Menninger Foundation [Clinic] records

Identity elements

Reference code

IC 078

Name and location of repository

Level of description

Collection

Title

Menninger Foundation [Clinic] records

Date(s)

  • 1854-2003 (Creation)

Extent

84 cubic feet (123 boxes)

Name of creator

Menninger Foundation
(1925-)

Administrative history

Charles Fredrick (C. F.) Menninger, MD (also known as Dr. C. F. and CFM), began the Menninger Clinic in 1925. Although not initially a trained psychiatrist, he had an interest in psychiatry and is considered a pioneer in the then-emerging field. Two of his sons specialized in psychiatry at medical school and joined him in operating the clinic. Karl Augustus Menninger, who recently had graduated from medical school, joined him in the clinic late that same year. His son William Claire Menninger, Karl's younger brother, joined the clinic in 1927. Dr. Karl and Dr. Will, as the brothers were known, became leaders in the field. Dr. Karl managed the medical side of the clinic, while Dr. Will managed the finances and administration as the CEO. When Dr. Will died unexpectedly in 1966, Dr. Karl briefly took over as CEO before Dr. Will's son Roy Menninger, MD, known as Dr. Roy, was elected CEO. When Dr. Roy retired in 1993, his younger brother, William Walter (Walt) Menninger, known as Dr. Walt, succeeded him. John McKelvey succeeded Dr. Walt in 2001, and Dr. Walt was named chairman of The Menninger Foundation board of trustees. Menninger moved to Houston in 2003 after it formed an affiliation with The Methodist Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.

Content and structure elements

Scope and content

The Menninger collection comprises medical realia, publications, and ephemera from the Menninger Clinic and its former owners. The collection illustrates the evolution of the science of psychiatry and psychiatric treatment as seen through the eyes of America's first family of psychiatry, the Menningers, who opened its eponymous clinic in Topeka, Kansas, in 1925. Objects in the collection date as far back as 1854 through 2003, the year the clinic and its archive moved to Houston.

The collection is maintained in the McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center at the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library. The bulk of the collection has been processed at box and folder level. Most of the realia has be processed at the item level due to the nature of the materials.

Please note that the collection includes a Menninger museum register of realia. Items in this finding aid with numbers included in their description may be referenced in the museum register. The register is located in the IC 78 control folder. Please consult an archivist.

The bulk of the collection is in good condition and consists of 84 cubic feet (123 boxes).

System of arrangement

This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I: Menninger publications
Series II: Research of Lolafaye Coyne, Ph.D.
Series III: Medical realia
Series IV: Addendum, 1946-1994

Conditions of access and use elements

Conditions governing access

This material is unrestricted.

Physical access

Technical access

Conditions governing reproduction

This material is unrestricted.

Languages of the material

Scripts of the material

Language and script notes

Finding aids

EAD finding aid available.

Generated finding aid

ic-078.pdf

Acquisition and appraisal elements

Custodial history

Deed-1

Immediate source of acquisition

The Menninger Clinic. The Menninger Clinic donated this material to the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information

Accruals

The collection was initially acquired in 2003 from the Menninger Foundation. Additional materials were found and added as an addendum to the collection in 2017.

Related materials elements

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related archival materials

Menninger Rare Book Collection

Related descriptions

Notes element

General note

Specialized notes

  • Citation: Menninger Foundation [Clinic] records; 1854-2003; IC 078; John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center, Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library. Please cite the box and folder numbers where appropriate.
  • Processing information: Materials were generally processed in original order. Medical realia are housed in boxes. Large or odd-sized items have been placed in the GAF (Garment Artifact Framed) Section, each assigned an GAF# and inventoried. A few items were discarded due to poor condition or duplications. Discarded items are lists below: M-456 David and Kidder's Patent Magneto Electric Machine 1854 (2) M-125A Wood box, empty, inscribed with: Dono / Delle Fabbriche Riunite / Amido Glucosio Destrina / Alla Clinica Neuropsichiatrica / Dell' Universita di Roma Ceramic and metal electric sterilizer (2) Metal medical device manufactured by Spencer Lens Co. 71.1.1 Black leather bag. The leather bag was discarded due to poor condition. Contents of the bag were retained. See the Series III Medical Realia detailed listing.

Alternative identifier(s)

TARO

00080

Description control element

Rules or conventions

Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Sources used

Archivist's note

Finding aid prepared by Brenda Gunter, University of North Texas graduate student in Library and Information Science, September 10, 2010.

Archivist's note

Finding aid revised by Sandra Yates, 2017.

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