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Nelson and Henry C. White research material, circa 1851-1961

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Series 3: Nelson C. White Research Files , circa 1851-1961
2.65 Linear feet
Boxes 1-4, OV 6

Series is arranged as 2 subseries.
  • 3.1: J. Frank Currier Research Material, circa 1860-1958
  • 3.2: Abbott Handerson Thayer Research Material, circa 1851-1961
3.1: J. Frank Currier Research Material, circa 1860-1958
Research material includes a transcript of Currier's 1870 diary; lists of artwork by Currier at the Cincinnati Art Museum; news clippings and two Currier exhibition catalogs; photographs including 3 of Currier as a young man, 1 of his mother, 1 of his boyhood home in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and 1 of his grave at Mount Ashburn Cemetery; photos of an exhibition at Lyman Allyn Art Museum in 1958; and photos of artwork by Currier.
Description Container
Currier 1870 Diary Transcript, circa 1930
1
45
Lists of Artwork by Currier, circa 1930s
1
46
Printed Material About Currier, circa 1881-1958
1
47
Photographs, Currier and Family, circa 1860-circa 1950s
1
48
Photographs, Artwork, circa 1930s-circa 1950s
1
49
Photographs, Artwork, circa 1930s-circa 1950s
1
50
Photographs, Artwork, circa 1930s-circa 1950s
1
51
Photographs, Artwork, Negatives, circa 1930s-circa 1950s
1
52
Photographs, Exhibition Installation at Lyman Allyn Museum, 1958
1
53
3.2: Abbot Handerson Thayer Research Material, circa 1851-1961
3.2.1: Biographical Material, circa 1870s-circa 1940s
Biographical material includes genealogical information about Thayer's family; autobiographical notes dictated by Thayer in 1907 and some additional notes provided by Emma Thayer and an unknown source regarding Thayer's marriages; biographical notes written by Thayer's father, William Henry Thayer, as well as transcripts and notes from William Henry Thayer's journal with memories of Kate, her meeting with Thayer, and their marriage; reminiscences by Gladys Thayer on subjects including Thayer's early life, family life, friendships, paintings and models, protective coloration theory, and themes in Thayer's artwork; and reminiscences of Katherine Fuertes. Also found are awards and memberships including Thayer's certificate of membership in "L'Insigne Reale Accademia Romana, delle Belle Arti Denominata di San Luca," 1899, and his "Official Election as corresponding member" of the Associazione Degli Artisti Italiani, 1907.
Description Container
Awards and Memberships, 1899-circa 1907
OV material housed in OV 6
1
54
Biographical Notes, circa 1870s-circa 1920s
1
55
Family History, 1894-circa 1906
1
56
Reminiscences of Katherine Fuertes, circa 1940s
1
57
Reminiscences of Gladys Thayer, circa 1942
2
1
Reminiscences of Gladys Thayer, circa 1942
2
2
Reminiscences of Gladys Thayer, circa 1942
2
3
Reminiscences/Journal of William Henry Thayer, circa 1890s
2
4
OV Awards and Memberships, from Box 1, Folder 54
OV 6
3.2.2: Thayer's Family Correspondence, circa 1881-1929
Correspondence consists primarily of letters to Emma Beach Thayer. Beginning around 1880, at least ten years prior to Kate Thayer's death, Thayer's letters to Emma discuss his relationship with her, family matters and day-to-day affairs, Thayer's artwork, and his thoughts on a wide variety of subjects. Also found is 1 folder of letters to Kate Thayer and 3 folders of correspondence with the Thayer children and other family members such as Thayer's parents, and nephew, Richard Fisher.
Many of the letters are hand-written originals, with some hand-written and typed copies. Copies of family correspondence, arranged chronologically, can be found in 3.2.3. Folder dates indicate the dates of original letters, even when the folder contains only copies of those letters.
Description Container
From Fisher, Richard, circa 1908-circa 1918
2
5
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1890s-circa 1921
2
6
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1890s-circa 1921
2
7
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1890s-circa 1921
2
8
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1881-circa 1886
2
9
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1887-circa 1890
2
10
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1891
2
11
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1892
2
12
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1893
2
13
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1894-1895
2
14
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1896-1897
2
15
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1898-1899
2
16
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1900-1901
2
17
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1902
2
18
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1903
2
19
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1904-1907
2
20
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1908
2
21
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1909-1911
2
22
To Thayer, Emma B., 1912-1914
2
23
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1915
2
24
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1917-1918
2
25
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1919
2
26
To Thayer, Emma B., circa 1921
2
27
To Thayer, Kate B., circa 1884
2
28
With Thayer Children, circa 1891-circa 1920s
2
29
With Thayer Children, 1891-1929
2
30
With Various Family Members, circa 1865-circa 1904
2
31
3.2.3: Thayer's General Correspondence, 1875-1924
Thayer's general correspondence is with artists including George Grey Barnard, Thomas Wilmer Dewing, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, John Singer Sargent, Edward Martin Taber, and George Alfred Williams, and with fellow Dublin painters Frank Weston Benson, and George de Forest Brush. Other correspondents found here include Philip Ayers of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests regarding title to land in Monadnock; Samuel Clemens; critic and long-time admirer Royal Cortissoz; Charles Lang Freer regarding his patronage of Thayer and Freer's acquisition of Thayer's artwork; and Theodore Roosevelt regarding wildlife preservation.
Letters to Franklin D. Roosevelt, when Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, describe Thayer's ideas for camouflage of naval vessels during the First World War. Thayer was involved in helping the Allies be the first to apply concealing coloration to all their equipment.
The letters are a combination of hand-written originals and typed copies. Folder dates indicate the dates of original letters, even when the folder contains only copies of those letters.
Description Container
to Allen, Francis , 1941, 1910-1916
2
32
With Ayers, Philip, circa 1912-1924
2
33
From Barnard, George Grey, 1916-1917
2
34
With Beatty, John W., circa 1893-1919
2
35
With Benson, Frank Weston, circa 1915-circa 1917
2
36
To Bruno's Weekly, 1916
2
37
With Brush, George de Forest, circa 1909-circa 1917
2
38
With Bryce, James, 1910-1911
2
39
To Clemens, Samuel, 1901-1906
2
40
With Cortissoz, Royal, circa 1910-1914
includes letters from Gerald Thayer
2
41
With Cortissoz, Royal, 1915-1923
2
42
To Dewing, Thomas Wilmer and Maria Oakey, circa 1898-circa 1916
2
43
To Dow, Thomas, circa 1880
2
44
To Dutcher, William, 1900-1905
2
45
To Eckstrom, Fanny Hardy, 1906-1910
2
46
To Elliot, John, and Family, 1889-1916
2
47
To Evans, Joseph, 1878-1898
2
48
