Rare Book & Manuscript Library
 

Mira Edgerly Korzybska papers, 1850-1960

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.: MS#0726
Bib ID 4079756 View CLIO record
Creator(s) Korzybska, Mira Edgerly, 1872-1954
Title Mira Edgerly Korzybska papers, 1850-1960
Physical Description 13 linear feet (25 boxes 2 scrapbooks 19 oversized folders)
Language(s) English .
Other Finding Aids

Legacy Finding aid

Access You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

Box-level restrictions are marked in the container list: Box 17-18. Closed until 2025.

Permission to use collection must be obtained from Bruce Kodish.

Arrangement

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged. Collection is in 8 series.

Description

Summary

Correspondence, manuscripts, notes, diaries, documents, photographs, audio tape recordings, printed materials, scrapbooks, and sketches and drafts of portraits. Her finished portraits on ivory are cataloged separately for the Art Collection (q.v.). The collection includes her correspondence with friends and clients; manuscripts of her articles, lectures, and many unpublished autobiographical drafts; pencil sketches, watercolor drafts, and photoprints of her portraits on ivory; photographs of her family amd travels; clippings and other printed materials; and three scrapbooks of clippings and memorabilia. There is cataloged correspondence from Arnold Genthe, S.I. Hayakawa, Karen Horney, Burges Johnson, Dwight Macdonald, and Alice B. Toklas, etc.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Other Finding Aids

Legacy Finding aid

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located on-site.

Box-level restrictions are marked in the container list: Box 17-18. Closed until 2025.

Permission to use collection must be obtained from Bruce Kodish.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Mira Edgerly Korzybska papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Related Materials

See also: Art Coll\Korzybska for her finished portraits on ivory

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Papers: Source of acquisition--Charlotte Schuchardt Read. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--11/12/1987.

Scrapbook: Source of acquisition--Read, Charlotte S. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--01/19/1993. Accession number--M-93-01-19.

Papers: Source of acquisition--Read, Charlotte S. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--02/13/1996. Accession number--M-96-02-13.

Gift of Charlotte Schuchardt Read, 1987, 1993 & 1996.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers Processed HR 03/--/1990.

Scrapbook Processed HR 03/11/1993.

Papers Processed HR 05/01/1996.

Revision Description

November 2020 PDF replaced with full finding aid, YH

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Address books Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Announcements Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Appointment books Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Articles Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Audiotapes Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Autobiographies (literary works) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Coats of arms Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Daguerreotypes (photographs) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Diaries Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Drawings (visual works) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Engravings (prints) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Essays Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Financial records Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Genealogies (histories) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Gouaches (paintings) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lectures Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lists (document genres) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Memorandums Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Miniatures (object genre) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Notes (documents) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Paintings (visual works) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Pencil drawings Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Photographic prints Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Photographs Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Visiting cards Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
watercolors (painting) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

Subject

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Artists Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
General semantics Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Genthe, Arnold, 1869-1942 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Hayakawa, S. I (Samuel Ichiyé), 1906-1992 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Horney, Karen, 1885-1952 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Johnson, Burges, 1877-1963 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Korzybski, Alfred, 1879-1950 Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Macdonald, Dwight Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Miniature painters Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Painters Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Portrait miniatures Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Portrait painters Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Portraits Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Scrapbooks Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Toklas, Alice B Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Women artists Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Women painters Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

History / Biographical Note

Biographical / Historical

Painter of portraits on ivory. She was a self-taught artist whose career as a successful and sought after portraitist took her from San Francisco to New York, London, Washington, Latin America, and Chicago. In 1919, she married Alfred Korzybski, 1879-1950 (q.v.), and worked with him to develop and promote his theories of General Semantics.

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Series I: Cataloged correspondence, manuscript, photographs



Box 1 Arnold Genthe (also photographs)


Box 1 Hayakawa, Samuel I.


Box 1 Karen Horney


Box 1 Johnson, Burges


Box 1 Alfred Korzybski (typescript)


Box 1 Dwight Macdonald


Box 1 Alice B. Toklas

Series II: Uncataloged correspondence


Box 1 A-C

Including Caroline Douglas Stewart Corbet Astley Evelyn B. Morrison-Bell, Dion S. Birney and the Everett lawsuit, Alicia and William Busser, and Josephine Osborn Coogan



Box 2 D-J

Including David and Marian Bell Fairchild, C. Judson Herrick, Edward V. Huntington, and Burges Johnson and Miriam Jarvis Johnson Carreker



Box 3 K-P

Including Benjamin Kimball, Mira Edgerly Korzybska to Alfred Korzybski, Amy Edgerly Lake, Kitty Gerard-Leigh, Walter N. Polakov, and Puddefoot, Bowers and Simonett, Ltd.-Ivory Merchants



Box 4 Q-Z

Including Minnie Edgerly Russell, Mary Van Etten Ward, John William White, and unidentified letters



Box 17 Correspondence between Mira E. Korzybska and her husband, Alfred Korzybski, 1920-1950

Closed to all use until the year 2025.



