Business Historical Society, Inc. records

The Business Historical Society, Inc. (BHS) was incorporated at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration (now Harvard Business School) in September, 1925 for the purpose of collecting, in one location, business records in order to encourage and broaden research into the history of business. American business was the main collecting focus of the Society but international records were also sought. George E. Woodbridge, a former Boston Globe journalist who had joined Dean Wallace Brett Donham’s staff in 1922 and been instrumental in the creation of Baker Library, and Charles H. Taylor, treasurer of the Boston Globe, met informally with other local businessmen as a “Committee on the Development of the Harvard Business Library.” This committee developed into the BHS. The founding members were Charles H. Taylor, President; Frederick H. Curtiss, Vice-president; Allan Forbes, Treasurer; and Edward H. Redstone, clerk. They, along with John E. Oldham, George A. Rich and George E. Woodbridge, made up the first board of trustees and council. Under terms of a contract with Harvard, the books and manuscripts collected by the BHS were housed at HBS. When the BHS was dissolved in 1953, its assets were transferred to Harvard University. Initially the BHS concentrated on acquiring books and manuscripts. The national economy was flourishing during the early years of the Society and gifts were generous. Of particular note very early in the BHS’s existence was the gift made by C.A. Moore, Jr. and his family to Baker Library of 50,000 books and 20,000 pamphlets. While always continuing to collect, the BHS soon expanded its focus to research and publication. In addition, fellowships were awarded for study at HBS from 1949 to 1953. The BHS began publishing the Bulletin of the Business Historical Society, Inc. in June, 1926, and it continued to appear until the Society folded in 1953. (It was succeeded by The Business History Review.) Another BHS publication, the Journal of Economic and Business History, was founded in November, 1928 but could not survive the Depression; the last issue was published in November, 1932. The first of the Harvard Studies in Business History series, conceived and organized by N.S.B. Gras, appeared in 1931. Seventeen titles were eventually published under the auspices of the BHS.