This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
This collection contains lectures, notes, photographs, correspondence, and architectural drawings documenting the work of Russell Sturgis, and, secondarily, his son, Lyman Sturgis. The materials were created between 1874 and 1932.
Items in the first gift, given by Lyman Sturgis or a close associate, include typescripts and manuscripts of lectures and addresses about architecture and fine art between 1884 and 1895, often accompanied by slide lists or notes. Occasionally, there are merely slide lists without corresponding lectures.
Also in the first gift is a small group of study photographs, including many images of French architecture, as well as examples of interior decoration. Additionally, there is one portrait photograph of Sturgis, dated 1905.
A second gift, known as the Olcott Papers, documents the planning and construction of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank in Albany, New York. The materials consist of five original architectural drawings and a group of more than 160 letters and telegrams, some of which contain small architectural sketches by Sturgis. The letters date from July 14, 1874 to July 16, 1875. Fifty-five of the letters are in Russell Sturgis' hand and the remainder are from the contractors and tradesmen involved in the construction.
Also received in the first gift is a small group of correspondence to and from Lyman Sturgis, a writer and literary agent for the Beacon Syndicate in New York City. This material relates to literary matters and dates from 1931 and 1932.
Materials are arranged in four series: Lectures; Photographs; Olcott Papers-Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank; and Lyman Sturgis Correspondence. Series I contains materials received grouped in envelopes based on where the lectures were given. The envelopes did not appear to be in any particular order. The material is now arranged in chronological order, as best it could be determined, often referring to what appeared to be Sturgis' own dating after the fact, as indicated by his question marks or "I think" annotations. This chronological ordering does not much change the received arrangement of the material. The collection inventory describes the subject of each item in what appears to be the words of Sturgis, as indicated by quotation marks, or with a few descriptive words supplied by the archivist. Each item had been numbered in either the upper or lower right corner, corresponding to the numbering noted in the inventory. All dates are taken from either the lecture or the corresponding envelope. An exception to the chronological order is the House Lectures. Since it is unknown what "House" refers to, and although the materials spans two years, the archivist has chosen to place the materials together as items 2 through 6. The slide lists or notes accompanying lectures are given sub-letters, rather than separate identifying numbers. Series II contains one portrait photograph and many small albumen print photographs, most of which have minor creases at the edges, kept with original envelope marked "duplicates – or at least reductions of larger photos." These study images are arranged alphabetically by supplied title. Series III, the Olcott Papers, is arranged in chronological order by month and year. The monthly folders have been retained and contain a monthly item count, with brief description of the contents of selected contents of each month's correspondence. These letters are generally in good physical condition. The Lyman Sturgis correspondence in Series IV is arranged in chronological order, with related outgoing and incoming correspondence kept together where appropriate.
This collection is available for use by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please email avery-drawings@library.columbia.edu.
Permission to publish must be obtained in writing from the Director, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, 1172 Amsterdam Ave., MC 0301, New York, NY 10027.
Russell Sturgis architectural drawings and papers. Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York, N.Y.
Russell Sturgis Photograph Collection, 1853-1903. University Archives, Dept. of Special Collections, Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
This collection was a gift to Avery Library from two sources. The first group of materials appears to have been donated at an unknown date either by Lyman Sturgis, son of Russell, or by a relative of Lyman, perhaps his wife. A second group of materials, known as the Olcott Papers, was donated by Douglas W. Olcott in August 1962. Olcott was the grandnephew of Dudley Olcott, the original recipient of this collection and head of the Merchants' and Farmers' Bank in Albany, New York, at the time of Sturgis' architectural commission.
Columbia University Libraries, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
This collection was processed by Louise Kurlick for the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library, in 1977.
Much of the material in Box 1 was received in acidic brown envelopes. All the material was removed and placed in archival housing. If there was writing on the enveloped indicating the contents and assumed to be in the hand of Sturgis, those notes were excised, mounted on acid-free paper, and maintained with the contents of the envelope. The papers were generally in good condition, although the first and last sheets were in contact with the acidic envelopes and are usually badly discolored.
2007-10-15 File created.
2009-07-23 File revised.
2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.
Russell Sturgis (1836-1909), architect, art historian and writer, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating from the Free Academy (later the College of the City of New York) in 1856, he studied with architect Leopold Eidlitz and received further architectural education in Munich, Germany. He returned to New York City in 1863 to begin his career as an architect and resided there until his death.
Sturgis' architectural style has been described as "New-Grec" and "Victorian Gothic." Among his best-known buildings are the Farnam, Durfee, and Lawrence dormitories and the Battell Chapel at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; the Flower Hospital in New York City; and the Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank in Albany, New York.
His legacy remains, however, more closely tied to his role as an art and architectural historian, writer, and lecturer. In fact, Sturgis virtually abandoned the practice of architecture for these other activities after the early 1880s. He served as president of the Architectural League of New York from 1889 to 1893 and of the Fine Arts Federation from 1895 to 1897. His writings were extensive and, in addition to writing for various magazines and journals, Sturgis was the author of European architecture: a historical study (1896); Annotated Bibliography of fine art: painting, sculpture, architecture, arts of decoration and illustration (1897) for the American Library Association; the multi-volume Dictionary of Architecture and Building (1901-1902); How to judge architecture; a popular guide to the appreciation of buildings (1903); and was co-translator of Wilhelm Luebke's Outlines of the History of Art (1904). His manuscript for The History of Architecture (1906-1915) was only partially complete at this time of Sturgis' death in 1909. Sturgis lectured widely for various audiences, including Columbia College, Barnard College, the Metropolitan Museum, the Peabody Institute, the American Institute of Architects, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the College of the City of New York, among many others.
