Guide to the James H. and Candace Van Alen papers, 1746-2002 and undated

(bulk 1949-1991)

Redwood Library and Athenaeum
50 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Tel: (401) 847-0292
Fax: (401) 841-5680
email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Published in 2014

Collection Overview

Title:	James H. and Candace Van Alen papers
Date range:	1746-2002 and undated, (bulk 1949-1991)
Creator:	Van Alen, James H., 1902-1991
Extent:	102 linear feet (32 records boxes, 4 document cases, 4 half document cases, 12 small flat boxes, 49 oversize flat boxes, 2 textile boxes)
Abstract:	James H. Van Alen (1902-1991) and Candace Van Alen (1912-2002), were a well-known high society couple who were instrumental in establishing the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. This collection consists of personal records, correspondence, published and unpublished writings, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, audiovisual materials, artifacts, and textiles which document the lives, interests, and residences of James H. Van Alen and Candace Van Alen both separately and as a couple.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	Redwood Library and Athenaeum
Collection number:	RLC.Ms.003

Scope & content

This collection consists of personal records, correspondence, published and unpublished writings, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, audiovisual materials, artifacts, and textiles which document the lives, interests, and residences of James H. Van Alen and Candace Van Alen both separately and as a couple. Also included are materials related to ancestors of the Van Alens, including the Alig, Astor, Baird, Van Alen, and Vanderbilt families.

Due to the arrangement of this collection into thirteen series, it is possible that information concerning a particular topic of interest may be found within various series throughout the collection.

Access Points

Subject Names

• Van Alen, Candace A., 1912-2002
• Bruguiere, Margaret L. Post Van Alen, 1877-1969
• Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969
• Moore, Clement Clark, 1779-1863. Night before Christmas
• Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
• Van Alen, James Henry, 1819-1886
• Van Alen, James John, 1846-1923
• Van Alen, James Laurens, 1878-1927

Subject Organizations

• National Tennis Foundation and Hall of Fame
• United States Tennis Association

Subject Topics

• Nonprofit organizations--Rhode Island--Newport
• Pheasant shooting
• Tennis--History--Rhode Island--Newport

Geographical Names

• Avalon (Newport, R.I.)
• Europe--Destination and travel
• Newport Casino (Newport, R.I.)
• Newport (R.I.)--History
• Newport (R.I.)--Social life and customs
• Penny Pond (Greenvale, N.Y.)
• South America--Description and travel
• Wakehurst (Newport, R.I.)

Subject Topics

• Rhode Island/Local Interest
• Social Life and Customs

Document Types

• Address books
• Artifacts
• Calendars
• Certificates
• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Essays
• Financial records
• Genealogies (histories)
• Greeting cards
• Invitations
• Letters (correspondence)
• Lists
• Long playing records
• Magazines (periodicals)
• Memorabilia
• Negatives (photographic)
• Photographs
• Poems
• Postcards
• Programs (documents)
• Scrapbooks
• Slides (photographs)
• Telegrams

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series and subseries:

• Series 1. Personal records, 1746-2002
• Subseries A. Candace Van Alen, 1912-2002
• Subseries B. John Henry Van Alen, 1922-2001
• Subseries C. Van Alen family, 1746-1996
• Series 2. Residences, 1889-2002
• Series 3. Correspondence, 1842-2002
• Subseries A. Candace Van Alen, 1927-2002
• Subseries B. Family, Friends, Business, 1842-1992
• Subseries C. Tennis friends, 1922-1991
• Series 4. Writings, 1918-2001
• Subseries A. Candace Van Alen, 1925-2001
• Subseries B. James H. Van Alen, 1918-1991
• Subseries C. Joint writings: Behind the Lines column, 1939-1961
• Series 5. Tennis, 1919-1992
• Series 6. Projects, 1938-2001
• Series 7. Clippings, 1918-2000
• Series 8. Political interests, 1941-2001
• Series 9. Clubs, 1948-2000
• Series 10. Photographs, circa 1860s-2002 and undated
• Subseries A. Family, circa 1860s-2002
• Subseries B. Residences, 1895-1997
• Subseries C. Snapshots, 1915-1976 and undated
• Subseries D. Social gatherings, 1890s-1990s
• Subseries E. Tennis, circa 1890s-1990s
• Subseries F. Slides, 1955-1962 and undated
• Subseries G. Negatives, undated
• Series 11. Scrapbooks, 1900-1983
• Series 12. Audiovisual, 1942-1956 and undated
• Series 13. Artifacts, textiles, and miscellaneous, circa 1945-1946 and undated

