This post is the second in a new quarterly series in which the New-York Historical Society highlights the collections for which detailed finding aids were published over the prior three months. All collections receive at least a summary description in our catalog, Bobcat. But many collections have such depth or are simply so large or complex that a fuller roadmap to them is warranted. Follow this link to the full text search engine for all N-YHS finding aids.
MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS

Army and Navy Club of New York Records, 1933-1973 (MS 3080), 6 linear feet
- The Military-Naval Club, renamed in 1960 the Army and Navy Club of New York, was a social organization for veterans that existed in New York City for much of the mid-20th century. This collection includes their administrative records, primarily their records of former members and meeting minutes.
Charles L. Bernheimer Papers, 1877-1935 (MS 58), 7 linear feet
- Correspondence, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, and photographs belonging to Charles L. Bernheimer (1864-1944). Bernheimer was a businessman and explorer who participated in several civic service related activities in New York City. The collection contains drafts and correspondence regarding Bernheimer’s peace proposals for the termination of World War I. There is correspondence and other documents related to Bernheimer’s work as a strike arbitrator, circa 1912-1916. The collection also contains records of several political organizations that supported fusion politics and reform in New York’s municipal government in the early twentieth century.
City Club of New York Records, 1890-1978 (MS 116), 24 linear feet
- This collection documents the work of City Club of New York from 1892 to 1978. City Club of New York was a social and civic organization that worked towards legislative reform, city development and preservation, and welfare related issues including public health and education. Much of the collection consists of minutes and correspondence for the Club, Board of Trustees, and the club’s committees, as well as materials related to the Club House up through 1943. These records include petitions, reports, bulletins, financials, membership materials, and proposed policy and legislative proposals of City Club and its various committees. The materials document the internal work of the club and its external publications, press releases, and dealings with various government and civic leaders.
Bill Cunningham Collection, 1957-2017 (MS 3137), 2 linear feet
- The collection includes various items related to the fashion designer and photographer Bill Cunningham (1929-2016), especially in connection with his friendship with artist Roberta Wolfe-Baer (1925-2016). The collection includes Cunningham’s notes to Wolfe-Baer, photographs of Wolfe-Baer wearing an orange feather hat of Cunningham’s design (now in N-YHS’s museum collection), newspaper clippings and tearsheets with articles by or about Cunningham, a “William J.” business card, and other items.
French Benevolent Society Records, 1873-1976 (MS 233), 2.5 linear feet
- The records of the French Benevolent Society include fiscal reports, administrative minutes, deeds, insurance policies, correspondence, and record books concerning the Society and, predominantly, the French Hospital, which was founded in 1881 by the Society.
Eric G. Lindquist Papers, 1915-1919, 1960-1961 (MS 3129), .8 linear feet
- Photo-illustrated manuscript diary and 502-page typescript memoir detailing the military experiences of New Yorker Eric G. Lindquist (1891-1966). A member of the 71st New York Infantry, National Guard, in Texas, during the border skirmishes spawned by the Mexican Revolution (1915–1917), Lindquist later served in the United States Army, as a corporal and sergeant, in the 105th Infantry and 102nd Engineers, 27th Division, during World War I (1917–1919) in Europe. Lindquist participated in the Second Battle of the Somme (France) and the Battle of Lys (Flanders). The collection also includes his dog tag and service medals.
Low, Fleming, and King Family Papers, 1794-1945 (MS 3091), .4 linear feet
- Correspondence, documents, and ephemera stemming from the related Low, Fleming, and King families. Includes a 1794 letter to New York merchant and developer Nicholas Low (1739-1826) from Alexander Hamilton, and letters to the firm Low & Wallace from American and European importers and exporters, such as the Widow John Lang, Son & Co. of Bremen. Also present are a number of 19th century United States revenue stamps that were torn or soaked from documents by a collector.
Irving S. Olds papers, 1818-1963 (MS 325), 18 linear feet
- This collection consists of the personal papers of Irving Sands Olds (1887-1963), who during his life was a clerk for Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, a law partner at White & Case, a Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Steel, and an avid supporter of the arts. Most of the collection dates from later in Olds’s life, primarily from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, and consists of personal correspondence, records of his personal finances and history, diaries outlining his daily activities during his retirement, and ephemera. Documents from Olds’s family dating from the 19th century are also included.
Robert Price Papers, 1930s-2012 (MS 3130), 8 linear feet
- Papers of attorney, businessman, and political strategist Robert Price (1932–2016), who successfully managed John V. Lindsay’s election to U.S. Congress as the representative from New York’s 17th district (1958), and subsequent reelections to the same seat (1960, 1962, 1964), as well as Lindsay’s first run for mayor of New York City (1965). Under Lindsay, Price served as the youngest deputy mayor in New York history. Price also engineered the sole victory of Nelson A. Rockefeller’s otherwise unsuccessful bids for the presidency—the Republican nomination of the 1964 Oregon primary. The collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, posters, flyers, ephemera, lapel pins and buttons, and other paraphernalia from each of the campaigns above, and includes material documenting Price’s personal and business interests.