Finally, Sturgis played a significant role in the founding and development of the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. Avery Library was founded on June 23, 1890, by Samuel Putnam and Mary Ogden Avery in memory of their son, Henry Ogden Avery, who had studied earlier with Sturgis. In forming the library, the Averys stipulated that there were to be three people responsible for the development of the collection—the librarian of Columbia College, the professor of the Architectural Department, and Russell Sturgis. It appears that the other two members of this committee usually deferred to Sturgis and he was later remembered as "the second most important factor in the formation of the [Avery] library."
Box 1 Item 1
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 2
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 3
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 4
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 5
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 6a
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 6b
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 6c
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 6d
Typescript and manuscript.
Box 1 Item 6e
Typescript.
Second copy.
Box 1 Item 6f
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 6g
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 6h
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 7
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 8
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 8a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 8b
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 9
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 10
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 11
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 12
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 12a
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 13
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 14
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 14a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 15a
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 15b
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
First page lacking.
Box 1 Item 15c
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 15d
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 15e
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 15f
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 15g
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 15h
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 16a
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 16b
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 16b
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 17
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 18
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 19
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 19a
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 20
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 20a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 21
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 21a
Manuscript on verso of Alpha Delta Phi Club invitation cards.
Box 1 Item 22
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 22a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 23
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 24
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 24a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 25
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 25a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 26
Manuscript in outline form.
Box 1 Item 26a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 27
Printed paper.
With 2 copies.
Box 1 Item 28
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 28a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 29
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 30
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 31a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 31b
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 31c
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 31d
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 32
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 33
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 33a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 34
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 35
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 35a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 36
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 37
Typescript, with manuscript annotations.
Box 1 Item 37a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 38
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 38a-cc
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 39
Manuscript in blue pencil.
Box 1 Item 39a
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 40
Typescript.
Box 1 Item 41
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 42
Manuscript.
Box 1 Item 43a-b
Printed papers.
2 copies.
Box 1 Item 44
Gelatin silver print, mounted on board.
Box 1 Item 45
Albumen print.
Exterior view with figures in doorway.
Box 1 Item 46
Albumen print.
Exterior view.
Box 1 Item 47
Albumen print.
Showing street façade with main entrance portal.
Box 1 Item 47
Albumen print.
Detail showing oriel window with pointed arches and polychromed voussoirs. 2 copies.
Box 1 Item 49
Albumen print.
Showing draped archway and staircase.
Box 1 Item 50
Albumen print.
Showing apse, tower, and partial façade
Box 1 Item 51
Albumen print.
Possibly Sturgis' residence?
Box 1 Item 52
Albumen print.
Noted on verso, "A house in wh. const. frame of wrought iron is let show."
Box 1 Item 53
Albumen print.
Showing skylit arcade with tables.
Box 1 Item 54
Albumen print.
Illustration.
Box 1 Item 55
Albumen print.
Illustration.
Box 1 Item 56
Albumen print.
Depicting flowering vines climbing from a pot, in an Asian style.
Box 1 Item 57
Albumen print.
Depicting flowering vines climbing from a pot, in an Asian style.
Box 1 Item 58
Albumen print.
Depicting flowering branches.
Box 1 Item 59
Albumen print.
Partially rendered elevation.
Box 1 Item 60
Albumen print.
Showing wall decoration and arrangement of framed art, rendered elevation.
Box 1 Item 61
Albumen print.
With carved birds on newel post, elevation. Noted on verso, "R Sturgis Sandier's drawing for stairs for A H Roosevelt abt 1872."
Box 1 Item 62
Albumen print.
With carved lizard on newel post, elevation.
Box 1 Item 63
Albumen print.
With carved peacock on newel post, elevation
Box 1 Item 64a-c
Albumen print.
With lamp on newel post, and outline of woman ascending stairs, two elevations. 3 copies. One print noted on verso "R. Sturgis. Sandier's drawing for stairs for A. H. Roosevelt, abt. 1872."
Box 1 Item 65
Albumen print.
With lamp on newel post, and outline of woman ascending stairs, two elevations. 3 copies. One print noted on verso "R. Sturgis. Sandier's drawing for stairs for A. H. Roosevelt, abt. 1872."
Box 2 Folder 1
Ink and watercolor on linen.
Brick arch of ceiling, section detail.
Box 2 Folder 1
Ink and watercolor on wove paper.
Marble flooring, plan.
Box 2 Folder 1
Ink and watercolor on linen.
Marble flooring, plan.
Box 2 Folder 1
Graphite, watercolor, and gold ink on brown wove paper.
Doors to Director's Room, and Door to Cashier's Room, elevations.
Box 2 Folder 1
Ink and watercolor on linen.
Box 2 Folder 2
Includes two items with architectural sketches.
Box 2 Folder 3
Includes one item with architectural plan sketch.
Box 2 Folder 4
Includes one item with architectural sketch.
Box 2 Folder 5
Box 2 Folder 6
Includes one item with architectural sketch.
Box 2 Folder 7
Includes three architectural sketches of flues, chimneys, and doorway.
Box 2 Folder 8
Includes three architectural sketches of flues, chimneys, and doorway.
Box 2 Folder 9
Includes one item with sketch of a drawer.
Box 2 Folder 10
Includes one item with sketch.
Box 2 Folder 11
Box 2 Folder 12
Includes one item with sketch of fireplace.
Box 2 Folder 13
Box 2 Folder 14
Box 2 Folder 15
Box 2 Folder 15
Advertising prospectus.
Box 2 Folder 16
Correspondents include Thomas Benrimo, the Century Company, Jacques Chambrun, George Allan England, Herbert Adams Gibbons, Frances Phillips of William Morrow and Company, and Frances Winwar.
Subjects relate primarily to Sturgis' work as a literary agent and editor for the Beacon Syndicate, New York, New York.