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Collection

Warrensburg, Missouri Photograph Albums, ca. 1865-1880

21 photographs in 2 albums

The Warrensburg, Missouri photograph albums consist of two photograph albums containing 21 studio portraits, including several portraits of members of an African American family based in Warrensburg, Missouri during the 1870s.

Although these two albums were purchased together as a single lot from the same source, it is unclear if or how the individuals who are represented in each respective album are related. For conservation and preservation reasons, the original photographs have been removed from these albums and replaced with facsimile scan copies. The original photographs have been housed alongside the albums.

Volume 1:

This album (10 x 12 cm) contains four cartes de visite and six tintypes, all of which are formal studio portrait photographs. The album is made of pebbled black leather covers with a leather closure and has “Album” stamped in gold on the spine. The ownership stamp of “Lon. Fickas” (likely Benjamin Alonzo Fickas) appears twice in the album. “Warrens Brug (sic) Johnson Count Mo” is inscribed on a page near the back cover.

Eight or nine African American individuals are depicted in these photographs, some of whom may be identified through inscriptions on the photograph versos and/or inscriptions made directly onto the album pages. However, it appears that these photographs may have been moved around at some point as some of the album inscriptions do not seem to match up with subjects. Several images have hand-painted details including gold jewelry.

Pg. 1 of this album contained a carte de visite portrait of an African American man bearing a verso inscription that reads “Warrens Brug (sic) Mo march 11 1875 Less Will Wis 25 years old march 1”; there is also an inscription on the album page that reads “Renie (or Remi?) Hatton.” Pg. 2 held a tintype of an African American woman wearing a light blue ribbon that was colored by hand. Pgs. 5 and 11 both contained copies of the same carte de visite portrait of an infant African American child being held in place by a hidden mother; an inscription on pg. 5 reads “Lewis ?” while an inscription on pg. 11 reads “John Butler.” Pg. 7 contained a tintype of a young African American woman that includes a paper flower scrap with printed text reading “Charity” pasted at the top of the photograph sleeve. Two locks of women’s hair were stored in the album, one between pgs. 8 and 9 and the other between pgs. 12 and 13. Pg. 9 contained a full-length tintype portrait of an African American woman that bears a verso inscription reading “John Butler Warrensburg Mo,” while an inscription on page 10 also reads “kizher? Butler Was 27 year old June 1 1876.” This inscription may possibly be referencing a woman named Kizzie Butler who was recorded as living with her husband John Butler in Warrensburg in the 1870 census and was later included in Dawes Act Rolls under “Choctaw Freedmen.” Pg. 13 contained a tintype of an African American woman seated while holding a book (likely a bible). Pg. 15 contained a half-length portrait tintype of an African American man, while pg. 16 contained a tintype of an African American woman (possibly the same woman represented in the tintype from pg. 9) seated while wearing a white dress and hat. A small loose unmounted gelatin silver print portrait of an African American girl was also present between pgs. 16 and 17.

Volume 2:

This album (14 cm x 10 cm) contained eleven studio portrait photographs, nine of which are tintypes. The album has brown leather covers with a metal closure and has a floral motif rectangle around the word "Album" all stamped in gold on the front cover. None of the subjects represented in this album are identified, and none of these portraits appear to depict any of the individuals who are represented in Volume 1.

Most of the portraits that were housed in this album are of unidentified white men, women, and children. Also present is a group portrait tintype showing a family of possible African and/or Native American descent and a carte de visite portrait of a young African American girl taken by “Simpson 424 E Wash St.” (possibly William Simpson of Indianapolis). Also of note is a carte de visite portrait taken by J. F. Ryder of Cleveland of a white actress (possibly a burlesque dancer) leaning on a chair.

Collection

Washington & Jefferson College Student album, 1862-1865

1 volume

The Washington & Jefferson College Student album contains carte-de-visite portraits of Jefferson College students and various other individuals, many of whom are identified. Several of the college students belonged to the fraternity Delta Tau Delta. Many photographs originated in Washington, Pennsylvania; Canonsburg, Pennsylvania; and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The Washington & Jefferson College Student album (13cm x 18cm) contains 79 cartes-de-visite, 1 tintype, and 1 lithograph. The original brown leather cover, now detached, has a partially raised geometric design and two metal clasps; a floral design is carved into the sides of the pages. Most items are individual portraits of young men, though a few pictures of women and children are also present, including a group portrait of four women and three men. One carte-de-visite has a decorative border printed directly on the card backing.

