Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This ledger for a harness and saddlery business in Amador County, California, consists of financial information relating to its operation between 1896 and 1909.

This ledger for a harness and saddlery business in Amador County, California, consists of financial information relating to its operation between 1896 and 1909.

The entries include the customers' names, purchases or repair services provided, payment, and outstanding debts. Many mention tack, horse supplies of many kinds, and various leather goods. The company served both individuals as well as businesses. At times, customer entries include mention of their occupations, such as doctor, blacksmith, butcher, etc. Entries for corporate bodies indicate that the company was providing services to businesses involved in freight and transportation, a flour mill, standard electric, and more. Several entries refer to a reformatory named the Preston School of Industry (p. 77, 120, 439, 475), and at least two entries may relate to customers of Chinese descent, including Hop Woo Chung (p. 65) and Ah Moy (p. 73).

The Boston, Plymouth, and New Bedford photograph album contains 24 images of scenes in Boston, Plymouth, and New Bedford in Massachusetts as well as one cyanotype postcard of a young woman.

The Boston, Plymouth, and New Bedford photograph album contains 24 images of scenes in Boston, Plymouth, and New Bedford in Massachusetts as well as one cyanotype postcard of a young woman.

The album (16 x 19.5 cm) has leather covers with the word “Photographs” stamped on the front in gold. A loose card is included that provides explanatory information and corresponding page numbers for each photograph in the album. Most of the photographs are outdoor scenes with groups of people. Images of note include views of Park Street in Boston looking towards the capitol building, the 1867 suspension bridge, Ether Monument and Washington Monument in the Boston Public Gardens, the Boston Public Waterworks from Beacon Street in Chestnut Hill, a fisherman, an old whaling ship in New Bedford, Plymouth-area monuments, cemeteries, and downtown, and two people in a carriage in front of the Egypt Train Depot in Scituate, Massachusetts. Also present is a cyanotype postcard of a young woman sitting and reading with “Miss Mary E. Black/Eggemoggin, Maine” written on the back.

The Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad photograph album consists of 43 photographs taken in various locations in Massachusetts most likely along the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad line.

The Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad photograph album consists of 43 photographs taken in various locations in Massachusetts most likely along the Boston, Revere Beach & Lynn Railroad line. The album (39 x 29 cm) is hardbound with a green cover. Images include views of urban street scenes in several Massachusetts towns, including Lynn; railroad passenger stations; a trolley car; street car tracks; the Bay State House in Worcester, Massachusetts; various storefronts; a locomotive with a plow attachment; numerous horse-drawn carriages; a sign stating "Railroad crossing. Look out for the engine while the bell rings."; a woman identified by a handwritten caption as "Louise" posing outside of a carriage stable; and what appears to be either two horse cars or two electric automobiles parked on a street.

The Brookline, Massachusetts, photograph album contains 34 photographs and 2 half tone prints showing people and places in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The Brookline, Massachusetts, photograph album contains 34 photographs and 2 half tone prints showing people and places in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The album (14.5 x 18.5 cm) has green cloth covers with "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front. Images of interest include views of Italianate and Dutch Colonial houses, Brookline after a heavy snowfall, a Deerfoot Farm Dairy Brookline Delivery cart, a young woman with a Gibson Girl hairstyle, portraits of women and men playing tennis and resting on a lawn, people at a rocky beach, an interior view of a residence, group portraits taken during a hiking trip, and two halftone prints of the Harvard Congregational Church.

The California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album consists of 65 snapshot photographs from 1904 to 1906.

The California, Colorado, and Long Island vacation photograph album consists of 65 snapshot photographs from 1904 to 1906. The album begins with scenes of Colorado. These images show views from a railway through the Rocky Mountains and a trip to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

A majority of the photographs were taken in San Francisco, California. These photos date from May, 1906, just after the San Francisco earthquake and fire. Many of the images show refugee camps and temporary housing, displaced businesses, and damage on Van Ness Ave, which was used as a firebreak by the United States Army. The McKinley Parade, also known as Fiesta de Los Angeles is photographed as well. Other California scenes include Cliff House in San Francisco, an ostrich farm in Pasadena, vineyards, and orchards of olive trees, palm trees, and lemon trees.

