Biographical and Historical Note: 
Ida Frances Steloff (1887-1989) was born in Saratoga Springs on December 31, 1887. Following the premature death of her mother, she moved to a foster home in the suburbs of Boston, but left soon after to live in New York City. Her first job in New York City was at Loeser’s department store, where she was eventually placed in charge of the magazine department. Her lifelong love of books and this exposure to the book industry inspired her to invest her private book collection and her tiny funds in a storefront in Manhattan’s theater district. She opened the Gotham Book Mart on January 2, 1920. From these simple roots, Frances Steloff transformed her investment into a rich literary center and a mainstay of struggling artists and the avant-garde. Over the next several decades, Miss Steloff’s generosity and friendship to numerous authors greatly furthered the careers of literary luminaries from e.e. cummings to Tennessee Williams.  While befriending the avant-garde and promoting their works in her shop, Miss Steloff accumulated a large collection of valuable books and literary memorabilia.  During her lifetime she donated much of her collection to Skidmore. Frances Steloff supported Skidmore College in several ways.  During her lifetime she endowed an annual lectureship at Skidmore and contributed a large book collection to the library.  When she died in 1989 she left the college additional books and her papers relating to the establishment and management of the Gotham Book Mart in New York City.  A significant portion of her estate went to the New York Public Library. 

Scope and Content:
The non-print items in the Steloff Collection consist of  photographs, letters, catalogs, and periodicals. These items were collected by Frances herself and reflect her personal interests and business pursuits. Photographs, catalogs, and collected articles document the growth of Gotham Book Mart. The correspondence collection features letters and postcards from family, friends, authors, and a few U.S. Presidents. Other important items include documentation of her relationship with Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs memorabilia, and hand-clipped articles ranging in topic from personal commemoration to religion, and news of famous friends. 
 

Steloff Collection – Steloff Papers – Box List: 
(Please contact the Department of Special Collections for detailed box inventories) 

8 binders of photographs 
Skidmore Honorary Degree hood 
Oversized Photographs: Portraits 
Oversized Photographs: Various Gotham Book Mart and Steloff 
Oversized Photographs (designated as a group by similar matting) 
Various Oversized Items 
Various Framed Items 
Art and Literature: support given (A–La) 
Art and Literature: support given (Li–Po) 
Art and Literature: support given (Po–Z) 
Articles: Artists, Writers, and Relevant Locales 
General Articles: Recreation and Interests 
Audio-Visual 
Birthday 
Cards – Occasions 
Collected Signs 
Correspondence (A-D) 
Correspondence (D-H) 
Correspondence (I-Moore, H) 
Correspondence (Moore, H.T.-Ri) 
Correspondence (Ro-U) 
Correspondence (V-Z) 
Financial 
Financial: Receipts and Bills 
Gotham Book Mart, 1 of 2 
Gotham Book Mart, 2 of 2 
James Joyce Society 
Media Recognition and Awards, 1900-1989, 2 boxes 
Personal Effects, 1 of 2 
Personal Effects, 2 of 2 
Philanthropy, 1 of 2 
Philanthropy, 2 of 2 
Religious, Spiritual, and New Age (A-Fo) 
Religious, Spiritual, and New Age (Fl-In) 
Religious, Spiritual, and New Age (In-Spa) 
Religious, Spiritual, and New Age (Spi-Z) 
Saratoga Springs 
Saratoga Springs, Postcards 
Skidmore College 
Stereopticon Slides 
Stereopticon Viewers 
Travel 
Victrola and Record Albums 
Miscellaneous 
Larger Oversized Items: not boxed 
Various Large Art Objects