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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 Manuscript Sheet Music collection is made up of manuscript music scores, correspondence, and composers' autographs.

The Manuscript Sheet Music collection (approximately 140 items) contains manuscript music scores and composers' autographs, as well as correspondence and other items.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of around 80 music scores, which range in length from one line to several pages; some are complete works, and some are fragments. Most of the brief melodies are accompanied by the composers' signatures and may have been intended as autograph gifts. The longer works are mainly piano and/or vocal scores, and some include lines for violin with piano accompaniment. Lyrics, when present, are written in English and German. Some of the scores are dated and signed, and a few were written in German cities. The cover of the score for "Barcarola" includes an engraving of "The Great Western crossing the Atlantic," and Harry Keyser's "Two Etudes for Pianoforte" is accompanied by a letter by the composer. A manuscript music book belonging to "Th. Hämb, Junior" contains several short pieces with lyrics in a Nordic language.

Additional autographed items include 25 autograph cards, 8 autograph musical quotations, 10 sheets of paper (some with inscriptions), and a photograph of violinist A. Rivarde. Many of the autographed cards, which are the size of business cards or visiting cards, are dated at Chicago in the mid- to late 1880s. The collection's 8 letters (in English, German, and Italian) include one man's opinion of a performance of "Wanda" and a letter illustrated with lines of music. Additional items are a program for a Manchester, New Hampshire, performance of the comic opera Jonah, an ink drawing of a decaying stone building, and lines of poetry or musical lyrics.

The Maples family photograph album contains 44 photographs and 18 clippings related to a group of families most likely from Michigan.

The Maples family photograph album contains 44 photographs and 18 clippings related to a group of families most likely from Michigan.

The album (26.25 x 20 cm) has embossed leather covers and contains 15 tintypes, 13 cartes de visite, and 16 snapshots overall as well as 18 clippings. The majority of the photographs are studio portraits of men, women, and children while the clippings range in substance from poetry and professional updates to obituaries. The people represented in this album may possibly be members of the Maples-Keller-McFarlane families.

This ledger contains documentation of the overall assets and liabilities of a merchant from 1878-1894, possibly in New York State. It includes information on monthly sales and net profits for several years, invoices of goods received and weekly cash sales, trades in stock, lists of store fixtures, and detailed yearly inventories of the store's merchandise, with notes on quantities and values. The types of goods include jewelry, fashion accessories, stationery, albums and scrapbooks, writing utensils, decorative items and tableware, toiletries, toys, and books of varying genres.

This ledger contains documentation of the overall assets and liabilities of a merchant from 1878-1894, possibly in New York State. It includes information on monthly sales and net profits for several years, invoices of goods received and weekly cash sales, trades in stock, lists of store fixtures, and detailed yearly inventories of the store's merchandise, with notes on quantities and values. The types of goods include jewelry, fashion accessories, stationery, albums and scrapbooks, writing utensils, decorative items and tableware, toiletries, toys, and books of varying genres. The books and magazines represented include schoolbooks, children's books, poetry and literature, religious texts, and popular titles (including the Police Gazette), histories, etc.

The Michigan family photograph album contains cabinet cards and cartes-de-visite with portraits of various unidentified men, women, and children taken largely in Howell and Pontiac, Michigan, in the late 19th century.

The Michigan family photograph album (26cm x 20cm) contains 25 cabinet cards and 10 cartes-de-visite with portraits of unidentified men, women, and children taken in Howell and Pontiac, Michigan, in the late 19th century. The album's padded red velvet cover has the title "Album" on an artist's palette. Subjects were photographed individually, in pairs, and, on a few occasions, as families, with as many as four people appearing in one image. Two boys were accompanied by dogs. Some subjects appear in more than one picture, apparently at different ages.

The Michigan, Ohio, Illinois family photograph albums consist of a two-volume set containing 112 studio portraits of people taken in the midwestern United States.

The Michigan, Ohio, Illinois family photograph albums consist of a two-volume set containing 112 studio portraits of people taken in the midwestern United States.

Volume one (27 x 21.25 cm) has green fabric covers with a plush velvet heart in the center and faux bark pages. Contents consist of eight cartes de visite and 28 cabinet card portraits of men, women, and children.

Volume two (27 x 21.25 cm) has a maroon leather cover and contains a total of 76 studio portraits. The majority of photographs are cartes de visite and cabinet cards while there are also some tintypes present. Of particular note are images of men in military and fraternal uniforms.

The Namur, Québec photograph album (24.5 x 18 cm) contains eleven snapshots of people in the countryside around Namur, Québec at the turn of the twentieth century.

The Namur Québec photograph album (24.5 x 18 cm) contains eleven snapshots taken in Namur, Québec. Multiple photographs feature women fishing and riding bicycles. The album has a dark red leather cover with "'The Farm', Namur Que." stamped on the front.

The New England Criminals tintype album contains mug shot portraits of thieves, burglars, and other criminals or suspected criminals. Most of the individuals pictured were white males of varying ages, but the album also includes photographs of women and an African American man.

This album (15cm x 12cm) contains 47 tintype portraits of criminals or criminal suspects, mostly white males of varying ages. Pictures of one African American man, horse thief Frank Fields, and four women, mostly thieves, are also included; two of the women were photographed with other unidentified women. All but two of the subjects are identified by their name, alias, and/or the nature of their alleged crime; two photographs appear in the album twice. Most of the individuals were accused of theft (often of horses) and burglary, but others were arrested for shoplifting, pickpocketing, adultery, polygamy, and being a "confidence man." The album's green covers have a gold floral design, and the album is closed with a metal clasp.

