HOWARD CHANDLER CHRISTY PAPERS, 1873-2001
Note on Provenance and Access
The first installment of the Howard Chandler Christy Papers was donated to Lafayette College in December,1999, by Jane and Joe Conneen and Larry Miley in memory of Mimi Conneen Miley. Three subsequent additions were made to the collection in 2000, and four more in 2001.
The Conneen family’s connection with Howard Chandler Christy was through Joe Conneen’s older brother Bob’s marriage to Nancy Palmer Christy, Howard’s widow. After Nancy’s death, Bob Conneen gave the papers to his niece, Mimi Miley, Chief Curator at the Allentown Art Museum, and her mother, Jane Conneen. The papers were used extensively in the research for the first major exhibition of Christy’s work after his death at the AAM in 1977. Much of the research generated by Jane Conneen in preparation for this exhibition is located in Series XI. Related Collections, Subseries 1, Jane Conneen Files.
A second related collection was donated to Series XI in two installments from Holly Christina Longuski, Christy’s daughter. The first donation in 2000 consisted of a photocopy of the scrapbook of Elise Ford, model and longtime companion of Christy and mother of Longuski. The second donation in 2001 was a photocopy of the journal of Elise Ford, as dictated to her by Christy. Both installments are now housed in Subseries 2, Holly Christina Longuski Files.
While the bulk of Series IX, Films and Videotapes, came as part of the Conneen installments, Holly Christina Longuski and Helen Copely donated two additional videotapes in 2001. Further information on the contents of these tapes is available within the series description.
Access to the papers by qualified researchers is without restriction. Photocopying and publishing from the collection are allowed, subject to the guidelines of the repository and the laws of copyright.
The manuscript material of the Howard Chandler Christy Papers (Series I, II, IV, V) has been rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes. All metal fasteners were removed and replaced with plastic clips when necessary. Brittle newspaper clippings and telegram forms have been photocopied onto Permalife bond paper. Original clippings were discarded.
Photographs throughout the Christy Papers have been transferred to Series VI and stored together. Photocopies of the transferred photographs remain in their original location with a cross reference to the photograph series. Within Series VI, photographs were placed individually within fold-lock Mylar sleeves, organized into acid-free folders and boxes, and then stored horizontally.
Bound volumes throughout the Christy Papers (Series III, VII.2, VIII) exhibited leather rot, broken bindings, and were rapidly deteriorating due to extremely acidic, brittle pages. Address books, date books, guest books, and sketchbooks were individually wrapped in acid-free cover papers, tied, labeled, and stored horizontally in boxes. Scrapbooks were disbound, pages trimmed of broken edges, foldered, interleaved with acid-free paper, and shelved horizontally in boxes built to their individual dimensions. Pages of scrapbooks Nos. 9 and 10 were placed within 14 x 11 fold-lock Mylar sleeves because tape has caused residual adhesive problems throughout the volumes. Interleaving papers could not be used on these scrapbooks because of the adhesive problem.
The 16mm films of Series IX will undergo a transfer to videotape during the summer of 2002.
Oversize materials throughout the Christy Papers were transferred to oversize storage boxes and drawers, with cross-references to their oversize storage sites placed in their original locations in the collection and on the container listings. Of particular note are eleven oversize newspaper cover pages from The American Weekley Section of the New York Sunday American (Oversize Box 70, Folder 3). These pages are extremely acidic and brittle. Due to their large format, handling is extremely difficult in their current condition. These are valuable images that do not appear elsewhere in the collection; consequently, it is recommended that they undergo future conservation treatment.
The poster entitled “The Motor Corps of America” from 1918 (Spec. Coll. Flat Files Drawer 10, Folder 6) exhibited many tears around the outside edges and remained curled after years of rolled storage. This item was taken to the Conservation Center For Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia for treatment in July, 2002.
Manuscript
Collections Home | Special
Collections Home
Skillman & Kirby Libraries · Lafayette College ·
Easton, PA 18042