Collections

The Henry Alverson Franck papers document the life and writings of Franck, a prolific travel writer and "self-proclaimed vagabond," and his wife Rachel Latta Franck. Both Henry and Rachel Franck wrote extensively about their travels around the world, and both published several books cataloging their journeys. The collection spans 1899-1986 contains correspondence, manuscripts, drafts, lectures, journals, diaries, photographs, negatives, slides, postcards, scrapbooks, and other ephemera related to their travels and writing projects. There are also two folders of material from the Franck's daughter Katherine Franck Huettner.

The collection is divided into 16 series: Correspondence; Manuscripts and Drafts; Lectures, Talks, and Tours; Harry Alverson Franck; Rachel Latta Franck; Katherine Franck Huettner; Journals, Diaries, and Datebooks; Photographs; Negatives; Slides; Photograph Albums; Family Photograph Albums; Postcards; Ephemera; Clippings; and Scrapbooks. Researchers should note that the Franck's published books are cataloged separately.

The Correspondence series consists of 2 linear feet of material sorted by year and date, as well as other subseries by sender. Most of the correspondence is comprised of outgoing letters written by Rachel to members of her family, including Rachel's parents, her brother William Latta Jr., her sisters Katherine and Mary, and her former governess Aunt Gerty. Rachel's oldest sister, Margaret, kept all letters that she received and those are therefore not part of the collection. Rachel burned all of the letters she and Harry had written to each other during World War I. Other correspondents include Alfred Brown (Century Co.), Schuyler Jones, Edward Risley, José Nasr, Nehmé Simon, Elias Awad, and others. Occasionally, incoming correspondence can be found on the reverse of outgoing letters, which the Francks most likely did to conserve paper. There are some unidentified envelops, which do not have corresponding letters.

There are also letter concerning lectures and invitations/honorary memberships to travel organizations for Franck. Some photographs are included in the correspondence although not all have a letter to go along with them. 1931-some letters are from Romania and in the respective language. There are also photocopies of letters from the Franck children to their grandfather.

Certain correspondence was separated by the Francks. These letters have been filed into separate folders by correspondent. Frank Daughtry was interested in writing about HAF. The Harts were family friends from Guyana. Stan Hutton was also interested in writing about HAF. Hayes Perkins was a wild animal keeper from Hearst's San Simeon. Jack Townsend was a World War I ambulance driver and later became an Anglican Bishop. Guy de Villepion was a champion swimmer. His correspondence includes a book inscribed to HAF, some letters and postcards, and photographs. Finally, Yale in China was an organization making a film series on China and asked RLF for permission to use some of HAF's slides. Nancy Roth Remington exchanged most of the letters with RLF in 1975-1977. The project was not completed to the Franck family's knowledge.

Manuscripts and Drafts: There are manuscript materials from both HAF and RLF. The HAF materials include articles, books, notes and ideas, lectures, letters, and a category titled "Other" that includes his thesis, which was published by the Chicago Tribune in 1903. Some of the materials have been published, but most have not. The RLF materials include books, articles, plays, short stories, and fragments.

Articles: The collection includes both published and unpublished articles.

Books: There are multiple drafts for some books. Correspondence for the books can be double-sided with multiple dates and has been placed with the book instead of with the correspondence series. The book "Down with Africa" has two versions, one by HAF and one that was being worked on with RLF—neither were finished.

Notes and Ideas: This section includes bits and pieces, unfinished works, and some materials.

Other: "Wandering unskilled laborers..." was his thesis, which was published afterward by Chicago Tribune for $15.00.

Lectures, Talks, and Tours: The lectures are mostly from cruises done after the second World War. This series includes some drafts of the lectures, slide lists, and programs for the cruises.

Harry Alverson Franck: This series contains copyright information, financial papers, and military papers of HAF. Of interest is HAF's military ID card in passes folder which has the wrong date of birth.

Rachel Latta Franck: This series holds her manuscripts and drafts as well as some financial information. Her autobiography had a packet of materials, mostly letters, which she had complied. Some of these are duplicated in photocopies folders of the correspondence section. The order of the correspondence has been kept intact. Other memorabilia has been placed at the end of the series. There are some journal pages interspersed.

Katherine Franck Huettner: This series contains a manuscript written by KFH. Included in the folder of Notes on the Family is one page titled "Pat's Diary --- New Hope to Amarillo, 1943" There are also copies of letters concerning the Somerset Maugham case with an explanation.

Journals, Diaries, and Datebooks – These are sorted chronologically. The South American are separated and numbered according to HAF's schema. Unfortunately, #65 is stuck to #32, 33, and 34—which are also stuck together.

Photographs: Many of the loose photographs are album duplicates. Those that were specifically labeled as such remained separated. Folders were created based on labels handwritten onto small packages of photographs. The photographs are sorted by geographical location, books and articles, World War I, family and friends, and other photographers.

Slides: 1001 Glass slides, 5 aluminum boxes of 35mm slides. All glass slides were organized and labeled by the Francks, an order which we have kept intact. Also included with this slides is a slide projector. The box for projector also holds two smaller boxes of slides which are assumed to be from the Alaska trip.

Negatives: 13,399 (composed of sheet negatives, roll films, and glass negatives) Some of these are nitrate negatives, and are stored in a climate-controlled unit at Buhr in the Conservation Department. Of the total number of slides, 1,538 are in poor condition. Most of these were taken in China or South America.

Postcards: There are over 200 postcards sorted geographically and topically. Only blank postcards are included in postcard series, those with writing/postmarks are placed chronologically within correspondence.