Many of the individuals pictured signed their photographs and wrote brief notes; several of the men photographed in Washington and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, mentioned their membership in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. A large number of photographs are attributed to George C. Gillett of Ann Arbor, Michigan; the album contains a portrait of University of Michigan professors Alonzo Benjamin Palmer, Samuel Glasgow Armor, and Corydon L. Ford; and a lithograph of the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. A number of the other portraits taken in Ann Arbor are signed by men who took courses in medicine at the University of Michigan during the 1860s. The volume includes one portrait of a young child that may have been taken postmortem and one carte-de-visite with artificial coloring.

Collection

Washtenaw County (Mich.) account book and court records, 1839-1858

1 volume

This volume is a record of costs associated with mortgage foreclosure cases filed in Michigan's Second District Court in the early 19th century, personal financial records of Michigan Supreme Court justice George Miles, and notes on mortgage foreclosures and similar legal cases filed primarily in Washtenaw County, Michigan, between 1847 and 1858.

This volume records costs associated with 8 mortgage foreclosure cases filed in Michigan's Second District Court in the early 19th century (20 pages); personal financial records of Michigan Supreme Court Justice George Miles, kept between May 27, 1839, and March 9, 1841 (16 pages); and notes on mortgage foreclosures and similar legal cases filed primarily in Washtenaw County, Michigan, between 1847 and 1858 (29 pages). One item laid into the volume documents the payment of costs associated with the case of Wilson & Cobb vs. Levi Rogers (February 19, 1848-August 24, 1852).

A. M. Gould, a clerk with Michigan's Second District Court, kept 20 pages of detailed records of filing costs and similar expenses related to 8 court cases, most of which were mortgage foreclosures. These include filing costs, the costs of creating copies of documents, and similar charges.

Partial List of Cases
  • Frederick M. Sanderson vs. Harvey Norton and others
  • James E. Hays vs. Mary E. Hays
  • Ormsby & Page vs. Howard Norris, et al.
  • Hawkins & Wilson vs. H. H. Neff
  • Miles Wilson vs. David P. Hinson
  • Jagger & Varrick vs. Calvin Townson
  • Levi Walker vs. William J. Moody
  • Calvin F. Austin vs. Charles T. Moffett

The second portion of the volume, 16 pages, is a record of cash received and expended by George Miles, in account with Miles & Wilson, between May 27, 1839, and March 9, 1841. Miles often traveled throughout southeast Michigan, including trips to Detroit, Adrian, and Ypsilanti. One entry mentions Michigan governor William Woodbridge.

The final part of the book contains 29 pages of notes on many court cases heard in the "Circuit Court for the County of Washtenaw in Chancery" between January 19, 1847, and March 1858. Most of the cases involved mortgage foreclosures, and notes often mention the plaintiffs and defendants, motions and related documents filed, and associated fees. A divorce case related to Murray Speer of Pinckney, Michigan, is mentioned, but with no associated notes. Though the majority of cases pertain to Washtenaw County, Michigan, others took place in Livingston, Kalamazoo, and Eaton counties. The case of Ebenezer Wells and Franklin L. Parker against James Fuller, Jr., of Eaton County, Michigan, relates to land held in Ionia, and is accompanied by a newspaper clipping (April 4, 1857). Two additional items are laid in: a scrap of paper with calligraphic writing, and a short note.

Collection

Wayland (Mass.) penmanship exercises, 1815-1817

6 items

The collection consists of six penmanship exercises composed between 1815 and 1817 by Eirene Smith (aged 13), Nancy Smith (aged 14-16), Mary Smith (aged 17), and Loreney Stone (aged 17), likely students in the same class in Wayland, Massachusetts. The exercises consist of copied poems entitled "The Rose," "To Eliza," "On The Seasons," "To The Lilly," "Epitaph," and "Lines Written in a Winter's Walk."

The collection consists of six penmanship exercises composed between 1815 and 1817 by Eirene Smith (aged 13), Nancy Smith (aged 14-16), Mary Smith (aged 17), and Loreney Stone (aged 17), likely students in the same class in Wayland, Massachusetts. The exercises consist of copied poems entitled "The Rose," "To Eliza," "On The Seasons," "To The Lilly," "Epitaph," and "Lines Written in a Winter's Walk."

Collection

Waynesboro (Va.) Printer's account book, 1901-1904

32 pages (1 volume)

This 32-page account ledger documents sales made by an as-yet unidentified printer in or near Waynesboro, Virginia, from 1901 to 1904. Most entries include the date of purchase, the purchaser's name/business, quantity and type of items sold, prices, and occasionally markings indicating the receipt of payments. The types of items sold include circulars, envelopes, billheads, letterheads, notices, statements, ball invitations, memos, tickets, folders, booklets, blanks, notes, reports, printing jobs, and at least one typewriter. Quantities of sold items largely range from the low 100s to 1,000 pieces. Purchasers included the Henckels, J. A. Patterson, the Stuart Draft Mill Company, the Belmont Hotel, Blue Ridge Furniture Company, Bean's Photo Gallery, Basic Lithio Spring Company, Union Baptist Church, Union Sunday School, Presbyterian Church, Crimora Mine Company, F. M. White & Bro., and many others. In July 1901, the printer received orders of tickets and receipts for a Baptist bazaar.

