James “Jimmy” Henry Van Alen (1902-1991) was born on September 19, 1902, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the eldest son of James Laurens (1878-1927) and Margaret Louise Post Van Alen (1877-1969), who was a relative of the Vanderbilt family and commonly referred to as “Daisy.” James H. Van Alen had two younger siblings: William Laurens (1907-2009) and Louise Astor (Van Alen) Saunderson (1917-2004). His grandfather, James John Van Alen (1846-1923), married into the Astor family with his 1876 marriage to Emily Astor (1854-1881), making James H. Van Alen a very socially connected man in both New York and Newport’s social circles. His paternal grandparents built the summer cottage, Wakehurst, in Newport in the 1880s, and the Van Alens lived between there and homes in New York, England, and France. James H. Van Alen attended Cambridge University and graduated in 1924, during which time he played on their tennis team, a sport he played and enjoyed since the age of five. He continued to be an avid tennis player throughout his life and was a national single and doubles champion in tennis. In October 1929, he married his first wife, Eleanor Langley (b. 1902) and had two children: James Langley (1931-2008) and Samuel T. (1934-1970). The couple later divorced in 1948. With the start of World War II, James H. Van Alen enlisted in the United States Navy and worked for the Navy’s Book and Magazine Section before running a rest camp in England. He was discharged from the Navy on March 2, 1949.
Candace Baird Alig Van Alen (1912-2002) was born on March 28, 1912, in Louisville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Otto Fidele (c. 1882-1933) and Candace May Baird Alig (1888-1972), and had a younger brother, Baird Alig (1914-1918), who did not survive past childhood. Candace, or Candy as she was known, spent her childhood in Des Moines, Iowa, and was tutored at home until she was sent to Rosemary Hall, a boarding school in Greenwich, Connecticut. Candy attended Vassar College, where she majored in political science and economics and after her graduation in 1932, she began post graduate studies at Columbia University, Radcliffe College, and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. In 1937, she married Kevin Cox Vanderlip (1912-1956) of New York. The couple divided their time between New York and their Palos Verdes Ranch in California. Candy began a career as a public relations account executive for a New York firm and was also involved in much charity work. The Vanderlips divorced in 1945 and at this time, Candy began her journalism career. She first worked as a correspondent for El Universal, Mexico’s largest newspapers, and represented them at a United Nations meeting in San Francisco. During World War II, she served as war correspondent for the International News Service and was stationed in Paris until the end of 1946. Upon her return to N.Y. in 1947, she became assistant to the editor and editorial writer for the New York Herald Tribune, a position she held until 1948.
The Van Alens met at a cocktail party in New York and were soon married on November 8, 1948. Throughout their forty-three year marriage, they became known as a high society couple recognized for their involvement in a multitude of activities and organizations. They owned a variety of residences including Penny Pond in Greenvale, N.Y., an apartment in Madrid, a condo in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and their primary residence, Avalon, in Newport. The couple enjoyed working together and for years wrote a joint newspaper column, “Between the Lines,” that was published nationally. In 1953, they began an annual reading of Clement C. Moore’s, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas,” at Moore’s Newport summer home. The Van Alens hoped to turn this house into a Christmas museum, but this endeavor was never realized. They did continue their annual readings and in 1958, Jimmy wrote an introduction and addendum to the famous poem, which he also recited during their annual readings. They also worked to return the Newport Casino to its former position as the center of civic and social activity as well as establishing a Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1954, the International Tennis Hall of Fame, which operated at the Newport Casino, was established. This is commonly seen as their greatest contribution to society.
Besides their work together, the Van Alens continued to work on individual projects and their own interests. James H. Van Alen made a major contribution to the game of tennis with his development of the Van Alen Streamlined Scoring System (VASSS). This system advocated a sudden death tie breaker for the game and his system eventually evolved into the best of twelve tie breaks seen in tennis matches today. He also spent time composing his own poems and music, and was actively involved with the Republican Party. Candace Van Alen served as contributing editor to Vogue for eight years and had a “How To” column in the New York Daily News and the Chicago Syndicate. She also served as chairman or committee member for various organizations including the International Debutante Ball, April in Paris Ball in N.Y., the International Red Cross Ball in Palm Beach, Florida, and the American Scottish Foundation.
James H. Van Alen died on July 3, 1991, after suffering from a fall at his Newport home. Candace Van Alen lived on to the age of ninety, passing away on February 12, 2002. The couple is interred at the Berkeley Memorial Cemetery in Middletown, Rhode Island.
