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The Brandon Iron Company Records contain 23 letters written by John A. Conant on behalf of the Vermont firm C.W. and J.A. Conant (later Brandon Iron Company) to their retailer, Henry W. Miller, of Worcester, Massachusetts. The letters document the relationship between the producer and retailer, and contain material on stove design and function.

The Brandon Iron Company Records contain 23 letters written by John A. Conant on behalf of the firm C. W. and J. A. Conant (later Brandon Iron Company) to their retailer, Henry W. Miller, of Worcester, Massachusetts. The letters document the relationship between the wholesaler and retailer, and contain material on stove design and function. A series of three letters (3-5) provides a detailed discussion of a suit for infringement of patent rights, Stanley v. Town, concerning a stove manufactured by the Conants. The defendants hired Roger M. Sherman as attorney; whether he bears any relationship to Roger Sherman of Revolutionary War fame is not mentioned.

Forms part of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. This collection includes promotional materials for fresh, frozen, and canned fish and seafood. Publications date from 1861-2011, with most materials dating from 1930s-1980s.

Forms part of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. This collection includes promotional materials relating to cooking and heating stoves, dating from 1880 to 1997. The collection is divided into five series, with Series 1 containing general material, Series 2-4 containing material related to specific kinds of stoves, and Series 5 containing oversized material.

Forms part of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive. This collection includes promotional materials relating to cooking and heating stoves, dating from 1880 to 1997. The collection is divided into five series, with Series 1-4 arranged based on content and Series 5 containing oversized material.

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.

This collection is made up of 16 letters, 17 documents and printed items, 58 photographs, and 4 photographic postcards related to the family of William J. Greening of Middletown, New York. A portion of the collection relates to a self-oiling axle he patented in 1907, including his copy of the official patent award. Most of the photographs depict his children; four show a meat market owned by the Greening family.

This collection is made up of 16 letters, 17 documents and printed items, 58 photographs, and 4 photographic postcards related to the family of William J. Greening of Middletown, New York. A portion of the collection relates to a self-oiling axle he patented in 1907. Most of the photographs depict his children; four show a meat market owned by the Greening family

The Correspondence series contains 13 letters, 2 wedding invitations, and one Christmas card. E. Treadwell of New York City wrote the first three letters to Hermann Brockaway of Poughkeepsie, New York, in June and September 1858, inquiring whether or not Brockaway would be able to make some repairs to Treadwell's ovens. Other early letters include one from Mary E. Gross of Nanuet, New York, to her cousin, Smith Nance of Newburgh, New York (April 4, 1872), and a letter from William J. Greening to his future wife, Huldah A. Stanton of Thompsonville, New York (May 11, 1885). Both letters provide family news.

The remaining 11 items relate to William J. Greening or the Greening Axle Company, which produced carriage axles in Middletown, New York. Three, including one from the United States Quartermaster General's Office (March 17, 1908), offer praise for Greening's self-oiling axle. Albert H. F. Seeger, a lawyer from Newburgh, New York, wrote Greening two letters in December 1916 and one in August 1917, regarding a broken Greening axle. Greening also received information from Henry C. McLear of the Carriage Builders' National Association about the group's upcoming exhibition (April 23, 1914). The correspondence series also contains a letter, written by an unidentified man named Aaron to his brother, that mentions the cost of installing parts on a three-seated wagon (March 30, 1915); wedding invitations for Greening's daughters Mabel (September 11, 1913) and Flora (October 14, 1919); and an undated Christmas card addressed to "Mrs. Greening."

The Documents, Financial Records, and Printed items series contains 17 items, of which 4 relate to William J. Greening and his children, including his daughter Flora's baptism certificate (June 11, 1905) and high school diploma (June 1913), and 2 of his daughter Hazel's report cards (undated). Nine items pertain to Greening's interest and involvement in the manufacture of wagon axles, such as 2 printed advertisements, 1 original advertisement illustration, 1 printed page of user testimonies, 2 printed items related to an exhibition held by the Carriage Builders' National Association in October 1913, 1 typed list of wagon factories in several states (3 pages, undated), and Greening's copy of United States patent number 851,201, issued for his "Lubrication Means for Axles or the Like," later manufactured and sold as the "Greening Axle" (April 23, 1907). The 4 remaining items include a notarized financial document reflecting the cost of quills, paper, and ink in Baltimore, Maryland (May 19, 1835); a typed copy of the last will and testament of William J. Greening's sister, Grace Ella Greening (August 30, 1927); a certificate for Ethel Mae Bird's (née Greening) lifetime membership in the Women's Christian Temperance Union (May 10, 1963); and an undated printed advertisement for Maple Park Farm in Ferndale, New York, owned by Mrs. James Gibbons Greening.

The Photographs series consists of 64 items, including 44 loose snapshots, 14 card photographs and portraits mounted in cardboard frames, 4 photographic postcards, and 2 negatives, taken in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The bulk of the photographs and postcards depict Hazel Greening and other members of the Greening family, including her parents, siblings, and a pet dog. One snapshot is of a "Greening Axle," invented by Hazel’s father. Many snapshots were taken in front of the family's home in Middletown, New York, and others by an unidentified lake. One postcard from "Frank H." to Hazel Greening shows a United States soldier; 2 of the remaining postcards are addressed to William J. Greening from his sons.

The framed photographs and card photographs are formal portraits of Greening family members, including 2 images of Flora in a wedding dress. One photograph shows a butcher standing in front of W.J. Greening's Market, New York. The negatives, including 1 glass plate negative, are of people standing inside and outside of Greening's meat market. The final item in the series is a box for "The Stanley" 6 ½" x 8 ½" dry plates, made by the Eastman Kodak Company.

The I. Boggs Smith receipt book contains receipts, invoices, and correspondence related to Smith's purchases of goods from Philadelphia merchants between 1864 and 1867.

The I. Boggs Smith receipt book (approximately 100 pages) contains receipts, invoices, and correspondence related to Smith's purchases of goods from Philadelphia merchants between September 1864 and March 1867. The majority of items have revenue stamps affixed to them. In addition, the volume contains a small number of manuscript receipts and correspondence pertaining to Smith's finances.

I. Boggs Smith purchased items such as fabrics, dishes, shoes, oil, hardware, sugar, and fish. A few invoices pertain to publications by the American Baptist Publication Society. Many of the receipts bear illustrated letterheads. Those of A. H. Franciscus & Co. and John Doll have logos that incorporate the United States flag, and others depict objects such as stoves and oil lamps. A 2-page list of soldiers who served in Pennsylvania regiments during the Civil War is laid in the receipt book.

The Stephen Smith papers are a partial record of the business transactions of a Boston cabinetmaker and furniture dealer, concentrated in the years 1834-1853.

The Stephen Smith papers are a partial record of the business transactions of a Boston cabinetmaker and furniture dealer, concentrated in the years 1834-1853. Despite its incompleteness, the collection provides a good overview of the trade, and includes some detailed information on cabinetry, iron stoves, retail operations, clock making, apprenticing, and business practices, and gives some minor insight into the lives of an upwardly mobile member of the skilled artisan class.

The most informative series of letters in the collection are the more than ninety letters between Smith and his brothers-in-law, Thomas and John L. Lothrop, relating to the manufacture and sale of iron stoves, and the twenty letters written by a Concord, N.H., clockmaker, Abiel Chandler, discussing clock manufacturing and the consignment of his goods through Smith. Chandler's letters provide details on the prices, design and distribution of clocks. Labor arrangement are not a major topic in the collection, however, there are several letter relating to efforts to arrange apprenticeships for boys entering the cabinetmaking trade, and one regarding a boy named Henry, possibly a relative of the Lothrops, who wanted to become an apothecary (3:34). According to the Lothrops, Henry was a difficult case, and suffered from the serious fault of a short attention span and an interest only in things when they were new. One letter, written in 1842, includes notice of a convention for cabinetmakers in Boston (2:45).

The Smith papers contain ten letters relating to the California Gold Rush, six written by Stephen Smith's brother, George L. Smith, in 1849 and 1850, and two by a ship captain who transported them to California from Boston. George's letters include literate, optimistic descriptions of the voyage around the horn and of conditions in San Francisco and Sacramento during the first year of the Gold Rush. They are especially interesting in that George was a minor success at gold mining.

Among the miscellaneous items in the collection are two unusual, brief letters of some note. The first is a letter from a recent widower, Kimbal Smith (3:13), discussing the death of his wife and the emotional hardships he has faced, and the second is a plea from a young man in prison, John Daly (3:51), pleading with his father to get him out and providing a vivid, though very brief sketch of the horrifying conditions.