component of this collection is a double-spaced typewritten document of 858 pages transcribed (apparently in 1903) from original records and consisting of correspondence, newspaper articles, technical descriptions, legal documents, and other material relating to John Stevens, his professional work and career. Some of the correspondence is between Stevens and his rival inventors, such as Robert Fulton, credited with producing the first steamboat.
Other documents in the collection are the orginal papers incorporating the Danville and Pottsville RR in 1831 and a carefully detailed survey and cost estimate of the Camden and Amboy RR in 1830.
Biographical / Historical:
John Stevens (1749 1838) of New York, inventor and engineer, graduated from King's College (now Columbia University) in 1768. Admitted to the New York Bar in 1771, he served as treasurer of New Jersey during the Revolutionary War. He became interested in steam powered navigation in 1787 and for the next fifty years was active in building and promoting steam boats and trains, securing numerous patents, and inventing such important developments as the screw propellor. He established the worlds first steam ferry, between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey and later built the first operating steam locomotive in the United States Stevens secured a charter from the Legislature of Pennsylvania for the Pennsylvania Railroad, from Philadelphia to Lancaster County. Two of John Stevens' seven sons, Robert and Edwin were also prominent engineers and developers of transportation equipment who collaborated with their father.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
Documents relating to the business of the Swatara Railroad Company of Danville, Pennsylvania and particularly of its president, "Judge" William Donaldson. Includes receipts, bills, contracts, operating statistics, financial statements and correspondence, filed chronologically by year.
Biographical / Historical:
The Swatara and Good Spring Railroad was incorporated in 1831 with Judge William Donaldson as president. Renamed the Swatara Railroad in 1841, it was one of several lines connecting the First Pennsylvania anthracite coal field via waterways to the East Coast. Until 1848 it was powered by horses and was extended and rebuilt periodically. In 1863, Donaldson sold his interest in the Swatara to the Philadelphia & Reading Co., which renamed it the Good Spring Railroad.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
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:
Coal mines and mining -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania Search this
Railroads -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania Search this
Anthracite coal industry -- 19th century -- Pennsylvania Search this
Genre/Form:
Financial statements -- 19th century
Receipts -- 19th century
Correspondence -- 19th century
Citation:
Swatara Railroad Papers, dates, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad Co. ; Northern Central Railroad Co. ; West Jersey & Seashore Railroad Co. ; Pennsylvania Steel Co. ; Westinghouse Church Kerr & Co., Engineers Search this
Notes content:
UNIQUE set of railroad trade literature ; 1847-1877 annual reports ; late 19th Century leisure travel books, tour announcements and schedules (3-week Golden Gate tour of California, 1890 ; 1887 Summer excursion routes to New England, the Catskills, the Adirondaks, New Jersey Shore, Quebec, Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs, NY, Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert Island, ME, Ashville, NC, Mackinac Island, MI, Newport, RI, Fire Island, NY ; 1892 tour book for Florida illustrated with photographs) ; 1916 company history entitled "Seventy Years of America's Greatest Railroad" ; 1908 schedule with map of the line to Atlantic City, NJ ; 1899 manual for employees of the company's Signal Department ; circa 1913 company pamphlets (subjects range from resuscitation from electric shock to elementary principles of electricity) ; 1929 pamphlet on container car service ; bound set of 1915 leaflets (directed to employees and to the public) on issues of efficiency and safety (including "Making Automobile Drivers Believe in Signs") ; 1916 company history entitled "Seventy Years of America's Greatest Railroad: The Pennsylvania 1846-1916" ; 1946 safety manual ; illustrated 1949 brochure for Pullman sleeping car train called "the General" that ran between New York and Chicago in 16 hours ; circa 1880 map showing alignment of original railroads in Philadelphia, PA, now included as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad System ; 1916 booklet with description of PRR System's "Main lines and branches with notes of the historical events which have taken place in the contiguous territories" ; 1946 annual report including beautiful color illustrations of company's 100th anniversary ; 1890 record of transportation lines operated by PRR ; 1927 pamphlet about the PRR 6000 freight weighing machines (scales) ; 1930 newsletter about development of industry (warehouses, glass) and agriculture (dairy, potatoes, corn) along route of PRR ; 1926 brochure entitled "Modern Cars and locomotives" ; company's Book of Rules (1941, 1943, 1947, 1948) ; 1916 and 1940s instructions regarding signaling apparatus ; 1930 history of Allegheney Portage Railroad ; booklet about grain elevators at ports (1930) ; 1904 booklet about Passenger Car Ventilation Systems ; January 1908 book illustrated with photographs entitled "The New York Passenger Terminal of the Pennsylvania Railroad (Under Construction)", later called Pennsylvania Station ; 1860 booklet entitled "Report of Experiments with Coal-Burning Locomotives made on the Pennsylvania Railroad April-August 1859" ; 1872 illustrated technical pamphlet showing standard steel rail sections made by Pennsylvania Steel Co. for Pennsylvania Railroad
Includes:
Trade catalog, manual and histories
Black and white images
Color images
Physical description:
52 pieces; 12 boxes
Language:
English
Type of material:
Trade catalogs
Trade literature
Place:
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Date range:
1800s-1900s
Topic (Romaine term):
Business services (advertising; marketing; organizational management; etc.) Search this
Ceramics; pottery; glass; crystal; china; bricks; and stones Search this
Educational institutions; equipment and supplies (includes playground equipment) Search this
Spencer Co. ; Helios Co. ; Philadelphia Storage Battery Co. ; Ford Motor Co. ; Ford Aerospace ; Cramer Electronics, Inc. ; Philco Radio & Television Corp. ; Philco-Ford Corp. Search this
Notes content:
Trade lit and technical manuals, circa 1920s-1960s from a company that began as a battery manufacturer in the late 19th century then became a pioneer in early radio and television. Philco built many iconic radios and TV sets, including the classic cathedral-shaped wooden radio of the 1930s as well as the futuristic Predicta line of TV receivers. Radios for: tabletops, bars and taverns, farms, floor models ; plus aerials ; batteries for locomotives, electric industrial trucks ; Victrolas; Philco refrigerators (1945-46) ; Philco single room air-conditioners ; Philco radio-phonographs . Circa 1940 brochure entitled "The Story of Philco Progress." Plus manual on cable construction; manual on trouble-shooting radar ; tube manual ; 1927-1928 Philco Radio Installation and Service Manual ; 1959 Technical Writing Guide; 1948 catalog of Test Equipmemnt for Science and Industry ; 1963 transistor guide for communications circuit designers ; 1952 training manual for the Armed Forces ; 1951 Philco Training Manual Radar System Measurements Theory and Practice ; manual for black and white TV and AM/FM radio. Also, various materials for motivating the Philco salesforce and possibly retailers. Philco phone ; auto radio ; color television ; stereo consoles ;
This volume contains a record of railroad rules for railroad employees, traffic agreements with other railroads, and operating orders to train crews and other employees including steamboat captains on the Delaware and Raritan Rivers signed by the railroad superintendent and other officials. These orders include general duties of conductors and other employees as well as instructions to individuals to carry out specific schedule changes, etc. These records are arranged chronologically within one volume.
Biographical / Historical:
The Camden & Amboy Railroad was charted in New Jersey in 1830. The company purchased the "John Bull," one of the first successful locomotives in North America, from Robert Stephenson & Company of New Castle, England. Its line ran between Camden and Amboy in New Jersey and was a link between New York and Philadelphia, which lies across the Delaware River from Camden. The railroad was leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1871.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
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.
