ABRAM P. T. ELDER
A REGISTER OF HIS PAPERS
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Prepared by
Brad E. Gernand with the assistance of Andrew M. Passett
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 1992
***
PROVENANCE
The papers of Abram Peter Turner Elder (died ca. 1930),
biographer and publisher, were given to the Library of Congress
by Elder's daughter, Althea Elder, in 1979.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Abram
P. T. Elder is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States
(Title 17, U.S.C.).
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Readers interested in consulting any of the division's
collections are advised to write or telephone the
Manuscript Reading Room at (202) 707-5387 before visiting.
Many processed and nearly all unprocessed collections are
stored off site, and advance notice is needed to retrieve
these items for research use.
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Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 5
Approximate number of items: 3,280
***
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
ca. 1890 Married Emma Elizabeth Householder (died 1945)
1896 Coauthored with E. H. Elder _The Light of the
World: Or Our Savior in Art_ (Chicago: Elder Co.
9 pp., 142 pl. Republished London, New York:
British-American Co., 1899. 13 pp., 139 pl.)
1902-03 Publication of Charles H. Grosvenor's _The Book of
the Presidents, with Biographical Sketches_
(Washington, D.C.:Continental Press. 193 pp.)
ca. 1903-12 Publication of biographical directories entitled
_The National Memorial of the United States_
ca. 1930 Died, California
***
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The papers of Abram Peter Turner Elder span the years
1890-1916, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period
1903-16, and include correspondence, illustrated material,
photographs, biographical files, and miscellaneous matter. The
collection is divided into three series: Correspondence
(1897-1916), Biographical Case Files (ca. 1890-1916), and
Miscellany (ca. 1902-ca. 1916).
Little is known of Elder's life or career outside the
professional associations and productions illuminated by his
papers, other than that he was involved in creating and marketing
specialty publications. In 1896 Elder and a relative published
a compendium of religious art, apparently marketed by private
subscriptions and published by a family corporation in Chicago.
In 1899 they reissued the book through a worldwide publishing
firm. There is no information, however, in the Elder Papers
concerning these ventures. In 1902 Charles H. Grosvenor began
compiling _The Book of the Presidents, with Biographical
Sketches_, a customized biographical directory for sale by
private subscription. The National Biographical Society, a
commercial firm of which Elder was an official, became involved
in Grosvenor's work, eventually assuming control of most or all
aspects of its publication, which is noted in correspondence in
the Elder Papers and is graphically represented in four-color
engravings of title sheets, sample page proofs, and other
publishing matter.
Between approximately 1903 and 1912, Elder assisted in the
preparation of another customized biographical directory,
marketed via subscription and published under the auspices of his
firm, entitled _The National Memorial of the United States_.
Correspondence and related records in Elder's papers provide an
in-depth view of the efforts to publish the _National Memorial_,
with extensive detail concerning contracts, quality of work which
printing firms promised or submitted, internal personnel matters,
efforts to identify a subscriber audience and increase sales, and
outreach, including an award-winning exhibit in the Panama-
Pacific International Exposition of 1915-16 in San Francisco.
Most of the correspondence regarding the _National Memorial_ was
generated by several officials of the National Biographical
Society, including Elder, but was not signed and is impossible or
difficult to identify by author. Prominent among the
correspondents are society officials Charles H. Grosvenor, Robert
E. Doan, Lucy S. Bahnsen, R. E. Montague, and Richard R. McMahon.
The Biographical Case Files contain correspondence,
background information, clippings, and other printed matter, as
well as photographs and biographical entries regarding the
individuals profiled in the _National Memorial_. Many of the
people featured were prominent local, state, and national
politicians, capitalists, and philanthropists, including Charles
F. Chickering, W. W. Corcoran, Moody Currier, H. A. Du Pont, Mary
Baker Eddy, Isaac E. Emerson, Charles W. Fairbanks, Marshall
Field, Julius Fleischmann, Ulysses S. Grant II, Solomon R.
Guggenheim, William Guggenheim, Edward Everett Hale, Marcus
Alonzo Hanna, David N. Hershey, Christian Heurich, Henry Edwards
Huntington, Charles Kellogg, Henry Miles Knowles, Daniel Scott
Lamont, Craige Lippincott, Nicholas Longworth, Cyrus Hall
McCormick, Darius O. Mills, J. Pierpont Morgan, Levi P. Morton,
Gottlieb Muhlhauser, Francis G. Newlands, George Mortimer
Pullman, and Matthew Stanley Quay.
A small number of records document the organization,
function, and mission of the National Biographical Society,
including statements of intent, bylaws, articles of
incorporation, and sample stockholder certificates. A very small
amount of correspondence concerns the maintenance of Elmhyrst,
the Elder family summer estate in Middletown, Rhode Island, and
is virtually the only reference in this collection to Elder's
nonprofessional life.
