Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Pirie, Robert S.
| title | Robert S. Pirie papers, 1956-2005. |
| repository | Grolier Club |
| description | The original inventory includes: correspondence relating to book and antique collecting of Robert S. Pirie; most of the letters are addressed to Pirie from fellow collectors, bibliophiles, and rare book and antique dealers. Correspondents include but are not limited to: F.B. Adams, Marie Angel, John Carter, John F. Fleming, E.P. Goldschmidt (London), Hamill & Barker (Chicago), Rupert Hart-Davis, John Hayward, B.E. Jurel-Jenson, Maggs Brothers (London), A.N.L. Munby, Michael Papantonio (Seven Gables Bookshop), Charles S. Ryskamp, John Sparrow, and J.L. Vellekoop of E.P. Goldscmidt. There is a collection of over 100 ALS and TLS from Philip Hofer of the Department of Graphic Art at Harvard University and 24 ALS from Sir Geoffrey Keynes concering preparation of the 4th edition of his Bibliography of Dr. John Donne (1973). Of the almost 200 ALS, TLS and telegrams from the firm of Bernard Quaritch in London, the majority are signed by P. N. Poole-Wilson. The supplementary inventory includes: appraisals (a number of which were made by Paul Magriel) and descriptions of furniture and objets d’art and some books. There is substantial material concerning the exhibition on John Donne held at the Grolier Club in 1972 that Pirie organized primarily from items from in his personal collection. Also: files of personal correspondence for the years 1980-1989, and the complete files documenting the creation of Pirie’s publication for the Roxburghe Club, an edition of his original manuscript of Robert Naunton’s Fragmenta Regalia, printed in 2002 by the Stinehour Press for distribution to members. The complete file of papers relating to Pirie’s role as an executor of the estate of New York City antiquarian bookseller John Fleming is also included, as are paper relating to his sponsorship of a publications program with the Grolier Poetry Bookshop (Laura Soltano) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bio/History: Robert S. Pirie graduated from Harvard College and Harvard University Law School. As an undergraduate, he was attracted to bibliographical work in Elizabethan authors and began to collect actively while on service with the United States Army in the late 1950s. In 1963 portions of his collection were exhibited at the Grolier Club (a New York City bibliophile organization) where he was an active member. In 1972 Pirie compiled for the Grolier Club John Donne, 1572-1631: a catalogue of the anniversary exhbition of first and early editions. Many of the items in this exhibition were from his own collection, and he was acknowledged by Donne bibliographer Sir Geoffrey Keynes as a premier collector of original editions of Donne. During the 1960s and early 1970s Pirie was associated with law firms in Boston; he later practiced in New York City and then served in turn as Co-Chairman and CEO of Rothschild North America; Senior Managing Director of Bear, Stearns ? and Vice-Chairman of Investment Banking at SG Cowen Securities Corporation. He is now associated with the French bank Societé Generale. |
| extent | 29 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Photographs Negatives Inventories Estate Papers |
| access | Collection is restricted. |
| record source | http://www.grolierclub.org/Library.htm |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available over the Grolier Club's website; folder level control. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:30 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | John F. Fleming, Incorporated Records, 1955-1988. |
| repository | Grolier Club |
| description | Correspondence, want lists, appraisals, invoices, sales books, stock books and financial records documenting activities of John F. Fleming, Inc., antiquarian bookseller. Individual customer records include but are not limited to: Norman Armour, Jorge Beristayn, Martin Bodmer, the Earl ofBessborough, Hector Bolitho, James F. Drake (bookseller), Charles F. Heartman, Donald F. Hyde, Lady Bird Johnson, Thomas O. Mabbott, Senator Mike Mansfield, Robert S. Pirie, Lynda Bird Robb and Theodore Sorensen. There is also material documenting Fleming's relations with a number of institutional libraries, including but not limited to the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, the Newberry Library and the Pierpont Morgan Library. Bio/History: John Francis Fleming was born in "Hell's Kitchen" in Manhattan in 1910. He went to work for the well-known antiquarian bookseller A. S. W. Rosenbach in New York as a clerk at the age of fifteen. His acuteness and love of books earned him promotions to salesman, manager and, eventually tovice-president of the Rosenbach Company. When Rosenbach died in 1952 Fleming continued to sell book, soon under his own name, at the magnificent apartment at 322 East 57th Stret where Dr. Rosenbach had maintained his business. In his time, Fleming was one of the most important antiquarian book dealers in the United States and counted many major collectors among his clients. He died December 27, 1987. |
| extent | 44 boxes. 2 ledgers. |
| formats | Correspondence Appraisals Financial Records Ephemera |
| access | Collection closed for a period of ten years following death of John Fleming in 1987. |
| record source | http://www.grolierclub.org/Library |
| acquisition information | The records of the A. S. W. Rosenbach Company, which had been maintained by John Fleming, are now housed at the Rosenbach Foundation in Philadelphia |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:37 |
| .................................................................... | |