The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE 19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Strassburger, May Bourne

Title: Papers

Dates: 1924-1940

Call No.: Col. 583

Acc. No.: 99x123

Quantity: 2 boxes

Location: 35 J 1

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

May Bourne Strassburger and her husband Ralph Beaver Strassburger were avid antique collectors. May Bourne was the daughter of Frederick G. and Emma Sparks Keeler Bourne. (Mr. Bourne was president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company.) She married Ralph in 1911, and they had one son, Johann Andreas Peter (called Peter, lived 1916-1993). Mrs. Strassburger died in 1975.

Ralph was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on March 26, 1883, the son of Jacob Andrew and Mary Jane Beaver Strassburger. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy, served eight years in the Navy, and then joined the diplomatic corps, being posted to Eastern Europe and Japan. He also owned the newspaper Norristown Times Herald. He wrote two books: a genealogy of the Strassburger family, and one on German settlers in Pennsylvania. He belonged to a large number of clubs and historical and genealogical societies. Further information about him can be found in Who Was Who. He died on February 26, 1959.

The Strassburgers owned several homes: Normandy Farm in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania (where they raised horses and Ayrshire cattle; now a hotel and conference center); a place in Paris; La Ferme du Coteau in Deauville, France (where they raised thoroughbred horses); and Villa Pennsylvanie in Chantilly, France. They also spent time in Palm Beach, Florida, and may have owned a home there. For Normandy Farms, the Strassburgers amassed a large collection of American antiques, including a good collection of Pennsylvania German furniture and decorative arts. A number of these pieces were obtained by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1994.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

These papers illuminate the acquisition of antiques by the Strassburgers. The single largest component of the collection consists of correspondence with and bills from antique dealers, most of whom were in England or France. Almost all the items mentioned were intended for one of the Strassburgers’ French homes. There is some correspondence with American dealers; items mentioned are for their place in Palm Beach or for Normandy Farm in Pennsylvania. Several letters are with small Pennsylvania dealers. Although the Strassburgers were buying Chippendale furniture and sterling silver in Europe, in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Strassburger was buying homespun textiles. Several letters allude to Mrs. Strassburger being a handspinner. (In fact, the Strassburgers amassed a good collection of Pennsylvania furniture and decorative arts, but for the most part, those acquisitions are not documented by this collection.)

The second largest component of the collection is letters from Albert Stopford, an elderly English gentleman who assisted the Strassburgers. He acted as an intermediary between the Strassburgers and dealers and helped arrange for shipping their purchases. Some of the letters from dealers were sent directly to Mr. Stopford and are filed with his correspondence.

Also in the collection are catalogs from and notices of exhibitions and sales; photographs of furniture, silver, and rooms (probably one of the Strassburgers’ homes, but they are not labeled); a postcard showing the gate to Normandy Farm; a few newspaper clippings; and some inventories, mostly detailing pictures hanging in one of the Strassburgers’ homes (which one is not specified). There are a few photographs attached to correspondence from dealers.

ORGANIZATION

The correspondence with and bills from dealers are arranged alphabetically by name of dealer, with the exception of the correspondence and bills from Frank Partridge, Inc. Because they are oversized, that material is located in Box 2. Correspondence from Albert Stopford is also filed separately, and as stated above, correspondence sent from dealers directly to Stopford is filed with letters written by him. There are a few letters which do not seem to relate to collecting antiques; these have been placed in a separate folder marked Correspondence – Miscellaneous.

PROVENANCE

Purchased from Carmen D. Valentino, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

RELATED MATERIALS

Items woven by Mrs. Strassburger are found in Col. 360 in this repository.

The Philadelphia Museum of Arts acquired part of the Strassburgers’ collection of Pennsylvania furniture and decorative arts.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Stopford, Albert.

Strassburger, Ralph, 1883-1959

Topics:

Antique dealers

Antique dealers – Great Britain - Exhibitions

Antiques

Collectors and collecting

Poster stamps

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 35 J 1

Box: 1

Folder: 1 Catalogs and notices of exhibitions and sales, 1925-1939

Folder: 2 Correspondence with and bills from dealers: A-H

T. Allen, Essex, England

H. Amouroux, Paris

Anthony Brook, Ltd., London

Les Arcades, Paris

Aux Anges Gothiques, Paris

Ohan S. Berberyan, New York

Henri Bihn, Paris

Bowman Brothers, London

G. Camerino de Venise, Paris

Louis Carre, Paris

J. H. Chamberlain, Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania (poster stamp on telegram)

Norah Churchman, Philadelphia

Maurice Coeffe, Paris

Crichton Brothers, London

Darrah and Darrah, United States?

Mrs. John T. Daub, Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Honore Defresne, Vitry, France

Basil Dighton, London

E. Schmidt & Co., United States?

Les Editions Pittoresques, Paris

O. Fakler, Paris

Messrs. Fores, London

Frank Partridge, Inc. – in Box 2

Freeman of London, New York

Galerie d’Art de la Compagnie de la Chine & des Indes, Paris

La Grande Maison de Blanc, Paris

Harman & Co., Ltd., London

W.H. Hartman, Pottstown, Pennsylvania

C.M. Heffner, Reading, Pennsylvania

Holmes & Co., London

Folder: 3 Correspondence with and bills from dealers: J-Y, and unknown

James Robinson

J.S. Lowden, Ltd., London

J.W. Needham, Ltd., Manchester, England

Lloyd K. Kemmerer, Spring Mount, Pennsylvania

Florence A. Lambert, Norristown, Pennsylvania

Leggatt Brothers, London

Librarie Maurice Chamonal, Paris

Douglas Lorie, Palm Beach, Florida

Maison Faucon, Paris

La Maison Hollandaise, Paris

Maison J. Pedroni, Monte Carlo

Maison Odiot, Paris

Marion, Paris

Harry F. Marks, New York

McClees Galleries, Philadelphia

A.J. Pennypacker, Telford, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Autograph Company, Philadelphia

Pitt & Scott, Ltd., Paris, London, etc. (shipping agency)

Marthe de Haas Reeves, Philadelphia

Rousseau-Girard, Paris

Salva Freres, Paris

Charles Sessler, United States?

The Silver Shop, Princeton, New Jersey

W. & J. Sloane, New York

Smallest but Smartest Umbrella Shop, Paris

M. Elizabeth Spangler, Ephrata, Pennsylvania

Laura Stout, Germantown, Philadelphia

T. Crowther & Son, London

Tessiers Ltd., London

Lucien Texier, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France

Georges Truffaut, Versailles, France

Elizabeth F. Twitmire, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Wakelin, Paris

Frank M. Weaver, Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Mary Ella Weinrich, Norristown, Pennsylvania

Walter H. Willson, London

J.O. Wilson, New York

Yamanaka & Company, New York

Levi E. Yoder, Silverdale, Pennsylvania

Unknown (2 pieces)

Folder: 4 Correspondence - miscellaneous

Folder: 5 Miscellaneous notes

Folder: 6 Photographs of furniture, portraits, and rooms

Folder: 7 Postcard of Normandy Farm

Folder: 8 Stopford, Albert: Correspondence, 1924-1927

Folder: 9 Stopford, Albert: Correspondence, 1928-1934, n.d.

Box: 2

Folder: 1 Frank Partridge, Inc.: Correspondence and bills, 1925-1929

Folder: 2 Frank Partridge, Inc.: Correspondence and bills, 1931-1938, n.d.

Folder: 3 Inventories

Folder: 4 Newspaper clippings