Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Renwick, James, 1818-1895
| title | Renwick family papers, 1856-1944. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Letters from James Renwick to Edward Renwick and Henry B. Renwick; letters from Emily Dilworth Hicks Renwick to Henry B. Renwick; insurance and financial papers, travel and personal documents, and a passport photo of Henry Brevoort Renwick; clippings; correspondence, financial, and legal documents of Edward Renwick including 2 appraisals of "Brooklawn," his house in Short Hills, N.J. Bio / His Notes: James Renwick was an architect; New York City. His brothers, Henry Brevoort and Edward Sabine, were an engineer and patent expert, respectively. |
| extent | 1 linear foot |
| formats | Correspondence Clippings Financial Records Legal Papers |
| access | Unmicrofilmed; use requires an appointment and is limited to Washington, D.C. storage facility. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Papers given by Donald McClelland, of the Registrar's Office of the NCFA, in 1980. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:30:02 |
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| title | Smithsonian Institution. Board of Regents. Executive Committee. Daybook, 1849. | repository | Smithsonian Institution Archives |
| description | Forms part of: Agency history, 1846- . Consists of records documenting expenditures of the Smithsonian Institution, approved by the Board of Regents, for the year 1849. Of special interest are notations for Joseph Henry's salary and payments to James Renwick. Materials include one bound volume. Components: (SIA RU000002) Smithsonian Institution. Board of Regents. Executive Committee. Records, 1846-1948. |
| extent | .5 cu. ft. processed holdings. |
| formats | Business Papers Financial Records Correspondence Ephemera |
| access | To view records that comprise this series, see the detailed list of accessions and/or record units below. For a history of the creating unit, refer to "Forms part of" above. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:08 |
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| title | Donald McClelland papers, 1857-1968. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Papers collected by McClelland concerning the Corcoran Gallery of Art and Renwick Gallery including: letters from Moses Ezekiel to Dr. William McLeod, George Riggs, and William W. Corcoran, 1877-1883; a letter from James Renwick to Dr. William MacLeod [sic], and one to Corcoran, 1881; clippings and printed material concerning Ezekiel, Corcoran, Renwick, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art; correspondence regarding the John Howard Payne Monument at Tunis, l885; and photos of the Corcoran Mansion and grounds. Bio / His Notes: Art historian, Washington, D.C. On staff of Registrar's Office the National Collection of Fine Arts, renamed the National Museum of American Art. Reproduction: All photocopies except photographs. |
| extent | .2 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Unmicrofilmed: use requires an appointment. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Donated by Donald McClelland, who had the items copied from the Corcoran Gallery, D.C. Historical Society, and possibly other sources. Location of Original: Originals in the possession of the Corcoran Gallery, D.C. Historical Society, and possibly other repositories. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:08 |
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| title | Renwick Family papers, 1794-1916. | repository | Columbia University Libraries |
| description | This collection is primarily concerned with Prof. James Renwick and his professional correspondence and papers, both as Professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics) at Columbia College and as a leading engineer. Many certificates of membership in honorary societies are included. There are letters from Washington Irving (1783-1859) to Prof. Renwick and to his mother, pertaining to contemporary events and Irving’s own activities. The letters to Mrs. Renwick are about the travels and experiences of Irving and Renwick abroad. The collection also covers the affairs of the Prof. Renwick’s grandfather, including documents concerning his land grants in New York State, and those of James Armstrong Renwick, including his valedictory address at Columbia College in 1876 and his class reunion in 1916. There are many legal documents, letters, and manuscripts of various members of the Renwick and Brevoort families; among these are Prof. Renwick’s notes on his family genealogy and a memoir of Jane Jeffrey Renwick. Correspondents include Clement Clarke Moore, John A. Dix, Martin Van Buren, Secretary of State John Forsyth, and Secretary of the Navy James K. Paulding. There is one letter from Sir Edward Sabine (1788-1883), President of the Royal Society, giving his views on the American Civil War. Also there is one volume of 70 watercolor sketches by Prof. Renwick and two by Washington Irving; one bundle of oversized documents including deeds, mortgage, and a military appointment; and a case containing Prof. Renwick’s lecture notes. 1994 Addition: Correspondence of James Renwick (1818-1895), the celebrated architect. There are 68 letters to his brother, Edward Sabine Renwick (1823-1912), inventor and patent expert, concerning his collecting, investments, and health. There are 19 letters to his nephew, Edward Brevoort Renwick (b.1863), concerning the construction of his yacht, "Jean", with replies and related correspondence. There are also 2 letters to Edward S. Renwick from his sister, Laura K. R. Monroe. Biographical/ Historical Note: The Renwick family includes Prof. James Renwick (1792-1863), his wife, Margaret Anne Brevoort Renwick, his mother, Jane Jeffrey Renwick (1773-1850), his grandfather, James Renwick (1743-1803), his father, William Renwick (1769-1808), his sons, James Renwick (1818-1895), Henry Brevoort Renwick (1817-1895), and Edward Sabine Renwick (1823-1912), and his grandsons, Edward Brevoort Renwick and James Armstrong Renwick (1857-1837). Arrangement: Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged. Box 1: Cataloged correspondence; Box 2: Cataloged manuscripts & documents, & misc.; Box 3: Prof. Renwick’s lecture notes, Vol. of watercolor sketches, & misc.; Oversize portfolio of documents. Location: Rare Book, Butler 6th Fl. East (Non-Circulating) Call Number: MS#1063 Location: Rare Book, Butler 6th Fl. East (Non-Circulating) Call Number: MS#1063 (unprocessed) |
