The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:          Robert S. Stuart                                              

Title:               Papers

Dates:             1920-1983

Call No.:         Col. 81

Acc. No.:         88x211

Quantity:        1 box

Location:        13 D 2

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Robert S. Stuart was a collector and student of the American decorative arts.  He lived most of his adult life in the Chestnut Hills section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

These papers reflect some of Stuart's activities and interests.  In particular, they focus on his study of early silver objects and of early American furniture.  For instance, in the correspondence with the New Jersey State Museum, Stuart provides a professional appraisal of the silver service made for the battleship New Jersey.  Other letters discuss objects he was loaning for exhibition.

 

The bulk of the collection is correspondence with individuals and museums; most of this is made up of single letters.  The most frequent correspondent was Jesse Bair, from Hanover, Pennsylvania.  He repaired or restored a great deal of furniture for Stuart over the years.  (The Downs Collection, incidentally, holds a number of Bair's own papers, Col. 162.)

 

The next most prevalent type of material is photographs and negatives (some from museum collections, such as Winterthur and Colonial Williamsburg).  A few published articles from newspapers, and a few printed price lists complete the collection.

           

 

ORGANIZATION

           

The folders are arranged in alphabetically order.

 

 

PROVENANCE

           

Gift of Joseph McFalls.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Bair, Jesse William, fl. 1922-1962.

            Hogg, Ima.

            Stockwell, David.

           

Topics:

            Antiques.

            Silverwork - Private collections.

            Furniture - Private collections.

            Organ builders - Pennsylvania - York.

            Furniture - Repairing.

            Correspondence.

            Photoprints.

            Price lists.

            Appraisals.

            Appraisers.

            Collectors.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 13 D 2

 

Box 1:

 

Folder 1:          Articles

Folder 2:          Correspondence: Bair, Jesse, 1949-61

Folder 3:          Correspondence: Baltimore Museum of Art, 1982

Folder 4:          Correspondence: Burkhardt, Robert, 1942

Folder 5:          Correspondence: Collier, 1957

Folder 6:          Correspondence: Colonial Williamsburg, 1973

Folder 7:          Correspondence: du Pont, H. F., 1952

Folder 8:          Correspondence: Elkinton, Katherine Wistar, 1954

Folder 9:          Correspondence: Fox, Louis Ellsworth (re: Bair, Jesse), 1963

Folder 10:        Correspondence: Gerstall, Vivian (Mrs. Richard), 1982

Folder 11:        Correspondence: Historical Society of Delaware, 1977

Folder 12:        Correspondence: Hogg, Ima, 1953

Folder 13:        Correspondence: Hopkins & Jones Ltd. (London), 1976

Folder 14:        Correspondence: Horton Brasses, 1977

Folder 15:        Correspondence: Johnson, Charles E., 1973, 1979

Folder 16:        Correspondence: Martin, Mervin B., 1975

Folder 17:        Correspondence: Montgomery, Charles F., 1977

Folder 18:        Correspondence: Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), 1949, 1958

Folder 19:        Correspondence: Museum Silver Shop, Inc., 1949

Folder 20:        Correspondence: New Jersey State Museum, 1974-1975

Folder 21:        Correspondence: Pavey, Jess, 1960

Folder 22:        Correspondence: Perry, Don, 1959, 1961

Folder 23:        Correspondence: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1961, 1974

Folder 24:        Correspondence: Pomeroy, Mrs William M. (re: Pottsgrove Mansion & Duffield Clock Appraisal), 1969

Folder 25:        Correspondence: Prime, Mrs. Alfred C., n.d.

Folder 26:        Correspondence: Pyne Press, 1973

Folder 27:        Correspondence: Rhode Island Historical Society, 1965

Folder 28:        Correspondence: Rosenthal, Ellen M., 1977

Folder 29:        Correspondence: Sack, Israel, Inc., 1968, 1971

Folder 30:        Correspondence: Saybolt & Cleland Inc., 1963, 1973

Folder 21:        Correspondence: Stockwell, David, 1942, 1946, 1959-1960

Folder 32:        Correspondence: Sulzer, G. H., 1972

Folder 33:        Correspondence: Sussex Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. (England), 1928

Folder 34:        Correspondence: Taggart, Josh B., 1969-1970

Folder 35:        Correspondence: Taylor, Jack, 1968

Folder 36:        Correspondence: Tousey, Richard, n.d.

Folder 37:        Correspondence: Trace, Timothy, 1978

Folder 38:        Correspondence: University Hospital Antiques Show, 1969

Folder 39:        Correspondence: White, Wester A., 1964

Folder 40:        Correspondence: Whittock, P., 1964

Folder 41:        Correspondence: William Penn Memorial Museum, 1978

Folder 42:        Correspondence: Williams, Charles Cecil, 1983

Folder 43:        Correspondence: Winterthur Museum, 1969

Folder 44:        Correspondence: Wright Mansion (Columbia, Pa.), 1977

Folder 45:        Correspondence: Young, Ann, 1952

Folder 46:        Lincoln, Abraham, engraving

Folder 47:        Miscellaneous papers

Folders 48-50: Photographs and negatives (3 folders)

Folder 51:        Printed materials (including price lists)

Folder 52:        York Cottage Organ advertisement lithograph (19th century)