When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Offered here is an important archive of seven original typewritten letters, totaling eight pages, written and signed by Milo Roy Maltbie to noted Harvard historian Professor Albert Bushnell Hart between January 1911 and July 1912.
All of the letters are written on official Public Service Commission for the First District, New York letterhead and concern Maltbie’s preparation of articles for the landmark reference work Cyclopedia of American Government, published by D. Appleton & Company in 1914 under the editorship of Albert Bushnell Hart and others.
This is a particularly desirable group because the letters form a continuous working correspondence, documenting the assignment, research, delays, editorial questions, and eventual submission of Maltbie’s articles.
Contents of the Archive
January 30, 1911
Maltbie acknowledges Hart’s request that he prepare four articles for the Cyclopedia of American Government. He humorously notes that it is easy to promise work for a distant deadline and agrees to undertake the assignments.
August 7, 1911
A particularly substantive letter in which Maltbie discusses the intended meaning of “Municipal Ownership” and whether the topic should include municipal operation as well as ownership. He points out the distinction between the two and specifically cites the New York subway as a notable example where municipal ownership and private operation could differ.
He also asks whether Hart intends “Public Service Commissions” to include railroad commissions and other regulatory bodies performing similar functions.
January 2, 1912
Maltbie apologizes for his delay in completing the articles, explaining that he has been occupied by important matters but promises to finish them soon.
March 16, 1912
Written to Hart while Hart was at Grinnell College, Iowa. Maltbie expects to send the requested papers by mid-April.
April 24, 1912
Written to Hart at Beloit College, Wisconsin. Maltbie says he has been unwell, accounting for his delay, and encloses two of the shorter promised articles. The letter includes an original handwritten correction in ink.
April 27, 1912
Maltbie encloses his manuscript for the article on “Public Service Corporations” and states that the remaining articles will follow shortly.
July 8, 1912 – Two Pages
The most substantial letter in the archive.
Maltbie apologizes for his continued delay, referring to recent political excitement and “the outcome at Baltimore.” He states that he is sending his article on “Public Service Commissions” to Appleton & Co.
He then discusses at length the proposed treatment of municipal ownership and operation of transit systems, including comparisons involving:
Maltbie suggests that a fuller examination of municipal transit ownership could require 3,000 to 4,000 words, and offers to provide additional references and material.This letter provides a fascinating behind-the-scenes view of the intellectual and editorial development of a major Progressive Era reference work.
Milo Roy Maltbie BiographyMilo Roy Maltbie (born 1871) was an American economist, public-utility specialist, municipal-government scholar, and public official.
He earned degrees from Upper Iowa University, Northwestern University, and Columbia University, receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia. He taught economics and mathematics and became deeply involved in municipal reform and public-utility policy.
Maltbie served on the New York Public Service Commission, First District, from 1907 to 1915, placing him at the center of some of the most important debates of the Progressive Era involving:
- public utilities
- street railways
- municipal ownership
- transit regulation
- public versus private operation
He later served as Chamberlain of the City of New York and worked extensively as a consultant and expert on public utilities.
His publications included works on municipal government, street railways, and public utility administration.
The archive includes a contemporary Who’s Who-style biographical clipping on Maltbie, listing his education, public offices, professional activities, and publications.
Albert Bushnell Hart – Harvard HistorianThe recipient, Albert Bushnell Hart (1854–1943), was one of the most prominent American historians and political scholars of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Hart was closely associated with Harvard University for virtually his entire academic career.
He graduated from Harvard College in 1880, later studied in Europe, and returned to Harvard, where he became a longtime professor of history and government. He was one of the leading figures in the professionalization of American historical scholarship and trained generations of Harvard students and historians.
Hart became especially known for his scholarship on American political and constitutional history and for editing major historical and governmental reference works.
He served as editor of the Cyclopedia of American Government, the very publication discussed throughout these letters.
Hart also served as president of both the American Historical Association and the American Political Science Association, reflecting his prominence in both history and political science.
The fact that these letters were written directly to Hart while he was coordinating contributions to the Cyclopedia gives the archive an especially strong Harvard, academic, publishing, and Progressive Era provenance.
Historical SignificanceThis is more than a collection of seven Maltbie autographs.
Together, the letters document the actual creation of Maltbie’s contributions to the Cyclopedia of American Government, from Hart’s original commission through the discussion of subject matter, delays, manuscript delivery, and final editorial considerations.
The correspondence captures two important figures discussing some of the central public-policy questions of the Progressive Era:
Who should own and operate public utilities? How should cities regulate transit systems? What role should public service commissions play in American government?
For collectors of:
- Harvard University history
- Albert Bushnell Hart
- Progressive Era reform
- American political history
- New York City history
- public utilities
- transportation and subway history
- municipal history
- scholarly correspondence
- autographs and manuscripts
ConditionOriginal period letters with expected age toning, handling wear, minor edge wear, and occasional light marks or creasing. Several contain handwritten editorial corrections or notations. Please review all photographs carefully for exact condition.
Includes 7 signed letters / 8 total pages, plus the contemporary Maltbie biographical clipping.
An unusually coherent and historically substantive archive connecting New York public-utility reform, Harvard scholarship, and the creation of the 1914 Cyclopedia of American Government.
