Charles Scribners’s Sons Rare Book Department Records, 1935-1972

RLIN ID
NYGG87-A4

Main Entry
Charles Scribners’s Sons. Rare Book Department.

Title
Records, 1935-1972 (bulk 1958-1968)

Physical Description
12 linear ft. (29 record boxes)

Historical/Biographical Note
The publishing firm of Charles Scribners’s Sons was founded in New York City in 1846. The firm also maintained a bookshop, and from about 1890 to 1972 it maintained a rare books department.

Scope and Contents Note
Records include letters written to the department, with carbons of the department’s replies concerning all aspects of the rare book trade. Also included are: monthly sales reports, sales receipts, notebooks, and a nearly complete set of catalogs published by Scribners’s, most of which are from the annotated shop set. The collection also includes Scribners’s own want lists and the want lists and correspondence of a major customer, Parkman D. Howe of Boston, for the period 1935-1954. The card files consist of records of books sold and sales slips.

Finding Aid Note
Preliminary container list available in repository; box level control.

Access points:
Names
Howe, Parkman D. Correspondence.

Subjects
Booksellers and bookselling. New York (State). New York. 20th century.
Antiquarian booksellers. New York (State). New York. 20th century.
Rare books. New York (State). New York. 20th century.

Genres
Booksellers’ catalogs. New York (State). New York. 20th century.
Catalog cards. New York (State). New York. 20th century.

Location
Grolier Club, 47 East 60th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022-1098.


Collection Inventory

Record Box Contents

Box 1 Correspondence: Aa-Bi

Box 2 Correspondence: Bla-Col

Box 3 Correspondence: Con-Fia

Box 4 Correspondence: Fil-Has

Box 5 Correspondence: Has-Joh

Box 6 Correspondence: Joo-McL

Box 7 Correspondence: Maa-Nos

Box 8 Correspondence: O’A-Rod

Box 9 Correspondence: Ros-Sci

Box 10 Correspondence: Si-Su

Box 11 Correspondence: Taa-Un

Box 12 Correspondence: Va-Z

Box 13 “Unfinished correspondence”

Box 14 “Unfinished correspondence”

Box 15 Receipt books

Box 16 Sales lists: nos. 1-19; 51-52 and some unnumbered, with annotations. n.d.

Box 17 Sales lists
Unnumbered but with subject titles
Daily sales totals notebooks in “Steno pad” format: July 1957-Oct. 1959; Nov.
1959-May 1961
May 1961-April 1963; May 1963-March 1965 (4 notebooks)
Want lists, 1955-1959
Parkman D. Howe (53 State St., Boston): recent wants and correspondence,
1935-1954

Box 18 Sales receipts

Box 19 Notebooks
Insurance, March 1959-Jan. 1969 (1 notebook) [Records assessment of stock for
insurance purposes]
Sales, Feb. 1966-Dec. 1972 (4 notebooks)

Box 20 Notebooks
Sales, Feb. 1955-Jan. 1966 (9 notebooks)

Box 21 Notebooks
Bibliographical records [possibly drafts for catalog entries] (11 notebooks and
1 envelope)
“Catalogue of Books published and imported by Scribners’ and Welford.”
[Interleaved with blank pages with additional entries, etc. pasted
down.], ca. 1877-1878 (89 p.)

Box 22 Rare Book Department catalogs, nos. 160-173 [catalogs with the annotations
and notes used in preparation as well as sales information for individual catalogs and an additional set of marked-up catalogs]
Invoices, 1965

Box 23 Rare Book Department catalogs, nos. 147-159 [information as described above]


Card Files

Box 24 Sold Cards: A-Hy

Box 25 Sold Cards: I-Z

Box 26 Sold Cards: Collections, Music
Sales Slips: A-Ph

Box 27 Sales Slips: Pi-Z; A-Z (2nd & 3rd Series)

Box 28 Sales Slips: 1959-1963

Box 29 Sales Slips: 1964-1969