Archives and Special Collections
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Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids

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Collection Overview
Title: Edward Rochie Hardy papers
Dates:1680-1967 (bulk ca. 1890-1950)
Location:68/1, 69/4
Call Number:M45
Volume:19.20 cubic ft. (25 boxes)
Scope and Content Abstract:The Edward Rochie Hardy papers document the insurance industry, his career, and personal life. The insurance policies collected by Hardy make up a majority of the collection. Also included are insurance publications, materials relating to insurance education, histories of insurance agencies, and Hardy's correspondence with others in the insurance industry, writing drafts, and lecture notes. Personal correspondence and photographs also document Hardy's travels, family life, and career.
Biographical Abstract:Edward Rochie Hardy was instrumental in the development of insurance education and the growth of insurance libraries. He was born on October 15, 1862 in Detroit, Michigan. After graduating from Boston University in 1896, Hardy held numerous posts in insurance organizations and as head of several insurance libraries, including the Insurance Library Association of Boston, the New York Insurance Society, and the New York Fire Exchange. Hardy also helped found the Insurance Institute of America in 1909 and was responsible for creating its library. From 1905 to 1939, he was a lecturer at New York University's School of Commerce. Edward Rochie Hardy died in 1951.
Arrangement:Organized into 2 series: 1. Professional Files; and 2. Personal Files
Subjects and Contributors:
  • Hardy, Edward Rochie, 1862-1951.

  • Fire Marks.

  • Insurance, Automobile.
  • Insurance, Aviation.
  • Insurance, Casualty.
  • Insurance, Fire.
  • Insurance, Fire--Adjustment of Claims.
  • Insurance, Group.
  • Insurance, Hail.
  • Insurance, Health.
  • Insurance, Life.
  • Insurance, Marine.
  • Insurance, Windstorm.
  • Insurance--History.
  • Insurance--Rates.
  • Insurance--Study and Teaching.
  • Insurance--War Risks.
  • Insurance Companies.
  • Insurance Companies, American.
  • Insurance Companies, British.
  • Insurance Exchange.
  • Insurance Libraries.
  • Insurance Loss Rating.
  • Insurance Policies.
  • Underwriting.
Restrictions:The collection is unrestricted.
Processor:Finding aid prepared by George Reklaitis, September 1999

Scope and Content Note

The Edward Rochie Hardy Papers span 1680-1967 (bulk ca. 1890-1950).  The collection documents Hardy's career, the insurance industry, Hardy's personal life and family, and issues relating to the World Wars.  The main portion of this collection documents the insurance industry and Hardy's contribution to that industry.  The information relating to Hardy's personal life often overlaps with his professional life.  Material relating to issues of the World Wars documents the impact on the insurance industry and life in general in both theUnited States and Europe.      

Highlights of this collection include histories of insurance companies, lecture notes, writing drafts, correspondence between Hardy and others in the insurance field around the world, sample insurance policies from across the globe, and awards or recognition that Hardy received for his work. The professional and personal correspondence files are supplemented with a number of photographs of Hardy, his son, and Hardy's friends, acquaintances, and colleagues from around the world.  The correspondence and photographs document Hardy's travels, family life, and insurance career.

Biographical Note

Edward Rochie Hardy was instrumental in the development of insurance education and the growth of insurance libraries.  He was born on October 15, 1862 in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Petty Marsh, Maine.  He received his Ph.B. degree from Boston University in 1896.  Through his long career he held numerous posts in insurance organizations and as head of several insurance libraries.  These included the Insurance Library Association of Boston, the New York Insurance Society, and the New York Fire Exchange.  He also helped found the Insurance Institute of America in 1909, and was responsible for creating its library.  By October 1939, the Insurance Institute of America had grown to include 4,169 member organizations.  From 1905 to 1939 Hardy was a lecturer at New York University's School of Commerce.  He taught classes on topics such as fire insurance, investment and speculation, and insurance law and practice.  He also wrote extensively on the topic of insurance.  Included among his writings are the books "History of Fire Insurance," which chronicles the life of the insurance industry from 1724 to 1901, and "Making of the Fire Insurance Rate," a history of fire insurance and the process of rate making.
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Series:
1. Professional Files, 1769-1951
Volume:16.0 cubic ft.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical and Chronological
Summary:

This series contains the professional papers of Edward Rochie Hardy relating to his lifelong involvement in the insurance industry as an agent, a librarian, an educator, and a collector.  The Insurance Subject File documents the various insurance fields such as automobile insurance, fire insurance, and marine insurance.  Also included in this series are Hardy's professional correspondence and writings, materials relating to insurance education, materials from a large number of insurance organizations worldwide, and insurance publications.  The largest part of this collection is the insurance policies collected by Hardy.  These policies were issued by companies spanning the globe (particularly from the United Kingdom) and covering three centuries.  Significant among these policies is an original policy issued by the Sun Office in London in 1769.
BoxTitleDate
Insurance
1Automobile1933-1934
1Aviation (2 folders)1922-1937
1Bibliographies1925-1934
1Blanket Bonds1939
1Cancellations1932
1Casualty1916-1927
City Planning
1General1916-1934
14New York City1929-1943
1Clausesn.d.
1, 24Collected Clippings (3 folders)1827-1951
Fire
1Bibliography1940
1Clippings1906-1939
1Electricity1906-1907
1Fire Equipment and Stations1923-1925
1Notes1914-1920
1Publications (2 folders)1897-1948
1Ratings1927-1929
1Tobacco Barns1945-1948
1General Coverage1932
1Group1931
1, 14Hail1915-1922
1Health1911-1934
History
1Articles and Pamphlets1910-1934
1Co-insurance1834-1920
14Fire Insurancen.d.
14Notesn.d.
24Image and Policy Facsimilesn.d.
2Industry (2 folders)1904-1948
2Insurance as Business1923-1937
2Libraries1931
2Life1846-1934
24, 25Lloyd's of London: Calendars and Images1929-1933
24, 25Lottery1934
2, 14Luncheons, Meetings, and Conferences (5 folders)1928-1933
2, 14Marine1938-1939
2Mutual Dividendsn.d.
2Partial List of Foreign Policiesn.d.
2Ratings1903-1921
2Statistics1918-1934
2Surety (3 folders)1923-1940
2Transportation1933
24United Kingdom: Tariff Rates1908
24War1917-1919
24Windstorm1930-1936
Insurance Correspondence
10, 14General n.d.
10Fuh, Bennet T.1923-1928
10Hughes, A.J.1919-1937
10Chartered Insurance Institute1937-1940
10Insurance Institute of America1920-1931
10, 14Japan (3 folders)1911-1929
10New York University1928-1940
Insurance Education
2Aetna Life Insurance Exam1924-1935
2American Association of Public Accountants1912
16Chartered Insurance Institute: Examinations1913-1950
2Collected Articles1873-1919
2College of Estate Management1922-1927
2Corporation of Insurance Brokers1926
2Courses: Europe1932
2India1933
2Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales1927
2, 14, 16Insurance Institute of America1921-1947
2, 14Insurance Society of New York1931-1938
2Lecture Notes1912-1937
14New York Insurance Institute1928
2New York Public Library, Library Schooln.d.
2New York State Society of CPA's1900
2, 14New York University1906-1945
2, 14Pamphletsn.d.
2, 14Reference Materials1917-33
14Surety: Lectures (10 folders)1937
2St. Andrews University1911
3-7Insurance Organizations (5 folders)
FF2/D2, 17-23Insurance Policies (8 folders)1769-1933
Publications
8The Architectural Recordn.d.
8Asia1941
8Business Organizationn.d.
8The Chemical Foundation1934
16Chartered Insurance Institute: Annual Conferences1913-1950
8City Planning and Zoning1934
8Claims for Deferred Classification1918
8Digest of Workman's Compensating Laws1919
8Employee and Labor1906-1929
8Environment1937
8Fire Armsn.d.
16Fire Underwriters of the Pacific: Annual Meetings1933-1948
8Firms in Existence over 100 Years1933
8Foreign Fire Insurance Companiesn.d.
8Foreign Trade1931-1934
8Gate to the Northern Markets of Europe1934
8Harper's Bedford Charity1930
8Inflation and Depression1933
15Insurance Society of New York1951
8Insurance Advocate1916
FF2/D2Insurance Company of North America: Map of Philadelphia1938
FF2/D2The "L-M-C" Policyholder1937
FF2/D2Lloyds Bank Limited Monthly Review1930
FF2/D2Ministry of Pensions1921-1924
FF2/D2Monthly Labor Reviewn.d.
FF2/D2National Board of Fire Underwriter Rates1909
FF2/D2National Crisis Series1933-1934
FF2/D2National Ideals and International Idols1933
FF2/D2New York State Budget Advisory Committee1932
15New Zealand Government Insurance Department1939
8The Policy Holder1923-1933
8Post Magazine and Insurance Monitor1914-1918
8Premiums for Insuringn.d.
8President's Conference on Home Building and Home Ownership1931
8Report of the Department of Insurance, D.C.1925-1934
8Report of the High School Explosion of London, TX1937