Access is open to members and researchers at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection is owned by the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Special Collections Librarian of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
James H. and Candace Van Alen papers, RLC.Ms.003, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This collection consists of personal records, correspondence, published and unpublished writings, clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, audiovisual materials, artifacts, and textiles which document the lives, interests, and residences of James H. Van Alen and Candace Van Alen both separately and as a couple. Also included are materials related to ancestors of the Van Alens, including the Alig, Astor, Baird, Van Alen, and Vanderbilt families.
Due to the arrangement of this collection into thirteen series, it is possible that information concerning a particular topic of interest may be found within various series throughout the collection.
This collection is arranged into the following series and subseries:
Gift of the estate of Candace Van Alen, 2002
When this collection was first received in 2002, it consisted of 86 boxes (63 record boxes, 21 oversize flat file boxes, and two textile boxes). One section of this acquisition was highly organized, while the other was in a state of disarray. The organized part of the collection was the result of the work completed by a private secretary, hired by Candace Van Alen sometime after the death of her husband, to arrange his papers. This secretary, who remains unknown, created a meticulous filing system for these records. Each individual item was enclosed in a page protector and labeled with information such as the series it belonged in, the date, and a description of its contents. All of the items in page protectors have a smaller label on the reverse side with an ID number for the document. (These numbers may have served a purpose during the secretary’s work with the records, but this is unapparent in the collection’s current arrangement.) Each item was then placed within a file folder and then housed in a vertical hanging folder – all labeled with a description of the contents and the series created by the secretary. Photographs that were found within documents were oftentimes separated and could be found within the series of photographs.
Volunteers and staff at the Redwood Library first began processing this collection in 2005. At this time, they replaced the file folders and vertical file folders with archival folders. The second part of the collection, which was not in any discernable order when acquired by the Library, was surveyed and sorted according to records pertaining to James H. Van Alen, Candace Van Alen, and the two of them as a couple. The series arrangement established by Van Alen's secretary was maintained with additions made in order to accommodate the records belonging primarily to Candace Van Alen. Processing of the collection was incomplete, leaving the bulk of Candace Van Alen's records and photographs to be organized and arranged. A preliminary finding aid for the collection was drafted, which served as the framework for this current version of the finding aid for the James H. and Candace Van Alen papers.
During the 2014 arrangement of this collection, box numbers and folders were assigned to all of the previously processed records. Materials that were not yet arranged were sorted and interfiled according to the series and subseries structure established by the previous archivists and the Van Alen secretary. Photographs were arranged according to approximate date ranges, in interest of time, and not further described according to their image contents as seen in earlier processing efforts.
This donation included ten boxes of published books which have been separated from this collection.
Murphy collection of Van Alen papers, RLC.Ms.036, Redwood Library and Athenaeum.
This series consists of address books, calendars, certificates, day planners, family memorabilia, genealogical records, and property lists regarding Candace Van Alen, James H. Van Alen, and Van Alen and other related families such as the Aligs and Vanderbilts. This series is comprised of three subseries, all of which are arranged in alphabetical order.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and contains auction materials, appraisals, bills, clippings, correspondence, and guest books concerning the homes where the Van Alens resided throughout their marriage. These residences include Avalon in Newport, Rhode Island, Penny Pond in Greenvale, New York, and an apartment in Madrid, Spain. Also present are guest books from Van Alen ancestral homes including Rushton Hall in England, where James H. Van Alen lived with his parents throughout his youth, and Wakehurst in Newport, built by James Laurens Van Alen (1878-1927).
This series includes incoming and outgoing correspondence found within three separate subseries. Photocopies of letters in place of originals, drafts, greeting cards, and some photographs are also found within this series. This series is comprised of three subseries, all of which are arranged in alphabetical order by last name or subject. The first subseries is dedicated to Candace Van Alen, the second includes letters that were in the possession of the Van Alens and the last subseries documents James H. Van Alen’s work with tennis.
The first subseries, dedicated to Candace Van Alen, consists of her correspondence with family and friends, greeting cards, and condolences she received after the death of her husband. The last two subseries: family, friends, business, and tennis friends were compiled by Candace Van Alen’s hired secretary. These subseries consist mainly of letters received and sent by James Van Alen, but also includes correspondence addressed to either Candace or Mr. and Mrs. Van Alen.
This subseries includes letters that were in the possession of the Van Alens. This includes early letters from James H. Van Alen’s ancestors. Of particular note are letters from his great-grandfather, General James Henry Van Alen (1819-1886), who served as a brigadier general during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Majority of Gen. Van Alen’s letters were written to his own parents, James I. (1788-1874) and Lucy Trumbull Van Alen (1788-1867), describing his travels throughout Europe prior to the war. There is also a photocopy of a letter addressed to him from President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). Also found in this subseries is another Civil War era letter that was found with the Van Alen papers, but shows no discernible connection to the Van Alens. This letter was written by soldier J. Frank Sterling on July 2, 1863, while at the Battle of Gettysburg.
