Papers of James S. Schramm - Special Collections - The University of Iowa Libraries

MsC 354

Manuscript Register

PAPERS OF JAMES S. SCHRAMM

Collection Dates: 1932 -- 1979
19 linear ft.

This document describes a collection of materials held by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu

Posted to Internet:October 2002
Addenda: May 1976, July 1979, September 2003

Acquisition Note: James S. Schramm donated his papers to the University of Iowa Libraries in 1972.

Access and Restrictions:This collection is open for research.

Audio/Visual Materials: Long play record, box 28

Photographs: Box 12, Box 15, Box 17, Box 20 and Box 26.

Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department.

Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on "Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials"

Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement.

Biographical Note

James Siegmund Schramm was born in Burlington, Iowa, on February 4, 1904. He attended public schools in Burlington before traveling east to study at Amherst College. In 1924, he returned home and joined the J. S. Schramm Company, which his grandfather had established in 1845. With his brother Frank, James S. Schramm managed the family's retail business, Schramm's Department Store, from 1934 until retiring in 1962. It is believed that this store had the longest continuous operating record under one family of any store west of New England. It was still family owned when it closed in 1996.

Schramm's two major activities, outside of the business, were Republican politics and art collecting. Beginning on the local level as a precinct chairman, Schramm quickly became a force within Iowa's Republican Party. In 1950, he was appointed Iowa's GOP Finance Chairman. This position led to the chairmanship of the State Central Committee. He also served as a delegate to National Conventions.

James Schramm and his wife, Dorothy, were active in the arts. As collectors, they were interested in American, European, and Japanese painting and sculpture and African sculpture. They helped establish the Iowa Arts and the Burlington Area Art Councils. James Schramm was president of the American Federation of Arts in the 1950s and of the Des Moines Art Center in 1963. He was also a trustee of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art.

Other activities in which James Schramm participated included such civic groups as the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, the school board, and the Community Chest. He also served nationally on trade missions to France and Japan. James S. Schramm died in 1980 at the age of seventy-six.

Scope and Content

The papers of James S. Schramm are organized into seven series: 1) Correspondence; 2) Personal Papers; 3) Speeches; 4) Politics; 5) Organizations; 6) Trade; and 7) Art. Correspondence files are arranged alphabetically; however, additional letters are scattered throughout the collection. Some correspondents include Robert K. Goodwin, Edith Gregor Halpert, Dwight Kirsch, David Kruidemer, Jr., George Nagle, and Sinclair Weeks. The personal papers series primarily relates to Schramm's military service. The Speeches series is not distinct, and like the correspondence series, additional speeches are found elsewhere in the papers.

The Politics Series includes political correspondence and speeches. There are also more than six boxes of materials relating to Republican politics. More specifically, there are folders on topics ranging from Lincoln Day Dinners to Central Committee finances and on people such as Gerald Bogan, Thomas C. Murphy, King R. Palmer, and Nelson A. Rockefeller. The Organizations series documents Schramm's association with such divergent groups as the Iowa Economic Studies Council and Amherst College to the Governor's Commission on Human Rights and the Museum of Contemporary Art. There are also four boxes of material relating to U.S. trade missions and the Committee for a National Trade Policy. Included here are speeches, correspondence, policy manuals, and other materials.

The Art series includes correspondence files and folders on specific artists including Mauricio Lasansky, Jannis Spyropoulos, and Hudson Walker. There is also information regarding the Des Moines Art Center and the American Federation of Arts.

Box List

Box 1

Series I: Correspondence

A 1961 -- 1967

B 1949 -- 1967. Including correspondence with Edgar Britton

C 1950 -- 1970. Including correspondence with John Cowles, Gardner Cowles, and Alexander Calder

D 1945 -- 1962. Including correspondence with Jonathan Daniels

Engle, Paul 1955 -- 1961

E 1946 -- 1956. Including correspondence with Albert Einstein, Norman A. Erbe

F 1948 -- 1962

G 1947 -- 1970. Including correspondence with Walter Gelhorn

H 1955 -- 1970. Including correspondence with Bourke B. Hickenlooper and Leo A. Hoegh

I 1957 -- 1962

J 1960 -- 1962. Including correspondence with Walter H. Judd

K 1946 -- 1962. Including correspondence with David Kruidenier, Jr.; Leon H. Keyserlin

L 1948 -- 1965. Including correspondence with James Lecha, Mrs. Malcolm D. (Anna) Lomas, Mauricio Lasansky, and Daniel Longwell

M 1952 -- 1970. Including correspondence with Karl Menninger, Jack Miller, Thomas E. Martin, and Stanley Marcus

N 1954 -- 1963. Including correspondence with George Nagle, Louise Noun, and Roy Neuberger

O 1947 -- 1962

P 1946 -- 1964. Including correspondence with Charles H. Percy

R 1947 -- 1967

Box 2

Correspondence, cont.

