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Collection Overview

Creator:
Princeton University.‏ ‎Library.‏ Public Policy Papers
Collector:
Princeton University. Library. Special Collections
Title:
Woodrow Wilson Collection
Repository:
Public Policy Papers
Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/st74cq46s
Dates:
1837-1986 (mostly 1883-1924)
Size:
17 Volumes, 107 boxes, and 43 folders
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-117
Language:
English

Abstract

The Woodrow Wilson Collection consists of Wilson holdings which have been acquired by the Princeton University Library Special Collections gradually over many years by purchase and gifts from many sources. The collection is rich in material prior to Wilson's presidential years, although it is not limited to this period; researchers will find materials documenting both the public and private life of Woodrow Wilson. Various types of information written by or about Wilson are present in the collection, including manuscripts, addresses, articles, correspondence, telegrams, legal documents, booklets, pamphlets, photographs, portraits, cartoons, newspapers and scrapbooks.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

The Woodrow Wilson Collection consists of Wilson holdings which have been acquired by the Princeton University Library Department of Collections gradually over many years by purchase and gifts from many sources. The collection is rich in material prior to Wilson's presidential years, although it is not limited to this period; researchers will find materials documenting both the public and private life of Woodrow Wilson. Various types of information written by or about Wilson are present in the collection, including manuscripts, addresses, articles, correspondence, telegrams, legal documents, booklets, pamphlets, photographs, portraits, cartoons, newspapers and scrapbooks.

The writings include addresses delivered between 1896 and 1910, as well as the transcription of Wilson's first inaugural address, written in 1913 on his own typewriter and with corrections in his own hand. Also included among the writings are notes taken of Wilson's course lectures by undergraduates, some of whom wrote down his words almost verbatim.

There is correspondence between Wilson and his family, friends, and colleagues both in academe and in the political arena. The original letters (and photostats) of the correspondence between Wilson and his first wife, Ellen Louise Axson, covering 1883 until 1913, are included. In addition, there are collections of correspondence assembled by colleagues and friends, such as Thomas Creigh, Garrett Droppers, David F. Houston, Mary A. Hulbert (Mrs. Peck), John Wesley Wescott, Lawrence C. Woods, and Frederic Yates. Also included is the Thackwell collection of correspondence between Woodrow family members and especially between Woodrow Wilson and his cousin, Harriet Woodrow, his first love, as well as photographs of both Woodrow and Wilson relatives.

Noteworthy are the many visual representations of Wilson including portraits in a number of different media, such as photographs alone and with others, pictures of family members, and the G. E. Thompson collection of photographs. The collection also contains collections of documents, memorabilia, and ephemera from throughout Wilson's life, as well as some sound recording and audio-visual material and section of printed matter including newspaper articles and printed speeches.

In the "Papers of Others" series, one finds correspondence by family members and writings about Wilson, as well as accretions to the collection by Wilson Farrand, McMillan Lewis, and Laura S. Turnbull. Included is the Henry L. Bragdon collection of reminiscences covering Wilson's years in academia as a student, professor, and university president. Also, the collection of Charles L. Swem, Wilson's stenographic secretary, of shorthand notebooks, transcriptions of speeches, correspondence, and interviews recorded from 1912-1921, makes a significant contribution to the corpus, as do the shorthand notebooks of Gilbert Close, another secretary, covering the year 1919 when Wilson was in Paris.

Collection History

Acquisition:

The collection has been gradually acquired by the Princeton University Library's Special Collections through purchase and gift over many years.

Appraisal

Cartoons and etchings have been removed to Graphic Arts. A death mask by Fotunato has been placed in the Special Collections Department's collection of death masks.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

The audio and audiovisual portion of the Woodrow Wilson Collection is currently on one 7" reel tape, a Victor Record, and a sound film strip.

Credit this material:

Woodrow Wilson Collection; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/st74cq46s
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-117

Find More

Existence and Location of Copies

Photocopies from portions of the Woodrow Wilson Collection may be available in the Papers of Woodrow Wilson Project Records at the Mudd Manuscript Library.

Related Materials

This collection is part of a group of over 20 collections held at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library related to Woodrow Wilson, which can be located by searching for the subject "Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924" on the Princeton Finding Aids website or in the Princeton Library Main Catalog.

Please see Woodrow Wilson: A Guide to Selected Resources in the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library for more particulars.

Other Finding Aids

Card indexes to "Early Axson Correspondence" and "Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Axson Wilson Correspondence" are located in drawer 530 of Series 3: Indexes of the Papers of Woodrow Wilson Project Records at the Mudd Manuscript Library.

Bibliography

Link, Arthur Stanley, ed. The Papers of Woodrow Wilson. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1966-1994.

The following works were consulted during preparation of biographical note: Ambrosius, Lloyd E.. "Wilson, Woodrow"; http://www.anb.org/articles/06/06-00726.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Baker, Ray Stannard. Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters. Greenwood Press, NY. 1968. Link, Arthur S., editor. The Papers of Woodrow Wilson. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 1966.

Subject Terms:
Husband and wife -- Maryland -- Baltimore.
Political science -- Study and teaching -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 19th century.
Political science -- United States.
Presidents -- United States -- 20th century.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1912.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1916.
Presidents -- United States -- Inauguration -- 20th century.
Presidents' spouses -- United States -- 20th century.
Statesmen -- United States -- 20th century. -- lcsh
Stenographers -- United States -- 20th century.
Genre Terms:
Correspondence
Ephemera.
Notebooks.
Photographs, Original.
Reminiscences.
Names:
League of Nations.
Princeton University
Lloyd George, David, 1863-1945.
Wilson family
Albert I, King of the Belgians, 1875-1934
Axson, Stockton, 1867-1935
Bragdon, Henry L.
Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925
Clémenceau, Georges, 1841-1929
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908
Close, Gilbert F.
Creigh, Thomas.
Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948
Droppers, Garrett, 1860-1927
Farrand, Wilson, 1862-
Foch, Ferdinand, 1851-1929.
George V, King of Great Britain, 1865-1936
Glass, Carter, 1858-1946
Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938
House, Edward Mandell, 1858-1938
Houston, David Franklin, 1866-1940.
Houston, David Franklin, 1866-1940.
Hulbert, Mary A.
Lewis, McMillan, 1903-1974
Marquand, Allan, 1853-1924.
Marshall, Thomas R. (Thomas Riley), 1854-1925
McAdoo, W. G. (William Gibbs), 1863-1941
Orlando, Vittorio Emanuele, 1860-1952
Paderewski, Ignace Jan, 1860-1941.
Swem, Charles L., 1893?-1956
Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
Thackwell, Helen
Thompson, G. E.
Tumulty, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1879-1954
Turnbull, Laura S.
Vanderlip, Frank A. (Frank Arthur), 1864-1937
Villard, Oswald Garrison, 1872-1949
Wescott, John W. (John Wesley), 1849-1927
Wilson, Ellen Axson
Wilson, Ellen Axson
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924.
Woods, Lawrence C. (Lawrence Crane), 1869-1925
Yates, Frederic
Places:
New Jersey -- Governors -- 20th century.