This 32-page account ledger documents sales made by an as-yet unidentified printer in or near Waynesboro, Virginia, from 1901 to 1904. Most entries include the date of purchase, the purchaser's name/business, quantity and type of items sold, prices, and occasionally markings indicating that payments had been received. The types of items sold include circulars, envelopes, bill heads, letter heads, notices, statements, ball invitations, memos, tickets, folders, booklets, blanks, notes, reports, printing jobs, and at least one typewriter. Quantities of sold items largely range from the low 100s to 1,000 pieces.

Purchasers included the Henckels, J. A. Patterson, the Stuart Draft Mill Company, the Belmont Hotel, Blue Ridge Furniture Company, Bean's Photo Gallery, Basic Lithio Spring Company, Union Baptist Church, Union Sunday School, Presbyterian Church, Crimora Mine Company, F. M. White & Bro., and many others. In July 1901, tickets and receipts were ordered for a Baptist bazaar.

A note on the final page states: "Nihilist / Holt Nihil Henkel."

Collection

West African Mission photograph album, 1887

1 volume

This album contains photographs of local residents, buildings, and natural scenery taken in the Congo region of Africa, around 1887. Africans and white missionaries posed singly and in groups. Landscape views, village scenes, images of vegetation and rock formations also appear.

This album (43cm x 32, 61 pages) contains 269 photographs of local residents, buildings, and natural scenery, possibly at an American Baptist mission in the Congo region, circa 1887. Three to eight items are pasted onto each page, and captions are written directly into the album where photographs are missing. The three-quarter-bound volume's covers are black and gray.

The photographs are roughly organized by topic. Pages 1-23 are comprised of individual and group portraits of Africans and of white missionaries. Many are identified by name. Of particular interest are posed ethnographic photographic studies of native men, women, and children shown in traditional African and western dress. Many if not most images appear to have been staged by the photographer. Among those may be of native inhabitants appearing as manacled slaves or prisoners; a mock execution, people with primitive weapons; mock combat with bow, spear, and shield; the wearing of ceremonial masks, families with children, and a young man with a large snake around his neck. "Mr. Clark" is identified in group photos as is "Dr. Flemming," a black woman, who is occasionally pictured with the missionaries. "Mr. Lewis" appears with a camera and tripod and may be the photographer for this album. "Mr. Roger Casement," future British consul to Portuguese West Africa and Irish Nationalist, is identified in one photograph and appears in at least one other. A set of four photographs depicts two African boys using a camera obscura on a stand to produce drawings of each other. The images on pages 23-31 include village scenes, rustic buildings including a church, post office, and photographer's booth. A man posed with the decapitated head of a hippopotamus appears on page 23.

Pages 32-48 concentrate on details of trees, fruits, and other vegetation, and pages 49-60 pertain to rock formations and rivers. These items include views of rocks with unidentified carved inscriptions, of caves, and of sailing and steam ships in a harbor. A small river steamer, theHenry Reed , a canoe, and a shipwreck are also pictured. The final item, located on page 61, is a photograph of William Shakespeare's supposed birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

Collection

Western Brand book, 1899-1900

1 volume

This volume (198 pages) contains 184 pages showing various branding marks used by horse and cattle dealers throughout the western United States in the late 19th century, as well as 15 pages of accounts recording purchases of cattle in December 1899 and January 1900. The 184 pages of brands are divided into several sections based on the types of identifying marks used; approximately 1,480 brands are represented. The notebook is accompanied by a 35-page pamphlet entitled "Cattle Brands of Texas," published in the mid-20th century.

This volume (198 pages) contains 184 pages showing various branding marks used by horse and cattle dealers throughout the western United States in the late 19th century, as well as 15 pages of accounts recording purchases of cattle in December 1899 and January 1900. The 184 pages of brands are divided into several sections based on the types of identifying marks used, and approximately 1,480 brands are represented. The notebook is accompanied by a 35-page pamphlet entitled "Cattle Brands of Texas," published in the mid-20th century.

