Abraham Lincoln Assassination Book Illustrations, ca. 1960-1970
approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes
approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes
The Abraham Lincoln assassination book illustrations collection consists of 300 photographic reproductions likely produced during the 1960s of various 19th-century photographs, paintings, illustrations, maps, diagrams, posters, and ephemera related to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The collection provides a thorough pictorial history of Lincoln's assassination and its aftermath using photographic reproductions of select period sources. The reproductions are contained in three volumes that have been grouped into five thematic sections: "Assassination" and "Flight and Capture" (Volume 1); "Trial and Execution" and "The Funeral" (Volume 2); and "Funeral at Springfield" (Volume 3). Each thematic section is introduced with a typed index that identifies images and their original sources, which are often listed in abbreviated forms. Image sources that are cited include the Library of Congress (LC), National Park Service (NPS), Chicago Historical Society (CHS), National Archives (NA), New-York Historical Society (NYHS), Lincoln National Life Foundation (LNLF), Illinois State Historical Library (ISHS), Leslie's Illustrated, Harper's Weekly, Claude Simmons (C.S.), and more. While the subject and source of each image are noted, but there is no accompanying text or narrative concerning the events. This collection appears to have been assembled in relation to the prospective publication of an illustrated book on the topic, possibly during the 1960s as a centennial piece. Many of the photographs have chapter and page notations on the back, though there are no specific references to the author or the intended title of the prospective book.
The indexes for each thematic section are as follows:
approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes
2 volumes
These photograph albums (19cm x 30cm) contain 49 pictures of scenery, people, and buildings in the Adirondack Region of northern New York. Labeled photographs show buildings, animals, and scenery in and around Ilion, New York; Clifton, New York; Oxbow, New York; Chippewa Bay, New York; the Grass River; the Oswegatchie River; and Washington, D.C. Houses and other buildings shown include a home on "Preston Isle" in Chippewa Bay, the "Old Morris House" (a colonial stone house), an abandoned iron furnace, the White House, and the United States Capitol. Photographs of construction equipment are also present. Of the individuals and groups pictured, only Jack Moffett, a young boy, is identified. Photographs of note include pictures of an encampment, the exterior of a log cabin decorated with pine boughs, game and fish, and replicas of the ships Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria. Two photographs indicate the photographer's interest in capturing motion: one shows the Empire State Express at full speed and another shows a woman throwing water, captured at a shutter speed of 1/50 second. The albums have black or blue binding with "Photographs" embossed in gold on the covers.
1 volume
This photograph album (25cm x 19cm) contains 87 photographic prints depicting scenes in Alaska, Yellowstone National Park, and the Yosemite Valley in the late 19th century. The photographs, all of which have captions, were taken during visits to four geographic areas: Muir Glacier (21 photographs); Tacoma, Washington, and Helena, Montana (8 items); Yosemite National Park (48 items); and the Yosemite Valley and Arizona (10 items). Most photographs show natural scenery such as mountains, rock formations, waterfalls, and geysers, and some are pictures of hotels. Many show tourists climbing or viewing natural formations and scenery, and some show members of the photographer's party posing for portraits.
The album has two identical prints of a group of amateur photographers holding box cameras onboard the Queen, which is shown in several other photographs. Views of buildings in Sitka, Alaska; Tacoma, Washington; Helena, Montana; and Yosemite National Park are also included. One photograph shows a woman modeling a Chilkat blanket and totem pole cane, and another shows a "Tamed Bear" standing on a raised platform. Also of note is a picture of a train, taken as the photographer's party disbanded near Chicago. The volume is a quarter-bound album with a title stamped on the cover in gold: "Photographs."
3 letters
The Alaska collection consists of three letters written by an Alaskan fisherman to his brother describing life in Alaska during the late 19th century. The author, who signed himself "Will," wrote the three letters to his brother Sam, from Fort Wrangle, Alaska (now Wrangell). Will's letters relate to life in Alaska during the early days of its settlement, with a particular focus on employment and on local Indians. Will, who owned a boat and fished for salmon, described his work and provided a picture of his life in the sparsely settled country. He focused on several aspects of life in Alaska, including the natural terrain and his encounters with local Indians, whom he believed to be immoral: "[in] some cases when the squaws are broke they are mighty glad to put in a night with a fellow & get two bits or some beans & bacon in the morning" (February 16, 1889). Will also repeatedly discussed the salmon industry and employment, including his occupation assisting the local marshal.
