Foster G. McGaw (1897-1986) Papers Scrapbooks

This series consists of twenty-six scrapbooks presented to Foster and Mary McGaw by some of the institutions nationwide to which the McGaws made substantial financial donations. The scrapbooks acknowledge the McGaws’ gifts of building funds, scholarships, and other monetary contributions, and commemorate ground breaking and cornerstone- laying ceremonies, building dedications, award dinners, memorial concerts and arts festivals. Although a few of the scrapbooks were presented by public libraries and religious organizations, the majority were given by educational institutions which benefited from the McGaws’ generosity.

Most of the scrapbooks are similar in content, and typically feature photographs, drawings, newspaper and magazine clippings, invitations, proclamations, press releases, programs, and letters of thanks. The scrapbooks also contain photographs of the McGaws, the construction and dedication of buildings, honorary speakers, students, university presidents, and participants in the arts festivals. Boxes 7-11 hold five scrapbook volumes, titled “A Tribute to Foster G. McGaw,” consisting of approximately 3000 letters congratulating McGaw on his seventy- fifth birthday and the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the American Hospital Supply Corporation in 1971.