Childs Frick Papers, Series I: Correspondence

This series consists of incoming letters to Childs Frick (sometimes addressed as "Ti" or "Ty") chiefly from family members and friends. Items date from 1883 to 1901, with one item from 1925, and a small amount of undated material. The bulk of these letters were written by his mother, Adelaide H.C. Frick, during the period of 1893 to 1896 while Childs was attending boarding school in Cambridge, Mass. During that time, Adelaide Frick wrote to her son several times per week with news regarding family members, pets, local events, and social engagements, including visits from Andrew Carnegie and his wife. While most of these letters were written from Clayton, the Frick family home in Pittsburgh, others were written while she was traveling, and are dated from New York and various locations in Florida.

Henry Clay Frick's letters to his son date from as early as 1892, but he wrote far less frequently than his wife. His letters often contain reports of Childs Frick's peers, details of travel plans, news from home, and frequent urgings for Childs Frick to improve himself academically. Other family members who corresponded regularly with Childs Frick include his sister, Helen Clay Frick, and his aunt, Martha H. Childs.

In addition to family members and friends, Childs Frick received letters from several employees of the Frick family, including Henry Clay Frick's secretary George Megrew, Helen Clay Frick's governesses Marika Ogiz and Marguerite Dunton, Frick family coachman James Elmore, Clayton gardener George Doerr, and chef Spencer Ford. Megrew and two business associates of Henry Clay Frick, Millard Hunsiker and R.L. Hurst, also contributed to Childs Frick's stamp collection.

This series contains one folder of unidentified materials and one folder of invitations, including an invitation to the wedding of Andrew W. Mellon and Nora McMullen.