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The Emily A. Bellair autograph album contains signatures and poetry of many of Emily's acquaintances in the early 1860s. Emily Bellair was from Detroit.

The Emily A. Bellair autograph album contains signatures and poetry of many of Emily's acquaintances throughout the early 1860s. She received the book, whose decorative cover bears the title "Wreaths of Friendship," from W. E. Gentle, who inscribed a two-page letter proclaiming the pair's friendship. Family members also contributed autographs and poetry, including several poems dedicated specifically to Emily that explored themes of friendship and parting. Her brother, Albert F. R. Arndt, wrote a poem from Cairo, Illinois, after he had "gone off to the seat of War." (March 16, 1862). The final page contains a copy of "Auld Lang Syne," as well as several shorter poems that are darker in mood than the other verses.

• "Escape of Carrara"
• "Wreaths of Friendship," depicting a ship in a stormy sea
• "The Bird Trap"
• "The Bride"
• "Kishna"
• Unlabeled: A scene with a tree-lined pond

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. At least one volume was kept by an African American man, Lewis G. Mosebay. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

John S. Dunning kept these two autograph albums between 1856 and 1861, while a student at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the Theological Seminary of the Northwest (now McCormick Theological Seminary) in Chicago, Illinois. Along with autographs, many contributors wrote poetry, quotations, personal notes, and reminiscences.

John S. Dunning kept these two autograph albums between 1856 and 1861, while a student at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the Theological Seminary of the Northwest (now McCormick Theological Seminary). He collected signatures from his friends and classmates in Princeton, New Jersey, and Chicago, Illinois, between 1856 and 1861. Most signers wrote brief personal notes or brief poems reflecting on friendship and reminiscing about their time at college/seminary. They variously recorded their dormitory room numbers, hometowns, and Greek or Latin quotations. The first volume consists entirely of writings by young men and the second volume includes entries by both men and women.

Ned Holden accompanied his note with two sketches: one sketch is of two men at a "Jersey Pines Deer Hunt" and another of a well-dressed man smoking (Volume 1). J.H.G. Blythe, a native of New York, wrote an 11-page reflection about Dunning; J. Kings of Americus, Georgia, expressed his fervent support of Millard Fillmore; and Morris C. Sutphen apologized for his inability to compose a line, as a result of too many recent autograph requests.

The Kate G. Geary Autograph Album contains signatures, poems, proverbs, and other contributions of Geary's male and female acquaintances in Michigan from 1877 to 1884.

The Kate G. Geary Autograph Album contains signatures, poems, proverbs, and other contributions of Geary's male and female acquaintances in Michigan from 1877 to 1884. The bulk of the entries were written in Pinckney, Michigan, as well as nearby locations in Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne, and Oakland counties. Main topics are love and friendship, the passage of time, and religion. Several printed stickers appear within the volume.

The Martha Leach Packard commonplace book contains inscriptions, correspondence, autographs, and ephemera that Packard collected from the 1850s to 1890s. Inscriptions and autographs are written directly into the volume; additional items are pasted or laid in. The volume represents prominent individuals such as politicians and academics, as well as Packard's personal acquaintances.

The Martha Leach Packard commonplace book (200 pages) contains inscriptions, correspondence, autographs, and ephemera that Packard collected from the 1850s to 1890s. Packard used about half of the pages; additional items are laid into the volume.

Most inscriptions and autographs are written directly into the volume, and many are dated at Poughkeepsie, New York. Most entries are dated from the 1850s-1890s, though some letters pasted into the book are dated as early as 1837. Prominent individuals such as politicians, artists, and writers contributed autographs (see list below), and historian Benson J. Lossing provided a personal inscription (p. 39). Packard's other contributors included academics and personal acquaintances, 5 of whom mentioned participating in the Civil War (pp. 77, 145).

Laid-in letters include items by famous persons and personal correspondence to Martha Leach Packard and E. W. Packard. The volume also includes visiting cards, a menu from a dinner at the Stevens House (p. 157), a lock of hair (p. 178), and a swatch of fabric (p. 198). The album was originally published with printed illustrations, mainly portraits of women; some later pages contain cut-out colored illustrations of flowers.

• Benson J. Lossing (inscription, p. 39; letter, p. 200)
• John Jay Hyde (inscription, p. 41; calling card, front endpaper)
• Henry P. Tappan (autograph, p. 45)
• Thomas Nast (autograph on card, p. 61)
• Samuel F. B. Morse (autograph, p. 97)
• William W. Belknap (autograph, p. 99)
• Henry Clay (autograph, p. 115)
• Lydia Huntley Sigourney (autograph, p. 115)
• DeWitt Clinton (autograph, p. 115)
• Francis Napier (letter, p. 193)
• P. T. Barnum (autograph, back endpaper)

The Mary J. Simpson autograph album contains signatures and other contributions by Simpson's friends, compiled primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1856-1866. Most entries are poems about morality and friendship, ranging in length from four lines to an entire page.

The Mary J. Simpson autograph album contains signatures and other contributions by Simpson's friends, compiled primarily in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1856-1866. Most entries are poems about morality and friendship, ranging in length from four lines to an entire page.

Simpson received this "Album of Affection" from a friend on January 1, 1856, and invited both male and female friends to write in her book. Many contributors lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though some pages only contain signatures, most of her friends transcribed poems, often dedicated to Simpson. The poems concern many topics, such as friendship and morality, and some are copied from previously published works, including William Cowper's "The Task," C.D. Stuart’s "Three Angel-Spirits," and the anonymous "Good Wishes."

• United States scenery
  • Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia)
  • Mouth of the St. Croix River
  • Kaaterskill Falls (New York)
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Brown's Fall, Minnesota
• Biblical Scenes
  • Jerusalem
  • Mountains of Moab
  • Land of Uz
  • "Moses Found"