Collections

The HM Sloop Penguin collection contains watercolor illustrations, photographs, a crew member's letter, and a journal, all related to the British cruiser that was sunk by the American Navy, just after the end of the War of 1812.

The HM Sloop Penguin collection consists of 4 watercolor illustrations, 2 photographs, 1 letter, and one journal.

The Watercolor illustrations series contains four scenic views, presumably of St. Helena or Tristan da Acunha, tall ships in a small harbor, two distinct land masses, and a small settlement with fortifications.

The letter, dated February 18, 1815, is from a HM Sloop Penguin crew-member, writing to his sister, Mrs. Samuel Trigge, in Chelsea, England. The letter recounts many of the Penguin's movements as they search for an American privateer that had recently captured an English ship. The letter describes the Penguin's upcoming trip, which they did not complete, from the Cape of Good Hope to St. Helena, then on to the Island of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and finally back to the Cape of Good Hope. The letter describes the author's employment prospects and the possibility of returning to England, as well as his observations of life at the Cape of Good Hope.

The photographs are reproductions of a silhouette of a military man, presumably James Dickinson, and of a fine pen and ink drawing of a ship in a storm.

The journal has a monogram on the spine reading "S B." The volume's 81 pages (148 blank pages) document the Penguin's voyages from August 17, 1814-March 22, 1815. The author dutifully noted wind and weather conditions and often included important events on the ship and ashore. The journal's daily entries vary from a few lines to an entire page, and ends on March 22, just one day before the Penguin's capture.

The Jerome, Arizona mining photographs consist of 56 photographs (including 33 real photograph postcards) related to mining operations, anti-labor vigilantism, and Arizona scenery.

Most of these images appear to have been taken by an anonymous photographer who referred to himself as "Bob" and who may have been associated with a Philadelphia-based contracting firm, Charles A. Sims & Co., that was hired by the United Verde Mine. Many of the photographs have handwritten captions and bear evidence of having previously been mounted in a scrapbook; many captions have been rendered partially illegible after being affected during the removal process. The captions directly refer to details within the photographs, particularly related to mining operations.

A total of 33 real photo postcards are present, including 14 locally produced images by The Fotoplace and Areldson Studio. Several real photo postcards bear correspondence, and "Bob" appears to have sent some of these images to a woman named "Kitty."

Items of particular interest include at least two photographs depicting J. E. O'Rourke (the superintendent of the United Verde Mine); multiple views of Jerome, Arizona, including street and bird’s-eye views; multiple views of mining facilities and encampments; three images of Native Americans (likely Yavapai); two views of the Montezuma Castle cliff dwellings; a view of stalactites taken from the inside of a cavern; and eight images documenting the expulsion of I.W.W. strikers in Jerome in July 1917 by local citizens who were organized into a vigilance committee. Also present are at least five images taken near present-day Tonto Basin, Arizona, north of the Theodore Roosevelt Dam, which may be associated with another project on which the Charles A. Sims & Co. firm was contracted. While the dam itself does not appear in any of these images, the photographer wrote that the area depicted was to be inundated. Since the dam was constructed by the U.S. Reclamation Service between 1903 and 1911, these images are likely older than those taken in Jerome.

For a complete list of the collection’s contents, see the Detailed Box and Folder Listing section below.

This volume is a typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

This volume is a 27-page typed journal of a group's canoe and camping trip on Lake George, New York, in the summer of 1892. The typescript is illustrated with 21 photographs of the campers, their equipment, and the scenery.

The Lake George camping party consisted of at least seven acquaintances: Charles W. Byrnes, Alice B. Byrnes, William L. Brown, Georgia B. Sumner, Edwin W. Andrews, Maybelle Ramsay, and R. C. Sargent. Maybelle and a man referred to as "the Doctor" left the group partway through the trip. The account, titled "Wotlarks: A Camping Journal," opens with an epigraph by William Henry Harrison Murray, followed by 24 pages of recollections. The campers embarked from Caldwell, New York, on July 31, 1892, spent 2 weeks on the lake, and then boarded a train for Boston from the area around Fort Ticonderoga on August 13, 1892.

The author of this typescript (possibly camper William L. Brown), described the scenery, meals, and notable incidents. He or she also quoted poems by P. Buchanan Read and Isaac Ogden Rankin. The 7 party members signed the final page of the typescript. Twenty-one photographs, pasted onto sturdy boards between pages of the journal, depict scenery around Lake George, the campers in their canoes, men and women posing with guns, a man fishing, the group near their tents, and other scenes.

The volume includes a carefully drawn or traced manuscript map of Lake George, marked with the places that the campers visited.

This collection is made up of typescripts and copies related to Lewis C. Mead's service in the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment, Company I, during the Civil War, including his time as a prisoner of war. He wrote letters home while serving in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, and during his imprisonment in Libby Prison and other Confederate prisoner-of-war camps.

This volume (177 pages) contains typescripts and copies related to Lewis C. Mead's service in the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment, Company I, during the Civil War. The collection includes an introduction by Mead's youngest daughter.

