Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Du Pont, Henry Francis, 1880-1969
| title | The Winterthur Manuscripts, 1588-1955. | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | Scope & Content Note: The Henry Francis du Pont collection of Winterthur Manuscripts contains the personal papers of those portions of the du Pont family that descended to Colonel Henry Algernon du Pont and his son, Henry Francis du Pont of Winterthur. Between 1949 and 1957 the bulk of this collection was deposited at the Longwood Library, where it joined a similar collection of family papers assembled by Pierre S. du Pont. The papers of Henry Francis du Pont remain at Winterthur. The Winterthur Manuscripts contain the oldest surviving du Pont family documents. They describe the family's roots in Normandy, France, during the late 16th century and their migration to Paris during the 17th century. The papers consist primarily of deeds, marriage contracts, declarations and estate papers, although there are some letters. Included are some papers of Abraham Du Pont (1658-1731), the progenitor of the South Carolina branch of the family. The collection contains the main body of personal papers of Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours. It describes his early political and diplomatic career in pre-revolutionary France. There is considerable correspondence with political figures as well as with the French physiocratic community. Important correspondents include: Voltaire, Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Jacques Necker, and Turgot. The papers also describe Du Pont de Nemours' emigration to the United States and contain correspondence with important Americans, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. The Papers of Victor and Eleuthére Irénée du Pont complement those of their father. During his diplomatic career, which included three visits to the United States, before he settled in Delaware in 1800, Victor du Pont wrote regularly to his father and brother in France. His letters contain interesting commentary about the new nation and its leaders. The papers of his wife Gabrielle Joséphine de La Fite Pelleport are largely personal. They record how this child of Versailles adjusted to the American environment. The Papers of Eleuthére Irénée du Pont include both personal and business correspondence. Prior to his arrival in America in 1800 they focus on the lives and careers of his father and brother. After 1800 the papers document the founding and operation of the powder mills on the Brandywine in Delaware. The papers of the children of Victor du Pont deal primarily with family and personal matters. Included are papers of Amelia du Pont (1802-1869); Charles I. du Pont and his wives (1807-1892); and Julia du Pont Shubrick and her husband, Irvine Shubrick (1817-1881). Group VI contains the papers of Victorine du Pont Bauduy, Evelina du Pont Bidermann, and Eleuthera du Pont Smith, and their husbands, Ferdinand Bauduy, James Antoine Bidermann, and Thomas MacKie Smith (1801-1875). Another important item is a family news journal, THE TANCOPANICAN CHRONICLE (1823-1826), containing notes of family interest in a humorous style. The papers of the sons of E. I. du Pont are primarily personal but also contain information relative to the workings of the family firm. The papers of Col. Henry A. du Pont cover his career as soldier, scholar, businessman and political leader. The papers of Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont describe his naval career (1815-1865) and provide a vivid picture of the pre-Civil War navy. Du Pont's tours of duty to the Orient and his Civil War service are fully described. The papers of his wife, Sophie Madeleine Du Pont, describe domestic life on the family's Delaware estate. Her watercolor drawings are of particular interest. Group X consists of miscellaneous correspondence not assignable to the previous groups, photocopies, transcripts, newsclippings and pictorial material. The correspondence includes that of many of the family's relations by marriage. Of particular note are ten letters of Antoine Lentilhon Foster written while on a trip to Colorado and Wyoming in 1875, containing details of frontier life in mining camps; papers of the Dalmas family (1791-1846); a report by Francis Gurney Smith on his journey to the Red Cloud and Crown Prince silver mines in Colorado (1880); papers of Pierre Didier, a refugee from Santo Domingo who became physician to the workmen at the Du Pont powder yards, describing both the revolution in Haiti and his later medical work treating the victims of explosions; a tabulation of exports from the port of Philadelphia (1786); a memoir by Pauline Robinson entitled "New York one hundred years ago, 1923", with notes on the Smith and Lentilhon families; and a transcript of a private journal of Marks John Biddle Wood while a cadet at West Point (1826-1827). |
| extent | 156 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Personal Papers Legal Papers Financial Papers Business Papers |
| access | No restrictions on use. |
| record source | http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/catalog.html |
| finding aid | In repository |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:51 |
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| title | Copeland family Papers, 1637-1998 (bulk, 1950-1998). | repository | Hagley Museum and Library |
| description | Bio/History: Family papers of former DuPont CEO Lammot du Pont Copeland and his wife Pamela Cunningham Copeland. Abstract: The papers of Lammot du Pont and Pamela Cunningham Copeland document the lives and interests of a wealthy American couple in the twentieth century. In particular, the papers of Mrs. Copeland are an important source of information on the activities of upper class women in the areas of historic preservation, horticulture and philanthropy. The papers of Pamela Cunningham Copeland cover most of the important events in her life, including thank-you notes from family and friends; invitations and cards for birthdays, weddings and parties; speeches; travel arrangements; and files documenting her membership and support of social, civic and philanthropic organizations. In the last category, a file on the Colonial Dames contains an oral history interview with Mrs. Copeland in 1994, which provides information about her involvement with Winterthur, the Colonial Dames, Gunston Hall, and the creation of Mount Cuba. The file for the National Council on Household Employment (1939-1940) contains information about the standards and training for domestic service and a speech, "Dignifying Domestic Service" given by Mrs. Copeland. A file on music and theater contains programs documenting Mrs. Copeland's performances in plays and recitals. The papers also contain programs, certificates, and awards from the many organizations of which Mrs. Copeland was a member. There is also the script of a play about the Grand Duchess Anastasia, "Beyond Recognition" by James du Pont. With the exception of biographical sketches, speeches, and Du Pont Company reports, the records of Lammot du Pont Copeland cover his personal life and outside interests. They describe his role in the creation and development of the Hagley Museum and Library and Winterthur, the creation of the Mount Cuba estate, his support of Richard Nixon's presidential campaigns (including the text of Nixon's first inaugural address), his role as an influential Harvard alumnus, his corporate directorships, and his membership in scientific, cultural, social and philanthropic organizations. There are programs, certificates, and awards connected with many of these organizations, along with documents covering a 1959-1960 U.S. visit by Baudouin, King of the Belgians. The genealogical papers pertain to the pedigrees of both Mr. and Mrs. Copeland, including charts compiled for applications to the Mayflower Society and the Colonial Dames. They also include letters and memorabilia of specific ancestors and collateral relatives and copies of biographical and historical sketches. Mrs. Copeland also collected information on independent oil men William Brough and David Hostetter, with whom her father began his business career. Among the more interesting pieces are Civil War letters of Mr. Copeland's grandmother Sophia Copeland to her soldier husband, letters of Mrs. Copeland's sister Cecil describing the rigors of her life as a World War I nurse in France, and a 19th century scrapbook and autograph album of Jane Chester Cunningham. |
| extent | 14 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Personal Papers Ephemera |
| access | Records less than 25 years old are closed. |
| record link | http://www.hagley.org/a2203.pdf |
| record source | http://www.hagley.lib.de.us/catalog.html |
| finding aid | Online and unpublished finding aid available at the repository. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
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| title | Papers of David E. Finley, 1921-1977. | repository | Library of Congress |
| description | Correspondence, subject files, financial papers, drafts of speeches and writings, family material, printed matter, and scrapbooks relating chiefly to Finley's duties as special assistant to Secretary of the Treasury, Andrew W. Mellon, his role in the founding and his subsequent service as director (1938-56) of the National Gallery of Art, and his activities with numerous artistic and cultural organizations, including the Commission on Fine Arts, the People-to-People program, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Specific topics in the papers include the controversy between Mellon and Senator James Couzens over a tax reduction plan; the National Gallery's participation in the art program of UNESCO; architectural development of Washington, D.C.; the furnishing of the White House; and the preservation and restoraton of Cooper Union, Decatur House, and the Wayside Inn. Correspondents include Marie Beale, George Biddle, James Biddle, Helen Bullock, Huntington Cairns, Leonard Carmichael, Clement Conger, Royal Cortissoz, Chester Dale, Lewis W. Douglas, Harry F. du Pont, James Earle Fraser, Edgar W. Garbisch, Gordon Gray, Theodore Francis Green, Walker Hancock, Herbert Hoover, Lady Bird Johnson, Jacqueline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Lincoln Kirstein, Samuel H. Kress, Wilmarth S. Lewis, Paul Manship, Andrew W. Mellon, Richard K. Mellon, Charles Nagel, Duncan Phillips, S. Dillon Ripley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Harlan F. Stone, Francis Henry Taylor, Harry S. Truman, Joseph E. Widener, and Andrew Wyeth. Bio/History: Museum director and lawyer. |
| extent | 31,000 items. 92 containers. |
| formats | Correspondence Research Files Financial Papers Writings Scrapbooks |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://catalog.loc.gov |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room |
| acquisition information | Bequest, David E. Finley, 1977. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
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| title | Oral history interview with John Davis Hatch, 1979 Aug. 30-1980 Nov. 7. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of John Davis Hatch conducted by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art. Hatch recalls his childhood in California and training as a landscape architect, including an apprenticeship with Lockwood de Forest. He discusses his appointment as director of the Gallery of Fine Arts in Seattle at age 21 and his efforts there to develop an Asian focus for the museum and cultivate artists of the region, including Mark Tobey, Dudley Pratt, Kenneth Callahan, Emily Carr, Jose de Creeft, Frederick Varley, and Avard Fairbanks. He describes his interest in studying museums across the country and abroad and the roles played in the museum scene by the American Federation of Arts and the Museum Directors Association. Hatch recalls his work as assistant director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and as director of government art projects in New England in the 1930s, when he worked with Edward Bruce, Oscar Bluemner, Charles Woodbury, John Wharf, and Laura Coombs Hills, among others. He describes an attempt to form the American Artists Depository, a precursor to the Archives of American Art, and his activities collecting American drawings, organizing travelling exhibitions, and promoting American art history as a discipline. Hatch speaks of his tenure as director of the Albany Institute of History and Art and his efforts to advance an appreciation of local Dutch history and the work of Thomas Cole. He remembers encounters with Henry Francis Du Pont and Charles Franklin Montgomery. Hatch describes the start of his teaching career in Oregon and his involvement with local artists C.S. Price, Carl Morris, and Ludvik Durchanek. He talks about a stint as director of the Norfolk (Va.) Museum of Arts and Sciences and his work as a consultant to museums, especially as it pertained to the development of arts programs at black colleges in the South. Hatch concludes with a discussion of museums near his home in Lenox, including the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Berkshire Museum. |
| extent | 6 sound tape reels ; 5 in. (307 p. transcript) |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
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| title | Electra Havemeyer Webb Papers, 1893-1966 (bulk 1947-1960). | repository | Shelburne Museum |
| description | Chiefly materials about the Shelburne Museum, including correspondence, reports, speeches, articles, clippings, financial papers, and scrapbooks, documenting the founding of the museum, its physical structure, and the development and presentation of its collections; together with some personal papers, including scrapbooks relating to Webb's volunteer work during both world wars, menus and invitations for parties (1930-1956), sympathy letters on the death of her brother Horace Havemeyer, Webb-Havemeyer genealogy and family history documents, and hunting records. Webb's direction of the museum is documented through such materials as her correspondence with brother-in-law Vanderbilt Webb about incorporating the museum; correspondence with museum directors, dealers, and donors; daily reports from and correspondence with Shelburne staff members; minutes of staff meetings; thank you letters from Ima Hogg, Henry Du Pont, Katharine Prentis Murphy, and others who stayed with her or visited the museum; notes, clippings, and other working papers on the museum; New York files relating to the museum, kept by secretary Elsie Schoonover; public presentations about the museum, including articles and speeches written or given by Webb; and scrapbooks of photographs and clippings which she assembled. Museum staff members represented include Sterling D. Emerson, David Webster, Lilian Baker Carlisle, Gordon Parker Manning, Lewis N. Wiggins, and Ralph Nading Hill, a historian friend, who was paid by the museum for special projects. Correspondents include Sanger Atwill, Electra and Dunbar Bostwick, Kenneth Chorley (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation), A.C. Gilbert, Edith Halpert, Louis C. Jones, M. Knoedler & Co., George S. McKearin, Katharine Prentis Murphy, Old Print Shop, Eric Sloane, and Frederick A. Sweet. Named Person: Webb family. Havemeyer family. Havemeyer, Horace, 1886-1956 -- Death and burial. Webb, J. Watson (James Watson), 1884-1960. Hogg, Ima -- Correspondence. Du Pont, Henry Francis, 1880-1969 -- Correspondence. Murphy, Katharine Prentis, 1882-1969 -- Correspondence. Webb, Vanderbilt, 1891-1956 -- Correspondence. Atwill, J. Sanger -- Correspondence. Bostwick, Electra Webb, 1910-1980 -- Correspondence. Bostwick, Dunbar -- Correspondence. Chorley, Kenneth, 1893-1974 -- Correspondence. Gilbert, A. C. (Alfred Carlton), 1884-1961 -- Correspondence. Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970 -- Correspondence. Jones, Louis Clark, 1908- -- Correspondence. McKearin, George S. (George Skinner), 1874- -- Correspondence. Sloane, Eric -- Correspondence. Sweet, Frederick A. (Frederick Arnold), 1903- -- Correspondence. |
