Collections

This collection is made up of 36 letters that Harry L. Langnecker wrote to his wife while serving at the U.S. Naval Base Hospital No. 2 in France during World War I. He commented on his work at a spa, internal politics within his unit, and other aspects of his daily life.

This collection is made up of 36 letters that Harry L. Langnecker wrote to his wife while serving at the U.S. Naval Base Hospital No. 2 in France during World War I. He commented on his work at a spa, internal politics within his unit, and other aspects of his daily life.

Thirty-five of Langnecker's letters (dated March 28, 1918, to October 22, 1918), bear numbers between 7 and 55, apparently comprising part of a series. He wrote most frequently about his duties, which included overseeing a spa and performing surgical operations; he often provided anecdotes about his relationships and interactions with co-workers. Several letters pertain to Langnecker's relationship with his wife, and he discouraged her from attempting to join him in France (July 21, 1918). Langnecker mentioned visits to "Castle Brahau." Though he focused on life at the hospital, he shared his negative opinions of Belgian citizens (April 6, 1918) and nurses (August 31, 1918), and he discussed the potential consequences of women remaining in the workforce after the war (September 23, 1918). Two of Langnecker's letters have enclosures: a newspaper clipping with a photograph of William Sowden Sims and an advertisement. Langnecker drew a diagram of his bedroom in his letter of October 16, 1918.

In 1880 Hattie A. Abbott used this "Common School Writing Book" produced by Cheney & Clapp, Booksellers and Stationers, of Brattleboro, Vermont, for penmanship exercises and to record her personal expenses. Only the first page was used for brief penmanship exercises. Abbott recorded purchases of clothing and fabric, jewelry, writing supplies and postage, sewing and cleaning supplies, a valentine, candy and ice cream, tintypes and pictures, car fare and other travel expenses, and other items.

In 1880 Hattie A. Abbott used this "Common School Writing Book" produced by Cheney & Clapp, Booksellers and Stationers, of Brattleboro, Vermont, for penmanship exercises and to record her personal expenses. Only the first page was used for brief penmanship exercises. Abbott recorded purchases of clothing and fabric, jewelry, writing supplies and postage, sewing and cleaning supplies, a valentine, candy and ice cream, tintypes and pictures, car fare and travel expenses, and other items.

A two-page colored advertisement for "Meteor Set Everblooming Roses" copyrighted in 1889, with illustrations of roses and a front veranda and garden, is laid into the volume.

This volume contains Louise Fitz's description of her trip from Boston, Massachusetts, to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, and to Niagara Falls in May 1893. In Chicago, she and her traveling companions visited the major exhibit halls, state and international buildings, and the Midway Plaisance. Photographs and travel ephemera are laid into the volume.

This volume (121 pages) contains Louise Fitz's description of her trip from Boston, Massachusetts, to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, and to Niagara Falls in May 1893. Between pages 5-97, Fitz wrote journal entries about her daily sightseeing activities on every other page; the opposite pages contain photographs and ephemera related to her travels. The final pages contain laid-in commercial photographs of Washington, D.C., and personal photographs of Trenton Falls in upstate New York.

Fitz's journal entries recount most of her trip, from the time she left Boston on May 17, 1893, to her visit to Niagara Falls on May 26, 1893. While in Chicago, she and her companions frequented the World's Columbian Exposition; she described multiple visits to the grounds and specific exhibits in the larger halls, noting the use of electric lighting and appliances. Fitz commented on her visits to state and international buildings, the Midway Plaisance, and a local museum. After departing Chicago, Fitz traveled by train to Niagara Falls. Fitz placed commercial photographs on the pages facing her journal entries. The images are primarily views of the exposition's major exhibit halls. Other items pasted or laid into the volume include a printed map of the fairgrounds and surroundings, newspaper clippings, a used ticket book and ticket stubs, a program from a musical concert, advertisements, and artificial flowers. A letter from a representative at the exposition's Massachusetts State Building provides the text of inscriptions on the Transportation Building and the "Golden Door" (August 31, 1893).

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.

