George P. Butler & Brother records
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Creator
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Abstract
The collection holds the records from the early twentieth century brokerage firm George P. Butler & Brother, particularly for its later years from 1906 until its dissolution in 1911. The collection holds correspondence, client statements, transaction blotters, ledgers, journals, and cancelled checks.
Biographical / Historical
George Prentiss Butler was born February 13, 1863, in New York City, the son of Mary Marshall Butler and William Allen Butler. He graduated from Princeton University in 1884 and married Ellen Mudge of Yonkers in 1886, where they continued to reside. In 1898, Butler and his brother Arthur W. Butler formed a brokerage firm in New York, George P. Butler & Brother, dealing in bonds and stocks. Both brothers were members of the New York Stock Exchange and the firm was said to be associated with Gould family interests. The firm was located at 35 Wall Street.
George died suddenly in London at age 48 on April 7, 1911. His obituary in the New York Times states that he had traveled to Europe for health reasons. Records in the collection indicate that the firm was already undergoing liquidation by March 1911, before George's death. Arthur completed the firm's liquidation in July 1911. After the firm's dissolution, Arthur joined E. Hicks Herrick and Henry S. Kip to form the new partnership of Butler, Herrick and Kip.
(Source: New York Times articles)
Arrangement
The collection is organized in two series:
Series I. Correspondence (1906-1911)
Series II. Financial Records (1905-1911)
Scope and Contents
The collection includes fragmentary records from the financial firm George P. Butler & Brother. The firm existed from 1898 to 1911; the records date primarily from the later years of the firm, that is 1906-1911, though there are gaps even within that range. Nonetheless, the firm's clients, trading activity, and transactions as market intermediaries are well-represented in the records. These records include incoming and outgoing correspondence, perhaps especially for 1909, but touching at least in part on all years from 1906-11. In addition to transaction executions, some letters include investment advice and outlook for particular securities, many of which are railroad companies. The container list identifies the more frequent correspondents. Accounting records in the collection include copies of client statements, transaction blotters, ledgers, journals, and cancelled checks/vouchers. Many of these records document the receipt of dividends and interest from railroads and other companies, and the distribution of those payments to the firm's clients.
Subjects
Genres
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Use Restrictions
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to 20 exposures of stable, unbound material per day. Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.
Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions
Preferred Citation
The collection should be cited as: George P. Butler & Brother records, MS 93, New-York Historical Society.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mrs. Arthur W. Butler, October 1950
About this Guide
Processing Information
Processed by archivist Larry Weimer in December 2020.