E. Christopher Livesay papers
Scope and Content note
This collection consists of correspondence, invoices and bills of sale, memos, financial records, reports, trip itineraries, publications, and photographs. The material details Livesay’s years as a collector of Maine-related manuscripts and printed matter, including prices, sources, and research. There are drafts of and records related to Livesay’s contributions to The Mirror of Maine: Four Centuries of Great Books published by the Baxter Society and the Maine Historical Society. The collection also reflects the many historical and environmental non-profits Livesay has supported, his interest in butterflies of the Americas, and his terms as a representative in Maine’s state legislature. The material is arranged by function and organized alphabetically within each group.
Dates
- Creation: 1970 - 2018
Creator
- Livesay, E. Christopher (Donor, Person)
Access
Unrestricted
Copyright
Access to collections at Maine Historical Society is not an authorization to publish. Rights and reproduction requests may be submitted in writing to the MHS Image Services Coordinator or Research & Administrative Librarian, subject to format.
Biographical note
E. Christopher Livesay of Brunswick, Maine, is an avid collector of Maine-related historical manuscripts and printed matter. A graduate of Wesleyan University and Boston University School of Law, he has worked as an attorney in private practice while contributing significant time and effort to several historical and environmental non-profit organizations, including the Baxter Society, Maine Historical Society, Board of Environmental Protection, Forest Society of Maine, Maine Audubon, and Maine League of Conservation Voters. Livesay also served as a Republican representative in the Maine state legislature for two terms (1981-1984), is an amateur lepidopterist, and is active in Brunswick community matters.
Extent
1.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Provenance
Gift of E. Christopher Livesay, June 20 and June 27, 2022 (acc. no. 2023.021).
Processing note
E. Christopher Livesay gifted the papers in this collection to MHS as part of a larger donation of material (accession no. 2023.021) compiled over decades as a collector. The accession’s historical manuscripts and books were separated into individual collections and items for processing and cataloging. Of the manuscript portion of the donation, 18 collections were generated from this accession, along with 100 s-collections (single items or folders). These items can be connected via their shared accession number. The titles and collection numbers of the 17 other collections that were generated from the donation are listed in the Related Material field of this finding aid.
The material described in this finding aid was dispersed throughout the collection upon arrival and was consolidated by the archivist as the donor’s papers. Items arrived housed in labeled folders and arranged in general groupings according to function. The arrangement below was created using these original folder labels and groupings to form a basic structure. Items were rehoused in archival folders and the material was processed as an individual collection.
Digital photograph files from CDs housed in Box 3, Folder 2 were migrated to MHS servers. The original media formats remain in the collection and will be retained until 2043, per institutional retention schedules.
Subject
- Forest Society of Maine (Organization)
Genre / Form
Topical
- Book collectors -- Maine
- Butterflies -- Collectors and collecting -- Maine
- Collectors and collecting -- Maine
- Legislators -- Maine
- Lepidopterans -- Maine
Uniform Title
- Title
- Guide to the E. Christopher Livesay papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jordis Rosberg, MHS Project Archivist, March 2023
- Date
- December 15, 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Maine Historical Society Repository