Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Archives related to: Samuel T. Freeman & Co.

titleAmerican art auction catalog collection, 1785-1962.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionAuction 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.
extentca. 30,000 items (on 559 microfilm reels)
formatsMicrofilm Auction Catalogs
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
finding aidA 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 informationLent 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.
updated03/16/2023 10:30:05
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titleJacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978 (bulk 1913-1974)
repositoryArchives of American Art
description**For records relating to Samuel T. Freeman & Co. see box 85 folder 16

The records of art gallery Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., include extensive gallery correspondence files, reference files on American and European collectors and their collections, gallery inventory and stock records, financial records, exhibition files, auction files, and the records of subsidiary companies, including de Hauke & Co., (later Modern Paintings, Inc.), and Gersel Corporation (records for firms Tessa Corp. and Georges Haardt & Co. are not found). Included within the collection are Germain Seligman's personal correspondence, writings, and records relating to his private art collection. The records primarily document the gallery's business after becoming established in New York under the direction of Germain Seligman, but also include records of the Paris office, providing a comprehensive view of the activities and transactions of collectors and art dealers in the years leading up to and following World War II.

The largest series, Correspondence (80 ft.), includes general correspondence of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., primarily when Germain Seligman directed the firm and the New York office. Correspondents include U.S. and European clients, artists, collectors, museums, dealers, galleries, shippers, U.S. and foreign government agents, bankers, and insurance firms.

Also found are personal correspondence of Germain Seligman; legal correspondence and other documentation concerning specific and general legal affairs (including attempts to recover Seligmann family and gallery artwork stolen in Paris during WWII); abstracts of letters sent; a small group of outgoing correspondence; correspondence of staff and agents Theresa D. Parker, Clyfford Trevor, and Rolf Hans Waegen; and inter-office memoranda.

Series 2, Collector's Files (35 linear ft.), document the firm's extensive system of tracking important clients and collectors in the art world. Files contain descriptions or artwork, sale prices, locations, and photographs of work owned by individuals as well as major American and European museums. Included in this series are files documenting the firm's involvement with the Duc d'Arenberg Collection, the Clarence H. Mackay Collection, Mortimer L. Schiff Collection, and the Prince of Liechtenstein Collection; and additional files and notebooks relating to collectors and collections.

Auction and Exhibition Files trace the sales and exhibition activities undertaken by the firm. Reference Files includes a card catalog to books and catalogs in the firm's library, and a photograph reference index to works.
Financial Files and Shipping Records consists primarily of records of the New York office, and includes purchase receipt files, credit notes, invoices, consignment invoices and books, invoices, consular invoices, sales and purchase account books, ledgers, and tax records.

The De Hauke & Co. Inc. records, 1925-1949, contain records of the firm's largest subsidiary. Included are correspondence, administrative and legal files, and financial records. The records of the firm established to incorporate most of de Hauke & Co.'s stock, Modern Paintings, Inc., include legal and financial files.

Germain Seligman's Personal Papers series includes scattered family and biographical material; research and writing files for his books, Roger de La Fresnaye, with a Catalogue Raisonne (1969), Merchants of Art, 1880-1960: Eighty Years of Professional Collecting (1961), The Drawings of Georges Seurat (1947), and Oh! Fickle Taste; or, Objectivity in Art (1952), and other writings and articles, including those co-authored with his wife, Ethlyne J. Seligman; documentation on his personal art collection, photographs of family members, and the Paris gallery.
extent203 linear ft.
formatsCorrespondence Financial Records Inventories Photographs Notes
accessUse of original papers requires an appointment
record linkhttps://www.aaa.si.edu/files/resources/finding-aids/pdf/jacqself.pdf
record sourcehttp://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/jacques-seligmann--co-records-9936
finding aidPublished finding aid available (279 p.): Finding Aid to the Records of Jacques Seligmann & Co., 1904-1978. Electronic finding aid available at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/jacqselc.htm
acquisition informationDonated 1978-1979 by Mrs. Germain Seligman, daughter-in-law of Jacques Seligmann. Additional material was acquired in 1994 through the Estate of Mrs. Seligman. The Paris archives of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., were destroyed by the Seligmann staff in 1940 to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Nazis.
updated07/20/2017 17:20:28
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titleMitchell Kennerley papers, 1917-1940 (MssCol 1634)
repositoryNew York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division
descriptionCollection consists of correspondence, writings, drawings, photographs, memorabilia, and printed matter related to Kennerley and his associates. Correspondence is with writers, artists, gallery owners, auctioneers, book collectors, and photographers. Writings include typescripts of articles and poems by various authors; photographs are of artists and writers; and drawings are by artists. Also, catalogs of art exhibitions and auctions, clippings and memorabilia.

Biographical and Historical Note
Mitchell Kennerley (1878-1950) was an American publisher and art dealer. He worked for various literary magazines and published several others. From 1916 to 1929 and 1937 to 1939 he was president of the Anderson Galleries. He started the Lexington Avenue Bookshop in New York City and was involved in the Book Collectors Club of America.
extent3 linear feet (10 boxes).
formatsCorrespondence Writings Drawings Ephemera Photographs
accessMicrofilm and copies must be used when available
record linkhttp://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/kennerleym.pdf
record sourcehttp://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11883978~S1
finding aidCollection guide available in repository and on internet: http://catnyp.nypl.org/search?/tMitchell+Kennerley+papers/tmitchell+kennerley+papers/1,1,1,B/l856~b3236609&FF=tmitchell+kennerley+papers&1,1,,1,0/startreferer//search/tMitchell+Kennerley+papers/tmitchell+kennerley+papers/1,1,1,B/frameset&FF=tmitchell+kennerley+papers&1,1,/endreferer/
acquisition informationPurchased from Mitchell Kennerley, 1935-41
updated11/12/2014 11:30:15
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titleWilliam B. Osgood Field Papers, 1610-1952, n.d. (MssCol 6090)
repositoryNew York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division
descriptionThe William B. Osgood Field Papers consist of family, personal, and office correspondence; financial documents; diaries; genealogical records; school and college memorabilia; photographs; and ephemera which record his and his family's commercial, philanthropic, and social activities, chiefly between 1897 and 1934. While the bulk of the collection consists of William B. Osgood Field's papers, other family members are well represented, especially his wife, mother, sister, uncle Osgood, and daughter Marjorie.

The collection is arranged so that William B. Osgood Field's papers come first, followed by the papers of other family members, in alphabetical order.

Some materials are in German, French, and Italian.

Biographical note
William Bradhurst Osgood Field and his family were prominent members of New York City and Lenox, Massachusetts society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Field was an avid book collector, gentleman farmer, and philanthropist who sat on the boards of many organizations, both
commercial and charitable, and was a member of over twenty clubs and societies. He and his family divided the year between the family's three homes: 645 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, High Lawn in Lenox, and Westfield in Mohegan Lake, N.Y.

His mother, Augusta Currie Bradhurst Field, and his sister, Mary Pearsall Field, were society women who traveled throughout Europe and entertained at their homes in New York City and Mohegan Lake. Mary maintained an extensive correspondence with friends and family. Lila Vanderbilt Sloane Field, his wife, was a great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. Like her husband, Lila was involved in a number of charitable organizations and was an accomplished sportswoman.

William and Lila were the parents of four children. Their older son, William Osgood Field, became a noted glaciologist. Frederick Vanderbilt Field, their younger son, became a member of the Communist movement and the author of a number of books about Asia's economy in the 1930s. Marjorie Lila and
Mary Augusta were their two daughters. Marjorie and her husband H. George Wilde took over the High Lawn estate and turned it into one of the region's top dairy farms.

William's paternal uncle, Osgood Field, was a prominent member of London and Rome society in the second half of the 19th century. He conducted the family's business in London and undertook extensive research into the history of the Field family. He published his results as The Fields of
Sowerby near Halifax, England, and of Flushing, New York in 1895.

Note
Related collections include the Field-Osgood Family Papers; Manuscript Division; Library of Congress; Washington, D.C.
extent112 linear feet (274 boxes, 1 map case folder).
formatsCorrespondence Financial Records Diaries Ephemera Photographs
accessApply in the Special Collections Office for admission to the Manuscripts and Archives Division. Diaries (1910-1933) of Marjorie Field Wilde and her correspondence with her husband, Helm George Wilde, are closed until 2026.
record linkhttp://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/mss6090.pdf
record sourcehttp://catalog.nypl.org/record=b16452072~S1
finding aidCollection guide available in repository and on internet: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007044
acquisition informationThe Field-Osgood Family Papers were given to the Library of Congress by Diana Field from 1996 to 1998. The material was received jointly by the Manuscript Division and the Prints and Photographs Division. A group of Field-Osgood family pictorial material remains in the Prints and Photographs Division.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:15
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