Jean Phillips Cootes collection

Collection

Identifier: Mss 0091

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Jean Phillips Cootes collection dates from 1979 to 2007, with the bulk of materials dating from 1985 to 2004. The collection contains personal correspondence, a small amount of clippings, and a history of her home, Il Palagetto, in Florence, Italy.

Dates

1979 - 2007
Majority of material found within 1985 - 2004

Language of Materials

English, Italian

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

All materials available in this collection (unless otherwise noted) are the property of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center and Seton Hall University, which reserves the right to limit access to or reproduction of these materials. Reproduction of materials or content is subject to United States copyright restrictions and may be subject to federal or state privacy regulations. Permission to publish exact reproductions must be obtained from the Director of the Archives and Special Collections Center.

Biographical / Historical

Jean Phillips Cootes (1922-2004) was a patroness of American and Italian arts and music and wife of senior American diplomat Merritt Cootes. She entered the Foreign Service in 1944 and served as a stenographer on the staff of General Lucius Clay, chief of the United States occupation forces in Germany. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic postings to Lahore, Karachi, Trieste, and Florence. In 1966 Cootes and her husband retired in Florence where they lived in a restored farmhouse called Il Palagetto. Cootes was a pianist and an active member of theAmici della Musica and her home, Il Palagetto, served as a venue for concerts and exhibitions. In 1986 Cootes and her husband returned to the United States and settled in Princeton, New Jersey where they continued to befriend prominent musicians and composers Western classical music and host musical soirées.