Table of Contents
Series I. Personal, circa 1912-1965, undated
Series II. Roycroft, circa 1894-1964, undated
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Finding Aid for the Ernest E. Simmons Papers, circa 1894-1966, undated
Collection Overview |
|
| Creator: | Simmons, Ernest E. 1884-1966 |
| Title: | Ernest E. Simmons Papers |
| Inclusive Dates: | circa 1894-1966, undated |
| Collection number: | RBR Roycroft 1894 .S56 |
| Extent: | 6 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 6 map folders (3.42 linear feet) |
| Abstract: | The papers of Ernest E. Simmons, employee of the Roycroft organization. Collection consists mainly of correspondence, advertisements, newspaper clippings and photographs. |
| Language: | Collection materials are in English. |
| Repository: | Rare Book Room, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library |
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
[Description and dates], Box/folder number, Ernest E. Simmons Papers, Central Library: Rare Book Room, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.
Acquisition Information
The Ernest E. Simmons Papers were purchased by the Grosvenor Society, date undetermined. See Rare Book Librarian for more information.
Processing Information
Collection processed by: Amanda Free, April 2010
Finding aid encoded by: Amy Vilz, June 2010
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Restrictions
Use Restrictions
The Ernest E. Simmons Papers are open for research.
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Biographical History
Ernest E. Simmons was born in 1884 in East Elma, New York. Simmons first worked as an assistant in the home of Dr. Arthur L. Mitchell in East Aurora, New York at the age of 16. Through his association with Dr. Mitchell, Simmons became acquainted with Elbert Hubbard and began his career at the Roycroft organization in 1907.
Simmons’ duties at Roycroft included typing Hubbard’s handwritten manuscripts and notary public work. Throughout his career, Simmons was also in charge of various departments at the organization including shipping, purchasing and inventories. Following the death of Elbert Hubbard in the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, Simmons remained at Roycroft, serving as the corporation secretary and later as a sales representative. His career at Roycroft ended in 1929 when he left to pursue another position.
In 1965 Ernest E. Simmons co-authored a book about the Roycrofters, entitled Sinners, This Is East Aurora. He was also instrumental in the opening of the Elbert Hubbard Library and Museum in East Aurora. Simmons died in East Aurora in August of 1966.
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Scope and Contents
Although not comprehensive, this collection offers important documentation of the personal life and professional career of Ernest E. Simmons, and is comprised of two series: Personal and Roycroft.
Series I. Personal, circa 1912-1965, undated
Personal records include
correspondence, photographs, a book that belonged to Simmons, other collected
publications (some inspired by or in the style of Roycroft), and 2 scrapbooks.
Series II. Roycroft, circa 1894-1964, undated
Roycroft records include business
records, photographs, publications, correspondence, and clippings about Roycrofters and affiliated persons.
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Arrangement
Collection is arranged in two series.
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Subject Headings
Persons
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
Places
Genres and Forms
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Related Material
Related Material
Harry Persons Taber Papers, 1881-1945. Call number: RBR Roycroft 1881 .T33
History and Bibliography of the Roycroft Printing Shop: Papers of Paul McKenna, circa 1899, 1927-1983, undated. Call number: RBR Roycroft 1899 .M3 H5
In Memorium, Elbert and Alice Hubbard [scrapbook] Call number: RBR Roycroft 1915 .S515
Separated Material
The following books were removed from the Simmons Papers and accessioned into the general rare book collection:
Bellew, Kyrle. Short Stories. New York: Shakespeare Press, 1912. [inscribed to Elbert Hubbard by Frank A. Connor] Call number: RBR PZ 3 .B4191 SH
Clement B. Shaw (translator). Tegner's Frithiof's Saga. Chicago, IL: Engberg-Holmberg Publishing, 1911. [inscribed to Elbert Hubbard by J.G.R. Baner] Call number: RBR PT 9831 .E5 S5 1911
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Inventory
| Series I. Personal, circa 1912-1965, undated | |||||||||||
| Scope and content: Contains personal correspondence, photographs, book and Simmons' scrapbooks. Some items in "Publications" were inspired by and are in the style of Roycroft. | |||||||||||
| Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject. | |||||||||||
| Box 1.1 | Artwork, undated; includes caricatures: Clark Gable, Victor Mature, Bing Crosby, Bette Davis; drawing: "Missing Comrade," landscapes, train. (3 pencil drawings, 2 watercolor) | ||||||||||
| Box 1.2-1.3 | Correspondence, circa 1912-1965; includes Christmas cards; letters from Fred Andrews; inquireies for Roycroft information. (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Box 1.4 | John Chapman by Occupation a Gatherer and Planter of Apple Seeds: book, circa 1935 | ||||||||||
| Box 1.5 | Photographs, undated; images of Simmons, post card images. | ||||||||||
| Box 1.6 | Publications, circa 1895-1926, undated; McClure's Magazine vol. 4, no. 3; "The Art of Making Money Plenty"; The Missouri Mule, vol. 10, no. 8 (September/October, 1917); "Johnny Appleseed". | ||||||||||
| Box 1.7 | Scrapbook 1, circa 1907-1912; features a subject index, pamphlets and clippings including George Washington, Mark Twain, John Brown. | ||||||||||
| Box 1.8-2.1 | Scrapbook 2, circa 1915-1931; includes clippings on Lusitania; photograph, program of Hubbard memorial; correspondence; New York Times on sinking of Lusitania. [Original Lusitania article located in Map 8.3.5+] (2 folders) | ||||||||||
| Series II. Roycroft, circa 1894-1964, undated | |||||||||||
| Subseries A. Business records, 1894-1964, undated | |||||||||||
| Scope and content: Contains bulletins/memos, correspondence, financial records, forms/stationery, minutes, notes. | |||||||||||
| Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject. | |||||||||||
| Box 2.2 | Bulletins/memos, 1894-1926 | ||||||||||
| Box 2.3-2.4 | Correspondence, circa 1895-1964; includes copy of agreement between Hubbard and Taber, letters from Edward Shay Advertising Agency. | ||||||||||
| Box 2.5-2.6 | Financial records, 1909-1921; includes bank book, employee time book, checks, School of Life ledgers. | ||||||||||
| Box 2.7 | Forms/stationery, undated; includes envelopes, order forms, fellowship cards. | ||||||||||
| Box 2.8 | Minutes, 1902-1924; includes meeting minutes. | ||||||||||
| Box 2.9 | Notes, 1894-1934; biographical notes, bibliographies. | ||||||||||
| Subseries B. Photographs and artwork, 1922, undated | |||||||||||
| Scope and content: Contains images of the Hubbards, various Roycrofters, Roycroft campus, East Aurora, and travels. Caution: Use gloves when handling. | |||||||||||
| Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject. | |||||||||||
| Box 3.1 | Drawings, undated; includes caricatures of Elbert Hubbard. (6: ink, pencil) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.2 | East Aurora, undated; includes Cazenovia Creek, C.E. Gleed Horseshoeing, Erie County Fair, Fred Green home, Pfifferling Block, street views. (12 photos) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.3 | Hubbard, Alice, undated; portraits, Alice and Elbert. (5 photos, 6 prints) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.4-3.5 | Hubbard, Elbert, undated; includes portraits, Elbert with "Old Ted Darling," unknown man. (20 photos, 11 prints) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.6 | Hubbard family, 1928, undated; includes Alta, Elbert II, Elbert III, Julia Frances, Ralph, Sanford (Sandy), and Silas Hubbard. (9 photos, 3 prints) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.7 | Individuals, undated; includes Anson Blackman (Ali Baba), Jerome Connors, Dr. Algernon Crapsey, Alexis Fournier, Margie and Walter Jennings, Victor Robinson, Victor Wade Toothaker, Fred Welsh. (8 photos, 4 postcards, 1 print) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.8-3.10 | Roycroft Campus, undated; includes bank, blacksmith shop, chapel/library, dining room, farm, "first shop," fountain, Hubbard home, inn, print shop, Roycroft shop, salon, well. (47 photos, 4 postcards, 24 prints) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.11 | Roycroft Convention, 1922, 1924; group views. [Copy; original photo is located in 9.3.6+] (1 photo) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.12 | Roycroft events, 1930, undated; includes Elbert Hubbard birthday, memorial tree planting for Hubbard, Hubbard statue dedication. (3 photos) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.13 | Roycrofters, 1910, undated; includes group views. (19 photos, 2 prints) | ||||||||||
| Map-case 8.3.6+ | Roycrofters, undated; includes Elbert and Alice Hubbard; Roycroft Band; School of Life; 1922 Roycroft Convention. (4 photos) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.14 | Roycrofters at work, circa 1910-1930, undated; includes artisans, baseball team, bindery, "first shop," printing department, School of Life, shipping, ten-mile camp, three-mile camp. (25 photos, 1 print) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.15 | Travels, 1898, 1914, undated; includes Hubbard's trips to Boston, Cologne, Venice, Yellowstone. (10 photos) | ||||||||||
