Name of Repository
Theodore Roosevelt Collection
(full name/credit line: Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College Library)
Address
Theodore Roosevelt Collection
Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138
Contact
Wallace Dailey, Curator
Telephone
617-384-7938
Fax
617-495-1376
Email
wfdailey@fas.harvard.edu
Description of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection
The Theodore Roosevelt Collection, housed in Harvard's Houghton and Widener libraries, is a major resource for study of the life and times of the 26th president of the United States. The collection originated as a research library opened in New York City by the Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1923. It was presented by that organization (known since 1953 as the Theodore Roosevelt Association) to Harvard University, Roosevelt's alma mater, in 1943. The collection includes manuscripts, archival resources, printed works, pictures, and ephemera relating to both his personal and professional lives.
http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/collections/roosevelt.html
Description of Image Holdings
Images document Roosevelt's career, family, homes, and memorials, including childhood, Harvard years, ranching in Dakota, the Spanish-American war, hunting trips and speech-making tours during the presidency (including a visit to the Panama Canal), his African safari and subsequent European tour of 1909-1910, the Progressive campaign of 1912, the Brazilian expedition of 1913-1914, and war-time speeches. There are formal portraits, newsreel stills, family and souvenir albums, cartes de visite, cabinet cards, panoramic views, and lantern slides.
What's in VIA?
We are in the relatively early stages of a collection-wide digitization project for most photograph holdings. Excluded, at least at this point, are printed copies of images, items dating after 1922, and photographs in manuscript collections. The estimated number of items is currently 11,000, but as much as feasible, duplicate copies will not be scanned.
How we use VIA
All images in the collection are designated by a Roosevelt class number. (For a list see OASIS, quick search trc00007, then under: Classification Scheme--500s.) Because of the highly focused and organized nature of the collection, images though individually cataloged are presented in groups, beginning with albums, then proceeding to special groups (linked by provenance), and ending with a series of general groups. For the first two sets, each group has a specific Roosevelt call number (based on the class number scheme) and overall class number, with an individual class number also assigned to each work (item) record. Thus the class number scheme serves as a subject retrieval device (e.g.: 560.3 (Roosevelt Class No.)) along with conventional subject access. The general groups, consisting of mounted and loose photos of varied provenance, will be organized entirely by class number. There will be approximately fifty groups overall, each signified by and linked from a collection-level record in HOLLIS. These records are collated by the title added entry: Theodore Roosevelt Collection visual material inventories, as well as by a summary record: Theodore Roosevelt Collection visual materials.
It is strongly recommended that for general searches of the database, the search term: olvgroup* be used along with the name of the repository.
Permissions/Reproductions
This material is owned or held by the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Harvard College Library, and is provided solely for the purpose of teaching or individual research. Any other use, including commercial reuse, mounting on other systems, or other forms of redistribution requires permission. Please contact the collection curator.
