This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Research Library at the Nantucket Historical Association. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the internet.
Summary
Anthony Frederick Sarg (April 21, 1880 – February 17, 1942), known professionally as Tony, was a German American puppeteer, illustrator, painter, and family genealogist. This collection mostly contains documents concerning the history of Tony Sarg’s ancestors and elder relatives. Correspondence in this collection comes mostly from the 19th century; authors of these letters vary, but generally come from Sargs, Norcliffes, or Bests. This collection also includes government documents related to Tony Sarg’s father, and a “birthday book” containing letters from Tony Sarg’s colleagues.
Collection Details
- Collection Number:
- MS58
- Title:
- Sarg Family Papers
- Date(s):
- 1712–1940
- Creator:
- Sarg, Tony, 1880–1942.
- Repository:
- Nantucket Historical Association
- Language:
- Material is mostly in English. Multiple documents, notably in Folder 4, are in German and Spanish. One pedigree in Folder 1 is in Latin. One letter in Folder 9 is in French.
Information for Users
Restrictions to Access: No restrictions. Open for research.
Restrictions to Use: No usage restrictions.
Copyright Notice: Copyright is retained by the authors of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation: [identification of item], in the Sarg Family Papers, Nantucket Historical Association.
Acquisitions Information:
Gift of Mary Sarg Murphy in 1983 (Acc. 1983.57).
Sensitive Materials Statement:Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual’s private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Nantucket Historical Association assumes no responsibility.
Related Collections
- MS399 Tony Sarg Collection, Nantucket Historical Association
- MS485 Tony Sarg / George Korn Collection, Nantucket Historical Association
Subject Headings
-
Topical term
- Puppet theater—United States—History—20th century.
-
Personal name
- Sarg family.
- Sarg, Tony, 1880-1942.
Biographical Information
Anthony Frederick Sarg (April 21, 1880 – February 17, 1942), known professionally as Tony, was a German American puppeteer, illustrator, painter, and family genealogist. He was born in Cobán, Guatemala, to Francis Charles Sarg, a consul for Germany, and his English wife Mary Parker. In 1887, the Sargs moved back to Germany, and Tony spent eight years in the German military. He resigned his commission in 1905 and left for the United Kingdom, where he courted Berta Eleanor McGowan, an American that he had met in Germany when she vacationed there. Tony and Berta married in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1909. They, along with their newborn daughter, spent time living in England, and then again in Cincinnati, before settling in New York in 1915. Tony became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1920.
He turned his puppetry hobby into a successful career in 1917, and he also animated an early cartoon film called The First Circus.
After Tony visited Nantucket, Mass. for the first time in 1920, he returned frequently with his family over the next two decades. They lived at 47 North Liberty Street. Tony opened a shop which began on Federal Street, moved to 38 Center Street, and then eventually relocated to Easy Street. He painted many island scenes, which he sold as well.
In addition, Sarg designed animal-shaped helium balloons for the Macy’s department store in New York City, which was the origin of large Thanksgiving Day-parade balloon displays.
With the rise of competing puppet studios, Sarg fell on hard times and declared bankruptcy in 1939, the same year that he put on his last show. In 1942, he passed away as a result of a ruptured appendix.
Scope and Content
This collection mostly contains documents concerning the history of Tony Sarg’s ancestors and elder relatives, though it also includes a smaller range of documents from his own life. An extensive assortment of family genealogies provides a wide-ranging set of information about his English maternal heritage going back several centuries prior to his birth. Genealogies are often folded more than once and fragile along creases. Other family heritage information is present in the form of family crests and portraiture.
Correspondence in this collection comes mostly from the 19th century, though there are a few earlier letters as well. Authors of these letters vary, but generally come from Sargs, Norcliffes, or Bests. Subject matter mostly concerns family life, such as illnesses, visits, and marriages. One document written by his grandmother narrates a trip with her son, Tony’s father, to England. Letters from Tony Sarg himself discuss his time at school. His later puppetry career is only present in a 1940 birthday book, which contains dozens of cards.
Government documents, some in Spanish and German, are present relating to the career of Tony Sarg’s father, a German consul in Guatemala.
The chronological scope of the collection ends before the middle of the 20th century, with papers relating to Tony himself, including a 1920s passport and the 1940 birthday book.
Contents
Box 1 Folder 1: Pedigrees of ancestors, 1809–1922, undated
Contains lineage information including College of Arms letter detailing descent from King Edward III, genealogies from the families Norcliffe, Hotham, Best, Drury, Pawson, Belwary, Cholmely, and Wilson. Drury genealogy is in Latin. Also includes a map of Hawstead Manor, home to the Drury line, and a letter written in German.
Box 1 Folder 2: Coats of arms, 1840, undated
Contains watercolor crest of unmarried Sarg daughters with annotation by Tony Sarg and photograph of family coats of arms taken by Tony Sarg. Also includes illustrations of family coats of arms on seals and a letter to Johan Anton Sarg from Rosamund Robinson explaining blazoning of his arms in 1840.
Box 1 Folder 3: Portraits of ancestors, undated
Booklet that lists portraits taken at Langston Hall belonging to Francis Best Norcliffe. Also contains engraved portraits annotated by Tony Sarg along with illustrations of Oxford College and a tithe barn at Elmswell.
Box 1 Folder 4: Diplomatic and travel documents, 1857–1924
Contains government correspondence and certificates related to the position of Francis Sarg as German consul in Guatemala, including a document signed by Guatemalan president Justo Rufino Barrios. Documents in German and Spanish, with the exception of an American passport belonging to Tony Sarg and a passenger list including Tony and Berta on the S.S. Minnehaha.
Box 1 Folder 5: Norcliffe family letters, 1712–1832
Contains seven pieces of correspondence within the Norcliffe family, along with annotation from Tony Sarg explaining the authors and contents of the letters.
Box 1 Folder 6: Best family letters, 1727–1817
Contains seven pieces of correspondence within the Best family, along with annotation from Tony Sarg explaining the authors and contents of the letters. Also includes a memorandum detailing the induction of Francis Best into the office of Customer, a customs official. Also in this folder is a memorial to the House of Commons by Charles Best concerning the lunatic asylum in York.
Box 2 Folder 7: Correspondence of other ancestral families, 1784–1924, undated
Contains 10 letters from several families, including Daltons, McGowans, Norcliffes, Pawsons, and Wolffs. Some letters have explanatory notes from Tony Sarg.
Box 2 Folder 8: Diary of trip to England by Mary Ellen Best Sarg, 1845
Unbound, six-leaf section of a diary detailing trip to England by Mary Ellen Best Sarg, grandmother of Tony Sarg.
Box 2 Folder 9: Sarg family letters, 1839–1888
Contains four letters to and from members of the Sarg family. 1842 letter from F. H. Sarg to his daughter is in French. Tony Sarg attached explanatory note to 1888 letter from Mary Ellen Sarg to Tony’s mother.
Box 2 Folder 10: Letter to Tony Sarg, 1910
Contains part of a letter from Rev. Henry Lawrence discussing his previous correspondence with Tony.
Box 2 Folder 11: Tony Sarg papers, 1891–1898, undated
Contains correspondence from Tony Sarg as a boy and young man. First letter is addressed to Santa Claus, and remainder of correspondence is with his mother and aunt. Shows him signing letters “Antonio Federico Sarg.”
Box 2 Folder 12: Copy of Tony Sarg drawing of William Sumner Appleton, undated
Contains one Xerox copy of the Sarg artwork from 1929. Depicts Appleton completing the restoration of the Oldest House on Nantucket. Annotation on back side by Tony Sarg.
Box 2 Folder 13: Birthday book, 1940
Scrapbook containing birthday cards from friends and colleagues for Tony’s 60th birthday. Includes poems and illustrations lauding his influence.
Processing Information
Processed by NHA Staff.
Finding aid by Jeremy Nelson and Amelia Holmes, July 2019.
Finding aid updated by Teddy Leane, June 2021.