To Freer, Charles Lang, circa 1893-1901
2
49
To Freer, Charles Lang, 1902-1918
2
50
To Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, circa 1896-circa 1918
2
51
To Holt, Florence (Mrs. Henry), circa 1897-circa 1915
2
52
To James, Bernard R. , 1915
2
53
To James, William and Family, circa 1901-circa 1914
2
54
To Kittredge, Samuel Dana, circa 1893-circa 1918
3
1
To Lucas, F. A., 1908-1911
3
2
To MacKaye, Percy, 1906-1911
3
3
To Mackintosh, Henry S., 1895-1918
3
4
To Morris, Harrison S., 1896-1913
3
5
To Palmer, T. S., 1901-1906
3
6
To Perabo, Ernst, 1875
3
7
To Poulton, Edward B., circa 1901-circa 1904
3
8
To Roosevelt, Franklin D., 1914-1918
3
9
With Roosevelt, Theodore, circa 1902-1912
3
10
With Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, circa 1903-circa 1905
3
11
To Saintsbury, Everton and Family, 1876-1912
3
12
With Sargent, John Singer, circa 1915-circa 1923
3
13
To Taber, Edward Martin, circa 1892-circa 1897
3
14
To Whelpley, Philip and Jay, circa 1903-circa 1915
3
15
To Wister, Owen, circa 1900
3
16
General, A, B, C, circa 1893-1919
3
17
General, D, E, 1904-1919
3
18
General, F, G, H, circa 1892-circa 1920
3
19
General, J, K, L, circa 1892-circa 1919
3
20
General, M, N, P, circa 1892-circa 1921
3
21
General, R, S, T, 1876-circa 1916
Includes copy of letter to Dwight W. Tryon
3
22
General, V, W, 1906-1921
3
23
General, Unidentified, circa 1900-1919
3
24
Thayer's Correspondence, Duplicates, 1875-1888
3
25
Thayer's Correspondence, Duplicates, 1889-1893
3
26
Thayer's Correspondence, Duplicates, 1894-1900
3
27
Thayer's Correspondence, Duplicates, 1901-1907
3
28
Thayer's Correspondence, Duplicates, 1908-1912
3
29
Thayer's Correspondence, Duplicates, 1913-1919
3
30
3.2.4: Other Correspondence, 1853-1941
Other correspondence includes letters, 1853-1892, between Henry T. Bowditch and William Henry Thayer. The letters were hand-copied by William Henry Thayer and contain many references to Abbott Handerson Thayer. Also found are letters of Gladys Thayer to, and regarding, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, a bird illustrator who first trained formally with Abbott Handerson Thayer; letters of Emma B. Thayer; Royal Cortissoz's correspondence concerning Thayer, written after Thayer's death; and copies of correspondence between Charles Freer and Dwight W. Tryon and between J. Alex Donald, Dwight W. Tryon, and George Alfred Williams, used as background research for the Thayer biography.
Description Container
Bowditch, Henry T. with Thayer, William Henry, 1853-1892
3
31
Cortissoz, Royal, 1921-1933
3
32
Donald, J. Alex, Tryon, Dwight, and Williams, George Alfred, circa 1914-1925
3
33
Freer, Charles Lang to Tryon, Dwight W., 1894-1925
3
34
Thayer, Emma B. From Others, circa 1882-1922
3
35
Thayer, Gladys to Boynton, Mary, Regarding Louis Agassiz Fuertes, 1941
3
36
Thayer, Gladys to Fuertes, Louis Agassiz, 1897-1927
3
37
3.2.5: Writings and Notes, circa 1880s-1939
Thayer's writings and notes include manuscripts with related correspondence and notes concerning concealing coloration and wildlife preservation. Also found are typescripts and printed copies of Thayer's essays "An Arraignment of the Theories of Mimicry and Warning Colors" (1909), and "Concealing Coloration: An Answer to Theodore Roosevelt" (1912); Thayer's writings on the damages inherent in the restoration of works of art; and Thayer's miscellaneous notes, writings, and fragments on subjects such as art, nature, and philosophy.
Writings by others include several typescripts of essays about Thayer, the transcript of a radio broadcast on Thayer's painting "Caritas" written by Edward W. Rannells, and lists of Thayer's artwork.
