FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           Contact:
Jim Turner
Wednesday, May 19, 1999
(202) 606-8671

12 NEH PROJECTS AMONG NATIONAL TREASURES
TARGETED FOR SPECIAL FUNDING BY WHITE HOUSE

        WASHINGTON - First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that
12 projects submitted by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to
the White House Millennium Council under the Council's Save America's
Treasures initiative have been accepted for funding.
NEH was one of 12 federal agencies asked by the Council to submit a list of
projects, including intellectual and cultural artifacts and historic
structures and sites, that are of national significance and in dire need of
restoration.  Sixty-two projects were selected from all 12 agencies.

         "The National Endowment for the Humanities is unable to fund all of
the critically important and nationally significant projects that are
submitted to the Endowment for funding," said NEH Chairman William R.
Ferris.  "The White House has shown tremendous leadership in recognizing
this problem and doing something about it.  Through this partnership with
the White House and other federal agencies, NEH is proud to be doing our
part to ensure that the many stories which comprise America's history will
be available to our children and grandchildren."

        Seven projects, totaling $1,089,607, will be administered by NEH.
They range from antislavery literature to the papers of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The other five NEH-submitted projects, totaling $4,199,198, will be
administered by the National Park Service.

        Attached is a list of the 12 projects.

The National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency
created by Congress in 1965, is the largest funder of humanities programs in
the United States.  The Endowment's mission is to promote knowledge of human
history, thought and culture and to enhance the role of the humanities
throughout the nation.  NEH provides funding support in four areas:
preserving and providing access to cultural resources, education, research
and public programs.

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Save America's Treasures Initiative
White House Millennium Council

National Endowment for the Humanities Projects

May 19, 1999

Submitted and administered by NEH

Anti-Slavery Pamphlet Collection
Cornell University Library
Ithaca, New York
Award amount:   $ 331,000
Cornell University holds one of the world's most distinctive collections of
anti-slavery literature. A.D. White, first president of Cornell, began this
collection, which documents the anti-slavery struggle at the local, regional
and national levels. Many pieces of the over 10,000 item collection are from
the libraries of anti-slavery movement leaders. Much of the paper has turned
brittle with age, and some ink of the period contributes to further paper
deterioration. Funds will support a comprehensive conservation project for
the collection.

Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Papers
Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, Massachusetts
Award amount:   $ 55,624
The Coolidge Collection is the largest collection of Thomas Jefferson's
personal correspondences and writings outside of the Library of Congress.
Donated by four generations of Jefferson's Coolidge descendents over a
period of 60 years, the collection contains more than 9,000 pieces of
correspondence, 440 architectural drawings and 13 manuscript volumes. Funds
will support the conservation of the correspondence and four of the
manuscript volumes, which are in a deteriorated condition.

Dutch Colonial Manuscripts
New York State Archives
Albany, New York
Award amount:   $ 79,025
This collection, spanning the period 1638-1670, is the earliest
administrative records of what became the states of New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware and western Connecticut. The records deal with a wide
range of issues, including the law, criminal prosecution, civil disputes,
land conveyances, defense, relations with Indians and revenue generation.
Translation of the records is underway, and funding will enable conservation
of the collection, making it available for research for the first time.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Papers
Princeton University Library
Princeton, New Jersey
Award amount:   $ 50,000
Since donation of this collection in 1950, Princeton University has been the
world center for primary research on noted American author F. Scott
Fitzgerald. The collection includes manuscript versions of all his works,
among many other items. Decades of heavy research use and acidic paper have
put the collection in jeopardy. Funds will be used to deacidify, repair and
rehouse the collection to ensure that it will continue to be available for
research.

Jane Addams/Hull-House Photograph Collection
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Award amount:   $ 92,876
This collection consists of 5,000 historic photographs and 32 yearbooks that
document the work of Jane Addams and her associates in the settlement house
and social reform movements. Age and frequent use endanger both the
photographs and the yearbooks, to the point that parts of the collection
have been withdrawn from use. Funds will support the production and cold
storage of 6500 preservation master negatives that will  make the entire
collection available for research without endangering the irreplaceable
original documents.

Louis Armstrong House and Archives
Queens College
New York, New York
Award amount:   $ 300,000
Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong influenced American music and culture in his many
roles as jazz musician, singer, actor, comedian, entertainer, author and
cultural ambassador. After the death of Armstrong's widow Lucille in 1983,
this house lay untouched until 1991, while water penetration, unfiltered
sunlight, high humidity, and vandalism contributed to the deterioration of
the building and its furnishings. Funds will be used to repair damage and
conserve interior features and finishes in preparation for opening to the
public on the centennial of his birth.

Paper-Based National Icons
Maryland Historical Society
Baltimore, Maryland
Award amount:   $ 181,082
The Maryland Historical Society holds a number of national treasures,
including the original manuscript of the "Star-Spangled Banner," 56 of the
57 competition drawings for the U.S. Capitol and original watercolors of the
interior of the White House by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. All are in need of
conservation, which will be supported by these funds.


Submitted by NEH and administered by the National Park Service

Chesterwood
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Award amount:   $ 119,849
Chesterwood is the home and studio of Daniel Chester French, sculptor of the
Lincoln Memorial. The house is an eclectic building with architectural and
siting elements of the Italian Villa and the Colonial Revival styles.
French, one of America's foremost sculptors played a major role in the
design and decoration of the house. Two porches are close to collapse and
original tapestry wallpaper is threatened by deteriorating plaster. Funds
will support restoration of the porches, stabilization of the plaster and
restoration of the wallpaper.

Gropius House
Lincoln, Massachusetts
Award amount:   $ 64,349
Walter Gropius, founder of the German school of modern design known as the
Bauhaus, was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century.
After fleeing Germany, he built this house for his family in 1937, and it
remained occupied until his widow's death in 1983 when it came into the
possession of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities
(SPNEA). Already deteriorated at that time, damage has increased due to
water infiltration. Funds will be used to repair the windows, a primary
entry point for moisture, and to restore water-damaged plaster.

Jackson Ward National Historic Landmark District
Richmond, Virginia
Award amount:   $ 650,000
Richmond was one of the foremost black communities in the nation during the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Jackson Ward was the hub of the
community's professional and social life. Many buildings are vacant and
suffer from deterioration due to unsound roofs, wall openings and arson.
Funds will support the stabilization and weatherproofing of a number of key
buildings to preserve them for future rehabilitation and reuse.

The Mount
Lenox, Massachusetts.
Award amount:   $ 2,865,000
Home of the celebrated author Edith Wharton, The Mount is a National
Historic Landmark. It is also an autobiographical house, designed and built
by Wharton based on the precepts outlined in her books The Decoration of
Houses and Italian Villas and their Gardens. Funds will be used to complete
the stabilization of the building's exterior, to restore the greenhouse that
is in danger of collapse and to restore the gardens that have been badly
damaged by heavy visitation.


Washburn A Mill
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Award amount:   $ 500,000
A National Historic Landmark, Washburn A Mill represents Minneapolis' reign
as the flour milling capital of the world from 1880 to 1930. Built in 1879,
the mill was the birthplace of General Mills, producer of Gold Medal flour,
and the home of Betty Crocker's kitchen. The vacant mill was heavily damaged
by a 1991 fire that left its walls and foundation exposed. Funds will be
used to stabilize and preserve the structure, enabling the construction of a
museum of the milling industry inside the walls.


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