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: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81076877
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 Robert Helyer Thayer, diplomat, lawyer, and New York public official, were given to the Library of Congress by Thayer in 1981. Additional material was given to the Library by Thayer's estate in 1984.
The papers of Robert Helyer Thayer were arranged and described in 1985. The collection was expanded and revised in 1996 and additional revisions were made to the finding aid in 2009.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Sound recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. Some photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Robert Helyer Thayer Papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Robert Helyer Thayer in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Robert Helyer Thayer 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.
Government regulations control the use of security classified material in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified materials.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Robert Helyer Thayer Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Robert Helyer Thayer (1901-1984) span the period 1920-1980, with the bulk of the material concentrated between 1930 and 1964. The collection covers the breadth of Thayer's professional life, including his legal career, political activities in the Republican party, service in naval intelligence during World War II, and work for the State Department. His career brought him into close contact with many prominent figures in mid-twentieth century American politics and culture. The collection is composed of correspondence, memoranda, legal briefs, case files, reports, financial records, photographs, and printed matter arranged in the following series: General Correspondence, Legal File, Subject File, Miscellany, Classified, and Oversize.
The General Correspondence series chiefly reflects Thayer's intelligence service in the Naval Reserves, his diplomatic assignments as assistant ambassador to France and minister to Romania, and his work for the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Relations. Correspondents include McGeorge Bundy, William R. Castle, Thomas E. Dewey, C. Douglas Dillon, William J. Donovan, Allen Welsh Dulles, John Foster Dulles, Sol Hurok, Dean Rusk, and Sinclair Weeks.
Highlights of Thayer's early legal career in New York include his study of American and Canadian bankruptcy laws, his service as assistant counsel to Charles A. Lindbergh after the kidnapping of Lindbergh's son, and his appointment in 1938 as assistant district attorney for New York County by Thomas E. Dewey. The Legal File contains material relating to each of these topics as well as other legal cases from the immediate post-World War II period.
The Subject File documents Thayer's service in naval intelligence during World War II, his political activities in the Republican party in New York state, and his work as assistant secretary for cultural and educational affairs for the State Department. During the late 1930s, he was active in Republican party fund-raising and assisted Thomas E. Dewey in his successful bid for the office of district attorney of New York County and later campaigns for higher political offices. The file includes material relating to Republican party finances, Dewey's presidential campaigns of 1940 and 1948, and Thayer's own unsuccessful run for Congress in 1946. The largest portion of the Subject File pertains to his work with the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Relations and includes material related to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), international conferences, and art in American embassies.
The Miscellany series includes financial papers, printed matter, invitations, maps, memorabilia, and a scrapbook of clippings pertaining primarily to Thayer's political activities.
This collection is arranged in six series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81076877
Correspondence received and sent.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization and chronologically thereunder.
Correspondence, office memoranda, legal briefs, case files, reports, trial transcripts, and notes.
Arranged alphabetically by topic, type of material, or name of person or organization and chronologically thereunder.
Correspondence, reports, memoranda, speeches and writings, financial records, clippings, maps, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or name of organization or person and chronologically thereunder.
Printed matter, clippings, financial records, cards, invitations, maps, memorabilia, and scrapbook.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Classified material consisting mostly of correspondence.
Organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Oversize scrapbook.
Described according to the series and box from which it was removed.