The
The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and
Printed Ephemera
Henry Francis du Pont
5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur,
Delaware 19735
Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883
OVERVIEW OF
THE COLLECTION
Creator: Davis, C. K. (Charles
Krum)
Title: C.K. Davis papers
Dates: circa 1940-circa 1980
Call No.: Col 1001
Acc. No.: 2018x63; 2019x2
Quantity: 2 boxes, 2 magazines
Location: 8 B 6
BIOGRAPHICAL
STATEMENT
C. K. Davis was a
distinguished collector of American antiques and a business executive. He was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in
1889, the son of Mary Magdalena Krum and Walter Scott Davis. He graduated from the University of Illinois
and became a chemical engineer. After
stints with the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and the American Smelting
and Mining Company, he went to work for the DuPont Company. In 1933, he became president of the Remington
Arms Company (a subsidiary of DuPont), and moved to their new home, Highwood
House, in Winton Park, Fairfield, Connecticut.
There, he and his wife Bertha Barbara Buscher Davis began to collect
American antiques, buying the best they could from the top dealers. Much of their furniture was purchased from
Israel Sack, Inc.; the development of their pewter collection was supervised by
Charles Montgomery. Davis was a friend
of fellow collector Henry Francis du Pont.
Articles about the Davis collection were printed in the Magazine Antiques in January and March 1941.
Davis served as
president of Remington Arms until 1954; he then became chairman of the
company’s board, serving in that capacity until 1968, the year he died. He was a trustee of American Wildlife
Foundation and served on the board of Winterthur Museum. He was a member of the Pewter Collectors’
Club of America. Davis was awarded the
Rice Gold Medal of the Army Ordnance Association for his work during World War
II. When part of Davis’ collection was
disbursed after his death, Winterthur Museum acquired several pieces. His obituary was printed in the New York Times on January 10, 1968.
Israel Sack, Inc.
sold other pieces from the Davis collection after the death of Mrs. Davis,
which occurred before October 1976. The
Davis’ had four children, two daughters and two sons.
SCOPE AND
CONTENT
The bulk of the collection is comprised of
information sheets about and photographs of individual pieces in the collection
of C. K. Davis, particularly furniture, clocks, paintings, and Currier and Ives
prints. Also included are photos of
rooms in the house, showing how the antiques the Davises collected were
arranged. Sometimes, items in a room
were rearranged as evidenced by varying photos of the same room. The information sheets have a description of
the piece (whether piece of furniture, clock, or art work), and a note about
when and from whom purchased, but rarely was the price given. Most of the photos show the pieces in
isolation, not in a room setting. Although
the Davises had collected other decorative arts, such as ceramics, pewter, and
silver, little information about those are found. It is not known who nor when the photos were
taken, although one album was apparently compiled by one of the Davises’
daughters; it focuses on items in her own home.
Also included are several pamphlets and magazines. In 1953, Albert Sack published a tribute to
his father Israel Sack; C. K. Davis contributed a letter to the pamphlet. Israel Sack signed both copies in this
collection. Davis owned several
paintings by Connecticut artist George Henry Durrie and loaned them to an
exhibit at the Wadsworth Atheneum in 1947.
Two copies of the exhibition catalog are in the collection. Brochure 29, Oct. 1, 1976, from Israel Sack,
Inc., featured pieces from the Davis collection which came on the market after
the death of Mrs. Davis.
ORGANIZATION
The two accessions have been interfiled. The bulk of acc. 2019x2 were binders labeled
“American Antiques, C. K. Davis.” Only
one of these binders was in acc. 2018x63.
One of the original binders has been retained.
LANGUAGE OF
MATERIALS
The materials are in English.
RESTRICTIONS
ON ACCESS
Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.
PROVENANCE
Accession
2018x63: purchased from Schwenke Auctioneers/Woodbury Auction; these materials
had been consigned by the estate of one of the sons of C. K. Davis.
Accession
2019x2: purchased from Catherine Myers, a granddaughter of C. K. Davis.
RELATED MATERIALS
Correspondence
between Henry Francis du Pont and C. K. Davis may be found in the H. F. du Pont
papers in the Winterthur Archives.
ACCESS POINTS
People:
Durrie, George Henry,
1820-1863.
Sack,
Israel.
Topics:
Antiques.
Antiques in interior decoration - Connecticut -
Fairfield.
Art, American - 19th century.
Furniture, American - 18th century -
Photographs.
Furniture,
American - 19th century - Photographs.
Photography of
interiors.
Collectors.
Executives.
DETAILED
DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
Location: 8 B 6
Box 1:
Folder 1: “American
Antiques, C.K. Davis”: original binder
The
contents of folders 2-8 were in binders just like this one.
Folders 2-8: “American
Antiques, C.K. Davis”: contents removed from binders
Between the two
accessions, there were seven binders.
None of the binders were numbered, and there did not seem to be in
particular order to them. One contained
photos of the house, while the others contained photos of antiques and
information sheets about them. The
contents of each binder were removed and placed into these folders, in the same
order in which they were in the binders.
It is not known who compiled these information sheets and photos, but
presumably someone working for Mr. and Mrs. Davis, if not them.
Folder 9: unlabeled notebook: photos and notes
about C.K. Davis collection; these materials may have been compiled by one of
his daughters
Box 2:
Folder 1: C.K. Davis collection: information
sheets and photos; includes a 19th century print of General Anthony
Wayne;
Most, if not
all, of the items in this folder are copies of items in the “American Antiques”
binders, but these were in a separate binder with no title.
Folder 2: C.K. Davis home: interior photos
showing his collection
Again, most
of these are duplicates of what is found in Box 1, folder 3
Folder 3: note cards about pieces from collection
which went to Bill [whether son or grandson is not known]
Folder 4: “George Henry Durrie, 1820-1863:
Connecticut Painter of American Life” (2 copies):
catalog for
exhibition at Wadsworth Atheneum, 1947; Davis lent paintings no. 15, 30, and
40, plus Currier and Ives prints from Durrie paintings (entries 44-45, 47-53)
folder 5: “Israel Sack: A Record of Service,
1903-1953,” compiled by Albert Sack (2 copies)
Tribute from
and to C. K. Davis is on pages 26-27.
Israel Sack signed both copies; the inscriptions are different.
Folder 6: Israel Sack, Inc.: “Opportunities in
American Antiques,” brochure 29, Oct. 1, 1976.
On page 3 is
a tribute to C. K. Davis; pieces from his collection are pictured on p.
4-47. Mrs. Davis had recently died and
these pieces were back on the market because of that.
Folder 7: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Bulletin,
v. 7, no. 2 (Oct. 1948). Includes a
picture of “The Death of Wolfe” by Benjamin West. Apparently a print from this was in the Davis
collection.
Magazines on shelf:
The Magazine Antiques, December 1940. A copy of the frontispiece “Approach to
Christmas” was in the Davis collection.
American Collector.
October 1939. The issue includes
an article about Currier and Ives prints, and also an article on Queen Anne
furniture.