New York State Library
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Thomas Cole
Papers
1821-1863

SC10635

Quantity: 9 boxes (3.0 cubic ft.)
Access: Open to research.
Sketchbook stored in vault. Viewing the original requires making special arrangements through Manuscripts and Special Collections.
Alternative Formats: Also available on microfilm, MB/FM,759.147,C689,200-5109
Acquisition: Received from Florence Cole Vincent, Thomas Cole's granddaughter, in 1935
Processed By: Originally processed in 1935; reprocessed by Vicki Weiss, Archivist, November 1993, revised March 2011

View catalog record

Selected items from the Thomas Cole Collection (including the sketchbook) have been digitized.

Biographical Note:

Thomas Cole was born in Bolton-le-Moor, Lancashire, England, February 1, 1801. His father, a woolen manufacturer, moved the family to Philadelphia in 1819, where he opened a dry-goods shop while Thomas took up wood-engraving which he had already practiced at Liverpool. The family soon moved to Steubenville, Ohio, where the father set up a wallpaper factory; Thomas remained in Philadelphia.

Thomas rejoined his family in 1820, aiding his father in the manufacture of wallpaper. His chance meeting with an itinerant portrait painter named Stein resulted in his decision to become an artist. Stein taught him the rudiments of mixing color and lent him a treatise on the theory of color.

Since the wallpaper business was losing money, his father decided to move to Pittsburgh in 1823. Thomas again remained behind, painting, but soon joined his family to help in his father's newest venture: manufacturing floor coverings. He next spent some months in Philadelphia and then rejoined his family who had moved to New York City.

A New York merchant, George W. Bruen, who had admired some of Cole's studio paintings, paid his steamboat fare up the river to explore the Catskills. Cole took the three oil paintings that resulted from this trip to a frame shop on Broadway in New York City where they were seen by Col. John Trumbull, president of the American Academy of Fine Arts and, at the time, one of the most influential men in New York art circles. Trumbull introduced Cole's work to collectors and artists alike and from then on his fame spread and the Hudson River School of landscape painting was launched.

Over the next few years many weeks were spent in travel and the exploration of scenery in the Catskills and the White Mountains.

In 1826 Cole was invited to become a founder of the National Academy of Design.

In June 1829 he sailed for England, where he stayed for two years; he toured France and Italy before returning to New York in November 1832. In November 1836 Cole married Maria Bartow and settled at Catskill.

His two most famous works, "The Course of Empire" and "The Voyage of Life," were commissioned by Luman Reed and Samuel Ward, respectively, both of whom died before the works were completed.

Of "The Course of Empire," James Fenimore Cooper said it was "the work of the highest genius this country has ever produced." The series was exhibited in the fall of 1836 and then was stored until it was donated to the New-York Historical Society in 1858.

Cole again visited Europe in 1841-1842, the Adirondacks in 1846 and Niagara Falls in 1847.
A week after his 47th birthday he died of a virulent pneumonia.

Scope and Content Note:

The collection consists of eight boxes of manuscripts generated by or related to Thomas Cole, an artist, poet and founder of the Hudson River School style of landscape painting. The papers cover the period ca.1818-1964, with the bulk of the papers covering the years 1821-1848. They are divided into five series.

A majority of the material was collected by Cole's daughter and granddaughter, Mrs. Florence Cole Vincent, from whom the collection was received by the New York State Library in 1935.

The collection covers both his personal and public life.

Included are letters written by and to Cole, journals, notebooks, essay and lecture notes, verse and poetry, personal accounting records, and newspaper articles by and about Cole and his work. Also included are an 1827 sketchbook, miscellaneous sketches, exhibit registers and catalogs, and articles and catalogs from exhibits of his work after his death. The sketches include rough versions of typical Cole landscape paintings.

Cole made use of every scrap of paper for jotting down ideas for paintings, names of people who commissioned him to paint pictures, and ideas he encountered in his readings. Thus, the collection is a cornucopia of words and pictures.

Four finding aids created about 1935 facilitate access to the letters:

  1. Two name indexes of the people with whom Cole corresponded divided into the following sections: people who wrote to Cole and people to whom Cole wrote. Each name is followed by the date(s) of the letter(s) in the collection.  These indexes are included at the end of this finding aid.
  2. A two-page unpublished list available at the repository of painters mentioned in letters to Thomas Cole, and
  3. A one-page unpublished list available at the repository of letters from other painters to Cole.

The collection has been microfilmed (MB/FM,759.197,C689,200-5109). In the microfilm copy, the folder list for Box 6 is:

  • Folder 1, Bills, accounts, etc.;
  • Folder 2, Notebooks, verse, etc.;
  • Folder 3, Sketchbook;
  • Folder 4, Sketches, and
  • Folder 5, Exhibition catalogs.

