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Series II: Office Files

 Series

Collection Scope

From the Collection:

Series I: General Correspondence (1909-1988) contains correspondence between Henry and Carolyn Booth and their family and friends in the period 1909-1988. Important subjects in this series include the following: Asheville School 1913-1918; University of Michigan 1918-1924; Travels in Europe by Henry Scripps Booth and J. Robert F. Swanson during the period July 1922 - May 1923. Correspondence between Henry Scripps Booth and Carolyn Farr Booth; Travels by George Gough Booth and Ellen Warren Scripps Booth; Development of Cranbrook buildings and institutions.

Series II: Office Files (1924-1988) contains correspondence relating to HSB’s professional and philanthropic involvement in the arts, education, civic government, and various charitable organizations as well as material documenting his lifelong interest and participation in the growth of Cranbrook. Contained within the Office Files is the subseries of Cranbrook-related material, which documents HSB’s leadership of the Cranbrook Foundation, participation on the boards of Brookside, Kingswood, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and the CEC.

The files on the Composarium, HSB’s plan to donate his home to Cranbrook for the purpose of creating a composers in residence retreat, contain administrative reports, committee meeting minutes, proposals, and financial summaries that exist only in this collection. The collection also contains material on the Institute for Advanced Pastoral Studies, an organization which although not directly affiliated with Cranbrook, held its meetings in Cranbrook House and paid rent to the Foundation; this material is also unique to the collection.

Series III: Biographical (1897-1988) includes family documents, memorabilia, listings of important dates, daily calendar and appointment information, and materials which describe in some part the lives and activities of Henry and Carolyn Booth and their immediate family.

Series IV: Writings (1908-1988, n.d.) contains Henry Booth’s writings. Henry Booth was a prolific writer. He wrote thousands of poems and psalms as well as short stories, plays, liturgies, letters, prayers, histories, essays and music. Booth was a profoundly religious man, and this is reflected in many of his writings. His writings were humorous, fanciful and serious. The writings in this collection date back to his elementary school days in the 1900’s and continue to within a few days of his death in February 1988.

Henry’s unedited and unpublished history of Cranbrook, titled “History,” was written over a period of several years and is based upon his own recollections, diary and calendar entries, and early Cranbrook Foundation correspondence and board minutes. It provides a personalized and extremely informational look into the ideas and processes involved with the development of Cranbrook from its beginning to the early 1980’s.

Published works in the series include: Psalms of Thistleonia (1968), Giant of Cranbrook (1959), Cranbrook Boasts a Ghost (1963), Pilgrim’s Guide to Christ Church Cranbrook (ca. 1930), Gardens and Parks of Cranbrook House (1951,1956), Cranbrook Booth Family of America (1955), Festival of Gifts (1928,1930), and Three Ships and Three Pilots (music, 1965).

Series V: Financial (1921-1987) contains Henry and Carolyn’s check registers, and various invoices related to purchases of art, books, furnishings, etc., and 7 personal ledger books for the years 1946-1988. Correspondence and reports associated with the Booth’s investments are restricted and unlisted in the finding aid.

SERIES VI: Ephemera (1923-1984) contains printed items collected by Henry Booth throughout his lifetime, but limited mainly to the time period of the 1920's-1970's. As an admirer of the cultural arts, Henry invariably collected programs from many of the events he attended. Represented in this series are programs and playbills for Detroit-area operas, theaters and their productions, and orchestras. Henry also amassed a large assortment of menus, obtained from the restaurants he visited locally, nationally, and abroad.

SERIES VII: Oversize (1916-1986) contains photographs, Thornlea inventories, and drawings.

Dates

  • 1897 - 1988
  • Majority of material found within 1909 - 1988

Access

Access to the following areas of the collection is restricted: General Correspondence Series, boxes 13-24;

Writings Series, box 76; Financial Series, boxes 77-81, 83.

Extent

From the Collection: 48.3 Linear Feet (78 MS, 8 SB, 6 OS)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Creator

Repository Details

Part of the Cranbrook Archives, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research Repository

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