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Century Club of Indianapolis collection

 Collection
Identifier: L200

Scope and Contents

This collection includes correspondence, official records, newspaper articles, program listings and notices, membership proposals, and yearbooks from members of the Century Club in Indianapolis, Indiana and elsewhere in the United States ranging from 1889 to 1935 regarding club organization, membership, duties and activities of members.

Dates

  • 1889-1944

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.

Administrative History

The Century Club of Indianapolis was founded in December, 1888 by Alfred Fremont Potts, with 30 charter members, including: William C. Bobbs, Hilton U. Brown, James W. "Billy" Fesler, William Fortune, Allen Hendricks, William L. Taylor, Charles N. Thompson, and Evans Woollen. The club was organized "as a protest against exclusiveness and old fogyism in club life." It grew to around one hundred members, in addition to non-resident and two honorary members, F. Hopkinson Smith and James Whitcomb Riley. The Century Club had been affiliated with the Indiana Union of Literary Clubs since 1892. Members included Louis J. Bailey, Ernest P. Bicknell, Jacob Piatt Dunn, William P. "Pink" Fishback, John L. Griffiths, Meredith "Nick" Nicolson, and George Reisner, among others. The club originally met weekly on Tuesdays, though the meetings grew less frequent over time, and required members to present papers, of their own topic, regularly. Potential members were recommended by current members and then elected or rejected. Dues varied between $4.00 and $8.00, per annum.

There were frequent banquets (some in honor of Indiana writers) and outings and a guest night each month, which non-resident men and women were allowed to attend, upon the invitation of a member. Guest speakers included Anthony Hope Hawkins, author of Prisoner of Zenda.

Sources:

Information found within the collection.

Hendricks, Allen. "The First Years of the Century Club; A Paper." Indianapolis, IN: The Century Club, 1937.

Extent

1.35 Cubic Feet (4 manuscript boxes, 1 medium oversize folder)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

This collection is arranged by subject.

Custodial History

This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Louis J. Bailey on 1935/12/35 and other.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

Related Materials

Materials relating to this collection may be found in the following collections in Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN:

OB232: Century Club of Indianapolis, Grace Giddings Julian diploma

Processing Information

Collection processing completed 2015/11/25 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid created 2015/11/25 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid revised 2021/11/02 by Lauren Patton.
Title
Century Club of Indianapolis collection
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671