S 1952 -- 1970. Including correspondence with James Suzuki, Fred Schwengel, Jannis Spyropoulos, David Stanley, and Arthur E. Summerfield

T 1955 -- 1967. Including correspondence with Charles P. Taft

U 1959 -- 1962. Including correspondence with Ansei Uchima

V 1958 -- 1961

W 1952 -- 1970. Including correspondence with Hudson D. Walker, Sinclair Weeks and Ulfert Wilke

X, Y, Z 1946 -- 1961

Series II: Personal Papers

Adoption, 1947 -- 1956. Including correspondence with Thomas E. Martin, Bruno Bettelheim, and the U.S. Committee for the Care of European Children, Inc

Army

Personnel Directory

Organization and Functions

Policy

War Production Board Materials

Box 3

Personal Papers, cont.

Army Personnel. Including correspondence with Lucius D. Clay

Army Personal Records

Clippings -- Personal, 1952

Europe, 1962

Obituaries and eulogies for James Schramm

Personal -- On the Death of Robert Kennedy (2 folders)

Salvador, 1967

Office of Civil Defense -- Reorganization -- 1942

Box 4

Series III: Speeches

Speech of James S. Schramm, "The Consumer Speaks Up," before the National Conference on International Trade Policy, March 27, 1958

Speech Materials

Speeches (2 folders)

Statement of James Schramm in support of the International Trade Association before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives

Statement of James S. Schramm representing the National Retail Merchants Association before the House Ways and Means Committee, February 16, 1958

Box 5

Series IV: Politics

A 1950 -- 1951

B 1950 -- 1952

C 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Paul Cunningham

D 1950 -- 1951

E

F 1950

G 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Robert K. Goodwin, Guy George Gabrielson, and Ben A. Galer

H 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Leonard W. Hall, James W. Hubbell, and Ward W. Hall

I

J 1950. Including correspondence with L.L. Jurgemeyer

K 1950 -- 1951

L 1950 -- 1951

M 1950. Including correspondence with Thomas E. Martin

N

O 1950

P, Q 1949 -- 1951

R 1949 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Harold J. Rowe

S 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with R. Douglas Stuart, Treasurer of the Republican National Committee; Harrison E. Spangfer; and Craig R. Sheaffer

T 1950 -- 1951

U, V

W. 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Sinclair Weeks, Charles E. Wittenmeyer

X, Y, Z 1950

Biographical Sketch of Jim Schramm, proposed candidate for First District Republican Chairman

Finance Talks (1950)

Political Speeches (1950 -- 1953)

Republican Speeches (1951 -- 1952)

Box 6

Politics, cont.

The Politics of the 1st District of Iowa, 1932 -- 1948

G.O.P. Campaign Comments 1948 -- 1949

County Finance Chairman, 1948 -- 1949

Des Moines County Republican Central Committee, 1948 -- 1950

G.O.P. District, 1949 -- 1952. Including correspondence with Robert K. Goodwin

Ames Forum For Farmers Meeting, 1949. Including correspondence with Thomas E. Maritin, Whitney Gillilland, and Gerald Bogan

Pending, 1949 -- 1950

Farmers' Forum Mediapolis, 1949. Including correspondence with Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Thomas E. Martin, and Mrs. Charles S. (Maude) Hickman

Executive Committee of the Republican Finance Committee of Iowa, 1949 -- 1950

First District Meetings, 1949 -- 1950

Republican Finance Committee of Iowa, Statement of Receipts and Disbursements for the Period July 1, 1949 to April 4, 1950

Chairman of the Iowa Republican Party Finance Committee, 194. Clippings Finance Solicitation Letters, November, December 1950

National Committee, 1950

G.O.P. National 1949 -- 1953

Statements and budgets, 1949 -- 1953. Including correspondence with Sinclair Weeks and Robert K. Goodwin

Box 7

Politics, cont.