***
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES
Container Nos. Contents
1-2 Correspondence, 1897-1916, n.d.
Letters to and from Elder, Charles H. Grosvenor,
Lucy S. Bahnsen, and Richard R. McMahon regarding
efforts to publish specialty biographical
directories and to promote the National
Biographical Society's business. Arranged
chronologically by year, month, and day.
3-10 Biographical Case Files, ca. 1890-1916, n.d.
Correspondence, background information,
photographs, press articles, and other materials
regarding the individuals profiled in _The
National Memorial of the United States_. Arranged
alphabetically by surname of case file subject.
11 Miscellany, ca. 1902-ca. 1916.
Legal and organizational records of the National
Biographical Society, including bylaws and
articles of incorporation, marketing advice given
to society sales agents, subscriber lists, and
sample pages from _The Book of the Presidents_ and
_The National Memorial of the United States._
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
1 Ov Oversize.
Oversize page proofs, title pages, illustrated
matter, etc., described according to the series,
folder, and boxes from which the items were
removed.
***
CONTAINER LIST
Container Nos. Contents
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1897-1916, n.d.
Box 1 Feb. 1897-Apr. 1904
May 1904-Dec. 1905
Aug. 1906-Feb. 1911
Mar. 1911-Dec. 1912
Jan. 1913-Mar. 1914
Box 2 Apr.-Oct. 1914
Nov. 1914-Feb. 1915
Mar.-July 1915
Aug. 1915-May 1916, n.d.
Undated
BIOGRAPHICAL CASE FILES, ca. 1890-1916, n.d.
Box 3 Adams-Carter
Adams, Alvin
Bradford, William Henry
Campbell, Felix
Carr, Jessie Williamson
Carr, Julian Shakespeare
Carter, William Thornton
Cary-Castree
Cary, Richard
Casement, James S.
Castree, John
Chickering-Cleveland
Chickering, Charles F.
Childs, G. W.
Chisholm, William
Clark, Alexander S.
Clarke, Dumont
Cleveland, Merritt A.
Cochran-Corcoran
Cochran, James Henry
Coldewey, Anton F.
Conarroe, George Mecum
Corbin, Henry Clarke
Corcoran, W. W.
Corlies-Coxe
Corlies, Samuel Fisher
Coster, Charles Henry
Cotton, John B.
Covel, Alphonso S.
Coxe, Alexander Brinton
Cramp-Croxton
Cramp, Charles Henry
Crawford, Charles Martin
Croxton, John G.
Currier
Currier, Moody
Curtis-Cutting
Curtis, John B.
Cutting, William Bayard
Davis-Dederick
Davis, David
Davis, Henry Gassaway
Dean, Charles Leroy
Dederick, P. K.
Box 4 Dennis-De Peyster
Dennis, Graham Barclay
Denny, Arthur Armstrong
Denny, Harman
De Peyster, J. Watts
Devereux-Dingley
Devereux, J. H.
Dewhurst, James B.
Dexter, Henry
De Young, Michael H.
Dick, Charles
Dickinson, Don M.
Dines, Josiah
Dingley, Nelson
Doane-Douglas
Doane, William H.
Dodge, David Child
Dodge, Henry Lee
Douglas, William Harris
Dubois-Duffy
Dubois, John Ezekiel
Duffy, Walter B.
Duncan-Dwyer
Duncan, Daniel
Dunn, William Mckee
Du Pont, H. A.
Durant, Henry Fowle
Dwyer, Jeremiah
Eastman-Eddy
Eastman, Joseph
Eaton, Benjamin Harrison
Eddy, Mary Baker
Eells-Emerson
Eells, Dan Parmelee
Elder, Abram Peter Turner
Elkins, Stephen Benton
Ellis, John Washington
Emerson, Isaac E.
Emery-Everard
Emery, Lewis, Jr.
Emery, Matthew Gault
England, Thomas Y.
Everard, James
Failing-Fanning
Failing, Henry
Fairbanks, Charles W.
Fall, Charles Gershom
Fanning, David Hale
Box 5 Farrel-Fay
Farrel, Franklin
Farwel, Charles B.
Farwel, John V.
Fay, Frank B.
Fell-Fisher
Fell, Jesse
Ffoulke, Charles Mather
Field, Marshall
Firestone, Clinton D.
Fisher, Newton D.
Fleischmann-Foss
Fleischmann, Julius
Fletcher, Henry E.
Fobes, Hiram
Foerderer, Robert H.
Fort, Greenburg L.
Foss, Eugene Noble
Freiburg-Frye
Freiburg, Julius
French, Carlos
Fry, Henry D.
Frye, William P.
Gage-Gayley
Gage, Lyman J.
Gary, E. H.
Gaston, William Alexander
Gay, Henry
Gayley, James
Gibbons-Goddard
Gibbons, James
Gilman, Daniel Coit
Ginn, Edwin
Glover, C. C.
Goddard, Hiram
Goddard, William Henry
Goldthwaite-Gould
Goldthwaite, George
Goodnow, Edward A.
Gould, Charles A.
Grant-Griffin
Grant, Ulysses S., II
Greene, Jacob L.
Greenhut, Joseph B.
Greer, C. H.
Greist, John M.
Griffin, Eugene
Griffith-Griscom
Griffith, Frederick W.
Griffiths, John L.
Grinnell, Frederick
Griscom, Clement A.
Box 6 Grosvenor
Grosvenor, Ebenezer O.
Grosvenor, William
Grout-Guggenheim
Grout, William L.
Guggenheim, Solomon R.
Guggenheim, William
Haberkorn-Hale
Haberkorn, Christian H.
Hackley, Charles H.
Hague, James D.
Hale, Edward Everett
Hall-Hanna
Hall, Edward J.
Hamlin, Henry
Hammer, D. Harry
Hanna, Henry
Hanna, Marcus Alonzo
Hardin-Harris
Hardin, George A.
Harlow, Willis Poe
Harriman, Oliver, Jr.
Harris, Norman W.
Harrison-Harvey
Harrison, Lynde
Harter, Michael D.
Harrison-Harvey
Harvey, George B. McClellan
Haskell-Hawes
Haskell, Horace S.
Haven, Franklin
Hawes, Kirk
Hawley-Hayes
Hawley, Jessie G.
Hawley, Joseph Roswell
Hay, John
Hayes, Joel Addison
Haynes-Hazen
Haynes, John C.
Hays, Franklin William
Hazeltine, Abram J.
Hazen, David Henry
Head-Henderson
Head, Addison E.
Hearst, Phoebe A.
Heath, Daniel Collamore
Hegeman, John R.
Heinze, Arthur Philip
Henderson, David B.
Henderson, J. B.
Hershey-Hill
Hershey, David N.
Heurich, Christian
Hewitt, Henry, Jr.
Hicks, Radcliffe
Hill, James J.
Hitchcock-Horton
Hitchcock, Peter M.
Hitt, Robert R.
Hobart, Garret Augustus
Holden, Liberty Emery
Holland, John Philip
Horton, Harry Lawrence
Box 7 Hotchkiss-Hoyt
Hotchkiss, Henry Oaks
Houston, H. H.
Howard, Edmonds J.
Howes, Seth B.
Hoyt, Colgate
Hubbard-Huff
Hubbard, Thomas Hamlin
Hudnut, Richard A.
Hudson, John E.
Huff, George Franklin
Huidekoper-Hunt
Huidekoper, Frederic Wolters
Hulbert, William P.
Hull, Calvin E.
Hull, Charles J.
Hunt, Wilson G.
Huntington-Hutchins
Huntington, Henry Edwards
Hurlbut, Hinman B.
Hurst, John E.
Hutchins, Stillson
Hutton-Irwin
Hutton, William Edward
Hyde, Louis K.
Irwin, Dudley M.
Janes-Jenkins
Janes, Henry
Jarvis, George A.
Jay, Willliam
Jayne, David
Jenkins, James G.
Jesup-Jones
Jesup, Morris K.
Jones, Charles
Jones, Fernando
Jones, Frank J.
Keene-Kendall
Keene, James R.
Kellogg, Charles
Kellogg, William Pitt
Kelly, William H.
Kempner, H.
Kendall, Nathaniel Wyeth
Kibbey-Kohler
Kibbey, William B.
Kilbourne, James
Kimball, William S.
Kirk, James A.
Kibbey-Kohler
Knabe, William
Knowles, Francis B.
Knowles, Henry Miles
Kohler, Charles
Lafean-Lamont
Lafean, Daniel F.
Laird, William Harris
Lamont, Daniel Scott
Lane-Law
Lane, Henry S.
Lanius, William H.
Lauterbach, Edward
Law, George
Law, Hartland
Lawrence
Lawrence, Mortimer J.
Lawrence, William Van Duzer
Box 8 Leaming-Leiter
Leaming, Thomas
Ledyard, Lewis Cass
Lee, Fred E.
Leeds, William B.
Leeson, Richard L.
Leidersdorf, B.
Leiter, Levi Z.
Lenman-Littauer
Lenman, John T.
Lewis, George H.
