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This collection is made up of correspondence, scrapbooks, and advertisements related to W. L. Cummings, who was a doctor in Syracuse, New York, during the early 20th century. The material largely pertains to traveling doctors and patent medicines.

This collection (0.5 linear feet) is made up of correspondence, scrapbooks, and advertisements related to W. L. Cummings, who was a doctor in Syracuse, New York, during the early 20th century. The material largely pertains to traveling doctors and patent medicines.

The Correspondence series contains 10 letters that W. L. Cummings received from September 16, 1912-August 31, 1928, and on January 22, 1941. Trevey Slack, a traveling doctor, wrote 6 letters to Cummings from September 16, 1912-May 26, 1913. He described his experiences in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Missouri, and provided information on medical treatments, other traveling doctors, and the medical profession. In his letter of November 25, 1912, he commented on doctors who put on vaudeville performances. Other letters include formulas for a liniment and a stomach remedy (March 22, 1918, and January 22, 1941).

The Speeches series includes 2 speech drafts concerning the effectiveness of patent medicine and a medicine called "Sangvine."

Cummings's 1905 Account Book contains dated records of his income and expenses.

Two Scrapbooks contain recipes, printed advertisements, newspaper clippings, labels, and other items related to medical ailments and treatments, medicines, and household products. The first scrapbook (144 pages), dated November 5, 1914, includes items from and related to A. W. Lithgow, such as recipes for medicinal formulas and household cleaners, as well as a "pedler's license" issued to Lithgow by the city of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The second scrapbook (approximately 40 pages) contains printed items related to medicines and household cleaners.

The Printed Items series (36 items) includes advertisements for medicines and related products. Some items are mounted on cards with other advertisements. Broadsides, notices, and other items relate to medical remedies and patent medicines, including an advertisement for "Perfecto Hair Tonic and Dandruff Remover" produced by W. L. Cummings in Unadilla Forks, New York. Also present are blank contract forms for potential distributors of products of the Cooperative Chemical Company. Other material pertains to vaudeville performances, life insurance, and a contest. The Pamphlets subseries (15 items) contains 4 pamphlets that Cummings wrote from 1910-1925: 3 about household formulas, and 1entitled "The Pathway to Prosperity." This subseries also includes pamphlets about patent medicines and women's diseases, as well as Lydia E. Pinkham's "Letters to a Young Housewife."

The William B. Clinton papers consist primarily of letters that Clinton wrote to his mother and siblings in Schenectady, New York, while working at a mining camp in Sewell, Chile, in the early 20th century.

The William B. Clinton papers consist of 153 letters that Clinton wrote to his mother and siblings in Schenectady, New York, while working at a mining camp in Sewell, Chile, in the early 20th century. The collections also includes an additional 6 letters written by various senders, 2 newspaper clippings, a 2-page journal entry, and 2 pieces of ephemera.

Clinton wrote about his life in Chile, exploring topics that ranged from local geography to customs and politics. The bulk of the correspondence begins in January 1917, with Clinton only 8 weeks into his Chilean experience, and many of his early letters concern his homesickness. As he adapted to Sewell, Clinton focused more on his job and on everyday life in Chile and spent significant periods of time in other Chilean towns on work-related business. In addition to describing his duties at work and his thoughts about labor politics, he frequently made observations about cultural differences and his social life. In his letter of March 7, 1920, he enclosed a dance card and printed program for an event featuring "The Chocolate Soldier Minstrels."

During the First World War, Clinton heard little international news but kept up on local politics. He observed holidays such as the Fourth of July, even though local residents often took no notice of them and often displayed disdain toward the United States. Several of his letters of the letters focus on culinary topics such as a cooking class (with attached recipes) (November 8, 1919) and a diet prescribed by "Dr. Rich" (Ddecember 22, 1921).

The collection also contains a 2-page journal entry detailing an anonymous author's experience escorting strikebreakers into a mill, 2 newspaper clippings, and a recipe for a tomato-based sauce, and a typed poem about workers entitled "Time Clocks Start - October 12."

The Stearns collection consists of 45 letters written by Ezra Stearns to his sister, Ellen M. Brewer while he served as a private soldier in the 1st Michigan Engineers, plus two letters from his brother, Edwin (a private in the 20th Michigan Infantry), and 10 post-war letters from Stearns' wife, Mary, all written to Ellen. Ezra Stearns' letters document aspects of camp life, particularly his culinary activities as a military cook, including recipes of several dishes.

The Stearns collection consists of 45 letters written by Ezra Stearns to his sister, Ellen M. Brewer while he served as a private soldier in the 1st Michigan Engineers, plus two letters from his brother, Edwin (a private in the 20th Michigan Infantry), and 10 post-war letters from Stearns' wife, Mary, all written to Ellen.

Stearns' letters provide an account of service in an important Engineer regiment in Tennessee. While the letters do not include much insight into the engineering activities of the regiment, they are quite useful at documenting aspects of camp life, particularly the culinary activities and tastes of a talented military cook. Stearns relishes in his descriptions of cooking and he provides recipes for biscuits and pork soup, among other dishes. Other interesting letters include one with a description of a guerrilla attack on a train (1863 October 23), some letters with commentary on the recruiting and service of African-American soldiers, and the series of letters written during the Atlanta Campaign.

Finally, among the post-war correspondence are two excellent letters from Ezra's wife, Mary. The first, written from July 29-August 2, 1868, includes a description of settling into a new life on an isolated farm, becoming a "real Mohawk" in their new life in the woods and battling a fire threatening their new home. The second letter, written on October 11th, 1870, provides an account of the malarial infection afflicting Ezra and their young son, Arthur.

Dr. H. A. Bolles of Cortland, New York, copied medicinal recipes into this volume in or around 1876.

Dr. H. A. Bolles of Cortland, New York, copied recipes for medical treatments in this volume in or around 1876 (the volume contains 300 pages, over half of which are used). Many of the entries are arranged alphabetically by ailment, and some illnesses have multiple suggested treatments and cures. A few recipes are attributed to other doctors and outside sources such as a volume of Materia Medica. The book contains syrups and other mixtures intended to treat chronic conditions, diseases, and afflictions such as acne and baldness. The first few pages include instructions for working with cocaine, converting older medical measurements, and producing an aphrodisiac. One of these notes cautions against mixing chrome acid and glycerin on account of the risk of explosion. A recipe in the back of the volume purports to "remove all bad odors." A few late pages contain lists of medical substances and the ailments they may be used to treat, as well as notes regarding the use of oxygen gas and nitrous oxide. A clipping from The OD Quarterly concerns a method for testing the acidity of urine and recommended dietary guidelines for those suffering from uric acid, gravel, gout, or rheumatism.

This 18-page volume has a wallpaper cover, and it contains a variety of practical, household, and medicinal recipes. The entries pertain to printing on fabric, sheet music engraving, improvements in photography, several types of matches, adhesives, different kinds and colors of ink, hair removal, removal of freckles, soaps, pomatum and hair oil, wart salve, rouge, prevention of hair falling out, a pimple cure, blacking, white gunpowder, and more. The currently unidentified compiler drew a few entries from 1840s to 1860s published books and serials, such as Scientific American, James Booth's Encyclopedia of Chemistry, The Homestead, The Golden Rule, The Dollar Newspaper, and others. While the purpose of the volume is not explicitly clear, a few entries are for large quantities and others have notes on the difference between costs of raw materials versus sales revenue, suggesting that the compiler may (or may not) have been a huckster, peddler, or perhaps a manufacturer or wholesaler of these products.

This 18-page volume has a wallpaper cover, and it contains a variety of practical, household, and medicinal recipes. The entries pertain to printing on fabric, sheet music engraving, improvements in photography, several types of matches, adhesives, different kinds and colors of ink, hair removal, removal of freckles, soaps, pomatum and hair oil, wart salve, rouge, prevention of hair falling out, a pimple cure, blacking, white gunpowder, and more. The currently unidentified compiler drew a few entries from 1840s to 1860s published books and serials, such as Scientific American, James Booth's Encyclopedia of Chemistry, The Homestead, The Golden Rule, The Dollar Newspaper, and others.

The purpose of the volume is not explicitly clear, though a few entries are for large quantities and others have notes on the difference between costs of raw materials versus sales revenue, suggesting that the compiler may (or may not) have been a huckster, peddler, or perhaps a manufacturer or wholesaler of these products.

Please see the box and folder listing below for a table of contents for the volume.

The Hair documents, ephemera, and prints collection is comprised of 103 items, mostly printed materials related to hair, shaving, and wigs. Included are ephemeral advertisements, trade cards and price lists, government acts relating to hair and wigs, manuscript letters and indentures, caricatures and cartoons, broadsides, sheet music, other miscellaneous prints, and one braided lock of hair.

The Hair Documents, Ephemera, and Prints collection is comprised of 103 items, mostly printed materials related to hair, shaving, and wigs. Included are ephemeral advertisements, trade cards and price lists, government acts from British monarchs George II and George III relating to hair and wigs, manuscript letters and indentures, caricatures and cartoons, broadsides, sheet music, other miscellaneous prints, and one braided lock of hair. The material spans from 1717 to the late 1980s, with the bulk of materials dating from the late eighteenth century to the end of the nineteenth century. A majority of the materials are from England, although some are from Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Scotland. Many of the items are satirical and are commentary on fashion and the idea that the local barber was the "jack of all trades." Two similar items, a comical manuscript resume of "Isaac Morgan" and a fictitious advertisement for the varied services of "Isaac Factotum" offer exaggerated illustrations of how a barber did more than cut hair. Of interest is a series of mid-nineteenth century Valentines which center around the love-lives of barbers. Also included is a letter from Alex Campbell to his relative John Campbell, the Cashier of the Royal Bank of Scotland during the Jacobite rising of 1745. There is also sheet music from the composer (Franz) Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), A Pastoral Song, better known as My Mother bids me bind my hair. Of note are prints by British satirists William Hogarth, Isaac and George Cruikshank, and Thomas Rowlandson.