Biographical note

James “Jimmy” Henry Van Alen (1902-1991) was born on September 19, 1902, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the eldest son of James Laurens (1878-1927) and Margaret Louise Post Van Alen (1877-1969), who was a relative of the Vanderbilt family and commonly referred to as “Daisy.” James H. Van Alen had two younger siblings: William Laurens (1907-2009) and Louise Astor (Van Alen) Saunderson (1917-2004). His grandfather, James John Van Alen (1846-1923), married into the Astor family with his 1876 marriage to Emily Astor (1854-1881), making James H. Van Alen a very socially connected man in both New York and Newport’s social circles. His paternal grandparents built the summer cottage, Wakehurst, in Newport in the 1880s, and the Van Alens lived between there and homes in New York, England, and France. James H. Van Alen attended Cambridge University and graduated in 1924, during which time he played on their tennis team, a sport he played and enjoyed since the age of five. He continued to be an avid tennis player throughout his life and was a national single and doubles champion in tennis. In October 1929, he married his first wife, Eleanor Langley (b. 1902) and had two children: James Langley (1931-2008) and Samuel T. (1934-1970). The couple later divorced in 1948. With the start of World War II, James H. Van Alen enlisted in the United States Navy and worked for the Navy’s Book and Magazine Section before running a rest camp in England. He was discharged from the Navy on March 2, 1949.

Candace Baird Alig Van Alen (1912-2002) was born on March 28, 1912, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Otto Fidele (c. 1882-1933) and Candace May Baird Alig (1888-1972), and had a younger brother, Baird Alig (1914-1918), who did not survive past childhood. Candace, or Candy as she was known, spent her childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, and was tutored at home until she was sent to Rosemary Hall, a boarding school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Candy attended Vassar College, where she majored in political science and economics and after her graduation in 1932, she began post graduate studies at Columbia University, Radcliffe College, and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. In 1937, she married Kevin Cox Vanderlip (1912-1956) of New York. The couple divided their time between New York and their Palos Verdes Ranch in California. Candy began a career as a public relations account executive for a New York firm and was also involved in much charity work. The Vanderlips divorced in 1945 and at this time, Candy began her journalism career. She first worked as a correspondent for El Universal, Mexico’s largest newspapers, and represented them at a United Nations meeting in San Francisco. During World War II, she served as war correspondent for the International News Service and was stationed in Paris until the end of 1946. Upon her return to N.Y. in 1947, she became assistant to the editor and editorial writer for the New York Herald Tribune, a position she held until 1948.

The Van Alens met at a cocktail party in New York and were soon married on November 8, 1948. Throughout their forty-three year marriage, they became known as a high society couple recognized for their involvement in a multitude of activities and organizations. They owned a variety of residences including Penny Pond in Greenvale, N.Y., an apartment in Madrid, a condo in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and their primary residence, Avalon, in Newport. The couple enjoyed working together and for years wrote a joint newspaper column, “Between the Lines,” that was published nationally. In 1953, they began an annual reading of Clement C. Moore’s, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” at Moore’s Newport summer home. The Van Alens hoped to turn this house into a Christmas museum, but this endeavor was never realized. They did continue their annual readings and in 1958, Jimmy wrote an introduction and addendum to the famous poem, which he also recited during their annual readings. They also worked to return the Newport Casino to its former position as the center of civic and social activity as well as establishing a Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1954, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which operated at the Newport Casino, was established. This is commonly seen as their greatest contribution to society.

