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Hiram Halle home movies of annual barbecue for University in Exile at Pound Ridge

 Collection
Identifier: NA-0008-01

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

Extent

2 16mm Film (00:16:08 duration)

Additional Description

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).

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

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.