Pages 1-148 largely consist of letters that Mead wrote to his parents and sister during his military service. He described camp life, marches, and scenery in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia (particularly in and around Lexington, where the regiment was stationed for much of the winter of 1862-1863). He mentioned Lexington's African American population, his African-American servant in Nashville (shared with his tent mates), promotions and officer elections within his company and regiment, executions of deserters, and a skirmish with Confederate forces. From October 1863 to November 1864, he wrote from Libby Prison and other Confederate prisoner-of-war camps. Mead discussed his health and his possible release or exchange. By the time he resumed his correspondence in March 1865, he had returned to the regiment. He remained with the unit until at least May 1865.

A small number of letters by other writers include an early order by J. W. Trueman authorizing Mead to raise a company for a regiment of lancers (October 3, 1861) and several written to the Mead family during the war. E. S. Woodman, an acquaintance, and other soldiers provided news about Lewis C. Mead's capture and imprisonment in October 1864. Postwar correspondence includes family letters and a letter from H. S. Dean to Lewis C. Mead regarding a visit to the Chickamauga battlefield by Michigan veterans (October 25, 1893).

The letters are followed by Mead's ca. 1886 reminiscences of his Civil War service, including his experiences during the Battle of Chickamauga and his subsequent imprisonment (pp. 149-164); a speech by Mead about the 22nd Michigan Infantry Regiment's Civil War service (pp. 165-172); and additional reminiscences written after a 50th anniversary visit to the Chickamauga battlefield, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and other locations related to Mead's wartime experiences (pp. 173-177).

The volume contains a photocopy of a newspaper obituary for Lewis C. Mead, published in The Daily Press. Photocopied photographs include Lewis C. Mead around the time of his enlistment and as an older adult; "Johnny Clem," a 12-year-old soldier who was embedded with Mead's regiment (pictured in uniform holding a gun); James Arthur Gallery wearing Mead's dress uniform; and Owen Carlisle Frost in a World War I-era army uniform.

A typescript copy of a letter by William Hayden Smith regarding his experiences with the 1st Michigan Infantry Regiment around the time of Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox is pasted into the volume's back cover (April 9, 1865).

The Louis G. Monté collection is made up of 2 diaries about Americans traveling in Europe in the summer of 1899. Monté and another traveler wrote entries about sightseeing in England, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Both journals have pencil drawings of people encountered and each doubles as a scrapbook with photographs, tickets, programs, and other ephemera.

The Louis G. Monté collection is made up of 2 diaries about Americans traveling in Europe in the summer of 1899. Monté and another traveler wrote entries about sightseeing in several European countries, and both used their journals as scrapbooks.

Louis G. Monté wrote daily diary entries between July 5, 1899, and August 26, 1899 (Volume 1, pages 5-73). He described his journey from Charlestown, Massachusetts, to England on the steamer New England and arrived on July 14. He saw the sights in London, England; Paris, France; Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen), Cologne (Köln) and Düsseldorf, Germany; and Amsterdam and Haarlem, Netherlands. He often visited museums and commented on local architecture and customs. Monté's brief final entries pertain to his return journey from Antwerp, Belgium, to New York on the steamer Southwark. Monté also used his book as a scrapbook for photographs and ephemera (pages 1-4 and 1a-36a; not all pages are used), and he wrote notes about French, English, and German currency on pages 2-4. The book's endpapers and cover also have items pasted in, such as tickets, programs, advertisements, and other ephemera. Photographs primarily depict scenes and people in the Netherlands, and numerous drawings illustrate people he encountered during his European travels. Pages 21a-22a (Volume 1) contain an essay on English architecture.

The second diary (unattributed) covers the author's travels from August 3, 1899-August 16, 1899 (pages 1-33), with photographs, stamps, tickets, train schedules, and other ephemera interleaved with the journal entries (pages 34-55 and 1a-55a; not all pages are used). The author drew pictures of people and wrote notes. He visited the same locations as Monté and sketched a nearly identical image of a woman in Aix-La-Chappelle, Germany (Vol. 1, p. 19a; Vol. 2, p. 2). Most of the pasted-in ephemera items pertain to travels in the Netherlands.

The Massachusetts and Rhode Island vacation photograph album contains 28 snapshot photographs taken along the coastal regions of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ca. 1905.

The Massachusetts and Rhode Island vacation photograph album contains 28 snapshot photographs taken along the coastal regions of Massachusetts and Rhode Island ca. 1905. A majority of these images show Martha's Vineyard and Newport, Rhode Island. Many of these images show scenes of tourist destinations. Notable destinations include Paul Revere's House, the Thoreau-Alcott House, The Breakers, Touro Synagogue Cemetery, and the Marine Hospital of Vineyard Haven. Also shown are views of beaches and people in swimwear.

The album is 18.5 x 14.5 cm with dark brown cloth covers.

The Mildred Drury photograph album contains 175 photographs of young men and women taken while traveling throughout Europe and the United States ca. 1910.

