Marvyn Scudder Collection of Corporate Documents, 1827-1950s

Summary Information

Abstract

Marvyn Scudder, the editor of the Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct and Obsolete Companies and the country's most famous stock detective, donated the collection to Columbia in 1921. The collection contains more than 3,000,000 pages of documentary material on thousands of United States and foreign corporations.

At a Glance

Call No.:
MS#1486
Bib ID:
7229539 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Scudder, Marvyn, 1876-1935
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
514 linear feet (411 record storage cartons)
Language(s):
English .
Other Finding Aids

Card Catalog in Business Library and Box List.

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.

To access the collection one must go to the Business Library and consult the Scudder card catalog which contains entries for each company name, arranged alphabetically. To locate the box number for any file listed in the catalog, one must consult the box list which indicates the first and last company name in each box.

This collection is located off-site. 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.

Description

Summary

Includes annual reports, communications to shareholders, indentures, prospectuses, reorganization plans, and other corporate instruments dating from 1827.

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetical by corporate name.

Using the Collection

Other Finding Aids

Card Catalog in Business Library and Box List.

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.

To access the collection one must go to the Business Library and consult the Scudder card catalog which contains entries for each company name, arranged alphabetically. To locate the box number for any file listed in the catalog, one must consult the box list which indicates the first and last company name in each box.

This collection is located off-site. 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.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Reproductions 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); Marvyn Scudder Collection of Corporate Documents; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Selected Related Material-- at Columbia

Scudder Corporate Annual Reports - Columbia Historical Corporate Annual Reports, Watson Library of Business and Economics

Accrual

No accruals are expected

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

Custodial History

Transferred from the Business Library, 2004 (Originally donated to the Business Library in 1921)

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Business Library. Method of acquisition--Transfer; Date of acquisition--2004.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Marvyn Scudder Collection of Corporate Documents. Finding aid published pl 7/7/2009.

Revision Description

2009-07-11 File created.

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Biographical / Historical

Begun in 1885 by Moses L. Scudder, head of the Investor's Agency in New York, the collection was inherited by Marvyn Scudder editor of the "Marvyn Scudder Manual of Extinct and Obsolete Companies" and the country's most famous stock detective and he gave the collection to the Business Library in 1921. Particularly strong in documents from railroads, mining companies and New York City real estate companies the Scudder Collection has a complete file of material on the Union Pacific Railroad that includes the original offering statements.

The Marvyn Scudder Collection of corporate documents is believed to be the largest of its kind with more than 3,000,000 pages of documentary material on the financial history and organization of thousands of United States and foreign corporations.

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.

Name
Scudder, Marvyn, 1876-1935 CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Business -- History CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Corporations -- United States CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Mineral industries -- Finance CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Railroads -- History CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID