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Arabella Huntington Papers

An inventory of her papers at Syracuse University

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Huntington, Arabella Duval, 1850 or 51-1924.
Title: Arabella Huntington Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1888-1925
Quantity: 1.5 linear ft.
Abstract: Papers of the American philanthropist and collector. Her first husband was financier Collis P. Huntington; her second husband, Henry E. Huntington. Correspondence (1892-1923); inventories of paintings, jewelry, and real estate; bills and receipts from art dealers, galleries and stores, including Joseph Duveen, J. Seligmann, and Tiffany & Co.
Language: English
Repository: Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

Arabella Duval Huntington was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1851. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.M. Yarrington, raised Arabella in Virginia where she remained until her marriage at the age of eighteen. She married a Mr. Worsham of New York City in 1869 and returned there with him. However, he died a year later, leaving Arabella with an infant son, Archer Milton.* The next fourteen years were spent raising her son and educating him herself. In 1884, she married Collis P. Huntington, railroad builder and financier. Mr. Huntington legally adopted Archer. They lived a very happy life together until his death in 1900.

For the next ten years, Mrs. Huntington tried to carry on her husband's interests, visiting his shipyards and supporting charities in his name. In 1913, she remarried once more. Mutual interests in art attracted her to Collis P. Huntington's nephew, Henry E. Huntington, and after their marriage they traveled extensively in Europe, gathering the materials for what was to be the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery in California. She divided her time between New York and her husband's home in California. She remained active in numerous charities and good works until her death in 1924.

*This history has been questioned. A. Hyatt Mayor, Arabella's nephew, has suggested that Archer Milton was in fact the illegitimate son of Collis Huntington. [RR]

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The papers of Arabella Huntington contain correspondence, subject files, bills and receipts, and manuscripts.

Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing correspondence, and correspondence to and from others. The incoming correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author. The outgoing correspondence if filed chronologically. (Dates: 1892, 1901-1902, 1905-1919, 1922-1923.)

Subject files contains accounts, blueprints, inventories, legal papers, material pertaining to the Roadside Mine, and related items. These materials are arranged alphabetically by type or subject. (Dates: 1891, 1897, 1909, 1912, 1920, 1923-1925.)

Bills and receipts consists of bills or receipts sent to Mrs. Huntington by various firms, merchants, charities, etc. These are arranged alphabetically by name of the firm or individual. (Dates: 1888-1889, 1902-1925)

Manuscripts includes three articles by others, all typescript. These are undated.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is divided into incoming and outgoing; within this it is arranged alphabetically. The other three series are arranged alphabetically by subject, name, and title respectively.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Duveen, Joseph Duveen, Baron, 1869-1939.
Huntington, Arabella Duval, 1850 or 51-1924.
Seligmann, Jacques, 1858-1923.

Corporate Bodies

Tiffany and Company.

Subjects

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States.
Art -- Private collections.
Art dealers.
Women philanthropists -- United States.

Places

Upper class -- United States

Genres and Forms

Bills of sale.
Correspondence.
Inventories.
Receipts (financial records)

Occupations

Collectors.
Philanthropists.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Arabella Huntington Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Finding Aid Information

Created by: -
Date: Jan 1967
Revision history: 1 Nov 2006 - converted to EAD (AMCon)

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Inventory

Biographical material
Box 1 Miscellaneous
Correspondence
Incoming correspondence
Box 1 A, B, D
Box 1 Duveen, Joseph 1907-1909, 1913, 1916, 1923
Box 1 F-G, I-K, M, V, unidentified
Outgoing correspondence
Box 1 1901-02, 1905
Box 1 Correspondence to and from others
Subject file
Box 1 Accounts
Blueprints
Box 1 Throggs Neck, New York
Box 1 Kanawaha Co., W. Va. and New York City (Throggs Neck)
Box 1 Exhibition catalogue 1909
Inventories
Box 1 "Additions to Inventory of Things at Beauregard" 1920
Box 1 Furnishings 1897, 1912, 1920, 1923, undated
Box 1 Jewelry
Box 1 Paintings
Box 1 Real estate
Box 1 Legal papers 1897
Box 1 Roadside Mine 1923-1925 - correspondence, blueprint, photographs (3 folders)
Bills and receipts
Box 2 A
Box 2 Anderson Galleries 1916, 1920, 1922-24
Box 2 B
Box 2 Baumgarten & Company 1917, 1919-22
Box 2 Black, Starr, & Frost 1906, 1924
Box 2 Blakeslee, T.J. 1910-1913
Box 2 Brandeis, Edward 1911
Box 2 C
Box 2 Camerino, J.G. 1903, 1907-1909, 1912-1915, 1921
Box 2 Cartier 1907-1914, 1918, 1921, 1923
Box 2 Cattadori, Pietro 1922-1923, undated
Box 2 Clark, Thomas B. 1919-1920, 1922-1923
Box 2 Crichton Brothers 1912, 1914, 1916, 1920
Box 2 D
Box 2 Duveen, Joseph 1906-1908, 1910, 1911-21, undated (2 folders)
Box 2 E
Box 2 Ehrich Galleries 1906-1907, 1909, 1911-1913, 1919, 1923, undated
Box 2 F
Box 2 Fischer Art Galleries 1911-1912, undated
Box 2 Fischhof, Eugene 1898-1899
Box 2 French, P.W. & Co. 1909-1923
Box 2 G
Box 2 Gould, Raymond C. 1918, 1922-1924
Box 2 Gump, S.&G., Co. 1922-1924
Box 3 H
Box 3 Harper, Donald 1915, 1921
Box 3 J
Box 3 K
Box 3 Langweil, Madame F. 1910-1911
Box 3 "The Little Shop" 1902-1907
Box 3 Los Angeles Museum 1923
Box 3 M
Box 3 Marsh, G.F. & Co. 1920-1923
Box 3 McCarthy, A.E. 1917, 1921, 1923
Box 3 McGough, P.J. 1920, 1923-24
Box 3 N
Box 3 O
Box 3 P
Box 3 Partridge, Frank 1910-1911, 1913-1915, 1920, undated
Box 3 R
Box 3 Rosenbach Co. 1924
Box 3 S
Box 3 Schaus, Wm. 1907
Box 3 Seligmann, J. 1907-1916, 1918-1920, 1922-1923 (3 folders)
Box 3 Smith, H.H. 1912
Box 3 Tiffany & Co. 1902, 1904, 1910-1912, 1919
Box 3 Tiffany Studios 1907, 1919-1920
Box 3 V
Box 3 W
Box 3 Wunderlich & Co. 1906-1909, undated
Box 3 Y
Box 3 Unidentified
Manuscripts
Box 3 Articles by others

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