Samuel M. Wilson Cakes and Ale Club records
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Samuel M. Wilson Cakes and Ale Club records
- Date
- 1922-1951, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Wilson, Samuel M. (Samuel Mackay), 1871-1946
- Extent
- 2.65 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Literature -- Societies, etc.
- Parties -- Literary collections.
- Rare books -- Collectors and collecting -- United States.
- Parties -- Kentucky -- Lexington.
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format.
- Preferred Citation
- 61W10: [identification of item] Samuel M. Wilson Cakes and Ale Club records, 1922-1951, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- The Cakes and Ale Club was a rare book appreciation society and dinner club started in 1922 by Lexington, Ky., attorney Samuel M. Wilson (1871-1946). The club was an often formal, men's only gathering of influential business owners, politicians, lawyers, and academics in Kentucky and surrounding states in which guests discussed rare books, rare book collecting and history. Club meetings were usually centered around themes and plots discussed in said books. The parties were by invitation only, and it was a practice of members to send elaborate responses regarding their attendance. The club disbanded in 1946 after Wilson's death in St. Louis, Mo., though members held a memorial service for him in 1947.
- Scope and Content
- The Samuel M. Wilson Cakes and Ale Club records (1922-1951, undated; 2.65 cubic feet; 7 boxes) comprise meeting planning, content and publicity documents relating to the Cakes and Ale Club in Lexington, Ky. The items detail Wilson’s creation of the Cakes and Ale Club, policies and procedures. Meeting planning materials hold correspondence and invitations to members and other guests, RSVP cards, seating charts, meeting agendas, and bills and receipts. Meeting content materials series has manuscripts of prose, poetry, speeches and song lyrics, books lists, and book plates. Publicity materials include pamphlets and news clippings. The collections also include photographs, objects related to the club meetings, and items related to a memorial event for Samuel M. Wilson held after his death. Items of note are a letter from Kentucky historian Thomas D. Clark; letters from Frank Jones, the manager of the Whitney Green Tree horse farm in Lexington, Ky., who organized a memorial for Wilson after the latter's death; a letter from archeologist and dean of the University of Kentucky’s Graduate School, William D. Funkhouser; and name tags from a George Washington-themed party with United States Vice President Alben W. Barkley.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact Special Collections.
Contents of the Collection
Artifacts, 1926-1946, undated
Scope and Contents
The Artifacts series contains envelopes with names, addresses, dates and other information about club meetings; a box containing address information used to hold photographs; a bag of name tags that are bells shaped as cherries, and an award given to a Cakes and Ale club member. The name tags come from a party thrown with United States Vice President Alben W. Barkley. Items within the series are arranged chronologically.
Binder
Box
Nametags, 1946, undated
Envelopes, 1926-1946
Envelopes, undated
Whiskey 'Antique' bottle in a medical book called Legal Medicine, 1929
- Box 8, item 1
Scope and Contents
The inscription reads "A gift from Dr. W. O. Bullock to Samuel M. Wilson at the annual 'Book Party' at Landover. 12th February 1929."
Correspondence, 1926-1947, undated
Scope and Contents
The Correspondence series comprises letters sent to and from Samuel Wilson, including letters sent to Kentucky historian Thomas D. Clark and Cakes and Ale Club member Frank Jones. Jones was the manager of the Whitney Green Tree horse farm in Lexington, Ky. Following Wilson's death, he organized the memorial for Wilson. Items within the series are arranged chronologically.
To and from Samuel M. Wilson, 1926-1934
To and from Samuel M. Wilson, 1935-1942
To and from Samuel M. Wilson, 1943-1947, undated
To Thomas D. Clark, 1940 October 10-23
To Frank Jones, 1947 January 24-30, undated
Meeting content, 1926-1947, undated
Scope and Contents
The Meeting content series comprises manuscripts of prose, poetry, party games, speeches and song lyrics, books lists, and book plates, and rare and antique book images, some sent from the Library of Congress. There is a manuscript of a speech about Stephen Foster, a folk songwriter from Kentucky who wrote the song "My Old Kentucky Home," that was presented by University of Pittsburgh curator Fletcher Hodges, Jr. to the Cakes and Ale Club. Items within the series arranged chronologically.
Book lists, 1926-1934
Book plates, undated
Manuscripts, 1937-1944, undated
Party games, 1929-1947, undated
Rare and antique book images, quotes, 1931, undated
Song lyrics, poetry, 1931-1945, undated
Speeches, 1930-1946, undated
Meeting planning, 1922-1951, undated
Scope and Contents
The Meeting planning series comprises correspondence and invitations to members and other guests, greeting cards, membership lists, RSVP cards, seating charts, meeting agendas, nametags, place cards, and bills and receipts. Items within the series are arranged chronologically.
Bills and receipts, 1922-1951, undated
Greeting cards, 1934-1939, undated
Guests and membership lists, 1930-1951, undated
Invitations, 1926-1947, undated
Meeting agendas, 1939-1944, undated
Nametags, undated
Notes, undated
Place cards, undated
RSVP cards, 1940 October 9-22, undated
Seating charts, 1926-1946, undated
Meeting publicity, 1926-1948, undated
Photographs, 1944-1946
Scope and Contents
The Photographs series contains photographs taken of Wilson, his family, and members of the Cakes and Ale Club, many by Lexington photographer Winston Coleman. The majority of photographs are of club meetings. There are also photographs of Wilson's house, Landover, taken around the Christmas holiday. The date on the back of the photographs suggest a date in which the items were stamped but may not be the date in which the events depicted occurred. Items are arranged chronologically.
Cakes and Ale Club members, 1944 February 25
Cakes and Ale Club dinner, 1944 February 25
Cakes and Ale Club dinner, reading, 1944 February 25
Cakes and Ale Club dinner, Samuel M. Wilson addressing group, 1944 February 25
Cakes and Ale Club members, 1944 February 25
Samuel M. Wilson and family at gravesite, 1944 October 12
Cakes and Ale Club dinner, 1945 February 23
Cakes and Ale Club dinner, Samuel M. Wilson reading, 1945 February 23
Samuel M. Wilson, 1945 February 23
Cakes and Ale Club members, 1945 February 23
Samuel M.Wilson (left), two unidentified men, taken at Walnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 1945 September 30
"Snow at Landover, Christmas 1945", 1945 December
Cakes and Ale Club dinner, 1946 February 22
Cakes and Ale Club members, 1946 February 22
Cakes and Ale Club members, Samuel M. Wilson at head of table, 1946 February 22
Samuel M. Wilson and Fletcher G. Hodges, 1946 February 22
"At Landover, The morning after", 1946 February 23
Robert L. Kincaid and Fletcher G. Hodges, at Landover, 1946 February 23
Robert L. Kincaid, Samuel M. Wilson and Fletcher G. Hodges, at Landover, 1946 February 22
Samuel M. Wilson, 1946 February 23
Samuel M. Wilson memorial, 1947-1948
- Box 6, folder 10
Scope and Contents
The Samuel M. Wilson memorial series comprises invitations and programs for events honoring Wilson after his death in 1946. Items are arranged chronologically.
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Table of Contents
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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