The accompanying finding aid does not replicate the order in which items were microfilmed.

Series Description:

The Thomas Cole Papers are comprised of the following five series:

I. Correspondence, 1820-1855

  1. Letters by Thomas Cole, 1821-1847
  2. Letters to Thomas Cole, 1821-1848
  3. Letters of Robert Gilmor to and from Thomas Cole, 1826-1837
  4. Drafts and fragments of letters by Thomas Cole
  5. Family letters, 1820-1855 and n.d.
  6. Letters to persons other than Thomas Cole, n.d. and 1831, 1848-1863

The greater part of the collection consists of correspondence to and from Cole. The three major subseries are:

  • Letters by Cole, 1821-1847 (Box 1),
  • Letters to Cole, 1821-1848 (Boxes 2 and 3), and
  • Family letters, 1820-1855 (Box 4).

There are also several drafts and fragments of letters by Cole (Box 1, Folder 7).

A large part of the correspondence is with prominent American artists and writers.

There are several letters to and from Robert Gilmor, a Baltimore merchant and one of Cole's most influential patrons (Box 3, Folder 8), and several letters to Luman Reed and his heirs regarding the five paintings entitled "The Course of Empire."

The letters written by Cole contain comments on his travels, personal life and professional obligations.

One small noteworthy group of letters is Cole's correspondence with William Adams regarding the design of the state house in Ohio and how and when Cole would repay a monetary debt owed to Adams.

The letters written to Cole cover the same general topics as the letters written by Cole but also include letters of introduction written on Cole's behalf to people in Europe.

The letters regarding commissions for paintings sometimes include prose descriptions of the works and price quotes.

The family correspondence consists mainly of letters written by Cole to his wife, Maria. Also included are letters from Maria to her husband. Of particular interest are the two letters to Cole's son, Theddy (Theodore) by Frederic Church.

The letters to persons other than Cole (Box 3, Folder 9) include letters of condolence sent to Maria at the time of her husband's death.

A collection of drafts and fragments of letters by Cole (Box 1, Folder 7) indicates Cole often prepared at least one draft of a letter and then edited it before preparing the final copy. These fragments include prose descriptions of works contemplated or in progress, and references to commissions and invitations. Also in this folder are several autographs (Cole's and others), which were cut from letters, and small sketches (doodles?).

The correspondence is arranged chronologically. However, as mentioned above, there is an index of names of people to whom Cole wrote letters and an index of names of people who sent letters to Cole. The indexes are arranged alphabetically by surname and then chronologically by date on letter.

II. Writings, 1818-1848

  • Journals

    The collection includes three bound journals, book signatures used as journals, and sheets of paper evidently cut from bound volumes (Box 4).

    One of the signatures covers a trip from Philadelphia to Ohio in 1818(?) and may have been written by Thomas Cole's father.

    One bound journal has scattered entries from November 5, 1834, through February 1, 1848. The other two bound journals contain accounts of Cole's trips to Europe in 1829 and 1841.

    The other journals cover Cole's excursions in France and Italy (1831), including trips to Volterra (1831), Naples (1832), and Florence (1832), and his trip from Rome to Sicily in 1842. A final set of loose papers covers his trip to Mount Desert Island, Maine.

    Cole also wrote a five-page autobiography about his time in Chillicothe, Ohio (1822) (Box 4, Folder 5).
  • Essay and lecture notes

    The essay and lecture notes (Box 5) include drafts of Cole's "Essay on American Scenery" published in the January 1836 issue of American Monthly, "Sicilian Antiquities & Scenery" published as "Sicilian Scenery and Antiquities" in The Knickerbocker in February and March 1844, "Letter to the Publick on the Subject of Architecture," "Verdura, or a Tale of After Time," which contains his thoughts on what life would be like at the close of the 20th century, and two drafts of "The Death of Chocorua," a Native American legend he painted and entitled "Chocorua's Curse."
  • Verse and poetry, ca. 1825-1847

    The dates of the dated poems range from 1825 through 1847 (Box 5). Most of the poems deal with nature or life as an allegory although one poem is entitled "To Maria," one was written "On Hearing of the Death of Mr. Reed" and one is entitled "Written on My Birthday, Feb. 1st, 1830." Other titles are "Etna," "The March of Time," "Just Before Sunrise" and "Twilight." Included is a 20-sheet draft of "The Voyage of Life, Parts 1 and 2," which he apparently wrote to accompany the four-painting series of the same name. (Printed copies of this poem were used by Cole as scrap paper and can be found throughout the collection.)
  • Notebooks

    Of the five notebooks in the collection (Boxes 7 and 8), one contains prose descriptions of scenes in Italy, sketches of the scenes and notations on colors; a second notebook, entitled Catskilliana, contains heavily-edited prose sketches which, according to a note at the beginning, were "written in the evenings after the fatigues of the day," and three notebooks contain drafts of "The Spirits of the Wilderness: A Poem." Two of the three notebooks on the poem appear to be related (one is numbered 1 to 75; the second is numbered 76 to 91 and is dated April 27, 1837); the third notebook on the poem appears to be another draft. The two prose sketchbooks include Italian grammar exercises.