Description Container
Thayer, "Edward Martin Taber's Drawings", 1913
3
38
Thayer, On Concealing Coloration, circa 1902-circa 1917
3
39
Thayer, On Concealing Coloration, circa 1902-circa 1917
3
40
Thayer, On Concealing Coloration, circa 1902-circa 1917
3
41
Thayer, On Wildlife Preservation, circa 1900-circa 1918
3
42
Thayer, On Wildlife Preservation, circa 1900-circa 1918
3
43
Thayer, "Restoration: The Doom of Works of Art", circa 1921
3
44
Thayer, "Restoration: The Doom of Works of Art", circa 1921
3
45
Thayer, Miscellaneous Notes, Writings, and Fragments, circa 1870s-circa 1920s
OV material housed in OV 6
3
46
Thayer, Miscellaneous Notes, Writings, and Fragments, circa 1870s-circa 1920s
3
47
Thayer, Miscellaneous Notes, Writings, and Fragments, circa 1870s-circa 1920s
3
48
Thayer, Miscellaneous Notes, Writings, and Fragments, circa 1870s-circa 1920s
3
49
Other Writings, About Thayer, circa 1908-1939
3
50
Other Writings, Lists of Thayer's Artwork, circa 1890s-circa 1923
3
51
Other Writings, Transcript of Radio Broadcast on Thayer's "Caritas" by Edward W. Rannells, 1932
3
52
OV Other Correspondence, Miscellaneous Notes, Writings, and Fragments from Box 3, Folder 48
OV 6
3.2.6: Printed Material, circa 1875-1922, 1961
Printed material includes news clippings and other printed matter about Thayer, some of which is taken from a scrapbook probably belonging to Gladys Thayer. Exhibition catalogs are for a Thayer memorial exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1922, and a 1961 Thayer exhibition at the Lyman Allyn Museum. Printed material by Thayer includes news clippings of many letters he wrote to newspaper editors.
Description Container
Exhibition Catalogs, 1922, 1961
3
53
About Thayer, circa 1890s-circa 1922
3
54
About Thayer, circa 1875-1919
3
55
About Thayer, circa 1921-1922
3
56
By Thayer, circa 1896-1916
3
57
3.2.7: Photographs, circa 1851-1950
Photos of homes include the Thayer house in Dublin, New Hampshire, and a photo of the Nantucket cottage of Miss and Mrs. Evans with a kite made by Thayer and Joe Evans. Landscape photos appear to have been taken around the Thayer family home with views of Monadnock Lake near Dublin.
Photographs of Thayer include portraits; photos with family including Emma, Gerald, Gladys, and Mary Thayer; photos with friends including the Whelpleys, and the Tryons and Arthur Bell at Guernsey. Also found is a photo of Elsie Pumpelly, who served as a model for the central figure in Thayer's painting, "Caritas," and photos of Kate Thayer, Thayer's parents, and Emma Beach Thayer with her family. Unidentified individuals are possibly also of Emma Beach Thayer or members of her family.
Photos of artwork by others comprise copy prints of a portrait of Thayer by Gladys Thayer, a picture of a Thayer family school, and a drawing by William Henry Thayer taken from his journal.
Description Container
Elsie Pumpelly on Capri, circa 1895
3
58
Emma Beach and Family, circa 1890s
3
59
Homes, circa 1880s-circa 1940s
3
60
Homes, Duplicates, circa 1880s-circa 1940s
3
61
Landscapes, circa 1900
3
62
Thayer, circa 1861-circa 1915
3
63
Thayer, Duplicates, circa 1861-circa 1915
4
1
Thayer Family Sleeping Hut, circa 1907
4
2
Thayer with Family and Others, circa 1851-circa 1903
4
3
Thayer with Family and Others, circa 1903-circa 1940s
4
4
Thayer with Family and Others, Duplicates, circa 1851-circa 1940s
4
5
Thayer's Parents and Kate Thayer, circa 1870s
4
6
Thayer's Studio, circa 1900
4
7
Unidentified People, circa 1900
4
8
Photographs of Artwork, circa 1940s
Includes 1 photo of unidentified exhibition
4
9
Photographs of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
10
Photographs of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
11
Photographs of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
12
Photographs of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
13
Photographs of Artwork, Duplicates, circa 1940s
4
14
Reproductions of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
15
Reproductions of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
16
Reproductions of Artwork, circa 1940s
4
17
Photographs of Artwork Showing Concealing Coloration, 1950
4
18
Photographs of Artwork by Others, circa 1940s
4
19

Make a Request

  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.