{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Item\u0026page=1","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Item\u0026page=2","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=Item\u0026page=7"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":2,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":7,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":69,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: Telephone Circle 7-0747 Cable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.001","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","[double-headed eagle emblem]","Russian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n36 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nApril 14, 1934","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nChatham\nFredericksburg, Virginia","My dear Mrs. Pratt,","Please forgive me for the delay in answering your kind letter of the 12th, but I was trying to trace the cause of wrong delivery, as I note that the envelope was properly addressed by you. The Mr. Schaeffer in the building should have indeed had the courtesy to forward it to me. ","I have received your note and also the book, and am sorry that you have had this unpleasantness.","I hope that my letter finds you in the best of health, and remain, with best wishes, and kindest personal regards, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins me, ","Yours very sincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","ASS:RS","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Apr. 14, 1934"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1934"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["1 page"],"extent_tesim":["1 page"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":4,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1934],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.001"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e[double-headed eagle emblem]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n36 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nApril 14, 1934\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nChatham\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMy dear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ePlease forgive me for the delay in answering your kind letter of the 12th, but I was trying to trace the cause of wrong delivery, as I note that the envelope was properly addressed by you. The Mr. Schaeffer in the building should have indeed had the courtesy to forward it to me. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI have received your note and also the book, and am sorry that you have had this unpleasantness.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI hope that my letter finds you in the best of health, and remain, with best wishes, and kindest personal regards, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins me, \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eYours very sincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eASS:RS\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","[double-headed eagle emblem]","Russian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n36 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nApril 14, 1934","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nChatham\nFredericksburg, Virginia","My dear Mrs. Pratt,","Please forgive me for the delay in answering your kind letter of the 12th, but I was trying to trace the cause of wrong delivery, as I note that the envelope was properly addressed by you. The Mr. Schaeffer in the building should have indeed had the courtesy to forward it to me. ","I have received your note and also the book, and am sorry that you have had this unpleasantness.","I hope that my letter finds you in the best of health, and remain, with best wishes, and kindest personal regards, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins me, ","Yours very sincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","ASS:RS"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#0","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c01"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: [In process]\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.002","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \n[In process]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["July 1, 1935"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1935"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["1 page"],"extent_tesim":["1 page"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":5,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1935],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.002"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \n[In process]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \n[In process]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#1","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c02"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: Telephone Circle 7-0747 Cable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.003","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","[double-headed eagle emblem]","Russian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n36 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nNovember 19, 1935","Mrs. John L. Pratt\n\"Chatham\" Box 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","My dear Mrs. Pratt,","I am most disappointed to hear that the cabinet is not the size that you should have. It is a pity that all your lovely objects could not be displayed without being crowded.","I will try my very best to get another cabinet for you, the size you want, and exchange it for the one you have now. Of course I cannot tell just how soon I could get one, but in the meantime you can use the one you have.","Or maybe you could find room for another cabinet which would give you a chance to display all of your lovely things without crowding them, regardless of their size. This would really be the best solution.","I am sorry you had to be annoyed paying","[page 2]","the freight for the cabinet. I gave specific instructions to send it prepaid. I have also spoken to them about packing, and I am only glad that at least it arrived safely. It is so hard to make people understand sometimes, or have them do what you want them to do.","With best wishes and kindest regards, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins me, I am","Yours most sincerely, \nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","ASS:RS","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Nov. 19, 1935"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1935"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["2 pages"],"extent_tesim":["2 pages"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":6,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1935],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.003"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e[double-headed eagle emblem]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n36 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nNovember 19, 1935\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\n\"Chatham\" Box 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMy dear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am most disappointed to hear that the cabinet is not the size that you should have. It is a pity that all your lovely objects could not be displayed without being crowded.