Box 18 Correspondence between Mira E. Korzybska and her husband, Alfred Korzybski, 1920-1950

Closed to all use until the year 2025.



Box 19 General correspondence, 1924-1942; undated



Box 20 General correspondence, 1943-1949



Box 21 General correspondence, 1950-1952



Box 22 General correspondence (including her estate), 1953-1960

Series III: Manuscripts by Mira Edgerly Korzybska



Box 5 Autobiography: notes and drafts



Box 6 Autobiography: notes and drafts



Box 7 Articles and lectures



Box 8 Diaries, Address books, Appointment books, and Memorandum books



Box 23 Manuscripts, diaries, and notes by Mira Edgerly Korzybska, 1924-1954

Series IV: Subject folders, lists, memoranda, notes, etc.



Box 9 Subject folders, lists, memoranda, notes, etc.



Box 24 Financial papers, 1918-1955

Series V: Portraits by Mira Edgerly Korzybska

Watercolor drafts, pencil sketches, drafts on ivory, and photocopies. Finished paintings on ivory have been cataloged as part of the Art Collection.


Subseries V.1: Portraits, Drafts



Box 10 Acheles, Elizabeth A.


Box 10 Astley, Constance Edith Corbet Sutton (Mrs. Herbert D.)


Box 10 Bell, Sir Eustace Morrison, and family


Box 10 Bell, Evelyn Morrison


Box 10 Morrison-Bell, Frances Isabel Logan, Lady, and daughter (possibly Daphne Frances Morrison-Bell, or Veronica Frances Morrison-Bell)


Box 10 Bliss, William H.


Box 10 Besselievre, Jean


Box 10 Bowen, Harry S., children


Box 10 Burden, Florence Adele Sloane (Mrs. James A.)


Box 10 Campbell, James Alexander


Box 10 Claflin, Minietta Anderson (Mrs. Arthur B.), and daughter (unable to identify full name)


Box 10 Clendening, Dorothy Hixon (Mrs. Logan)


Box 10 Coogan, Josephine Osborn (Mrs. Jay)


Box 10 Cook, Mary Hood, Lady


Box 10 Coulter, Helen L. S. Trevor (Mrs. Charles), and family


Box 10 Crespi, Vivian Stokes Taylor, Countess


Box 10 Dalhousie, John Gilbert Ramsay, 15 Earl of


Box 10 Dalhousie, Mary Adelaide Heathcote-Drummond Willoughby Ramsay, Countess of


Box 10 Davidson, John


Box 10 Devries, Blanche


Box 10 de Wolfe, Elsie (Lady Mendl)


Box 10 Dodge children (of Detroit)


Box 10 Drogheda, Kathleen Pelham-Burn Moore, Countess of


Box 10 Drummond, Katherine Mary Antrobus (Mrs. Laurence G.), and James Arthur Lawrence Drummond (son)


Box 10 Duke, Doris


Box 10 Easton, Margaret Bechstein Hays (Mrs. Charles D.), and children


Box 10 Elliott, Maxine


Box 10 Elmhirst, Dorothy Whitney Straight, and child


Box 10 Everett, Edward H., and family (See also oversize)


Box 10 Fahnestock, Snowden A., Helen Moran, and family


Box 10 Fell, Mildred M. Santry (Mrs. John R.), and children


Box 10 Fish, Frederick S., and family


Box 10 Gambrill, Anna and Diana (See also oversize)


Box 10 Gann, David B.


Box 10 Gardner child (of Cleveland)


Box 10 Gould, Guinevere Jeanne Sinclair (Mrs. George; Oversize only)


Box 10 Grasselli, Emilie Smith (Mrs. Thomas)


Box 10 Grenville-Grey, Louise Monica Morrison Bell (Mrs. Cecil E.M.)


Box 10 Grosvenor, Pamela, Rose, and Anita (Oversize only)


Box 10 Hamilton, Nina Mary Benita Poore Douglas-Hamilton, Duchess of


Box 10 Hardwicke, Edith Mary Oswald Yorke, Countess of


Box 10 Hill, Alice Hale and Nathaniel P., and daughter (unable to identify full name) (See also oversize)


Box 10 Hobson, Irene


Box 10 Holford, Sir George Lindsay


Box 10 Howe, Mary Curzon Curzon, Countess of


Box 10 Iselin, Hope Goddard (Mrs. C. Oliver), and Hope Iselin (daughter)


Box 10 James, Harriet Eddy Parsons (Mrs. Arthur C.) (See also oversize)


Box 10 Keyser, Cassius Jackson


Box 10 Kimball, Benjamin


Box 10 Korzybska, Mira Edgerly (See: Self portraits)


Box 10 Korzybski, Alfred


Box 10 Lawrence, Shiela Burden (Mrs. Blake L.)


Box 10 Leiter, Juliette Williams (Mrs. Joseph), and children


Box 10 Livermore, Philip W.


Box 10 Logan, Edward Townshend


Box 10 Louisa Margaret, Duchess of Connaught, Princess


Box 10 McLean, Evelyn Walsh (Mrs. Edward B.), and children


Box 10 Magee, Florence Seeley (Mrs. John)



Box 11 Manice, Harriet Ferry (Mrs. William DeF.), and children


Box 11 Manners, Mildred Mary Buckworth Buchanan-Riddell (Lady Robert), and daughter (unable to identify full name)


Box 11 Martinez de Udaonda, Guillermo and Elvira de


Box 11 Maynard, Walter, Jr.


Box 11 Merrill, Keith, children (See also oversize)


Box 11 Milbank, Katharine Schulze (Mrs. Jeremiah) (Oversize only)


Box 11 Millington-Drake children (Oversize only)


Box 11 Mundinger, Mrs. Robert R. (unable to identify full name)


Box 11 Nicholas Nicholaevitch, Grand Duke of Russia


Box 11 Oglebay, Kate


Box 11 Osborn, H. Fairfield, and family


Box 11 Patton, Beatrice Ayer (Mrs. George S.)


Box 11 Patton, George Smith (?)


Box 11 Pereyra, Eugenio


Box 11 Pereyra Iraola, Helena Udoando de


Box 11 Perkins, Constance


Box 11 Pless, Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West von Hochberg, Princess of


Box 11 Plowden, Pamela


Box 11 Plummer, Mrs. Richard W. (unable to identify full name), and children


Box 11 Prescott, Marjorie Wiggin (Mrs. Sherburne)


Box 11 Ramsay, Lady Ida Mary (Lady Ida Johnson)


Box 11 Ramsay, Lady Patricia (Princess Patricia of Connaught)


Box 11 Reading, Stella Charnaud Isaacs, Marchioness of (See also oversize)


Box 11 Renchard, Stellita Stapleton (Mrs. George W.)


Box 11 Rogers, John Middleton, and family


Box 11 Rosseter, Alice Gertrude May (Mrs. John H.)


Box 11 Russell, Elizabeth Sherley Shevlin (Mrs. Marshall)


Box 11 Ryan, Diana Dodge Davies


Box 11 Sackville-West, Vita (Lady Nicolson)


Box 11 Sands, Mrs. George Winthrop (possibly Anne Aldridge Gibson or Anna "Tayo" Johnson)


Box 11 Sanford, John, and family


Box 11 Santamarina, Lola Acosta de


Box 11 Satterlee, Louise Pierpont Morgan (Mrs. Herbert L.)


Box 11 Scherlin, Betty


Box 11 Selden, Muriel Wiggin (Mrs. Lynde), and estate


Box 11 Sheridan, Clare Consuelo Frewen


Box 11 Smith, Virginia C. and Iris A. (See also oversize)


Box 11 Spreckels, Alma de Bretteville (Mrs. Adolph B.)


Box 11 Stevens, Clara Sherwood Rollins (Mrs. J. Sampson)


Box 11 Strafford, Robert Cecil Byng, 7th Earl of, and George Arthur Francis Byng


Box 11 Strawn, Margaret Stewart (Mrs. Silas H.)


Box 11 Strong, Mrs. James A. (unable to identify full name)


Box 11 Sutton, Sir Richard Vincent


Box 11 Thomson, Louise Schermerhorn Little


Box 11 Villiers, Katherine


Box 11 Walker, Sophie Florence Lothrop Sheridan (Mrs. William H.)


