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Arents Christmas Card Collection

A description of the collection at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: MRC
Date: 8 Nov 2010

Biographical History

George Arents, Jr. (1875-1960) was an American businessman. He studied at Columbia University and received his master's degree from Syracuse University at the age of 57. His father and great-uncle were founders of the Allen & Ginter Tobacco Company, which later became the American Tobacco Company. In 1922 Arents became a director of the American Tobacco Company and from 1924 he was the treasurer of both the American Machine and Foundry and International Cigar Machinery. He was also a collector of books and other published material relating to tobacco. He and his wife Lena made substantial gifts to Syracuse University; in recognition of their generosity, the department of rare books and special collections at Bird Library was for many years known as the George Arents Research Library.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Arents Christmas Card Collection consists of an extensive collection of Christmas cards, most featuring important figures from American letters, sent by and to George and Lena Arents. Subjects include Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Algernon Swinburne, Gertrude Stein, Charles Dickens, and Henry David Thoreau. In some cases, the designer, typographer, and/or printer are given.

Arrangement of the Collection

Subdivided into those sent by the Arentses and those sent to them. Within each series, items are arranged chronologically.

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.

Related Material

See also the Arents Grand Tour Collection and the Arents Postcard Collection.

Subject Headings

Persons

Arents, George, 1875-1960.
Arents, Lena.

Subjects

Authors, American.
Christmas cards -- Collectors and collecting.
Christmas cards -- Specimens.
Poets, American.

Genres and Forms

Christmas cards.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Arents Christmas Card Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of George and Lena Arents.

Table of Contents

Sent by the Arentses

Sent by others

Inventory