Solon H. Borglum and Borglum family papers, 1864-2002

Biographical material includes citizenship papers for Solon's father, James Borglum, death certificates for two relatives, and other genealogical documents on the history of the Borglum Family. Also found are photographs, clippings, and other ephemera gathered in a leather portfolio by Emma Borglum. This series also contains items documenting Solon's role as Scoutmaster in Silvermine, as well as his service in World War I. Also found are written tributes and printed material for the Solon Borglum Memorials held at Saint Mark's in-the-Bouwerie and the National Sculpture Society. Folders are arranged chronologically by subject.

Family Correspondence includes numerous letters between Solon and his wife Emma and his children, Paul and Monica. Most of their correspondence is from 1918 through 1919 while Solon was in the military in France. There are also many letters to Monica from Emma during the period shortly after Solon's death. Also found are letters to Solon from his parents James and Ida; and letters to Emma from her parents Jean and Lydie Vignal. There are also many letters to Emma from her sister Lucy Vignal Borglum, who married Solon's brother August, and to Emma from her sister-in-law Elizabeth Vignal, who was married to Emma's brother Paul. Also included are numerous letters to Lucy Vignal Borglum from her parents. Most of the correspondence between the Vignals is in French. This series also contains other family correspondence including letters between Solon and his siblings, letters between Solon's brother August and other family members including several cousins, letters between Monica and Paul, Monica and her Aunt Harriet, and her cousin George Borglum, August Borglum's son. Much of this later correspondence discusses family history.

This series includes Solon Borglum's incoming and outgoing professional correspondence. Materials dated after 1922 are Monica Borglum Davies' incoming correspondence regarding Solon's artwork and legacy. Solon's correspondence is with galleries and foundries, such as the Milch Gallery and Roman Bronze Works, concerning the sale or production of his artwork, and correspondence with people and organizations, such as Jane Wallace and Saint Mark's in-the-Bouwerie, concerning sculpture projects, and with other artists, including August Saint-Gaudens and Robert Fulton Logan. Also found is correspondence concerning the School of American Sculpture, both before and after Solon's death.

Materials addressed to Monica Borglum include letters from art galleries and museums, such as the Detroit Institute of Art, the Joslyn Art Museum, and the National Collection of Fine Arts at the Smithsonian Institution, concerning the sale or exhibition of Solon's artwork. Also included is correspondence with foundries concerning the production of Solon's sculptures, and with historical societies, individuals, and other organizations concerning the provenance, collection, or exhibition of his artwork. This series also includes correspondence from the Solon Borglum Memorial Fund and condolences to Monica on the deaths of Solon and Emma (in 1934).

Also found are calling cards, business cards, and envelopes that have been separated from their contents. This series also includes numerous notepads containing drafts of Solon's outgoing correspondence as well as drafts on loose pages.

Writings and notes include those written by Solon Borglum and others. Writings and notes by Solon Borglum include project proposals for an Alexander Hamilton statue, the "Bells of History" project, and a sculpture only described as "The Grille." Also found are numerous essays by Solon and lecture notes on topics such as art, material and form, specific sculptural works, and his experiences in World War I. This series also includes Solon's notes on various subjects, including the founding of the School of American Sculpture and the Benjamin Franklin Monument project, and a diary with many sketches that Solon kept in 1918 during his military service. Similarly, Solon wrote in many notebooks during his time in the military and later career. The notebooks found here include personal thoughts, quotations, names and addresses, and sketches. Researchers will also find personal notes written in Solon's address books.

Writings and notes by others include Emma Borglum's recollections on the life of Solon and their experiences together at the Crow Creek Reservation. Additional recollections on Solon Borglum are written by his daughter Monica Davies and her friend Josephine Sofio. Also found in this subseries is a lecture on Jacob Leisler, the subject of a Borglum sculpture, prepared by Monica's husband, A. Mervyn Davies, and a notebook kept by Emma's brother, Paul Vignal. Of interest are address lists and guest books for the various meetings of the Silvermine Group of Artists.

