RMA01102.xml Guide to the Elfriede Abbe papers, 1840-2010. Abbe, Elfriede papers, 1840-2010. Compiled by M.E. Warren Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library October 2003

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Finding aid encoded by Martin Heggestad October 2003 2007-05-29 converted from EAD 1.0 to EAD 2002 Guide to the Elfriede Abbe Papers, 1840-2010 Collection Number: 13-7-1102 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections Cornell University Library Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections 2B Carl A. Kroch Library Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3530 Fax: (607) 255-9524 rareref@cornell.edu http://rmc.library.cornell.edu M.E. Warren December 1992 Martin Heggestad, October 2003 Marcie Farwell, September 2018 © 2002 Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY Elfriede Abbe papers, 1840-2010. 13-7-1102 Elfriede Martha Abbe, 1919- 4.9 cubic ft. Correspondence, photographs, calendars, catalogs, manuscripts, notes, prints, sketches, pamphlets, mimeographed typescripts, news articles, and printing equipment. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library Collection consists of professional papers; letters concerning a piece of her sculpture, "The Hunter," and the publication of an article on her work; photographs of her and her sculpture; appointment calendars with descriptions of her work, photographs of her works; a catalog of her sculpture; wood cut illustrations, materials for books she illustrated; sketches; wood engraving blocks; announcements of publications of her books and of her gallery shows; typescripts of lectures given; and news articles on her works of art. Collection material in English BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Elfriede Abbe, a sculptor, printer, printmaker, and scientific illustrator, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornell University in 1940 and worked as an artist for the University from 1942-1974.

 COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Collection consists of professional papers, including correspondence with persons and organizations commissioning her sculpture, suppliers of sculpture materials and casting firms, and from the publisher of her books, collectors of her books and prints, and other artists and craftsmen, admirers and well wishers, and organizations of which she was a member; also, letters concerning a piece of her sculpture, "The Hunter," on display at the 1939 World's Fair and the publication of an article on her work in American Artist in 1962; photographs of her and her sculpture; appointment calendars, annotated with descriptions of her work, methods, and activities, and including photographs of her works, 1978-1988; a catalog of her sculpture; wood cut illustrations, notes, manuscripts and page proofs for books she illustrated, printed, or translated; sketches; wood engraving blocks; prints; pamphlets; announcements of publications of her books; mimeographed typescripts of lectures given; news articles on her works of art; and announcements concerning her gallery shows. Also, a catalog from the Southern Vermont Art Center's 60th Anniversary Festival of the Arts, 1989, and correspondence related to the National Geographic Society Centennial (1988). Also paper with watermark from Dard Hunter and a Broadside printed by Jim Tyler for Elfriede Abbe's 70'th birthday, 1989.

Includes an annotated copy of The Sculpture of Elfriede Abbe; professional correspondence, 1940-2012, with Cornell Library staff and others; a holiday letter from James, Mary, and John Sumner, 1947; personal letters from Erika Pignatti, 1961-1987; a letter from Herbert Finch relating to Mary Bovier; correspondence, newsletter relating to the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine; programs and invitations; and miscellaneous biographical materials and clippings.

Also included in the collection are Abbe family papers which consist mainly of the letters (1840-1883) of Elfriede Abbe's great-grandparents, George Waldo Abbe, pioneer of meteorology and climatology and founder of the United States Weather Bureau, and Charlotte Colgate Abbe. The letters refer to concerts and lectures, opinions and incidents relating to abolition, Baptists, New Versionists, the depression of 1857, and summer visits by Charlotte Abbe and the children to "Dog Hill," Moses Cleveland Abbe's farm in South Windham, Connecticut. These letters are printed in a book annotated by Elfrieda Abbe, Letters of George Waldo Abbe and Charlotte Colgate Abbe, 1840-1883, a copy of which is in the collection. Other material consists of biographical and visual material related to Cleveland Abbe and Cleveland Abbe, Junior, particularly a large series of photographs of a European trip in 1901 by Cleveland Abbe, Jr., and photographs and other items relating to her mother Frieda Dauer Abbe.

Correspondents include Charlotte Colgate Abbe, George Waldo Abbe, Talitha Abbe, William Colgate Abbe, Harriet Allen, Edgar Anderson, Stanley Brogren, Knox F. Burnett, Cornelia Van A. Chapin, Gilmore D. Clarke, Theodore R. Dudley, Ettl Studios, John Folinsbee, Roscoe Guernsey, J.L. Hautman, Katherine Thayer Hobson, Carleton Howe, Roy A. Hunt, Arthur Jones, Norman Kent, Irvin Kerlan, Alison Mason Kingsbury, Knight and Son Metal Letters and Figures, Carolyn and Lewis Knudson, Robert D. Kohn, George H.M. Lawrence, Walter Leuba, J. Ben Lieberman, Paul Manship, Ivan Meštrović, James L. Montague, Minnie and Walter C. Muenscher, Hobart Nichols, Richard Pennington, The Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Botanical Library, Lilly and Felix Reichmann, Roman Bronzeworks, Lessing Rosenwald, Ross W. Sloniker, Lieselotta and Friedrich Solmsen, Alice and Rolla Tryon, Vermarco Lime Company, Vermont Marble Company, S. F. Vorhees, James Lamar Weygand, and Wheeler Williams.