III. Sketches, exhibition catalogs and visitors' registers, calling cards

This series consists of an 1827 sketchbook (Vault), miscellaneous sketches, registers and catalogs from exhibits held throughout his career (Box 7), and articles and catalogs from exhibits of his work after his death. Included are four sketches on commerce (Commerce Meeting the Nations, Commerce Rising, Commerce Reigning and Commerce Sleeping). The sketch of Commerce Sleeping is on the back of a letter from William Firth, dated August 28, 1842.

IV. Personal finance papers

The personal finance papers (Box 6, Folders 11 and 12) cover his personal life, including receipts for clothes bought, and professional expenses, such as receipts from New York City newspapers in which Cole advertised paintings and exhibits.

V. Newspapers and newspaper clippings

Included in the newspaper clippings (Box 6) are critiques and reviews of exhibits, an article on a hike to Kaaterskill Falls in The Catskill Messenger written by Cole and stories related to his death.

Box and Folder List:


Box Folder Contents
    Letters by Thomas Cole
1 1 1821-1835
1 2 1836
1 3 1837-1838
1 4 1839-1840
1 5 1841-1847 and n.d.
1 6 Drafts and fragments of letters by Thomas Cole
    Letters to Thomas Cole
2 1 1821-1829
2 2 1830-1832
2 3 1833
2 4 1834
2 5 1835
2 6 1836
2 7 1837
2 8 1838
2 9 1839
3 1 1840
3 2 1841
3 3 1842-1843
3 4 1844
3 5 1845
3 6 1846-1848
3 7 Undated
3 8 Correspondence between Thomas Cole and Robert Gilmor, 1826-1837
3 9 Letters to persons other than Thomas Cole, n.d., 1827, 1831, 1848-1863
    Cole family letters
4 1 1820-1839
4 2 1840-1843
4 3 1844
4 4 1845-1855, n.d.
4 5 Notes on Cole's life, Chillicothe journal
    Journals
4 6 Philadelphia to Ohio (1818?)
4 7 France and Italy, 1831-1832
4 8 Visit to Volterra, August 24, 1831
4 9 Naples, May 14, 1832
4 10 Journey from Rome to Florence, June 1832
4 11 Journey from Rome to Sicily [1842]
4 12 Trip to Mount Desert Island, Maine
4a 1 Journal – "Thoughts and Occurrences" – November 1834 – February 1848
4a 2 Journal – London, 1829
4a 3 Journal, August 7, 1841 – November 28, [1841]; voyage by sea from New York, and travels in Italy
    Essays
5 1 Essay on American Scenery
5 2 Lecture [on Art]
5 3 Letter to the Publick on the Subject of Architecture by Thomas Cole, n.d.
5 4 The Bewilderment
5 5 The Storm
5 6 The Death of Chocorua
5 7 Sicilian Antiquities and Scenery
5 8 Verdura, the Clove Valley
5 9 Influence of the Plastic Arts
5 10 The Wanderer
5 11 Untitled, unnumbered or fragments of essay and lecture notes
5 12 Pictures in Churches
    Verse and poetry
5 13 The Wild, 1826
5 14 The Complaint of the Forest
5 15 The Voyage of Life
5 16-18 Verse and poetry
5 19 Essay: Tribute to Cornelius VerByck
6 1 Prose descriptions of ideas for paintings, including Course of Empire and Voyage of Life/Extracts copied from books and articles
6 2 Lists (paintings, books, clothes, etc.)
6 3 European trips (visa, bills, sketch of map of Sicily)
6 4 Notes on art techniques
6 5 Washington Capitol
6 6 Henry Bayless (mortgage and apprenticeship)
6 7 Commissions
6 8 "Elijah of the Cave" (1858 sale)
6 9 Ad for book by George Field; "Dr. Mahan's Speech" (16p.)
6 10 Newspapers - Includes articles by and about Cole and his work; also obituaries about Cole; ca.1834-1964
6 11-12 Bills, accounts, receipts, notes, including exhibition accounts
7 1 Exhibition account books
7 2 Exhibition catalogs, etc. (includes calling cards and admission ticket to showing of "The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds")
7 3 Thomas Cole, Catskill, 1835. The Spirits of the Wilderness
7 4 The Spirits of the Wilderness [pages 1-75]
7 5 The Spirits of the Wilderness [pages 76+]/The Voyage of Life
8 1 Sketches
8 1a Sketches (The four sketches in this folder are mounted.)
    Notebooks
8 2 Catskilliana
8 3 Observations from Nature
8 4 Sketchbook dated 1827 - in VAULT

1935 Index to Letters from and to Thomas Cole

Letters from Thomas Cole

To Year Month/Date
_____, Henry 1845 July 16
_____ (uncle) 1842 December 22
_____ 1838 June 18
_____ 1845 April 18
June 11
_____ 1847 April 12
June 11
_____, Rev    
Adams, William A. 1823 February 8
  1833 March 4
  1834 April 7
April 23
August 5
September 15
  1835 October 29
  1838 May 3
May 26
June 18
September 10
September 25
October 31
November 27
  1839 March 11
June
July 29
October 30
December 21
  1840 February 26
August 4
  1841 April 8
  1842 August 26
Ainsley, Peter 1847 April 26
Alexander, Francis 1834 September 1
  1835 March 26
Allen, George F. 1846 April 25
Bates, Joshua 1837 June 12
Blandy, B. 1834 May 14
Bloodgood, Simeon DeWitt 1834 September 23
  1835 October 26
December 21
  1836 January 13
June 17
July 17
November 1
Carey, E.L. 1840 November 12
  1841 March 23
  1842 August 31
Childs, Cephas Grier 1844 April 2
Cooke, Robert 1846 July 19
Crawford, 1844 December 14
Day, Edgar B. 1843 February 20
Durand, Asher Brown 1836 May 13
May 21
May 24
June 7
June 16
June 23
July 9
July 17
August 30
September 12
November 18
  1837 June 9
June 14
July 29
November 2
December 11
  1838 January 4
January 31
February 12
March 20
May 28
August 7
September 4
September 13
November 12
  1839 September 4
December 18
  1840 May 26
  1841 July 12
  1842 March 8
  1843 March 4
  1844 June 24
Edmonds, Francis William 1842 December 17
Gilmor, Robert
All these letters found grouped and filed under earliest date.
1821 July 2
December 25
  1827 December 7
  1828 May 21
  1829 January 5
January 20
February 2
February 18
April 20
April 26
May 1
May 25
May 31
  1830 March 1
  1831 May 1
On p. 42(2)
  1832 January 29
On p. 42(3)
July 7
  1833 March 3
April 2
May 2
Greene, George Washington 1843 November 23
Greenough, Horatio 1832 February 16
Hervey, D.B. 1840 January 3
February 22
Hone, Joseph (?) G. 1833 November 27
Huggins, James S. 1840 October 20
Hyde, Edwin C. 1839 September 2
Lanman, Charles 1840 June 15
  1843 May 29
Lawrence, Sir Thomas 1829 October 5
Leslie, Charles Robert 1836 February 8
  1838 September 3
Lester, C. Edwards 1845 October 22
December 17
Lightbody, Frederick W. 1845 November 17
Martin, W. 1838 April 28
Mason, Jonathan 1843 September 1
  1844 December 19
Morton, John Ludlow 1832 January 31
February 20
Owen, H.E. 1847 April 28
Parker, Charles 1844 January 8
Perkins, Thomas Handasyd 1829 April 4
Phillips, Rev Joseph F. 1840 March 21
Reed, Luman 1831 September 7
  1833 September 18
  1836 January 2
January 13
January 20
February 6
February 18
February 19
March 2
March 6
March 20
Rossiter, Thomas Prichard 1842 August 19
Skinner, A.N. 1843 November 30
Smith, Alfred 1844 February 6
February 24
Spencer, Mark 1844 September 20
  1847 January 22
February 26
Town, Ithiel 1839 March 6
  1840 May 25
June 13
July 2
Townsend, Isaih 1844 January 6
  1845 January 9
Van Rensselaer, William P. 1837 July 9
October 15
  1844 October 22
Ver Bryck, Cornelius
On back of letter of this date to Edgar B. Day.
1843 February 20
Van Vorst, Hooper C. 1846 November 7
Ward, John 1841 September 28
Ward, Samuel 1839 September 14
December 7
  1840 September 23
October 12
October 28
November 14
Watterson, George 1836 May 2

Letters to Thomas Cole and Others

From Year Month/Date A.L.S. A.L. L.S.
Adams, William A. 1834 August 13 X



November 29 X


1835 October 27 X

      Printed circular with unsigned letter dated June 7 on back 1838 April 10
X


May 13 X



June 26 X



September 10 X



October 1 X



October 25 X



November 14 X



December 2 X


1839 March 20 X



April 12 X



June 21 X



October 17 X



November 23 X


1840 January 21 X



May 4 X



October 17 X



December 19 X


1841 April 25 X


1842 August 6 X


1846 April 12 X

Ainsley, Peter 1847 July 19 X

Ainsley, Samuel James 1842 May 26 X


1843 July 12 X


1844 March 31 X


1845 March 22 X


1846 March 31 X

Alexander, Francis, 1800-1881, American portrait painter 1832 August 12 X


1833 December 18 X


1834 April 2 X



September 9 X


1835 February 7 X



April 5
X

1836 June 2 X


1837 August 25 X


1838 February 7 X

Allen, George F. 1837 June 8 X



July 26 X



September 4 X



September 13 X



October 2 X


1840 February 10 X



September 19 X


1844 October 19 X



December 17? X


1845 November 3 X


1846 March 7 X



November 3 X

Allen, Theodore 1836 September 22 X



December 27 X


1837 January 23? X



February 21 X



July 1 X


1839 February 21 X



June 24 X



September 21 X


1840 December 10 X


1844 September? 20 X

Allston, Washington, 1779-1843, American poet and painter, letter (copy) to Henry Pickering. 1827 November 23


Andrews, Mrs. n.d.



Appleton, Nathan 1829 January 26


Ashton, Thomas B. 1837 February 25

X


March 2

X

1839 January 1

X


July 17 X



October 11 X

      On back of printed circular. 1840 January 1 X



June 1 X



July 7
X


November 27 X


1841 April 21 X


1844 January 20 X

Ashton & Browning 1839 July 17



1840 July 7


Athenaeum Gallery, Boston. Committee on Arrangements 1829 January 26


Balzani, Giovanni Batta 1837 June 3


Baring, F. n.d.



Barnes, T.
n.d. X

Bates, Joshua, 1788-1864, American financier. 1833 April 4 X



June 3 X


1839 October 17 X



n.d. X (4)

Baust, Nathaniel 1844 January 2


Bell, Deyough & Co. 1833 January 12


Bennet, Edwin Thomas 1834 June 28 X


(1834) July 12 X


(1834) July 26 X


(1834) August 26 X


1834 September 17 X



September 31 [sic] X



n.d.


Bennett, William James 1836 July 3 X

Bloodgood, Simeon DeWitt, 1799-1866, merchant and author. 1834 December 29 X


1835 January 27 X



March 23 X



May 21 X


1836 February 9 X


1836 December 20 X

Bowdoin, James 1829 January 26


Bridges, Anna 1836 June 16 X



n.d. X

Brown, James
n.d. Monday X

Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878. 1830 June 15 X


1841 July 6 X

      (To G.C. Grandi, Monaca, Bavaria) 1841 July 6 X

      (To Prof. Rosini, Univ. of Pisa) 1841 August 6 X

      (To Miss Julia Hepp, Heidelberg) 1841 August 6 X


1843 December 22 X

Bullock, S.M. 1840 December 22 X

Burnet, James A. 1838 July 20 X


1838 August 13 X


1838 September 15 X


1838 October 22 X

Caffe, P. 1837 May 15


Carey, E.L. 1841 March 16 X



December 24


Cary, William F. 1841 March 11 X

Caver, E. 1841 December 24 X


1843 April 4 X



April 18 X

Cheney, John 1832 April 10 X



August X

Childs, Cephas Grier 1844 March 30 X


1845 November 24 X

Church, Frederic Edwin, 1826-1900, landscape painter, pupil of Thomas Cole. 1844 May 20 X

Clark, Lewis Gaylord, 1810-1873, author, editor. 1840 August 1 X



November 20 X


1841 March 19 X


(1841) (June 1) X


(1841) n.d. X


1844 February 26 X


1845 May 1 X

Cleveland, Charles 1840 September 23


Coit, D.W. 1834 February 19


Collier, C.P. 1846 November 18


Conely, William S. 1838 October 18


Constable, John, 1776-1837 1830 June 18


Cooke, Andrew S. 1839 June 26 X

Cooke, George 1831 May X


1846 April 10 X

Cooke (Cook?), Robert 1846 May 18 X



July 3


Coolidge, Joseph, Jr. 1829 January 26


Cooper, Anne (daughter of J.F. Cooper) 1841 September 23 X

Cranch, John, d.1883; portrait painter. 1831 May 23 X

Cropsey, Jasper Francis, 1823-1900, landscape painter. 1848 March 16 X

Croswell, Edwin, 1797-1871, journalist. 1841 April 3 X



December 29 X

Cummings, Thomas Seir, 1804-1894, painter and art writer. 1828 August 16 X


1835 September 27 X


1836 November 21



1837 June 1



1837 September 1



1838 March 15


Danforth, Moseley Isaac, 1800-1862, engraver. (1841) (July 31) X

Davis n.d. 12. Sat.


