William McMurtrie Speer papers, 1880-1936
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Call No.:
- MS#1183
- Bib ID:
- 4079809 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Speer, William McMurtrie, 1865-1923
- Repository:
- Rare Book and Manuscript Library
- Physical Description:
- 17 linear feet (34 boxes 3 oversize volumes 1 oversize folder)
- Language(s):
-
English
.
- 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.
-
The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 2-34. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
Description
Summary
Correspondence, manuscripts, typescripts, contracts, legal briefs, patents, and other documents, music scores, cartoons, technical drawings, account books, blueprints, photographs, clippings, printed legal briefs & transcripts, proofs, scrapbooks, and other printed materials of William M. Speer.
There are 14 manuscript boxes & 3 oversize volumes concerning his work as a journalist & publisher. Speer was the Albany correspondent for "The Sun" from 1884 until 1893. From 1893 to 1896 he was editor and part owner of "The Argus" in Albany and there are business records from this period. There is a scrapbook of his articles for "The Buffalo Express" for the period from 1896 until 1903. In 1896 he founded The Law Press as a commercial printer for lawyers, and The Cornucopia Company to publish music and a literary periodical. From 1904 to 1909, he was editorial and legislative writer for the "Evening World" in New York City and there are files of his correspondence, editorial writing, and his investigations of the insurance industry and the Panama Canal libel suit. From 1903 until 1922, he contributed to periodicals and wrote books and pamphlets on many subjects. Starting in 1919, he worked on a scenario and publicity for the Fox Film Corporation's film on wounded veterans of the war. In 1922, he became an editorial writer for "The Evening Mail".
There are 10 boxes of material covering his activities as a public official and political appointee. In 1889, he was Secretary of the Johnstown Flood Committee; in 1889 and 1890, Secretary to The Committee for The International Exposition of 1892; in 1890, Secretary to Mayor of New York City Hugh J. Grant; in 1894, Delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention. In 1910, he was appointed Special Counsel to New York City for the Ashokan Reservoir Compensation Claims, advising the city on landowners' claims in Ulster County. In 1912 and 1913, he was Special Counsel for the Aldermanic Police Investigation in New York City during the anticorruption drive of Mayor William J. Gaynor. In 1920, he became a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States to investigate profiteering in the coal industry.
There are 5 boxes of case files from his private legal practice for the period 1890 to 1923.
And there are 4 boxes of papers and an oversize folder of drawings concerning his interests as an inventor, promoter, and businessman. These are files about the Snow Melter (his device to clear city streets), his New York & Brooklyn Economic Power & Construction Company (for the transmission of electricity), The Pneumatic Co. (to manufacture stencil cutting machines), The Philippines Company (a shipping business), hinge making machines (patents and contracts for manufacturing), rack cutting apparatus, an old age pension plan (for the sale of annuities), the Food Committee (a planned co-operative purchasing company), Fabricated Concrete Corporation (which built, rented, and sold houses made of cinder block), Sunlight Gas Machine Co. (which sold equipment for gas lighting), timber mill and timber land sales (acting as an agent for selling land in the southern states), and public transit reorganization (his plan for improving the transportation system in New York City).
Among the cataloged correspondents are: Maxwell Anderson, Charles A. Dana, David B. Hill, Walter Hines Page, S.S. McClure, and Elihu Root.
-
Series I: Cataloged Correspondence and Uncataloged Miscellaneous Materials
Includes cataloged correspondence, as well as miscellaneous clippings, correspondence, documents, pamphlets. Also includes photographs of Speer.
-
Series II: Journalist and Publisher, 1884-1923
-
Series III: Public Official and Political Appointee, 1889-1921
-
Series IV: Attorney in Private Practice, 1890-1923
-
Series V: Inventor, Promoter, and Businessman, 1891-1923
Arrangement
Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged chronologically within professional categories. Box 1-2: 1888-1936, Cataloged correspondence & Misc.; Box 3-14: 1884-1923, Journalist & Publisher; Box 15-24: 1889-1921, Public Official & Political Appointee; Box 25-29: 1890-1923, Attorney in Private Practice; Box 30-34: 1891-1923, Inventor, Promoter & Businessman.
Using the Collection
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.
The following boxes are located off-site: Boxes 2-34. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.
This collection has no restrictions.
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); William McMurtrie Speer papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.
Ownership and Custodial History
Gift of Mrs Ann Satterthwaite, 1991.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Papers: Source of acquisition--Satterthwaite, Ann. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--03/22/1991. Accession number--M-91-03-22.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Processing Information
Papers Processed HR 05/19/1992.
Revision Description
2020-10-16 EAD document created by CCR.
