Scope and Content Note
The papers of Harry Frank Guggenheim (1890-1971) span the years 1900-1972, with the majority of the items concentrated in the years 1937-1972. The bulk of the papers documents Guggenheim's business career and his philanthropic and civic interests. The papers consist of seven series: Correspondence , Subject File , Cain Hoy Plantation File , Falaise File , Horse Racing File , Newsday File , and Miscellany .
The Correspondence series, 1916-1970, consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence reflecting Guggenheim's various humanitarian, financial, and personal activities. This series is divided into two subseries, Alphabetical File and Chronological File . The Alphabetical File relates chiefly to Guggenheim's interest in and financial support of aviation and the various charitable foundations established by the Guggenheim family. The Chronological File primarily contains outgoing letters to friends, acquaintances, the public, and national leaders pertaining to Guggenheim's business, philanthropic, and personal activities. Correspondence, including family letters, is also interfiled in other series, primarily the Subject File and the Newsday File . The correspondence was filed in this manner by Guggenheim and his staff.
The Subject File series, 1900-1972, comprises almost half of the collection and pertains primarily to Guggenheim's business enterprises, financial investments, charitable contributions, and civic activities. Much of the information concerns trusts and foundations established by members of the Guggenheim family. Through his own foundation, Guggenheim made numerous gifts to a variety of causes, including grants for cancer and heart disease research and for studies in the social sciences. In addition, the Subject File documents Guggenheim's service as chairman of the board of trustees of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, which supervises the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City, named for Harry's uncle. Papers pertaining to Guggenheim's mining career are limited, with most located in the "Guggenheim Brothers" files. Guggenheim's interest in aviation and the flight sciences and his participation in various aviation organizations and committees are the subject of other files. The Subject File also contains some incoming and outgoing correspondence between Guggenheim and various members of his family.
Papers in the Cain Hoy Plantation File , 1935-1972, relate to Guggenheim's fifteen thousand-acre timber and cattle plantation near Wando, South Carolina. The majority of the items pertain to the operation and upkeep of the plantation. Guggenheim also used Cain Hoy as a hunting lodge and invited friends there for hunting and fishing parties.
The Falaise File , 1923-1971, pertains to Guggenheim's estate in Port Washington, Long Island, New York. Papers in this series document the operation of the estate and provide an indication of Guggenheim's lifestyle.
The Horse Racing File , 1929-1972, documents Guggenheim's successful horse racing stable, Cain Hoy Stable. The bulk of these papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, and reports concerning the breeding, training, and racing of horses. Also included are several files concerning the 1953 Kentucky Derby won by his horse, Dark Star. In addition, this series includes information about Guggenheim's role in the establishment of the New York Racing Association, a nonprofit organization that operates most of New York's race tracks.
The Newsday File , 1929-1970, consists chiefly of correspondence, memoranda, and reports pertaining to the operation of the daily newspaper, Newsday, established by Guggenheim and his wife, Alicia Patterson, in 1940 in Garden City, Long Island, New York. Noteworthy items include columns written for Newsday by John Steinbeck while traveling in Vietnam, Israel, England, and Ireland from 1965 through 1967. The Newsday series also contains some family correspondence.
Papers in the Miscellany series, 1903-1969, pertain primarily to Guggenheim's career as a diplomat to Cuba and as a member of the Committee of Experts on Civil Aviation for the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference of the League of Nations. The scrapbook in this series contains correspondence with national and international leaders. Also included are Guggenheim's speeches, statements, and writings.
The most prominent and frequent of Guggenheim's correspondents are Joseph Albright, Victor C. Barringer, Bernard M. Baruch, Harry Flood Byrd (1914- ), Harry Flood Byrd (1887-1966), Thomas B. Byrd, James Harold Doolittle, Thomas B. Dorsey, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Mark F. Ethridge, Horace Reynolds Graham, Leonard W. Hall, Herbert Hoover, Croil Hunter, Jacob K. Javits, Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy, Peter Orman Lawson-Johnston, Ernest Levy, Charles A. Lindbergh, Milton Lomask, Robert Moses, Bill D. Moyers, Richard M. Nixon, George Oppenheimer, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Samuel I. Rosenman, John Steinbeck, J. Albert Woods, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Manuel Ycaza.