Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Rains Galleries
| title | American art auction catalog collection, 1785-1962. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Auction catalogs from the holdings of various libraries and auction houses in the United States, borrowed for microfilming for AAA's Auction Catalog Project, 1961-1965. The majority of the catalogs are for auctions held in New York City and Philadelphia, although other locales are represented. Firms with significant numbers of catalogs include: American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Associated Auctioneers, Bangs & Co., Barker, Benjamin S. Wise, Birch & Son, Bleecker & Van Dyke, C.F. Wetmore, C.G. Sloan & Co., Charles F. Libbie & Co., Chicago Book & Art Auctions, Clarke's Art Galleries, C.W. Brown, Daniel A. Mathews, Davis & Harvey, E. A. Haaseman Galleries, Elder Coin & Curio Company, Elliott, Blakeslee & Noyes, Field, Morris, Fenner & Co., Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, Galton-Orsburn Co., George A. Leavitt & Co., Haseltine Galleries, Henry A. Hartman, Leeds, Miner, Hiram H. Parke, Duveen, Leonard & Co., Hudson's, James P. Silo, J.C. Morgenthau & Co., Kende Galleries, Knickerbocker, Kreiser Gallery, Levy & Spooner, Lewis J. Bird & Co., Lihou Art Gallery, Merwin-Clayton Sales Company, Metropolitian Art Association, Miller & Morris, Monarch, Moore's, M. Thomas & Sons, National Art Galleries, Ortgies & Co., O. Rundle Gilbert, Parke-Bernet, Philadelphia Art Galleries, Plaza Art Auction Galleries, Rains Galleries, Ritter Galleries, Samuel T. Freeman & Co., Savoy, Schenck's Art Gallery, Scott & O'Shaughnessy, Stan V. Henkels, Swann Auction Galleries, Thomas Kirby, Walpole Galleries, William B. Norman, William D. Morley, and Young's Art Gallery; many others were also microfilmed. |
| extent | ca. 30,000 items (on 559 microfilm reels) |
| formats | Microfilm Auction Catalogs |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | A list of auction houses and related microfilm reel numbers is available at AAA offices. In addition, the Washington, D.C. reference desk's copy of Harold Lancour's "American Art Auction Catalogs: A Union List" (1944) has been annotated with reel and frame numbers. |
| acquisition information | Lent for microfilming for AAA's Auction Catalog Project, 1961-1965. Among the institutions who participated are the American Antiquarian Society (29 reels), Art Institute of Chicago (2 reels), Boston Public Library (1 reel), Brooklyn Museum (16 reels), Cleveland Museum of Art (2 reels), Cooper Union (21 reels), Enoch Pratt Free Library (1 reel), Huntington Library (1 reel), Library Co. of Philadelphia (1 reel), Library of Congress (1 reel), Metropolitan Museum of Art (25 reels), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, New York Historical Society (23 reels), New York Public Library (284 reels), New York State Library (1 reel), Parke-Bernet Galleries (128 reels), Pennsylvania Historical Society (2 reels), Philadelphia Museum of Art (10 reels), Walters Art Gallery (1 reel), and others. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:30:02 |
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| title | Auction Catalogs Collection, 1800-. Manuscripts and Special Collections Unit | repository | New York State Library |
| description | The auction catalogs collection, representing 69 auction houses, spans rare book-selling activity from 1750, with the majority dating from 1860 to 1938, and offers an historical view of the rare book business in America. The houses are primarily American, with a smattering of British, French and German houses. The collection is arranged alphabetically by auction firm name and then chronologically by date of sale. P The majority of the catalogs focus on Americana, books relating in one way or another to the history of the United States. However, there are numerous examples of general sales where the catholic nature of collection building can be seen. Of particular note to researchers of American history are the autograph collections. The letters being auctioned frequently have at least part of the text of the letters. While most of the auctions listed are devoted to books, a few are devoted to pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, manuscripts, autographs, bookplates, coins, stamps, paintings or furniture. The catalogs document the names of the sellers and the specific items sold. Some of the catalogs are annotated with the names of the buyers and the prices fetched. They provide evidence that certain books once existed, even though no copies may be known today. |
| extent | ca. 40 linear feet plus 4 cu.ft. The 4 cu.ft. of Parke-Bernet catalogs cover the years 1944 to 1955 |
| access | Please consult a librarian in the Manuscripts and Special Collections Unit of the New York State Library for access to this collection. Material may be photocopied, digitally scanned, or photographed, depending on condition. |
| record source | http://www.nysl.nysed.gov |
| finding aid | available online http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/qc16542.htm |
| acquisition information | The collection was formed in large part from catalogs that were used as acquisition tools by the New York State Library. As such, the collection offers great insight into the formation of the original collection of the library, considered at the time to be one of the ten best collections in the world. Of even more significance are the catalogs from the years immediately following the destruction of a major portion of the collection by the 1911 New York State Capitol/New York State Library fire. The post-1911 catalogs help to document the effort to rebuild the collection to its former level. The many catalogs with order-department lists of items desired, bids offered, and the results from the library’s agents offer a limited but enlightening window onto the rebuilding process. |
| updated | 08/06/2012 14:20:26 |
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