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI will try my very best to get another cabinet for you, the size you want, and exchange it for the one you have now. Of course I cannot tell just how soon I could get one, but in the meantime you can use the one you have.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOr maybe you could find room for another cabinet which would give you a chance to display all of your lovely things without crowding them, regardless of their size. This would really be the best solution.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am sorry you had to be annoyed paying\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e[page 2]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ethe freight for the cabinet. I gave specific instructions to send it prepaid. I have also spoken to them about packing, and I am only glad that at least it arrived safely. It is so hard to make people understand sometimes, or have them do what you want them to do.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWith best wishes and kindest regards, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins me, I am\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eYours most sincerely, \nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eASS:RS\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","[double-headed eagle emblem]","Russian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n36 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nNovember 19, 1935","Mrs. John L. Pratt\n\"Chatham\" Box 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","My dear Mrs. Pratt,","I am most disappointed to hear that the cabinet is not the size that you should have. It is a pity that all your lovely objects could not be displayed without being crowded.","I will try my very best to get another cabinet for you, the size you want, and exchange it for the one you have now. Of course I cannot tell just how soon I could get one, but in the meantime you can use the one you have.","Or maybe you could find room for another cabinet which would give you a chance to display all of your lovely things without crowding them, regardless of their size. This would really be the best solution.","I am sorry you had to be annoyed paying","[page 2]","the freight for the cabinet. I gave specific instructions to send it prepaid. I have also spoken to them about packing, and I am only glad that at least it arrived safely. It is so hard to make people understand sometimes, or have them do what you want them to do.","With best wishes and kindest regards, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins me, I am","Yours most sincerely, \nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","ASS:RS"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#2","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c03"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: [In process]\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.004","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \n[In process]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["June 2, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["2 pages"],"extent_tesim":["2 pages"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":7,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.004"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \n[In process]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \n[In process]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#3","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c04"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: [In process]\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.005","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \n[In process]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["June 8, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["1 page"],"extent_tesim":["1 page"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":8,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.005"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \n[In process]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \n[In process]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#4","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c05"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: Telephone Circle 7-0747 Cable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.006","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","Alexander S. Schaffer\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nAugust 3, 1936","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","Thank you for your check on account and your kind inquiry about Mrs. Schaffer. She is feeling fine and is at the seashore at the present. I have given her your regards and she wishes to be remembered to you. She is getting along very nicely, but of course is anxiously awaiting the great event. ","Sorry to hear about the trouble you have with your servants and hope you will be able to solve it to your satisfaction.","I have designed something myself for the little stand and am taking the liberty of going ahead with it, hoping that you will approve of it. It will be made of 14 karat gold, and will be larger than the one you had and entirely different, and will cost approximately $150.00. The only thing I am not certain about is the size, not having the egg here. I have to guess more or less from the old stand, and therefore would like very much to have the egg to take measurements. ","On second thought I don't think this will be necessary, as I expect to be in Washington next Tuesday, the 11th, when I would like to go out to your place for an hour or so, to see ","(over please)","[page 2]","your things, and at the same time I could measure the egg.","I think I could be in Fredericksburg around 2:00 P.M. and then take a train about 5:00 P.M. back to New York, unless it is necessary for me to stop over at Washington until Wednesday. ","The heat is terrific in New York, and I am so glad that Mrs. Schaffer consented to go away. ","Hoping that my letter finds you in the best of health, with kindest regards from Mrs. Schaffer and myself,","Sincerely yours,\nAlexanders S. Schaffer [signed]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Aug. 3, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["2 pages"],"extent_tesim":["2 pages"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":9,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.006"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAlexander S. Schaffer\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nAugust 3, 1936\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThank you for your check on account and your kind inquiry about Mrs. Schaffer. She is feeling fine and is at the seashore at the present. I have given her your regards and she wishes to be remembered to you. She is getting along very nicely, but of course is anxiously awaiting the great event. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSorry to hear about the trouble you have with your servants and hope you will be able to solve it to your satisfaction.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI have designed something myself for the little stand and am taking the liberty of going ahead with it, hoping that you will approve of it. It will be made of 14 karat gold, and will be larger than the one you had and entirely different, and will cost approximately $150.00. The only thing I am not certain about is the size, not having the egg here. I have to guess more or less from the old stand, and therefore would like very much to have the egg to take measurements. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOn second thought I don't think this will be necessary, as I expect to be in Washington next Tuesday, the 11th, when I would like to go out to your place for an hour or so, to see \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e(over please)\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e[page 2]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eyour things, and at the same time I could measure the egg.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI think I could be in Fredericksburg around 2:00 P.M. and then take a train about 5:00 P.M. back to New York, unless it is necessary for me to stop over at Washington until Wednesday. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe heat is terrific in New York, and I am so glad that Mrs. Schaffer consented to go away. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHoping that my letter finds you in the best of health, with kindest regards from Mrs. Schaffer and myself,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSincerely yours,\nAlexanders S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","Alexander S. Schaffer\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nAugust 3, 1936","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","Thank you for your check on account and your kind inquiry about Mrs. Schaffer. She is feeling fine and is at the seashore at the present. I have given her your regards and she wishes to be remembered to you. She is getting along very nicely, but of course is anxiously awaiting the great event. ","Sorry to hear about the trouble you have with your servants and hope you will be able to solve it to your satisfaction.","I have designed something myself for the little stand and am taking the liberty of going ahead with it, hoping that you will approve of it. It will be made of 14 karat gold, and will be larger than the one you had and entirely different, and will cost approximately $150.00. The only thing I am not certain about is the size, not having the egg here. I have to guess more or less from the old stand, and therefore would like very much to have the egg to take measurements. ","On second thought I don't think this will be necessary, as I expect to be in Washington next Tuesday, the 11th, when I would like to go out to your place for an hour or so, to see ","(over please)","[page 2]","your things, and at the same time I could measure the egg.","I think I could be in Fredericksburg around 2:00 P.M. and then take a train about 5:00 P.M. back to New York, unless it is necessary for me to stop over at Washington until Wednesday. ","The heat is terrific in New York, and I am so glad that Mrs. Schaffer consented to go away. ","Hoping that my letter finds you in the best of health, with kindest regards from Mrs. Schaffer and myself,","Sincerely yours,\nAlexanders S. Schaffer [signed]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#5","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. 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The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c06"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: [In process]\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.007","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \n[In process]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Aug. 14, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["2 pages"],"extent_tesim":["2 pages"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":10,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.007"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \n[In process]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \n[In process]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#6","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c07"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: Telephone Circle 7-0747 Cable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.008","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","[double-headed eagle emblem]","Russian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n\"The Schaffer Collection\"\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nOctober 7, 1936","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nChatham\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","Just a line to let you know that I am planning to have an exhibit at my galleries, beginning November first, of the work of CARL FABERGE, and I thought you may be willing to loan me some of the lovely things you own. Although I really hate to put you to all this trouble, but maybe you could just have someone pack the things that you want to lend to me, and send them railway express, insured, at my expense. ","So far I have only borrowed the big Easter egg, but I do not know whether I will have anything else outside of my own things.","Believe it or not, Paul is asking about you and sends his love, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins him. ","With kindest regards and best wishes,","Cordially,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","ASS:RS","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Oct. 7, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["1 page"],"extent_tesim":["1 page"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":11,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.008"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e[double-headed eagle emblem]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n\"The Schaffer Collection\"\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nOctober 7, 1936\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nChatham\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eJust a line to let you know that I am planning to have an exhibit at my galleries, beginning November first, of the work of CARL FABERGE, and I thought you may be willing to loan me some of the lovely things you own. Although I really hate to put you to all this trouble, but maybe you could just have someone pack the things that you want to lend to me, and send them railway express, insured, at my expense. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSo far I have only borrowed the big Easter egg, but I do not know whether I will have anything else outside of my own things.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBelieve it or not, Paul is asking about you and sends his love, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins him. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWith kindest regards and best wishes,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCordially,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eASS:RS\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","[double-headed eagle emblem]","Russian Imperial Treasures, Inc.\n\"The Schaffer Collection\"\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nOctober 7, 1936","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nChatham\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","Just a line to let you know that I am planning to have an exhibit at my galleries, beginning November first, of the work of CARL FABERGE, and I thought you may be willing to loan me some of the lovely things you own. Although I really hate to put you to all this trouble, but maybe you could just have someone pack the things that you want to lend to me, and send them railway express, insured, at my expense. ","So far I have only borrowed the big Easter egg, but I do not know whether I will have anything else outside of my own things.","Believe it or not, Paul is asking about you and sends his love, in which Mrs. Schaffer joins him. ","With kindest regards and best wishes,","Cordially,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","ASS:RS"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#7","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    "],"total_component_count_is":762,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c08"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c09","type":"Item","attributes":{"title":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c09#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: [In process]\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c09#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c09","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c09"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c09","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.009","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \n[In process]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Oct. 10, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["1 page"],"extent_tesim":["1 page"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":12,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.009"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \n[In process]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \n[In process]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#8","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"deflist\"\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 1\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSchaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 2\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eHammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 3\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eEstate, 1932-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 4\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eClippings, 1932-1937, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n      \u003cdefitem\u003e\n        \u003clabel\u003eSeries 5\u003c/label\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eMuseum Records, 1936-1947, undated\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/defitem\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    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Schaffer to Pratt","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c10#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: Telephone Circle 7-0747 Cable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c10#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c10","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c10"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c10","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01","virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1"],"text":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Series 1: Schaffer Collection","Series 1.1: Alexander Schaffer Correspondence","Folder 1","A. Schaffer to Pratt","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.010","American--1","Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.","Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","Alexander S. Schaffer\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nOctober 27, 1936","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","I was so glad to receive your letter, as I was worried already that you may be ill, and that this was the reason that you did not come to New York as you planned. And judging from your letter, I was almost right, but I am glad to know that it isn't anything serious, and I hope that by the time this note reaches you, you will be in perfect condition again. ","I would not think of letting you make that trip to Washington. I would much rather wait until the 3d and then you could bring the things with you. ","Regarding the Egg, you have apparently forgotten that in one of my letters I have definitely promised it to you for September, and which I meant. Although it is now October, as you see I kept my promise, except for being late, which was beyond my control. I am sorry to learn that you cannot find a way of getting it at present. However, I must tell you this – should I be successful in making a substantial sale, I shall buy it back myself and then, needless to say, I will let you have it regardless of when you could pay for it. I only hope that they do not change their minds in the meanwhile. ","I could not buy it myself presently, because I have just paid a huge amount in duties for some fine things I have bought about a year ago. If not for ","[page 2]","this, I would have probably settled the whole affair with them without even writing to you about it, because to get it back is my one ambition, and I would not worry about selling it again. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. ","With kindest regards and best wishes, and love from the family, ","Cordially,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"title_filing_ssi":"A. Schaffer to Pratt","title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"title_tesim":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["Oct. 27, 1936"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1936"],"normalized_title_ssm":["A. Schaffer to Pratt"],"component_level_isim":[4],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"physdesc_tesim":["Paper"],"extent_ssm":["2 pages"],"extent_tesim":["2 pages"],"physfacet_tesim":["Correspondence"],"creator_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["Item"],"level_ssim":["Item"],"sort_isi":13,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the VMFA Collections Search website. "],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"date_range_isim":[1936],"names_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"persname_ssim":["Schaffer, Alexander S."],"geogname_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssm":["New York (N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["New York (N.Y.)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Gift of Lillian Thomas Pratt."],"language_ssim":["English"],"containers_ssim":["box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.010"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAmerican--1\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical / Historical"],"bioghist_tesim":["American--1"],"odd_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSchaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities.\u003c/p\u003e"],"odd_heading_ssm":["General"],"odd_tesim":["Schaffer Collection, Russian Imperial Treasures, Rockefeller Center","Digitization of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Archives has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_heading_ssm":["Preferred Citation"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eAlexander S. Schaffer\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nOctober 27, 1936\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI was so glad to receive your letter, as I was worried already that you may be ill, and that this was the reason that you did not come to New York as you planned. And judging from your letter, I was almost right, but I am glad to know that it isn't anything serious, and I hope that by the time this note reaches you, you will be in perfect condition again. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI would not think of letting you make that trip to Washington. I would much rather wait until the 3d and then you could bring the things with you. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eRegarding the Egg, you have apparently forgotten that in one of my letters I have definitely promised it to you for September, and which I meant. Although it is now October, as you see I kept my promise, except for being late, which was beyond my control. I am sorry to learn that you cannot find a way of getting it at present. However, I must tell you this – should I be successful in making a substantial sale, I shall buy it back myself and then, needless to say, I will let you have it regardless of when you could pay for it. I only hope that they do not change their minds in the meanwhile. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI could not buy it myself presently, because I have just paid a huge amount in duties for some fine things I have bought about a year ago. If not for \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e[page 2]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003ethis, I would have probably settled the whole affair with them without even writing to you about it, because to get it back is my one ambition, and I would not worry about selling it again. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWith kindest regards and best wishes, and love from the family, \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eCordially,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: \nTelephone Circle 7-0747\nCable Address \"Russianart\"","Alexander S. Schaffer\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York\nOctober 27, 1936","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","I was so glad to receive your letter, as I was worried already that you may be ill, and that this was the reason that you did not come to New York as you planned. And judging from your letter, I was almost right, but I am glad to know that it isn't anything serious, and I hope that by the time this note reaches you, you will be in perfect condition again. ","I would not think of letting you make that trip to Washington. I would much rather wait until the 3d and then you could bring the things with you. ","Regarding the Egg, you have apparently forgotten that in one of my letters I have definitely promised it to you for September, and which I meant. Although it is now October, as you see I kept my promise, except for being late, which was beyond my control. I am sorry to learn that you cannot find a way of getting it at present. However, I must tell you this – should I be successful in making a substantial sale, I shall buy it back myself and then, needless to say, I will let you have it regardless of when you could pay for it. I only hope that they do not change their minds in the meanwhile. ","I could not buy it myself presently, because I have just paid a huge amount in duties for some fine things I have bought about a year ago. If not for ","[page 2]","this, I would have probably settled the whole affair with them without even writing to you about it, because to get it back is my one ambition, and I would not worry about selling it again. I shouldn't have done it in the first place. ","With kindest regards and best wishes, and love from the family, ","Cordially,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eIn Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Conditions Governing Use"],"userestrict_tesim":["In Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#0/components#9","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:00:51.273Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_root_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","_nest_parent_":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/VMFA/repositories_2_resources_8.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"https://archives.vmfa.museum/repositories/2/resources/8","title_filing_ssi":"Pratt, Lillian Thomas (SC-07)","title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"unitdate_ssm":["1901-1947"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1901-1947"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"text":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8","Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)","Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs","The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . ","The collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated","The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)","Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.","A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.","The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.","The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.","The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["SC-07","/repositories/2/resources/8"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_title_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"collection_ssim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07)"],"repository_ssm":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"repository_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssm":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"creators_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"access_terms_ssm":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Art objects, Russian","Easter eggs","Fabergé eggs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes (15 folders), 1 oversize item and 1 binder"],"physfacet_tesim":["723 items"],"date_range_isim":[1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is open for research.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDigitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.vmfa.museum/archives/lillian-thomas-pratt-personal-papers-sc-07/\"\u003eVMFA Collections Search website\u003c/a\u003e. \u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["The collection is open for research.","Digitization of the collection has been made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The digital collection can be accessed through the  VMFA Collections Search website . "],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is organized into five series, and items are generally arranged chronologically within each series. Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. 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Price tags are arranged numerically by item number. Items with no date are placed at the end at each series.","Series 1 Schaffer Collection, 1934-1947, undated Series 2 Hammer Galleries, 1933-1945, undated Series 3 Estate, 1932-1947, undated Series 4 Clippings, 1932-1937, undated Series 5 Museum Records, 1936-1947, undated"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cbibref\u003eThe Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026amp; Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eConfessions of the Czarina, 1918\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eMother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eThe Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eEducation of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eA Princess in Exile, 1932\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eTwice Seven, 1937\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eRussian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eHandbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eSelections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003e12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eImperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewelry by Fabergé, 1953\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eJewels by Fabergé, 1954\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eFabergé Revealed, 2011\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)\u003c/bibref\u003e","\u003cbibref\u003eVirginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)\u003c/bibref\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Related Materials - VMFA Library: Pratt's Personal Library","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Catalogs","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Video","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Exhibition Files","Related Materials - VMFA Library: Subject Files","Related Materials - Library of Virginia"],"bibliography_tesim":["The Fall of the Romanoffs: How the Ex-Empress \u0026 Rasputine Caused the Russian Revolution, 1917","Confessions of the Czarina, 1918","Mother Dear: The Empress Marie of Russia and Her Times, 1926","The Tragic Bride: The Story of the Empress Alexandra of Russia, 1927","The Life and Tragedy of Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, 1928","The Intimate Life of the Last Tzarina, 1928","The Real Romanovs, as Revealed by the Late Czar's Physician and His Son, 1931","Russia - My Home: An Intimate Record of Personal Experiences Before, During and After the Bolshevist Revolution, 1931","Education of a Princess: A Memoir, 1931","A Princess in Exile, 1932","Twice Seven, 1937","Russian Imperial Treasures: Collection of Lillian T. Pratt, undated","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs Presented by Tsar Nikolai II, 1940","Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960","Fabergé: A Catalog of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Russian Imperial Jewels, 1976","Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995","Fabergé Revealed: At the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2011","Lillian Thomas Pratt's Fabergé: Shopping, Collecting, Remembering, 1996","Selections from the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1947","12th Anniversary Exhibition: The Pratt Collection of Jewels, 1948","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1949","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1950","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1951","Imperial Russian Easter Eggs, 1952","Jewelry by Fabergé, 1953","Jewels by Fabergé, 1954","Fabergé in America and the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé, 1996","Fabergé Revealed, 2011","VMFA Collections: Decorative Arts: Metalwork: Fabergé","VMFA Donors: Pratt, John Lee and Lillian Thomas","VMFA Gallery Design: Fabergé","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Director's Correspondence, 1936-1976 (Coll. No. 33863 and 44067)","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Files, 1936-1992 (Coll No. 31633, 32958, 33041, 33160, 34679, 36342, 36957 and 37636)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eTwo months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003ePratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSource: \u003ca href=\"http://www.pandora.vmfa.museum/uhtbin/cgisirsi.exe/x/0/0/57/5/3?searchdata1=6519%7bCKEY%7d\u0026amp;searchfield1=GENERAL%5eSUBJECT%5eGENERAL%5e%5e\u0026amp;user_id=WEBSERVER\"\u003eFabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Two months after Lillian Thomas Pratt's death in June 1947, her stunning and expansive collection of Fabergé artworks were unexpectedly bequeathed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Thought to have been born in 1876 in Philadelphia, details of Pratt's life still remain sketchy and limited. By 1900, she was working as a stenographer at the Puget Sound Flouring Mill, and in 1917, married her second husband, John Lee Pratt, a self-made millionaire engineer and businessman with General Motors. By 1931, they had settled at Chatham Manor in John's native Virginia, and Pratt spent over a decade amassing a collection of over 500 items, eighty percent of which is Russian decorative art, mainly Fabergé.","Pratt began collecting while accompanying her husband on business trips to New York City, shopping in her spare time, and possibly becoming enchanted with the Hammer Galleries' \"Russian Imperial Exhibit\" at Lord and Taylor in the early 1930s. While the total amount she spent during that time is unknown, she spent $100,000 alone at New York City's Schaffer Collection. She simultaneously purchased items, including four of her five imperial Easter eggs, from the Hammer Galleries. Her collection includes not only the finest imperial eggs, but also miniature eggs, jewelry, framed photographs, boxes, handles, flowers, and animal figures, among many other types of objects. Whatever her collecting may have been (besides simply furnishing her new home), her fascination with Russian royalty was enduring, and has been shared with museum visitors for over 60 years.","Source:  Fabergé: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts"],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection.\u003c/p\u003e"],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Provenance"],"custodhist_tesim":["The collection was transferred over time to the VMFA Library in the 2000s by museum staff members Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of the Fabergé collection, David Bradley, Foundation Director, and Richard Woodward, Deputy Director for Architecture and Design. The estate tax information was given to Woodward from the Honorable John D. Butzner, Jr. in the 1970s. The bulk of the collection was accessioned into the VMFA Archives' collection in February 2011. In January 2015, an additional collection of original documents were transferred from the Curatorial files to the Pratt collection."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eLillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Lillian Thomas Pratt Personal Papers (SC-07). VMFA Archives, Richmond, Virginia."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eA large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Note"],"processinfo_tesim":["A large number of publications (almost entirely sales and exhibition catalogs) were interfiled into this collection over the years. None of the publications indicated that they were actually Pratt's personal copies, and almost all had been stamped by the VMFA Library or other departments. Therefore, all of the publications were removed and added to the VMFA Library's holdings during processing. A complete list of these publications is available from the Archivist."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content Note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The collection's inclusive dates are 1901-1947, with the bulk of the material dating from 1933-1945. The collection is comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, item descriptions, exhibition labels, estate tax information and inventories, newspaper clippings, drawings and photographs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e. The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Publication"],"userestrict_tesim":["The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Digitized content is licensed for use under a  Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License . The only exception are the letters written by Alexander and Ray Schaffer, in which the Schaffer family retains copyright ownership. Transmission or reproduction of other materials protected by copyright, beyond that allowed by fair use, requires the researcher to obtain permission of copyright holders."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_fb5f9a7488efeca094913bc14bf01383\"\u003eThe collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The collection documents the formation of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection of Fabergé decorative artworks at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Bequeathed to the museum upon her death in 1947, Pratt's Fabergé collection consistently remains one of the highlights of the museum's permanent collection. Pratt purchased most of her Fabergé collection from the Schaffer Collection and Hammer Galleries, both of New York City, in the 1930s and 1940s. Comprised of correspondence, invoices, price tags, and detailed item descriptions, this collection illuminates Pratt's mind as a collector, as well as her relationship with one of her dealers, Alexander Schaffer."],"names_coll_ssim":["Fabergé (Firm)","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections"],"names_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"corpname_ssim":["Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Archives","Schaffer Collection","A La Vieille Russie (Firm)","Hammer Galleries","Virginia Museum of Fine Arts","Fabergé (Firm)","United States. Internal Revenue Service","B. Altman and Co.","Miller and Rhoads","Lord and Taylor","J.E. Caldwell and Co.","Parker and Wakelin (Firm)","James McCutcheon and Co.","S. and G. Gump","Richmond news leader","Richmond times-dispatch","New York post","New York Herald Tribune (Firm)","New York sun","World Wide Photos, Inc.","Akron Studios","Artvue","Eneberettiget"],"persname_ssim":["Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876?","Schaffer, Alexander S.","Schaffer, Ray","Fabergé, Peter Carl, 1846-1920","Pratt, Lillian Thomas, 1876? -- Art collections","Constance Harriet Stuart Milnes Gaskell, Lady, 1885-1964","Virginia Clarke Taylor","Fulmer, Rosamond","Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova, 1884-1964","Alexandra, Empress, consort of Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, 1798-1860","Nicholas, Emperor of Russia, II, 1868-1918"],"language_ssim":["English \n.    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