This collection consists of 11 typed and printed materials relating to the McDonnell Agency, a matrimonial matchmaking service run by Walter J. McDonnell of Chicago, Illinois, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It includes typed personal advertisements for the agency, printed advertisements for the agency, a blank application form, two private lists with selections of women who subscribed to the agency, and two envelopes.

This collection consists of 11 typed and printed materials relating to the McDonnell Agency, a matrimonial matchmaking service run by Walter J. McDonnell of Chicago, Illinois, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It includes typed personal advertisements, printed advertisements for the agency, a blank application form, two private lists with selections of women who subscribed to the agency, and two envelopes.

The typed personal advertisements include physical descriptions and financial situations for four women from Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. The printed materials include a notice from O. C. Seemiller stating he sold his interest in the Columbian Agency to Walter McDonnell and a statement by McDonnell about his experience and skills, purporting to have introduced "thousands of happy and prosperous married couples." Other items include advertisements and price lists for the "Celebrated Columbian Photographs," "elegant pictures" rather than "the miserable stamp photos used by all other agencies and matrimonial papers." They also advertise free copies of the book, Reading Character from Photographs, sent to subscribing men. "Are you corresponding with a lady you have never seen? You want to know something about her character and disposition? Exchange photos and then study her photography . . . If the lady would make a true and loving wife, this book will say so."

A blank application form for McDonnell's Private Agency is present, requiring the applicant to list their physical description, their income, property or means, use of tobacco and liquor, occupation, nationality, religion, previous marital status, and what kind of correspondents were desired.

Women seeking matches are separated into two different classes depending on net worth. Private List No. 12 contains Class A advertisements of “Ladies Without Means or Property,” while Private List No. 13 contains Class B advertisements of “Ladies With Means or Property.” Each woman provided a short description of their appearance and/or personality traits, as well as abbreviations indicating their faith, nationality, occupation, weight, etc. The agency also includes an abbreviation for whether women would be capable of the duties of a farmer’s wife, or if the woman was a widow. List 13 also includes asterisks to identify women "willing to share the life of a poor man if he proves himself worthy, industrious and temperate." The list also notes that the agency has extensive profiles available "of thousands of ladies of all ages, living everywhere. By allowing us to select, you may get introductions to ladies living nearer your own residence."

Men seeking potential matches would receive a different number of photographs and introductions depending on how much they were willing to pay and what class of women they were requesting from.

There are two envelopes in the collection, one printed return envelope to Walter McDonnell, and the other addressed to Alfred Ames of Machias, Maine, possibly one of the agency's members.

This collection consists of 11 typed and printed materials relating to the McDonnell Agency, a matrimonial matchmaking service run by Walter J. McDonnell of Chicago, Illinois, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It includes typed personal advertisements for the agency, printed advertisements for the agency, a blank application form, two private lists with selections of women who subscribed to the agency, and two envelopes.

This collection consists of 11 typed and printed materials relating to the McDonnell Agency, a matrimonial matchmaking service run by Walter J. McDonnell of Chicago, Illinois, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It includes typed personal advertisements, printed advertisements for the agency, a blank application form, two private lists with selections of women who subscribed to the agency, and two envelopes.

The typed personal advertisements include physical descriptions and financial situations for four women from Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. The printed materials include a notice from O. C. Seemiller stating he sold his interest in the Columbian Agency to Walter McDonnell and a statement by McDonnell about his experience and skills, purporting to have introduced "thousands of happy and prosperous married couples." Other items include advertisements and price lists for the "Celebrated Columbian Photographs," "elegant pictures" rather than "the miserable stamp photos used by all other agencies and matrimonial papers." They also advertise free copies of the book, Reading Character from Photographs, sent to subscribing men. "Are you corresponding with a lady you have never seen? You want to know something about her character and disposition? Exchange photos and then study her photography . . . If the lady would make a true and loving wife, this book will say so."

A blank application form for McDonnell's Private Agency is present, requiring the applicant to list their physical description, their income, property or means, use of tobacco and liquor, occupation, nationality, religion, previous marital status, and what kind of correspondents were desired.