The brand book, once owned by a livestock buyer, contains both graphic and textual descriptions of brands used by livestock breeders throughout the Great Plains and western United States. The vast majority of brands are for cattle. Each page has 8 images of cattle or horses stamped in purple ink, with hand-drawn brands placed on the images. Animals' ears are represented by a stamped infinity symbol. Some dealers used variations, which are recorded in red ink. Each livestock stamp is accompanied by the dealer's name, cattle range, and primary city. Suppliers originated from Colorado, "Dakota," Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming. A newspaper clipping showing 7 branded cows of the Warren Live Stock Company of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and their ranges, is pasted on page 23. The brands (pp. 2-185) are followed by 15 pages of accounts recording purchases of cattle made primarily from F. H., W. H., & M. B. Gill Brothers of Greeley, Colorado, in December 1899 and January 1900 (pp. 186-201). Each account includes a stamped image of a cow with a brand, the supplier, and the price, each spread across two pages. A total price appears at the bottom of every two pages.

The Western Brand book is accompanied by a short pamphlet entitled Cattle Brands of Texas, published by the First National Bank in Dallas around the mid-1950s. A forward by Wayne Gard introduces the history of cattle branding within the state. The book contains historical notes for numerous brands that decorated the bank's executive dining room.

Collection

Western travel and mid-Michigan photograph albums, 1901

1 volume

The Western travel and mid-Michigan photograph albums (2 volumes, each 23 x 36 cm) contain a total of 417 photographs primarily pertaining to travel in the western U.S. and the mid-Michigan region, likely taken by a member of the Charlesworth/Abraham family of Flint, Michigan.

Volume I: Western photographs include views of Yellowstone, the Yosemite Valley, cliff dwellings with pictorgraphs, a petrified forest, hiking across a glacier, buildings of the Panama-Pacific Exposition, the Saltair resort in Utah, cliff dwellings, the California coast, a bull fight, Native Americans selling pottery on the street, California houses, and a concert band dressed in kilts. Also included are single views of a city waterfront, possibly St. Paul, Minn., Milwaukee grain docks, and the Minnesota State Capitol. Album contains 232 images. Photographs lack captions.

Volume II: Mid-Michigan photographs show chiefly outdoor activities and rural scenery, including house and barns, country roads, hunting and fishing trips, boating, swimming, hunting dogs and game birds, a circus parade in downtown Flint, farm animals and cow-milking, and picnics. Nine photographs show a collection of bird amulets and carved relics, some belonging to the Silas Collins collection at the Flint Public Library. Also shown are burnt-out ruins of the Michigan School for the Deaf and postal carriers in Flint with sleds and wagons piled high with Christmas packages. Several photographs feature automobiles, including an overturned auto in the street being contemplated by a young man in swimming costume with handwritten caption, "Berston killed;" automobiles stuck in potholes and rescued by horse-teams; filled with hunting dogs; and a Buick Model C burnt out and restored. Michigan locations include: Flint, Prescott, Stiles Lake, Long Lake, Houghton Lake, Rifle River, Ortonville, and Skinner Lake. Identified individuals include: W.B. Ormsbee, A.G. Abraham, Herb Mitchell, Howard Casler, E. Rockafellow, Luella Charlesworth, John Brewer, Emma Abraham, Ernest Oldfield, M.B. Shirk, William Somerville, Hattie Barker, George Dell, Gert Fellows, Glenn Jones, Edgar Ries, John Ries, George Havers, John Wildanger, George Havers, Clyde Baldwin, George Frye, Edgar Rice, Chancey Straber, Elsie Caverly, Clarence Caverly, Leo & Mrs. Boomhower, Bud & Mrs. Evans, Ed Brown, Llloyd & Mrs. Algoe, Alice Charlesworth, Anna Charlesworth, George Holmes. Album contains 185 images. Most photographs include manuscript captions on verso.

Albums housed in three-part wraps with blue cloth spines.

Collection

"Western Trip" photograph album, 1899

1 volume

The "Western Trip" photograph album contains pictures of people, natural scenery, and cities in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington. The album includes photographs of the traveling party, popular tourist destinations, and residents of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

This album (17cm x 25cm), entitled "Western Trip-Summer-1899," contains 95 photographs of people and scenery in several western states. Each page contains two photographs housed in 8cm x 8cm windows; all items have captions, usually providing the location of the photograph. The title "Photographs" is printed in gold on the album's faded green cloth cover.

