Collections

In the 1870s and 1880s Charles H. Lund of Nashua, New Hampshire, compiled this collection of letters, documents, essays and other writings (including a manuscript newspaper), artwork, and miscellaneous printed items relating to his education, social life, and participation in the Nashua City Guards. The collection is accompanied by the original album in which Lund housed them.

In the 1870s and 1880s Charles H. Lund of Nashua, New Hampshire, compiled this collection of letters, documents, essays and other writings, artwork, and miscellaneous printed items relating to his education, social life, and participation in the Nashua City Guards. The collection is accompanied by the original file which housed them.

The Correspondence Series consists of eleven letters, ten of which are addressed to Charles H. Lund. The bulk appear to have been written by former schoolmates and commented in some fashion on education. One was likely written by one of his teachers. A handful of others relate to politics, railroads, agriculture, and the Nashua City Guards.

The Documents Series consists of miscellaneous items relating to Lund's education, including report cards for Charles and Marcus Lund, a reward of merit, and notices for readings from the Taming of the Shrew. The series also contains a receipt for payment to the Nashua City Guards, a document relating to payment for use of the patented "Richardson's Centennial Gate," and a handmade advertisement for Charles Lund's "Crosses Cut to Order."

The Writings Series includes school essays and compositions on topics like American history and the causes of the American Revolution, the seasons, the last day of school, railroads, "A Kiss in School," secret societies, Edmund Burke, and others. Lund annotated one essay from 1870 with the message, "First Composition and a poor one too." The verso of an undated essay entitled "Railroads" includes a manuscript drawing of a school desk along with diagrams of how the interior was organized. A manuscript newspaper, "The Star," was dated March 17, 1887, and proclaimed itself "The leading grange paper in Nashua. Is adapted to the farmer, the mechanic, the business and professional man." It features poetry, jokes and riddles, advertisements, and articles relating to farming, religion, cities, manhood, and other topics. Two poems are also present in the series.

The Original Artwork Series includes calling cards for Charles H. Lund and several of his acquaintances, featuring manuscript drawings of birds, flora, and calligraphic embellishments. Other drawings in the series include pencil illustrations of flowers, a bicycle, a train engine, dogs, Charles Lund's initials done in colored pencil with graphic elements added, and a pencil and colored pencil rendering of the Lund homestead, showing the main residence and outbuildings.

The Printed Materials Series consists of programs, two catalogs for the Nashua Literary Institution, a printed calling card for Lund, a menu for the Profile House, and a newspaper clipping of a government bond.

The album in which the collection was originally housed is located at the back of the box.

The Gerald T. and Charlotte B. Maxson printed ephemera collection contains over 5,000 pieces of assorted ephemera, the majority of which were commercially printed in the United States during the mid to late 19th-century.

The Gerald T. and Charlotte B. Maxson printed ephemera collection contains over 5,000 pieces of assorted ephemera, the majority of which were commercially printed in the United States during the mid to late 19th-century.

The Maxson collection provides a valuable resource for the study of 19th-century visual culture, commercial advertising, and humor in addition to the role of gender, ethnicity, and race in advertising. American businesses are the predominant focus of the collection, though many international businesses are also represented. While trade cards are by far the most prevalent type of ephemera found in this collection, an extensive array of genres are present including die cut scrapbook pieces, photographs, engravings, maps, serials, and manuscript materials.

The 23 binders that house the Maxson collection were arranged by the collectors themselves. Items are organized somewhat randomly in terms of topical arrangement. While pockets of related materials can be found here and there (for instance, the entirety of Volume 16 contains circus-related items while Volume 11 contains an extensive number of Shaker-related materials), for the most part any given subject may appear in any given volume. In some cases, items are clustered as a result of having been acquired together or due to a documented common provenance. Occasional typed annotations written by the Maxsons help provide additional context for certain items.

The Maxson Collection Subject Index serves as a volume-level subject index for materials found throughout the binders. The subjects indexed here are generally representative of both visual and commercial content. In addition to more general subjects, many names of specific people, places, buildings, events, and organizations that appear in the materials have also been listed. Researchers engaging with this collection should be aware that they will encounter numerous examples of racist caricatures, especially ones depicting African American, Native American, Irish, and Chinese people.

The Rewards of merit collection consists of approximately 800 hand-illustrated and printed rewards of merit originating in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Rewards of merit collection consists of approximately 800 hand-illustrated and printed rewards of merit originating in the United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

The collection includes rewards of merit decorated with ink, watercolor, and fraktur art as well as lithographic and chromolithographic rewards. The bulk of materials are dated between 1830 and 1900.

Series I of the collecton contains approximately 200 rewards of merit that are primarily grouped around specific students and teachers. Also present is a group 100 examples of early 19th century rewards acquired from dealer Alfred P. Malpa Ephemera.

• 1.1: Early 19th century rewards of merit, 100 items
• 1.2: Abbott, Carrie M. (student), 3 items
• 1.3: Adams, Priscilla (teacher), 4 items
• 1.4: Corbette, Edith (student), 4 items
• 1.5: Garretson family (students) and Smiley family (teachers), 13 items
• 1.6: Jones family (students), 6 items
• 1.7: Roberts, Charlie (student), 13 items
• 1.8: Shackford, Mabel (student) and Riley, Mary L. (teacher), 3 items
• 1.9: Sturtevant, Florence (student) and Lamb, Clara (teacher), 8 items
• 1.10: Thompson, Susan A. (student), 3 items
• 1.11: Thurley, Gertie (student), 4 items
• 1.12: Thurston family (students & teacher), 5 items

Series II contains approximately 600 19th century rewards of merit. Materials are organized roughly by size and include "small" and "large" groupings. Also present are two instructional cards for a rewards of merit system and blank uncut printed rewards of merit sheets.

• 2.1: Small miscellaneous rewards of merit
• 2.2: Large miscellaneous rewards of merit
• 2.3: Uncut rewards of merit

Also of note is a cylindrically-shaped paper reward of merit that is housed in its own separate box.

Other students and teachers represented in the collection include the following: O. C. E. Baker, Minnie Bates, Edgar Blanchard, Sarah Bods, Hiram Bradley, Lydia P. Burnham, Sallie Burnham, Eliza W. Burrage, Amelia Burt, Joseph Busk, Frances M. Caulkins, Anna Chamberlain, Eddie Clock, William Duncan, Annie Earle, Della L. Farwell, Leva Ferro, Frances F. Fitch, Abraham E. Fox, Clarissa French, Lillie Gerz, Aletta Green, Isaac Goodchild, Henry S. Gouver, Celia Griswold, L. Hasbrouck, Jane Hayden, Joseph Heaton, Flora Hemmings, George Hibbs, Janell M. Hopkins, Frank Houghton, Katie Houghton, Lydia C. Huntington, Chelsey Hutching, Ellen K. Kanchett, Sidney Keith, Lucy Kendall, Henry Kimball, Edith Konter, Lizzie Kraybill, Euphema J. Lament, Grace Laverny, Walter Leonard, Della Lewis, Bertha Lockwood, Bessie C. Lord, Lilly McDonnell, Maggie S. Mitchell, Lizzie Morse, Llewallyn Moulton, Jennie C. Perry, Hallie A. Purinton, Amanda Reed, John Reed, Mary E. Richardson, Eva H. Roberts, Abbie F. Rupell, W. H. Rutherford, Andy Salisbury, Adolphus Sayre, Ella Sherman, Mary E. Shipman, Emogene F. Spakin, Sophia Strong, Edward Van Soligen, Lizzie P. Whillemore, Cira B. Whitney, Emma Yeaton, Georgie Young, and James Young.

Educational institutions represented include Belknap School, Bennington (Vt.) Graded School District, D.C. Academy, Excelsior School System, Hartford Centre School, Kingston Grammar School, Marblehead Academy, Miss Sanders' Seminary, Mrs. Cranch's Academy, Pollsville Institute, and "Town School No. 12."