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Norman H. and Charlotte Strouse collection of letters of the presidents
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Held at: Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department [Contact Us]Philadelphia, PA, 19103
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Norman H. Strouse was born in Olympia, Washington in 1906. Strouse worked for forty years at the J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency, then the world's largest. In 1955 he was promoted to president, and was made chief executive in 1960. He served as chairman from 1964 until he retired in 1968. He was also chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the recipient of the Gold Medal Award in advertising. After retiring in 1968, Strouse focused on collecting rare books, fine printing, and bindings. He specialized in books by Thomas Carlyle, works bound by Thomas Bird Moser, and 12th-16th-century illuminated manuscripts. He and his wife, Charlotte, founded the Silverado Museum in St. Helena, dedicated to Robert Louis Stevenson, with more than 6,000 books and other items. Strouse also wrote four books, including How to Build a Poor Man’s Morgan Library.
This is a collection of manuscript letters of presidents of the United States dating from 1780 to 1993. All of the presidents are represented except for Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. The letters and other documents relating to Abraham Lincoln have been separated into their own collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Older letters are generally more substantive, with more recent letters mostly being short notes of thanks.
Some highlights of the collection are published volumes with inscriptions by Theodore Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. There are also printed copies of "Report upon Weights and Measures" (1821) and "Eulogy on James Madison" (1836), both signed by John Quincy Adams; an autograph book with signatures of presidents, cabinet secretaries, senators, and other politicians; Bushrod Washington's Supreme Court Commission, signed by John Adams (1798); a framed photograph of Norman Strouse; a signed framed photograph of Herbert Hoover; and transcriptions of letters of George Washington (the originals are not in the collection).
The varied nature of this collection limits how useful it will be to researchers. However, because these are documents relating to the presidents of the United States, the likelihood that an individual item (or a short run of related items) could be of interest is high.
Items are arranged by president or administration, and then within this grouping, chronologically.
The great majority of the materials were collected by Norman H. and Charlotte Strouse and donated between 1960 and 1978, but some items were donated by other individuals or purchased by the library from various dealers at later dates.
Gift of Norman H. and Charlotte Strouse, 1960-1978.
Finding aid entered into the Archivists' Toolkit by Garrett Boos.
People
- Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848
- Adams, John, 1735-1826
- Arnold, Isaac Newton, 1815-1884
- Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886
- Barkley, Alben William, 1877-1956
- Bingham, John Armor, 1815-1900
- Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
- Bush, Barbara, 1925-
- Bush, George, 1924-
- Caldwell, John, 1819-1868
- Camp, Benjamin Franklin, 1852-1929
- Clarke, Sidney, 1831-1909
- Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908
- Collamer, Jacob, 1791-1865
- Coolidge, Calvin, 1872-1933
- Curtin, Andrew Gregg, 1815-1894
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
- Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874
- Forbes, Wm. (William), d. 1877
- Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006
- Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881
- Goodwin, John Noble, 1824-1887
- Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885
- Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-192
- Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
- Harrison, William Henry, 1773-1841
- Hayes, Rutherford Birchard, 1822-1893
- Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
- Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845
- Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
- Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875
- Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973
- Judah, Henry Moses, 1821-1866
- Kellogg, Francis William, 1810-1879
- Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
- Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
- Madison, James, 1751-1836
- Markey, Morris, 1899-1950
- McKinley, William, 1843-1901
- Monroe , James, 1758-1831
- Moore, William Yorke, 1806-1890
- Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877
- Nixon, John T. (John Thompson), 1820-1889
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
- Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869
- Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849
- Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
- Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
- Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
- Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
- Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850
- Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
- Tyler, John, 1790-1862
- Van Buren, Martin, 1782-1862
- Washington, Bushrod, 1762-1829
- Washington, George, 1732-1799
- Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
- Yates, Richard, 1815-1873
Organization
- Publisher
- Free Library of Philadelphia: Rare Book Department
- Finding Aid Date
- 2010.11.22
- Sponsor
- The creation of the electronic guide for this collection was made possible through generous funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources’ "Cataloging Hidden Special Collections and Archives" Project. Finding aid entered into the Archivists" Toolkit by Garrett Boos.
- Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
The right of access to material does not imply the right of publication. Permission for reprinting, reproduction, or extensive quotation from the rare books, manuscripts, prints, or drawings must be obtained through written application, stating the use to be made of the material. The reader bears the responsibility for any possible infringement of copyright laws in the publication of such material. A reproduction fee will be charged if the material is to be reproduced in a commercial publication.
