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Preserving Paul Harris mementos from trip to Central, South America

Rotary members past and present hold Paul Harris in high regard for his role as the founder of Rotary and his vision for fostering friendship and international understanding. Rotary’s archives include letters and gifts from members to Harris during his lifetime that reflect this admiration.

Rotary International is committed to preserving Rotary’s legacy and honoring key figures in our history. We achieve this through building and maintaining an archive that accurately and effectively documents the history of Rotary. As part of this effort, archivists at Rotary’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, worked with a professional paper conservator to treat four hand-crafted gifts to Paul Harris.

All four documents were spot cleaned using a dry process that reduces superficial dirt. Before being placed in custom storage mats as a preservation measure, the three items made of vellum underwent additional conservation work to stretch and flatten them after being rolled for an unknown number of years. Conservation of one document made of paper included mending tears with Japanese tissue paper and wheat starch paste.

  1. Harris’ visit to the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador was commemorated by the Rotary Clubs of Cuenca and Riobamba with beautifully illustrated messages featuring hand-painted national and cultural symbols.

  2. Harris’ visit to the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador was commemorated by the Rotary Clubs of Cuenca and Riobamba with beautifully illustrated messages featuring hand-painted national and cultural symbols.

  3. Brazil was Harris’ last South American destination before a two-week ocean voyage to New York, and then home to Chicago. Members of the Rotary Club of Rio de Janeiro, which had been chartered only 13 years earlier, signed an elegantly inscribed scroll that expressed their joy and pride in hosting him in April.

  4. Unrelated to Harris’ 1936 journey, the Rotary Club of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, created a 75th birthday message in calligraphy.

In January 1936, Harris and his wife Jean embarked on a three-month journey to Panama and several South American countries, where they met with numerous clubs. Several members joined Harris, introducing them to local customs and people, and providing language assistance.

District Governor Cesar Andrade, of the Rotary Club of Guayaquil, Ecuador, joined them in Colombia and again in his home country. Jaime Linares of the Rotary Club of Lima, joined the Harris’ as they visited clubs in Peru and Chile, explaining that it would be an opportunity to practice his English. Rotarian Armando Pereira, who would later serve as RI President, accompanied them for most of their time in Brazil.

Three of the items featured here are mementos of that trip.

The conservation work was possible because of generous support from the Paul Harris 711 Club.

  1. The vellum documents from Guadalajara, Riobamba, and Rio de Janeiro before conservation. The document from Rio de Janeiro was originally attached to a wooden rod, which needed to be removed (but which we retained, intact) as part of the conservation work.

  2. Custom mats made with museum-quality materials keep the treated documents flat and are designed to allow for storage and display.

  3. Guadalajara, Mexico, detail after conservation.

  4. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, detail after conservation.

  5. Riobamba, Ecuador, detail after conservation.

  6. The paper scroll from Cuenca, Ecuador, before conservation.

  7. Cuenca, Ecuador, detail after conservation. In the C, elements of Cuenca’s coat of arms appear above an image of the world and other art elements.

  8. Rotary’s archives in Evanston, Illinois, houses these documents and other materials that are used for research and make it possible to tell Rotary’s story.

17 April 2023