Jennings Photograph Collection
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Abstract
Collection of albums, book manuscripts, scrapbooks, photographic prints, postcards, and negatives realting to the family and career of Arthur Bates Jennings, primarily compiled by his son Dr. Edward Allen Jennings.
Biographical Note
Arthur Bates Jennings (1849-1927) was a New York City architect, who received his A.B. in 1870 from the College of the City of New York. He trained under such notable architects as George B. Post and Russell Sturgis, and set up his first independent office around 1876 at 71 Broadway. Early in his career, he worked mostly on residential designs; later he moved on to designs of public buildings, specializing in churches, but also working on buildings for colleges, universities, and a few private companies. Jennings moved his office several times, but always maintained a presence in lower Manhattan between the years 1876 and 1919. His business address at the time of his retirement in 1919 was 253 Broadway. While much of Jennings' early professional work was done in the New York City region, beginning in the 1890s, his multi-turreted churches and other public buildings were constructed across the United States, from Portland, Maine to Seattle, Washington.
Arthur Jennings married Caroline Jerusha Allen of West Meriden, Connecticut; the couple had three children: Edward Allen Jennings (1882-1958), Arthur B. Jennings, Jr., and Helen Bates Jennings. Arthur Jennings, Jr., became a professional organist, choirmaster, and instructor, eventually becoming a full professor at the University of Minnesota.
Dr. Edward Allen Jennings attended Wesleyan University and Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, receiving his medical degree in 1913. Dr. Jennings served on the staffs of Harlem, Fordham, and St. Luke's Hospitals in New York, was a First Lieutenant in the Army Medical Corps during World War I, and had an established medical practice in New York City. Dr. Jennings was an avid amateur historian, and researched and wrote on church architecture, local history, and his father's architectural career. He penned several book manuscripts, such as his Manhattanville: An Architectural Retrospective, which were never published. Dr. Jennings continued to practice medicine until his death in 1958.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into five series:
Missing Title
- Church Designs also Residence and College Buildings by Arthur B. Jennings, F.A.I.A.
- Church Architecture
- Manhattan Architecture and History
- Short Hills and Summit, NJ
- Jennings Family
Scope and Content Note
The Jennings Photograph Collection spans the period from circa 1858 through 1957 and contains photographs, postcards, book manuscripts, scrapbooks, and albums relating to the architectural work, professional careers, interests, and personal lives of members of the family of architect Arthur Bates Jennings. Most of the materials in the collection were gathered or compiled by Dr. Edward A. Jennings, and they reflect many of his professional and personal interests. Dr. Jennings, primarily a medical doctor, was also an amateur architectural historian and local history enthusiast. His interests are reflected in scrapbooks and book manuscripts incorporating photographs, postcards, news clippings, maps, and accompanying descriptive commentary addressing the architectural career of his father, church architecture, Short Hills, NJ, and the history of various west side neighborhoods of New York City. Additional scrapbooks relate to Dr. Jennings' own career and education; one scrapbook relates to the career of Arthur B. Jennings, Jr., a professional organist and professor. The remainder of the collection consists of photographs of various Jennings family members as well as members of the Allen family of Meriden, Connecticut, the family of Carolina Jerusha Allen Jennings.
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Families
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Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to thirty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. See guidelines in Print Room for details.
Use Restrictions
Permission to reproduce any Print Room holdings through publication must be obtained from:
Rights and Reproductions
The New-York Historical Society
Two West 77th Street
New York, NY 10024Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282Fax: (212) 579-8794
The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before January 1, 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as Jennings Photograph Collection, PR 135, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, The New-York Historical Society.
Provenance
The collection is comprised of two separate gifts from Mrs. William Kenoe, on January 26 and March 9, 1959.