Collection Inventory
Transcription laid in.
Transcription laid in.
Cf. Sparks.
Signed by President John Adams and Secretary of State Timothy Pickering.
Transcription laid in.
Part of integral address leaf cut out, with loss of text. Cf. The works of Thomas Jefferson.
Countersigned by Josiah Meigs. Autographed note signed by S.W. Meigs at foot. Notes in unidentified hand on verso spell recipient's name as Rhodes and Rhoades. On vellum. With seal. Printed notice from the General Land Office, Washington, October 31, 1817, attached to verso.
With seal.
Engraved portrait laid in. Transcription laid in.
Autographed note signed by Eugene A. Vail on verso of integral address leaf. With seal.
Transcription laid in.
Addressed to Harrison during his term of office as President of the United States. Torn into two pieces.
Transcription laid in.
Small hole chewed through foot of all pages, with loss of text.
Transcription laid in.
Transcription laid in.
Transcription laid in.
Copy in six pages, probably made by Taylor's secretary, laid in.
Transcription laid in.
Identity of recipient uncertain.
Autographed note signed by A. Lincoln to the Secretary of War (Simon Cameron) Nov. 30, 1861, on verso of integral address leaf. Cf. The collected works of Abraham Lincoln.
Photograph by Upson & Simpson, 356 Main Street, Buffalo, New York
Transcription laid in.
Autographed note in unidentified hand, identifying recipient, on verso of integral address leaf. Engraved portrait and photograph of Pierce laid in.
Cosigned by W. L. Marcy.
Autographed document signed, signed by Buchanan and Sam Dale, Lancaster, 14 April 1819, on verso.
Transcription laid in.
Autographed note, February 3/64, possibly in the hand of John L. Cochran, at foot of fourth page. Transcription laid in.
In pencil.
11 30 am in pencil in unidentified hand at head.
11 30 am in pencil in unidentified hand at head. On stationery headed "Head Quarters Armies of the United States."
8 30 pm in pencil in unidentified hand at head.
7 30 pm in pencil in unidentified hand at head.
4 pm in pencil in unidentified hand at head. On stationery headed "Head-Quarters Armies of the United States."
10 30 am in pencil in unidentified hand at head.
11 am in pencil in unidentified hand at head. On stationery headed "Head Quarters Armies of the United States."
On stationery headed "Headquarters Armies of the United States." Transcription laid in.
Transcription laid in.
On stationery headed "Headquarters Armies of the United States."
On the stationery of the War Department. Transcription laid in.
On stationery headed "Headquarters Armies of the United States." Transcription laid in.
Autographed note signed by Borie on recto of integral address leaf. On the stationery of the Executive Manison.
One-page letter, with three-page manuscript. Fuller authenticates the poem with his signature in Blossom's letter. The manuscript, in pencil, is in an unidentified hand. Cf. Willard L. King"s letter, 21 July 1970, in curatorial files.
On the stationery of the Executive Manison. Autographed letter signed from Clay, near Lexington, April 6th 1877, to Hayes, laid in.
Transcription laid in.
Transcription laid in. On the stationery of the State of New York, Quartermaster General's Department.
On the stationery of the Executive Mansion. Transcription laid in.
On the stationery of the Executive Mansion.
On the stationery of the Executive Mansion. Transcription laid in. Engraved portrait of Cleveland laid in.
On the stationery of the Executive Mansion. Transcription laid in. Engraved portrait of Cleveland laid in.
Housed separately. Transcription laid in.
Photograph by C.M. Bell, 463-465 Penna. Ave. 701 Fifteenth St. Washington, D.C. Two engraved portraits of Cleveland, one signed, laid in.
On the stationery of the Law Office of Harrison, Hines & Miller.
Signed "W. McKinley Jr."
With corrections in McKinley's hand. On the stationery of the Executive Mansion.
Extensive additions and corrections in Roosevelt's hand. Engraved portrait of Roosevelt laid in.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
Extensive additions and corrections, in pencil, in Roosevelt's hand. Two pages are additions in an unidentified hand.
With corrections in Roosevelt's hand. On the stationery of The Outlook.
On the stationery of the White House. Transcription laid in.
Mr. Wilson and the campaign. One page letter. Extensive additions and corrections in Taft's hand in typescript, including ten pages completely handwritten. Published in the Yale Review (October 1920) as "Mr. Wilson and the Campaign." Incomplete copy of Yale Review (October 1920) laid in.