Davis, J.P., painter 1838 March 30 X


1838 August 1 X


1838 August 26 X


1838 October 1 X

Day, Edgar B. 1841 March 16 X


1843 February 17


Delavan, Edward Cornelius 1832 December 3 X

Dewey, Orville, 1794-1882, American theologian. 1839 March 13 X


1841 August 16 X

      (To Mrs. Cole) 1848 February 17 X

Dexter, Franklin, 1793-1857, lawyer. 1834 March 12 X


1835 March 5 X



(n.d.) X (5)

Dorsey, Stanton 1835 July 19 X


1836 June 9 X



November 13
X

1839 December 26 X


1840 April 19 X

Dunlap, William, 1766-1839, portrait painter. 1836 March 7 X


1838 October 11 X

Durand, Asher Brown, 1796-1886, engraver and painter. 1836 November 20 X


1838 November 18 X


1840 February 19 X


1842 January 16 X

      (initials only) 1847 March 11 X

Dutton, W. 1829 January 26


Dwight, Theodore 1834 August 19 X


1835 January 7 X



April 21 (20?) X


1835 October 21 X


1836 June 3


Edmonds, Francis Williams, 1806-1863, artist. 1842 October 28 X



December 17 X

Eliot, Samuel Atkins, 1798-1862, mayor of Boston. 1829 January 26



1833 April 6 X


1839 October 29 X

Elliott, M.G. 1834 August 9


Everett, Edward, 1794-1865, writer, orator, statesman. 1834 March 13 X

Faile, Thomas H. 1841 August 7 X (2)


1842 January 3 X

Falconer, John M. 1858 June 22 X

Featherstonehaugh, George William, 1780-1886, English traveler/landowner. 1825 December 12 X


1826 April 7 X



November 8 X

Field, H.W. 1832 March 9 X

Firth, William 1842 August 28




September 29



1843 January 3




February 10


Fisher, I. Henrick 1833 June 12 X

Fraser, Robert F. 1844 July 5 X


1846 September 8 X



December 8 X

Gay, Henry B. 1848 February 16 X



February 17


Gaylord, Charles S. 1838 March 14 X


1841 July 12 X

Gilmor, Robert 1826 August 1 X



December 13 X



December 27 X


1827 December 5 X



December 13 X


1828 May 24 X


1829 January 15 X



January 25 (26?) X



April 22 X


1830 October 20 X


1832 December 4 X


1833 February 27 X



March 11 X



April 15 X



May 11 X


1835 May 19 X


1837 June 22 X

Girth, William 1842 August 28 X



September 29 X


1843 January 3 X



February 10 X

Gracie, W. 1828 February 2


Greene, George Washington (1841?)
X


(1841?)
X


(1842)
X


1842 May 26 X


1843 August 8 X


1845 February 15 X

Greene, John B.
      See page 3 of printed circular of December 31, 1841.
1842 January 1


Greenough, Horatio, 1805-1852, American sculptor. 1832 May 19 X

Hatch 1844 March 9


Henshaw, David, 1791-1852, Am. Sec. of Navy. 1843 December 12 X

Hillhouse, James Abraham, 1789-1841 1827 October 24 X


1828 July 15 X


1833 December 2 X

Hone, Philip 1825 January 10


Hosack, David, 1769-1839, scientist. 1826 November



1829 June 1 X

Hoyt, H.I. (F.T.?) 1832 August 24 X

Huggins, James S. 1840 October 17 X


1840 October 21 X

Huntington, Daniel, 1816-1906, artist. 1846 July 6 X

      (To Mrs. Cole) 1848 February 16 X

Hyde, Edwin C. 1839 August 29 X

Hyde, Henry H. 1843 April 29 X

Ince, Thomas 1842 December 14 X

Ingham, Charles Cromwell, 1796-1863, artist. 1833 October 24 X


1837 March 20 X



July 10 X


1838 May 9 X



July 5 X



July 10 X

Inman, Charles (Henry?) 1836 July 18 X

Inman, Henry, 1801-1846, artist. 1840 November 24 X

Irving, Washington, 1783-1859. 1835 September 15 X

Jenkins, Henry 1841 December 25 X

Jones, Lot Under Thomas House Taylor n.d.



Judd, G.N. (To Mrs. Cole) 1848 March 6 X

K______, J n.d. Friday




[18?7], March 6


Kent, Mrs. n.d. Monday


Labouchere, Pierre Antoine 1830 January 10 X



February X

Lad, Rufus L. 1831 June 25 X

Landini, Paolo 1837 June 3 X

Lane, John F. 1833 January 7 X

Lawrence, Sir Thomas, R.A., 1769-1830 1829 October 6 X

Leidtor? G.S n.d. Wed.


Leister, G.L.
(n.d.) X

Leslie, Charles Robert, 1794-1859, English historical painter. 1830 May 4 X



July 1 X


1835 January 19 X



May 11 X



July 8 X



July 19 X



November 24 X



November 27 X


1847 May 31 X

Leupp, Chr n.d. Christmas Eve


Livingston, H. (?) 1761 November 4 X

Lovering, I.S. n.d.



Luchier, Gustavo n.d.



Lukens, F.H. 1829 January 26


Lyman, Charles 1833 December 13 X



(n.d.) X (2)

Marston, John M. 1843 April 4




April 18




October 18 X

Mason, Jonathan 1833 April 8 X



October 2 X



December 3 X


1834 August 28 X


1836 June 23 X


1837 July 26 X



August 29 X



September 17 X


1838 January 12 X



March 16 X



March 20 X



April 3 X



May 10 X



May 13 X



June 25 X



August 28 X


1839 March 20 X



May 14 X



October 16 X



November 2 (3?) X



December 10 X


1840 May 6




June 1 X



October 26 X


1841 May 6
X


June 14 X


1844 February 19 X

Matteson, Tomkins Harrison 1848 February 17


Moore, F.W.C. 1837 May 2 X



May 16 X

Morse, Samuel F.B., 1791-1872 1831 February 28



1832 March 13 X



August 25 X


1835 July 16 X


1836 November 18 X


1837 March 20 X

      Printed letter 1838 March 15


      Printed letter (signed) 1841 November 30


Morton, H. H. 1833 October 1 X

Morton, John Ludlow 1828 February 11 X


1829 December 15 X


1836 March 1

X

1837 March 1



1839 January 22



1843 January 20



1844 January 22 X

National Academy of Design 1839 November 5


New York Life School. Committee 1848 February 17


Noble, Frank E. 1845 August 8 X


1848 September 4 X



December 11 X


1850 March 3 X

Noble, Rev. Louis L. 1845 August 8


Ombrosi, James 1840 April 11 X

Owen, E.H. 1846 May 14 X



October 17 X



October 23 X


1847 April 9 X


1847 April 30 X



May 3


Parish, Mrs. n.d. December 31


Parker & Clover 1830 April 24


Payne, John Howard, 1792-1852. 1843 February 1 X

Perkins, Thomas H., 1764-1854, philanthropist. 1829 January 26 X



April 3 X

Pesarini (Pesavini?), Anna Rosa 1834 October 4 X

Peter, Wenceslas, daughter of n.d.



Phillips, Rev. Joseph F. (1840) (March 15) X


1845 July 5 X (2)



n.d. X (2)