Time Inc. Life Publishing and Business Records, 1937-2000 (MS 3009-RG 26), 23 linear feet
- The records contain materials from the offices and staff of the business and publishing side of Life magazine’s operation. The majority of materials come from the publisher, business, market research, and circulation departments.
Time Inc. People Editorial Records, 1966-1989 (MS 3009-RG 10), 6 linear feet
- These records are from the offices and staff of the editorial side of People magazine, not the publishing or business side. Editorial staff represented include senior editor Cranston Jones and staff writer Lee Wohlfert. Also includes files on the 1989 Magazine Television Anniversary Issue.
Time Inc. People Publishing and Business Records, 1973-1998(MS 3009-RG 27), 79 linear feet
- These records are from the offices and staff of the publishing and business side of People magazine, not the editorial side. Staff represented include Publisher Richard Durrell, Assistant Publisher Charlotte Schiff-Jones, Associate Consumer Marketing Director John Hartig, Director of Marketing Services Chuck Lund, and Magazine Development Group Marketing Director Mal Ochs.
PHOTOGRAPHS and GRAPHIC MATERIALS

Lorraine Forte Photographs, 1968-1992 (PR 397), 1.5 linear feet
- 42 views of streetscapes, buildings, rooftops, billboards, amusements, and statuary in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Coney Island, taken by New York City-based photographer Lorraine Forte. Includes two images of protestors at the Tompkins Square Park riot of 1988. Some of the photographs appeared in Forte’s book, Macchiato (2017).
Jerry A. Gardner Photographs, 1960s-1970s (PR 398), 1.5 linear feet
- Approximately 417 black-and-white photographs of New York City (Manhattan and Brooklyn), Washington, D.C., and California, showing storefronts, advertisements, street scenes, pedestrians, urban “still lifes,” parks, beaches, and driftwood. A portion of the collection documents protests—largely anti-Vietnam War demonstrations—in Manhattan and Washington, D.C.
“William Meyers: Civics” Exhibition Photographs, 2002-2016 (PR 394), 6 linear feet
- 37 photographs exhibited in October 2016 as “William Meyers: Civics” at Nailya Alexander Gallery, New York. Through sections labeled “Politics,” “Demonstrations,” “Press,” and “Powwows,” Meyers’s images explore the ways in which individual citizens involve themselves in the procedures, rituals, symbols, and rhetoric of American democracy.
Barry and Gloria Garfinkel Collection of Photographs, 1946-1974 (PR 382), 1 linear foot
- 39 black-and-white photographs by various photographers, including Victor Laredo, Fritz Henle, Arnold Eagle, Jill Freedman, Bruce Davidson, Jerry Lang, N. Jay Jaffee, Fons Ianelli, Fred McDarrah, Ken Regan, Ron Galella, and Arthur Leipzig. Dating from 1946-1974, the photographs feature portraits of prominent people, such as Truman Capote, Bella Abzug, John Cassavetes, and Diane Keaton, and New York City scenes, such as police officers on the beat, children playing, iconic buildings, and views in Central Park.
James and Georganne Garfinkel Collection of Photographs, 1913-1982 (PR 380), 1.5 linear feet
- Four sets of photographs: 39 cyanotypes of the construction of the Manhattan Bridge (1913-1922); theatrical portraits taken by Nicholas Muray of Muray Studio, N.Y. in 1920-1925; portraits of Marilyn Monroe by André de Dienes, taken in 1949-1953; and photos of celebrities by photojournalist Ken Regan, taken in 1977-1982.
Holly Schepisi and Paul Garfinkel Collection of Photographs, 1945-1985 (PR 381), 2 linear feet
- Photographs from three discrete photographers/photo agencies: the Black Star Agency’s images of prominent people and events (1975-1984); André de Dienes’s portraits of Marilyn Monroe (1945-1953); and photojournalist Ken Regan’s images of the ABC-TV newsroom (1981-1983) and the Kennedy family (1971-1985).
Daniel and Donna Klein Collection of Photographs, 1945-1982 (PR 385), 1.5 linear feet
- 10 photographs of Marilyn Monroe by André de Dienes dating from 1945-1953, and 29 images by photojournalist Ken Regan, mainly of Senator Ted Kennedy and New York City Mayor John Lindsay, taken between 1967 and 1982.
Shari Segel Goldberg Collection of Graphic Materials, 1879, 1939 (PR 396), 1.5 linear feet
- A small collection consisting of an etching dated 1879 by Henry Farrer and five items from the 1939 World’s Fair: a booklet “Puppet World” and four postcards of a mural shown at the General Motors Building.
This post is by Larry Weimer, Head of Archival Processing, and Holly Deakyne, Time Inc. Project Archivist.
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