On stationery headed "New Haven, Conn.," but written while in Montreal. Transcription laid in. Engraved portraits of Taft, Harding, Elihu Root, and Charles Hughes laid in.
Postscript in Taft's hand on second page. On the stationery of the Supreme Court of the United States.
On the stationery of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Signed "T. Woodrow Wilson". A second album leaf, with an autographed note signed by Edward Freeman Wells (sic), 2. 5. 1885, and an autographed note signed by James W. Bones, Helenhurst Nov 3/82, laid in. Photograph of Harriet Woodrow laid in.
On the stationery of the President's Room Princeton University.
On the stationery of the State of New Jersey Executive Department.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the United States Senate, Committee on the Philippines.
Postscript in Harding's hand. On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Department.
Holes punched through head of pages. Transcription laid in.
On the stationery of the White House.
Postscript in Hoover's hand. Autographed letter (draft) of the same letter, in pencil, laid in.
In pencil. Typewritten letter. Copy of the same letter laid in, with date. Carbon copy of the same letter laid in.
In pencil. Typewritten letter. Copy of the same letter, with place and date, laid in. Carbon copy of the same letter laid in.
Signed by Gerald Collins and Mrs. Merritt G. Collins at foot. On the stationery of This Week magazine.
On the stationery of This Week magazine.
Signed by Linda Aves and Mrs. Jim Aves at foot. On the stationery of This Week magazine.
On the stationery of This Week magazine.
Holes punched through foot of each page. Recipient formerly identified as Wyger J. Fontein, the recipient's son. Related letters and a newspaper article about Wyger J. Fontein laid in. Two photographs of Wyger J. Fontein with Sara Delano Roosevelt and in Genoa, 1937, laid in.
On the stationery of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
On the stationery of the State of New York Executive Chamber. Typewritten note from Philip Farish to Norman Strouse, concerning Crosby, laid in.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House. Typewritten letter signed from Elmer J. Hanna, Harbor Springs, Michigan, to Norman H. Strouse, March 22, 1962, laid in. Documents relating to the circumstances referred to in Roosevelt's letter laid in.
Written three days before death of her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
On the stationery of the White House. Signed carbon copies of Oliver's letters to Truman and George C. Marshall laid in.
On the stationery of the White House.
Date postmarked.
Typewritten letter signed from J.A. McKaughan to Emerson Greenaway laid in.
On the stationery of Columbia University in the City of New York, Office of the President.
State of the Union message.
On the stationery of the White House. Typewritten letter signed (carbon copy) from Burpee to Eisenhower, Philadelphia, January 30 1959, laid in.
Contents include folder with thirty-five fabric swatches, thirty-two order slips with specifications, and two pages of measurements and style notes. One color photograph and two color slides of the swatch folder are laid in.
Probably signed by a secretary. Cf. Secretary XIV in Hamilton's The robot that helped to make a president.
Probably signed for Kennedy by his secretary, Evelyn Lincoln. Cf. Secretary II b in Hamilton's The robot that helped to make a president.
Probably signed with an autopen. Cf. Robot Pattern I a in Hamilton's The robot that helped to make a president. Typewritten letter signed (carbon copy) from Norman H. Strouse to William D. Patterson, March 29 1961, laid in. This copy sent to Emerson Greenaway.
Probably signed for Kennedy by his secretary, Evelyn Lincoln. Cf. Secretary II c in Hamilton's The robot that helped to make a president. On the stationery of the White House.
Date of receipt, Mar 14 1961, stamped at head. On the stationery of the White House.
Probably signed by a secretary. Cf. Secretary III c in Hamilton's The robot that helped to make a president. On the stationery of the White House. Typewritten letter signed from Myer Feldman to Raymond O. Starzmann, Washington, April 21 1961, laid in.
On the stationery of the White House.
Autographed note signed by Evelyn Lincoln to Harris at foot. On the stationery of H. Harris Custom Tailor.
Place and date postmarked. On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the White House.
On the stationery of the Office of the Vice President
On the stationery of the Office of the Vice President.
Signed "Dick Nixon". On the stationery of the Office of the Vice President. Autographed note by Mrs. Prior at foot.
Signed "Dick." Photograph of Nixon laid in.
Signed "Dick." On the stationery of the Boy's Clubs of America.
Signed "Dick."
Signed "Gerry Ford." On the stationery of the White House.
Place from envelope.