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Finding Aid for the Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series III: Voucher Files, 1892-1929 HCFF.01.03
Part of the Frick Family Papers
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives10 East 71st Street
New York, NY, 10021
archives@frick.org
© 2010 The Frick Collection. All rights reserved. - Creator
- Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919.
- Title
- Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series III: Voucher Files
- ID
- HCFF.01.03
- Date [inclusive]
- 1892-1929
- Extent
- 35.1 Linear feet (78 boxes)
- Abstract
- Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) was a prominent industrialist and art collector. This series consists vouchers for a wide range of expenditures, including household goods and services, payroll, donations, and travel.
Preferred Citation
Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series III: Voucher Files. The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives.
Biographical Note
Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) was a prominent industrialist and art collector who made his fortune in the coal, coke, steel, and railroad industries. Born into modest circumstances in West Overton, Pa., Frick ended his formal education by the mid-1860s. In 1871, he borrowed money to purchase a share in a coking concern that would eventually become the H.C. Frick Coke Co. Over the next decade, he continued to expand his business through the acquisition of more coal lands and coke ovens, and entered into partnership with fellow industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1882. Frick assumed the chairmanship of Carnegie Bros. & Co. (later Carnegie Steel Co.) in 1889, and served in that capacity until his resignation from the company in December 1899. During his tenure as chairman, differences between Frick and Carnegie emerged, most significantly in their approach to labor issues. The 1892 Homestead Strike further strained relations between the two men, and in 1899, Frick permanently severed his relationship with Carnegie.
In December 1881, Frick married Adelaide Howard Childs of Pittsburgh. The couple purchased a house (called Clayton) in Pittsburgh's East End, and had four children: Childs Frick (1883-1965), Martha Howard Frick (1885-1891), Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), and Henry Clay Frick, Jr. (born 1892, died in infancy). After his break with Carnegie, Frick began spending less time in Pittsburgh, and established homes in New York and Massachusetts. In 1905, he leased the Vanderbilt mansion at 640 Fifth Avenue in New York City, and built an elaborate summer residence (known as Eagle Rock) in Prides Crossing, Mass., which was completed in 1906. In 1907, Frick purchased land at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th Street in New York. Construction of the new beaux arts mansion, designed by Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings, began in 1912, after the demolition of the Lenox Library formerly on the site. The family moved into the house at One East 70th Street in the fall of 1914, and Henry Clay Frick died there on 2 December 1919.
Frick showed a lifelong interest in art collecting, acquiring his first painting in 1881, and continuing to add to his collection until just before his death. Little is known about Frick's early experiences with art, but his taste initially favored local Pennsylvania artists, contemporary French painters, and Barbizon landscapes. Around the turn of the century his focus shifted to old master paintings, and he began to collect works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Dyck, and Gainsborough. Though Frick chiefly acquired paintings through the firm of M. Knoedler & Co., he also purchased works through Joseph Duveen, Roger Fry, and Alice Creelman, among others. In the mid-1910s, Frick greatly expanded his collection by acquiring paintings, porcelains, sculpture, enamels, and furnishings from the estate of J.P. Morgan, who had died in 1913. Upon his death, Frick bequeathed to the public his New York residence, along with the paintings, furnishings, and decorative objects contained therein. The Frick Collection opened to the public in 1935.
Scope and Content
Henry Clay Frick's Voucher Files, 1892-1929, consist of accounts payable vouchers and memorandum vouchers documenting a wide variety of expenditures, including household goods and services, payroll, investments, donations and gifts, and travel. Together, these items give a clear and thorough picture of the Frick family's tastes and habits, as well as their daily activities and interests. Examples of some expenditures are cars, china, clothing, shoes, furniture, jewelry, books, entertainment, tuition, horses, carriages, gifts to family members and charitable organizations, doctors' fees and prescriptions, and expenses incurred in the staffing, maintenance, and improvement of the family's residences. Highlights of this series include a voucher for a Mercedes automobile purchased in 1909, with attached fabric swatches and paint samples (#9650); a voucher for $1,000 paid to cellist Pablo Casals for a private concert in 1915 (#5018), and five donations of $500 apiece made to Helen Keller over the period of 1911-1915 (#1578, 2565, 3469, 4190, and 4954). Each voucher records when and to whom payment was made, the amount and nature of the expense, check number, and the account drawn upon for payment. Accounts payable vouchers were receipted by the payee at Frick's request, and are often accompanied by documents such as invoices, related correspondence, and canceled checks. Memorandum vouchers, on the other hand, appear to have been prepared for internal accounting purposes, were not receipted by the payee, and typically have few, if any, attachments.
Materials are arranged in three subseries: Subseries 1. Accounts Payable Vouchers - Group I, 1892-1919; Subseries 2. Accounts Payable Vouchers - Group II, 1912-1919; and Subseries III. Estate Vouchers, 1919-1929.
Subseries I contains a single run of more than 18,000 vouchers dating from the time the system was implemented in 1892 until Frick's death in late 1919. Vouchers are numbered sequentially, but start over at 1 after reaching 10,010 in 1909. Vouchers in Subseries I and III are indexed alphabetically by payee in eleven volumes, beginning in 1901. The original index covering the years 1892-1900 does not survive with these papers, but an electronic index for that period has been compiled. See the archives staff for more information.
Vouchers in Subseries II resemble those found in the first subseries, but comprise a second concurrent run of about 5,000 vouchers starting in 1912 and continuing until Frick's death. Expenditures documented in this subseries are very similar to those found in Subseries I, and were paid using the same bank accounts, so the purpose of the second run is not clear. Vouchers in Subseries II are indexed alphabetically by payee in two volumes, though these indexes appear to be less complete than the indexes found in Subseries I.
Subseries III, Estate Vouchers, date from Henry Clay Frick's death in until the settlement of his estate in 1929. This is the smallest of the three subseries, containing about 2,600 vouchers. Examples of expenditures in this subseries are legal fees, taxes, insurance, payroll, investments, continuations of gifts to family initiated during Frick's lifetime, and household and office expenses billable to the estate.
Arrangement
Arranged in three subseries: I. Accounts Payable Vouchers - Group I, 1892-1919; II. Accounts Payable Vouchers - Group II, 1912-1919; and III. Estate Vouchers, 1919-1929. Items are arranged by voucher number, or chronologically, with indexes filed at the beginning of Subseries I and II.
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
These records are open for research by appointment under the conditions of The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives Access Policy. For all inquiries or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Archives Department at archives@frick.org.
Custodial History
These papers became the property of the Helen Clay Frick Foundation upon Helen Clay Frick's death in 1984. The papers were housed at the Frick Art and Historical Center in Pittsburgh until 2001, when they were transferred to The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library.
Provenance
Gift of the Helen Clay Frick Foundation, 2015.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Julie Ludwig, 2010, with funding from the Helen Clay Frick Foundation.
Related Materials
Related Materials
Vouchers for the construction of the Frick family's New York residence are filed in the One East 70th Street Papers. Documentation of expenditures prior to 1892 can be found in Henry Clay Frick's Invoice Books. Additional invoices are located in Henry Clay Frick's Receipts series.
Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Financial records.
- Vouchers.
Personal Name(s)
- Frick, Adelaide Howard Childs, 1859-1931.
- Frick, Childs, 1883-1965.
- Frick, Helen Clay, 1888-1984.
- Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919.
Collection Inventory
|
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| Box | Date | |||
| 1 |
Voucher indexes
Scope and Contents note
"No. 2," 1901 January-1903 March "No. 3," 1903 April-1905 June |
1901-1905 | ||
| 2 |
Voucher indexes
Scope and Contents note
"No. 4," 1905 July-1907 September "No. 5," 1907 October-1909 December |
1905-1909 | ||
| 3 |
Voucher indexes
Scope and Contents note
"No. 6," 1910 January-1912 March "No. 7," 1912 April-1914 June |
1910-1914 | ||
| 4 |
Voucher indexes
Scope and Contents note
"No. 8," 1914 July-1916 September "No. 9," 1916 October-1918 December |
1914-1918 | ||
| 5 |
Voucher indexes
Scope and Contents note
"No. 10," 1919 January-1921 March [No. 11], 1921 April-1922 August |
1919-1922 | ||
| 6 |
Voucher indexes
Scope and Contents note
"No. 12," 1922 September-1928 |
1922-1928 | ||
| 7 |
Vouchers #2-600
|
1892 October-1894 July | ||