| extent | 2 linear ft. (310 items in 3 boxes & 1 portfolio) |
| formats | Correspondence Manuscript Writings Ephemera Sketches |
| access | Available for faculty, students, and researchers engaged in scholarly or publication projects. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Librarian for Rare Books and Manuscripts. |
| record source | http://clio.cul.columbia.edu |
| acquisition information | Gifts of various members of the Renwick family. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:08 |
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| title | Gulian C. Verplanck Papers, [ca. 1805]-[ca. 1857] | repository | The New-York Historical Society |
| description | The Verplanck Papers reflect the interests and activities of Gulian Vrommelin Verplanck between 1805 and 1857; the collection occupies 10 linear feet. Topics addressed in the voluminous correspondence received include national finances; educational institutions; tariffs; national and New York State politics; commerce and manufacturing; activities of the Regents of the State University of New York and the Board of Commissioners of Emigration; the General Theological Seminary and the Protestant Episcopal Church of New York; literary and cultural societies; law and legal practice; and property in Delaware and Dutchess Counties. Verplanck's correspondents number in the hundreds. Additional correspondence, financial and legal records, speeches and writings document activities of the Verplanck and Crommelin families, particularly Daniel C. and Samuel Verplanck. Bio/Historic note The descendant of early settler in New Amsterdam, Gulian Crommelin Verplanck was born in 1786 to Daniel Crommelin and Elizabeth (Johnson) Verplanck, who died when Verplanck was a child. He graduated from Columbia in 1801, studied law under Josiah Ogden Hoffman, and six years later was admitted to the bar. In 1811, Verplanck married Hoffman's sister-in-law, Mary Elizabeth Fenno; they had two sons. Following family tradition, Verplanck became a Federalist and with Isaac Sebring and Richard Varick, he founded the Washington Benevolent Society to promote the party's interests. Verplanck played a major role in the Columbia Commencement riot of 1811, and in the litigation and bitter decade-long press war with DeWitt Clinton that followed. He travelled to Europe in 1815 with his wife, whose health was failing. Upon his return, Verplanck and Charles King founded the New York American, which the two used to satirize the Clinton administration. From 1821 to 1824, Verplanck taught at the General Theological Seminary and published Essays on the Nature and Uses of the Various Evidences of Revealed Religion, one of the earliest American works inspired by Scottish common-sense philosophy. He was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, 1826-1870, and president of the Board of Commissioners of Emigration, 1848-1870. Verplanck's government service included terms in the New York Assembly, 1820-22; the House of Representatives, 1824-34 (where he chaired the Ways and Means Committee, 1831-33); and the New York Senate, 1838-41. After becoming estranged from the Congressional Democrats and by-passed for re-nomination, in 1834 Verplanck lost a close race as the Whig candidate in New York's first direct mayoralty election. That same year he refused to run for governor to avoid any connection with anti-Masonry. Verplanck spent the later part of his life on his estate at Fishkill, though he remained busy, editing the Talisman with William Cullen Bryant and Robert C. Sands, 1828-1830, and publishing an important work on Shakespeare's plays in 1847. He died on March 18, 1870. Arrangement Divided into two sections: I. Letters received; II. Miscellaneous Manuscripts and Family Papers. Series I is arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Library Holdings: New-York Historical Society Mss Collection Verplanck Papers Non-circulating |
| extent | 10 linear feet |
| formats | Business Papers Personal Papers Correspondence Financial Records Legal Papers |
| access | The collection is open to qualified researchers. |
| record source | http://www.bobcat.nyu.edu |
| finding aid | No overall finding aid available; partially indexed in card catalog and box lists. |
| acquisition information | Gift of T. M. Etting, Feb. 1927 (6 linear feet). Gift of Mrs. T. Bache Bleeker (nee Verplanck; great-granddaughter of Gulian C. Verplanck), April 10, 1937 (4 linear feet). |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:08 |
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| title | Selma Rattner Research Papers on James Renwick, 1856-2001, (bulk 1960s-2001). | repository | Columbia University Libraries |
