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Records of the Andiron Club of New York City

Call Number

MC.19

Dates

1907-1982, inclusive
; 1907-1943, bulk

Creator

Andiron Club of New York City

Extent

19.5 Linear Feet in 32 boxes and 1 flat box

Language of Materials

Materials primarily in English.

Abstract

The collection documents the operation of the Andiron Club of New York City since its founding in 1907. It includes correspondence with members and visiting speakers; minutes of Council and general meetings; curricula vitae and lists of the membership; financial records; photographs; publications; and reprints.

Historical Note

On December 20th, 1907, a group of college instructors and undergraduates met before an open fire and planned two institutions: the Andiron Club and the Colonnade. They came together with the purpose of proliferating the old European philosophical assemblies where learning and erudition mixed with good fellowship. Such a club was in keeping with all the values associated with the belle époque of the 19th century. It seems as if the club operated with one mind, one final cause as it were, but in reality there were several dedicated young men who constituted the core of the group for several years. Among these individuals were M. G. Bishop, John W. Draper, George B. Hotchkiss, Arthur H. Nason, S. M. Tucker, and Henry Melville Love. These men exemplified the role of scholar and friend through the early days of the club, establishing an Andiron tradition, which has kept this club alive up to the present day (1988). In the early days, club rules and goals were well defined. A 1914 statement of policy (see Club Manual) affirmed the tradition of "Romantic Idealism over Naturalism and Realism," and proceeded to publish accordingly, in The Colonnade (1907 to 1922), pieces most appropriate to their doctrine.

In the days before the war and before faculty constituted the majority of members, the club flaunted a youthful fraternity-like atmosphere. Some of the rules of the Club were as follows:

No.3: That the Andiron Club strive to keep its roll of members free from the name of any man not literary in his sympathies and an enthusiastic supporter of literary work.

No.11: Have no relations save the most casual and informal kind with the downtown schools.

No.12: Let the fraudulent contributor be ostracized.

No.15: Maintain an enticing secrecy about the affairs of the Andiron Club.

No.17: Have nothing to do with the Eucleian. (The Eucleian Society was a rival student literary society established in the early nineteenth century at New York University.)

The early history of the Andiron Club falls roughly into four distinct periods: (1) the years between its birth in 1907 to the beginning of the Draper administration, 1913-17; (2) 1925-26, with the interregnum, during World War I, of Carey C.D. Briggs; (3) the dictatorship of Royal J. Davis, from 1926 to 1934; and (4) Frederick S. Boas, Professor of English at Columbia University, who became the dictator following the death of Davis.

The Bronx University Heights campus was all-male and as a consequence, Andiron was not open to women until 1968. Original members frequently donned tuxedos and puffed on cigars during meetings, but institutional chauvinism gradually died. In the 1950s Andiron rapidly lost its members and membership was principally elderly alumni, and although excellent speakers occasionally appeared, the club was on the verge of collapse. Then, Coleman Parsons, a professor of English with no affiliation with NYU, was named dictator. He enthusiastically extended membership so that it included any studious man or woman, regardless of professional status or educational background. He used his academic connections to insure programs of consequence and once again literary scholars of note tried out their theories on an active body of perceptive generalists.

Dr. Parsons' four years as dictator (now called "president") was followed by a succession of distinguished men and the club's first woman president: Edmond Volpe, now President of the College of Staten Island; Arthur Waldhorn, first and third Director of the Davis Center of the Performing Arts; James Tuttleton, Chairman of English at New York University; Frederick Goldin; John Maynard, Chairman of English at New York University; and Michael Joan Peyser, President of the Andiron Club of New York City.

These dictators who succeeded Coleman Parsons, although they continued to emphasize the literary and scholarly traditions of Andiron, extended its scope. In addition to literary scholars and biographer-scholars, such as Martin Duberman, Leon Edel, Robert Gutman, Edgar Johnson, Aileen Ward, we heard working critics such as Leslie Fiedler, Helen Vendler, Denis Donoghue, Pauline Kael, John Simon, and Diana Trilling; and novelists such as Joseph Heller, Anthony Burgess, Malcom Bosse, E. L. Doctorow, and Toni Morrison; art historians, Sir John Pope-Hennessy and Robert Rosenblum; poets, John Hollander and Galway Kinnell; musicians and musicologists who included Charles Rosen, Sir Rudolf Bing, Steven Sondheim, Judith Raskin and Alan Rich; cultural historians including Paul Fussell and Joseph Murphy, Chancellor of the University.

Arrangement

Folders are generally arranged chronologically in seven series:

  1. Correspondence
  2. Minutes
  3. Vitae
  4. Ledgers
  5. Photographs
  6. Congressman Steven B. Ayers
  7. Printed Materials and Publications

Scope and Contents

The collection is very complete from 1907 to 1943, but afterwards sporadic. Still, much less material was generated after the 1940s, so, in that context, we cannot be sure of the magnitude of outstanding material. It is fairly certain that the Andiron private library (the titles of which may be found in the club bibliography and club manual) has been broken up over the years.

The production of "The Colonnade," or any facsimile thereof, ended in 1922. The complete set of "Colonnades" are bound and housed in this collection.

These records and publications of the Andiron Club extend themselves to diverse areas of academic pursuit. Apart from the obvious biographical and literary value of the records, one might investigate socioeconomic issues and the management of a literary club using these records.

In brief, the collection contains a literary journal, club newsletters, annals, minutes, council minutes, scrapbooks, memorabilia, photographs, ledgers, notices, correspondence, some original manuscripts and other writings, a book by Prof. Nason and a book by Prof. Draper, membership lists, address books, lecture notes, and transcripts of speeches.

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restrictions.

Conditions Governing Use

This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use materials in the collection in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Records of the Andiron Club of New York City; MC 19; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please request materials at least two business days prior to your research visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The New York University Archives acquired the Andiron Club records in several installments. Professor James Tuttleton made the first donation (1979) of 5 linear inches, which consisted of club newsletters and photographs. Then, on June 22, 1983, he donated twenty-eight volumes (58") to the Fales Library. Soon afterwards, Fales transferred the materials to the NYU Archives. The materials were donated by Prof. James Tuttleton on behalf of the club council. The transfer from Fales was made by Patricia McGuire, assistant curator. The approximate dates of the materials range from 1907-1943. The second installment came in December 1984 directly from the club to the Archives. Prof. John Maynard donated a few pages of notes documenting the people with whom he had correspondence during his term. Joan Pyser, president in 1985, also donated her correspondence, as well as one linear inch of the correspondence of other dictators (mostly of Michael Shugrue). In October of 1984 it was decided that these materials should forever remain in the Archives. Shortly thereafter additional material was donated by Joan Pyser and James Tuttleton on behalf of the club; another 22" was donated directly to the Archives. These materials consisted of correspondence (1939-1943), the scrapbook of Congressman Steven B. Ayers (1912-1918), club ledgers, reprinted pamphlets, a set of the "Colonnade," and other printed materials. The accession number associated with this collection is 85.048.

Related Materials

Records of the Eucleian Society (RG 39.1)

Records of the Philomathean Society (RG 39.2)

Collection processed by

Marlon Ficke

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-11-10 15:24:21 -0500.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding aid written in English

Processing Information

Processing decisions made prior to December 2018 were not recorded.

In 2019, unprocessed records from accession 85.048 were processed and integrated into the following collection series at the box level: Series I (Correspondence), Series II (Minutes), and Series VII (Printed Material and Publications). Documents were rehoused into archival folders (within boxes 30-33) and original folder titles were retained when present. Folder information added by the archivist was placed within brackets. Documents from this accession were not physically rearranged by the archivist, and remain in their original order.

Revisions to this Guide

June 2018: Finding aid revised by John Zarrillo
December 2018: Edited by Jennifer E. Neal for compliance with DACS and ACM Required Elements for Archival Description.
July 2019: Edited by Makoroba Sow to reflect newly processed collection material

Edition of this Guide

This version was derived from "The Andiron Club of New York City"

Repository

New York University Archives
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012