Wood panel carving titled "Edge of the Pond"; Mahogany sculpture of Ptolemy displayed in Reference Room of Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections

 SUBJECTS Names: Abbe, Elfriede Martha, 1919- Anderson, Edgar. Brogren, Stanley. Burnett, Knox F. Chapin, Cornelia Van A. Clarke, Gilmore D., 1892- Dudley, T. R. (Theodore R.), 1936- Folinsbee, John Fulton, 1892-1972. Guernsey, Roscoe. Hautman, J. L. Hobson, Katherine Thayer. Howe, Carleton. Hunt, Roy A. Jones, Arthur, 1889-1979. Kent, Norman, 1903-1972. Kerlan, Irvin. Kingsbury, Alison Mason, b. 1898. Knudson, Carolyn. Knudson, Lewis, 1884-1958. Kohn, Robert D., 1870-1953. Lawrence, George Hill Mathewson, 1910- Leuba, Walter, 1902- Lieberman, J. Ben. Manship, Paul, 1885-1966. Meštrović, Ivan, 1883-1962. Montague, James L. Muenscher, Minnie Worthen. Muenscher, Walter Conrad Leopold, 1891-1963. Nichols, Hobart. Pennington, Richard. Reichmann, Felix, 1899- Reichmann, Lilly, 1909- Rosenwald, Lessing J. (Lessing Julius), 1891-1979. Sloniker, Ross W. Solmsen, Friedrich, 1904- Solmsen, Lieselotte. Tryon, Alice F. Tryon, Rolla Milton, 1916- Vorhees, S. F. Weygand, James Lamar. Williams, Wheeler, 1897-1972. Cornell University. Ettl Studios. Knight and Son Metal Letters and Figures. Roman Bronzeworks. Vermarco Lime Company. Vermont Marble Company. Subjects: Art. Sculpture. Artists. Printers. Printmakers. Sculptors. Women artists. Form and Genre Terms: Sketches. Insignias. Photographs. Woodcuts. Illustrations. Diaries. INFORMATION FOR USERS Cite As:

Elfriede Abbe papers, #13-7-1102. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.

 CONTAINER LIST 1 1 1939 Correspondence 1 2 1940-1949 Correspondence 1 3 1950-1951 Correspondence 1 4 1952-1954 Correspondence 1 4 1952-1954 Dard Hunter watermark on sheet of paper and envelope 1 5 1955-1957 Correspondence 1 6 1958-1959 Correspondence 1 7 1960-1962 Correspondence 1 8 1963 Correspondence 1 9 1964-1965 Correspondence 1 10 1966-1967 Correspondence 1 11 1968-1969 Correspondence 1 12 1970-1976 Correspondence 1 13 1977-1979 Correspondence 1 14 1980 Correspondence 1 15 1981 Correspondence 1 16 1982 Correspondence 1 17 1983 Correspondence 1 18 1984 Correspondence 1 19 1985-1987 Correspondence 1 20 1988-1990 Correspondence 2 1 1960-1965 The Rachel McMasters Miller Hunt Botanical Library 2 2 1921-1924 Harriet Allen correspondence 2 3-5 n.d. Correspondence 2 6 1960 Diary of trip to Europe 2 7 1961 Diary of trip to Europe 2 8 "An Artist Looks at the Georgics" - summary, drafts of purpose of essay 2 9 1964-1965 Talks by Elfriede Abbe 2 10 1965 "Walter Conrad Muensche" - reprint 2 11 Receipts and bills 2 12 1957, 1965, 1987 Certificates 2 13-16 Miscellaneous: newsletters, announcements, articles, releases, exhibit catalogs, invitations 2 17-18 Newspaper clippings 2 19 Photographs - Elfriede Abbe at sculpting work 2 20 Photograph - Abbe at printing work 2 21-22 Portraits of Elfriede Abbe 2 23 1989 60th Anniversary - Festival of the Arts, Manchester, Vermont 3 1 1840-1850 George Waldo Abbe and Charlotte Colgate Abbe correspondence 3 2 1851-1855 George Waldo Abbe and Charlotte Colgate Abbe correspondence 3 3 1857-1903 George Waldo Abbe and Charlotte Colgate Abbe correspondence 3 4 1916-1917, 1963 Cleveland Abbe biographical material 3 5 1895-1900, 1931, 1935 Cleveland Abbe, Jr. account books; biographical material 3 6 1902 Journal of European trip - geological notes and sketches, and expense account of Cleveland Abbe, Jr. 3 7 Abbe biographical information 3 8 1988 National Geographic Society Centennial 3 9 ca. 1909-1914 Tata, Hungary - Count Tege von Konkoly 3 10 1969 Two portfolio covers for Abbe letters given to Cleveland Abbe, Jr. by Harriet Colgate Abbe 3 11 Abbe miscellany 3 12 1917 Albrecht Penck 3 13 Abbe family - Cleveland Abbe