Lippincott, Craige
Lippitt, Charles Warren
Littauer, Lucius N.
Logan-Longley
Logan, Frank G.
Logan, John A.
Logan, Walter S.
Longley, Charles E.
Longworth-Loree
Longworth, Nicholas
Longyear, John M.
Loomis, John Mason
Lore, Charles B.
Loree, Leonor Fresnel
Loudenslayer-Lowe
Loudenslayer, Henry C.
Lounsbery, Richard P.
Lowden, Frank O.
Lowe, Arthur H.
Lucas-Lunt
Lucas, Anthony F.
Luce, Stephen B.
Lunt, Orrington
MacArthur-Manning
MacArthur, Arthur
Mackay, Clarence H.
Magee, Chris L.
Manning, Daniel
Marie-Marquis
Marie, Peter
Markle, Alvan
Markle, John
Marquis, Milton Scott
Martin-Matthews
Martin, Milton D.
Mason, Beverly R.
Mason
Matthews, Stanley
McCall-McCormick
McCall, John A.
McCord, Warren E.
McCormick, Cyrus Hall
Box 9 McCoy-McKim
McCoy, Daniel
McDermott, Allan, L.
McIntosh, David G.
McIntyre, Thomas A.
McKeen, W. R.
McKim, Charles F.
McKim, Randolf
McWilliams-Merrill
McWilliams, Lafayette
Mead, Oliver D.
Menefee, Flournoy
Merrill, Sherburn S.
Merritt-Milburn
Merritt, H. P.
Merritt, John A.
Messmer, Sebastian G.
Milburn, John G.
Miller
Miller, Andrew G.
Miller, Charles
Miller, Conrad
Miller, Frederick A.
Miller, Lewis
Miller, Warner
Mills-Mitchell
Mills, Anson
Mills, Cyrus T.
Mills, Darius O.
Mitchell, John H.
Moerlein-Morton
Moerlein, Christian
Moore, Edward W.
Moore, James H.
Morgan, J. Pierpont
Morton, Levi P.
Morton, Paul
Muhlhauser-Murphy
Muhlhauser, Gottlieb
Murphy, Frank M.
Murphy, Franklin
Neff-Newlands
Neff, Jacob H.
Netcher, Charles
Nevins, David
Newcomb, H. Victor
Newhouse, Samuel
Newlands, Francis G.
Newmyer-Nixon
Newmyer, John S.
Nichols, Charles H.
Nicol, Robert
Nixon, Samuel F.
Norton-Nunnemacher
Norton, Henry B.
Noyes, Crosby S.
Nunnemacher, Rudolph
O'Connell-Orme
O'Connell, Monsignor
Ogleboy, Earl W.
Oglesby, Joseph H.
Olmstead, Marlin Edgar
Orme, Charles H.
Osborne-Otis
Osborne, John H.
Osgood, Hugh H.
Otis, Harrison Gray
Otis, Norton P.
Box 10 Palmer-Pardee
Palmer, Lowell M.
Palmer, Stephen S.
Parchen, Henry M.
Pardee, George C.
Parlin-Payne
Parlin, William H.
Parsons, John D.
Parsons, William Henry
Patterson, John H.
Patton, Alexander E.
Payne, Henry C.
Peabody-Perkins
Peabody, Arthur J.
Peacock, Alex R.
Pennypacker, Samuel W.
Perkins, George C.
Perkins, Lucius H.
Phillips-Plankinton
Phillips, Duncan C.
Phillips, John C.
Pillsbury, Charles A.
Plankinton, John
Platt-Pond
Platt, Henry Clay
Platt, Orville H.
Platt, Thomas C.
Powers, Samuel L.
Pond, E. B.
Poor-Portner
Poor, Henry W.
Pope, George A.
Porter, Washington
Portner, Robert
Potter-Pullman
Potter, Isaac M.
Price, Vincent C.
Pullman, George Mortimer
Quackenbush-Quincy
Quackenbush, Peter
Quay, Matthew Stanley
Quincy, Henry P.
Reeves
Reeves, David
Scattergood-Shober
Scattergood, Thomas
Schley, Winfield Scott
Shober, Samuel L.
Shoenberger-Witt
Shoenberger, John H.
Spaulding, Edward R.
Willard, D.
Witt, Stillman
Untitled
MISCELLANY, ca. 1902-ca. 1916
Box 11 Legal and other records
Marketing advice to agents
Page proofs, title pages, illustrated matter, etc.
_See_ Oversize
Potential subscribers
Subscriber lists
OVERSIZE
Box 1 Ov Miscellany
Page proofs, title pages, illustrated matter,
etc. (box 11)
*** Last update 8/28/95 (mal) ***
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