Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm79032243
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Charles Follen McKim, architect, were given to the Library of Congress by Charles Moore between 1931 and 1937.
The papers of Charles Follen McKim were arranged and described in 1985. The finding aid was revised in 2009. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Charles Follen McKim is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Charles Follen McKim are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of these papers is available on fourteen reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Charles Follen McKim Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Charles Follen McKim (1847-1909) span the years 1838-1929, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1866-1909. The collection was assembled from various sources by his biographer, Charles Moore, and is organized in five series: Diary, Letterbooks, General Correspondence, Subject File, and Miscellany.
The McKim Papers document the professional and personal life of one of the preeminent American architects of his time and, in a series of Letterbooks, illustrate the development of American architecture through the letters and reports written under his signature as a partner in the New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White. Two volumes of letterbooks in this series contain McKim’s letters in support of the American Academy in Rome, an institution founded in 1897 by McKim and administered by him until his death in 1909. The academy’s purpose was to promote the advancement of the fine arts in America by enabling promising American students to study in Europe amid classic works of arts, and its operations are further documented in the Subject File. The General Correspondence series contains mostly transcripts, although some original letters are also included, as well as letters exchanged by McKim with family members. Photographs and printed matter are contained in the Miscellany series, as is a partial calendar of McKim’s correspondence, compiled by Moore.
Charles McKim was the son of James Miller McKim, a prominent Philadelphia abolitionist who was an active participant in the Underground Railroad and secretary of the American Freedman’s Union Commission. The General Correspondence series contains transcripts of letters written by James McKim to his son while Charles was attending Harvard University and L’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris that detail the efforts of former abolitionists to provide aid for newly freed enslaved persons in the years immediately following the Civil War. Copies of letters from other family members, including McKim’s mother, sister, and brother, are also located in the General Correspondence and provide personal glimpses into the family life and domestic affairs of the McKim family.
James McKim was a confederate of William Lloyd Garrison, and Charles forged lifelong friendships with Garrison’s sons, Francis Jackson Garrison and Wendell Phillips Garrison. A transcript of a diary kept by McKim recalls a walking tour taken by him, along with the Garrison sons, in 1863 through eastern Pennsylvania and the Gettysburg battlefield. Correspondence with the Garrisons can also be found in the General Correspondence and Letterbooks.
The series of Letterbooks contains the most fully developed source material in the collection relating to McKim’s architectural career. They are his personal letterbooks and include not only letters written by McKim in his capacity as representative of his firm but also those written by him of a more personal nature, especially those to his daughter, Margaret. The alphabetical indexes of correspondents, which are located at the beginning of each volume, reveal an impressive number of names of notable figures of the day, both those who consulted with McKim as clients and colleagues and those with whom he worked, including many important artists and architects. The Letterbooks reflect McKim’s role as supervisory architect and his involvement in the development of his firm’s architectural contracts, from structural conceptions and engineering details to the design elements of both interior and exterior decorations. Included among the works of his firm that are represented in these books are McKim’s designs for the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago, the Morningside Heights campus at Columbia University, the University Club, and the restoration of the White House. Extensive material documents McKim’s participation with the Senate Commission on the Improvement of the District of Columbia (in which capacity he advised Congress on the location and treatment of the public buildings and grounds along the Mall), including his membership on the Grant Memorial Commission. The General Correspondence series supplements the letterbooks, providing added detail to several of McKim’s major architectural works mentioned above, as well as to other projects such as the Rhode Island State House at Providence, Boston Symphony Hall, and the Boston Public Library. A separate file containing correspondence, reports, and financial records relating to the design and construction of the Boston Public Library is also included in the Subject File.
McKim became an important supporter of professional and educational societies and social clubs, including active membership in the American Institute of Architects, the Century Club, and the University Club. References to McKim’s participation in other public and private organizations can also be found in the Letterbooks.
This collection is arranged in five series:
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 19.621
Transcripts of a diary account of a walking trip and a memorandum book.
Arranged chronologically.
Copies of outgoing correspondence. Also includes two volumes at the end of the series concerning the American Academy in Rome.
Arranged by volume number and basically chronologically therein.
Mainly letters received.
Arranged chronologically.
Files concerning the American Academy in Rome and the Boston Public Library.
Arranged by subject and chronologically within. The file on the American Academy in Rome has a small miscellany following the chronology.
Includes an index to and notes on the general correspondence, genealogical material, photographs, printed matter, sketches, and other material.
Arranged by type of material.