Includes Cleveland Abbe's 1901 US Passport for trip to Pulkova Observatory

 3 14 ca. 1898-1922 Cleveland Abbe photos and 1922 passport 3 15 1903-1981 Frieda Dauer Abbe 3 16 ca. 1903 Abbe family 3 17 1884-1944 Misc. programs, certificates, articles 4 1 1969 Correspondence re: Letters of George Waldo Abbe and Charlotte Colgate Abbe 4 2 1968 Volume - Letters of George Waldo Abbe and Charlotte Colgate Abbe 4 3 1852-1867 William Colgate Abbe correspondence 4 4 1870-1879 William Colgate Abbe correspondence 4 5 1856, 1875 Talitha Abbe correspondence 4 6 Photograph of Cleveland Abbe, Jr. 4 7 1898 Photograph of Cleveland Abbe, Jr. 4 8 1905 Photographs (2) of Mrs. Cleveland Abbe, Jr. 4 9 ca. 1921 Photograph of Mrs. Cleveland Abbe, Jr. and Elfriede Abbe 4 10 1907 Photograph of Ernst Cleveland Abbe and parents 4 11 Photograph of Dog Hill Road (Moses Cleveland Abbe's farm estate was called Dog Hill) 4 12 Photograph of Mt. Abbe, Johns Hopkins Fiord, Glacier Bay, Alaska, named for Cleveland Abbe, Jr. 4 13 1905 Photograph of decorations of the U.S. Geological Survey for Roosevelt inauguration 5 1-2 Photograph of Prof. and Mrs. Cleveland Abbe 5 3 ca. 1860s Daguerreotype of William Colgate Abbe 5 4 Daguerreotype of Talitha Waldo Abbe 5 5 Daguerreotype of Moses Cleveland Abbe 5 6 ca. 1903-1908 Photographs of Mr. and Mrs. Cleveland Abbe, Dr. and Mrs. Cleveland Abbe, Jr., "Aunt Harriet" 5 7 Hand-colored lantern slide of Charlotte Colgate Abbe 5 8 Photograph of George Waldo Abbe 5 9 Photograph of Ernst C. Abbe 5 10 Photograph and news clipping of Mary "Aunt Mollie" O'Toole, godmother of Elfriede Abbe 5 11 Photographs re: Elfriede Abbe 5 12 Photograph of Walter Conrad Muenscher plaque 5 13 Photographs of family and friends 6 1 Original wood engravings which were reproduced as illustrations for Plants of Virgil's Georgics (3 matted prints in map case) 6 2 The Georgics of Virgin - English translation 6 3 The Plants of Virgil's Georgics - page proofs, notes, etc. 6 4 The Plants of Virgil's Georgics - draft 6 5 Christmas Card 1954 - wood engraving 7 3 matted prints 7 3 original prints 7 1939 1 blueprint of location and pedestal for sculpture "The Hunter" by Elfriede Abbe 7 Wood engraving titled “Stronghold”, pictures from “The Revelation of St. John the Divine” panels, pencil sketch of mother and self-portrait 7 1939-1985 Certificates and awards 8 1901 Photographs taken in Europe by Cleveland Abbe, Jr. 9 1955 Volume - Garden Spice and Wild Pot-Herbs 10 Miscellaneous catalogs and publications 11 1978-1988 Elfriede Abbe engagement books (11) 12 6 wood printing blocks 12 3 framed prints 12 Printing block: Seal of Gardner, Maine 13 1 1970-2008 pictures of art work with correspondence 13 2 Abbe Museum 13 3 Letters, student project 13 4 Art 13 5 Publications with art 13 6 Exhibitions 13 7 Programs, etc. 13 8 Magazines 13 9 Swann Galleries 13 10 City of Carcassonne 13 11 Clippings 14 1 1972-1997 Biographical information and clippings 14 2 1978-1994 Invitations, programs, etc 14 3 1980-2001 Abbe Museum 14 4 1940-1960 Professional correspondence 14 5 1970 Professional correspondence 14 6 1980's Professional correspondence 14 7 1990's Professional correspondence 14 8 2000's Professional correspondence 14 9 n.d. Professional correspondence 14 10 1968 Letter regarding Mary Bovier 14 11 1961-1987 Pignatti, Erika and Sandro 14 12 1947 Sumner letter 14 13 1968-1985 "Valley Forge" loss 14 14 "The Sculpture of Elfriede Abbe" (annotated) 26 Folder of Ivan Mestrovic letters in MSS file 46 1989 Broadside of Geoffry Chaucer's prologue to "Tales of Canterbury", printed by J. Tyler for Elfriede Abbe's 70'th birthday, in MSS file MU-1313 Mahogany sculpture of Ptolemy, by Elfriede Abbe, displayed in Reference Room of Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections MU-1314 Wood panel carving "Edge of the Pond", by Elfriede Abbe