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George Glen Gould and Florence Holden Gould papers

1955-03-0

 Collection
Identifier: 1955-03-0

Scope and Contents

The George Glen Gould and Florence Holden Gould papers (1955-03-0, 1.25 linear feet) document the activities of a New York City couple whose activities centered around their appreciation of period furniture, silks, rugs, and other interior design topics. The collection also includes genealogical information related to several descendents of Judge James Gould of Litchfield, Conn. The papers include correspondence, drafts and published versions of articles, photographs, research files, and other items. George Glen Gould (1870-1955) was born in Georgia, a son of William Tracy Gould (1800-1882) and Virginia Hunter Gould (1833- ). William Tracy Gould was a son of James Gould (1770-1838), who was a lawyer, judge, and bank president. He was also a lecturer at the Litchfield Law School and was its head from 1820 to 1833. G. Glen Gould married Florence Holden (1870- ) of Elizabeth, N.J. They had no children. In the early 1920s, as a businessman and officer of James McGreery & Co., a New York City department store, he was a pioneer in the then-new field of retail sales training. In 1923, he left McCreery's to provide sales training and interior design services as a consultant. From the 1910s through the 1930s, Mr. and Mrs. Gould authored individually or together dozens of articles on period furniture, rugs, lighting, and silk, that were published as monographs or in such magazines as Charm, Furniture Age, and House and Garden. The collection contains drafts and published versions of their work and a number of photographs used for research and illustrations. Of particular interest is correspondence and articles relating to the 1916-1917 development and construction of the Shakespeare Garden in New York City's Central Park. The Goulds appear to be the instigators of the garden, and it was recevied to great acclaim and imitated elsewhere in the world. Florence Holden Gould taught at the New York School of Interior Decoration, and there are some materials which relate to her activities there. She also enjoyed minor success as a playwright, using the pseudonym Paul Harness, as evidenced by programs for her play, A Matter of Money, performed in 1910 and 1911 starring Elsie Ferguson. Some of her working documents are found in the papers. The collection also contains genealogical files and research relating to George Glen Gould's uncle Edward Sherman Gould (1805-1885), E. S. Gould's daughter-in-law Evelyn Fisk Gould (1878-1967), and other members of the Gould family.

Dates

  • created: 1777-1957
  • Other: Date acquired: 03/06/1955

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Extent

1.25 Linear Feet

3 document boxes other_unmapped

Language of Materials

English

Source of Acquisition

Florence Holden Gould

Method of Acquisition

Gift

Existence and Location of Originals

multi-part note content

Related Materials

multi-part note content

Other Descriptive Information

This collection was processed with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Title
George Glen Gould and Florence Holden Gould papers
Author
Leith Johnson
Date
05/03/2013
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Litchfield Historical Society Repository

Contact:
7 South Street
P.O. Box 385
Litchfield CT 06759
860-567-4501
860-567-3565 (Fax)