| description | This collections contains the professional research, writing, publications, and correspondence produced and collected by Rattner through her study of the architect James Renwick, Jr. The bulk of Rattner's research addresses the life and works of Renwick, but other research topics represented in her papers range from the Renwick family genealogy to the institutional architecture of New York City. Types of research material include personal research notes (in notecard format, both typed and holograph), correspondence (1963-2001), newspaper and magazine clippings, Xerox copies of archival material and secondary sources, transcribed articles and correspondence, brochures from historic sites, photographs and slides of buildings and sites, sketches, historic structure inventory forms, landmark nomination forms, landmark designation reports, and postcards. Bio/History: Selma Rattner was an architectural historian, preservationist, and unofficial biographer of the architect James Renwick, Jr. She received her bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1950, earned a certificate from the Restoration and Preservation program of Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP) in 1969, and a master's of science in Historic Preservation from Columbia in 1977. Rattner was also a lecturer at the GSAPP from 1973 to 1977 and an adjunct professor from 1977 to 1979./ Although Rattner never wrote a full biography of Renwick, as she had intended, she lectured and published on him throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Most notably, she authored the entry on Renwick for the 1982 edition of the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects. Rattner was especially interested in Renwick's two major New York City works, Grace Church (1845) and St. Patrick's Cathedral (1858-1888), and wrote her master's thesis for Columbia on Grace Church and Gothic Revival architecture in the United States. Rattner also researched Renwick's minor, and in some cases virtually unknown works, traveling often to visit libraries, archives, museums and building sites. She amassed a significant amount of primary and secondary research material over more than three decades. In addition to her ongoing research on Renwick, Rattner was also active in related professional organizations, including the New York Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, which she served as Vice-President from 1974 to 1976 and as Preservation Officer from 1976 to 1979; and the Victorian Society in America, for which she was Vice-President from 1970 to 1980 and 1986 to 1988 and Director from 1980 to 1989. Rattner also consulted on various historic preservation projects, including the restoration of the historic core of Mexico City, and the proposed recycling of City Hospital on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Lastly, she was CEO and President of Paragon Paint & Varnish Corp. from 1990 to 1998. Rattner died in January 2005. Cite As: Selma Rattner Research Papers on James Renwick. Located in Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Preferred citation: Selma Rattner Research Papers on James Renwick. Located in Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Location: Avery Drawings & Archives - By appt. (Non-Circulating) Call Number: D&A Rattner Location: Avery Drawings&Archives Call Number: D&A Rattner ReCAP |
| extent | 35.5 linear feet |
| formats | Research Files Correspondence Notes Reproductions Photographs |
| access | This collection is available for use by qualified readers by appointment in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, at Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu |
| record link | http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/avery/rattner/ldpd.6229570.001.f.html |
| record source | http://clio.cul.columbia.edu |
| finding aid | Online and in repository |
| acquisition information | This collection was a gift from Gabrielle and Donald M. Rattner to the Department of Drawings & Archives at Avery Library in September 2005. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:08 |
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| title | James Renwick and James Renwick, Jr. architectural drawings and papers, circa 1813-1960. | repository | Columbia University Libraries |
| description | Collection includes James Renwick's sketches, 1813, for the layout of Columbia University's second campus on Park Row (there have been four campuses to date: the first on Wall Street, the third on 49th Street and Madison Avenue, and the current campus in Morningside Heights), and a medal awarded him, 1824, by the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia. James Renwick, Jr. is represented by his architectural drawings of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, which he designed. Some of the drawings are signed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue. Also, published drawings of the Cathedral, 1886; negatives and photographs, ca. 1860s, showing the Cathedral under construction; interior and exterior photographs, ca. 1930s-1960s, of the Cathedral; and photographs of Grace Church, New York, also designed by James Renwick, Jr. Renwick family correspondence, 1930s, and typescript copies of 19th century Renwick family correspondence relating to family history and genealogy; photographs of James Renwick, Jr; typescript copies of family Bible records, 1792-1863; Renwick coat of arms. Biographical/ Historical Note: James Renwick and James Renwick, Jr. (1818-1895) were architects practicing in New York City. Cite As: James Renwick and James Renwick, Jr.: architectural drawings and papers. Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Location: Avery Drawings & Archives - By appt. (Non-Circulating) Call Number: D&A Renwick |
| extent | 58 items. |
| formats | Sketches Drawings Correspondence Photographs Typescript |
| access | This collection is available for use by qualified readers by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.cul.columbia.edu. |
| record source | http://clio.cul.columbia.edu |
| finding aid | Inventory is available in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:08 |
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