Women seeking matches are separated into two different classes depending on net worth. Private List No. 12 contains Class A advertisements of “Ladies Without Means or Property,” while Private List No. 13 contains Class B advertisements of “Ladies With Means or Property.” Each woman provided a short description of their appearance and/or personality traits, as well as abbreviations indicating their faith, nationality, occupation, weight, etc. The agency also includes an abbreviation for whether women would be capable of the duties of a farmer’s wife, or if the woman was a widow. List 13 also includes asterisks to identify women "willing to share the life of a poor man if he proves himself worthy, industrious and temperate." The list also notes that the agency has extensive profiles available "of thousands of ladies of all ages, living everywhere. By allowing us to select, you may get introductions to ladies living nearer your own residence."

Men seeking potential matches would receive a different number of photographs and introductions depending on how much they were willing to pay and what class of women they were requesting from.

There are two envelopes in the collection, one printed return envelope to Walter McDonnell, and the other addressed to Alfred Ames of Machias, Maine, possibly one of the agency's members.

The Ocean House scrapbook and register is a repurposed guestbook from the Ocean House hotel in Old Orchard, Maine. The volume has a manuscript inventory of the hotel's furnishings and pasted-in newspaper clippings about Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and local political meetings.

The Ocean House scrapbook and register (around 70 pages) is a repurposed guestbook from the Ocean House hotel in Old Orchard, Maine. The volume has a manuscript inventory of the hotel's furnishings; pasted-in newspaper clippings about Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and local political meetings; and advertisements for a variety of manufactured goods and services. Generally, the writer organized the inventory by floor, listing each room's furnishings and amenities underneath the room's name or number. Most guest rooms had beds, mattresses, chairs, and sinks, among other furniture, and many were painted and carpeted. Lists of items present in communal guest rooms (such as parlors, a music room, and a dining room) and service rooms (such as a laundry room, bake shop, pantry, kitchen, and stable) follow the inventories for individual guest rooms.

Newspaper clippings are pasted onto 16 pages, including the first few pages of the furniture inventory. Most of the clippings pertain to reminiscences about the life of Abraham Lincoln, the death of Frederick Douglass, and meetings of the Young Men's Republican Club of Vermont. Many items are attributed to newspapers in Vermont, and some date from early 1895. Though never used as such, each register page has pre-printed information about the Ocean House and labeled columns for information about guests' stays. Two identical pages of printed advertisements for numerous goods and services are bound into the volume between most register pages.

The Piñon Lodge, Crystal, New Mexico photograph album contains 49 photographs of log buildings and other structures of Piñon Lodge in Crystal, New Mexico, and picturesque views of the surrounding area.

The Piñon Lodge, Crystal, New Mexico photograph album contains 49 photographs of log buildings and other structures of Piñon Lodge in Crystal, New Mexico, and picturesque views of the surrounding area. The album (18.5 x 29 cm) has string-bound black leather covers and is partially disbound. Individual photographs are affixed to black paper leaves, with sketches of desert scenes and captions drawn in the margins with white ink; on the verso of the front cover is a sketch of a man in Western wear on horseback, signed by W. E. Wells.

Images of include views from locations such as Bridge Canyon, Bonito Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Canyon del Muerto, ruins in Chaco Canyon, Coal Canyon, the Four Corners Region, the Grand Canyon, Inscription Rock at El Morro (with a photograph of the Spanish inscription from 1620), the Arizona village of Kayenta, Monument Valley, Painted Desert, petrified forests, Rainbow Bridge, and the Venus Needle near Crystal. Pictures of Native Americans, mainly focusing on the Navajo, include views of Navajo hogans, a loom, and women on the steps of Piñon Lodge; the Hopi settlement of Hotevilla, with corn drying on the rooftops of pueblo dwellings; and a Zuni pueblo with Thunder Mountain in the distance. Opposite several photographs are pasted typescript copies of a Piñon Lodge advertisement which includes a sample trip itinerary and describes the region's attractions for camping and hiking.