Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904, bulk, 1870-1890

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A Finding Aid to the Sylvester Rosa Koehler Papers, 1833-1904 (bulk 1870-1890), in the Archives of American Art, by Erin Corley

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Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Table of Contents:

• Biographical Information
• Overview of the Collection
• How to Use the Collection
• Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Biographical Information

Art historian and curator Sylvester Rosa Koehler was born in Leipsic, Germany in 1837. He came to the United States with his family in 1849 and settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts. In 1868 he became the Technical Manager of Louis Prang and Company, a lithograph publisher. Koehler was the founding editor of the American Art Review, which commissioned artists for original etchings, and ran from 1879-1881. Through this publication, as well as his work as writer and exhibition curator, Koehler encouraged an American etching revival in the 1880s. Koehler also published many books on American art and was the first Curator of Prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From 1886 to 1900 he served as the first Curator of Graphic Arts at the United States National Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution. While there, he created a permanent and traveling exhibition of graphic arts. His knowlege of the art world and his extensive personal contacts brought many important collections to the museum. Koehler died in Littleton, New Hampshire in 1900.

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Overview of the Collection

Scope and Contents

The Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers measure 5.3 linear feet and date from 1833 to 1904, with the bulk of the material dating from 1870 to 1890. The collection consists primarily of Koehler's extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists and printmakers such as Jean F. Harfin, John M. Falconer, Frederick Juengling, and James D. Smillie, as well as friends, and family members and professional correspondence concerning Koehler's activities as a writer, curator, and editor of the American Art Review. The collection also contains financial records and other miscellaneous items.

Correspondence includes hundreds of letters to and from Koehler. Correspondents include many prominent artists, engravers, architects, art critics, curators, historians, journalists, authors, educators, publishers, and others during the late 1800s. Also found is correspondence with family, most of which is in German. Much of the correspondence concerns Koehler's role as editor of the publication American Art Review, and his work promoting American graphic arts.

Financial Records include Koehler's receipts, primarily from 1885, and a handwritten estimate of costs for publishing the American Art Review.

Miscellany includes biographical information on the wood engraver, Alexander Anderson, various notes by unidentified authors, news clippings, programs and handwritten song texts for music performances.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged into 3 series:

• Series 1: Correspondence, 1833-1904, undated (Box 1-5; 5.0 linear feet)
• Series 2: Financial Records, 1870-1890, undated (Box 6; 14 folders)
• Series 3: Miscellany, 1859-1896, undated (Box 6; 10 folders)

Subjects and Names

Provenance

The collection was purchased from Argosy Book Stores, Inc, in 1959. A letter from John Sartain and eleven letters from William Merritt Chase were donated by Charles E. Feinberg, 1955-1962. The Archives microfilmed the entire collection on reels D182-191, 3533-3534, and D30.

Separated and Related Materials

Additional correspondence can be found at the Library of Congress, which houses the Papers of S. R. Koehler, 1868-1904, and includes approximately 3,500 letters. Syracuse University Library houses S. R. Koehler Correspondence, 1879-1896, and includes 107 items.

How the Collection was Processed

The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Erin Corley in 2005 as part of the Terra Foundation for American Art Digitization Project.

How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.

Ownership & Literary Rights

The Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Available Formats

The microfilm is available on microfilm reels D182-191, 3533-3534, and D30. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in this finding aid does not reflect the order of the material on microfilm.

How to Cite this Collection

Sylvester Rosa Koehler papers, 1833-1904 (bulk 1870-1890). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Detailed Description and Container Inventory

Series 1: Correspondence, 1833-1904, undated (Box 1-5; 5.0 linear feet)

Koehler's correspondence is extensive and contains letters to and from over 300 different correspondents. For his career as curator and art critic, Koehler maintained correspondence with many American painters, including Jean F. Harfin, Edwin Howland Blashfield, Emil Carlsen, William Merritt Chase, John Robinson Tait, Samuel Colman, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Anna Lea Merritt, and Walter Shirlaw. Also found in this series is correspondence with American engravers and illustrators, many featured in American Art Review, including John Sartain, Stephen James Ferris, William Baxter Closson, Henry Farrer, R. Swain Gifford, John M. Falconer, Frederick Juengling, Robert Hoskin, Gustav Kruell, Stephen A. Schoff, J. C. Nicoll, James D. Smillie, William Wellstood, Charles A. Platt, Peter Moran, and Stephen Parrish. Koehler also corresponded with many architects, engineers, and designers, including George Corliss, William Rotch Ware, P. B. Wight, Henry Van Brunt, Russell Sturgis, Julius Schweinfurth, and Arthur Rotch.

Koehler corresponded with art critics such as Mariana Van Rensselaer, Samuel G. W. Benjamin, Russell Sturgis, Clarence Cook, and Charles C. Perkins, historians such as Charles Henry Hart, and journalists including Ottilie Assing and George Julian Harney. Also found in this collection is correspondence with authors such as Ednah D. Cheney, educators including Kuno Francke and William Unger, and museum directors and curators such as A. Duncan Savage, W. M. R. French and William MacLeod. As a writer and editor, Koehler corresponded with several publishers, including Cassell and Company, Estes and Lauriat, and E. A. Seeman.

Also of note, is Koehler's correspondence with many prominent people working in other fields including scientists Henry C. Angell and Wilhelm von Bezold, archaeologists Luigi di Cesnola, Frederic Putnam, and Otis T. Mason, natural scientists Thomas Meehan and Edward Sylvester Morse, music scholar Waldo S. Pratt, and astronomer Edward C. Pickering.

Users should note that a significant portion of the correspondence is in German. A few letters within the collection are neither to or from Koehler, but concern American art. It is unclear if Koehler collected these letters.

Series 2: Financial Records, 1870-1890, undated (Box 6; 14 folders)

Financial Records include Koehler's receipts, mostly dating 1885. The receipts are primarily for the purchase of books, but are also for professional services, printing, advertising, and membership dues. Also found is a handwritten estimate of costs for publishing the American Art Review.

Series 3: Miscellany, 1859-1896, undated (Box 6; 10 folders)

This series includes a folder of biographical information on the wood engraver, Alexander Anderson. Also found are various notes and quotations by unidentified authors many of which are written on small envelopes. Also included are event programs and handwritten song texts for music performances. This series also contains news clippings. Most of the material in this series is in German.