The Mildred Drury photograph album contains 175 photographs of young men and women taken while traveling throughout Europe and the United States ca. 1910. The images consist primarily of informal snapshots of family, friends, and travel. There are no captions or notations beyond an inscription on the front inside cover which reads, "Mildred W Drury."

The first pages of the album include photographs taken in New York City. On a few of these pages, Columbia University's Low Memorial Library can be seen. On page 15, a woman sculpting a bust and a sculptor's studio are shown. The next few pages show various views from the grounds of Château de Versailles. In particular, Hameau de la Reine can be seen in the background on page 20. Also taken in France, photographs on pages 68 through 70 show views from the Eiffel Tower. On page 21 are photographs of Ely Cathedral. The next series of photographs were likely taken in the Netherlands. Images show canals, canal boats, towpaths, and traditional dress and architecture of the region. Following, are five pages of the Alps, traveling through the mountains, and hotels. Photographs on pages 48 through 52 were taken in Italy and show Amalfi, Amalfi Drive (Strada Statale 163), Piazza San Marco, gondolas, and women doing laundry. The last portion of the album includes photographs likely taken in the United States. These photographs show family gatherings, snowshoeing, golfing, and canoeing.

The album is 20.25 x 14.75 cm with green cloth covers.

The New York (N.Y.) medical registers contain demographic and medical information about New York City residents suffering from various ailments in the late 1890s; some entries include graphic photographs related to patients' physical health. Entries list the patient's name, country of origin, and address, as well as providing detailed descriptions of the patient's medical history, current condition, and treatment.

The New York (N.Y.) medical registers contain demographic and medical information about New York City residents undergoing medical treatments in 1898 and 1899; some entries include graphic photographs related to patients' physical health. Each volume contains around 300 pages of medical records, and each has an alphabetical index listing patients' names and ailments. The unnamed hospital primarily treated adult men and women, though some records pertain to children.

Each entry begins with the patient's name, age, country of origin, occupation, and address; most belonged to the working class. The registers provide further detailed information about the patient's relevant medical history (at least one patient had previously been admitted to Bellevue Hospital), current condition, and treatments, including examination notes and descriptions and results of operations. The writers also noted the date of discharge. Some entries include photographs of patients, including many who suffered from tumors, hernias, and lesions, often located between the abdomen and the feet. Others suffered from appendicitis and, on fewer occasions, broken bones and bullet wounds. At least one image utilized x-radiation.

The Pennsylvania National Guard album contains approximately 250 images pertaining to an unidentified man’s service with the Pennsylvania National Guard Cavalry and his civilian life from circa 1916 to 1918. The vast majority of the photographs are snapshots primarily taken in Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico.

The Pennsylvania National Guard album contains approximately 250 images pertaining to an unidentified man’s service with the Pennsylvania National Guard Cavalry and his civilian life from circa 1916 to 1918. The vast majority of the photographs are snapshots primarily taken in Pennsylvania, Texas, and New Mexico.

A carte de visite and postcard are loose in the front of the album. The carte de visite of an unidentified man photographed in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The postcard depicts the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec.

The first few pages of photographs depict Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania and show the Pennsylvania National Guard’s encampment, a river (possibly the Susquehanna River), and three men identified as Captain Arthur C. Colahan, Lieutenant Edward Hoopes, and Lieutenant William P. Wattles. Only the first two pages include captions.

The next series of photos likely show the Pennsylvania National Guard's encampment near El Paso, Texas, which they occupied until early 1917. These photos show border patrol, artillery training, drills, supply wagon trains, a polo team, game of baseball, a dust devil, reconnaissance aircraft, cavalry maneuvers, and a cavalry charge.

Interspersed throughout are photographs of civilian and family life. These images include a woman and newborn child, likely the unidentified compiler's wife and child. Some of these photos show picnics, a bullfight, racehorse track, a ranch, and scenic landscapes. Many show small towns and vernacular architecture, specifically mission style which was common to the area. Of particular note is a parade with a large sign, "We're from El Paso Tex/ Berlin or Bust."

The remaining portion of the album contains images of Texas, showing scenes at a park, the Capitol Building, and more family photos. Other identifiable locations include the Alamo, Kern Place, Hotel Sheldon (El Paso, Texas), and Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir.

The Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington D.C. photograph album contains 44 photographs of Pennsylvania, Euclid (Ohio), George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, and Washington D.C. from 1898 to 1933.

The Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington D.C. photograph album contains 44 photographs of Pennsylvania, Euclid (Ohio), George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, and Washington D.C from 1898 to 1933. Some of the photographs have handwritten or typed notations on the back often identifying location and/or date. The first half of the album shows scenes of a "Decoration Day" Parade in 1918 and the Pennsylvania countryside. There are two images on page 17 of Euclid Beach (Ohio) crowded with beachgoers. The next series of images show various views of George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and its grounds. The last few pages of the album contain images of Washington D.C. Specific sites include the Thomas Jefferson Building (Library of Congress), United States Capitol, and Union Station. Three photographs were found housed behind mounted photographs and are now loose. These can be found on pages 17, 18, and 22.

The album is 13 x 19.5 cm with black cloth covers.