Main content
Benjamin Strong Collection
Notifications
Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Benjamin Strong was a prominent New York banker who was instrumental in the foundation and success of the Federal Reserve Bank. Born in 1872 in Fishkill-on-Hudson, New York, Strong attended high school in Montclair, New Jersey. He was hired at a private banking firm and later served as Assistant Secretary of the Atlantic Trust Company of New York and Secretary of the Metropolitan Trust Company of New York. In 1904, he became Secretary of the Bankers Trust Company, where he was subsequently elected Vice President, director, and President. In 1914, he left the company to become Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which was still in its developmental stages. As head of the Federal Reserve system, he was influential in the country's post-World War I economic recovery and in the creation of lasting fiscal policies. Strong died in 1928 of tuberculosis.
Contains records pertaining to the former Benjamin Strong Collection of Foreign Public Finance in Princeton University Library, which was funded by Strong with the objective of acquiring books and original source material chronicling the development of foreign public finance, central banking, and international trade. Included are correspondence (1925-1950) of librarians Laura S. Turnbull and James Thayer Gerould, bulletins, reports, committee files, and requests to foreign countries for related publications. Also present are selected personal files of Strong, containing correspondence and lists (1917-1919) concerning his collection of war currency and posters, and notes and reports regarding foreign debts and reparations in the post-World War I period.
This collection was acquired through a transfer from the Princeton University Library. It is unclear from available information when this transfer occurred.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
An EAD finding aid was created in 2006 by Cristela Garcia-Spitz. A collection level description and inventory were created in Archivists Toolkit in 2008.Biography written by Jessica Marati, '08.
No information about appraisal is available for this collection.
People
Organization
Subject
- Bankers -- United States -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- Banks and banking -- United States -- 20th century
- Banks and banking, Central -- United States -- 20th century
- Debts, Public -- Belgium -- 20th century
- Debts, Public -- France -- 20th century
- Debts, Public -- Germany -- 20th century
- Finance, Public -- Europe -- 20th century
- Finance, Public -- United States -- History -- 20th century
- Librarians -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 20th century -- Correspondence
- World War, 1914-1918 -- Reparations
Place
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Date
- 2001
- Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Serie I: Benjamin Strong World War I Files consists of selected materials collected by Strong on war currency, debts of foreign countries and German debts and reparations.
The materials in this series are grouped by subject: war currency and posters, foreign debts, and German debts and reparations.
Physical Description4 boxes
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
Includes memoranda and other papers by Edwin W. Kemmerer.
Physical Description2 boxes
Series II: "Benjamin Strong Collection" contains documents and reports on the funding and development of the Benjamin Strong Collection of Foreign Public Finance including correspondence between the Princeton University Librarians related to sourcing and obtaining materials for building up the collection.
The materials in this series are arranged by type of documentation: Cartels, Bibliographies, LIsts, and Notes; Committee correspondence and reports; Librarian's files; Bulletins, lists and memoranda; Requests for outside publiscations; and Miscellaneous materials.
Physical Description13 boxes
3 boxes
Includes letters to and from Edwin W. Kemmerer.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
Includes letters and memoranda to and from Edwin W. Kemmerer.
Physical Description1 item
3 boxes
4 boxes
2 boxes