Biographical / Historical
William M. Speer was born in Huntingdon PA in 1865 and died in Piermont NY in 1923. He graduated from Yale University in 1880 and from the Albany Law School in 1887. He was a journalist, public official, lawyer, inventor, businessman, publisher, and author.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through
CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries,
and through ArchiveGRID,
a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
All links open new windows.
Genre/Form |
Abstracts (summaries) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Account books |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Accounts |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Agreements |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Announcements |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Articles |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Articles of incorporation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Artifacts (object genre) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Bankruptcy proceedings |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Bills (financial) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Bills (legislative records) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Biographies (literary works) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Briefs |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Brochures |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Bylaws (administrative records) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Cartoons (working drawings) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Case files |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Certificates |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Charts (graphic documents) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Claims |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Clippings (Information Artifacts) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Commissions |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Contour maps |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Contracts |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Decisions (judicial records) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Depositions |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Diagrams |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Drafts (documents) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Essays |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Fiction (general genre) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Galley proofs |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Geological maps |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Illustrations |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Indictments (legal documents) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Insurance |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Insurance policies |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Inventories |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Lists (document genres) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Maps (documents) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Mechanical drawings |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Patent drawings |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Patents |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Photoengravings (prints) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Photographs |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Printing blocks (printing surfaces) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Proceedings (reports) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Proofs (printed matter) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Receipts (financial records) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Reports |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Scores (documents for music) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Scripts (documents) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Sheet music |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Specifications |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Statistics |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Stock certificates |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Surveys (documents) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Tables |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Testimonials |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Testimonies |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Topographic maps |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Writs |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
architectural drawings (visual works) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
blueprints (reprographic copies) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Name |
Anderson, Maxwell, 1888-1959 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Brooklyn Edison Company, Inc |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Comstock, Anthony, 1844-1915 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Cornucopia Company |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Dana, Charles A (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Dana, Paul, 1852-1930 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Delaware and Eastern Railway Company |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Dixie Transportation Co., Inc |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Douglass Barnes Corporation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Equitable Life Insurance Company |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Fabricated Concrete Corporation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Food Committee |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Fox Film Corporation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Gaynor, William Jay, 1849-1913 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Glynn, Martin Henry, 1871-1924 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Grant, Hugh John, 1855- |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Hill, David B (David Bennett), 1843-1910 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
International Exposition of 1892 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Johnstown Flood Committee |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Laffan, William M. |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Law Press |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Lord, Chester Sanders, 1850-1933 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
McClure, S. S (Samuel Sidney), 1857-1949 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (N.Y.). Board of Aldermen |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (N.Y.). Board of City Record |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (N.Y.). Department of Water Resources |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (N.Y.). Law Department |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (N.Y.). Office of the Mayor |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (N.Y.). Police Department -- : Investigation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York (State). Constitutional Convention (1894) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York Mail and Newspaper Transportation Company |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
New York and Brooklyn Economic Power and Construction Company |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
O'Connor, Joseph, 1841-1908 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Page, Walter Hines, 1855-1918 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Philippines Company |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Pneumatic Co |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Pulitzer, Joseph, 1847-1911 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Ralph, Julian, 1853-1903 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Root, Elihu, 1845-1937 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Sulzer, William, 1863-1941 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Sunlight Gas Machine Co., Inc |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
United States. Attorney-General |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Untermyer, Samuel, 1858-1940 |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Place |
Ashokan Reservoir (N.Y.) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Kingston (N.Y.) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Panama Canal (Panama) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Ulster County (N.Y.) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Subject |
Actions and defenses |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Agriculture |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Annuities |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Bankruptcy |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Businessmen |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Cinder blocks |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Coal -- Transportation -- Law and legislation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Coal trade |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Concrete houses |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Consumer cooperatives |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Cooperation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Dairy laws -- New York (State) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Deeds |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Editors |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Eminent domain -- New York (State) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Floods -- Pennsylvania -- Johnstown (Cambria County) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Food supply |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Gas-lighting |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Government attorneys |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Government litigation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Hinges -- Manufacture |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Insurance companies -- Investigation |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Inventions |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Inventors |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Journalism |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Journalists |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Lawyers |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Libel and slander |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Local transit -- New York (State) -- New York -- Reorganization |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Lumber trade -- Southern States |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Machinery |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Music publishers |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Music publishing |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Newspaper publishing |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Old age pensions |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Police corruption -- New York (State) -- New York |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Precast concrete construction |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Printing -- Technological innovations |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Promoters |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Public officers |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Publishers and publishing |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Real property |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Representation in administrative proceedings |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Sawmills -- Southern States |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Scrapbooks |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Shipping |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Ships, Concrete |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Snow removal -- Technological innovations |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Stencils and stencil cutting -- Technological innovations |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Transportation -- New York (State) -- New York -- Reorganization |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
Trials (Libel) |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|
World War, 1914-1918 -- Veterans |
CLIO Catalog
|
ArchiveGRID
|