Collections : [Bard College Archives]

Bard College Archives

Bard College Archives

Stevenson Library
1 Library Road
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504, United States
Bard College Archives & Special Collections collects, preserves and makes available materials in a variety of formats relating to the intellectual and social history of Bard College and its surrounding communities.

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American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Collection, 1962 - 2008

14 boxes
The American Symphony Orchestra is a New York-based orchestra whose mission is to renew live orchestral music as a vital force in contemporary American culture. Under the direction of Leon Botstein ASO pursues innovation in concert presentation and is devoted to the promotion of musical education. At Bard College, the ASO appears in an annual winter subscription series at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, and also takes part in the Bard Music Festival and SummerScape. This collection includes organizational files including papers relating to the founding of ASO and historical financial and corporate documents. The collection also contains miscellaneous ephemera relating to ASO including stagebills; advertising flyers; news releases; and reviews. The collection was given to the Archives by Lynne Meloccaro (BArd class of 1985, executive director of the ASO) through Leon Botstein.

Bard College Board of Trustees Collection, 1897 - 1994

9 linear feet
Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The Bard College Board of Trustees Collection includes papers related to the functions of the Board of Trustees, encompassing the early years as St. Stephens to the modern Bard College. The collection shows the financial history of the school through the eyes of the trustees, reflecting the progress of the college, including its social life, curriculum development and many other aspects of the management of this college.

Bard Family Papers, 1638 - 1899

5.5 linear feet
This collection documents the life and activities of members of the Bard family over the course of five generations, beginning with Peter Bard (1679-1734), and ending with John Bard (1818-1899), who founded Bard College with his wife, Margaret Johnston Bard (1825-1875). Peter Bard came to the United States in 1706 and settled in Delaware. It was here that he met Dinah Marmion, who he married in 1709 and with whom he had eight children. The eldest son, John (1716-1799), married Susanne Valleau in 1737, and together they moved to Hyde Park, New York. John became a physician and together they had six children, the most notable of whom was Dr. Samuel Bard. Samuel attended King’s college (later Columbia); was imprisoned in France during the Seven Years War; received medical training in Edinburgh; launched and served as the first president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York; and served as a professor and a Trustee of Columbia College. Samuel was a leader in American medical education. He wrote multiple medical books, and, though a Loyalist during the Revolution, served as George Washington’s personal physician. Samuel was not only a successful physician, he also accumulated large amounts of land in the Hyde Park, New York area, renting out parcels of land to tenants. He married his cousin, Mary Bard in 1770, and together they had eight children, three of whom survived to adulthood: Eliza Bard McVickar (1789-1838); William Bard (1778-1853); and Susannah Bard Johnston (1772-1845). Susannah was the eldest daughter of Samuel and Mary. In 1792, she married John Johnstone. Together, Susannah and John had twelve children. Their eldest son, Francis Upton Johnston (1796-1858) studied under his grandfather, Dr. Samuel Bard, attending the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and later was the attending physician at the New York Hospital. This collection contains correspondence documenting family matters, illness, local news, thoughts on religion and books, and academic and professional concerns. Materials also document the business and professional affairs of the family, including deeds of land, leases and indentures, three manuscript volumes containing the text of lectures on natural philosophy delivered by Samuel Bard to students at Columbia College. Also included are several portraits of family members, multiple wills, two framed copies of a genealogical chart, documents about the founding of St. Stephen's College in 1860, and a bound manuscript of family recipes titled "Receipt Book."

Blithewood Mansion and Garden Collection, 1835-present

.5 linear feet
The Blithewood Estate today encompasses the Blithewood Mansion and Garden. The Estate is a contributing property in the Hudson River National Historic Landmark District, a 32-mile stretch that extends from Germantown to Hyde Park. Now housing the Levy Economics Institute at Bard College, the Estate represents several periods in American design history: notably the Romantic and Picturesque and the Neoclassical Italianate. The bulk of the Collection dates from three significant periods: 1835 until 1852, when it was under the ownership of Robert Donaldson, who worked with A. J. Downing and A.J. Davis to develop the estate; 1899 -1951, during which time Captain Andrew C. Zabriskie and his wife, Frances Hunter Zabriskie, built the present day mansion and garden; and 1951- present, covering the Estate under Bard College. The Collection includes photographs, personal letters, engravings, and magazines. Tearsheets and photocopies of contemporary magazine articles and book chapters, published from 1951-on, give the history of the site in full, and include reproductions of many important photographs, sketches, engravings and plans.