The photographer took three photographs of railroad stations, railroad tracks, and the prairie in Nebraska and Kansas before reaching Colorado. A photograph on the first page, identified as Lincoln, Nebraska, is likely mislabeled. A manuscript caption on the back of this photograph identifies the location as Omaha, Nebraska. In Colorado, where the photographer visited Manitou Springs, several canyons, Pikes Peak, and the Garden of the Gods. Several photographs are views of mountain passes and similar Colorado scenery some of which were taken from the front of a horse drawn carriage. The photographs from New Mexico include street-level views of Las Vegas and Santa Fe, as well as informal portraits of a woman and a child in front of a pueblo, a woman ("Belle of Santa Fe"), and a boy ("Dude of Santa Fe"). In Arizona, the traveler visited cliff dwellings, canyons, and the Grand Canyon; some images show the horse-drawn carriage the party took from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon, and others show tourists (including the compiler) on horses. The caption of one photograph implies that a railroad car on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway had caught fire, though no fire or smoke is apparent.

After visiting the Southwest, the traveler continued to California, where he or she collected several photographs of the Pacific Ocean as seen from Santa Catalina Island, California. These are followed by a group of pictures from Yosemite National Park, including views of mountains, waterfalls, lakes, and forests, and a picture of Mount Shasta. The final items feature the Hotel Portland in Portland, Oregon; Umatilla House in The Dalles, Oregon ("Where Measles Flourish"); the Columbia River and riverside scenery; Tacoma, Washington; Seattle, Washington; and the shore of Lake Washington.

Collection

Western Views - Kodak Snapshot Album, approximately 1895

104 photographs in 1 album

The Western views - Kodak snapshot album contains 104 photographs primarily of Western landscapes including canyons, rivers, waterfalls, and the Monterey, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz coasts.

The Western views - Kodak snapshot album contains 104 photographs primarily of Western landscapes including canyons, rivers, waterfalls, and the Monterey, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz coasts. The album (26.5 x 32 cm) is fully bound in leather with gilt lettering "Kodak" on the front cover. Most of the locations depicted are represented in one or two photographs with the exception of Yellowstone (approximately 20 images) and the Grand Canyon (approximately 12 images). Other photographs show trains and train tracks, with two photographs of train station gardens in Sacramento and Ypsilanti, Michigan. Non-western locations and objects depicted include the Hudson, Niagara, and Mohawk Rivers, Niagara Falls, Minnehaha Falls, and Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. In general people appear to be incidental to the scenery, save for two photographs showing posed groups; one in front of a topiary maze, and another in a grove of giant trees. Most photographs have numbers and captions derived from labeled negatives.

Collection

Wilhelm Schneider manuscript translation, Theory of Harmony..., [late 1840s or early 1850s]

53 pages

This collection is an undated 53-page manuscript, containing portions of the English translation of a work of organ music theory and practical application by German organist and instructor Wilhelm Schneider. The manuscript's first page corresponds to page 87 of Schneider's Practical Organ School . . . to which is added a complete Treatise on Harmony and thorough Bass. Translated and Adapted to the wants of Young Organists (Boston: Oliver Ditson & Company, 1851). Afterward, the manuscript follows a different organization from the printed work—chapter one of the manuscript corresponds, for example, to chapter two of the published version. A comparative analysis has not been completed, though a cursory review suggests that the manuscript has textual and possibly other variations from the published version.

This collection is an undated 53-page manuscript, containing portions of the English translation of a work of organ music theory and practical application by German organist and instructor Wilhelm Schneider. The manuscript's first page corresponds to page 87 of Schneider's Practical Organ School . . . to which is added a complete Treatise on Harmony and thorough Bass. Translated and Adapted to the wants of Young Organists (Boston: Oliver Ditson & Company, 1851). Afterward, the manuscript follows a different organization from the printed work—chapter one of the manuscript corresponds, for example, to chapter two of the published version. A comparative analysis has not been completed, though a cursory review suggests that the manuscript has textual and possibly other variations from the published version.

Collection

William A. Carter typescript, 1857-1859

1 item

This collection is made up of typescripts of letters that William A. Carter sent to his wife Mary from July 1857 to January 1859. Carter described his journey from Kansas to southwest Wyoming throughout 1857 and later discussed his life at Fort Bridger, where he became a prosperous sutler. Many of the letters refer to Native American tribes and to ongoing conflicts between Mormons and United States troops.

This collection (71 pages) is made up of typescripts of letters that William A. Carter sent to his wife Mary from July 28, 1857, to January 23, 1859. From September 1857 to January 1858, Carter wrote about his journey from Atchison, Kansas, to Camp Scott and Fort Bridger, Wyoming, describing the changing landscape and aspects of daily life as part of a traveling wagon train. He referred to Native American tribes such as the Pawnee, Cheyenne, Snake, and Sioux, sharing news of reported attacks on other wagon trains and mentioning a friendly encounter with a group of Sioux. Carter and his companions also feared attacks by groups of Mormons and he commented on the ongoing conflicts between Utah Mormons and U.S. troops. After reaching Fort Laramie in October 1857, the party sometimes travelled alongside U.S. forces under the command of Philip St. George Cooke; during this time, Carter relayed reports of heavy fortifications around Salt Lake City.

