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John Houston
Finley Archive
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John Houston Finley (1863-1940) was an
educator, editor and author. After
serving as president of his alma mater,
Knox College, he served with distinction
in a number of posts: Chair of Politics
at Princeton, President of City College
of New York, New York State Commissioner
of Education and Associate Editor and
finally, Editor-in-Chief of The New
York Times from 1921 until his
retirement in 1938. The following items
are correspondence to Dr. Finley and
also to his widow, and the Publisher of
The New York Times upon his
death.
 363. Woodrow Wilson
(1856-1924) 28th President. 7 ¾” x 10 ¼”
typed letter signed, October 14, 1897,
Princeton, New Jersey, to Dr. Finley. “…It
puts a strain on my heart to
be
forever saying Nay to a man for whom I
have an unmistakable affection... Your
Founders Day date is out of the question
for me ... As the late General
Washington used to
say, I am ‘tied by the leg’ these bad days, when a man is given more
work to do than he can do wisely or
thoroughly… You have in me,
nevertheless, a warm admirer of Knox and
the Knoxites I have known….”
Wilson was, at this time, professor of
jurisprudence and
political economy at Princeton.
$300
to $500
 364. Samuel S. McClure
(1857-1949) Editor and social reformer.
He published McClure’s Magazine,
the first of the “muckraking”
publications. 8” x 10” typed letter
signed, McClure’s Magazine, April 22,
1903, to Dr. Finley. “…This is to
tell you how much I approve of your
course in accepting the presidency of
the College of the City of New
York… I have no doubt that within ten
years you will be at the head of a
university with an
endowment fund of fifty million dollars… You have now the greatest
opportunity of any young man in
your profession in the United
States….”
$100 to $200
 365. Grover Cleveland
(1837-1908) 22nd and 24th
President. 5” x 6 ½” autograph letter
signed, Westland, February 5, 1905, to
Mrs. Martha Finley. “…I am
ashamed when I confess that I am a
little bit ‘out of sorts’ this morning,
and must therefore deny myself the
pleasure of dining with as I expected to
do….” A break in the fold. The
envelope
addressed by Cleveland is included.
$300 to $500
 366. Arthur Hays Sulzberger
(1891-1968) Publisher. Sulzberger became
the president and publisher of The
New York Times in 1935, he retired
in 1961 and became chairman of the
board. Three items: 7 ¼” x 10 ½”
autograph letter signed, personal
stationery, October 18, 1936, to Dr.
Finley. “… Will
 you... accept this
note as collateral until I am able to
redeem it with a shake of your hand and
my affectionate greetings? We’ve had
many useful and fruitful years
together - I hope there will be many,
many more….” Also 7 ¼” x 10 ¼” typed
letter signed by Sulzberger and thirteen
others, The New York Times, October 19,
1938, to Dr. Finley. “…It is
customary in celebrating a birthday to
be greeted by one's friends. This we do in full measure ... we learn with
much happiness that your many
months of illness are now rapidly
drawing to an end…” Others signing
include Alexander Dana Noyes
(1862-1945) financial journalist,
Edwin James (1890-1951)
reporter, Anne O’Hare McCormick,
Waldemar Kaempffert (1877-1956)
science editor and nine other members of
The Times management. Includes a
4” x 2 ¼”
autograph note, to Dr. Finley, written
and signed by Anne O'Hare McCormick.
$100 to $200
 367. Helen Keller
(1880-1968) Author and campaigner for
the blind. 7 ¼” x 10 ½” typed letter
signed in pencil, 2 pages, Hotel
Chatham, March 7, 1940, to Mrs. Martha
Finley.
“…Out
of the fullness of my heart I clasp your
hand in a sorrow both cruel and
beautiful.
It
hurts me, who know the depths of
loneliness, to think of your torn soul
and the void
which Dr. Finley’s going has left in your life… Not only are you now
encircled by a spiritual light,
the light Dr. Finley dwelt on so
tenderly in his message at my teacher’s
funeral. You will also be strengthened
by his memory…New York will never be the
same to us, blind or seeing,
without one whose faith in his fellowman
has made us the better for
knowing him… With sympathy too deep for
words, in which Polly
 Thomson joins, I
am….”
$1,000
to $1,800
 368. Ida M. Tarbell
(1857-1944) Writer. Tarbell wrote for
McClure’s Magazine, she was a
“muckraking journalist” whose most
important assignment was an inquiry into
the oil interests of John D. Rockefeller
which resulted in her two volume work,
The History of the Standard Oil
Company. 6” x 7” autograph letter,
in a very shaky hand, signed “Ida,”
personal stationery, April 26, 1940,
to Mrs. Finley. “…Only a word to tell
you that I am
thinking of you and Ellen… I should have
dictated you a note but Mr. Wolfe is in
hospital… Forgive my scrawl - Mr.
