Research Catalog

W.R. Grace & Co. records

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Item details
Status	Container	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Tube Box 5	Mixed material	Use in library	MS#1414 Tube Box 5	Off-site
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Empresa Minera... (Box 127) [MN# 3910-1]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8296 Empresa Minera... (Box 127) [MN# 3910-1]	Off-site
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Empresa Minera... (Box 127) [MN# 3910-1]	Mixed material	Use in library	F d 8296 Empresa Minera... (Box 127) [MN# 3910-1]	Off-site

Description

Summary

The records of W.R. Grace & Co. cover the rise of the Grace shipping business from 1864 until World War II. The early correspondence concerns all aspects of the shipping business in New York and South America, mining interests in Peru and Chile, the railroad in Costa Rica, the inter-ocean canal planned for Nicaragua, and political interests throughout Central and South America. There are letter books, correspondence, and scrapbooks of clippings for all aspects of W.R. Grace's career. There are minute books and other documents for more than 50 subsidiary companies owned by W.R. Grace & Co. or by family members. The papers of Joseph Peter Grace (1872-1950) continue the business, family, and philanthropic activities until 1942. There are also 20 reels of motion picture film about the Grace Co. South American interests in the 1950s.
This wide-ranging collection of correspondence, administrative records, motion pictures, scrapbooks, and other materials details the development of the W.R. Grace & Co. shipping business as well as more than fifty other companies owned by the company or the Grace family. Apart from merchant and trade activities, prominent topics covered in the collection include mining, railroads, the construction of a trans-Isthmian canal, and South American, Central American, and United States politics.

Subject

Genre/Form

Note

Physical Characteristics / Technical Requirements: Material base and configuration--20 reels motion picture film

Access (note)

This collection has no restrictions.
The following boxes are located off-site: 1-164. You will need to request this material from the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Cite As (note)

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); W.R. Grace & Co. records; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Original Location (note)

Terms of Use (note)

Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Source (note)

Source of acquisition--W.R. Grace & Co. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1980. Accession number--M-80.
Historical Report, 1963-1972: Source of acquisition--Harper Collins. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--12/14/1990. Accession number--M-90-12-14.
Gift of W.R. Grace & Co., 1980 & 1985.
Gift of Harper Collins, 1990.

Biography (note)

William Russell Grace (1832-1904) and Michael Paul Grace (1842-1920) emigrated from Ireland during the 1850s and set up in business respectively in New York and Callao, Peru as ship's chandlers (boat supplies). They soon developed into shipping brokers and later owned their own fleet, the beginning of the present-day Grace Line. Grace companies were established in San Francisco and London. W.R. Grace was active in New York City politics (Mayor, 1881-1882, and 1885-1886), banking and insurance, real estate interests, and Catholic charities.

Processing Action (note)

OCLC

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries