Search

Phyllis Johnson kept this pocket diary while attending grammar school and high school in Hartford, Connecticut, from January 1, 1925-February 4, 1929. She composed entries almost daily between January and September 1925, and commented on her experiences at school, her activities and travels during summer vacation, and her friends.

Phyllis Johnson kept this pocket diary while attending grammar school and high school in Hartford, Connecticut. She composed most of her brief entries from January 1, 1925-September 22, 1925, and wrote further entries sporadically between June 15, 1926, and February 4, 1929. She commented on her experiences at school, her activities and travels during summer vacation, and her friends.

Johnson had just turned 12 when she received her pocket diary, and wrote regularly about her experiences at school, church, and home throughout much of 1925. Though she succeeded academically and at one point achieved the highest marks in her grade, Johnson's teachers frequently reprimanded her for excessive talking. She often mentioned her male friends and acquaintances, and occasionally commented on her romantic feelings for them. Her social activities included attending baseball games, traveling to the beach, and dressing up with female friends. During the summer of 1925, she discussed her family's trips to the Mohawk Trail and the state of New York. She mentioned the Scopes trial in her entry of July 15, 1925 (pp. 196-197), suggesting a brief satirical prayer for atheists. After February 1926, Johnson wrote less frequently, but continued to list the names of her friends and significant changes in her life. The final pages of Johnson's diary contain notes, addresses, and sketches.

• Arm patch (May 22, 1925, p. 271)
• Pair of eyes (July 6, 1925, p. 187)
• Phyllis Johnson dressed in fancy clothing and accompanying hat (July 9, 1925, p. 190)
• Two girls dressed in circus uniforms (July 29, 1925, p. 210)
• Floor plan of the Johnson family's new house (June 15, 1926, p. 271)
• Three women's heads, shown in profile, and a woman's leg (undated, end of volume)

• A paper with her initials written in blood (see entry of January 12, 1925)
• Diagrams of two classrooms, showing students' seats
• A torn portion of an advertisement for Merriam cash boxes
• Several blank sheets of paper from a small notepad

The Pool family papers contain financial records and other material related to Joseph Pool of Abington, Massachusetts, and to his daughter Lydia.

The Pool family papers contain penmanship exercises, a shoemaker's account book, financial accounts, receipts, and other material related to Joseph Pool of Abington, Massachusetts, and to his daughter Lydia.

The Penmanship Exercises series is primarily made up of a small penmanship book that Lydia Pool kept in the early 19th century. The exercises on pages 1-28 repeat proverbs and simple phrases, and pages 29-44 have poems, including Lydia's lengthy narrative poem "The Four Indian Kings & A young Lady of England." The series also includes 2 ink sketches and an example of the penmanship of "A. B."

The primary item in the Receipts and Accounts series is a shoemaker's account book (1764-1791), which lists the amounts that clients paid for "shoes," "pumps," and "heels." Interspersed among these entries are accounts related to farm work, such as hoeing, mowing, and planting. Several members of the Pool and Dyer families are mentioned in the volume. The receipts (1743-1809) pertain to individual payments for goods and services. Many pertain to the finances of Jacob Pillsbury, for whom Joseph Pool served as estate executor, and to Benjamin Pool; Christopher Dyer signed several of the items.

The Ephemera series consists of an illustrated reward of merit and a blank calling card.

The Renwick family correspondence is made up of the World War II-era letters of John and Violet Renwick of Durhamville, New York, and their sons George and John. The Renwick brothers, who both served in the United States Navy, discussed aspects of their service and their parents and friends shared news from home.

The Renwick family correspondence is made up 90 World War II-era letters of John and Violet Renwick of Durhamville, New York, and their sons George and John, both of whom served in the United States Navy. The collection has three main groups of letters, which overlap chronologically: letters from John E. Renwick to John and Violet Renwick; letters from John and Violet Renwick to George Renwick; and letters to George Renwick from friends in New York.

John Renwick's letters to his parents primarily regard his initial induction into the navy in Albany, New York, his time at the US Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island, and his experiences working in a store at Naval Air Station Pensacola in 1942 and 1943. He wrote infrequently throughout the remainder of the war and into the postwar years, when he described his life in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

John and Violet Renwick's letters to their son George provide news of family and friends in New York. Violet Renwick often commented on her health problems, urged George to remain safe, and expressed her concerns during George's hospitalization for "stomach trouble" in the summer of 1944. George's other correspondents, who were primarily women, wrote about life in Oneida and Rome, New York, during the war. Both the Renwick family and George's friends mentioned news of other military personnel. A letter from "Eleanor" on January 4, 1944, includes a pencil sketch of a sailor, identified as "you," dreaming on a small tropical island, with a ship in the background.

This collection is made up of letters that Lieutenant Russell G. Schlagal wrote to his wife Margery while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Schlagal discussed his experiences in India and on the island of Tinian, and he often illustrated his letters with ink sketches and watercolor paintings.

This collection is made up of letters that Lieutenant Russell G. Schlagal wrote to his wife Margery while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Schlagal discussed his experiences in India and on the island of Tinian, and he often illustrated his letters with ink sketches and watercolor paintings.

Russell G. Schlagal regularly wrote letters home to Margery, who remained in Dayton, Ohio, during the war. He responded to news of family members and acquaintances, and shared his love for Margery. Most letters concern Schlagal's daily experiences with the 28th Air Service Group in India (December 1944-April 1945) and on the island of Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands (June 1945-March 1946). In India, he occasionally mentioned his encounters with local residents, and he described the wildlife, the scenery, and local customs. He frequently attended USO shows and movies. Schlagal later discussed his life on Tinian, where he remained until the spring of 1946. He continued to attend performances and films, and also participated in underwater sightseeing. After the end of the war, Schlagal wrote about the possibility and timing of his return home.

Schlagal illustrated some of his letters with ink sketches, ink drawings, and watercolor paintings. These depict buildings, objects, and scenery from India and Tinian. Occasionally, he used stationery with pre-printed scenes, and his letter of December 29, 1945, has a manuscript map of Tinian. On February 24, 1946, Schlagal composed a partially pictographic letter about his anticipated return home. He alternated words with pictures of animals, his wife, himself, and the island of Tinian.

This volume records the names and nativity of guests of the Shirley House (later the Missouri Hotel) in Fayette, Missouri, from June 1856-October 1858. Guests included members of at least three traveling circuses. Newspaper clippings are pasted into the first 10 pages, apparently over register entries.

This volume (around 280 pages) records the names and residence of guests of the Shirley House Hotel (later the Missouri Hotel) in Fayette, Missouri, from June 20, 1856-October 9, 1858. Many of the guests, whose names appear on approximately 270 pages of register entries, came from elsewhere in Missouri, though some traveled from other states and, on at least one occasion, from foreign countries such as Ireland. One note reports that a guest later went to jail (June 28, 1856), and another lists a guest's nativity as "no particular place" (July 6, 1857). Members of traveling circuses stayed at the hotel on three occasions: Herr Driesbach & Co. Menagerie & Circus of Brownsville, Ohio, visited on April 30, 1857; an unidentified group of performers visited on July 27, 1857; and the Spalding & Rogers North American Circus visited on May 6, 1858. The lengthy entry for Spalding & Rogers includes the names of performers, organized by profession, and ink illustrations of various types of performances, including a tightrope walker, monkeys, and men and women riding horses. Other visual material includes sketches of men and unidentified animals, and stylized lettering.

The volume's first 10 pages consist of pasted-in newspaper clippings (dated between 1866 as 1886) containing fiction stories, poetry, obituaries, and other articles of interest. A story about a "beautiful killer" is illustrated by an engraving of a woman about to stab a man, and a story about Grover Cleveland's marriage to Frances Folsom includes the couple's portraits. At least one poem commemorates Civil War soldiers.

This guest book (121 pages) contains contributions from visitors to The Curtis, a summer boarding house and hotel in New Castle, New Hampshire, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The book contains poetry, signatures, quotations, sketches, and watercolors, as well as 5 cyanotype photographs.

This guest book (121 pages) contains contributions from visitors to The Curtis, a summer boarding house and hotel in New Castle, New Hampshire, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The guest book contains poetry, signatures, quotations, sketches, and watercolors, as well as 5 cyanotype photographs.

Most entries are dated between 1895 and 1906; one is dated 1916. Visitors mainly stayed at The Curtis between the months of June and September, many for a month or longer. Most guests came from New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and some visited from Maine, Vermont, Iowa, and California. Several guests included lines of verse alongside their signatures, including one who copied "At the Stand of the Tide," a poem by Harriet McEwan Kimball (pp. 38-39). One patron, Marie Middlekauff, signed in German (p. 33), and 2 referenced "Miss Bickford's" hospitality and cooking. A few contributors drew sketches, and 3 signed next to cyanotype photographs depicting sailboats, people at leisure, and a cat.

• Colored painting of an industrial town on a river, Alice M. Comstock, July 23, 1903 (p. 4)
• Sketch of buildings, M. L. Wood, June 1898 (p. 45)
• Sketch of a street, Alice Washington Ball, [1898] (p. 47)
• Sketch of a steamer, L. McL. King, 1898 (p. 49)
• "The Studio," sketch of a barn beside a body of water, Joseph B. Davol, (p. 51)
• "Why we tarried," sketch of a female golfer, William F. Crocker, [1899] (p. 77)
• "The presiding genius of The Curtis," sketch of an owl, Alice Prossitte Hall, [1899] (p. 83)
• "The Homestead," watercolor painting, Frederick E. Bartlett, [1899] (p. 85)
• Sketch of a planter with flowers, Thomas B. Frost et al., September 2, 1899 (p. 87)
• Sketch of a sailboat and waterfront buildings, Ethel Woods Varrell, September 17, 1899 (p. 89)
• Sketch of a young woman's head, Josephine Bruce, September 1899 (p. 91)
• Sketch of a house, Pauline McKay, October 5, 1900 (p. 101)
• "Keep Dark!," sketch of an African-American man in profile (p. 107), accompanied by poem on next page, Mr. & Mrs. F. A. Whiting, Mr. & Mrs. A. H. Hall, and Mr. & Mrs. F. Allen Whiting, September 11, 1905, pp. 106-107
• "Piscataqua Cafe," sketch of a building and pier, C. F. S. (p. 110)
• Cartoon sketch of a cowboy outside of a building, saying, "I done it!," Lionel Sherwood (pp. 112-113)
• Sketch of a sailboat on water, with waterfront buildings and factories in background, James N. Vandegrift, July 28, 1906 (p. 117)

William Harrison Barber was a private in the 47th Pennsylvania Regiment of Volunteers (1862-1865), who wrote letters during and after the Civil War documenting his military and personal life and his business activities. Of particular interest is a letter describing a railroad trip between Allentown and Baltimore, and letters to his sons explaining his views on fatherhood and business.

The William Harrison Barber papers is a small collection of correspondence and documents from during and after the Civil War. The Civil War material includes personal letters to his mother; a 15-page letter to a friend that describes a railroad trip from Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Baltimore; Barber's discharge letter, which has a drop of blood on it from a fist fight with another solder; and a letter of dishonorable discharge for three men (Barber is not one of them) for cowardice in battle. Of special interest is a letter to William from his brother Joseph, December 10, 1861, which includes a full-page pencil sketch of the layout of Fort Ethan Allen in Arlington, Virginia.

The post-war papers document Barber's personal life and business activities, primarily through letters to his family. Letters to his sons, including a farewell letter written on his deathbed, contain explanations of his ideals of fatherhood and the values of business in life.

The Documents series consists of an essay entitled The Ideal Manager, a speech to his employees called Words to Working Men, and documents granting Barber power of attorney from sisters Matilda and Hannah.

• Sketch of Camp Sedwick, signed by Tom Barber, [1870s]
• Page 1 of an unfinished autobiography started by Barber
• Prayers (3 items)
• Inheritance law extracts (3 items)
• Poem: "Charity"
• List of flowers and their meanings