Richard Watson Gilder correspondence, 1887-1931

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Summary

Creators:
Gilder, Richard Watson, 1844-1909
Abstract:
Richard Watson Gilder was an American poet and editor of Century magazine. This collection consists of letters mainly from Gilder to Brigham Johnson from 1887 to 1931.
Extent:
1.50 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Richard Watson Gilder correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The Richard Watson Gilder correspondence consists of letters mainly from Richard Gilder addressed to Brigham Johnson, editor of the Cedar Rapids Republican and later Iowa State Librarian, from 1887 to 1931. Subjects discussed in the letters include literary matters, political issues (particularly Grover Cleveland and the Republican Party), David Bennett Hill, the Gilder family and Gilder's wife, Helena de Kay Gilder. After Richard Gilder's death in 1909, Brigham continued to correspond with Helena de Kay Gilder and the Gilders' daughter, Rosamond Gilder.

Biographical / historical:

Richard Watson Gilder was an American poet and editor of Century magazine from 1881 until his death in 1909. Gilder was born in Belle Vue, Bordentown, New Jersey on February 8, 1844; his parents were William Henry Gilder, a Methodist minister and sometime editor, and Jane Nutt, the daughter of a major. Barely twenty years old, Richard secured a position as paymaster on the Camden and Amboy Railroad, but soon tired of the work and left the railroad to become a reporter for the Newark Daily Advertiser. When R. Newton Crane, a colleague of Gilder's on the Advertiser, proposed that the two men start their own newspaper, Gilder agreed, and the Newark Morning Register was formed. In order to supplement his income, Gilder wrote for the New York based Hours at Home Magazine; an exhausting combination which he continued to perform until the financial failure of the Register in 1870. Shortly after the failure of the Register, House at Home merged with Scribner's Monthly, and Gilder joined the new magazine as managing editor. In 1881, after the death of J.G. Holland, editor-in-chief of Scribner's, Gilder assumed the vacant post. The magazine changed its name to Century. Gilder maintained that position until his death on November 18, 1909.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from N.A. Kovach, 1949.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington staff, circa mid-1970s. In 2020, Gina C Giang created a finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Richard Watson Gilder correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

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