Guide to the Grolier Club Artistic Properties Information File

Title:
Grolier Club Institutional Records, Record Group 4, Series II, Subseries C: Grolier Club Artistic Properties Information Files, 1889-[ongoing]

OCLC/RLIN No. (Unique ID):
NYGG05-A10013 / OCLC 79458543

Dates:
1889-[ongoing]

Bulk Dates:
1920-1980

Extent:
2 boxes; 1 linear foot

Access Restrictions:
Access restrictions for some items may apply at the discretion of the Librarian. Copyright restrictions may apply; please contact repository for requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce the materials.

Preferred Citation:
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Grolier Club Artistic Properties Information File, 1889-[ongoing], The Grolier Club of New York.

About the Finding Aid:
This collection was reprocessed and the finding aid prepared by Sophia Dahab in Microsoft Word at the Grolier Club, August 2016.

Provenance:
Materials in this collection were compiled by Grolier Club staff.

Access Points:
Avery, Samuel Putnam, 1822-1904, correspondent, donor.
Austin, Gabriel. Correspondence.
Beale, Mary, 1633-1699, artist.
Cantor, Jay, photographer.
Chew Beverly, donor.
DeVinne, Theodore Lowe, 1828-1914. 
Flameng, Francois, 1856-1923, artist. Correspondence.
Grolier, Jean. 1479-1565. Portraits.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864, Portraits.
Horton, Carolyn.
Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891. Portraits,
Luttrell, James, 1751 or 2-1788, artist. 
Nikirk, Robert. Correspondence.
Page, William, 1811-1885, artist. 
Otway, Thomas, 1652-1685. Portraits.
Thompson, Cephas Giovanni, 1809-1888, artist.
Vander Poel, Halsted, donor.
Wakeman, Stephen H., 1859-1924, donor.
Grolier Club. Art objects
Art objects.
Appraisals. New York (State). New York. 20^th century.
Negatives.
Photographs.

Biographical/Historical Note
The Club was established in 1884 by a group of seven New York City book collectors and named in honor of the French bibliophile, Jean Grolier (1479-1565) with the object, as stated its constitution, “of literary study and promotion of the arts pertaining to the production of books.” Over the years the club has acquired, primarily through gifts by members, portraits, art objects, and pieces of furniture. Some of these are displayed in the lobby, stairwells, and halls of the Club.

Scope and Contents
Correspondence, appraisals, photographs, and miscellaneous printed material relating to some of the art objects held by the Grolier Club. The collection includes, but is not limited to, appraisals (1975-1985) of bronzes, pieces of silver, and terra-cotta and porcelain pieces; reports by conservator Carolyn Horton on some works on paper; and information and illustrations of the "Cauliflower Chair" given to the Club by Halsted Vander Poel.

Includes correspondence, photographs, or other materials relating to (but not limited to) the following portraits: Charles Beale, by Mary Beale; Nathaniel Hawthorne, by C.P. Thompson (gift of Stephen Wakeman); James Russell Lowell, by William Page (gift of Stephen Wakeman); and Thomas Otway, by Jame Luttrell (gift of Beverly Chew). This last was once believed to be a portrait of John Dryden by Godfrey Kneller. A letter from artist François Flameng to Samuel Putnam Avery documents his painting "Grolier in the House of Aldus the Elder" (1890) that Avery donated to the Club. The collection includes photographic images of over two dozen items.

Note
Only artistic properties for which there exist photographs, appraisals, correspondence, notes, or other documentation are listed in the finding aid.

Note
Inventory of contents of old Clubhouse at 29 East 32^nd Street can be found in RG 5: House Committee records.