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New-York Historical Society museum store records

Call Number

NYHS-RG 26

Date

1940s-2001 (bulk, 1980s-1992), inclusive

Creator

New-York Historical Society

Extent

3.75 Linear feet in 10 document boxes and two oversize folders.

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The New-York Historical Society museum store records include documents related to the management of the store, development of its product lines, and marketing. The files include correspondence, sales catalogs, inventories, sales results, reproduction licensing, orders, and photographs of catalog items. There are also examples of some of the products sold at the store, especially small format items like postcards and greeting cards. The bulk of the material relates to the period 1985 to 1991.

Arrangement Note

The New-York Historical Society museum store records (NYHS-RG 26) are organized in three series:

Series I. Correspondence Files

Series II. Catalogs and Inventories

Series III. Products

Scope and Contents Note

The New-York Historical Society museum store records include documents related to the management of the store, development of its product lines, and marketing. There are also examples of some of the products sold at the store, especially small format items like postcards and greeting cards. Correspondence files, primarily involving Director of Store Management Lorelei Rowars, concern proposals from vendors for products and services, arrangements for the creation and stocking of items in the store (including in connection with exhibitions), agreements to conduct sales in locations outside of N-YHS, and customer orders (including expressions of interest from Japan). Financial and royalty arrangements and results are documented in the series, with vendors such as Princeton Audubon Ltd. (Audubon prints) and the Adirondack Store (temporary shop at N-YHS during the Forever Wild exhibition.

The record group also includes detailed documentation of the store's inventory from 1985-1991, which is the principal period documented in these records. The store's first catalogs, from the mid to late 1980s, are in the records, as are some earlier order forms, book lists, and other marketing material. The records include sales results, again especially for the period around 1990. Products included postcards, books, and posters that tied in to the installed exhibitions.

The bulk of the products are cards from the 1970s and later. Yet there are also a small number of items that were sold in the 1930s-1940s, including packets of images and a souvenir booklet (1949).

Access Restrictions

Materials in this collection are 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 museum store records (NYHS-RG 26), The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection are 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 museum store records (NYHS-RG 26) are as follows:

The New-York Historical Society building renovations and maintenance records (NYHS-RG 4) include plans from the 1980s to 1990-1991 related to store designs and renovations. Search on keyword "store" in that finding aid.

Collection processed by

Margaret Kaczorowski and Larry Weimer

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:51:04 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information Note

This record group was processed by project archivists Margaret Kaczorowski and Larry Weimer in December 2016.

Repository

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