In early 1858, Carter wrote several letters from Camp Scott in southwest Wyoming, joining U.S. troops in their winter camp. There, he pursued a mercantile career; his letters from this period sometimes refer to the large sums of money that could be earned by transporting freight between the Utah Territory and "the States" back east. By mid-1858, Carter had settled at Fort Bridger, where he was officially appointed sutler in June 1858; he later became postmaster as well. At Fort Bridger, Carter shared news of the Utah War, reported on his finances, and discussed his plans to build a store; on one occasion, he discussed a visit to Salt Lake City. He increasingly referred to his unhappiness about being separated from his wife and children and eventually announced his intention to bring them to Wyoming. By January 1859, he anticipated a reunion with his family.

Collection

William Bull and Sarah Wells Pageant photograph album, 1908

1 volume

The William Bull and Sarah Wells Pageant photograph album contains 33 photographs of an elaborate outdoor pageant of the story of William Bull and Sarah Wells, two early settlers of Orange County, N.Y.

The William Bull and Sarah Wells Pageant photograph album (19 x 26 cm) contains 33 photographs of an elaborate outdoor pageant of the story of William Bull and Sarah Wells, two early settlers of Orange County, N.Y. It features locals dressed up as settlers and Indians and a house of logs constructed on site. Images of the reenactment also include the courtship and wedding of Bull and Wells, a wedding dance, and the making of plans to build a stone house. This pageant may be part of a family reunion, an ongoing Independence Day ritual, but also includes thanksgiving scenes of a meal shared by Indians and settlers. Prominently featured in one photograph are William Bull V and VII, descendants of William Bull and Sarah Wells.

The album has an unmarked black cloth cover and is housed in a gray wrapper with blue cloth binding.

Collection

William Eighinger ledger, 1798-1801, 1850

1 volume

The William Eighinger ledger contains two sections: a ledger kept by a Baltimore shipping merchant between 1798 and 1801 and math problems and copied compositions compiled by George Eighinger in 1850. The accounts pertain to the shipment of goods between North America, the Caribbean, and Germany, and the copied material includes a narrative told from the point of view of a slave.

This volume contains 2 sections: a ledger kept by a Baltimore shipping merchant between 1798 and 1801 (about 105 pages) and math problems and copied compositions compiled by George Eighinger in 1850 (5 pages).

The financial records intermittently cover the period from October 1, 1798, to June 24, 1801, on pages numbered 47-144 and 188-211; some pages have been torn from the book. The accounts concern the affairs of a Baltimore shipping merchant who imported linens and other items from Europe while exporting coffee, tobacco, sugar, and other goods to Bremen, Hamburg, and other German ports. Each entry reflects a transaction with a merchant, and the ledger often records the names of the ships carrying the cargo, as well as inventories, prices, the names of shipmasters, and consignment agents' marks. The ledger occasionally includes costs of storage or insurance. On December 31, 1799, the bookkeeper recorded "postage of 1798 & 1799" (pp. 131-133). Cartoonish drawings illustrate a few pages throughout the accounts (e.g. pages 93 and 239).

The pages numbered 235-239 contain arithmetic problems, copied prose, and cartoons by George Eighinger, who received the book from Nash G. Camp on March 4, 1850. The pages, which are labeled "Compound Subtraction" and "Compound Addition," include a narrative told from the point of view of a slave (p. 235).

Collection

William Potts student notebook, 1720-1819 (majority within 1720)

1 volume

This student notebook contains Latin-language treatises on logic, metaphysics, and related subjects, composed around 1720. The book also includes a few pages of sermon notes, an example of a Porphyrian Tree, and additional notes by later owners.

The bulk of this volume is comprised of Latin-language treatises about logic, metaphysics, and related concepts, written or copied around 1720. Each section is broken into multiple chapters, some with appendices. The volume also includes small groups of shorter writings in Latin and an example of the Porphyrian Tree. The Latin writings are infrequently interrupted by additional entries, such as a few pages of English-language notes from an August 1761 sermon based on a verse from 2nd Corinthians. Notations throughout the volume refer to William Potts, Georgius M. Conchie, George Potts, and William McCauly (with several variations on the spelling of the surname).

Collection

William W. Winters biography, [1853?]

1 volume

This manuscript is a 141-page biography of William W. Winters (1826-1895), a one-time medical student from Ohio, cabinetmaker, daguerreotypist, and Methodist Minister, among other professions. The biography and subsequent pasted-in documents draw heavily from Winters's own diary entries and trace the events of his life from 1826 to 1853, including his divorce from his wife, who he accused of adultery.

