Henry A. Schwedes Scrapbook Collection

Collection

Identifier: MG Schwedes-(Main)

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes six volumes of scrapbooks containing articles and pictures from various Newark newspapers: the Newark Sunday News, Newark Sunday Call, Newark Evening News, and the Newark Star-Ledger. The articles were printed between 1923 through 1951 and contain topics dating as far back as the 18th century. The articles are primarily about Newark but also include other New Jersey locales. There are many clippings of the Newark Sunday News column “When Newark Was Younger” written by Newark Public Library’s Principal New Jersey History Librarian, Miriam Studley. The scrapbooks also include stories and illustrations from “About New Jersey”, written for the New Jersey Bell Company’s monthly leaflet The Tel-News.

Dates

1923 - 1951
Majority of material found within 1936 - 1939
Majority of material found within 1949

Creator

Schwedes, Henry A. (Person)

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers wishing to publish, reproduce, or reprint materials from this collection must obtain permission.

Biographical / Historical

Henry Ami Schwedes (1888-1965) was born in Newark. He went to Newark Academy and graduated from Cornell University with a civil engineering degree. Schwedes moved to Irvington in 1906, where he served on the Board of Education and became known as a town historian who compiled material about Irvington history. Old photographs of Irvington collected by Schwedes are stored in the town’s public library, where he served on the Library Board of Trustees.

Schwedes was a Mason for 50 years, as a member of St. John’s Lodge in Newark (the oldest Masonic Lodge in New Jersey) as well as the Masonic Club of Irvington. He was also president of the Essex County School Businessmen’s Association. In 1921, he owned a one-hundred car garage in Newark. He is noted as a designer in the Newark Public Library’s Bookplate Collection. Schewedes is buried in Woodland Cemetery, Newark.

Extent

4.09 Linear Feet (6 Boxes) : 2 Half Hollinger Boxes, 4 Drop Front Medium Boxes (Main)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Henry A. Schwedes Scrapbook Collection includes scrapbooks containing newspaper articles and photos related to Newark and New Jersey history by various authors. Schwedes compiled clippings from the Newark Sunday News, Newark Sunday Call, Newark Evening News, and the Newark Star-Ledger.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The source of these scrapbooks is unknown.

Related Materials

Walter H. Van Hoesen Scrapbook Collection

John T. Cunningham Collection

Librariana - Charles F. Cummings Papers

Tel-News Collection

Processing Information

These scrapbooks were initially processed into the library’s general catalog. At some point they were bound, possibly by the library’s bindery. The scrapbooks were later moved out of the NJ Room periodicals collection when the section was overhauled in 2024.