Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/05741r69z
Henry Burling Thompson Papers, 1889-1913: Finding Aid
AC003
Princeton University Shield
65 Olden Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA
Phone: 609-258-6345
Fax: 609-258-3385
mudd@princeton.edu
http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd
Published in 2001
©2006 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Creator:
- Thompson, Henry B., 1856-1924.
- Title and dates:
- Henry Burling Thompson Papers, 1889-1913
- Abstract:
- The Papers of Henry Burling Thompson, Class of 1877, (1857-1935) consist of some 500 loose pieces of correspondence (much of it incoming letters), eight letterpress copy books, and one scrapbook of printed matter relating to the Princeton Endowment Fund campaign of 1919-1920. The loose letters are dated from 1906 through 1913, and all of them pertain to Princeton matters. The eight copy books contain copies of Thompson's outgoing correspondence in about 4500 pages, about 1200 of which deal with Princeton.
- Size:
- 1.8 linear feet, 4 boxes
- Call number:
- AC003
- Location:
- Princeton University Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Princeton University Archives.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA - Language(s) of material:
- English.
- Storage note:
- This collection is stored onsite at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
Biography of Henry Burling Thompson
Biographical details may be obtained from Thompson's alumni file. A life trustee, he was elected a charter trustee in 1906, and for a period chaired the Board of Trustees as well as the Endowment, Alumni Rowing, and Grounds and Buildings committees. A summary of his major posts is as follows:
- Grounds and Buildings: 1907-1928
- Curriculum: 1907-1925, 1928-29
- Administrative: 1919-1928, 1930-31
- Finance: 1921-1925
- Library: 1931-32
As chairman of the Grounds and Buildings Committee from 1909-1928, Thompson saw to the construction of twenty-five campus buildings, beginning with Holder Hall and ending with the University Chapel. He was also an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects and a friend of Woodrow Wilson; his correspondence with Wilson on committee matters during Wilson's presidency at Princeton is in the files.
Description
On the letterpress copy books (1889-1911): The chief interest of these letters, aside from Princeton matters, is in the volumes for 1895-1904 and 1904-1906, when Thompson was deeply involved in Delaware politics; and in Wilmington local history. Although there are company and business letters in nearly all the books, they are comparatively few in number and embody nothing like a history of Thompson's Bancroft Company. Except to a biographer the family and personal letters are of scant interest. From a literary standpoint the letters are totally uninteresting; Thompson was a businessman who said what he had to say directly and in as few words as possible. There is a handwritten list of Princeton-related letters by number for each of the copybooks.
On the loose correspondence (1906-1913): The letters are entirely related to Princeton. Because Thompson chaired the Board of Trustees for a period, and was chairman of the Grounds and Buildings Committee for 20 years, the bulk of them refer to issues related to these offices. A number refer to Curriculum Committee matters, and a few concern personal favors or opinions requested of Thompson as a trustee. Of significant interest are the proposals for alternative dining and housing systems at Princeton (i.e. Quad and Sophomore Commons plans), which involve controversies over the value of the club system and the nature of Princeton undergraduate social life in general. These controversies were part of Wilson's “academic ideals” conflict in 1910, which encouraged his decision to resign as president. There are letters from Woodrow Wilson (8), Theodore Roosevelt (2), William Gibbs McAdoo, Edwin Denby and a single letter to Col. E. M. House.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series 1: Letterpress Copy Books, (1889-1911):
- Series 2: Loose Correspondence, (1906-1913):
- Series 3: Princeton Endowment Campaign Scrapbook, (1919-1920):
Access and Use
Access
Access to the papers is open to all scholars who complete an access to manuscripts form.
Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the University Archivist. Copyright is held by the Trustees of Princeton University.
Acquisition and Appraisal
Provenance and Acquisition
The bulk of the papers were the gift of Mrs. James H. Douglas, Jr. in 1953. The Archives has no knowledge regarding Thompson's Princeton correspondence for the period after 1913.
Processing and Other Information
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Andrea Schorr in 1990. Finding aid written by Andrea Schorr in 1990.
Descriptive Rules Used
Finding aid content adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
Encoding
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 by Techbooks and Cristela García-Spitz on November 03, 2006.
Finding aid written in English.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Henry Burling Thompson Papers, Box and Folder Number; University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Subject Headings
These materials have been indexed in the Princeton University Library online catalog using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
- Princeton University. Trustees -- 20th century.
- Delaware -- Politics and government -- 20th century.
- Wilmington (Del.) -- History, Local -- 20th century -- Sources.
- Correspondence.
- Letterpress copybooks.
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
Contents List
Series 1: Letterpress Copy Books, (1889-1911)
See handwritten list found in Box 1 of pages in the letterpress copy volumes specifically relating to Princeton.
Princeton (mainly athletics), personal matters, business matters, 1889-1895
Box 1 Princeton (football, eating clubs, Campbell Hall, finances, Biology Dept., hazing, Committee of Fifty), Delaware and national politics, family and personal business, company business, Wilmington affairs, 1895-1904
Box 1 Princeton (Guyot Hall, finances, Palmer Hall, Campus plan, eating clubs, Quad plan, trustees, Campbell Hall, Triangle Club, football, Graduate College, Holder Hall, University Hall, Freshman and Sophomore Commons), family and personal business, company business, New Castle County Jury Commissioner, 1907-1908
Box 2 Wilmington Y.M.C.A. building, 1907-1911
Box 2 Princeton (Campus plan, Graduate Council, finances, trustees, Quad plan, Holder Hall, Curriculum Committee, Freshman and Sophomore Commons, Graduate College, Vivarium, University Power Company, Guyot Hall, Mather Sundial), family and personal business, company business, 1908-1911
Box 3 All Princeton letters, 1909-1911
Box 3 Princeton (letters mainly personal in nature), family and personal business, 1911
Box 3 Series 2: Loose Correspondence, (1906-1913)
Family letters, 1874-188
Box 4, Folder 1-2 Woodrow Wilson, 1893-1915
Box 4, Folder 3 Theodore Roosevelt, 1900
Box 4, Folder 4 Grounds and Buildings Committee business, 1906-7
Box 4, Folder 5 Grounds and Buildings Committee business, 1908
Box 4, Folder 6 Grounds and Buildings Committee business, Investigation of the Preceptorial system by the Curriculum Committee, Endowment Fund business, 1909
Box 4, Folder 7 Grounds and Buildings Committee, Nominations for the Board of Trustees, Wilson's proposed resignation after ideals conflict, 1910
Box 4, Folder 8 Grounds and Buildings Committee business, Curriculum Committee Report on Teacher's Salaries at Ivy League Universities, 1911
Box 4, Folder 9 Grounds and Buildings Committee business, Board of Trustees' nominations to replace Woodrow Wilson, Appointment of professors, Report on Questions on the Preceptorial System, 1912
Box 4, Folder 10 Graduate School plans, 1913
Box 4, Folder 11 E. M. House, 1918
Box 4, Folder 12 William Gibbs McAdoo, 1918
Box 4, Folder 13 Edwin Denby, 1921
Box 4, Folder 14 Series 3: Princeton Endowment Campaign Scrapbook, (1919-1920)
Scrapbook of printed matter relating to Princeton Endowment Fund campaign of 1919-1920, 1919-20
Box 4, Folder 15
Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/05741r69z