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The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

The Clements Library's collection of individual friendship and autograph albums (the ones that are not part of larger bodies of family papers) dates primarily from the second half of the 19th century. The creators of these albums sought out friends, family, schoolmates, public persons, and others to write signatures, sentiments, poetry, extracts from books and serials, personal sentiments, and more. Contributions often emphasize ties of friendship, exhortations to seek love, happiness, or Christian religious salvation. Most of the volumes in this collection were compiled in the Northeast United States and areas in the Midwest, with urban and rural areas represented. The greater number of the albums were kept by young women and the bulk of the signers were also female. At least one volume was kept by an African American man, Lewis G. Mosebay. Contributors occasionally illustrated pages with calligraphic designs, trompe l'oeil visiting cards, animals, flowers, and themes that had particular significance to their relationship with the keeper of the album. The volumes in this collection are largely decorative blank books adorned with tooled covers, sometimes containing interspersed engravings of religious, literary, historical, and landscape themes. Some include pasted-in photographs, die-cuts, or stickers.

This collection contains letters that Julia Ann Joy, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received in the 1840s and 1850s. Joy's personal and professional correspondence concerns topics such as her work as a personal shopper.

This collection (432 items) contains letters that Julia Ann Joy, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, received in the 1840s and 1850s.

The Correspondence series (424 items) contains many letters that Joy received from acquaintances, cousins, and other family members, who reported on their lives in places such as New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and West Virginia. Correspondents provided personal and local news, such as an account of a 32-year-old man's marriage to a 12-year-old girl (April 13, 1845); at least 2 refer to strained relations between the North and South. Additional correspondence concerns Joy's work as a personal shopper: customers requested items, thanked her for her services, and discussed payment.

The Documents series (3 items) contains 2 invoices for goods that Charles C. Ingram purchased from L. J. Levy & Co. in 1847 and 1848 and a partially printed lease between the Moline Water Company and Andrew Anderson of Moline, Illinois (December 16, 1889).

The Poetry series contains 2 manuscript poems: one about martyrdom and one about a hunting trip.

The Ephemera series (3 items) includes a sticker with a picture of wheat and the caption "You deserve thrashing" (with a manuscript caption, "So does all good wheat!"), a printed advertisement for Julia Joy's personal shopping services, and an April 1891 issue of St. Jude's Parish News.

The Kate G. Geary Autograph Album contains signatures, poems, proverbs, and other contributions of Geary's male and female acquaintances in Michigan from 1877 to 1884.

The Kate G. Geary Autograph Album contains signatures, poems, proverbs, and other contributions of Geary's male and female acquaintances in Michigan from 1877 to 1884. The bulk of the entries were written in Pinckney, Michigan, as well as nearby locations in Livingston, Washtenaw, Wayne, and Oakland counties. Main topics are love and friendship, the passage of time, and religion. Several printed stickers appear within the volume.