Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

[Box Number, Folder Number], MS-28, Harleigh Bridges Schultz Collection, Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books, Boatwright Memorial Library, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Gwynne R. Litchfield, September 2014.

Processing Information

The materials in this collection were removed from a three-ring binder labeled Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission. The papers were arranged and put in acid-free folders. Those that were in a fragile condition were placed in mylar sleeves, and several newspaper clippings were photocopied. Where possible, the copies are kept with the original. Two documents, copies of the Collegian , the Richmond College newspaper, were removed to oversized storage.

Processed by Ashley Vavra.

Biographical / Historical

Harleigh Bridges Schultz was born at 515 E. Marshall St, Richmond, Virginia on October 12, 1883. Schultz's paternal grandparents, Augustus Frederick Schultz and Hanna Ernestine von Sauermann, immigrated to Virginia from Prussia with their children when Harleigh Schultz's father, August F. Schultz II, was a small child. A. F. Schultz II married Annie Hoomes Bridges, of Gloucester, Virginia and had five children: Bernard F. Schultz, Harleigh B. Schultz, Mary Maude Schultz (who married Walter McLelland), Annie Louise Schultz (who was called by her middle name), and August Gwynne Schultz.

This collection indicates that Schultz attended Richmond Public Schools and then Richmond College, now the University of Richmond, from which he graduated in 1904. While at the college, he achieved high marks and was an editor on the Collegian student newspaper. After school, Schultz worked as a reporter on the Richmond Evening Journal for one year, according to his niece, Evelyn McLelland Boschen, and then moved to Massachusetts to work as a reporter for the Worchester Telegram . Shortly after, on March 7, 1906, Schultz married Natalie Salandri, whose father also worked at the newspaper. Harleigh and Natalie's children were Francis A. Schultz (who died of an illness in 1925 at the age of 17), Robert H. Schultz, and Eleanor L. Schultz. A 1921 news clipping in the collection indicated that at that time, the family lived in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, and Schultz was principal of the West Tisbury School there. A 1926 letter addressed to Natalie shows that Schultz was also an officer for the Redland District Chamber of Commerce in Homestead, Florida for an undetermined period. In addition, Schultz's niece wrote that he worked as a reporter for the Boston American for 15 years, as a sports editor, motion picture critic, and city editor, though the letters in the collection that were written on Boston American letterhead span only from October 1927 to May 1934.

On November 26, 1930, Schultz informed his sister, Louise, that he and Natalie were separated and planning to divorce. A news clipping in the collection announces Schultz's marriage to Alice G. Falvey of Boston on June 30, 1932. Harleigh and Alice Schultz moved to Hollywood in 1934 in the hopes of finding a new job and life there. The first letters they sent from California to the Schultz family indicate that they were happy with the new location and had made friends with film star Mary Pickford. Schultz's first job in California was in the publicity department at R. K. O., but he moved to work for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation in 1935, where he stayed until his retirement in 1956. During that time, Schultz became the Publicity Chairman and served on MGM's board of governors. Harleigh Schultz died on October 22, 1958, and was buried in North Hollywood. Mary Pickford, his friend of 24 years, handled arrangements for his funeral.

Scope and Contents

This collection began as a scrapbook of papers related to Harleigh Bridges Schultz. It contains some of his school records, newspaper clippings about his life and death, newspaper articles that he wrote during his career as a newspaper man, letters, and photographs.

File 1, Biography, contains a two-page biography of Harleigh Schultz that was written by his niece, Evelyn M. McLelland Boschen, in 1991. This document provides an overview of Schultz's family history and career.

File 2, Childhood Education, begins in 1891, when Harleigh Schultz was in third grade. It includes several certificates of merit from Richmond Public Schools, report cards from Richmond High School, and two copies of the program for the Richmond High School Commencement Ceremony on June 13, 1901, in which Schultz gave an oration entitled "Dignity of Labor." Also included are two maps of Europe that he apparently drew from memory. The series ends with a photocopy of an article about the commencement ceremony in the Richmond Dispatch .

File 3, Richmond College, contains a report card from Richmond College, which was stuck onto a page from the Fifth Annual Studio Club News , which Schultz edited at MGM. The report includes a note: "Note on final Examination paper- Your son has been one of our very best students, and has made an admirable record, signed Prof. F. W. Boatwright." Other reports follow, as well as an empty envelope addressed to Harleigh Schultz's father, on which is noted "Letter of praise from Boatwright […]". Two documents have been removed to oversized storage: copies of the Collegian , the Richmond College student newspaper, which Schultz edited, with handwritten notes. Photocopies of the first and last pages, those with Schultz's notes, have been made and included with the collection. This is followed by news clippings regarding the 1904 commencement, a newspaper photo of the class of 1903-04, and a 1937 news clipping about the college.

Files 4 and 5, Correspondence, contain two folders of correspondence. Most of these letters were written by Harleigh Schultz, his first wife Natalie, or his second wife Alice, to Harleigh's sisters Louise and Maude or other relatives. The letters are mostly type-written on company letterhead from the Boston American or the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corporation. For the most part, these letters consist of kind words for Schultz's relatives, as well as news about the family.

File 6, Family, spans the largest time span, though several items are undated. It begins with a photocopy of a photograph of August F. Schultz and Hanna Ernestine von Sauermann, Harleigh's paternal grandparents. Several pages of photocopies of photographs follow, including pictures of Harleigh's parents, Harleigh's sons, and other relatives. Notes to identify the people in the images were written by a relative. This series also includes a photocopy of Harleigh Schultz's Delayed Certificate of Birth, issued in 1942 and witnessed by his sister Maude Schultz McLelland. A marriage notice and obituaries for Harleigh's parents are included, as are notices of Harleigh's marriages and death. A hand-drawn coat of arms labeled with the name Schultz is also included in this series.

File 7, Work, includes clippings of newspaper articles written by Harleigh Schultz, along with two of his business cards from his time with the Boston American .

File 8, Other News, begins with an article from 1926 regarding a hurricane that hit Miami, Florida. A handwritten note in the margins says "Uncle Harleigh there at this time." The second item is a collage of clippings from the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal from July 1942, regarding local sailors lost at sea. Harleigh Schultz, whose mother's family was from Gloucester, contributed a memorial poem to the journal. The last item in this series is an article called "The Soul Diary of Florence Nightingale Revealed by Author," which discusses Nightingale's reasons for deciding not to marry.

File 9, Photographs, includes several photos of Harleigh Schultz at various ages, his second wife, Alice, and himself with his son, Robert. Several photos appear to have been taken at MGM Studios, including one of Harleigh Schultz standing with Mr. Mayer and one of MGM's Board of Governors. Several of the photos are of famous people, particularly movie stars. Included in this series are signed photos of Cecil B. DeMille, Clark Gable, Van Johnson (addressed to Maude McLelland), Jean Harlow (addressed to Louise Schultz), Walter Pidgeon, and an unsigned photo of Esther Williams. The series concludes with a photo of the fountain near Harleigh's grave and a 1961 newspaper clipping with a picture of Mary Pickford after she received an honorary degree from Middlebury College.

Arrangement

The materials were arranged in one series, roughly chronologically. Dates for undated items have been estimated based on context.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
• Correspondence
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
• Photographs
• Schultz Family
• Schultz, Harleigh B. (Harleigh Bridges), 1883-1958
• University of Richmond -- History