Hamilton Papers
in the Columbia Libraries

HAROLD C. SYRETT

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY is preparing for publica¬
tion a new edition of the papers of Alexander Hamil¬
ton. This project, which was made possible by grants
from Time, Inc., and the Rockefeller Foundation, is under the
direction of a staff of editors and researchers whose offices are in
Butler Library and whose duties range from those of a file clerk
to those of the most dedicated scholar. The results of these
editorial efforts will be published by the Columbia University
Press at an undetermined date in an undetermined number of
volumes. It is hoped that this edition of Hamilton's papers will
not only be a fitting monument to Columbia's most illustrious
alumnus, but that it will also provide a more comprehensive and
better edited collection of Hamilton's writings than the editions
produced by John C. Hamilton in 1850-51 and by Henry Cabot
Lodge in 1885—1886 and 1904.

After a year and one-half of work the editors of the Papers of
Alexander Hamilton have succeeded in collecting photostats
of more than 14,000 Hamilton documents, including letters that
he received as well as those that he wrote. Most of these docu¬
ments run from one to five pages, but some are more than 100
pages in length, and a few exceed 200 pages. The originals of
the materials that have been collected are located in the manu¬
script collections of libraries, museums, and historical societies;
are owned by individuals; or survive only in printed form in
books, periodicals, and the newspapers published during Hamil¬
ton's life.

Although Columbia University owns only a small percentage
of the documents that will be used in the new edition of Hamil-