1 volume
The Alaska Gold Rush photograph album (25cm x 30cm, 92 pages) contains approximately 300 photographic prints. Around 280 prints, including around 270 mounted onto the album's pages and around 10 loose items laid into the volume, show settlements, natural scenery, and people in Alaska from 1898-1902. Settlements such as St. Michael, Dutch Harbor, and Dawson are shown, as are native settlements, tents, and log cabins; a few interior shots are present. Some of the buildings and people pictured were associated with the North American Transportation & Trading Company. Subjects include: United States military personnel, indigenous Alaskans, men and women (sometimes in heavy winter dress), landscape views, glaciers, native animals and other natural scenery, and military and civilian boats.
Most of the photographs are black-and-white prints, though the album also includes a small number of cyanotypes. Items of note include a small panorama (p. 14), a photograph taken at the "dawn of the century" (p. 7), and pictures of a totem pole (p. 77), an early telegraph pole (p. 81), and a hands-free pie-eating contest (p. 85). A partial manuscript list of captions, roughly contemporary with the photographs, is laid into the volume. The final four pages of the album contain small photographic prints of scenes from San Francisco, California, with a focus on missions and other architecture. Penciled captions accompany many of the album's prints, though many are difficult to read. The album has post binding with screw posts.
1 volume
This album (24cm x 24cm) contains 305 algae specimens collected around the mid-1860s, comprised of 294 items pressed onto 10cm x 6cm cards and 11 items pressed onto larger cards. Only one specimen is identified. The smaller cards are mounted six to a page and the larger cards are laid into the volume between pages of specimens. Numerous types of algae are represented, in a multitude of colors. The bottom cards on the first two facing pages spell the name "Stuart," which is also stamped in gilt on the front cover. The album is bound in brown leather and cloth with the title "Algae from Fort Jefferson, 'Tortugas,' Florida" is stamped on the back cover and "Album" stamped on the spine. A photograph of Florida's Fort Jefferson is pasted onto the first page as a frontispiece.
1 volume
This volume contains accounts for the steamer Alice C. Price from March 1856 to January 1857, documenting expenses for ship upkeep, labor and wages, food, marketing, cartage, wharfage, freight, among others. The account book also includes documentation of passengers and various bills, with some summaries of costs for passage and meals "down" and "up" for unspecified trips. While very few places were named, "Pope's Creek," "Bluff's Point," and "Cone" [e.g. Coan] appear, situating the steamer in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. The volume has a "Robert Bell Bookseller and Stationer, Alexandria, Va." label on the inside front cover.
1 volume
This photograph album 57 photographs of the Jinan Station of the American Presbyterian Shantung Mission from ca. 1923 to 1928. Many of the images show the Murray High School for Girls and its students. Young girls are shown in the school yard being led through routines and stretches, in class portraits, on a riverboat, and likely participating in May Day celebrations dancing around a maypole. The girls are shown wearing two-piece qipao uniforms with a white blouse and black skirts or trousers. In several photographs students can be seen waving the first national flag of the Republic of China. Two images include a stamp on the back that reads, "Dr. Evalena S. C. Fleming, American Presbyterian Mission, Tsinanfu North China." Dr. Fleming was an amateur photographer and likely the owner of the album. The accordion style album also contains five loose photographs in a mylar sleeve.
The album is 18.25 x 12 cm with decorative cloth covers.
1 volume
The American Tour photograph album (24 x 18 cm) contains 96 Photographs of a tour taken of the United States and Canada, featuring the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. The photographic narrative follows a trip from Southampton, England, across the Atlantic to New York City; Richmond, Virginia; Chicago, Ill.; the Niagara region; Saratoga, New York; the Hudson River valley; and finally New York City and Coney Island, New York. Images from the trans-Atlantic trip include the dock at Southampton, the Steamship SS Paris at sea; the Sandy Hook pilot boat; views of the Statue of Liberty; and steerage passengers on an ocean liner. Several images of Richmond, Va., and rural homes in Amelia County, Va. appear. One view showing a three adults and one child on a wagon "leaving Sherwood" may be of the travelers. Numerous views of the Columbian Exposition grounds in Chicago are at the center of the album. Photographs of Niagara Falls and the Niagara River include an image of Clifford Calverley crossing the river on a tightrope. Other images include barges on both the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Hudson River; boating and scenery at Lake George; and ice houses and sailboats along the Hudson River. Photographs of New York City depict Wall Street; Brighton Beach and Coney Island; the Statue of Liberty; and Jersey City Ferry Boat "Orange." The album's half-bound brown cloth cover is stamped in gilt "American Tour. 1893."
1 volume
The Amherst, Massachusetts photograph album (18 x 26 cm) contains 13 photoprints taken in and around North Amherst, Mass., including images of churches, the post office, and parks. Also includes an image of the Amherst College campus and a photograph of a railroad bridge.
The album cover has black textured paper over boards, with gold printed title "Photographs," bound with string. Housed in a pale blue cardboard box.