This manuscript is a 141-page biography of William W. Winters (1826-1895), a one-time medical student from Ohio, cabinetmaker, daguerreotypist, and Methodist Minister, among other professions. The biography and subsequent pasted-in documents draw heavily from Winters's own diary entries and trace the events of his life from 1826 to 1853.

Written largely from a third-person perspective, Winters's biography stylistically embodies nineteenth-century artistic and literary Romanticism. Here, a younger Winters is characterized as "schivalrous and full of gallant deeds in matters of Cupid, came off first best." Likewise, Winters is cast as "our hero" within the narrative. A later portion of the volume continues Winters's history, but from a first-person perspective, using "extracts [taken from] his journal in his own language."

Winters's employment experiences include tanning, cabinetmaking, operating a drug store, taking daguerreotypes, and serving in appointments as a deacon and then a reverend in the Methodist church. Descriptions of these occupations are conveyed with varying detail. Also noted are his experiences as a student, first at Oberlin College and, later, at Norwalk Seminary. Winters's courtship and marriage to Philenda Howard, as well as his divorce from her in 1853 on grounds of adultery, is richly detailed.

Laid into the front of the volume is a "Methodist Episcopal Church Quarterly Ticket" and the end of the journal is pasted in a fragment of Winters's 1844 wax-sealed appointment as a church deacon, and 12 fragments of a manuscript, four of which are photocopies.

Among many notable topics of interest are:

  • Mormonism (pp. 12-13)
  • Body snatching (pp. 66-67)
  • Work as a daguerreotypist—Springfield, Ohio (p. 123)
  • Divorce—Springfield, Ohio (pp. 131-32)
  • Ordination as a Methodist deacon (pp. 88-91)
Collection

Winchester (Conn.) sermons, 1791-1845 (majority within 1810-1845)

21 items

This collection contains 21 individually bound sermons and religious lectures delivered primarily in Winchester, Connecticut, in the early 1800s. The sermons cover a variety of religious topics, and include several lectures from a series based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

This collection contains 21 individually bound sermons and religious lectures delivered primarily in Winchester, Connecticut, in the early 1800s. The sermons cover a variety of religious topics, and include several lectures from a series based on the Westminster Shorter Catechism. The pastor utilized shorthand abbreviations for common words.

At the top of some sermons, the author recorded dates on which the sermons were delivered and the location at which they were delivered when not at Winchester (often in towns across northwestern Connecticut). The earliest sermon was delivered at "Preston" on August 1, 1791, and is numbered 236. Sermon topics, based on verses copied from the King James Version of the Bible, included the doctrines of salvation and repentance, Christian life, and the author's 35th anniversary with his congregation ("Sickbed Reflections," January 31, 1843).

Four additional sermons form part of a series of "Catechetical Lectures," delivered between November 23, 1811 (lecture I) and April 16, 1819 (lecture XV). The first considers the history of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, and the others touch upon individual questions taken from the document. Additionally, the collection includes part of a notebook containing notes on sermons given by various speakers between April 20, 1832, and April 21, 1833.

Collection

Wisconsin and Minnesota Friendship Photograph Album, ca. 1910s-1918

approximately 245 photographs in 1 album

The Wisconsin and Minnesota friendship photograph album contains approximately 245 photographs documenting a friend group of young women.

The Wisconsin and Minnesota friendship photograph album contains approximately 245 photographs documenting a friend group of young women.

The album (18 x 29.5 cm) has black cloth covers and black paper pages. Contents generally progress chronologically starting from the 1910s while the friend group appears to be in college before documenting their lives once they get married and start having families. Numerous images have witty captions, likely referencing inside jokes. Photographs primarily consist of individual and group portraits showing the women partaking in various activities including striking comical poses together, attending costume and fraternity parties, holding picnics, and going on various other adventures. Also present are views of the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menominee, Wisconsin, Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and Loring Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Halfway through the album begins to document members of the friend group getting married and starting families of their own, with photographs mainly depicting young children, homes, and group vacations including a trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. The last few pages also include images of a World War I-era soldier and nurses with facemasks (possibly indicating involvement with treating Spanish influenza victims).

Photographs showing instances of blackface and other racially insensitive costumes are present.

Collection

Woman's Cuba Travel diary, 1854-1855

1 volume

An unnamed woman kept this diary, documenting her sojourn to Cuba from October 1854 to April 1855. She traveled with members of her family, including "Uncle M" (likely Montgomery Livingston), Margaret (possibly Margaret M. Tillotson), Mary, and a servant Bridget. Staying primarily in Havana and Güines, the writer described Cuban vegetation, religious and social practices of white and Black residents, cuisine and dress, military and political figures, enslaved laborers and hired servants, sugar, tobacco, and coffee plantations, and other international travelers.

