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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 Stanton P. Allen scrapbook contains clippings, engravings, maps, and drawings related to a recurring newspaper column titled Down in Dixie written by Allen for the Troy Daily Times in which he recounted his experiences serving with the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry during the Civil War.

The Stanton P. Allen scrapbook contains clippings, engravings, maps, and drawings related to a recurring newspaper column titled Down in Dixie written by Allen for the Troy Daily Times in which he recounted his experiences serving with the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry during the Civil War.

The volume (23 x 14 cm) contains approximately 101 pages and has blue cloth covers with the words "Manual and Report, Board of School Commissioners Troy, N. Y., 1883" stamped in gold on the front. The first item to appear is a pasted in sheet on pg. 5 with the words "Down in Dixie, by Stanton Perrie Allen" printed and "Volume IV" handwritten. The first clipping of Down in Dixie appears on pg. 9 and is marked "34," which coupled with the presence of "Vol IV" on pg. 5 would seem to suggest that Allen created multiple volumes in which the columns were sequentially ordered. These volumes were likely used by Allen to finetune his ideas for how he envisioned publishing his account in book form.

The Down in Dixie clippings are given a visual dimension through the inclusion of numerous clipped engravings that directly relate to people, places, and events referenced in the narrative. Engravings include portraits of leading military figures from both the Union and Confederacy as well as numerous depictions of soldiers, battles, camp life, fortifications, buildings, prisoners of war, casualties, mass burials, etc. Also present are several engravings depicting African Americans (pgs. 52, 54, 58-60, 92, 95, & 97) and Apache Indians (pgs. 10 & 11). Two clipped maps are also included, with one showing a general overview of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey (pg. 9) and the other showing a detailed view of the roads, landmarks, and natural features east of Richmond, Virginia (pg. 77). Only one photograph is present, an unmounted studio portrait of Allen's mother Celia juxtaposed with an anecdotal passage about a Confederate and Union soldier bonding over their deceased mothers (pg. 51).

Of particular note are six original drawings signed by Allen. The first, a pen and ink drawing captioned "Down in Dixie Turning Out For Stables," shows a Union cavalryman (presumably Allen) at camp laden with horse care equipment (pg. 20); the second, a watercolor captioned "Down in Dixie. 'How Is That For Beef?' From Memory 1889," shows three Union cavalrymen eating a meal at camp (pg. 25); the third, a watercolor captioned "A Stag Dance. Four Hands Round," shows a group of four Union cavalrymen dancing while another plays the fiddle as two others (including an African American cavalryman) look on (pg. 26); the fourth, a pen and ink drawing captioned "The Sutlers Whisky Barrel Tapped At Both Ends. Down in Dixie," shows a large group of Union cavalrymen getting drunk on whisky after secretly tapping into the sutler's barrel from the outside of his tent (pg. 27); the fifth, a pen and ink drawing captioned "'The Tables Turned.' - Beaver Dam, Va., May, 1864," depicts the anecdotal interaction between a Union soldier and Confederate prisoner who realize they had both stolen rings from each other that had belonged to their deceased mothers (pg. 49); the sixth, a watercolor captioned "Sheridan's Raid - 1864. - Walking to Rest the Horse. - From Memory - 1889," shows a Union cavalryman leading his horse.

A loose two-page typescript draft of a consolation letter dated June 20, 1897, written by Allen to Charles S. Francis after the death of the latter's father John M. Francis can also be found tucked inside the back cover. Allen knew both John and Charles from having worked for the Troy Daily Times, which was founded by John in 1851.

The William L. Culbertson, Jr., scrapbook consists of one volume containing numerous newspaper clippings, documents, photographs, hand-drawn maps and illustrations, correspondence, and various ephemeral items related to the career of US Navy officer CDR William Linn Culbertson, Jr., between 1905 and 1918.

The William L. Culbertson, Jr., scrapbook consists of one volume containing numerous newspaper clippings, documents, photographs, hand-drawn maps and illustrations, correspondence, and various ephemeral items related to the career of US Navy officer CDR William Linn Culbertson, Jr., between 1905 and 1918.

The volume (25.5 x 19 cm) has 146 pages and is bound in red marbled paper covers. The covers and spine are in poor condition. Inside of the front cover there is a loose diplomatic passport for Culbertson, Jr., issued by the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France, from August 1916 that contains personal descriptive information as well as a photographic ID portrait. The scrapbook begins with newspaper clippings from ca. 1905 and subsequent materials proceed in chronological order for the most part. Numerous items collected during Culbertson, Jr.’s time abroad contain text in foreign languages including French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, German, Arabic, and Greek.

• Hand-drawn portrait of a man playing cards and smoking a pipe (between pgs. 2 & 3)
• Clipping related to court martial of Iowan midshipman Charles M. James for alleged involvement in hazing (pg. 5)
• Photomechanical image of the U.S.S. Missouri (pg.7)
• 1906 New York herald clipping with full page illustrated article titled "At Sea with the Naval Cadets Annual Cruise of the Boys to Learn Practical Seamanship" (pg. 9)
• An order from Lt. CDR Cleland Davis of the U.S.S. Missouri dated May 24, 1906 instructing Culbertson, Jr., to "take charge of the remains of J. J. Molloy, fireman 1st class" who died from asphyxiation while ashore in New York City (pg. 11)
• A letter received March 27, 1906 while the U.S.S. Missouri was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, regarding Culbertson, Jr.'s request to be assigned to a torpedo boat that will "make the trip to the Asiatic Station" (pg. 17)
• Ca. 1906 clipping regarding Culbertson, Sr.'s real estate dealings (pg. 19)
• Typescript copies of the "Plan for the Occupation of St. Marc, Hayti" dated February 1916 (between pgs. 30 & 31)
• Program for the "Memorial Service in memory of the Culbertsons, of 'Culbertson's row' and their descendants who served in the War of the American Revolution" held at Rocky Spring Presbyterian Church, Franklin County, Pennsylvania on September 15, 1907 (pg. 37)
• Pamphlet detailing "Facilities for American Seamen on shore leave in Rio de Janeiro, January, 1908" which includes a map of Rio's commercial district (pg. 41)
• Clippings of an article regarding Surgeon General Presley M. Rixley's opinion that medical officers be placed in command of hospital ships (pg. 44) and a satirical cartoon titled "When the Navy puts doctors in command of the hospital ships" (pg. 45)
• A humorous mock notice issued to Culbertson, Jr., in September 1908 while aboard the U.S.S. South Dakota sent by "Neptune Rex" and undersigned by "Secretary to his Majesty Davy Jones" (pg. 52)
• A manuscript map detailing features of American Samoa (pg. 53)
• Clippings of three cartoons from a series titled "Trials of a First Baby" (pgs. 54-57)
• Letter from oiler J. J. Murphy dated May 23, 1907, requesting permission to purchase his discharge from the U.S. Navy in order to return home to Ireland following the deaths of two brothers; obituary clipping attached (between pgs. 68 & 69)
• Manuscript item in Japanese (pg. 73)
• New York herald clipping giving Culbertson, Jr.'s account of what he saw in the aftermath of the 1907 earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica (pg. 76)
• Manuscript map detailing the valley of the Artibonite River in Haiti, likely ca. 1915/1916 (between pgs. 86 & 87)
• Manuscript map detailing prospective plan of attack on St. Marc, Haiti, relative to the U.S.S. Des Moines, likely ca. 1916 (pg. 99)
• Passport for Culbertson, Jr., issued by the American Consulate in Alexandria, Egypt, on December 31, 1915 (pg. 115)
• Clipping of a humorous joke anecdote about a woman from San Francisco who contacted her deceased husband "John" with help from a spiritualist medium only to find he was much happier being dead than he ever was living with her (pg. 118)
• Memorandum dated October 13, 1915, regarding damages to the U.S.S. Brutus and U.S.S. Des Moines (pg. 129)
• Two French travel permits for Culbertson, Jr., issued by the Departement des Alpes-Maritimes in 1916 (pgs. 136 & 137)
• Numerous playbills, tickets, receipts, stamps, business cards (including cards for foreign naval officers), schedules, menus, advertisements, event invitations, social club notices, and other ephemeral items collected at various ports of call including Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Shanghai, Yokohama, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, New York City, Alexandria, Cyprus, Naples, etc. (passim)
• Numerous clippings related to World War I (passim)