Hiram Halle home movies of annual barbecue for University in Exile at Pound Ridge
Online Access
Available digital items: https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/collections/NA000801.
Abstract
The collection comprises two home movies made during the annual fall barbecue Halle held for members of the University in Exile and their families, as well as New School staff, on Halle's property in Pound Ridge, New York, in Poundridge, Westchester County.
Dates
- probably 1935, 1937
Creator
- Halle, Hiram J. (Producer, Person)
Extent
2 16mm Film (00:16:08 duration)
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of two home movies made at properties owned by Hiram Halle in Pound Ridge, New York: his residence, known as the White House (current address is 221 Trinity Pass Road), and the Old Mill (now at 17 Salem Road), a property Halle had renovated and used for entertaining, and where he also housed his collection of American folk art. In a letter of invitation to Albert Einstein, Halle described the affair as the “annual gathering at our home in Poundridge, Westchester County, where Dr. Alvin Johnson with the staff, professors and trustees of the 'University in Exile’ with their families come together for a pleasant day in the country at its most beautiful time to lunch on barbecued lamb in an old mill over a waterfall. This year [1938] it will be Saturday, October 8.” (Einstein declined the invitation, citing poor health.)
Source: From letters belonging to Peter H. Halle (Hiram’s great-nephew) and his sister, Titi Halle. Letters retained by donors and are not part of collection.
Language of Materials
Films are silent.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research use. The entire collection is available online through The New School Archives Digital Collections database. Researchers must use digital access copies. Access to films is restricted for reasons of preservation.
Conditions Governing Use
To publish these films (or assets thereof) in whole or in part, permission must be obtained in writing from the New School Archives and Special Collections. Please contact: archivist@newschool.edu.
Biographical note
Hiram J. Halle (1867–1944) was an American businessman, inventor, and philanthropist. He was also part owner of Gulf Oil company. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Halle dropped out of high school to work in his family's dry goods store. In 1933, Halle, along with the Rockefeller Foundation, provided the principal funding that helped New School president Alvin Johnson create the University in Exile at the New School, providing academic positions at the New School to scholars who had lost their positions under Hitler.
Halle moved to Pound Ridge, New York in 1929, and his work and patronage are considered key to the development of that community. Among other efforts, he provided support to struggling farmers during the Depression. In addition to his crucial help in the New School effort, Halle also brought a number of European Jewish exiles to Pound Ridge, giving them work restoring vintage homes in the area. Halle purchased more than thirty houses in the area, including a farm where he stored his renowned collection of American and English antiques. Thirteen of his homes are on the National Register of Historic Places.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Titi Halle and Peter H. Halle, 2015.
Existence and Location of Copies
The two films in this collection have been converted to digital files for researcher access (2 files in total).
- 16mm (photographic film size) (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- College trustees (Subject) Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Heimann, Eduard, 1889-1967
- Home movies (Type of Material) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Johnson, Alvin Saunders, 1874-1971
- Lederer, Emil, 1882-1939
- Mayer, Clara W., 1895-
- New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y. : 1919-1997). Graduate Faculty
- Philanthropists (Occupation) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Professors (Occupation) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Speier, Hans
- Staudinger, Hans, 1889-1980
- Universities and colleges -- New York (State) -- New York (Subject) (Places) Subject Source: Local sources
- Wertheimer, Max, 1863-1941
- Wunderlich, Frieda, 1884-1965
- Title
- Guide to the Hiram Halle home movies of annual barbecue for University in Exile at Pound Ridge
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- New School Archives and Special Collections
- Date
- May 31, 2016
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- June 4, 2019: New School Archives staff corrected URL to digitized moving images.