8Report on the Life and Accident Insurance Cases1872
15Report on the Miscellaneous Old Records of the India Office1878
8Research and Education1934-1936
15The Review1916
8Schweizerische Versicherungszeitschrift1943
8Societa di Assicurazioni "Darubio"1900-1907
8Special Libraries: Fire and Casualty Insurance1925
8Sprinkler Bulletin1944-1946
8Stockholms Stads Brandforsakringskontor1908
8"A Study of Schedule Rating"1921
8Under Bow Bells1934
8Universal Mercantile Schedule1893
8U.S. Department of Commerce: The Balance of International Payments to the United States1926-1933
16William Street1936-1937
8Yale Alumni Weekly1904
8Yale Readings on Insurancen.d.
Writings by Edward Rochie Hardy
9"Agents"n.d.
9"As True of Insurance Men as Museum Curators"1936
9Book on Fire Insurancen.d.
9Chicago Journal of Commerce1934-1935
9"The Co-Insurance Clause"1900
9"Conflagrations from an Underwriting Standpoint"n.d.
9Drafts of papers and books on insurancen.d.
9"Dr. Nicholas Barbon": Research and Notes (2 folders)1922-1936
9"Fellowship and Fire"n.d.
9"Fires and Fire Losses"1947
9"Fire Insurance"1934
9Foreword: "Inland Marine Insurance"n.d.
9From Manuscript for work on Insurancen.d.
9"A Glance at the History of Rating Organizations"n.d.
9"The Growth and Development of Schedule Rating"1909
9"Hardy Urges All-Inclusive Fire Policies"1935
9"History of Fire Insurance" (2 folders)1925
9"How Small Things Loom Large in Fire Insurance Rates"1918-1930
9"Index of Articles by Edward Rochie Hardy"1901-1926
9"Insurance Education for Community Service, Past and Present"1929
9"An Insurance Creed"1924-1929
9"Insurance of Hazardous Chemicals"1919
9Insurance Historyn.d.
9"The Insurance Society: Its Aim and Scope"1915
9"Is Fire Insurance Rating a Science or an Art?"1908
9"Knowledge is Power"n.d.
9"The Library Prior to April 1, 1922"n.d.
9"Making of the Fire Insurance Rate"n.d.
9Memorandums for E.R.H.n.d.
Notes on Contract of Insurancen.d.
15Fire Insurancen.d.
9Fire Insurance Ratingn.d.
9Daily Advertiser1787
9"Observations of Insurance Historyn.d.
9"On the Question of Education Insurance-wise"n.d.
9"The Opportunities for Education in the Field of Insurance in the United States"1934
9"Opportunity vs. Opportunism"1926-1927
9"The Part Rates Play in Underwriting Risks"n.d.
9"Principles and History of Fire Insurance"n.d.
9"Principles of Insurance"n.d.
9"Progress in Fire Insurance Rate Making"1928
9"The Real Key Industry"1918
9"Report on the Course in Fire Insurance, New York University"1909
9"Review of the Insurance Share Market in 1926"1926
9"Riot and Civil Commotion Insurance"n.d.
9"Some Random Thoughts Concerning Fire Insurance"1924
9"A Suggested Reading Course"n.d.
9"The Underwriter and the Chemical Plant"1919
9"What About Education"1921
9"What is Service"1924
Writings by Other Authors
9Crane, W.R.: "Rate Making"n.d.
9Dodd, L.J.: "Title Insurance"1924
9Lang, Frank: "Getting Results in Insurance Research"n.d.
9Simpson, J. Dyer: "Some Trends Since Three-Nine-Thirty-Nine"1939
15Wheeler, Nat E.: "Contract Bonds Claims"n.d.
Writings by Unknown Authors
9"A Brief Historical Sketch of Fire Insurance"n.d.
9"British Insurance Carries on Under Fire"1941
9"The Business of Insurance in the United States"n.d.
9"Classification"n.d.
9"A Comparison of Premier Rates in Life Insurance"n.d.
9"Concerning a Proposed System of Surveying"n.d.
9"Does it Pay? A Discourse on Insurance Societies"n.d.
9"Fire Insurance Notes"n.d.
9"The Fire Insurance on an Office Building"n.d.
9"First Aid Equipment"n.d.
9"Form New England Rating Association"n.d.
9"The Insurance Society of America"n.d.
9"Ireland" (3 folders)1773-1829
9"Land War Risks Insurance in the Netherlands"n.d.
9"Life Insurance"n.d.
9"The Making of Rates"1909
9"Notes on Drafts on Fire Insurance"n.d.
9No Title (2 folders)n.d.
9"The Organization of Life Insurance Companies"n.d.
9"A Pail of Water and Fire Insurance"n.d.
9"A Principle of Insurance"n.d.
9"Progress in Fire Insurance Rate Making"n.d.
9"The Proper Assessment of Fire Insurance Rates in Great Cities"n.d.
9"Some Common Difficulties in Prevention Work"n.d.
9"Systems of Rating in the United States"1923.
9"Talk/Lecture on Insurance Societies"n.d.
9"Underwriting – Art or Science?"1930
9"Vocation of Life Insurance"n.d.
9"Windstorm and Tornado Insurance"n.d.
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Series:
2. Personal Files, 1883-1951
Volume:3.20 cubic ft.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical and Chronological
Summary:

Edward Rochie Hardy's personal files are comprised of two parts.  The first is a subject file, consisting of articles, poems, and stories written and collected by Hardy, information on his family, and a large section on fire marks, his hobby.  Also included are personal photographs and honors received by Hardy.  The second part of the personal file consists of his correspondence which is divided into an alphabetical and a chronological grouping.  During his long life, there were a select number of people with whom Hardy maintained consistent contact.  His correspondence with these people, which span a decade or more, are organized alphabetically.  Significant among these is correspondence with Harry E. Back, a friend from Boston University, which spans 43 years and his correspondence with L. John Dodd, an English friend, which spans 31 years.  The remaining portion of Hardy's correspondence is arranged chronologically.
BoxTitleDate
Personal
11Biographical Information1917-51
11Christmas Poems and Calendars (2 folders)1932-60
11Collected Articles, Poems, and Stories (2 folders)1883-1934
11Family1929-1950
Fire Marks
11Articles and Clippings1891-1925
11Books and Pamphlets1906-1938
11Correspondence1913-1938
25Lumberman's Insurance Company Fire Mark
11Photographs1933-1934
Honors
11Chartered Insurance Institute1938
11Insurance Institute of America, New Orleans Chapter1933
11Insurance Society of New York (2 folders)1940
11New York University1938
11Life Insurance1892-1905
Organizations
11A-H1909-1934
11N-Z1920-1934
11, 24Photographs1929-1935
FF2/D2Large Dinner Photos1931-1940
25Scrapbook1901-1933
25Travel1876-1934
Writings
25"Abraham Lincoln: An Incident"n.d.
25"Memories of #9 Temple Street"n.d.
25"A Sketch of a Day's Work"1935
25"Upsilon Chapter House"n.d.
Correspondence
12Back, Harry E.1897-1940
12Bouttell, Peggy1930-1945
12Boys, T.E.1932-1945
12Christmas1922-1942
12Church Club of New York1935-1939
12Davies, P.S.1935-1947
12Dodd, L. John (2 folders)1929-1950
12Handy, D.N.1910-1947
12Hardy, E.R. Jr.1935-1947
12Hess, H.E.1899-1935
12Hill, Stella A.1934-1943
12Hollingsworth, Leta S1921-1936
12Mackie, J.M.1934-1947
12O'Connor, Alice P.1943-1947
12Rainey, H.E.C.1935-1948
12Research1936-1941
12Retirement1948
12Richardson, Frederick1935-1947
12Smith, Elsie1931-1947
12Thank Yous1943-1944
12Thomson, Gladys Scott1938-1940
12Worthington, Mabel1935-1945
13Correspondence (Chronological, 15 folders)1892-1950
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