Top Brass Administration, 1946 -- 1961. Including correspondence with Edward R. Murrow, Chester Bowles, Sinclair Weeks, Stewart Alsop, Joseph W. Martin, Jr., Robert A. Taft, James P. Mitchell, Thruston B. Morton, Arthur E. Summerfield, Sherman Adams, Harold E. Stassen, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Leonard W. Hall, H.R. Gross, Everett McKinley Dirksen, Ezra Taft Benson, and Henry Cabot Lodge.

Republican Politics General, 1948 -- 1953

Chairman's Letter, etc. of the Republican State Central Committee, 1949 -- 1954

Lincoln Day Dinner, 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Henry O. Talle, James I. Dolliver, Charles B. Hoeven, and William S. Beardsley

National Finance, 1950 -- 1951. Including correspondence with Sinclair Weeks

Lincoln Day Dinner, 1951. Including correspondence with Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Ray Bliss, and Robert K. Goodwin

Eisenhower, 1951 -- 1953

The Trumpeter, 1951 -- 1953

State Convention, 1952. Including correspondence with Karl M. LeCompte and Thomas E. Martin

National Convention, 1952

Box 8

Politics, cont.

Election Result Clippings, 1952

State Committee, 1952

Political Procedure, 1952

Republican State Central Committee of Iowa -- General, 1952

Negro and Veterans, 1952

Schools of Politics, 1952

Republican State Central Committee of Iowa Budgets, etc., 1952 -- 1953

Campaign Strategy, 1952 -- 1954

Personal -- Political, 1952 -- 1954

G.O.P. Personnel, 1950 -- 1954

Box 9

Politics, cont.

Political Reference Material, 1953

Republican State Central Committee of Iowa Meetings, etc., 1952 -- 1953

Republican State Central Committee of Iowa, 1953

G.O.P. Reading, 1953

Inauguration, 1953

Lincoln Day Dinner, 1953

Pending Work for the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa, 1953 --

District Vice-Chairmen of the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa, 1953 -- 1954

Republican State Central Committee Finances, 1953 -- 1954

District Chairmen of the Republican State Central Committee, 1953 -- 1954. Including correspondence with Charles E. Wittenmeyer

Republican State Central Committee of Iowa Policy, etc., 1953 -- 1954

Patronage, 1953 -- 1954. Including correspondence with Don Pierson, William P. Rogers, Leonard W. Hall, Roy L. Stephenson, Thomas E. Martin, Dan W. Turner, and Whitney Gillilland

Box 10

Politics, cont.

First District of the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa, 1954

Gerald Bogan, Director of Public Relations of the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa, 1953 -- 1954

Robert K. Goodwin, 1954

Executive Director of the Republican State Central Committee of Iowa, 1949 -- 1951

Thomas C. Murphy, Republican State Finance Chairman, 1951 -- 1952

Thomas C. Murphy, 1953 -- 1954

George Nagle, 1953 -- 1954. Finance

King R. Palmer, Executive Director of the Republican State Central Committee

1951 -- 1952

1953 -- 1954

State Vice-Chairman, 1952. Abel Tracey and Gertrude Wilharm

Personal Testimonials. Including correspondence with Fred Schwengel, Leo Hoegh, Whitney Herbert Brownell, Jr., Harrison E. Spangler, John M. Henry, Robert K. Goodwin, Wiley E. Mayne, L. R. Fairall, Roy L. Stephenson, Arthur E. Summerfield, Sinclair Weeks, Dan W. Turner, Hugh Scott, Gardner Cowles, James I. Dolliver, Charles B. Hoeven, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., William S. Beardsley, Henry O. Talle, and Karl M. LeCompte

Box 11

Politics, cont.

G.O.P. Clippings

Clippings, 1949 -- 1950

Iowa Republican Senatorial Election, 1960

Republican National Convention, 1960

Nelson A. Rockefeller Presidential Campaign, 1968. Including correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller

Nelson A. Rockefeller Presidential Campaign, 1968 II. Including correspondence with James E. Bromwell and Helen M. Virden

Box 12

Series V: Organizations

Amherst, 1955 -- 1966. Including correspondence with Harris K. Prior

Amherst College, 1961 -- 1967

Amherst Art, 1955 -- 1956

Amherst College Associates of the Fine Arts, Executive Committee

Amherst Capital Program, 1962

Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Commercial Development Bureau. Executive Committee, 1963

Coe College, 1954 -- 1964. Including correspondence with Marvin Cone and Owen Elliott

Conference of National Council of Consultants. Small Business Administration. Washington, D.C. June 8,1954. Photo

Cornell (Mt. Vernon), 1962 -- 1964

Ford Foundation, 1957 -- 1959. Including correspondence with Richard Diebenkorn

Box 13

Organizations, cont.

Iowa Citizenship Clearing House, 1962

Iowa Economic Studies Council, 1956 -- 1958

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Advisory Committee on the Arts, 1970. Including correspondence with Roger L. Stevens

The Leopold Company, 1963 -- 1964

Museum of Contemporary Art, 1967 -- 1969. Including correspondence with Sigmund W. Kunstadter and Jan Van der Marck

National Planning Association, 1953 -- 1962

Parsons College, 1953 -- 1957

Rand Lecture Fund, 1944 -- 1958

Whitney Museum of American Art, 1966 -- 1968

Box 14

Organizations, cont.

Governor's Commission on Human Rights, 1960 -- 1965

Governor's Commission on Human (Civil) Rights, 1961 -- 1963. Including correspondence with Harold E. Hughes

Governor's Iowa Civil Rights Commission, 1961 -- 1962 (2 folders)

The Iowa State Arts Council, 1967

James W. Grimes Office Building. Art Committee, 1967. Including correspondence with Louise Noun

Box 15

Series VI: Trade

U.S. Trade Mission to Japan, 1959 (2 folders)

U.S. Trade Mission to Japan, 1959

Correspondence (2 folders)

Keepsakes

Personal

Photos

Schedules

Box 16

Trade, cont.

U.S. Trade Mission to Japan, 1959, cont.

Speech Material

Policy Manual

Travel Brochures

Box 17

Trade, cont.

U.S. Trade Mission to Japan, 1959 , cont.

Travel Brochures, cont.

U.S. Trade Mission to France

1960 (6 folders)

October -- November 1960. Speech Material, including a D.D. Eisenhower photo signed

Trade Mission, Speeches, 1958 -- 1961

Box 18

Trade, cont.

Committee for a National Trade Policy

1953 -- 1960. Including correspondence with Henry O. Talle, Paul Cunningham, Fred Schwengel, Karl LeCompte, Charles B. Hoeven, Thomas E. Martin, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, and Charles H. Percy

1954 -- 1955

1954 -- 1961 Including correspondence with Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Thomas E. Martin, and Charles P. Taft

Box 19

Series VII: Art

1944 -- 1956. Including correspondence with Edith Gregor Halpert, Pierre Matisse, Barton Cumming, Marian Willard, James Lechay, Dwight Kirsch, Karl Mattern, George Shane, Samuel M. Kootz, Frederick S. Wright, and Cury Valentin

1945 -- 1971. Including correspondence with Ulfert Wilke, Robert E. Schneider, J. J. Klejman, Lyonel Feininger, M. Lasansky, Alfred Stieglitz, James Lechay, Edith Gregor Halpert, and Antoinette M. Kraushaar

Box 20

Art, cont.

1950 -- 1954. Including correspondence with Curt Valentin, Dwight Kirsch, and Lawrence M.C. Smith

General, 1952 -- 1968

1955 -- 1959. Including photos

1957 -- 1966. Including correspondence with Mauricio Lasansky, F. Dupont Cornelius, and Morris Graves

1960. Including correspondence with Edith Gregor Halpert and Frank Seiberling

General, 1961 -- 1962

General, 1961 -- 1965. Including correspondence with Edith Gregor Halpert and photos of Nelson A. Rockefeller at the Des Moines Art Center

Box 21

Art, cont.

Art Insurance Matters, 1950 -- 1961. Including correspondence with Edith Gregor Halpert and Charles Alan

Art Purchases Pending, 1956 -- 1957. Including correspondence with Edith Gregor Halpert and Antoinette M. Kraushaar

Art Clippings, 1962

Art Speeches. Including correspondence with Marvin Cone

Des Moines Art Center

I. Including correspondence with Edith Gregor Halpert and Carl Weeks

II. Including correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller, Harris K. Pryor, and Dwight Kirsch

Box 22

Art, cont.

