New-York Historical Society collection accession registers
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Abstract
The New-York Historical Society collections accession registers include records from 1841-1962 concerning donations to and purchases for the institution. It is unknown how complete the records are. Museum objects were entered to the registers until the early 1940s. Library acquisitions, including books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and Print Room material, were entered to the registers until 1962.
Biographical/Historical Note
In all likelihood, the administrative history of the accession ledgers represented in this record group starts on January 4, 1842. At the New-York Historical Society meeting on that date, as recorded in the minutes, the members in attendance dispensed with the customary recording of recent donations, directing that they be included in the book designated for that purpose. It is quite likely that the book of donations, with entries dating from December 10, 1841, that opens this record group, is the book referred to in the minutes.
January 1842 seems to have marked a change only in the specific recordkeeping practice for donations. Founded in 1804, N-YHS's first constitution established a Standing Committee to solicit and receive donations, and the by-laws specified that the Committee record the donations on its books and report on them at the Society's meetings. (See the Related Materials Note.) In 1829, though, the Standing Committee was abolished. The responsibility for recordkeeping for accessions had likely fallen fully on the Librarian by then, and it was the Librarian who reported new donations at the Society meetings. These donations would often be entered into the minutes, though not always. While the various minute books from N-YHS's early decades include lists of acquisitions to the library and "cabinet," it is not certain how complete the lists are.
The direction in January 1842 to enter donations into a designated set of books may have been intended both to save time at meetings and to rationalize the recordkeeping for accessions. Nonetheless, the extant records indicate that some level of inconsistency remained in the maintenance of the accession registers while, on the other hand, lists of acquisitions continued to appear at times in the Society meeting minutes. Yet by about 1861 the use of the accession registers appears to be more consistent, though it remains uncertain how complete they are.
To some extent, the accession registers reflect N-YHS's organization and increasing professionalization in the twentieth century. From the earliest registers in the 1840s until 1924, one set of ledgers included all forms of donations, such as print matter, museum artifacts, manuscripts, photographs, and other forms. This was consistent with the fact that the Librarian was responsible for all these collections, as was the very small staff reporting to him. The spin-off in 1924 of museum and manuscript accessions from the library register under Librarian Alexander Wall may have been just one of his innovations aimed at improving the organization's professional practices, in this case facilitating the reporting and control of accessions by category. The spin-off of the map and Print Room accessions in 1942 may have served a similar purpose, though by then it also followed changes in the organization.
The use of the museum register ceased in 1938. There is no known documented reason for this, but it is possible that maintaining a handwritten list of new acquisitions in an oversize ledger book may have seemed an outdated practice to the newly-installed museum professionals that arrived that year. The century old registers may have been abandoned in favor of Registrar procedures, object files, Museum and Art Committee reports to the new Board of Trustees, and other recordkeeping practices. The registers continued to be used on the library side of the organization until 1962 when entries stopped.
Arrangement Note
The record group includes 39 volumes that advance in rough chronological order (a 40th volume is blank). For the earliest years in the record group (1840s until about 1870), there is some inconsistency in the sequence of the registers. From about 1870 to 1924, the registers are reliably chronological across the entire collection. In 1924, arrangement took on a format dimension as museum and manuscript accessions were entered into separate registers from library accessions; in 1952, map and Print Room materials also began to be recorded in separate registers. Nonetheless, within each format, the arrangement remained chronological.
Some loose documents were found in the registers. These were removed and foldered in a document box as noted in the container list. There are notes in the folder as to where precisely the documents were found in each accession register.
Scope and Contents Note
The record group includes the oversize registers of accessions (or, "additions") to New-York Historical Society's collections from December 1841 to 1962. The comprehensiveness of these registers is not known. Recognizable gaps occur in the 1840s and 1850s, with sustained entries beginning in 1861. The earliest entries seem to be donations only; it is unclear when purchases began to be recorded, though these seem to appear regularly by 1879.
There is one set of registers that include accessions of all types of material until 1924. Beginning in 1924, different registers were used for museum, manuscript and library materials. Beginning in 1942, map and Print Room materials, formerly found in the Library register, were entered to a separate register.
Entries for museum accessions ended by 1945. Entries for all other accessions continued until 1962.
The entries are often very detailed, often listing individual items such as photographs, negatives or books. Purchased items often indicate the price paid and the source of funds. Monthly or annual totals by category of object type are found throughout the registers.
It appears that from 1957-1962 purchases and donations were recorded in separate sections of the registers, sometimes with many blank pages between the sections. Researchers should be sure not to overlook these separate sections.
Loose documents were found behind the covers or between pages of some of the registers. These were typically worksheets totaling accession counts, additional notes or details on particular donations, and small notes and other incidental documents. The container list notes in which registers loose documents were found. Loose documents of an atypical nature are noted in the container list. Among these is a procedural document for accessioning library material, found in the 1950-1952 register.
Several of the registers are stamped as having been bound in the 1930s or in 1951 by N-YHS's Bindery. These are noted in the container list.
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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 record group should be cited as New-York Historical Society collection accession registers (NYHS-RG 15), The New-York Historical Society.
Location of Materials
About this Guide
Processing Information Note
The record group was processed in September 2015 by archivist Larry Weimer.