The last portion of the album is of Long Island, New York State. These scenes include people on a boat in the water near Westhampton, people swimming in Jamaica Bay, and Apacuck Point.

The album is 18.5 x 14 cm with red cloth covers.

The July 1, 1874 kidnapping of four-year-old Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross from a sidewalk in front of the family home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first nationally publicized kidnapping for ransom case in the United States. This collection contains six items: one letter, a manuscript reward advertisement, handwritten notes, a pencil sketch portrait of Charley, a manuscript account of experiences with the main suspects, and an undated newspaper clipping related to the continuing investigation of the child's abduction, ca. 1909.

The July 1, 1874, kidnapping of four-year-old Charles Brewster "Charley" Ross from a sidewalk in front of the family home in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania became the first nationally publicized kidnapping for ransom case in the United States. This collection contains six items: a letter, a manuscript draft of a reward advertisement, handwritten notes, a pencil sketched portrait of Charley, a manusscript account of experiences with the main suspects, and an undated newspaper clipping-related to the continuing investigation of the child's abduction, ca. 1909.

The one Letter in the collection is from Charley Ross's father Christian K. Ross to Rev. Henry Whitney Cleveland, October 20, 1877; Philadelphia. 2 pages. In it, Mr. Ross states that he cannot help Cleveland publish a book as his time is spent searching for his missing son. Ross mentions the book he published on the case, lamenting that he published it using a subscription service as it limited its circulation.

Written on the verso of printed, illustrated stationery of the Haynes Hotel, Springfield, Massachusetts, the manuscript draft of a Reward Advertisement stipulates a $10,000 reward for the return of Charley Ross alive, promising not to seek out or discover the identity of the kidnappers. The page is headed "For Local Article."

Notes: Six pages of pencil notes on checkbook stubs, measuring approximately 9x4 inches. Dating from July 1, 1874, to an unknown point in 1909, the notes begin from the point of Charley's kidnapping, chronicling accounts of the case. First remarking that Christian Ross had "run down false clews [in a] vain attempt" to locate Charley, the unidentified writer continues with a sparse summary of the alleged kidnappers capture "at Fort Hamilton, L.I. [Long Island]" and Joseph Douglas's confession that "Mosher & I stole Charly [sic] Ross." The next entry, dated 1909, discusses one Wm. G. Eyster, whose claim to be the lost Charley Ross was rejected.

The notes conclude with a sketch of a man wearing glasses and a bow tie, with the caption "3 days to get it ready, $20,000," followed by what appears to be notes related to other kidnappings and reference to a "Jessy James."

Manuscript: On October 9, 1932, James H. Hall wrote a nine-page summary of George W. Murdock's recounting of his experiences with the main suspects in the Charles Brewster Ross kidnapping case, Bill Mosher and Joe Douglas, while his mother was in charge of the lighthouse in the Hudson River. Murdock recalled Mosher and Douglas attempting to sell them a boat, described the two men, and described encounters with detectives who searched their premises and read their mail. Hall speculated about the possible role of the boat in the kidnapping.

Newspaper Clipping: An undated clipping regarding one Mr. W.C. DeWitt, claiming to be the lost Charley Ross and giving a lecture, titled "The True Story of My Abduction."

Portrait: A pencil sketch of Charley with an inscription that reads,"at the time of his abduction. Then 4 yrs. and Walter, his 6-yr-old brother. Disappeared from the sidewalk, near their home. July 1, 1874."

This collection is made up of over 40 printed reports, manuscript letters, and manuscript notes related to Clements R. Markham, a British geographer who traveled in South America and India in the mid-19th century. Among other subjects, the material concerns Markham's attempt to cultivate cinchona plants in India, as well as the Amazon basin and rainforest.

This collection is made up of over 40 printed reports, manuscript letters, and manuscript notes related to Clements R. Markham, a British geographer who traveled in South America and India in the mid-19th century. Among other subjects, the manuscripts concern Markham's attempt to cultivate cinchona plants in India, and it contains notes on the Amazon basin and rainforest.

The bulk of the collection pertains to Markham's work with Great Britain's India Office in the 1860s, including a lengthy printed report and supplementary memoranda about his efforts to introduce the cinchona plant, native to Peru, to India. Other reports and memoranda concern Indian coffee plantations, cotton production, oyster fisheries, and irrigation projects. The volume also includes descriptions of the Suez region, Abyssinia, and Bombay. Manuscript notes and translations in the back of the volume largely pertain to South America, including letters to Markham from an acquaintance in Lima, Peru, and notes on the missionary work of Antonio Machoni. Other manuscripts concern the Amazon region, cocoa plantations, the Napo River, and an Arctic expedition. The documents are calendared and indexed.

The Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico views collection contains 24 photographs of places and people in the western United States, British Colombia, and Mexico.

The Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico views collection contains 24 photographs of places and people in the western United States, British Colombia, and Mexico.

The collection is stored in a modern brown plastic binder (30.5 x 23.5 cm). Contents consist of images of the Ferguson area of British Columbia; pack mules at work; a gold mine in Oatman, Arizona; Idaho Springs, Colorado; Santa Fe and Laguna, New Mexico; a woman from Cuernavaca, Mexico; buildings (including a Mexican cathedral); portraits of Native Americans in New Mexico; and mountains in Colorado. The collection include mounted and unmounted photographs ranging in size from cartes de visite to prints on 20 x 25 cm mounts.

This collection consists of a petty ledger and a general cost book, possibly attributed to John Cowan. They relate to a construction company based in Maryland between 1891 and 1909, and they include details about construction and repair work on libraries, churches, cottages, tenant houses, and barns. They reference work on additions and fire damage.

This collection consists of a petty ledger and a general cost book, possibly attributed to John Cowan. They relate to a construction company based in Maryland between 1891 and 1909, and they include details about construction and repair work on libraries, churches, cottages, tenant houses, and barns. They reference work on additions and fire damage. The first volume is only sparsely filled out.

The Cross-Country photograph album contains photographs taken in various locations throughout the United States, including travel photographs of scenery and buildings in Washington, Colorado, Louisiana, and Massachusetts, among other states, and family photographs taken in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

The Cross-Country photograph album (26cm x 32cm, 59 pages) contains around 340 photographs taken throughout the United States between 1896 and 1907, including 15 cyanotypes and 10 panoramas. The items represent numerous printing processes in a variety of sizes. Some have captions, often providing information about the place and the date. Several reference the Gill family. The album has the title "Photographs" printed in gold on its front cover and its pages are bound with a thick string.

Many of the photographs are casual group portraits of men, women, children, and family dogs taken outdoors, often in front of large houses and cottages; some of the same individuals are present in multiple pictures. Included are a portrait of an African American woman holding a Caucasian infant (p. 1), two young boys in dress military uniforms with a collection of toy soldiers (p. 3), and a wedding party (p. 46). Some men and women are pictured golfing at Bass Rocks in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Most of the remaining images are views of landscapes, city streets, buildings, and natural scenery in locations such as Spokane, Washington; Tacoma, Washington; Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Pikes Peak, Colorado; New Orleans, Louisiana; Hampton, New Hampshire; Boston, Massachusetts; Gloucester, Massachusetts; Beacon Falls, Connecticut; and Washington, D.C. Included are a small number of commercial photographs of the area around Pikes Peak in Colorado including views by William H. Jackson. City views often feature prominent buildings and other landmarks. Other photographs show the rocky coast of New England, harbors, sailing vessels of various sizes, and large homes. Of note are a group portrait of Spokane Native Americans (p.14); views of the Tacoma waterfront (p.15); the New England coast, with aspects of the Gloucester fishing industry including a view of salted cod laid out to dry (p.24-29); pictures of Victorian home interiors (p. 20, 34, 47, 55, 56); and panoramic landscape views taken near Spokane (p. 47, 48). The album includes one print and a hand-colored collotype of the home of Senator George Turner in Spokane, Washington (inside front cover).