| Box 3.16 | Warner, Samuel: artwork, undated; includes landscapes. (5: watercolor and ink?) | ||||||||||
| Subseries C. Publications, 1896-1963, undated | |||||||||||
| Scope and content: Consists of advertisements, books, catalogs, clippings, epigrams, journals, labels, manuscripts and programs. | |||||||||||
| Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject. | |||||||||||
| Box 3.17 | Advertisements, undated; regarding complete writings of Hubbard, life membership. | ||||||||||
| Map-case 8.3.1+ | Advertisements, 1913, undated; includes "A Love Letter to the Elect", "A Suggestion", "Goodie Box". | ||||||||||
| Box 4.1-4.2 | Catalogs, undated; booklet and cataloging index, copper products. | ||||||||||
| Box 4.3 | Clippings, circa 1896-1963; regarding Elbert Hubbard; Juliana Hubbard; Roycroft activities; Woodrow Wilson; Lusitania; Buffalo Evening News Magazine, June 2, 1945 [original located in Map 8.3.3+]; "Filosophy for Farmers" by Elbert Hubbard [original located in Map 8.3.3+]. | ||||||||||
| Map-case 8.3.4+ | East Aurora Ad Club, 1913; signed constitution including John Thomas Hoyle, Fred Bann. | ||||||||||
| Box 4.4-4.6 | Epigrams, 1911, undated; 1,000 Epigrams, loose epigrams. | ||||||||||
| Box 7.5+ | Epigrams, undated [2 broadsides] | ||||||||||
| Box 4.7 | The Feather Duster, circa 1907; vol. 1, no 4-7. | ||||||||||
| Box 4.8 | "The Fra", undated; subscription cards. | ||||||||||
| Box 4.9 | "Goodie Box", undated; list of contents, recipe. [see also 8.3.1+] | ||||||||||
| Box 5.1 | Labels, 1905, undated; Roycroft library book labels. | ||||||||||
| Box 5.2 | Lectures, undated; includes Alice and Elbert Hubbard, Stephen Marion Reynolds. | ||||||||||
| Box 5.3-5.4 | The Liberators, 1915 [unbound signatures] | ||||||||||
| Box 5.5 | Little Journeys, 1894, 1922; includes George Eliot, Jesus of Nazareth, brochures, clippings regarding "Little Journeys". | ||||||||||
| Box 5.6 | Manuscripts, undated; Alice Hubbard: "Her Eighteenth June", "Linens - The Fabric of Romance", "Work"; Elbert Hubbard: "War and Work"; Richard Le Gallienne: "Leave Us the Stars", "Ballade of the Poet and the Moon", "The Human Sacrifice: A New York Picture", "Art a Necessity Not a Luxury"; unknowns. [typescripts, manuscripts] | ||||||||||
| Box 5.7-5.8 | Pamphlets, undated; regarding arts and crafts, Roycroft Inn, writings, others. | ||||||||||
| Box 5.9 | "The Philistine", undated; clippings, handwritten notes, affidavit, advertisements. | ||||||||||
| Box 5.10 | Photogravures from the Roycrofters, East Aurora, N.Y., undated | ||||||||||
| Box 6.1-6.2 | Programs, circa 1904-1924; Hubbard memorials, tickets, dance cards, conventions, concerts. | ||||||||||
| Box 7.1-7.4+ | Research, undated; includes prints relating to Roycroft publications, mainly Little Journeys. | ||||||||||
| Box 6.3 | Roycroft Inn, undated [2 copies] | ||||||||||
| Box 6.4 | Roycroft Reminder, undated | ||||||||||
| Box 6.5 | Some Oxaline, 1910 [2 copies: 1 incomplete] | ||||||||||
| Box 6.6 | Others, 1899, 1913, undated; includes An Appreciation of Minnie Maddern Fiske; Contemplations; The Emersonian vol. 1 no. 1 (March 2, 1913); Roycroft Business Printing; The Roycroft Inn; Some Books for Sale at Our Shop. | ||||||||||
| Subseries D. Roycrofters and affiliated persons, 1898,1930, undated | |||||||||||
| Scope and content: Consists mostly of correspondence with Roycrofters and persons affiliated with the organization including Percy A. Beach, Harry Esty Dounce, Alice Hubbard, Karl Kipp, M.M. Mangasarin, A.L. Mitchell and Marilla Ricker. | |||||||||||
| Arrangement: Alphabetical by subject. | |||||||||||
| Box 6.7 | Beach, Percy A., 1915, 1923; includes pamphlet: "Book Notes from Beach's Bookshop". | ||||||||||
| Box 6.8 | Dounce, Harry Esty, 1930; includes questionnaire/history of Roycrofters. | ||||||||||
| Box 6.9 | Hubbard, Alice, circa 1899-1915; includes household expenses, notes, letters of recommendation for Alice Moore. | ||||||||||
| Box 6.10 | Kipp, Karl, 1906, 1911, undated; includes wedding invitation, pamphlet. | ||||||||||
| Box 6.11 | Mangasarin, M.M., 1909, 1910, undated; includes The Kingdom of God in Geneva Under Calvin; lecture; The Rationalist Bulletin (January 1910). | ||||||||||
| Box 6.12 | Mitchell, Arthur L., 1898, 1908, 1912; includes "Dr. and Mrs. Mitchell Withdraw Permanently from the Practice of Medicine", clippings. | ||||||||||
| Box 6.13 | Ricker, Marilla, circa 1907-1913; includes "Anti-Woman Suffragists", "Marilla Ricker's Reply to Elder A.E. Kenyon", clippings. | ||||||||||
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