Call Number:

003.143

Repository:

Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections

Extent:

0.01 linear ft. (1 folder )

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Letters to Henry T. Coates (HCS.003.143) Quaker and Special Collections, Haverford College, Haverford, PA.

Date:

1886-1892 (inclusive)

Creator:

Comfort, Howard, Gummere, Francis Barton (1855-1919), and Garrett, Philip C. (Philip Cresson), 1834-1905

Form:

letters (correspondence)

Abstract:

The collection contains 17 handwritten letters from various sources to Henry T. Coates.

Henry T. Coates (1843-1910) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to George Morrison Coates and Anna Troth. Coates attended Haverford College from 1858 to 1862, serving as the editor of The Bud and The Collegian, campus newspapers. In 1866, Henry Coates became a partner at the Davis, Porter and Company publishing house, which was renamed Porter and Coates upon the retirement of one of the former members. Coates continued to work for Porter and Coates until the death of his partner, Robert Porter, in 1899, after which Coates assumed full control and renamed the firm Henry T. Coates and Co. Coates married Estelle Barton Lloyd in 1874 and was appointed vice-president of the Haverford Alumni Association in 1881. He died on January 22, 1910.

The collection contains 17 handwritten letters from various sources to Henry T. Coates. While earlier letters are focused on personal matters and thanking Coates for favors, later ones primarily concern the publication of A History of Haverford College for the First Sixty Years of its Existence. The detailed account was written by Phillip C. Garrett and John G. Bullock with help from the Haverford Alumni Association, of which Coates was a member. As the co-owner of a prominent Philadelphia-based publishing company, Coates was choosen to oversee its publication. As such, multiple letters thank him for sending advanced copies of the book, as well as suggesting changes to fix errors in accuracy. Notable correspondents include Phillip C. Garrett, Howard Comfort and Francis B. Gummere.

The letters are arranged chronologically beginning with the one dated February 10, 1886 and ending with the one dated September 20, 1892.