This letter was found in:
This subseries documents James H. Van Alen’s efforts in promoting and advocating the sport of tennis and his development of VASSS. This series also details the Van Alens’ efforts to revive the Newport Casino and establish a hall of fame and museum for tennis in Newport.
This series contains published and unpublished articles, drafts, clippings, essays, research notes, poems, songs and music composed by the Van Alens. This series is further divided into three subseries all arranged in alphabetical order by subject. The first subseries contains writings by Candace Van Alen, the second contains writings by James H. Van Alen and the last subseries includes clippings and correspondence regarding “Between the Lines,” the newspaper column co-written by the couple.
This subseries consists of essays, articles, notes, and drafts written by Candace Van Alen while she was in school and for newspaper and magazine assignments.
The second subseries includes James H. Van Alen’s notebooks, essays on various subjects, poems, and the music he composed to transform his poems into songs.
The last subseries contains clippings and correspondence regarding “Between the Lines,” the newspaper column co-written by the couple.
This series, arranged in alphabetical order, consists of clippings, correspondence, invitations, and other memorabilia from various tournaments and tennis events on the amateur, collegiate, and professional levels that the Van Alens either participated in, organized, or attended.
This series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject and is comprised of correspondence, clippings, financial records, invitations, lists, memorabilia, and programs from the Van Alens’ involvement in various causes, clubs, events, and organizations. Also included are documents from their own personal projects such as, James H. Van Alen’s efforts to have his original poems and music copyrighted, his development of VASSS for tennis and later Van Alen’s Answer to Grief in Golf (VAAGG), and the couple’s annual Christmas reading of Clement C. Moore’s poem, “The Night before Christmas” at Moore’s summer residence in Newport, which the couple also hoped to transform into a Christmas House and Museum. More information concerning their efforts to establish the Hall of Fame and Museum for tennis and revitalizing the Newport Casino can be found here too. Records from the various vacations they took throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, as well as their participation in safaris, hunting and pheasant shooting parties are also found within this series.
This series contains clippings from newspapers and magazines that document the activities and interests of the Van Alens. The first part of this series is arranged in chronological order, while the identified clippings are in alphabetical order. Also found in this series are magazines that contain articles written by Candace Van Alen or concern social gatherings that the couple attended.
This series concerns the political interests mainly of James H. Van Alen, who was an avid Republican throughout his lifetime and involved in the Republican National Finance Committee and the Rhode Island National Finance Committee during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s (1890-1969) administration. Records in this series are arranged in alphabetical order and consist of clippings, correspondence, invitations, and Christmas cards from the White House addressed to the Van Alens. The Van Alens were invited to the presidential inaugurations of Eisenhower and Nixon.
This series, arranged in alphabetical order, includes correspondence, invitations, and programs related to the Van Alens’ membership and participation in various clubs and organizations in Newport and New York including the American Scottish Foundation, the Newport Country Club, and the Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Airmen’s Club.
The majority of this series is arranged in chronological order, while identified photographs are in alphabetical order, and is further divided into seven subseries. Photographs arranged by the date were determined by either a date on the photograph or other visual clues to estimate a date range. This series includes photographs, framed photographs, photograph albums, and some daguerreotypes within seven subseries concerning the Van Alen family, residences, snapshots, social gatherings, and tennis. Also included are a subseries for slides and one for negatives. The bulk of the slides are identified and housed within slide protector sheets. Unidentified slides are typically found within their original boxes which may or may not have any identification information written on them by the Van Alens. Lastly, both film negative and glass plate negatives are found within this series, the majority of which are unidentified and undated.
Scrapbooks are arranged in alphabetical order by their creator and then by chronological order. These scrapbooks contain clippings, correspondence, and other keepsakes that the Van Alens and Margaret Louise Van Alen Bruguiere (1877-1969), James H. Van Alen’s mother maintained throughout their lives to document current events, individual interests, and achievements. Some of the scrapbooks were damaged by a fire at Avalon in 1976 and are in fragile condition.
This series contains a videocassette, films, and sound recordings. Many of the records are recordings of James H. Van Alen, playing his own self-composed songs and music. These materials are in fragile condition.
These series includes various keepsakes, personalized items, pastel drawings, prints, postcards, and textiles. Of particular interest is Candace Van Alen’s war correspondent suit, which she most likely wore during World War II while working for the International News Service.