Collections

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The collection also contains miscellaneous letters pertinent to autograph and manuscript collecting during the same period.

This collection is made up of individual letters and documents related to the trade and collection of rare books in the United States. The majority of the material is correspondence between individuals and dealers, and reflects the history of rare book collecting, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Book Collectors collection includes letters by many prominent collectors, historians, and political figures. A selection of items relates to the collections of the William L. Clements Library and to its namesake, including 2 letters from William L. Clements to Worthington C. Ford, one of which regards Ford's contribution to the newly opened library (June 27, 1923). Clements Library directors Randolph G. Adams and Howard H. Peckham also contributed to the collection. See the box and folder listing below for an inventory of contributors' and subjects' names.

This collection contains miscellaneous single items authored by, signed by, or relating to members of the Continental Congresses, the Confederation Congress, and the United States Congress. The bulk of the collection dates from 1761 to 1862, and while some content relates to political positions and actions, most of the items concern congressional representatives' financial and business affairs, legal practices, and various personal matters.

This collection contains miscellaneous single items authored by, signed by, or relating to members of the Continental Congresses, the Confederation Congress, and the United States Congress. The bulk of the collection dates from 1761 to 1862, and while some content relates to political positions and actions, most of the items concern congressional representatives' financial and business affairs, legal practices, and various personal matters. Of particular note are items relating to the military during the American Revolution, including one item from January 27, 1778, that appears to have a separate message visible by backlight. The collection also contains materials relating to wampum and Native American relations, as well as Shay's Rebellion. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing below for more information about each item.

The Dutilh & Wachsmuth collection is made up of business correspondence, financial records, and documents related to the Philadelphia merchant company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many items concern George Louis Stockar, a Swiss merchant living in La Rochelle, France.

The Dutilh & Wachsmuth collection is made up of approximately 160 letters and documents, 250 financial records, and 12 printed items related to the Philadelphia merchant company in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Many items concern George Louis Stockar, a Swiss merchant living in La Rochelle, France.

The Correspondence and documents series contains approximately 160 items, including the incoming business correspondence of Dutilh & Wachsmuth. The firm frequently dealt with food and lumber, and traded with merchants in French port cities, such as Bordeaux and Marseille, and in Philadelphia. Correspondents occasionally reported on the wheat trade and sometimes commented on political events in France and Haiti. Within a group of 14 items related to Captain Jean Christopher Sicard is a chart concerning a shipment of cargo between Marseille and New York, transported by Captain Sicard and signed on May 28, 1793. A group of approximately 10 items dating from 1781 to 1785 relate to George Louis Stockar, and include papers about his establishment of a business in La Rochelle, France. One letter, dated May 27, 1790, is written in German by M. Lang to John Godfried Wachsmuth, detailing a trip from Philadelphia to Fort Pitt. Lang notes the death of a pet dog, being injured by a captive bear, conflict with German settlers, and being persuaded by a wealthy family travelling with slaves to serve as their guide and protector against Native American attacks as they descended to Kentucky.

The Financial papers consist of approximately 250 items, such as account books, loose accounts, receipts, and other types of financial records, mostly related to the Dutilh & Wachsmuth firm's financial affairs. Some of the accounts pertain to John Dutilh's personal finances.

Among the collection's 12 Printed Items are a declaration by King Louis XVI, issued on June 20, 1784, to the citizens of the Canton of Schaffhausen, and a public letter to the citizens of the Pays-Bas region (May 26, 1795).

This collection contains correspondence, financial documents, and engravings related to American painter John Trumbull. Among other topics, Trumbull's outgoing letters concern prints of his painting The Declaration of Independence.

This collection contains 13 drafts and letters; 11 accounts, receipts, and checks; 1 document; and 2 engravings related to American painter John Trumbull. Among other topics, Trumbull's outgoing letters concern prints of his painting The Declaration of Independence.

John Trumbull composed 12 drafts and letters between 1776 and 1825. He wrote twice to his father, about his army commission (September 2, 1776) and about European opinions on the Revolution (July 8, 1781). Most of the remaining outgoing correspondence pertains to prints of Trumbull's paintings, especially The Declaration of Independence. One letter, from Mathew Carey to Trumbull, December 16, 1825, relates to a book that Carey believed Trumbull inadvertently "pocketed."

Financial records (11 items) include accounts, receipts, and checks, most of which are related to Trumbull's advertising and personal financial affairs. The collection also holds a copied deed concerning Jonathan Trumbull's land in East Haddam, Connecticut (January 30, 1768). Two engravings include a portrait of John Trumbull and his The Declaration of Independence.

This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes, cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.

This collection comprises 28 American manuscript recipe books dated from 1793 to 1959 with the bulk dating from the nineteenth century. One of the books contains portions in German, while the rest are in English. Most regions of the United States are present, with the Northeast and Southern States best represented. Desserts represent the bulk of the recipes cakes being the most popular. Some recipes include attributes to friends, family, or cookbooks, and some contain notes on quality of the dish. Directions for making medicinal remedies and practical household needs (such as cleaning product recipes or advice on fabric care) may also be included. Many volumes contain handwritten or printed inserts.

All or most of the known authors of these recipe books appear to be by women. A man, James Campbell, authored the accounting portion of the Campbell receipt book and a male writer may have created the Manuscript Recipe Book, [1838]. Emma Hinricks Hilken is the only one known to have resided outside the United States when writing her recipe book (she resided in Frankfurt, Germany, for several years following her marriage). The women range in age from teenagers to the elderly and represent a variety of social backgrounds. Most of the recipe books were written or compiled in the second half of the nineteenth century, with some extending into the early twentieth. Approximately one-fifth of them were written in the first half of the nineteenth century or earlier.

See the box and folder listing below for a complete descriptive list of the recipe books present in this collection.

The Nicholas Fish papers (97 items) consist of letters and documents that span Fish's career as a Revolutionary War officer and New York City politician. The collection is made up of 87 letters and 10 documents and financial records.

The Nicholas Fish papers (97 items) consist of letters and documents that span Fish's career as a Revolutionary War officer and New York City politician. The collection is made up of 87 letters and 10 documents and financial records.

The Correspondence series (87 items) is comprised of 14 letters written by Fish, 70 letters addressed to Fish, 2 letters to his son Hamilton Fish (1833 and 1844), and one item to the Committee of Defense of New York (August 4, 1815).

The series contains 52 items from Fish's military activities in the Revolutionary war (1776-1786). Forty-one of these letters are addressed to Fish as adjutant general of New York, 1785, regarding the raising and provisioning of troops to aid the first United States Army, commanded by Josiah Harmar on the frontier of the Northwest Territory. Discussed are transporting supplies, maintaining troop levels, defending the settlers of the region from Indians, taking prisoners of war, and punishing deserters. Fish received communications from the War Offices at Fort Schuyler; the Bronx; Albany; Philadelphia; and West Point. Many letters, notably, were from prominent American army officers, such as Secretary of War General Henry Knox, John Morin Scott (his former mentor), Major John Doughty, and Commissary of Military Stores Samuel Hodgdon. Of particular interest is a letter from Captain John Francis Hamtramck, who described catching and punishing 7 troops for desertion from Fort McIntosh in Western Pennsylvania (December 4, 1785), and another letter from Hamtramck, in which he discussed the poor treatment of the Six Nations hostages by the Americans in contrast to the civility shown Indian war prisoners held by the British (June 13, 1785).

A group of 36 letters relate to Fish's activities in New York politics between 1791 and 1830. These provide details of Fish's career as well as New York and American politics in general, including military affairs, the War of 1812, and presidential politics. On February 12, 1791, Fish wrote to President George Washington requesting an appointment as inspector for the district of New York. In his letter from March 10, 1794, fish discussed a dispute between Henry Dearborn and Theodore Sedgwick (March 10, 1794). In a letter to Fish, Jacob Radcliff expressed his support for Fish as New York alderman (November 8, 1810). Among letters written during the War of 1812, William Watson examined the role of Pennsylvania Germans in the Presidential campaign of 1812 (September 16, 1812); Fish wrote to James Madison concerning the punishment of Lieutenant William S. Cox for his part in the Chesapeake incident (after June 1, 1813); and Commodore J. Lewis, Chief Engineer Joseph G. Swift, and General George Izard all wrote letters regarding the defense of New York Harbor (May 8 and October 10, 1813, and August 4, 1815). (For a complete list of contributors, see the controlled access terms section.)

The Documents and Financial Records series (10 items) is comprised of military, personal, and official items.

• Two officer lists of the New York militia: one for the 1st Regiment (1775), and the other for the militia under Colonel John Lasher (September 25, 1776).
• Fish's bank deposit book with the U.S. Bank from April 1792-June 1793 (8 pages).
• Seven receipts for duties from the Supervisor's Office, District of New York, all signed by Fish (April 1795-February 1798).

This collection mostly consists of correspondence and documents related to Nicholas Low, a merchant who lived in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Much of the material concerns Low's financial interests. A small group of letters pertains to General Rufus King.

This collection (199 items) primarily consists of correspondence and documents related to Nicholas Low, a merchant who lived in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of the material concerns Low's financial interests. A small group of letters pertains to General Rufus King.

The Correspondence series (152 items) contains Low's business letters, which concern his relationships with merchants in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Low's correspondents reported on subjects such as local prices, shipments of goods, and trade between Europe and North America. A few writers mentioned political issues, such as Low's participation in the Poughkeepsie Convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution (March 15, 1788), and the Embargo Act (December 28, 1807). Some of the letters are addressed to the firm Low & Wallace. Other letters pertain to Isaac Low's finances, the Society of Useful Manufactures, and Nicholas Low's real property. The series also includes a draft of a letter to the editor of the Commercial Advertiser, written by Nicholas Low in response to an editorial about lottery drawings in Paterson, New Jersey (July 21, 1798). Personal letters include Lewis Littlepage's account of his dispute with John Jay (December 5, 1785) and Henrietta Low's statement of her intention to marry Charles King, written in response to her father's objections [July 1826].

Four letters relate to Rufus King, Henrietta Low's stepson. Willie Fisher, an acquaintance, wrote 2 letters to King about his social life and leisure activities, including a trip to a brothel that resulted in a riot (January 9, 1859). Charles Rebello wrote a personal letter to King in January 1863. Rufus King wrote a letter to an unidentified general in the Union Army about his frustration with a Times article that had criticized officers' conduct during the war (July 22, 1862).

The Documents series (47 items) is comprised of receipts, accounts, contracts, price lists, and other legal and financial records, mainly related to Nicholas Low. Some indentures pertain to land in New York, and at least one legal document concerns the Bank of the United States.

The Quaker Collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents relating to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Quaker collection consists of miscellaneous letters, diaries, and documents related to the religious and social history of the Society of Friends in America during the 18th and 19th centuries. These items offer insights into Quaker's daily activities and concerns, such as family life, education, and attending meetings, as well as their participation in various social reform movements, such as abolition, treatment of Native Americans, prison improvements, temperance, and pacifism. The collection also documents internal divergences of American Quakerism in the 19th century, particularly the social and doctrinal disputes that culminated in the Hicksite and Wilburite schisms.

• 1707: A manuscript copy of the death warrant of William Leddra, the last of four Quakers (including Mary Dyer) executed in Massachusetts Bay colony for their religious beliefs
• July 26, 1755: A letter from Alexander Colden to Sir William Johnson voicing frustration with Quakers who refuse to support the war effort in Pennsylvania, and an announcement of General Braddock's defeat
• August 4-12 and 17, 1761: Two accounts, one by an anonymous woman, of Quaker presence at Treaty negotiations held at Easton, Pennsylvania, between the government of Pennsylvania and the Six Nations tribes. Discussed are the negotiations, Quaker-Indian interactions, and the role of Quaker women in the Society
• [After 1770]: An account by an anonymous author of a conference with Native Americans, mostly of the Minnisink Tribe
• October 13, 1829: A letter from Phoebe Post Willis of Jericho, New York, to Isaac Post on the death of John Hicks and strife between Orthodox and Hicksite Quakers
• March 10, 1843: A letter from Ethan Foster of Westerly, Rhode Island, to Thomas B. Gould on Wilburite-Gurneyite strife in his local meeting, and the disownment of Wilbur
• [After 1863 July]: A letter describing a meeting between Abraham Lincoln and five Quaker prisoners of war, who had been forced into the Confederate army, captured by the Union, and held at Fort Delaware
• Various dates: Reports, minutes, and epistles from yearly friends meetings in America and Great Britain

The Science and Medicine collection consists of miscellaneous items that document various aspects of science and medicine in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Science and Medicine collection contains miscellaneous items that document various aspects of science and medicine in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. Fields covered include anatomy, astrology, astronomy, botany, dentistry, geography, medicine, paleontology, physics, and physiology.

• Agriculture, plants, and seeds
• Communication and travel
• Collecting specimens for natural history museums
• Epidemics (influenza, cholera, yellow fever)
• Higher education and honorary degrees
• Inoculations
• Land surveying
• Mathematics and navigation
• Medical techniques and treatments for diseases, wounds, and afflictions
• Medicinal recipes
• Mental health
• Quackery
• Scientific and medical texts and lectures
• Technological developments and experiments in machinery, and architectural projects
• Venereal diseases

• April 19, 1788: Description of riot set off by alleged body snatching by medical students in New York
• August 31, 1792: Order for an inoculation
• June 30, 1796: Request to Charles Wilson Peale from members of a Paris museum to exchange specimens, including mastodon and opossums
• January 15, 1826: Thomas Nuttall to a bookseller named Mr. Brown concerning 10 boxes of natural history specimens he is sending from Oahu, Hawaii
• August 7, 1832: Account of the course and spread of Cholera in Albany, and fears that southern slaves will suffer the most from Cholera
• September 13, 1833: Description of bright flashing lights appearing in the sky
• August 24, 1835: Recommendation of a physician of the 'new school' of medicine who does not utilize bleeding, blistering, or calomelization (mercury cure)
• December 15, 1840: Description of eye surgery performed on a patient at the Medical College of Geneva, New York
• January 12, 1842: Discussion of constructing a microscope to view bacillaria
• May 8, 1844: Astrological reading that predicts the recipient will marry a man from the north with light brown hair
• September 19, 1848: Rules and customs of telegraphing
• [1895]: Request for a list of names of locals with eye problems on letterhead for Narcissa Waterman, Eye Doctress

This collection is made up of correspondence and documents related to the Southwest Territory and Mississippi Territory. The materials concern subjects such as governance and law, militia units, property ownership and finance, slavery, and Native American tribes. The collection includes post-statehood letters by Andrew Jackson and other prominent politicians and military figures.

This collection is made up of correspondence and documents related to the Southwest Territory and Mississippi Territory. The materials concern subjects such as governance and law, militia units, property ownership and finance, slavery, and Native American tribes. The collection includes post-statehood letters by Andrew Jackson and other prominent politicians and military figures. See the Detailed Box and Folder Listing for information about each item in the collection.