This self-adhering scrapbook contains a blend of illustrated and non-illustrated clippings from various printed sources (newspapers, periodicals, books, etc.), originating mostly from New England in the 1860s-1890s. Topics include religion, politics (American and British), the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield (1831-1881), health and wellness, eulogies, and other articles. The volume is bears the printed manufacturers label "Mark Twain's Scrap Book Registered April 23rd. 1878 . . . Published by Slote, Woodman & Co."

This self-adhering scrapbook contains a blend of illustrated and non-illustrated clippings from various printed sources (newspapers, periodicals, books, etc.), originating mostly from New England in the 1860s-1890s. Topics include religion, politics (American and British), the assassination of U.S. President James A. Garfield (1831-1881), health and wellness, eulogies, and other articles. The volume is bears the printed manufacturers label "Mark Twain's Scrap Book Registered April 23rd. 1878 . . . Published by Slote, Woodman & Co."

• Material relating to religion (primarily Christianity, but also Islam, Mormonism, etc.). Some clippings are derogatory towards non-Christian groups or peoples. Enclosed is an issue of Our Prison Missionary (Vol. II, Dec. 1890, no.2), a publication from the Christian Aid Association "devoted to Christian work in penal institutions." Hymns, religious poetry, baptism, and Martin Luther's will (page 56) are also present.
• Politically related clippings include stories about the U.S. Congress and senators, the British House of Parliament, Queen Victoria, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, and General Grant's illness. Many of the volume's pages are dedicated to the assassination of President James A Garfield, with updates on the President's health after he was shot (page 33). Additional clippings with messages from world leaders expressing their sympathies, information about Vice President Chester A. Arthur, and the background of President Garfield's assassin Charles J. Guiteau.
• Health and wellness-related content ranges from life advice, the dangers of children eating snow, mental health, vaccination, and more. An issue of the Land of Hope Review includes a brief article warning "juveniles" of the danger of smoking tobacco.
• Eulogies for President Garfield, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and other "In Memoriam" articles and hymns are spread throughout the volume. A music sheet of a song called "Rest, Sweetly Rest" (credited to a publication called The Watchword is noted as being suitable for the death of a scholar.

An advertisement for the scrapbook itself includes information and prices about other variations of "Mark Twain's Self Adhering Scrap Book," such as a druggists' prescription book, a child's scrapbook, and a pocket scrapbook.

The Oberlin, Ohio photograph album contains 11 studio portrait photographs, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family based in Oberlin, Ohio.

The Oberlin, Ohio photograph album contains 11 studio portrait photographs, including several images of family members and friends apparently related to a biracial family based in Oberlin, Ohio.

The album (13.5 x 10 cm) has embossed leather covers and a broken metal clasp. The album spine has completely deteriorated and all pages are completely detached from one another. For conservation and preservation purposes, all original photographs have been removed from their album page slots and replaced with facsimile copies. The original photographs are stored in a separate container along with the album.

Most of the individuals represented in this album have been tentatively identified through the presence of inscriptions made on album pages; all or most of the subjects appear to have been biracial/African American. Many page captions appear to be associated with friends and family members of the Vaughn family (alternatively spelled “Vaughan”) of Oberlin, Ohio. One group portrait of two boys present in the page captioned “John & Louis Vaughn” may depict brothers John Sewell Vaughn and Wendal Louis Vaughn, the latter of whom went on to become a professional photographer. While it remains unclear who the original compiler of the album was, it is possible that it was assembled by either a member or close friend of the Vaughn family.

The following list includes inscriptions present on album pages (in order of appearance) and/or descriptions of the portraits associated with each inscription:

• “Oscar Viney Dolph Viney’s father”: Carte de visite portrait of a bearded man with a hat. Possibly Oscar F. Viney (approximately 1830-1904) of Gallipolis, Ohio, who had a son named Adolphus E. Viney (1873-1947)
• “Aunt America Vaughn Clark”: Tintype portrait of a young woman. Possibly America Vaughn Clark (approximately 1845-?) of Gallipolis, Ohio. Includes revenue tax stamps on verso dated January 16 1866 as well as pasted-on clipped newspaper obituary for a woman named Maude Cooper Horton (1880-1903). The obituary mentions a surviving three-year-old daughter by the name of Louise; a Columbus, Ohio, death certificate for a Louise Horton (1900-1918) with parents listed as “Maud Cooper” and “William Horton” indicates that this family was "colored."
• “Will Vaughn”: Carte de visite portrait of a man with a large mustache by H. M. Platt of Oberlin, Ohio. Possibly William Craddock Vaughn (approximately 1835-1912)
• “John & Louis Vaughn”: Carte de visite group portrait of two boys by H. M. Platt. Possibly John Sewell Vaughn (1857-1931) and Wendel Louis Vaughn (approximately 1860-1918).
• “John Vaughn": Carte de visite portrait of a young man by H. M. Platt. Possibly John Sewell Vaughn, though also appears to possibly resemble older version of Wendel Louis Vaughn when compared to preceding group portrait.
• “Aunt Margaret”: Carte de visite portrait of a woman with curly hair.
• “Aunt Margaret”: Tintype portrait of a woman with curly hair. Same woman photographed in preceding image.
• “Thresa Madey”: Carte de visite portrait of a woman by C. W. Howland of Cincinnati, Ohio.
• “? Cooper”: No photograph in page slot.
• “Mary Hamilton”: Tintype portrait of a young African American woman.
• [Unidentified African American infant]: Carte de visite portrait of an unidentified infant by an unidentified photographer of St. Louis, Missouri.