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Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 288

Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Friends of the Museum of the Cooper Union

Fundraising and Meeting Records, 1934-1963

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Friends of the Museum of the Cooper Union
Title:Fundraising and Meeting Records
Dates:1934-1963
Quantity:1 cu. ft. (2 document boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 288
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

These records document the Friends of the Museum's annual appeals and annual meetings. Materials include correspondence requesting donations; invitations to the meetings and exhibit openings; correspondence with guest speakers; receipt and expense reports; copies of speeches given at the annual meetings; and membership lists. Some materials date to when the museum was known as the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.

Historical Note

From its conception, the Cooper Union Museum was dependent on the Hewitt sisters and their friends for donations. After Sarah Hewitt's death in 1931, it was feared that public interest, especially that of sponsors, in a museum of decorative arts would decrease. In 1934, the Museum's Board of Directors and interested persons founded the Friends of the Museum of the Cooper Union. In addition to collecting dues from members, the Friends of the Museum solicitated annually for funds, and, from 1936, met annually for tea parties and lectures. The funds collected were used to purchase objects for the Museum, to pay costs for extra personnel and maintenance, and to encourage the study of decorative arts.

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Descriptive Entry

These records document the Friends of the Museum's annual appeals and annual meetings. Included is correspondence requesting donations; invitations to the meetings and exhibit openings; correspondence with guest speakers; receipt and expense reports; copies of speeches given at the annual meetings; and membership lists.

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This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 288, Cooper-Hewitt Museum. Friends of the Museum of the Cooper Union, Fundraising and Meeting Records

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Container List

Series 1

ANNUAL APPEALS, 1934-1963

Box 1

Folder 1 Analysis of receipts and expenditures, 1934-1963

Box 1 of 2

Folders 2-9 Appeals, 1955-1963

Box 1 of 2

Folder 10 Correspondence: Acknowledgements of complimentary mailing of "Museums of New York City," 1955

Box 1 of 2

Folder 11 Correspondence: Copies of form letters requesting for donations, 1934-1963

Box 1 of 2

Folders 12-15 Expenditures, 1951, 1958-1961

Box 1 of 2

Folder 16 Membership lists and miscellaneous

Box 1 of 2

Folder 17 Receipts and expenditures, 1934-1959

Box 1 of 2

Series 2

ANNUAL MEETINGS, 1936-1961

Box 1

Folder 18 First Annual Meeting, May 6, 1936 - Guest speaker: A. Everett Austin

Box 1 of 2

Folder 19 Second Annual Meeting, May 7, 1937 - Guest speaker: William Lescaze

Box 1 of 2

Folder 20 Third Annual Meeting, April 26, 1938 - Guest speakers: Miss Helen Dryden and Mr. Tom Lee

Box 1 of 2

Folder 21 Fourth Annual Meeting, February 6, 1939 - Guest speaker: none

Box 1 of 2

Folder 22 Fifth Annual Meeting, May 2, 1940 - Guest speaker: none

Box 1 of 2

Folder 23 Sixth Annual Meeting, April 21, 1941 - Guest speaker: Brryman Ridges

Box 1 of 2

Folder 24 Seventh Annual Meeting, April 13, 1942 - Guest speaker: Mrs. Luke Vincent Lockwood

Box 1 of 2

Box 2

Folder 1 Nineth Annual Meeting, April 25, 1944 - Guest speaker: Edward Ringwood Hewitt

Box 2 of 2

Folder 2 Tenth Annual Meeting, May 21, 1945 - Guest speaker: Royal Bailey Farnum

Box 2 of 2

Folder 3 Eleventh Annual Meeting, May 24, 1946

Box 2 of 2

Folder 4 Twelfth Annual Meeting, May 22, 1947 - Guest speaker: Lauder Greenway

Box 2 of 2

Folder 5 Thirtennth Annual Meeting, May 4, 1948 - Guest speaker: John Vassos

Box 2 of 2

Folder 6 Fourteenth Annual Meeting, May 10, 1949 - Guest speaker: Ruth Reeves

Box 2 of 2

Folder 7 Fifteenth Annual Meeting, April 25, 1950 - Guest speaker: Hardinge Scholle

Box 2 of 2

Folder 8 Sixteenth annual Meeting, May 8, 1951 - Guest speaker: William C. Pahlmann

Box 2 of 2

Folder 9 Seventeenth Annual Meeting, April 16, 1952 - Guest speaker: The Reverand John LaFarge, S. J.

Box 2 of 2

Folder 10 Eighteenth Annual Meeting, April 18, 1953 - Guest speaker: Sir Shane Leslie

Box 2 of 2

Folder 11 Nineteenth Annual Meeting, April 20, 1954 - Guest speaker: Kenneth F. Bates

Box 2 of 2

Folder 12 Twentieth Annual Meeting, April 21, 1955 - Guest speaker: none

Box 2 of 2

Folder 13 Twenty-first Annual Meeting, April 26, 1956 - Guest speaker: none

Box 2 of 2

Folders 14-16 Twenty-second Annual Meeting, May 22, 1957 - Guest speakers: August Heckscher

Box 2 of 2

Arthur Houghton, Jr.

Box 2 of 2

Folder 17 Twenty-third Annual Meeting, March 27, 1958 - Guest speaker: Paul Zucker

Box 2 of 2

Folder 18 Twenty-fourth Annual Meeting, April 21, 1959 - Guest speaker: Lee Simonson

Box 2 of 2

Folder 19 Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting, March 23, 1961 - Guest speaker: Paul Zimmerman

Box 2 of 2

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