George A. Plimpton Papers, 1634-1956

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Series II: Financial Correspondence and Records, 1888- 1936

Although the documents in this series not only relate to a diverse array of issues and sometimes overlap significantly with material in other series, these documents nevertheless provide discrete snapshots of the more financial side of Plimpton's life. The series includes Plimpton's general financial correspondence as well as documents related to particular companies and individuals. Between 1900 and 1911, for example, Plimpton served as executor for the estates of Sarah Pearsons, the mother of his first wife, Frances, and his sister Priscilla. The series includes various versions of Plimpton's own wills.

The series also includes Plimpton's account books and daily diaries. The forty-one personal diaries in the collection provide a window into Plimpton's daily activities and expenses during the last four decades of his life, illustrating not just whom Plimpton met on which days but also the rising cost of taxis and martinis over several decades. Plimpton's check stubs, checks, and receipts provide further insight into his financial activities between 1889 and 1935. Other materials in the financial series include correspondence relating to the loans and donations that Plimpton made to dozens of individuals and institutions.

Finally, the series contains documents related to Plimpton's real estate holdings, including account books, payroll and payment records, letters to delinquent tenants, and receipts for repairs and other work. The Walpole materials stand out from the other real estate materials not just because of their scope but also because they include documents related less to Plimpton's ownership of the Walpole property than to his life and affairs in the town. The inclusion of the latter materials in this series honors the original arrangement.



Box 14 Folder 1 to 41 Daily Agendas, 1890- 1934, (41 folders)


Personal Accounts



Box 15 Folder 1 to 2 Account Books, 1888-1899, (2 folders)


Box 15 Folder 3 to 5 Check Stubs and Notes, 1899-1904, (3 folders)



Box 16 Folder 1 to 3 Receipts and Cancelled Checks, 1935, (3 folders)


Correspondence

(Includes Records and Documents)


Box 16 Folder 4 Ardsley Estates, Inc., 1917-1935


Box 16 Folder 5 The Central Foundry Co., 1931-1936


Box 16 Folder 6 Conant, Richard Royce Estate, 1918


Box 16 Folder 7 General, 1899-1914



Box 17 Folder 1 to 2 General, 1915-1935, (2 folders)


Box 17 Folder 3 Loans--General, 1935


Box 17 Folder 4 Loans--Outstanding, 1923-1936


Box 17 Folder 5 Macnaughton Family--Estate of Sarah Pearsons, 1899- 1916


Box 17 Folder 6 Macnaughton, James and Elizabeth P.--NY Wool Warehouse Co., 1898- 1913


Box 17 Folder 7 Pearsons Estate, 1900-1902


Box 17 Folder 8 Plimpton, Priscilla--Lewis Estate, 1905- 1906



Box 18 Folder 1 Wills, 1921-1935


Philanthropic Work


Box 18 Folder 2 to 6 Donations, 1927-1935, (5 Folders)



Box 19 Folder 1 Wood, Wallace, 1907-1916


Real Estate--Holyoke, Massachusetts


Box 19 Folder 2 Highland Park, 1896-1920


Box 19 Folder 3 to 5 Highland Park--Account book, 1909-1920, (3 folders)


Real Estate--New York City


Box 19 Folder 6 25th Street, 1905-1911


Box 19 Folder 7 Park Avenue--Number 59, 61, 1927- 1932


Box 19 Folder 8 Park Avenue--Number 62-65, 1935



Box 20 Folder 1 Plimpton Building, 1909-1921, 1931, 1909-1921, 1931


Box 20 Folder 2 38th Street, 1929-1934


Box 20 Folder 3 George A. Plimpton vs. Alfred and Helen Baruch, 1926- 1927


Box 20 Folder 4 Plimpton Corporation, 1925-1931


Box 20 Folder 5 Property Speculation, 1902-1935


Real Estate and Personal Affairs--Walpole, Massachusetts


Box 20 Folder 6 Donations and Public Life, 1901- 1934


Box 20 Folder 7 Fuller's Tavern, 1927


Box 20 Folder 8 to 9 Lewis Farm, 1902-1937, (2 folders)



Box 21 Folder 1 Photographs, undated


Box 21 Folder 2 Vouchers, 1935



Box 52 Folder 25 Wooden Indian Theft--Reward Poster, 1921