{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026page=2\u0026view=list","prev":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026page=1\u0026view=list","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026page=3\u0026view=list","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bcreators%5D%5B%5D=Schaffer%2C+Alexander+S.\u0026page=8\u0026view=list"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":2,"next_page":3,"prev_page":1,"total_pages":8,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":10,"total_count":71,"first_page?":false,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c11","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_c11#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_c11#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c11","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c11"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c11","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 SC07.01.1.011","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":["Nov. 21, 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":14,"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 SC07.01.1.011"],"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#10","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_c11"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c12","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_c12#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_c12#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c12","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c12"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c12","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 SC07.01.1.012","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":["Dec. 11, 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":15,"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 SC07.01.1.012"],"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#11","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_c12"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c13","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_c13#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_c13#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c13","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c13"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c13","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 SC07.01.1.013","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 11, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":16,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.013"],"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#12","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_c13"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c14","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_c14#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_c14#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c14","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c14"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c14","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 SC07.01.1.014","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\nJune 17, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","I am very sorry you didn't have a chance to come in while you were in New York, as I have some very beautiful pieces that I know you would have greatly enjoyed seeing.","I am going abroad on Wednesday, the 23d, and will take some of them with me for a client in London. I don't know who long I will be. I hate to leave Mrs. Schaffer and the baby, but I guess I will have to.","I am carefully packing and shipping the things to you, as I have them all photographed now. I am enclosing the photographs and the histories in the package. ","With kindest regards and best wishes,","Sincerely yours,\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":["June 17, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":17,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.014"],"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\nJune 17, 1937\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am very sorry you didn't have a chance to come in while you were in New York, as I have some very beautiful pieces that I know you would have greatly enjoyed seeing.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am going abroad on Wednesday, the 23d, and will take some of them with me for a client in London. I don't know who long I will be. I hate to leave Mrs. Schaffer and the baby, but I guess I will have to.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am carefully packing and shipping the things to you, as I have them all photographed now. I am enclosing the photographs and the histories in the package. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWith kindest regards and best wishes,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSincerely yours,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\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\nJune 17, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","I am very sorry you didn't have a chance to come in while you were in New York, as I have some very beautiful pieces that I know you would have greatly enjoyed seeing.","I am going abroad on Wednesday, the 23d, and will take some of them with me for a client in London. I don't know who long I will be. I hate to leave Mrs. Schaffer and the baby, but I guess I will have to.","I am carefully packing and shipping the things to you, as I have them all photographed now. I am enclosing the photographs and the histories in the package. ","With kindest regards and best wishes,","Sincerely yours,\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#13","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.    "],"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_c14"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c15","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_c15#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_c15#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c15","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c15"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c15","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 SC07.01.1.015","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\nJune 21, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","It was quite a shock to learn of your illness, but we are happy to read that the danger is over, and I can't tell you how glad we are that you are back home. We do hope that you will take good care of yourself so that you will get well and strong again, and never get ill again, ever.","If I weren't going to Europe, I would pay you a visit to cheer you up by showing you some of the things, but as it is, it will have to wait. However, I will keep the choicest [underlined] for you.","Mrs. Schaffer sends her love. Paul too made some sound, whatever he meant by it. Please do cheer us up as soon as possible, to tell us that you are better as we are still worried. ","With kindest regards and wishes for your speedy recovery,","Sincerely,\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":["June 21, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":18,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.015"],"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\nJune 21, 1937\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt was quite a shock to learn of your illness, but we are happy to read that the danger is over, and I can't tell you how glad we are that you are back home. We do hope that you will take good care of yourself so that you will get well and strong again, and never get ill again, ever.