Des Moines Art Center, cont.

Acquisitions and Exhibitions Committee, 1953 -- 1965. Including correspondence with Carl Weeks, Laurence R. Fairall, Dwight Kirsh, and David Kruidenier, Jr.

Acquisitions and Exhibitions, 1963 -- 1964. Including correspondence with Thomas S. Tibbs, John Brady, Jr., Mrs. Albert D. (Mary) Lasker, and John Cowles

Correspondence, 1963 -- 1964. Including correspondence with John Cowles, David Kruidenier, Jr., Thomas S. Tibbs, and Louise Noun

Finances, 1963 -- 1964. Including correspondence with Thomas S. Tibbs and James W. Hubbell, Jr

Minutes and Agenda, 1963 -- 1964. Including correspondence with Thomas S. Tibbs

New Director, 1958 -- 1963. Including correspondence with David Kruidenier, Jr

Personnel, 1963 -- 1964

Coffin Trust, 1963. Including correspondence with Thomas S. Tibbs

Box 23

Art, cont.

Art and Tax Reform, 1969. Including correspondence with Jack Miller

Art Collectors Club of America, 1963 -- 1964

Lloyd Goodrich, 1956 -- 1959. Including correspondence with Stanley Whitney Fred Schwengel, The Committee on Government and Art, Whitney Museum of American Art

Mauricio Lasansky, 1966 -- 1967. Including correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller

Jannis Spyropoulos

Hudson D. Walker, 1963. Including correspondence with Hudson Dean Walker and Professor Simon Lissim

Box 24

Art, cont.

American Federation of Arts

1949 -- 1951

1952

1953

1953 -- 1956

Lincoln, Nebraska, 1963. Including correspondence with Stanley Marcus, Daniel Longwell, Henry Commager, John Cowles, and Nelson A. Rockefeller

1965

Des Moines, 1955 Including correspondence with David Kruidenier, Jr., Dwight Kirsch, Daniel Longwell, and Henry R. Luce

Box 25

Art, cont.

American Federation of Arts, cont.

Des Moines 1955, cont.

Including correspondence with George Shane, Dwight Kirsch, and David Kruidenier, Jr.

Including correspondence with Daniel Longwell (folder IV)

Including correspondence with Daniel Longwell and Dwight Kirsch

Including correspondence with Henry R. Luce and George Shane (folder VII)

Contest, 1953 -- 1954. Including correspondence with Aline B. Sarinan Louchheim

1956 -- 1957. Including correspondence with Daniel Longwell

Miscellaneous. Trustees, 1956 -- 1970. Including correspondence with Rene d'Harnoncourt, Lawrence M.C. Smith, Hudson D. Walker, Dudley T. Easby, Jr., Roy Neuberger, Arthur A. Houghton, Jr., and William M. Milliken

New Director, 1956. Including correspondence with Harris K. Pryor and Thomas K. Messer

Personal, 1957. Including correspondence with Roy Neuberger and Charles P. Taft

Publications, 1955 -- 1956

Including correspondence with Mrs. Otto (Eloise) Spaeth, 1956 -- 1958

Box 26

May 1976 Addition

Clippings

Correspondence

1954 -- 1973. Including letters from Jannis Spyropoulos and Walter Gellhorn

197. Including letters from Charles H. Percy, Walter Gellhorn, Charles W. Taft, Robert D. Ray, and Les Aspin

1975 -- 1976. Including a letter from Roy J. Carver

Photographs, 1948 -- 1959

Box 27

Oversized certificates, etc.

Box 28

July 1979 Addition

Correspondence

September 2003 Addendum

Recording of Committee for a National Trade Policy, National Trade Week. LP. Includes President Eisenhower, Sidney A. Swensrud, Sinclair Weeks, Ezra Taft Benson, David J. McDonald, Adlai Stevenson, John Foster Dulles, James P. Mitchell, James S. Schramm, Vice-President Nixon. 2 copies.

Clippings

approx. 1903, Burlington Hawk Eye

approx. 1895, Des Moines Register (?)

1996, Des Moines Register