Overview
This collection chiefly chronicles Henry Edwards Scott, Jr. (1900-1990) studies in the fields of chemistry, engineering sciences, English, mathematics, physics, and music at Harvard University primarily from 1918 to 1922, and his participation in student organizations including the Pi Eta Club and the Harvard Glee Club. A drawing and a commercial advertisement demonstrate Scott’s career as an artist.
Dates
- Creation: 1918-1972
Researcher Access
Open for research with the following exception: Personnel and student records are closed for 80 years. Specific restrictions are noted in the finding aid.
Extent
2.22 cubic feet ((5 document boxes, 2 flat boxes, 1 accordion folder, 1 portfolio folder) )This collection chiefly chronicles Scott’s studies at Harvard University primarily from 1918 to 1922, and his participation in student organizations. Scott’s lecture notes, reading lists, and examinations in the fields of chemistry, engineering sciences, English, mathematics, and physics provide a glimpse into the instruction that students received at Harvard University and illuminate the subject matter covered in his courses. Also, Scott’s lecture notes for Problems and Issues of the War, required of all freshman and sophomore students in the Student Army Training Corps and Naval Unit at Harvard, highlight how World War I overshadowed student life at Harvard. The course acquainted students with the historical and economic causes of the war.
Illustrated in the collection is Scott’s involvement in extra-curricular activities and interest in the performing arts while at Harvard. The Harvard University Register (1921) lists Scott’s membership in several Harvard student organizations including The Musical Club of Harvard, the Harvard Glee Club, the Harvard Banjo Club (violin), the Harvard Guitar and Mandolin Club (violin), and the Pi Eta Society. Compilations of one-act plays found in Harvard Plays, The 47 Workshop (1923) and Harvard Plays, The Harvard Dramatic Club (1924) and theatre programs reveal Scott’s involvement in Harvard theatrical productions. Black-and-white photographs chronicle Scott’s participation in plays performed by the Pi Eta Club (1921-1922) and in musical performances with the Harvard Glee Club (1921-1922) including two panoramic photographs of the Harvard Glee Club visiting Washington, D.C. (1920) and the White House (1922).
A small amount of material reveals Scott’s later career as an artist including a drawing by Scott of an arrangement of Harvard buildings found in the Harvard Alumni Bulletin (1947). In addition, the collection includes a front and back cover from the Harvard Bulletin (June 1972). On the back cover is an advertisement for the Boston Five Cents Savings Bank which contains a photograph of an unidentified art dealer holding a painting and recommending the bank to readers. Presumably, the art dealer pictured is Henry E. Scott.
Biographical note for Henry Edwards Scott
Henry Edwards Scott, Jr. (1900-1990) was an art historian, educator, portrait painter, and violinist. Scott received his AB (1922) and MA (1946) from Harvard University. After graduation Scott was a tutor and lecturer on Venetian painting at Harvard and Radcliffe College (1923-1926), an instructor in the history of art and assistant director of the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester (1928-1929), assistant professor of fine arts at the University of Pittsburgh (1929-1934), and an associate professor of fine arts at Amherst College (1935-1943). During World War II, Scott served in the United States Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander in naval aviation (1943-1945). After the war, Scott taught at the University of Kansas City, Missouri, first as an associate professor of art to 1959, then as a full professor until his retirement in 1970.
Scott’s art career encompassed portrait drawings and paintings including murals, abstracts, and watercolors. His works were exhibited in such places as Cambridge, Boston, and Amherst, Massachusetts; New York and Rochester; Pittsburgh; Kansas City, Missouri; and Martha’s Vineyard. Scott was a member of several local area art organizations including the Cambridge Art Association (1947), the Mid-America Artist Association (1950-1955), and the Municipal Art Commission of Kansas City, Missouri (1954-1969). Scott traveled extensively, mainly to Europe and the Mediterranean. After retiring, with his wife Margaret, Scott led groups of students and adults on historical, art, and educational tours in Europe, journeying to sites in Greece, Scotland, Italy, and Austria. Music was also an essential part of Scott’s life. As a violinist, he participated in many orchestral and chamber music groups including the Kansas City University String Orchestra and string quartets on Martha’s Vineyard.
Scott married Margaret C. Gustin (1905-1994) on November 9, 1926. They had four children: Henry E. (born 1931), Anne (born 1934), Sarah Chapman (born 1936), and Jonathan Fletcher (born 1939).
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in four series:
- Harvard University course materials, 1918-1921
- Harvard University related publications, 1919-1972
- Pi Eta Club theatre programs, 1920-1925
- Photographs, 1920-1922, 1947
Acquisition information
The Harvard University Archives received the Henry Edwards Scott personal archive in two accessions from Sarah Scott Cook:
- Accession number: 14986; 2004 February 24.
- Accession number: 17206; 2005 September 15.
References
- Scott, Henry Edwards, Jr. Harvard Class of 1922, Fiftieth Anniversary Report. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed for the Class, 1972.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2022 April 20.
Processing Information
The Henry Edwards Scott personal archive was processed in July 2018 by Dominic P. Grandinetti. Processing included rehousing materials in the appropriate containers, the establishment of a series hierarchy, and the creation of this finding aid. Folder titles and dates supplied by the archivist appear in brackets.
Processing and arrangement details of each series are noted at the series level.
Subject
- Harvard Glee Club -- Photographs (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Alumni and alumnae (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Curricula (Organization)
- Harvard University -- Students -- Societies, etc. -- Photographs (Organization)
- Pi Eta Society (Harvard University) -- Photographs (Organization)
- Title
- Scott, Henry Edwards, 1900- . Henry Edwards Scott personal archive, 1918-1972 : an inventory
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua32018
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu