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The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. In addition to the photographic materials, 36 manuscript items and two bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The Brearley-Pingree collection consists of approximately 166 autographed photographs of notable individuals that were originally compiled by Detroit-based newspaperman William H. Brearley and later added to by Detroit mayor and Governor of Michigan Hazen S. Pingree. An additional 36 manuscript items and 2 bound volumes are also included in the collection.

The collection appears to have been first started by Brearley during the mid-1860s, possibly during or immediately after his Civil War service. He seems to have solicited the autographs of a variety of famous individuals (including authors, performers, musicians, scientists, spiritual leaders, politicians, foreign rulers, and military officers) primarily by mailing them photographs of themselves and requesting their signatures. Possession of the collection appears to have been transferred to Pingree at some point, and he continued to make further contributions. Pingree’s daughter Hazel retained possession of the collection after her father’s death before eventually donating it to the Clements Library. All components of the collection are stored together in one box.

While most portraits in the collection are original studio photographs taken by a variety of photographers including Mathew Brady and Napoleon Sarony, a relatively small number of photographic reproductions of non-photographic portraits are also present (including depictions of James Monroe, Stonewall Jackson, and Henry and Clara Ford).

Volume 1: Brearley collection reproduction souvenir album

This album (16.5 x 15 cm) has green leather covers with lines of poetry from Henry W. Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life stamped in gold on the front. An index included at the beginning lists the names of 96 individuals represented across the album’s 24 pages. After the index, a passage written by William H. Brearley and dated August 1st 1874 explains that he created a limited number of facsimile copies of his original autographed portrait collection at the “urgent solicitation” of many interested friends. Brearley also explains that he acquired the original photographs and autographs in his collection “by long and patient effort, & tending over a period of ten years, and involving an expense of several Hundred dollars.” Subsequent album pages each contain four individually pasted 5.5 x 4 cm albumen print photographic reproductions of original portraits found in Brearley’s collection. This item was acquired from a separate source and was not part of the original collection of materials donated to the Clements Library by Hazel Hope Pingree Mills.

Volume 2: Brearley-Pingree collection original album

This album (30 x 26 cm) has brown leather covers and the words “Portraits. Autographs” and “Brearley” stamped in gold on the spine. The original autographed portraits of the Brearley-Pingree collection were once housed in this album before Clements Library staff removed the original photographs and substituted them with photocopies in 2010 for conservation and preservation purposes. Manuscript captions were also added by Clements Library staff. The original photographs are housed separately in smaller boxes and have been arranged according to size/format and ordered alphabetically by subject surname. See below for a complete list of photographic subjects contained in each box.

Of additional interest are three manuscript items, including the clipped signature of Hyacinthe Loyson and an October 15th 1873 letter from Henry W. Longfellow containing the same lines of poetry from A Psalm of Life that appear on the cover of the Brearley collection souvenir album. Also present is a letter from Buckingham Palace sent to Brearley in 1873 by Sir Thomas Biddulph explaining that the “enclosed Photograph” of Queen Victoria is being returned but that “The Queen’s Autograph is never given away.” Three wax seals are also included in the volume including an “Imperial Chancellor’s seal” (associated with a portrait of Otto von Bismarck); “the Napoleon Seal” (associated with a portrait of Jérôme Bonaparte); and a Great Seal of the Realm attached to the 1873 letter from Buckingham Palace.

Box 1.1: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, A-E

This box contains 47 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Adams, Charles Francis, 1807-1886.
• Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873.
• Alcott, Louisa May, 1832-1888.
• Anderson, Richard Heron, 1821-1879.
• Anderson, Robert, 1805-1871.
• Anthony, Susan B. (Susan Brownell), 1820-1906.
• Bancroft, George, 1800-1891.
• Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor), 1810-1891.
• Barrett, Lawrence, 1838-1891.
• Beauregard, G. T. (Gustave Toutant), 1818-1893.
• Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887.
• Billings, Josh, 1818-1885. [Henry Wheeler Shaw]
• Birney, David Bell, 1825-1864.
• Bishop, Anna, 1810-1884. [Anna Riviere Schultz]
• Bismarck, Otto, Fürst von, 1815-1898.
• Bonaparte, Jérôme, King of Westphalia, 1784-1860.
• Bonner, Robert, 1824-1899.
• Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893.
• Breckinridge, John C. (John Cabell), 1821-1875.
• Bright, John, 1811-1889.
• Bryant, William Cullen, 1794-1878.
• Buchanan, James, 1791-1868.
• Bülow, Hans von, 1830-1894.
• Bunker, Chang, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Eng Bunker]
• Bunker, Eng, 1811-1874. [in portrait with Chang Bunker]
• Burnside, Ambrose Everett, 1824-1881. [two portraits included]
• Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893.
• Carleton, Will, 1845-1912.
• Chapin, E. H. (Edwin Hubbell), 1814-1880.
• Clem, John Lincoln, 1851-1937.
• Clough, J. E. (John Everett), 1836-1910.
• Coan, Titus, 1801-1882.
• Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885.
• Collins, Wilkie, 1824-1889.
• Cook, Eliza, 1818-1889.
• Coombs, Jane, 1842- .
• Curtis, George William, 1824-1892.
• Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876.
• Dana, Charles A. (Charles Anderson), 1819-1897.
• Darwin, Charles, 1809-1882.
• Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889.
• Dickinson, Anna E. (Anna Elizabeth), 1842-1932.
• Dix, John A. (John Adams), 1798-1879.
• Doré, Gustave, 1832-1883.
• Doubleday, Abner, 1819-1893.
• Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895.
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882.
• Emory, William H. (William Hemsley), 1811-1887.

Box 1.2: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, F-N

This box contains 46 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Farragut, David Glasgow, 1801-1870.
• Ferrero, Edward, 1831-1899.
• Field, Cyrus W. (Cyrus West), 1819-1892.
• Field, Kate, 1838-1896. [Mary Katherine Keemle Field]
• Fillmore, Millard, 1800-1874.
• Forrest, Nathan Bedford, 1821-1877.
• Fowler, O. S. (Orson Squire), 1809-1887.
• Garrison, William Lloyd, 1805-1879.
• Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart), 1809-1898.
• Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), 1822-1885.
• Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872.
• Greenwood, Grace, 1823-1904. [Sarah Jane Clarke Lippincott]
• Hall, John, 1829-1898.
• Halleck, H. W. (Henry Wager), 1815-1872.
• Hancock, Winfield Scott, 1824-1886.
• Hay, John, 1838-1905.
• Heintzelman, Samuel Peter, 1805-1880.
• Hoar, E. R. (Ebenezer Rockwood), 1816-1895.
• Holland, J. G. (Josiah Gilbert), 1819-1881.
• Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894.
• Hooker, Joseph, 1814-1879.
• Howard, O. O. (Oliver Otis), 1830-1909.
• Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885.
• Jackson, Stonewall, 1824-1863.
• Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875.
• Kirby-Smith, Edmund, 1824-1893.
• Lee, Fitzhugh, 1835-1905.
• Lee, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1807-1870.
• Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
• Locke, David Ross, 1833-1888. [Petroleum V. Nasby]
• Logan, John Alexander, 1826-1886.
• Longstreet, James, 1821-1904.
• Loring, Charles G. (Charles Greely), 1794-1867.
• Loyson, Hyacinthe, 1827-1912.
• Lucca, Pauline, 1841-1908.
• Mario, Giovanni, 1810-1883. [Mario, T.]
• McClellan, George Brinton, 1826-1885.
• Mitchell, Maggie, 1837-1918.
• Moltke, Helmuth, Graf von, 1800-1891.
• Monroe, James, 1758-1831.
• Morse, Edward Sylvester, 1838-1925.
• Motley, John Lothrop, 1814-1877.
• Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh, Shah of Iran, 1831-1896.
• Nast, Thomas, 1840-1902.
• Nilsson, Christine, 1843-1921.
• Nutt, Commodore, 1848-1881. [group portrait with Minnie Warren]

Box 1.3: Brearley-Pingree collection cartes de visite, O-Z

This box contains 36 cartes de visite. Represented individuals include the following:

• Ord, Edward Otho Cresap, 1818-1883.
• Parepa-Rosa, Euphrosyne, 1836-1874.
• Patti, Adelina, 1843-1919.
• Phillipps, Adelaide, 1833-1882.
• Porter, David D. (David Dixon), 1813-1891.
• Rogers, Randolph, 1825-1892.
• Salvini, Tommaso, 1829-1915.
• Saxe, John Godfrey, 1816-1887.
• Schurz, Carl, 1829-1906.
• Scott-Siddons, Mary Frances, 1844-1896.
• Sheridan, Philip Henry, 1831-1888.
• Sherman, William T. (William Tecumseh), 1820-1891.
• Sothern, Edward Askew, 1826-1881.
• Spinner, Francis Elias, 1802-1890.
• Spurgeon, C. H. (Charles Haddon), 1834-1892.
• Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904.
• Stephens, Alexander H. (Alexander Hamilton), 1812-1883.
• Strakosch, Max, 1835-1892.
• Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874.
• Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Baron, 1809-1892.
• Terry, Alfred Howe, 1827-1890.
• Thiers, Adolphe, 1797-1877.
• Thomas, George H. (George Henry), 1816-1870.
• Thomas, Theodore, 1835-1905.
• Thumb, Tom, 1838-1883. [Charles Sherwood Stratton; group portrait with Lavinia Warren]
• Twain, Mark, 1835-1910. [Samuel L. Clemens; both names signed on photograph]
• Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794-1877.
• Waite, Morrison R. (Morrison Remick), 1816-1888.
• Warren, G. K. (Gouverneur Kemble), 1830-1882.
• Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878.
• Willcox, Orlando B.
• Wilson, Henry, 1812-1875.
• Woodhull, Victoria C. (Victoria Claflin), 1838-1927.
• Wright, Horatio Gouverneur, 1820-1899.
• Yates, Edmund, 1831-1894.
• Young, Brigham, 1801-1877.

Box 2: Brearley-Pingree collection cabinet cards

This box contains 27 cabinet cards. Represented individuals include the following:

• Andrade, Ignacio, 1836-1925.
• Arthur, Chester Alan, 1829-1886.
• Bernhardt, Sarah, 1844-1923.
• Booth-Tucker, Emma, 1860-1903.
• Booth-Tucker, Frederick St. George de Lautour, 1853-1929.
• Bull, Ole, 1810-1880.
• Cable, George Washington, 1844-1925.
• Chamberlain, Joseph, 1836-1914.
• Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917.
• Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881.
• Garfield, Lucretia Rudolph, 1832-1918.
• Hayes, Rutherford B., 1822-1893.
• Janauschek, Francesca Romana Magdalena, 1830-1904.
• Kellogg, Clara Louisa, 1842-1916.
• Kennan, George, 1845-1924.
• Kruger, Paul, 1825-1904.
• Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 1807-1882.
• Phillips, Wendell, 1811-1884.
• Ranavalona III, Queen of Madagascar, 1861-1917.
• Reed, Thomas B. (Thomas Brackett), 1839-1902.
• Stead, W. T. (William Thomas), 1849-1912. [three portraits included]
• Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896.
• Urso, Camilla, 1842-1902.
• Victoria, Queen of Britain, 1819-1901.
• Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892.

Box 3: Brearley-Pingree collection large photographs and manuscript materials

This box contains 9 large format mounted photographs and 33 manuscript items. Represented individuals among the photographs include the following:

• Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947.
• Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
• Ford, Clara Bryant, 1866-1950.
• Ford, Henry, 1863-1947.
• Gibbons, James, 1834-1921.
• Guzmán Blanco, Antonio, 1828-1899.
• Mace, Aurelia Gay, 1835-1910.
• Milles, Carl, 1875-1955.
• Wilder, Marshall P.

Manuscript materials of interest include a number of letters dating to the mid-1870s from various individuals (including John A. Dix, C. H. Spurgeon, H. W. Longfellow, and Lucretia R. Garfield) possibly sent to William H. Brearley in response to autograph solicitations and other requests; and numerous letters addressed to Hazen S. Pingree from various individuals (inlcuding William Thomas Stead, Ignacio Andrade, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, and William McKinley) dating to the 1890s. Other items of interest include a copy of "Special Order No. 166 'Extract' Head Quarters 2d Brigade 3d Div 2d A.I." dated June 15th 1865 stating that the 1st Mass Heavy Artillery had been ordered by Brig. Gen. Franklin Pierce to repost to General Hancock; calling cards for "Sixto Sanchez Director General de Coreeos - Postmaster" as well as "The Admiral of the Navy" George Dewey from "when he called on Gov. Pingree in Detroit"; a clipped signature of "Louis Botha Commandant General"; an undated note to poet Louise Chandler Moulton; a document dated August 1st 1892 detailing financial investment information related to the Michigan-Peninsular Car Company with pasted clippings of wealthy politicians and their net worths as well as annotations by Pingree; a letter dated Feb 19th 1892 from Don M. Dickinson to Pingree regarding the prospective visit of Grover Clevland to Detroit, Ann Arbor, and the University of Michigan; a letter dated March 9th 1949 from Hazel Hope Pingree Mills to Director of the William L. Clements Library Randolph G. Adams regarding progress being made on research regarding the life of William H. Brearley; and an undated typed copy of a short essay titled "Brearley - Man of Action, Started Many Important Detroit Activities" by historian George B. Catlin.

The Wella and Pet Anderson spirit drawings photograph album contains 26 cabinet card photographs of pencil-drawn portraits of spirits of various historical figures made by a spiritualist couple in San Francisco, California in the early 1870s.

The Wella and Pet Anderson spirit drawings photograph album contains 26 cabinet card photographs of pencil-drawn portraits of spirits of various historical figures made by a spiritualist couple in San Francisco, California in the early 1870s.

The album (17.5 x 12 cm) has marbled paper board covers and the spine has been reinforced with library cloth. Inside of the front cover, a handwritten note has been laid in that states “The following Photographs were presented to this society by Col. J. C. Bundy. They are from full-sized drawings, made with a Faber pencil, by Mr. & Mrs. Wella Anderson of California, when in a ‘Trance’ or unconscious state. About two hours time was required in which to draw each Portrait. For further particulars see ‘Descriptive Catalogue of the Ancient Band.’ July, 1879.” John C. Bundy (1841-1892) was the chief publisher of The Religio-Philosophical Journal, a Chicago-based spiritualist periodical that Bundy inherited from his father-in-law Stevens S. Jones (1813-1877) after the latter’s murder. The society to which Bundy gifted this album has not been identified.

Each photograph in this album bears printed captions identifying the subject. All but two of the photographs also bear printed copyright statements stating “Photographic copy of the Original Life-size Pencil painted Portrait, executed by those celebrated Spirit Artists, Wella and Pet Anderson, when in the unconscious ‘trance’ condition. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, in the office of Librarian of Cong. Washington, D. C. by the Pacific Art Union, of San Francisco, Cal. Inc. March, 1874.” Two of the photographs (portraits of Anthony van Dyck and Peter Abelard) have copyright statements attributed to Jonas Winchester.

While many members of The Ancient Band were true historical figures, numerous fictitious or legendary individuals were also counted amongst the group, including an adult woman supposedly born in Massachusetts ca. 1774 named “Dawn” who lived for only one hour and who served as an assistant for The Ancient Band; Henri de Brianville, a supposed English knight and alchemist who lived during the reign of Charles I; Ayotte, a supposed French Huguenot artist, poet, musician, and occult alchemist from the 15th-century; Peter Korzakieff, a supposed Polish writer and scientist from the 15th-century; Mazeleel, a supposed high priest of the Magi of Nineveh, Assyria, active during the 7th-century BCE; Hiram Abiff, a pseudo-historical allegorical figure presented to candidates embarking on the third degree of Freemasonry and described as the chief architect of Solomon’s Temple; Pietro Vecchia, a supposed 5th-century ruler of a Venetian island republic called Rialto; Catullus, a supposed Roman metallurgist and descendant of poet Gaius Valerius Catullus employed during the reigns of Nero and Vespasian; Hassan al Meschid, a supposed Persian Magi who aided an insurrection against Cambyses II and declared himself King before being killed himself; Abd El Kader, a supposed Arabian chief from 1500 B.C. described as the father of Arabian chemistry and a direct descendant of Ishmael; and Adehl, a supposed Indian Hindu chief and necromancer that lived “8,000 years ago” and who utilized an Elixir of Life to live until the age of 180 before he was put to death.

Also present are depictions of supposed figures from the legendary ancient civilization of Atlantis, including Orondo (described as an eight foot tall expert in mining, a trusted advisor of head Atlantean ruler Yermah, and the progenitor of intermarriage alliances with indigenous tribes of North America following the fall of Atlantis) and Atyarrah (described as a military commander who was part of an expedition of North America and the constructor of earthwork defenses against Native American tribes, some of which yet remain in the Mississippi Valley).

Authentic historical figures represented amongst The Ancient Band include Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556); Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641); French writer Philippe Quinault (1635-1688); Italian friar Giovanni Giocondo (1433-1515); English philosopher and statesman Lord Francis Bacon (1561-1626); medieval French polymath Peter Abelard (1079-1142) and his philosopher lover Héloïse d'Argenteuil (ca. 1095-1163 or 1164); Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons (ca. 849-899); Greek philosopher Plutarch (ca. 46-after 119); Umar ibn al-Khattab, second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate (ca. 583 or 584-644); Greek poet Pindar (ca. 518 BCE-ca. 438 BCE); Chinese philosopher and politician Confucius (ca. 551-ca. 479 BCE); and Gautama Buddha, Indian ascetic and founder of Buddhism (ca. 563 BCE or 480 BCE-ca. 483 BCE or 400 BCE).

• 1) “Dawn.” Born in Massachusetts 100 years ago, living only an hour.
• 2) Henri de Brianville. English Knight and Soldier of Fortune - Days of Charles I. [“1630” inscribed alongside caption]
• 3) Cranmer. Archbishop of Canterbury - Burned at the Stake in 1635.
• 4) Vandyke. The Great Flemish Painter - Pupil of Rubens - Died 1642.
• 5) Ayotte. French Hueguenot, Artist, and Alchemist - 15th Century.
• 6) Philippe Quinault. Distinguished French lyrical Author and Poet - Born 1635.
• 7) Fra Giocondo. Dominican Friar - Architect of St. Peters - Born in 1435.
• 8) Lord Bacon. High Chancellor of England, and Scientist - Born in 1561.
• 9) Peter Korzakieff. Polish Scholar and Scientist - time of Casimer, about 1460.
• 10) Abelard. Celebrated French Scholar - Lover of Heloise - Born 1079.
• 11) Heloise. Mistress of Abelard - Abbess of the Paraclete - Born 1101.
• 12) Alfred the Great. The Noblest Saxon Monarch of Britain - Died A.D. 900
• 13) Plutarch. The Greek Historian and Philosopher - Born A.D. 50.
• 14) Mazaleel. Most learned of the “Magi” in the best days of Nineveh.
• 15) Hiram Abiff. The “Widow’s Son” - Grand Master of Ancient Masonry.
• 16) Omar I. 2d Moslem Caliph - Conqueror of Syria and Egypt - 644.
• 17) Pietro Vecchia. Tribune of a Venitian Island Republic in the 5th Century.
• 18) Catullus. Roman Metallurgist and Jeweller, of the Time of Nero.
• 19) Pindar. Most famous of the Ancient Greek Poets - Born 520 B.C.
• 20) Orondo. Of Yermah’s Time - Father of the “Mound Builders.”
• 21) Hassan al Meschid. Persian Magian, Astrologer, and King - lived B.C. 500.
• 22) Atyarrah. Warrior of Yermah’s Time and Country, high in Rank.
• 23) Confucius. The Great Chinese Reformer and Sage - Born B.C. 551.
• 24) Gautama. Brahminical Reformer - Father of Buddhism - B.C. 557.
• 25) Abd El Kader. An Arabian Chief - Descendant of Ishmael. - B.C. 1,500
• 26) Adehl. Hindoo Necromancer - 2d Chief - lived 8,000 years ago.