Scope and Contents

This series includes Hyde's incoming and outgoing correspondence dating primarily from his years living in France. Correspondents include both French and American politicians, diplomats, military officers, journalists, editors, writers, scholars, and others. Most of the correspondence is in French. Subject matter pertains to his interest in Franco-American relations, American Field Service Fellowships, American lecture tours by French professors and vice versa, his work for the American Red Cross in France during World War I, his social life, philanthropy, support for the arts and cultural endeavors, anecdotes and comments about prominent persons. Some correspondence dates from the 1890s and early years of the twentieth century, before Hyde left the United States for France. Letters from that early period generally concern business matters. The series also includes copies of some remarks given by Hyde in public presentations after World War I.

Several of the files include an index card with typed explanatory notes about the correspondent or subject. It seems likely that these were prepared by Hyde as he prepared the files for donation to N-YHS. This view is based on an exchange Hyde had with N-YHS director R.W.G. Vail in 1950 in which Hyde asked whether he should annotate the original documents with comments, to which Vail suggested the addition of typed memos to the file instead. (See N-YHS's institutional archive, General Correspondence record group (NYHS-RG 2).

The container list includes a detailed list of most of the correspondents in the series. All correspondents filed separately are listed and most correspondents in the "miscellaneous" correspondents are identified. Some correspondents are not listed because their name was illegible or because they were included in folders under another correspondent's name.

An attempt was made to note any potentially substantive subject matter at the folder level. However, a significant constraint on this was the fact that most of the letters are in French and the processing archivists could not read French.

Scope and Contents

This series includes extensive correspondence, predominantly in English, between James Hazen Hyde (most commonly referred to here as "Caleb") and his mother, Annie Fitch Hyde (sometimes referred to here by her telegram name "Einna," which was the name used on the original files). There are a very few letters that are either from Hyde's father, Henry Baldwin Hyde, or include the father's notes added to some of Annie's letters. There are also a few letters to Hyde from his mother's caregivers, Camille (letters in French) and Rippe.

The earliest correspondence preserved in these files is primarily letters from Annie to Hyde. These are generally undated but the context indicates that these largely date from the 1890s while Hyde is away at school. Annie's letters make clear that Hyde routinely wrote to her, and she reciprocated with short affectionate notes about family updates, health, travels, and the like. By about 1899, typed copies of Hyde's letters appear in the files and for the balance of the files, Hyde's outgoing letters predominate, with occasional telegrams from Annie. There is relatively little correspondence for about 1903-1906, but there are many carbon copies of Hyde's letters to his mother from about 1907 to her death in mid-1922. Hyde wrote regularly to his mother, and these letters place on emphasis on noting who he dined or socialized with throughout the week, though the letters seldom mention the substance of conversations at these meetings. Hyde traveled with some frequency and he wrote in some detail about these trips, including those to Singapore, Guatemala, and many locations in Europe and in France. He wrote of lectures he gave, observations during World War I (though, as he notes, these are constrained by the censors), assistance given to the Red Cross during the war, his health, and the growth of his child, Henry. A certain tension surfaces at times in the letters, particularly over financial matters, which include Annie's sales of real estate, Hyde's finances, investments, and their handling of the Henry Baldwin Hyde estate.

Scope and Contents

The series includes correspondence concerning the Federation de l'Alliance Francaise aux Etats-Unis et au Canada and related organizations in France and the United States. The correspondence divides between two periods, from about 1900 to about 1915 and from 1921 to 1935. The gap relates to Hyde's relative lack of involvement in the Federation at that time.

For the earlier period, Hyde's correspondence is principally with the officers of the Federation, its affiliated chapters in various cities of the United States, and officers of the sponsoring Alliance in Paris. Much of this earlier correspondence is directed to or from L.V. Gofflot, the Secretary General of the Federation. Among the many correspondents are Felix Weill, J. LeRoy White, L. Fiedler, Henry Cachard, W.H. Perkins, Rene Millet, Camille Thurwanger, A. Bousquet, Maxime Ingres, Henry L. Rippe, F. C. de Sumichrast, Anatole Le Braz, Julien Tiersot, Vicomte G. d'Avenel, Robert Lebaudy, Alcee Fortier, M. Jusserand, George Lamouret, E.H. Goulesque, Frank L. Warren Jr., Camille Gorde, and Henry Bargy. In the later period, the bulk of the correspondence is with the Federation's President Frank Pavey and Secretary General Felix Weill.

The contents are primarily in French, though the later correspondence from Pavey is most commonly in English. The subject matter often concerns plans for lecturers from France to tour America, but administrative, governance, and financial matters are also discussed. The correspondence of 1922 includes reference to the reasons for Hyde reducing his activity in the Federation and his interest in re-engaging at that time.

Scope and Contents

Hyde began maintaining a diary in early 1922, and he continued the practice until 1940 when the Nazis invaded France and he prepared to return to the United States after more than 30 years. Filling 94 loose leaf binders, the diaries' physical bulk consists of newspaper clippings and other print matter from American, French, British, and German publications glued to backing paper, sometimes with Hyde's brief, typed comments. A principal example are obituaries or other articles referring to a person's death; on these, Hyde typically recalled the extent of his relationship with the person, his impressions, and perhaps an anecdote. Threaded throughout the volumes are pages with Hyde's daily journal entries. These are typewritten, and references in the diaries (as well as occasional phonetic misspellings of English words) suggest that they were maintained by Hyde's secretaries at his dictation/direction rather than directly by his hand. The pages of each volume are numbered and many (perhaps all) volumes have an index to their content. The entries are in English, except that Hyde rendered quotations in French when, presumably, that is how he originally heard them, and in cases where Hyde used French to better express himself on a point. The clippings and other print matter are mostly English and French, but there are also a sizable number in German.

Each daily entry extends to no more than two typed pages, and typically they are less than one full page. The general content of the entries is fairly consistent: an outline of Hyde's activities for the day with reference to the names of individuals he dined with, traveled with, attended a cultural event with, or otherwise encountered during the day, and to his physical condition. To these Hyde would commonly add a brief judgment, such as whether a person was pleasant or attractive, conversation interesting or not, the quality of a theatrical performance, museum exhibition, or other cultural event. The range of Hyde's social connections is impressive and includes American, French, British, and German diplomats, politicians, journalists and editors, industrialists and financiers, military officers, art historians and other academics, and individuals from the worlds of classical music and the theatre. Despite the richness of his connections, Hyde is inconsistent at documenting the substance of his many conversations. He documents various anecdotes, gossip, points of history, and other items of interest he hears but these seem lean compared to the settings and individuals involved. He seems most descriptive when discussing visits to museums, performances and other cultural matters. He seems the most reserved in conveying insight into himself, his business/financial matters, and his opinions on geopolitical events. It may be that the intermediation of secretaries, as well as his status as a foreigner living in France and his travels in countries such as Hitler's Germany and Mussolini's Italy, called for discretion in deciding what to dictate and have written down.

Despite its shortcomings, the diaries do trace the experience of a wealthy, knowledgeable American expatriate in France from the years after World War I to the invasion of France early in World War II. Hyde's observations primarily concern geopolitics and culture, flavored with social gossip. Various observations, speculations, opinions about Germany and its relation to France and the rest of Europe are recorded here and there, and become more frequent and darker in the late 1930s, especially during the German annexations in 1938 of Austria and the Sudetenland. In this context, a notable thread that also appears increasingly over time in the diaries is Hyde's identification of individuals who are Jews; this is especially jarring as individuals Hyde often interacts with in the diaries (e.g., Hans Tietze) are suddenly referenced in that light.

Hyde frequently attends the opera and theatre, and even movies, perhaps especially when traveling to Berlin, Vienna, and London. The diaries include many of the programs he collected at these performances. The stage actors Sacha Guitry and Yvonne Printemps appear frequently in Hyde's diary and there are some programs from their performances of Guitry's plays.

In processing the diaries, the archivist skimmed Hyde's entries and attempted to identify any particular items of interest in the folder level scope notes below. The absence of any note at the folder level simply indicates that the above summary likely captures the general content of that volume. The folder level scope notes also outline when Hyde was traveling outside France; they do not necessarily document his travel within France or within a country he visited. The scope notes attempt to identify entries with some biographical significance concerning Hyde. These notes were developed within time constraints and so patrons should not rely exclusively on them.

Scope and Contents

The series includes seven scrapbooks concerning the Cercle Francais de l'Universite Harvard, one concerning the Alliance Francaise, one that has documents concerning both organizations, and one that relates to the visit of Harvard professor Barrett Wendell to France in 1905. The Cercle scrapbooks range from Hyde's entry in the club in 1894 to the end of his active involvement with it upon his departure for France in 1905. The first five Cercle scrapbooks, through 1900, are especially rich with correspondence and other documents reflecting Hyde's deep involvement as an energetic officer of the club and as the financial source for the annual lecture series he instituted in 1898. After 1900, the Cercle scrapbooks are mostly clippings with some ephemera. Nonetheless, the Cercle scrapbooks provide rich documentation of the organization's activities for the years they cover, notably in the expansion of the Cercle under Hyde from a local club catering to its members to one having a national and international reputation and impact. In addition to documentation of the lecture series, including the national reach of the lectures, the scrapbooks document the annual plays performed by the Cercle. Later years include images of the casts in costume. The scrapbooks do not hold any official records of the Cercle, such as meeting minutes or financial reports.

The one volume of material concerning the Alliance Francais includes mostly clippings for the years 1900-1903, but there is also informative program lists and other ephemera related to the Alliance's activities for the first few years of its existence. The Barrett Wendell scrapbook holds primarily clippings with some ephemera.

Scope and Contents

7 bound volumes of cards and letters sent to Hyde upon his promotions within the French government's Legion of Honor (Légion d'honneur). Volumes 1 and 2 include letters from 1921 when Hyde was promoted to the rank of Commander (Commandeur). (He had first been elected to the Legion as a Chevalier in 1900.) Volumes 3 and 4 include letters from 1923 when Hyde was promoted to Grand Officer (Grand officier). Volumes 5-7 include letters from his promotion in 1928 to Grand Cross (Grand-croix). Volume 5 includes a letter and artwork from artist Ferdinand Bac. Most letters are in French, a few in German.

Scope and Contents

The series includes six oversize bound volumes of condolence letters and related documents in connection with the death of Henry Baldwin Hyde in 1899. Most of the letters appear to be from agents and others associated with the Equitable in the United States and abroad. The contents of the volumes are:

Volume I: Opens with a photograph of H.B. Hyde and a few photographs of the casket at the funeral (held at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian) and of the entrance to the Equitable building. Documents that follow include the text of Rev. Van Dyke's eulogy; Board resolutions from the Equitable and other companies/organizations regarding Hyde's death; text of speech by agent Joseph Bowes at an agents convention in July on the subject "What Mr. Hyde Has Done for the Life Insurance Agent"; telegram cables from agents, employees and insurance industry; and calling cards. In addition there is an extract of minutes from the January 1874 Equitable Board meeting with remarks concerning the death of Henry H. Hyde; an 1894 letter from Chauncey Depew to Henry Baldwin Hyde with complimentary remarks; and a 1900 letter to James Hazen Hyde from the Chamber of Commerce thanking him for a portrait of his father.

Volume II: Includes condolence letters addressed to Mrs. Hyde; these are in alphabetical order, with correspondents A-S in this volume.

Volume III: Conclusion of letters addressed to Mrs. Hyde. These are followed by letters addressed to James Hazen Hyde, correspondents A-J. Isabella Gardner and William James are two notable names that appear.

Volume IV: Continues with condolence letters addressed to James Hazen Hyde, correspondents K-S. Notable names are: Adolph Ochs of the New York Times writes of Hyde's support for him and the newspaper; U.S. senator T.C. Platt regrets he cannot attend the funeral; and George B. Post responds to Hyde's request for a meeting to discuss a monument to his father.

Volume V: Concludes the letters addressed to Hyde, correspondents S-W. Following these are condolence letters addressed to the principal officers of the Equitable (e.g., James Alexander, William McIntyre).

Volume VI: Concludes the letters addressed to Equitable officers (e.g., George P. Wilson, William Alexander). Includes on page 469 a copy of the outgoing letter Wilson sent to a few correspondents in which he discusses Hyde's final illness.

Scope and Contents

The series includes a small number of photographs and three certificates. The photographs include one by Peter A. Juley & Sons of an 1859 solicitation letter from Henry Baldwin Hyde requesting that the recipient purchase an insurance policy of the still being formed Equitable; three of Hyde on horseback or in carriages (1899-1903); one of Hyde as a boy in carriage with father in front of their Bay Shore, L.I. home (oversize); one of Henry Baldwin Hyde taken by Pirou of Paris (oversize, circa 1900); five of paintings of Hyde's father (Henry Baldwin Hyde, one oversize), mother (Annie Fitch Hyde), and grandfather (Henry Hazen Hyde); one of the exterior of Hyde's house in Paris when used as Hopital Auxiliaire 79 during World War I; and Hyde in New York with the president of Equitable and the pastor of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian (1950s). There are also photocopies of other photos of carriages; the originals of at least some of these can be found in the Department of Prints, Photographs and Architectural Collections' Subject File (PR 68) under the category "TRANSPORTATION - VEHICLES - CARRIAGES AND COACHES."

Certificates include: diploma from Harvard (1898), diploma from Princeton (1903), commission as Inspector at rank of Captain from American National Red Cross (1918), Foreign Service Certificate from the Red Cross for work as aide to the Commissioner to France from September 1917-February 1919, and recognition from Harvard for Hyde's efforts in promoting relations between Harvard and French universities (1923).