New-York Historical Society Meeting Minutes, 1804-1937

The New-York Historical Society Meeting Minutes record the regular and special meetings of New-York Historical Society members from the founding meeting on November 20, 1804, to the last of these meetings on November 16, 1937. Routine content includes lists of individuals nominated and accepted for membership; obituaries and memorials for recently-deceased members and nationally-known figures; annual elections of officers; meeting attendees; and appointments of temporary committees to consider various specific matters. Donations of items are recorded inconsistently; for the period from the 1820s to 1841, there are frequent detailed lists of accessions. The minutes record many initiatives aimed at expanding the collection of manuscripts, artifacts, and artwork; these include successful matters, such as the acquisition of art from the New York Gallery of Fine Arts in 1857, and those that were unsuccessful, such as the offer from Mathew Brady of his Civil War photographs in 1866. Operational matters, including finances, leasing space in the early-mid 1800s, acquiring land and constructing buildings in the mid-1800s and in the 1900s, setting open hours for the rooms, and proposing constitutional and by-law amendments are recorded in the minutes. New-York Historical's financial struggles of the 1820s and 1830s, and their eventual resolution, are well-documented. Reports from committees are sometimes written into the minutes in full, as is some important correspondence; these reports include those of the various buildings committees created over time. The minutes also record to some extent the educational and social activities of New-York Historical. These include noting those invited to read papers to the members and the subject of those papers; decisions to publish certain material; and summaries of anniversary celebrations and other special events, sometimes noting the toasts at the event.