Michael Colby Collection on the Algonquin Hotel
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Abstract
Michael Colby's grandparents, Ben and Mary Bodne, owned the Algonquin Hotel from 1946 to 1987, and Colby's book The Algonquin Kid: Adventures Growing Up at New York's Legendary Hotel chronicled his childhood and early adulthood while living in the hotel with his grandparents. This collection represents Colby's family connection to the Algonquin Hotel through clippings, photographs, publicity material, letters, autographed books, and objects. Recordings and letters related to Michael Colby's work as a librettist, lyricist, and writer in New York can also be found in this collection.
Biographical Note
Librettist, lyricist, and writer Michael Colby (1951- ) has written musicals including Charlotte Sweet, Tales of Tinseltown, North Atlantic, Slay it with Music, and Ludlow Ladd. Colby's grandparents, Ben and Mary Bodne, purchased the Algonquin Hotel in 1946. Colby's book The Algonquin Kid: Adventures Growing Up at New York's Legendary Hotel chronicles his childhood and early adulthood living in the hotel with his grandparents. They eventually sold the hotel in 1987.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. The materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor.
Scope and Contents
This collection contains clippings, brochures, newsletters, photographs, autographed books, sound recordings, and objects collected by Michael Colby related to his family and their connection to the Algonquin Hotel in New York City, which was owned by his grandparents Ben and Mary Bodne from 1946 to 1987.
Of note are Algonquin Hotel newsletters, clippings, and brochures accumulated by Colby and from the family of Andrew Anspach, former hotel manager and husband to one of the Bodne's daughters. Photographs of Bodne and Colby family members with celebrity visitors to the hotel include Richard Nixon, Ella Fitzgerald, Rock Hudson, and Joe DiMaggio. Family artifacts related to the hotel include a hotel napkin with sketches and messages for Mary Bodne's 1978 birthday as well as autographed books from various well-known hotel guests including Eudora Welty, Senator Ernest F. Hollings, Mario Puzo, and Helen Thurber. The collection also includes a 1951 book on the history of the Algonquin Round Table in which the hotel is heavily featured. Letters to and from well-known hotel guests include E. B. White and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. The collection also includes personal Bodne and Colby family photographs from vacations and events. Obituaries, condolence letters, a Congressional Record Tribute, and a sound recording of a 2000 memorial tribute to Ben and Mary Bodne in the Algonquin's Oak Room can also be found in this collection.
Also included are CDs and DVDs of Michael Colby's musical and writing endeavors, specifically an audio recording of his book on his childhood in the Algonquin Hotel, The Algonquin Kid - Adventures Growing Up at New York's Legendary Hotel.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Because of the assembled nature of this collection, copyright status varies across the collection. Copyright is assumed to be held by the original creator of individual items in the collection; these items are expected to pass into the public domain 120 years after their creation. Repository is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from this collection.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Michael Colby Collection on the Algonquin Hotel; MSS 526; box number; folder number; Fales Library & Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Michael Colby in June and October of 2018; the accession numbers associated with this gift are 2018.069 and 2019.001.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
The scrapbook in this collection is presently too brittle to handle and not available to researchers. Please contact fales.library@nyu.edu with any questions.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact fales.library@nyu.eduwith the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Material was removed from plastic accordian-style file pockets and placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Labels used on the accordian pockets were transcribed into file folder titles. Material was described to the collection level.
Materials from the 2019 accretion were placed in an acid-free folder and box. A file description for the folder was added at the end of the inventory listing and information was updated throughout the finding aid to reflect the accretion.
