Archives of American Art

Thomas Ball guestbook

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.ballthom
Creators:
Ball, Thomas, 1819-1911
Dates:
1874-1932
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Microfilm reel
1 volume on 1 partial microfilm reel
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The microfilmed Thomas Ball guestbook/scrapbook includes signatures, poems, sketches, musical notations of European and American artists, writers, poets, musicians, and other dignitaries who visited Thomas Ball's studio or villa in Florence, Italy, Montclair, New Jersey, New York City, and Boston from 1874 to 1932. Among the many prominent signers are Ralph Waldo Emerson, Richard Wagner, Henry Longfellow, Franz Liszt, Christina Rossetti. An introduction by the lender, Ball's great great granddaughter, states that some insertions from earlier correspondence and later insertions from musicians visiting the family in Santa Barbara were added to the book.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Thomas Ball (1819-1911) was a sculptor, miniaturist, portrait painter, and musician in Boston, Massachusetts, Florence, Italy, and Montclair, New Jersey. His most well-known work is a statue of George Washington in the Boston Public Garden. Ball maintained a studio in Boston until he moved to Italy in 1854, where he studied sculpture. He made frequent visits to the United States, but remained an expatriate until 1897, when he moved to Montclair, New Jersey.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reel 4039 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Original returned to the lender, Greta Couper, after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Lent for microfilming 1988 by Greta Couper, Thomas Ball's great great grandaughter.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Related Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds the microfilmed Thomas Ball letter to Stilson Hutchins, 1888 March 30. The Massachusetts Historical Society holds the Thomas Ball letters, 1869-1882.

More Information

Other Finding Aids

Other Finding Aids
Index of signers prepared by the lender is on the microfilm.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Musicians Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sculptors Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Autograph albums Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davis, Charles H. (Charles Harold), 1856-1933 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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