Inventory and appraisment, 1918 December 4

Inventories and appraisals of Johnson's estate taken between 1917 and 1918 make up most of the documentation in this series. The inventory and appraisal are one document, with valuations listed alongside the itemized property. The full title of the first inventory taken in 1917 is "Inventory and appraisal of the paintings and other artistic property, books and other literary property, household goods and personal effects left by the late John G. Johnson, Esquire, Philadelphia, PA." Inventoried on a room by room basis, the document records not only Johnson's belongings but also the types of rooms and other areas that made up his four-story, plus basement, home. The addenda and supplementary addenda to the 1917 document are similarly formatted. At the time these documents were executed, duplicates were made of those pertaining to his "paintings and other artistic property." As noted on the document covers, these were prepared for: the City of Philadelphia, recipient of Johnson's art bequest; the Pennsylvania Company, Trustee of Johnson's residuary estate; and Frank P. Prichard, Esq. (1953-1918). Prichard may have been legal counsel to the Trustee. For thirty years, he practiced law with Johnson. After Johnson's death, he and several other associates took over Johnson's practice and established the firm, Prichard, Saul, Bayard & Evans. The firm was a precursor to Saul Ewing, which continues to represent the Trustee.

Some of the duplicates were later annotated by curatorial staff, Trustee representatives and an appraiser who served as the official court examiner. Their charge was to inventory the Johnson Collection in 1955, which they checked against the original estate documents. In addition to their annotations, which are primarily check (or tick) marks, red ink stamps indicate objects for family retention. Curator Barbara Sweeny made additional notations in 1970 and 1971 of the prices realized at auction of certain objects that had always been kept in storage.

The series also includes bound copies of Johnson's will, with photocopies of same, and inventories and appraisals of Johnson's residuary property (items unrelated to art) and investments.