Delafield Family Papers, 1767-1985, bulk 1881-1964

303.5 linear ft.
This collection consists of materials pertaining to the lives of the Delafield Family, primarily John Ross Delafield and his wife Violetta White Delafield, and the activities surrounding the maintenance of the Montgomery Place estate and orchards. The Delafields were a prominent New York family that made Montgomery Place their country home from 1922 through 1985. Located in Red Hook, New York, the estate was originally purchased by Janet Livingston Montgomery in 1802 and served as the country home for many members of the Livingston and Delafield families. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

Edward Jackson Bartlett Collection, 1928 - 1969

This collection consists primarily of letters from Edward Jackson Bartlett to his parents detailing his time at Bowdoin College, Bard College, and his service during World War II. It also contains report cards from the Browne and Nicholas School, Governor Dummer Academy, and Bowdoin College. Photographs, postcards describing his travels, a poetry book, and a journal are also present in the collection.

Emerald Rose Mckenzie ‘52 Collection, 1928-1989, bulk 1944-1945

1 Half document box
This collection is comprised of photographs and ephemera reflecting the life of Emerald McKenzie ’52. Emerald Rose McKenzie (1928-1989) was one of the first African American woman to attend Bard College. She was also blind, having lost her sight at the age of 16. The bulk of the collection was donated to Bard College by her family after Emerald’s death in 1989. Some items were donated by Cynthia Maris Dantzic ‘54. Cynthia was McKenzie’s reader and friend at Bard from 1950-1952.

Hannah Arendt Ephemera Collection, ca. 1950-2006, bulk ca. 1950-1976

4 gray document boxes
Hannah Arendt was among the most influential political thinkers of the 20th century. She and her husband Heinrich Blücher lived in NYC and near Bard College where Blücher taught from 1952 to 1971. After Arendt’s death in 1975, Bard College acquired her personal library of approximately 4000 volumes from her last apartment in New York City. The bulk of the Hannah Arendt Ephemera Collection is made up of paper ephemera found in these books while they were being cataloged. This collection also includes papers from the 1976 Memorial Colloquium, “An Intellectual Appreciation of Hannah Arendt,” and the 2006 Conference, “Thinking in Dark times: A Legacy of Hannah Arendt.” In addition, there are some press clippings and a small collection of correspondence between Hannah Arendt and Alex Bazelow regarding the transcribing of Heinrich Blücher’s lectures.

Heinrich Blücher Collection, January 1, 1951 - January 1, 1971

10 linear feet
Heinrich Blücher came to Bard College as a visiting professor in 1952, at the invitation of James Case, then President of the College. He developed the Common Course for freshmen at the college and became its director as well as the primary lecturer for the course, which took as its subject the history of philosophy. Over the course of the next seventeen years he taught at Bard and at the New School for Social Research (now The New School: a University in New York City), leaving scores of tapes of his lectures but very little written material. He was known for his practice of lecturing from only a few notes on index cards. Working with Hannah Arendt, Blücher’s wife, Alexander Bazelow (’71) transcribed the tapes from the Bard lectures; many of the New School lecture transcripts appear to have been made by Ruth Shultz. In a deed of gift Arendt left Bard College a collection of reel-to-reel audio tapes of Heinrich Blücher's lectures, given at The New School and at Bard, along with transcripts of some of the audio tapes. Audio cassettes copies were made of many of the original tapes thanks to Dr. George Rose ('63). The collection includes a notebook belonging to Blücher, and some notes and letters.

Jacob Grossberg Sketchbook Collection, 1963 - 2003

1.5 linear feet
Jacob "Jake" Grossberg (1932-2014) taught sculpture at Bard College from 1969 until he retired in 1996. He was also instrumental in developing and starting Bard’s MFA program and was named director of the program in 1981.