| 8 |
Vouchers #601-1101
|
1894 July-1896 April | ||
| 9 |
Vouchers #1102-1571
|
1896 April-1897 April | ||
| 10 |
Vouchers #1572-1971
|
1897 April-1898 January | ||
| 11 |
Vouchers #1972-2370
|
1898 January-October | ||
| 12 |
Vouchers #2371-2740
|
1898 October-1899 May | ||
| 13 |
Vouchers #2741-3150
|
1899 May-1900 January | ||
| 14 |
Vouchers #3151-3570
|
1900 January-October | ||
| 15 |
Vouchers #3571-4028
|
1900 October-1901 June | ||
| 16 |
Vouchers #4029-4500
|
1901 June-1902 February | ||
| 17 |
Vouchers #4501-5010
|
1902 February-October | ||
| 18 |
Vouchers #5011-5450
|
1902 October-1903 March | ||
| 19 |
Vouchers #5451-6000
|
1903 March-1904 January | ||
| 20 |
Vouchers #6001-6699
|
1904 January-1905 May | ||
| 21 |
Vouchers #6700-7300
|
1905 March-1906 March | ||
| 22 |
Vouchers #7301-7746
|
1906 March-October | ||
| 23 |
Vouchers #7747-8181
|
1906 October-1907 May | ||
| 24 |
Vouchers #8182-8528
|
1907 May-November | ||
| 25 |
Vouchers #8529-8925
|
1907 November-1908 July | ||
| 26 |
Vouchers #8926-9317
|
1908 July-1909 January | ||
| 27 |
Vouchers #9318-9669
|
1909 January-August | ||
| 28 |
Vouchers #9670-10,010
|
1909 August-December | ||
| 29 |
Vouchers #1-385
|
1910 January-June | ||
| 30 |
Vouchers #386-820
|
1910 June-December | ||
| 31 |
Vouchers #821-1153
|
1910 December-1911 April | ||
| 32 |
Vouchers #1154-1510
|
1911 April-September | ||
| 33 |
Vouchers #1511-1830
|
1911 October-1912 January | ||
| 34 |
Vouchers #1831-2110
|
1912 January-May | ||
| 35 |
Vouchers #2111-2410
|
1912 May-September | ||
| 36 |
Vouchers #2411-2720
|
1912 September-December | ||
| 37 |
Vouchers #2721-3015
|
1912 December-1913 March | ||
| 38 |
Vouchers #3016-3315
|
1913 March-August | ||
| 39 |
Vouchers #3316-3640
|
1913 August-1914 January | ||
| 40 |
Vouchers #3641-3886
|
1914 January-May | ||
| 41 |
Vouchers #3888-4145
|
1914 May-October | ||
| 42 |
Vouchers #4146-4430
|
1914 October-1915 February | ||
| 43 |
Vouchers #4431-4745
|
1915 February-July | ||
| 44 |
Vouchers #4746-5035
|
1915 July-November | ||
| 45 |
Vouchers #5036-5430
|
1915 November-1916 May | ||
| 46 |
Vouchers #5431-5765
|
1916 May-October | ||
| 47 |
Vouchers #5766-6115
|
1916 October-1917 March | ||
| 48 |
Vouchers #6116-6475
|
1917 March-September | ||
| 49 |
Vouchers #6476-6835
|
1917 September-1918 February | ||
| 50 |
Vouchers #6836-7260
|
1918 February-August | ||
| 51 |
Vouchers #7261-7635
|
1918 August-1919 January | ||
| 52 |
Vouchers #7636-8005
|
1919 January-July | ||
| 53 |
Vouchers #8006-8296
|
1919 July-November | ||
|
|
||||
|
||||
| Box | Date | |||
| 54 |
Voucher indexes
|
1912-1919 | ||
| 55 |
Vouchers #1-200
|
1913 January-March | ||
| 56 |
Vouchers #201-450
|
1913 March-June | ||
| 57 |
Vouchers #451-700
|
1913 June-September | ||
| 58 |
Vouchers #701-930
|
1913 September-1914 January | ||
| 59 |
Vouchers #931-1050
|
1914 January-February | ||
| 60 |
Vouchers #1051-1300
|
1914 February-July | ||
| 61 |
Vouchers #1301-1550
|
1914 July-November | ||
| 62 |
Vouchers #1551-1800
|
1914 November-1915 March | ||
| 63 |
Vouchers #1801-2050
|
1915 March-August | ||
| 64 |
Vouchers #2051-2300
|
1915 August-1916 January | ||
| 65 |
Vouchers #2301-2550
|
1916 January-June | ||
| 66 |
Vouchers #2551-2800
|
1916 June-October | ||
| 67 |
Vouchers #2801-3050
|
1916 October-1917 February | ||
| 68 |
Vouchers #3051-3300
|
1917 February-June | ||
| 69 |
Vouchers #3301-3700
|
1917 June-December | ||
| 70 |
Vouchers #3701-4082
|
1917 December-1918 July | ||
| 71 |
Vouchers #4083-4530
|
1918 July-1919 March | ||
| 72 |
Vouchers #4531-4977
|
1919 March-November | ||
|
|
||||
|
||||
| Box | Date | |||
| 73 |
Vouchers #1-402
|
1919 December-1920 April | ||
| 74 |
Vouchers #403-830
|
1920 April-1921 January | ||
| 75 |
Vouchers #831-1330
|
1921 January-1922 January | ||
| 76 |
Vouchers #1331-1880
|
1922 January-1923 December | ||
| 77 |
Vouchers #1881-2373
|
1923 December-1926 February | ||
| 78 |
Vouchers #2374-2679, and unnumbered
|
1926 February-1929 March | ||
|
|
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