Theodore G. and Eleanor S. Congdon Maritime Collection, approximately 1700-1990, bulk 1800-1935

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Summary

Creators:
Congdon, Eleanor S. ; Congdon, Theodore G.
Abstract:
The Theodore G. and Eleanor S. Congdon Maritime Collection contains 190 items that pertain to commercial, naval, and recreational maritime-related activities primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. Materials date from approximately 1700 to 1990, with the bulk dating from 1800-1935. The collection consists of prints (engravings, etchings, aquatints, and lithographs), photographs, manuscript materials, publications, portfolios and bound volumes, and a single painting. The items deal primarily with whaling, yachting, and naval battles, and the vessels and people involved in these activities.
Extent:
190 items
Language:
Primarily English, with some French.

Background

Scope and content:

The Theodore G. and Eleanor S. Congdon Maritime Collection contains 190 items that pertain to commercial, naval, and recreational maritime-related activities primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. Materials date from approximately 1700 to 1990, with the bulk dating from 1800-1935. The collection consists of prints (engravings, etchings, aquatints, and lithographs), photographs, manuscript materials, publications, portfolios and bound volumes, and a single painting. The items deal primarily with whaling, yachting, and naval battles, and the vessels and people involved in these activities.

Materials are arranged in three series: Commercial, Naval, and Recreational. These series are further divided into subseries based on format. All items are fully inventoried, and all printers, artists, and publishers are indexed by name.

The collection contains materials as diverse as early 18th-century engravings of whaling expeditions, letters from sailors working on whaling vessels during the 19th century, photographs of yachts competing for the America's Cup in the early 20th century, 19th-century lithographs of naval ships engaged in battle, and letters of marque and safe conduct signed by presidents of the United States, from George Washington to James Buchanan. These items offer a wealth of information regarding the vessels that operated throughout three centuries, as well as the fishermen, sailors, and sportsmen who manned them.

Biographical / historical:

Theodore G. Congdon (1929-2012) lived in the Pasadena area of southern California with his wife Eleanor, where he worked as an accountant. He grew up in New England, one of five sons of the socially prominent Congdon family that founded Congdon & Carpenter Co. in 1790. The firm dealt in iron, steel, hardware, carriage and saddlery goods, and paints and oils, and was one of the oldest family-owned and operated businesses in the United States until it was sold in 1977.

Ted Congdon's deep interest in maritime history led him to amass a variety of prints, documents, periodicals, and artifacts related to whaling, yachting, and naval history, the bulk of which forms the Theodore G. and Eleanor S. Congdon Maritime Collection.

Acquisition information:
This collection was donated to the Huntington Library by Theodore G. and Eleanor S. Congdon in August 2006 and February 2008. Most of the items in the collection were donated in 2008; the 2006 donation consists of the following 26 items: priTEC 0165-priTEC 0190.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in the following three series, which are further divided into subseries by genre:

  • Series I. Commercial
    • Subseries A. Manuscripts
    • Subseries B. Prints
    • Subseries C. Publications
  • Series II. Naval
    • Subseries A. Manuscripts
    • Subseries B. Prints
  • Series III. Recreational
    • Subseries A. Paintings
    • Subseries B. Photographs
    • Subseries C. Prints
    • Subseries D. Publications

Items are arranged numerically by call number and described in the following format:

  • Title. Date
  • Artist(s) (when known and when applicable). Printer(s). Publisher(s)

Items are housed individually in folders, and are located in flat files or (when noted in the collection contents list) in one flat-top box.

A number of brief notes made by the donor regarding several items in the collection is available in Box 1.

Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Note:

Finding aid last updated on January 27, 2016.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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