Box 11 Ward, Mary Van Etten (Mrs. John H.), and son


Box 11 Webb, Vanderbilt and Aileen Osborn


Box 11 Weddell, Virginia Chase Steedman (Mrs. Alexander W.) (See also oversize)


Box 11 Weinberg, Frau von, and Vera


Box 11 West, Ann Sheldon


Box 11 Willoughby, Lady Florence Conyngham Heathcote-Drummond


Box 11 Wilson, Mary Emma Smith (Mrs. Arthur)


Box 11 Winston, Mary Dowling (Mrs. Ralph T.)


Box 11 Wood family (Oversize only)



Box 12 Unidentified (See also oversize)


Box 12 Miscellaneous drawings


Box 12 Scraps and ivory fragments



Flatbox 120 Empty frame designed by Mira Edgerly Korzybska (See also oversize)


Subseries V.2: Oversize Portraits, Drafts



Box Art-Korzybska Everett, Edward H., and family


Box Art-Korzybska Gambrill, Anna and Diana


Box Art-Korzybska Gould, Guinevere Jeanne Sinclair (Mrs. George)


Box Art-Korzybska Grosvenor, Pamela, Rose, and Anita


Box Art-Korzybska Hill, Alice Hale and Nathaniel P., and daughter (possibly Isabel Hill Knott, or Gertrude H. Hill Cuthbert)


Box Art-Korzybska James, Harriet Eddy Parsons (Mrs. Arthur C.)


Box Art-Korzybska Merrill, Keith, children


Box Art-Korzybska Milbank, Katharine Schulze (Mrs. Jeremiah)


Box Art-Korzybska Millington-Drake children


Box Art-Korzybska Reading, Stella Charnaud Isaacs, Marchioness of


Box Art-Korzybska Smith, Virginia C. and Iris A.


Box Art-Korzybska Weddell, Virginia Chase Steedman (Mrs. Alexander W.)


Box Art-Korzybska Wood family


Box Art-Korzybska Unidentified


Box Art-Korzybska Empty frames designed by Mira Edgerly Korzybska


Subseries V.3: Art Collection

Among the paintings on ivory cataloged for the Art Collection are portraits of the following.



Box ArtColl Besselievre, Jean


Box ArtColl Coogan, Josephine Osborn


Box ArtColl Crespi, Vivian Stokes Taylor, Countess


Box ArtColl Drogheda, Kathleen Pelham-Burn Moore, Countess of


Box ArtColl Edgerly, Rose Haskell (Mrs. Samuel H.)


Box ArtColl Elliott, Maxine


Box ArtColl Fahnestock, Helen Moran (Mrs. Snowden A.)


Box ArtColl Fahnestock, Snowden A.


Box ArtColl James, Harriet Eddy Parsons (Mrs. Arthur C.)


Box ArtColl Keyser, Cassius Jackson


Box ArtColl Kimball, Benjamin


Box ArtColl Korzybska, Mira Edgerly


Box ArtColl Leiter, Juliette Williams (Mrs. Joseph)


Box ArtColl Livermore, Philip W.


Box ArtColl Oglebay, Kate


Box ArtColl Pereyra, Iraola, Helena Udoando de


Box ArtColl Pless, Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West von Hochberg, Princess of


Box ArtColl Plowden, Pamela


Box ArtColl Plummer, Mrs. Richard W. (unable to identify full name)


Box ArtColl Rembrandt van Rijn


Box ArtColl Rogers, Lily Eleanor Arnott (Mrs. Arthur E.)


Box ArtColl Sands, Mrs. George Winthrop (possibly Anne Aldridge Gibson or Anna "Tayo" Johnson)


Box ArtColl Santamarina, Lola Acosta de


Box ArtColl Sheridan, Clare Consuelo Frewen


Box ArtColl Strawn, Margaret Stewart (Mrs. Silas H.)


Box ArtColl Strong, Mrs. James A. (unable to identify full name)


Box ArtColl Ward, Mary Van Etten (Mrs. John H.)


Box ArtColl Webb, Aileen Osborn (Mrs. Vanderbilt)


Box ArtColl Weddell, Virginia Chase Steedman (Mrs. Alexander W.)

Series VI: Photographs and Audio Recordings



Box 13 Mira Edgerly Korzybska, family, friends, and travels



Box 24 Photographs of Mira Edgerly Korzybska, family and friends

Series VII: Printed materials



Box 14 Clippings, periodicals, etc.



Box 15 Books bearing Mira Edgerly Korzybska's notes



Box 25 Clippings, pamphlets, etc.

Series VIII: Scrapbooks



Flatbox 120 1898-1954, 2 Volumes



Box 16 circa 1850-1940, 1 Volumes



Flatbox 312 1926-1941