Parkinson fault….” Includes
an unsigned
 telegram from Tarbell to
Mrs. Finley, March 7, 1940, “…I feel
as if a prop had gone, from
my life….”
$150 to $250
 369. Elmer Davis
(1890-1958) News commentator. Davis was
a writer, columnist and Peabody Award
winning news commentator. 7 ¼” x 10 ½”
typed letter signed, Columbia
Broadcasting System, Inc., March 13,
1940, to Mrs. Finley. “…It's a
pity that people like that can't live
forever,- yet what more can a man ask
than to spend the
afternoon at the office, and then go
home and die in his sleep? Once in a
while God is just….”
$100 to $200
 370. George Albert Smith
(1870-1951) Youth leader and head of the
Mormon Church. 8 ½” x 11” typed letter
signed, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, March 8, 1940, to
Mrs.
Finley. “… I sympathize with
you deeply in the bereavement that has
come… you have been blessed with the
companionship of one of our Father’s
choicest sons who has lived a long and
useful life... Believing as I do in
eternal life and the and the assurance
of reunion
with
loved ones on the other side of the
veil, I am hopeful that in due time ...
I may have the companionship
again of John H. Finley….”
$100 to $200
 371. William C. Menninger
(1899-1966) Psychiarist. Menninger was
one of the nation's leading figures in
the fight against mental illness. 8 ½” x
11” typed letter signed, The Menninger
Clinc, March 8, 1940, to Mrs. Finley.
“…It is a tremendous shock to me to
learn… of the passing of Mr. Finley… I
want to join with an unlimited host of
his friends to
express my appreciation of him to you,
and too my. sense of loss in
his passing….”
$100 to $200
 372. Harry Emerson Fosdick
(1878-1969) Author, preacher and
churchman. Fosdick was the pastor of New
York's Riverside Church. 5 ¼” x 3 ¼”
autograph note signed, personal
stationery, front and back, March 16,
1940, to Mrs. Finley. “…I have
been
thinking of you since Mr. Finley walked
away into the
 unseen. His friendship
will always remain one of my
cherished treasures….”
$100 to $200
 373. John Foster Dulles
(1888-1959) Lawyer, politician,
statesman. Dulles served as
Eisenhower’s Secretary of State. 6” x 9”
typed letter signed, personal
stationery, March 15, 1940, to
Arthur H. Sulzberger. “…I was greatly
grieved at Dr. Finlay’s death. He was a
fine man, with great breath of vision
and understanding….”
$100 to $200
 374. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
(1874-1960) Industrialist. 6” x 8” typed
letter signed, Rockefeller Center, March
8, 1940, to Mrs. Finley. “…The going
of your dear husband
brings to an end a life of extraordinary
usefulness in a variety of fields…Above
all, he was a friendly man -
kindly, sympathetic and understanding….”
$100 to $200
 375.
Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884-1962) First Lady. 6” x 9” typed
letter signed, The White House, March 8,
1940, to Mrs. Finley. “…The President
and I were greatly distressed to read of
your sad loss… Mr. Finley was such a
wonderful person… I know he will be a
great loss, not only to you but to many
people, his life will be an
inspiration….” There is a correction
in her hand.
$150
to $250
 376. Cordell
Hull
(1871-1955) Lawyer, congressman, U.S.
Senator and Secretary of State. 7” x 9”
typed letter signed, The Secretary of
State, March 8, 1940, to Mrs. Finley.
“…Dr. Finley’s life was a
continuation of unselfish and splendid
service to the people of the nation and
his truly great work in the
fields of education and literature will
endure in the memories of all….”
$100 to $200
 377. Henry Morgenthau, Jr.
(1891-1967) Secretary of the Treasury.
6” x 8 ¼” typed letter signed, The
Secretary of the Treasury, March 8,
1940, to Mrs. Finley. “…Your
distinguished husband will be greatly
missed, both as an outstanding
personality and as a
leader in the many organizations and
activities in which he took such an able
part….”
$100
to $200
 378.
James A. Farley (1888-1976)
Postmaster General. Two typed letter
signed: 7” x 9”, The Postmaster General,
March 11, 1940, to Mrs. Finley. “…A was
indeed shocked when I noted in the
newspapers the account of your husband's
death…,” and a 7” x 9”, The Postmaster
General, March 9, 1940, to Arthur Hays
Sulzberger. “…Dr. Finley was an
outstanding American and while with the
New York Times he indeed made a notable
contribution to the public’s knowledge
through your paper….”
$100 to
$200 |
