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Alice Parsons Millard Papers and Addenda: Finding Aid
mssMillard papers
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Title: Alice Parsons Millard Papers and
Addenda
Dates (inclusive): Approximately 1890-2012
Bulk dates: 1927-1938
Collection Number: mssMillard papers
Creator:
Millard, George M., Mrs., 1873-1938.
Extent: 306 items in 3 boxes + oversize
volume
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: The majority of the collection deals with the estate and assets of rare book seller Alice Parsons Millard (1873-1938)
at the time of her death. There is also some correspondence and photographs, including images of Millard's homes in Highland
Park and South Pasadena, California.
Language: English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Alice Parsons Millard Papers and Addenda, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Lucille V. Miller, June 10, 1984, and gift of Peter Thompson, January 19,
2000, July 26, 2002, July 20, 2011, and May 10, 2013. Gift of Pam Melone, March
26, 2012.
Alice Parsons Millard (1873-1938) was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, on May 4,
1873. When she was a young girl, her family moved to Chicago, Illinois. In 1896, she
and her sister, Emily, were sent to Europe to be educated; Alice was sent to London
to study art. She and bookseller George Millard met in a bookshop in Chicago shortly
after Alice returned to the United States. A friendship and partnership began, and
in 1901, she accompanied George on his book buying trip to Europe. While in Europe,
the two were married. The couple had one child, Roxana (born in 1904), who had
disabilities and lived her entire life in an institution. The Millards moved to
California in 1914 and opened up a bookstore called “George M. Millard Rare &
Fine Imported Books.” Their friend Frank Lloyd Wright built them a home in Pasadena
known as “La Miniatura;” it was finished in 1923. George died in 1918 and Alice ran
the rare book business by herself. She also started buying and selling antiques. In
1926, Frank Lloyd Wright’s son, Lloyd, built an addition to their house that became
Alice’s “Little Museum of the Book,” where she would often have exhibits of her
books and antiques. Alice, a Christian Scientist, was active in the book trade up to
her death of cancer in July 1938. Much of the Millards’ collection of books was
given to the Huntington Library.
The collection contains 208 items housed in two boxes (with one
oversize volume). The majority of the collection deals with Alice Parsons Millard’s
estate and assets at the time of her death. There are documents and five volumes of
inventories of the house and “museum,” as well as 52 inventory note cards. These
inventories list items (including furniture, books, etc.) owned by the Millards and
often include the price they paid for it and/or the price for which they sold it.
There is also a twelve-page, typed memoir of Alice Parsons Millard by Lucille V.
Miller (1984). The correspondence includes 31 pieces, sixteen of which were written
by Alice Parsons Millard. Many of the letters and postcards were written while Alice
was abroad. One of her letters is to her client, collector Estelle Doheny. A number
of her letters were to the Vanderhoef family, particularly Francis Bailey
Vanderhoef, Jr. and his mother, Cornelia Young Vanderhoef. Ten letters by Alice
Parsons Millard’s secretary, Gertrude E. Treat, revolve around Alice’s failing
health, death, and the distribution of her estate. The photographs consist of 57
black and white photographs (and two negatives) of the following: the Millard’s
Highland Park house, the exterior and interior of “La Miniatura,” the house’s
exhibits, the South Pasadena House, and three gates Alice contemplated purchasing
while in London. There are also several personal photographs of Alice Parsons
Millard, George Millard and various family members. There are five pieces of
ephemera including Alice Parsons Millard's passport (1926) and copies of three of
her obituaries (1938).
The oversize guest book begins in 1924 and has 31 pages of visitors’ inscriptions.
Several notable people are in this volume including: Leslie Bliss, John Collier,
Albert and Elsa Einstein (they visited in 1932 and 1933), Charlotte Perkins Gilman,
Robert A. Millikan and Frank Lloyd Wright.
The first addenda is several folders of material (43 items) with similar material
and topics as the main collection and begins at Box 2, folder 8. The second addenda
(39 items) is primarily correspondence and begins at Box 2, folder 18. The third
addenda consists of four folders (93 items) and begins at Box 2, folder 27 (most of
it is photocopies). It contains some photographs of Millard, La Miniatura and the
house in Illinois, as well as research material about Millard and “La Miniatura” and
photocopies of correspondence between Millard and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Note: Alice Parson Millard’s Library of Congress authorized heading is Mrs. George
M. Millard, 1873- 1938. This name is used in the container list and on the folders.
Arranged in the following order:
- Box 1: Manuscripts, Documents and Correspondence
- Box 2: Ephemera and Photographs and Addenda
- Oversize volume: La Miniatura Guest book
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Millard, George
M.
Millard, George M.,
Mrs., 1873-1938 -- Archives.
Wright, Frank Lloyd,
1867-1959.
Wright, Lloyd,
1890-1978.
Antiquarian booksellers --
California.
Antique dealers --
California.
Booksellers and bookselling --
California.
Women -- California.
Women book collectors --
California.
Pasadena
(Calif.)
Black-and-white photographs --
California -- 20th century.
Estate inventories -- California --
20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- California
-- 20th century.
Memoirs -- California -- 20th century.
Doheny, Estelle, 1875-1958.
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.
Einstein, Elsa, 1876-1936.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 1860-1935.
Miller, Lucille V.
Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959.