The Writings and Notes series is arranged into 2 subseries:

This series contains materials compiled or written by Monica Borglum Davies and her husband A. Mervyn Davies for the biography, Solon H. Borglum "A Man Who Stands Alone" (Pequot Press, 1974). Found here are numerous files of information gathered during the research process, including photocopies of materials such as correspondence, and documents from Solon's time in the military. Users should note that some of the photocopies of correspondence may overlap with material found in Family and General Correspondence (Series 2 and 3), however, many letters in this series include transcripts. Research files and notes also include lists of photographs, artwork, and students, as well as numerous loose notes, note cards and notebooks created in the process of writing the book. Also found in this series are other writings by Monica and A. Mervyn Davies giving background information and a synopsis of the biography project.

The bulk of this series consists of heavily edited drafts of the biography. One subseries contains drafts of each section of the book. Researchers should note that many draft chapters do not correspond to or have different titles from the chapters in the published version. Another subseries includes draft manuscripts. All of the manuscripts are for the Borglum biography, but the authors were using various titles, including "A Clear Spirit," and "A Quiet Victory." Many drafts are incomplete and untitled, and the end of the series contains numbered loose pages from drafts and miscellaneous draft edits and notes, all arranged in their original order. Also found are two edited book proofs.

The Solon Borglum Biography series is arranged into 4 subseries:

This series has not been digitized.

Financial and business records contain materials documenting Solon Borglum's professional work and legacy. Financial materials include bank account books, receipts and statements, ledgers, and price lists, as well as the financial notes and ledger for the Solon H. Borglum Sculpture and Education Fund. Also found is a financial proposal for the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial, and an account book for the posthumous production and sales of Borglum's book Sound Construction. Business materials include contracts for sculpture projects, and copyright documentation for Sound Construction.

Folders are arranged alphabetically by type of material.

The bulk of this series has not been digitized.

This series contains material on Solon Borglum's career and artwork, primarily posthumous exhibit materials and publications. Most of this material was collected by Solon's daughter Monica Borglum Davies and includes not only material on Solon, but also documents about Gutzon, Solon's assistant Paul Manship, and the Silvermine Group of Artists. Included are auction catalogs, exhibition announcements, catalogs, brochures, event programs, and informational booklets. Also found are numerous news and magazine clippings spanning over 120 years, magazines featuring large articles on Solon, newletters, press releases, reports, and other publications as well as published images of Solon and reproductions of his artwork. This series also contains copies of the art textbook Solon wrote, Sound Construction, as well as the Supplement for this work published at the same time.

Series is partially digitized.

Found here are family and personal photographs, and numerous photographs of artwork by Solon Borglum. The bulk of the family and personal photographs date from Solon's adult life and include images of Solon in various settings, such as formal portraits taken throughout his career, photographs of him with his artwork, as a student and teacher in sculpture class, in Paris during his military service, with his family and friends at his farm, Rocky Ranch, and of Solon and Emma at the Crow Creek Reservation. Also found are Borglum family portraits, individual portraits of many family members including Solon's brothers Gutzon and August, and his parents James and Ida, as well as group portraits of the whole family. This subseries also includes photographs of Emma, Monica, her daughter Gwynneth, and Emma's brother Paul Vignal and his wife. Other personal photographs in this series are images of Solon at ranches and as a Boy Scout troop leader, exteriors and interiors of his various studios and residences, photos from an exhibition at the Union League Club in New York, and other miscellaneous and unidentified portraits and snapshots.

Photographs of Artwork include files on individual works of art by Solon Borglum, as well as files for his various types of artwork, such as animal sculptures, portrait busts, and monuments and installations. Many of the files may include images of the artwork at the studio, as well as being unveiled or installed in public. Folders are arranged alphabetically by title of work, followed by categories of artwork and artwork by others. Photographs in this subseries have not been digitized.

The Photographs series is arranged into 3 subseries. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Artwork contains many sketches by Solon Borglum, such as figure sketches for some of his sculptural works and for his book Sound Construction, as well as sketches he made on tracing paper, mostly of architectural design elements. This series also contains Emma Borglum's drawings of jewelry designs and sketches by Gutzon Borglum, including a sketch of Solon, possibly drawn while they were working together in 1894. Also found are original etchings for Silvermine Group of Artists Exhibition Announcements, a large illuminated poem made for Solon and Emma at the time of their marriage by writer William Theodore Peters, a military cartoon, and other artwork by unidentified artists. The folder of miscellaneous artwork by others includes etchings by artists Robert Fulton Logan and Frank Sohn.