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New-York Historical Society manuscripts of lectures and addresses

Call Number

NYHS-RG 11

Date

1809-1957, 2001, 2015-2016, inclusive

Creator

New-York Historical Society

Extent

3.96 Linear feet in ten document boxes and one oversize folder

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

This record group principally includes a manuscript form of about 150 addresses presented at N-YHS. The bulk of these are papers read or other prepared remarks made at N-YHS from the 1840s through the 1930s. Most typically, the manuscripts are from historians and other individuals of some renown, with few from figures of national prominence. Most of the addresses concern some aspect of early New York history, particular N-YHS accomplishments, or broader reflections on the study and lessons of history and on America.

Biographical/Historical Note

Throughout the course of its more than 200 year history, N-YHS has been a site at which the results of historical inquiry and research have been presented. During N-YHS's first 120 years or so, a principal forum for these presentations were the regular meetings of the Society's membership, which were held several times a year. The meeting agendas typically included both business matters and the reading of a paper on a historical topic. At the conclusion of a reading, it was common for the attending members to approve a resolution thanking the speaker and requesting that a copy of the remarks be acquired for N-YHS, often for publication. Over the decades, hundreds of papers were presented at N-YHS meetings, though it does not appear from the records that manuscript copies of all of them were obtained.

The first mention in the N-YHS minutes of a discourse occurs at the September 4, 1809, meeting. Here the Reverend Doctor Samuel Miller, one of the founders of N-YHS, delivered a lecture commemorating the North American discoveries of Henry Hudson. In N-YHS's earliest years, the addresses were somewhat sporadic, often related to N-YHS anniversary observances, N-YHS presidential inaugurations, or other special events. By the 1840s, though, papers were read more routinely at meetings. Even after regular member business meetings ended in the early twentieth century as a result of a by-law change, an emphasis on holding regular lectures continued.

But N-YHS member meetings, which by the 1840s were open at least to some extent to non-members, were not the only forum for N-YHS sponsored lectures and other presentations. By the 1840s, N-YHS began to hold public lecture series outside the framework of regular business meetings, sometimes charging a fee. In addition, various special events and anniversary commemorations would call for special addresses and discourses at N-YHS or elsewhere, such as at Delmonico's restaurant. Many of these addresses would be printed in a N-YHS publication or elsewhere.

Into the early twentieth century, formal lectures and presentations, with the increasingly common use of lantern slides, were perhaps the primary activity for outreach and historical education conducted by N-YHS. But by the mid-twentieth century, as N-YHS moved into expanded quarters on Central Park West and professional practices and social conventions changed, periodic lectures became just one of many types of programs to be conducted, including talks geared to special exhibitions, school programs, tours, concerts and recitals, and so forth.

Arrangement Note

The record group is arranged in chronological order based on the date of the address, with one exception discussed below.

Information in the container list (author, title of the address, date) was taken, when present, from the manuscript itself or a covering transmittal letter from the author. When that information was not found on the manuscript, it was supplied from other sources (meeting announcement, annual report, etc.) or, in the case of titles, occasionally devised by the archivist. This supplied information is indicated in [brackets]. Information pencilled on the manuscript that appeared to have been supplied at a later date than the manuscript is also shown in [brackets]. Where there are multiple dates on the document (e.g., date written, date read, date a clean copy was forwarded to N-YHS after the address), the date read was used. An exception to this, and the arrangement generally, is the paper of William James Hubard; Hubard's paper was read posthumously to N-YHS in 1875 but was written in 1859 or 1860, and so is arranged at that earlier date.

Some of the folders hold, in addition to the address, earlier and later dated documents. Only the date of the address is used in the date range of the container list. However, a note at the folder level indicates the presence of this other material.

Scope and Contents Note

This record group principally includes a manuscript form (i.e., not a published form) of about 150 addresses presented at N-YHS. The bulk of these are papers read or other prepared remarks made at N-YHS meetings from the 1840s through the 1930s. The period prior to 1840 is represented by only five papers, three of which are original autograph manuscripts by DeWitt Clinton (1811) and Gouverneur Morris (1812, 1816). There are only eleven documents from the period after 1937; the latest of these dates from 1957, except for three typescripts of remarks made at events in the 2000s, including those made by former U.S. President William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton.

