Manuscript Society Archives
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
- Creation: 1926 - 2010
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1947 - 1989
Creator
- Manuscript Society (U.S.) (Organization)
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.
Topical
- 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
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057
speccoll@georgetown.edu