George Haven Putnam Papers 1853-1929

Summary

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Overview

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Abstract

Consists of business and personal papers of George Haven Putnam (1844-1930), an American publisher and author. Included are fully-indexed letterbooks (1879-1910), typescripts of Putnam's writings (ca. 1905-1929), scrapbooks of letters received and press clippings (1878-1917), and other clippings and printed material (1853-1928).

Description

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Description

Consists of business and personal papers of Putnam. Included are fully-indexed letterbooks (1879-1910); typescripts of Putnam's writings (ca. 1905-1929); scrapbooks of letters received and press clippings (1878-1917); and other clippings and printed material (1891-1917). The collection also contains a letterbook dealing with the estate of Putnam's mother, Victorine Haven Putnam (1891-1908); a 1923 memoir of Theodore Roosevelt, who was Putnam's partner in the 1880s; and a pencil portrait of Putnam by Henry Van der Weyde, drawn while both Union soldiers were imprisoned in Danville, a Confederate prison, during the Civil War.

Collection Creator Biography

George Haven Putnam (1844-1930) was an American publisher and author, and the eldest son of the co-founder of Wiley & Putnam, George Palmer Putnam, and Victorine Haven Putnam. Putnam served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was captured following the Battle of Cedar Creek and held prisoner at Libby Prison and Danville before being returned to the Union Army as part of a prisoner exchange in 1865. After his father's death in 1872, he and two of his brothers, John Bishop Putnam and Irving Putnam, took over the publishing company, renaming it "G. P. Putnam's Sons." In 1887, Putnam was involved in establishing the American Publishers' Copyright League.

Collection History

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Acquisition

Purchased from Joseph J. Felcone in 2009 (AM2010-27).

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Regine Heberlein in September 2010. Finding aid written by Regine Heberlein in September 2010.

Access and Use

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Access Restrictions

The collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Associate University Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.

Preferred Citation

George Haven Putnam Papers; 1853-1929, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Find More

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Topics

• American literature
• Publishing history

Subject Terms

• Estate
• G.P. Putnam's Sons
• History
• New York
• New York (State)
• Portraits
• Publishers and publishing
• Putnam, Victorine Haven
• Sources
• Van der Weyde, Henry

Genre Terms

• Drawings
• Letterbooks

Contents and Arrangement

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Series 1: Correspondence, 1879-1928

Series 2: Scrapbooks, 1878-1917

Series 3: Writings, 1905-1929

Series 4: Biographical and Genealogical Material, 1905-1929

Series 5: Clippings, 1888-1929

Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1853-1928