French and Company Stock sheets and ledgers, 1909-1968

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:

French & Company stock sheets and ledgers

Dates:

1909-1968

Creators:

French & Company (New York, N.Y.)

Abstract:

Stock sheets, stock books, ledgers, and assorted papers document the objects, primarily decorative arts pieces, bought and sold by the New York art dealer, French & Company, between 1909 and 1968.

Extent:

45 Linear Feet (108 boxes)

Language:

Collection material is in English

Preferred citation:

French & Company stock sheets and ledgers, 1909-1968, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no. 840027.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa840027

Background

Scope and content:

The French & Company archive consists of more than 100,000 stock sheets, 12 bound volumes of ledgers, stockbooks, and notebooks, plus assorted inventory sheets and cost records. (The photographs and negatives from French & Co. now form part of the repository's Photo Study collection.)

The stock sheets, some accompanied by slides and photographic contact prints, record in detail the objects handled by the firm: object description, stock numbers (numbers were sometimes changed), negative numbers which refer to the negatives and photographs from the French & Company records, provenance and sales. The majority of stock sheets are filed in one series and are numbered 1- ca. 81,483 (with some gaps). Another series of stock numbers ranges from A103 through N120.

The ledgers, stockbooks and notebooks record stock numbers and related negative numbers, and sometimes record object descriptions as well. Lists of photos, taken from old binders, list French & Company photographs in stock number order. Inventory sheets (.5 linear ft.) date from 1958 and list stock numbers and record transfers of inventory. Cost records (ca. .5 linear ft.) list client names, stock numbers, object descriptions, sales dates and prices, and date from 1957 -1968. One large pencil drawing is of a closet design for an unidentified client, Park Mansions, Pittsburgh, and is dated 1946.

Arrangement note

Arranged in 3 series: Series I. Stock sheets, 1909-1968; Series II Stock and ledger books, ca. 1909-1968;Series III Assorted papers, ca. 1920-1968.

Biographical / historical:

American art dealership based in New York City, French & Company bought and sold decorative arts, as well paintings and sculpture. Mitchell Samuels founded the firm in New York in 1907. Under Mitchell Samuels'directorship French & Company clients included many wealthy American collectors eager for decorative art objects and paintings of European provenance. Among their clients were, J. Paul Getty and William Randolph Hearst. During this period the firm also served as agents and decorators for the Huntingtons, Fricks, Mellons and Astors, among others. Mitchell's son Spencer took over the firm in the 1950s. After his father's death, Spencer sold the firm to City Investing in 1959. In 1968 City Investing sold the firm to Martin Zimet. Much of the French & Company remaining stock of decorative arts objects was sold at auction in 1968. The firm continued under the same name after the 1950s, but with a changing inventory and clientele.

Acquisition information:

Acquired in 1971

Processing information:

The stock sheets and ledgers were acquired in 1971, along with the photographs and negatives, which were transferred to the repository's Photo Study collection. Jocelyn Gibbs with assistance from Onica Busuioceanu, organized this collection. The photographs from French & Co. are integrated into the Decorative Arts section of the Photo Study collection, with the exception of the photographs of tapestries, which are cataloged as the Tapestries collection, accession no. 97.P.7. All the French and Co. negatives are filed together under accession no. 71.P.1.

Physical location:

Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Art -- Collectors and collecting
Decorative arts -- Collectors and collecting
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York
Sales records -- 20th century

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:: J. Gibbs.
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2021-03-29 09:59:30 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for use by qualified researchers.
Terms of access:: Contact Library Rights and Reproductions.