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Manuscript Society Archives

 Collection
Identifier: GTM-191101

Scope and Contents

The Manuscript Society Archives document the history of the Manuscript Society, a major professional organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, and use of autographs and manuscripts. The Archives contain information about the work of the society over the years. The materials include presidents' files, executive directors' files, secretary's files, board of directors' meetings, financial files, annual meeting files, subject files, and replevin files. This extensive collection provides key insights into the world of manuscripts.

Dates

  • 1926 - 2010
  • Majority of material found within 1947 - 1989

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.

Historical Note

The Manuscript Society is a professional organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, and use of historical manuscripts. Founded in 1948 as the National Society of Autograph Collectors, the organization changed its name to the Manuscript Society in 1953. Today, members in the Society include archivists, collectors, curators, dealers, historians, librarians, and others interested in the field of manuscripts. The Manuscript Society publishes "Manuscripts," a quarterly academic journal along with a newsletter titled, "The Manuscript Society News."

The Manuscript Society has also published "Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collectors Manual" (Scribner's, 1978), "Manuscripts: The First Twenty Years" (Greenwood Press, 1985), "Autograph Collectors Checklist" (Manuscript Society, 1990), and "History in Your Hand: Fifty Years of the Manuscript Society" (Praeger, 1997).

The Society holds an annual meeting, usually in May. Members gather to conduct business and visit local archives, libraries, museums, and historic sites in the host city of the meeting.

Extent

38 Cubic Feet (82 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the Manuscript Society, 2019-2023.

Title
Manuscript Society Archives
Status
Completed
Author
Scott S. Taylor
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Revision Statements

  • 2023-08: Forest Sweet/Julia Newman Papers (GTM-20230723) added to the collection by Scott Taylor

Repository Details

Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057