Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Terry, James, 1844-1912
| title | James Terry Papers, 1878-1916. |
| repository | The Winterthur Library |
| description | The majority of the collection contains Terry's correspondence, arranged in alphabetical order by writer. Many of the letters deal with collecting and researching ceramics, particularly Staffordshire. Plates, pitchers and other pieces discussed often contained historical scenes of the United States and universities in blue. He often corresponded with Edwin Atlee Barber, another noted collector of porcelain. Additional letters pertain to Terry's collecting of books and bookplates. Several of the documents make reference to items from George Washington's Mount Vernon estate, including a letter from Amy Townsend inquiring about Washington's banquet table. Some of the correspondence is accompanied by photographs. One folder features information on china manufacturers with depictions of delft. Another document with the heading, Isaac B. Farrar, traces the history of a Vermont pottery. Also included in the collection are manuscript catalogs of the James Terry Collection. One is entitled: "A Descriptive Catalogue of a portion of the contents of my Colonial Dining Hall at my house 78 Wethersfield Avenue, compromising historical furniture, silver, prints, portraits, and historical china." Another is a descriptive catalogue of items in the Terry Collection loaned to the Mattatuck Historical Society by Mira E. Terry in 1916. Finally, the collection contains a phrenological description of Terry by L.N. Fowler, done on March 10, 1848 in New York. Biography or history James Terry was interested in a variety of scientific and historical subjects. At some point in his career he appears to have worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and he published his only book, Sculptured Anthropoid Ape Heads..., in 1891. For part of his life, Terry resided in Hartford, Ct. and was an antiques dealer. He primarily sold china manufactured by Enoch Wood and Ridgway. In addition, he was an avid collector of early American bookplates and pursued this interest in conjunction with his desire to write a history of early American libraries, both institutional and individual. Associated materials Additional papers of James Terry are held by the American Antiquarian Society. Location The Winterthur Library: Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera, Call Number Col. 366 |
| extent | 1 box. |
| formats | Correspondence Photographs Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | http://findingaid.winterthur.org/html/HTML_Finding_Aids/COL0366.htm |
| record source | http://library.winterthur.org:8000/cgi-bin/webgw |
| finding aid | Finding aid listing names of correspondents available at this repository. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:39 |
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| title | James Terry Collection, 1711-1829. |
| repository | Connecticut Historical Society |
| description | Records of the Congregational Church in Canterbury, Conn. from its beginning in 1711. Records of the Separate Church in Canterbury, Conn., Connecticut's first Separate Church, from about 1744. The records document many of the divisions between Congregationalists and Strict or Separate Congregationalist. Minutes include the censure or excommunication of members for inappropriate behavior, and letters discuss questions on infant baptism and the ordination of pastors. Other letters illuminate divisions within the state's Congregational Churches and their attempts at reconciliation. Notices inform the Separate Church in Canterbury of other churches selecting ministers or scheduling a day of fasting and prayer. Includes a petition of he General Assembly regarding liberty of conscience. Biographical Note A noted collector of books and manuscripts, an anthropologist, and a life member of the Connecticut Historical Society. |
| extent | 0.5 linear ft. (1 box) |
| formats | Manuscript |
| access | available in library. |
| record source | http://12.193.10.198/ |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the library. |
| acquisition information | Gift 1894. Purchased by James Terry from Mrs. Martha Bradford, Nov. 1894, and presented to the Connecticut Historical Society by Mr. Terry, Dec. 4, 1894. - Cf. Records of the Congregational Church in Canterbury, Connecticut, 1711-1844. Hartford, 1932. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:39 |
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| title | James Terry Papers, 1733-c. 1910. |
| repository | American Antiquarian Society |
| description | James Terry (1844-1912) was interested in a variety of scientific and historical subjects. At some point in his career he appears to have worked at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and he published his only book, Sculptured Anthropoid Ape Heads..., in 1891. He was an avid collector of early American bookplates and pursued this interest in conjunction with his desire to write a history of early American libraries, both institutional and individual. The first five boxes of the collection contain Terry’s correspondence, arranged in alphabetical order by writer, c. 1880s-c. 1910. There are some drafts of responses by Terry and a series of notes he kept on a trip to Alaska. Most of the correspondence pertains either to bookplates or to the history of various New England libraries. Some of the letters pertain to Terry’s book, to his four "Ex Libris Leaflets," and to his 1906 "open letter" attacking Albert C. Bates, the Librarian of the Connecticut Historical Society. Correspondents include: Charles Dexter Allen (1865-1926); William Elliott Baillie (1848-1931); Albert Carlos Bates (1865-1954); Charles E. Cameron ( - ); Charles Edward Clark (1850-1911); Patrick Kevin Foley (1856-1937); Susan Denison Gallaudet, Mrs. Edward Miner ( - ); Louis Pope Gratacap (1851-1917); William Fowler Hopson (1849-1935); Frederick James Libbie (1866-1927); and Nathaniel Paine (1832-1917). Many of the persons who corresponded with Terry also wrote to the engraver Edwin Davis French (1851-1906) and letters from them are included in the Society’s Edwin Davis French Papers. Letters from persons with information on libraries are often filed under the name of the library or the town in which it was located, not the personal name of the writer. Folders 3, 4, and 5 in Box 5 contain miscellaneous correspondence and random notes on libraries and bookplates. Folder 6 contains a 1733 land deed of one of Terry’s ancestors and twenty-two pencil drawings by Terry. Box 6 includes notes by Terry on early American engravers, arranged in alphabetical order by engraver’s name; his notes on engravers Amos Doolittle (1754-1832) and Abner Reed (1771-1866); his bookplate exchange list and address book of collectors, dealers, and others; his notebook list of libraries in New Hampshire; and his notebook on Indian relics and other antiquarian matters. Box 7 includes Terry’s notebook on early Connecticut libraries; a folder with three items of the Bedford, New Hampshire, Library, 1848; and a folder with the 1738/39 deed of covenant of the Philogrammatican Society (a library) in Lebanon, Connecticut. There are also orignial record books of the following Connecticut libraries: Union Harwinton Library, four volumes, 1798-1850s; Warren, one volume, 1791-c. 1809; Friendship Library in West Symsbury, one volume, c. 1793-c. 1805; North Killingworth, one volume, 1825-1850s; Plymouth First Parish Sunday School Library, one volume, 1860s?; Apprentices Literary Association and Young Mechanics Institute in New Haven, one volume, 1826-1830s; Hadlyme Library, one volume, 1789-1830s; and Woodbridge, one volume, 1787-1790s. The first two boxes on the octavo shelf contain Terry’s cardfile of notes on early American libraries, arranged in alphabetical order, and the third box holds his cardfile of notes on early American bookplates. Location: Manuscripts Call Number: Mss. Dept., Mss. boxes "T", Octavo vols. "T" |
| extent | 7 boxes. |
| formats | Correspondence Notebooks |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://catalog.mwa.org |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:39 |
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