| extent | 13 v. 29 boxes. 6 microfilm reels. |
| formats | Correspondence Personal papers Scrapbooks Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| finding aid | Finding aid in the repository. |
| acquisition information | From various files within the museum and from Webb's son, J. Watson Webb, Jr., who in May 1998, donated papers relating to Mrs. Webb's purchase of antiques |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:51 |
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| title | Henry Francis Du Pont Papers, 1890-1969. | repository | The Winterthur Library |
| description | Consists of correspondence with antique dealers relating to Henry Francis du Pont's collecting activities, bills, general correspondence, horticultural items, and financial documents. Within these papers are bills that pertain to room installations at the Winterthur Museum as well as information on museum objects. The general correspondence is social in nature. Also featured are many architectural drawings of the various additions to Winterthur and his homes in Southampton and Boca Grande. Pictorial files offer photographs of the gardens and museum rooms. Arrangement Organized into eleven series arranged alphabetically. Biography or history Henry Francis du Pont, son of Col. Henry Algernon and Mary Pauline Foster du Pont, was born on May 27, 1880 at Winterthur, De. He attended Groton and Harvard University. In 1914, he assumed management of the Winterthur Farms and started an active breeding program which resulted in a world renown Holstein herd. Du Pont began collecting antiques around 1923 after a visit to the Webb estate in Shelburne, Vt. The product of his collecting, Winterthur Museum, opened in 1951. At the same time, he took an active interest in horticulture and expanded the gardens at Winterthur. Du Pont was active on many museum boards and committees. He served as chair of the Fine Arts Committee for the White House, a board member of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and a board member of the New York Botanical Garden, among others. In addition to his estate at Winterthur, du Pont owned Chestertown House at Southampton, Long Island, a house in Boca Grande, Fl., and an apartment on Park Ave., New York City. On June 24, 1916, he married Ruth Wales of Hyde Park, N.Y.; they had two daughters. Du Pont died on April 11, 1969 at Winterthur. Location The Winterthur Library: Winterthur Archives, Winterthur, DE 19735. Call Number Arc. 11 |
| extent | 1212 boxes + 48 linear ft. of books + 324 objects. |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records Photographs |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://library.winterthur.org:8000/cgi-bin/webgw |
| finding aid | Finding aids for the general correspondence, architectural drawings, house history, and pictorial items are available on Rapidfile software at this repository. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:03 |
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| title | Joel E. Spingarn Papers, 1934-1938 | repository | College of William and Mary |
| description | Includes letters to Spingarn, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from Lowell Thomas, Sumner Welles, Edward Steichen, Charles A. Beard, Henry F. Du Pont, H. L. Mencken, and Owen Roberts concerning horticultural matters. Also includes correspondence, 1938, of Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., Walter White, and Springarn concerning remarks made by William E. Borah concerning lynching. Much of the correspondence deals with gardening. He sends clematis seeds to friends. Biographical Note Joel E. Spingarn was born May 17, 1875 in New York City. He received a doctorate from Columbia University. He was a professor at Columbia but left academic life in 1911. He was a poet, editor and critic as well as a social reformer. He was an early member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and he established the Spingarn Medal. He served as NAACP president in the 1930's. He died July 26, 1939 Preferred Citation Joel E. Spingarn Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary. Mss. Sm Coll Spingarn |
| extent | 17.0 Items |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Collection is open to all researchers. See repository for details. |
| record link | http://scrc.swem.wm.edu/findingaids/Sm__Coll__Spingarn.pdf |
| record source | http://scdb.swem.wm.edu/?p=creators/creator&id=1579 |
| finding aid | A PDF document of the inventory is available online. |
| acquisition information | Gift: 17 items, 1964. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:15 |
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