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIf I weren't going to Europe, I would pay you a visit to cheer you up by showing you some of the things, but as it is, it will have to wait. However, I will keep the choicest [underlined] for you.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. Schaffer sends her love. Paul too made some sound, whatever he meant by it. Please do cheer us up as soon as possible, to tell us that you are better as we are still worried. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWith kindest regards and wishes for your speedy recovery,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\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\nJune 21, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","It was quite a shock to learn of your illness, but we are happy to read that the danger is over, and I can't tell you how glad we are that you are back home. We do hope that you will take good care of yourself so that you will get well and strong again, and never get ill again, ever.","If I weren't going to Europe, I would pay you a visit to cheer you up by showing you some of the things, but as it is, it will have to wait. However, I will keep the choicest [underlined] for you.","Mrs. Schaffer sends her love. Paul too made some sound, whatever he meant by it. Please do cheer us up as soon as possible, to tell us that you are better as we are still worried. ","With kindest regards and wishes for your speedy recovery,","Sincerely,\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#14","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","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.016","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. 6, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":19,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.016"],"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#15","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. 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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. 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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_c16"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c17","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_c17#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eTranscription: \u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c17#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c17","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c17"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c17","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 SC07.01.1.017","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: ","Telephone 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\nAugust 10, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt, ","It is good to know that someone else thinks as much of the baby as we do. I was glad to see that you have noticed how much he changed. It is quite true he is not a doll any more, but a boy, and does not look like either of us especially. ","I am glad you kept the two pins. The one in question is a spinel ruby and not a garnet. I received the pink one today. ","I am sending to you today by railway express, insured, a few very choice pieces, of which I am enclosing the tags. I know that you will have great pleasure in seeing them and sincerely hope that you can manage to keep some.","Trusting that my letter finds you greatly improved (you didn't say anything about it in your letter), with kindest regards and best wishes from the whole family,","Sincerely yours,\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":["Aug. 10, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":20,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.017"],"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: \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eTelephone 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\nAugust 10, 1937\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt, \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIt is good to know that someone else thinks as much of the baby as we do. I was glad to see that you have noticed how much he changed. It is quite true he is not a doll any more, but a boy, and does not look like either of us especially. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am glad you kept the two pins. The one in question is a spinel ruby and not a garnet. I received the pink one today. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am sending to you today by railway express, insured, a few very choice pieces, of which I am enclosing the tags. I know that you will have great pleasure in seeing them and sincerely hope that you can manage to keep some.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eTrusting that my letter finds you greatly improved (you didn't say anything about it in your letter), with kindest regards and best wishes from the whole family,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSincerely yours,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eASS:RS\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Transcription: ","Telephone 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\nAugust 10, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt, ","It is good to know that someone else thinks as much of the baby as we do. I was glad to see that you have noticed how much he changed. It is quite true he is not a doll any more, but a boy, and does not look like either of us especially. ","I am glad you kept the two pins. The one in question is a spinel ruby and not a garnet. I received the pink one today. ","I am sending to you today by railway express, insured, a few very choice pieces, of which I am enclosing the tags. I know that you will have great pleasure in seeing them and sincerely hope that you can manage to keep some.","Trusting that my letter finds you greatly improved (you didn't say anything about it in your letter), with kindest regards and best wishes from the whole family,","Sincerely yours,\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#16","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_c17"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c18","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_c18#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_c18#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c18","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c18"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c18","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 SC07.01.1.018","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","September 1, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","Thank you for your letter and check which I have received today.","I was glad to read that you like the photos of the baby.  He is a little imp but he is adorable.  I know you will like him. He does look like his mother I think.  Both send their love.","The raspberry red gold mounted box that you mention, you already have in your collection.  I have sold it to you before you went to Egypt and had it repaired during your absence.  That is the only one I can think of.  At any rate, I only have three Faberge pieces in raspberry red enamel in my whole collection.  One is a little match case.  One is a little perfume bottle and one is a seal.","However, I am glad that we had this little confusion about the boxes, because at least it gave you an opportunity to see the little yellow enamel box which you decided to keep.","I am looking forward to seeing you soon.  With kindest regards and best wishes, I am","Yours 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":["Sep. 1, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":21,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.018"],"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\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeptember 1, 1937\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThank you for your letter and check which I have received today.