Besides their work together, the Van Alens continued to work on individual projects and their own interests. James H. Van Alen made a major contribution to the game of tennis with his development of the Van Alen Streamlined Scoring System (VASSS). This system advocated a sudden death tie breaker for the game and his system eventually evolved into the best of twelve tie breaks seen in tennis matches today. He also spent time composing his own poems and music, and was actively involved with the Republican Party. Candace Van Alen served as contributing editor to Vogue for eight years and had a “How To” column in the New York Daily News and the Chicago Syndicate. She also served as chairman or committee member for various organizations including the International Debutante Ball, April in Paris Ball in N.Y., the International Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, Florida, and the American Scottish Foundation.

James H. Van Alen died on July 3, 1991, after suffering from a fall at his Newport home. Candace Van Alen lived on to the age of ninety, passing away on February 12, 2002. The couple is interred at the Berkeley Memorial Cemetery in Middletown, Rhode Island.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Use of the materials:	This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Preferred citation:	James H. and Candace Van Alen papers, RLC.Ms.003, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Contact information:	Redwood Library and Athenaeum 50 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 02840 Tel: (401) 847-0292 Fax: (401) 841-5680 email: redwood@redwoodlibrary.org

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Gift of the estate of Candace Van Alen, 2002
Processing information:	When this collection was first received in 2002, it consisted of 86 boxes (63 record boxes, 21 oversize flat file boxes, and two textile boxes). One section of this acquisition was highly organized, while the other was in a state of disarray. The organized part of the collection was the result of the work completed by a private secretary, hired by Candace Van Alen sometime after the death of her husband, to arrange his papers. This secretary, who remains unknown, created a meticulous filing system for these records. Each individual item was enclosed in a page protector and labeled with information such as the series it belonged in, the date, and a description of its contents. All of the items in page protectors have a smaller label on the reverse side with an ID number for the document. (These numbers may have served a purpose during the secretary’s work with the records, but this is unapparent in the collection’s current arrangement.) Each item was then placed within a file folder and then housed in a vertical hanging folder – all labeled with a description of the contents and the series created by the secretary. Photographs that were found within documents were oftentimes separated and could be found within the series of photographs. Volunteers and staff at the Redwood Library first began processing this collection in 2005. At this time, they replaced the file folders and vertical file folders with archival folders. The second part of the collection, which was not in any discernable order when acquired by the Library, was surveyed and sorted according to records pertaining to James H. Van Alen, Candace Van Alen, and the two of them as a couple. The series arrangement established by Van Alen's secretary was maintained with additions made in order to accommodate the records belonging primarily to Candace Van Alen. Processing of the collection was incomplete, leaving the bulk of Candace Van Alen's records and photographs to be organized and arranged. A preliminary finding aid for the collection was drafted, which served as the framework for this current version of the finding aid for the James H. and Candace Van Alen papers. During the 2014 arrangement of this collection, box numbers and folders were assigned to all of the previously processed records. Materials that were not yet arranged were sorted and interfiled according to the series and subseries structure established by the previous archivists and the Van Alen secretary. Photographs were arranged according to approximate date ranges, in interest of time, and not further described according to their image contents as seen in earlier processing efforts.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Delmage.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Elizabeth Delmage 2014 March 19
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor:	Funding for processing and cataloging this collection was provided by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation.

Additional Information

Related material:	Murphy collection of Van Alen papers, RLC.Ms.036, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
Separated material:	This donation included ten boxes of published books which have been separated from this collection.
Bibliography:	Dwight, Eleanor. . Tie breaker : Jimmy Van Alen and Tennis in the 20th Century. New York: Maria Teresa Train, 2010.

Inventory

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