Although 150 items is a sizable number, it represents only a small percentage of the hundreds, if not thousands, of papers and other presentations made at N-YHS meetings, special events, exhibitions, public lecture series, and other occasions. It is not known how these particular items came to be preserved in N-YHS's records, though it may have been simply a function of which papers the Librarian was able to obtain from the speaker at the time. Although a relatively small sample, the items are useful in that many have likely not been published elsewhere and in their manuscript form they give a glimpse as an artifact of the author's work and actual presentation.

Although nationally prominent figures occasionally spoke at N-YHS, this record group holds few of these. More typically, the manuscripts are from historians and others of some renown, such as George Bancroft, Benson J. Lossing, Lewis H. Morgan, Friedrich Kapp, John Austin Stevens, Jr., Oswald Garrison Villard, Horace Greeley, and Monsignor Robert Seton. Local historians also appear frequently, such as Henry Stiles, William S. Pelletreau, Hopper Striker Mott, and Reginald Pelham Bolton. Papers or remarks made by officers of N-YHS also appear, including those of Luther Bradish, Frederic De Peyster, George Gibbs, Clarence Storm, Sydney Carney, and Robert Hendre Kelby. Until the late nineteenth century the manuscripts in the record group are typically handwritten. Most manuscripts beginning in the late nineteenth century are typed. Many of the manuscripts are undated, unsigned, and untitled, so attributions have been assigned to them over time; see the arrangement note below for further discussion of how this attributed information is displayed in the container list of this finding aid.

Most of the addresses concern some aspect of United States or New York history, particularly of the colonial, Revolutionary, and early Republic periods. Some addresses relate to particular N-YHS accomplishments, such as its building dedications, centennial anniversary, and donations of objects. Other addresses, especially those offered as N-YHS's annual anniversary address, are more rhetorical with reflections on the study and lessons of history and on America more broadly. Beginning in the late 19th century, the papers were commonly presented with stereopticon illustration; many of the manuscripts indicate the images used and how they were integrated into the presentation.

In addition to the manuscripts of the addresses, many of the folders also include related documents. The presence of these additional documents is noted at the folder level. These documents include meeting announcement cards, multiple copies or versions of the address, research notes, clippings, and correspondence. One of the more substantive such files is that of William James Hubard's paper concerning his sculpture of the likeness of George Washington; this file includes correspondence and other documents related to Hubard's attempt to sell the sculpture and that place Hubard's paper in context. Several folders include research notes of John Austin Stevens, Jr. and Clarence Storm.

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

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 Note

This collection should be cited as the New-York Historical Society manuscripts of lectures and addresses (NYHS-RG 11), The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection may be stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Related Archival Materials Note

This finding aid relates to just one record group of the New-York Historical Society archives. For information about the other record groups and for overall information about the archives, please see the Guide to the New-York Historical Society Archives (NYHS-RG Archives). Other record groups that are processed and available to researchers and are especially related to the New-York Historical Society manuscripts of lectures and addresses (NYHS-RG 11) are as follows:

The New-York Historical Society general correspondence record group (NYHS-RG 2) contains a variety of materials relating to N-YHS lectures, including proposals and direct invitation responses, scheduling and further logistical arrangements (including accompaniments such as lantern slides), updates on research and presentation topics, ephemera such as announcements and programs, discussion of events by members, and subsequent discourse on the publication of lectures. Researchers are advised to consult files within a 2-year time frame surrounding the delivery of the address at N-YHS.

Accruals Note

Accruals of additional lectures and addresses are expected to be added to the record group from time to time.

Collection processed by

Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:47:04 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Finding Aid is written in English.

Processing Information Note

In circa 2010, the documents in this record group were processed into archival folders, arranged in alphabetical order by author. A partial list of the contents was prepared by Annie Tummino. In August 2015, project archivist Larry Weimer re-arranged the record group into chronological order and, building on Ms.Tummino's earlier work, completed the content list and finding aid.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024