Biography of Philip LeBoutillier
Philip LeBoutillier (Oct. 20, 1880 – Feb. 1, 1972) was a New York yachtsman, businessman and philanthropist whose 54-foot yawl, STORMY WEATHER, won both the trans-Atlantic Newport-to-Bergen race and the Fastnet in 1935, and, in 1936, was the Bermuda Race Class A winner. Besides STORMY WEATHER, designed by Sparkman & Stephens in 1933/34, LeBoutillier owned and captained VIKING, a 49-foot cutter designed by F. Jay Wells in 1930; ALSUMAR, a 44-foot auxiliary sloop (30 meter class) designed by Sparkman & Stephens in 1930, and , as part of the Seawanhaka-Corinthian Syndicate, the six-meter sloop, NANCY, built in 1932.
Yachting lore has it that LeBoutillier had not decided on a name for what would become STORMY WEATHER as she was being built at the Henry B. Nevins Yard, City Island, New York in late 1933 and into ’34. However, just before launching, LeBoutillier and friends were at a club in Montauk, Long Island, and listened as a young singer delivered a song that much appealed to him. He called the singer over to his table and asked her to sing it again. Lena Horne agreed, and the song, “Stormy Weather,” made a name for LeBoutillier’s new yawl as it did for Lena Horne.
LeBoutiller also had been asked by the original owner of ALSUMAR not to keep that sloop’s name because it was derived from the names of the first owner’s wife and two daughters. LeBoutillier politely declined to accede to the first owner’s wishes, saying he was superstitious about changing the original name of a horse, a dog or, as it happened, a boat.
At the height of his business career, LeBoutiller was president of Best & Co., a New York department store specializing in women’s clothing and children’s wear. He was known for his generous wage and salary policies and for promoting from within. As the New York Times said in its obituary of LeBoutillier, published on Feb. 2, 1972: “He set up one of the first pension plans for employes as early as 1919, and few workers left Best & Co., with many continuing after marriage and with the arrival of children.”
LeBoutillier was also regarded for his philanthropy, particularly his work for underprivileged boys. According to the Times, he raised $600,000 for the Boys’ Club of New York, and was an organizer of the National Child Labor Committee, a group opposed to child labor.
He resided on East 70th St. in New York and Lake Placid, NY, and died in a nursing home in 1972 in Greenwich CT.
Scope and Contents of the Papers
This collection consists of four scrapbooks as well as loose papers, the original order has been maintained and is arranged chronologically.
Series 1: Scrapbooks; 1932-1953.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
LeBoutillier, Philip, (1880-1972)
LeBoutillier, Philip, (1916-1995)
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
Alsumar (Sloop : 1930)
Nancy (Sloop : 1932)
Royal Thames Yacht Club
Stormy Weather (Yawl : 1934)
Viking (Sloop : 1930)
Places:
Bermuda Islands
Long Island Sound (N.Y. and Conn.)
Subjects:
Fastnet Race–1935
Newport Bermuda Race
Ocean racing
Yacht racing
Yachting
Yachts
Yachtsmen
Document Types:
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Photographs
Scrapbooks
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Administrative Information
Coll. 352, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Series 1: Scrapbooks; 1932-1953 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Long Island Sound racing, 1932-1933 (1 volume) | |||||||||||
| 2 | “Bermuda Race”, 1932 (1 volume) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | “Six Meters New York Yacht Club Cruise”, “White Cloud”, 1932 (1 volume) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Six Meter photographs, 1932 (6 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | “Stormy Weather”, 1934 (1 volume) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Stormy Weather photographs and ephemera, 1934-1953 (20 pieces) | ||||||||||||