An unnamed woman kept this diary, documenting her sojourn to Cuba from October 1854 to April 1855 with members of her family, including "Uncle M" (likely Montgomery Livingston), Margaret (possibly Margaret M. Tillotson), Mary, and a servant Bridget. Staying primarily in Havana and Güines, the writer described Cuban vegetation, religious and social practices of white and Black residents, cuisine and dress, military and political figures, enslaved laborers and hired servants, sugar, tobacco, and coffee plantations, and other international travelers.

The party travelled from New York aboard the steamboat Black Warrior, captained by James D. Bulloch, in October 1854. The diarist described their voyage, other passengers, and their arrival in Cuba. Because the captain and vessel had been embroiled in an international conflict earlier in the year, Cuban authorities scrutinized the Black Warrior upon their arrival in Havana. While staying at a boarding house in Havana, the writer described the city, food, merchants, residents and their fashion, and the presence of enslaved people.

Upon leaving the city, they took up residence in Güines. Frequently exploring the area by horseback, the writer detailed local vegetation, produce, and crops, while also noting the social and religious life of the community. She commented occasionally on books she was reading, and she wrote of the people she encountered, such as local vendors, enslaved people, other Americans, or the poor (see November 28, 1854). She provided commentary on practices like smoking, culinary dishes, music, and balls. Marginal figures are also remarked upon, including an American woman living under the protection of the Jesuits who was being pursued by her ex-husband seeking custody of their children (see December 1, 1854; December 6, 1854; December 18, 1854).

The writer regularly remarked on enslaved and free people of color and their activities, including their participation in Mass and religious holidays, such as Epiphany / El Dia de los Reyes (January 6, 1855). She noted their presence at balls, their relationships with their children, work as vendors, and labor on plantations and in the town. She visited a number of plantations and wrote of their crops, buildings, operations, and enslaved laborers. Several times, she noted violence against enslaved people, including evidence of beatings and punishments (December 1, 1854; December 2, 1854; December 16, 1854; January 22, 1855). On another occasion, she witnessed a two-year-old boy sold separately from his mother, and wrote about their distress (March 13, 1855). The writer also made at least two references to Chinese laborers (October 31, 1854, and November 25, 1854). The family hired several servants during their stay in Cuba, and the writer periodically remarked on their displeasure with them and their dismissal.

The diarist commented on military troops and government officials in the region. Several entries pertain to the "Lopez Expedition" and its aftermath, referring to American-backed efforts by Narcisco López to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule several years earlier (October 16, 1854; November 19, 1854; December 19, 1854). She wrote about orders by José Gutiérrez de la Concha to inquire into residents' "character" and take up any of ill repute (seemingly targeting Black populations), and attendant police presence (November 25, 1854; December 3, 1854; December 4, 1854; December 11, 1854; December 13, 1854; January 23, 1855; March 1, 1855). She noted the uniforms of the "gens d'armes" and their participation in Mass. The diary includes occasional remarks about the local jail.

The family made occasional trips to Havana for shopping and made a brief visit to Matanzas in February 1855, where they met with the American consul who was working to protect American sailors (February 7, 1855). The diary ends on April 15, 1855, as the family prepared to depart for Havana to return to the United States.

Collection

Woman's Hunting and Camping photograph album, [1890s?]

1 volume

The Woman's Hunting and Camping photograph album contains pictures taken during a camping trip in upstate New York and exterior views of homes and municipal buildings in western Massachusetts. Many of the camping pictures feature women.

The Woman's Hunting and Camping photograph album (34cm x 25cm) contains 68 photographs taken in upstate New York and western Massachusetts around the turn of the 20th century. The green cloth cover has the words "Colgate & Co's Toilet Soaps and Perfumery" on the front in thin gold letters. Most of the photographs, which are pasted three to a page, have brief captions.

The first group of photographs pertains to a camping trip around Lewey Lake, Mason Lake, and Indian Lake in northern New York, including many views of woodland scenery and pictures of male and female campers. People are shown carrying and paddling in canoes, relaxing and posing around log cabins and campsites, and riding in open horse-drawn carts. The album includes two portraits of a woman dressed in a hunting outfit posing with a rifle and a portrait of a baby taken on his or her first birthday. One group of pictures concerns a logging camp and loggers. The final pages contain photographs of homes and other buildings in Hatfield, Northampton, Amherst, and Hadley, Massachusetts, including the compiler's girlhood home, a mill, the Northampton library, and the municipal halls of Northampton and Amherst. People can be seen relaxing in front of some of the dwellings.