n.d.
X
Pickering, Henry, 1781-1837, poet. 1826 July 25 X


1834 June 3 X



June 27 X

       Autog. poem
June




August 1 X


1837 September 16 X

Pickering, Joseph S. 1827 January 1 X

Pratt, Henry Cheever 1835 March 28 X



April 1



1836 November 7 X


1843 April 10 X



May 22 X



June 3 X



August 5 X



September 30 X



December 2 X



December 22 X


1844 January 24 X



(n.d.) X

Pruyn, Robert Hewson, 1815-1882, diplomat. 1841 July 30 X

Rankin, Robert G. 1834 July 26 X

Reed, Luman 1835 May 26 X



June 16 X



September 14 X



November 21 X



December 29 X


1836 January 6 X



January 15 X



January 16 X



February 4 X



February 9 X



February 17 X



February 22 X



February 26 X


1836 March 3 X



March 7 X



March 10 X



March 20 (30?) X

Renwick, James, 1790-1863, Am. physicist.
(n.d.) X

Ridgway, J. Jr. 1838 April 10


Ridner, John P. 1837 December 26 X


1838 July 9 X


1842 December 5 X


1843 April 29 X

Robbins, Miss n.d. Thursday


Rogers, Samuel, 1763-1855, English poet. 1829 December 31 X


1830 May 16 X

Romeyn, James R. 1844 February 16 X

Rossiter, Thomas Prichard, 1817-1871, American artist. Autog. poem 1842 March 4



1843 April 23 X

Ruggles, Samuel Bulkley, 1800-1881, American lawyer. 1839 July 29 X

Sartain, John, 1808-1897, Eng. Am. painter and engraver. 1840 January 1

X
Sayre, Francis 1841 April 5


Scudder, Samuel D. 1844 February 15(?) X

Sedgwick, Catherine Maria, 1789-1867, American author. 1834 June 28 X


n.d.
X

Sedgwick, Robert n.d. Monday X

Sedgwick, Mrs. n.d. Thursday


Silliman, Benjamin, American geologist and chemist. 1839 November 15 X

Sitton, St. M. 1838 July 28


Skinner, A.N. 1839 September 10 X



October 30 X


1840 July 7 X



September 17 X


1843 December 4 X

Skinner, James 1835 April 6


Smith, Alfred 1844 February 20 X


1844 February 27 X


1844 March 7 X


1844 June 29 X

Spencer, J.A. (to Isaiah Townsend, Albany) 1843 December 12 X

Spencer, Mark 1846 January 9 X


1847 January 19 X



January 28 X



February 24 X



February 26 X



March 4 X

Spencer, William A.
      Under Thomas House Taylor
n.d.



Sprague, Rev. William Buel, 1795-1876, Albany pastor. 1834 December 22 X

Springer, Reuben Runyan, 1800-1884, American philanthropist.
      (To Jonathan Sturges)
1845 November 10 X

Stearns, Junius Brutus 1848 February 17


Stone, Philip
(n.d.) X

Sturges, Jonathan, 1802-1874, New York merchant; patron of art. 1836 December 10 X


1837 February 21 X



March 23 X



March 31 X


1844 October 5 X


1845 June 3 X



June 25 X

Stuyvesant, Peter Gerard, 1778-1847, American lawyer. 1837 December 15 X


1838 February 1 X



October 10 X

Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872, Eng.-Am. portrait painter. 1828 May 27 X

Swift, John H. n.d. Saturday X

Talbot, George A. 1836 July 11 X

Tappan, John G. 1834 October 9 X

Taylor, Thomas House n.d.



Town, Ithiel, 1784-1844, Am. architect. 1839 August 11 X


1840 May 20 X



June 12 X



July 4 X



July 22 X



August 1 X

Townsend, Isaiah 1843 October 13 X



November 12 X



November 20 X


1844 February 26 X

Trego, Charles B. 1826 September 28
X

1827 January 1




July 24 X


1828 July 18 X

Trumbull, Jonathan, 1756-1843. 1826 July 17 X


1834 June 16 X

Tuckerman, Henry Theodore, 1813-1871, American author. 1846 June 26 X

Van Hook, William B. 1838 April 10


Van Rensselaer, 1828 July 5



n.d. December 4


Van Rensselaer, Cornelia L. n.d. April 11 X

Van Rensselaer, Jeremiah n.d.
X

Van Rensselaer, Philip S. 1840 July 17 X


1841 July 30 X

Van Rensselaer, S. 1828 July 5 X

Van Rensselaer, William P. 1836 December 10 X


1837 June 26 X



October 19 X



November 1 X


1839 July 18 X



August 12 X


n.d. December 4


Van Vorst, Hooper C. 1846 November 5 X

Vattemare, Alexandre 1839 December 16 X

Ver Bryck, Cornelius Lozier, 1813-1844, American artist. 1839 December 31 X


1841 July 21 X


1843 February 16 X



June 15 X

Wadsworth, Daniel 1827 August 27 X



November 5 X



December 2 X



December 21 X


1828 March 30 X


1832 December 12 X


1833 March 19 X


1834 December 8 X


1835 February 10 X


1843 June 4 X


1844 February 16 X



May 8 X


n.d. July 30


Ward, Henry 1836 November 19 X



December 8 X

Ward, Samuel, 1786-1839, American banker. 1839 September 20 X



October 8 X



November 12 X



December 5 X


1840 February 4 X



February 18 X



October 14 X



November 10 X

Ward, Samuel Jr. 1839 March 21 X



September 20 X



October 8 X

Warner, Andrew     (To T. Cole family) 1848 February 17 X

      (To Mrs. Cole)
February 18 X

Waser, R.F. 1846 December 8


Watterson, George, 1783-1854, American librarian 1836 June 14 X

Waugh, S.B. n.d.
X

Weir, Robert Walter, 1803-1889, Am. artist. 1843 July 12 X

      Printed invitation
September 28



1846 December 26 X

Welles & Co. 1841 December 31


Wendell, Herman 1846 June 26 X

Whitehorne, J. 1839 October 21


Whittredge, Worthington, Am. artist.
      (To Theodore Cole)
1863 February 25 X

Wright, Ambrose 1832 July 30 X



September 10 X



November 5 X


1841 July 20




August 1 X

Last Updated: August 3, 2022