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI was glad to read that you like the photos of the baby.  He is a little imp but he is adorable.  I know you will like him. He does look like his mother I think.  Both send their love.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe raspberry red gold mounted box that you mention, you already have in your collection.  I have sold it to you before you went to Egypt and had it repaired during your absence.  That is the only one I can think of.  At any rate, I only have three Faberge pieces in raspberry red enamel in my whole collection.  One is a little match case.  One is a little perfume bottle and one is a seal.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eHowever, I am glad that we had this little confusion about the boxes, because at least it gave you an opportunity to see the little yellow enamel box which you decided to keep.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am looking forward to seeing you soon.  With kindest regards and best wishes, I am\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eYours 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.\n\"The Schaffer Collection\"\n15 West 50th Street\nRockefeller Center\nNew York","September 1, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","Thank you for your letter and check which I have received today.","I was glad to read that you like the photos of the baby.  He is a little imp but he is adorable.  I know you will like him. He does look like his mother I think.  Both send their love.","The raspberry red gold mounted box that you mention, you already have in your collection.  I have sold it to you before you went to Egypt and had it repaired during your absence.  That is the only one I can think of.  At any rate, I only have three Faberge pieces in raspberry red enamel in my whole collection.  One is a little match case.  One is a little perfume bottle and one is a seal.","However, I am glad that we had this little confusion about the boxes, because at least it gave you an opportunity to see the little yellow enamel box which you decided to keep.","I am looking forward to seeing you soon.  With kindest regards and best wishes, I am","Yours 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#17","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_c18"}},{"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c19","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_c19#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_c19#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c19","ref_ssm":["virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c19"],"id":"virmu_repositories_2_resources_8_c01_c01_c01_c19","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 SC07.01.1.019","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","October 7, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","We are very much relieved that you have found the box.  I would have felt miserable otherwise.","I am enclosing the bill and the histories of the objects you have taken with you.  In this bill is included the yellow enamel box which I have sent to you previously, and the two presentation icons that I am sending to you today by Railway Express, insured against all risks.  Please let me know whether they reach you in good condition.","I hope that the trip to New York did not tire you too much, and that I will have the pleasure of seeing you very soon again.  I was sort of hoping that you could find time to see Paul, but I guess you just could not manage.","Trusting that my letter finds you in the best of spirits, with kindest regards and best wishes from both of us, I am","Yours sincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","P.S.  Mrs. Schaffer seems to think that you wanted the panagia with the jasper cameo of Christ.  Please let me know whether I should keep it for you, as I myself am not certain.","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, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":22,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.019"],"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\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOctober 7, 1937\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDear Mrs. Pratt,\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eWe are very much relieved that you have found the box.  I would have felt miserable otherwise.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI am enclosing the bill and the histories of the objects you have taken with you.  In this bill is included the yellow enamel box which I have sent to you previously, and the two presentation icons that I am sending to you today by Railway Express, insured against all risks.  Please let me know whether they reach you in good condition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eI hope that the trip to New York did not tire you too much, and that I will have the pleasure of seeing you very soon again.  I was sort of hoping that you could find time to see Paul, but I guess you just could not manage.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eTrusting that my letter finds you in the best of spirits, with kindest regards and best wishes from both of us, I am\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eYours sincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eP.S.  Mrs. Schaffer seems to think that you wanted the panagia with the jasper cameo of Christ.  Please let me know whether I should keep it for you, as I myself am not certain.\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","October 7, 1937","Mrs. John L. Pratt\nBox 118\nFredericksburg, Virginia","Dear Mrs. Pratt,","We are very much relieved that you have found the box.  I would have felt miserable otherwise.","I am enclosing the bill and the histories of the objects you have taken with you.  In this bill is included the yellow enamel box which I have sent to you previously, and the two presentation icons that I am sending to you today by Railway Express, insured against all risks.  Please let me know whether they reach you in good condition.","I hope that the trip to New York did not tire you too much, and that I will have the pleasure of seeing you very soon again.  I was sort of hoping that you could find time to see Paul, but I guess you just could not manage.","Trusting that my letter finds you in the best of spirits, with kindest regards and best wishes from both of us, I am","Yours sincerely,\nAlexander S. Schaffer [signed]","P.S.  Mrs. Schaffer seems to think that you wanted the panagia with the jasper cameo of Christ.  Please let me know whether I should keep it for you, as I myself am not certain."],"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#18","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","Paper","Schaffer, Alexander S.","New York (N.Y.)","English","box SC-07 Box 1","folder 1","Item SC07.01.1.020","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. 11, 1937"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1937"],"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":23,"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":[1937],"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 SC07.01.1.020"],"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#19","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. 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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. 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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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