Ephemera: The ephemera is sorted chronologically and includes announcements and invitations, awards, menus and other ship ephemera, passes and tickets, receipts, and other. The Other category includes a variety of different materials ranging from cards to paper pennants, most of which are souvenir materials from the different countries.

Clippings: The clippings are sorted chronologically and include one review in rhyme by HAF, some articles written by HAF, and some articles in foreign language. Most are about books, lectures, HAF, RLF, and the family. One scrapbook of clippings was donated disbound which has been kept together instead of interfiling.

Scrapbooks: The scrapbooks contain various pieces of ephemera such as clippings, transportation tickets, posters, notices, etc.

Photographs and negatives in boxes 9-11 and 24-28 and glass slides in boxes 12-22. Box 23 contains a slide projector. Printed material in boxes 2 and 29 (published books have been cataloged separately).

This collection is made up of approximately 160 items related to the Hillard family and Low family of New York and Boston, including correspondence, documents, photographs, poetry, ephemera, and pamphlets. Family members wrote around one-third of the approximately 110 letters and typescripts, as well as 35 pages from a letter book, while living and working in China in the mid-1800s. Other letters and additional materials concern the families' social and business lives in New York and Massachusetts throughout the 19th century. The families were related by marriage.

This collection contains approximately 155 items related to the Hillard family and Low family of New York and Boston, including correspondence, documents, photographs, poetry, ephemera, and pamphlets. Family members wrote around one-third of the approximately 110 letters and typescripts, as well as 35 pages from a letter book, while living and working in China in the mid-1800s. Other letters and additional material concern the families' social and business lives in New York and Massachusetts throughout the 19th century. The families were related by marriage.

The Correspondence series contains the following subseries: Manuscript Correspondence, Edward Low Letter Book, and Low Family Typescripts.

The Manuscript Correspondence subseries contains around 100 items related to the Hillard and Low families. "Caroline," a friend of Harriet Low, wrote letters to Harriet in New York City from Macau, China, in 1834 and 1835. Caroline commented on aspects of her life abroad, such as William Napier's arrival from Great Britain and the difficulty of having goods shipped from the United States. Other early correspondence includes personal letters between members of the Low family, who often wrote from Boston about family news and their social lives.

Francis (Frank) A. Hillard wrote 25 letters to his parents and siblings between June 1844 and July 1846, including 2 while traveling onboard the ship Honqua and 23 while living in Canton (now Guangzhou) and Macau, China. He described many aspects of his everyday life and of his career as a merchant, and provided detailed accounts of scenery, people, customs, and local news. He also commented on his experiences as a foreigner living abroad. After returning to the United States and settling in Brooklyn, New York, he corresponded with his brother Oliver, to whom he wrote approximately 30 letters between 1847 and 1853. Frank discussed his mercantile career and social life, which included interactions with members of the Delano family. The bulk of the correspondence ends in 1853.

Abiel Abbot Low wrote 4 letters to his wife Ellen on June 12, 1841, and from June 28, 1845-August 21, 1845. In his first letter, he described his travels in northern New York along the Erie Canal. Low's letter of June 28, 1845, pertains to his transatlantic voyage to Manchester, England, on the Great Western: he discussed his fellow passengers, his leisure activities on the ship, and his reunion with his sister Harriet and her children. The final 2 items (August 16, 1845, and August 21, 1845) concern Low's life in New York City after his return from England; he provided news of acquaintances and briefly mentioned the possibility of war with Mexico.

The subseries contains a letter Frank received from his brother Oliver, who provided news of United States politics (June 9, 1846), a letter from a girl named Hattie to her mother that mentions a sermon by a "Mr. Longfellow" [1864?], and a letter and membership card from the New York State Woman Suffrage Association sent to Mary Loines (September 21, 1895).

The Edward Low Letter Book is comprised of 35-pages of retained copies of letters that Low wrote to various family members, including William Henry and Abiel Abbot, while living in Macau, China, from May to September 1842. He discussed his life and work in China, as well as the Chinese economy and current events.

A group of Low Family Typescripts contains 12 letters exchanged by members of the Low family between 1829 and 1841, accompanied by a table of contents and a letter about the original material, dated 1935. The location of the original letters is unknown. Harriett Low wrote the first 9 letters between 1829 and 1834, while traveling in the Pacific and living in Macau, China. She told her mother and sister of her life onboard steamships and about her loneliness, caused by separation from her family in the United States. The remaining 11 letters include items by Frank and William Henry Low concerning their travels to China and around the Pacific region. They also commented on financial affairs.

The Documents series has 2 subseries: Legal and Financial Documents (5 items) and Passports (2 items). Included are an indenture between John Hillard, Harriet Low, and Seth Low (November 1, 1836); 4 receipts (August 1894-March 9, 1896, and undated); and passports for John Hillard (1842) and George Stillman Hillard (1859). Each passport is housed in a leather wallet.

The Photographs series contains 3 cartes-de-visite of Samuel Stillman and Rebecca Allen Stillman, as well as 3 card photographs of George Stillman Hillard.

Poetry and Other Writings (10 items) are comprised of 3 small poems, including one Francis A. Hillard wrote for his brother Oliver; 1 long poem entitled "The Tale" (27 pages); a preface and notes concerning the preparation of a work on the Low family papers; 3 loose pages and 1 packet of notes; and a 2-page prose draft.

The Genealogy series holds a 25-page document with genealogical information about the Hillard family and associated families.

Printed Items are divided into 3 subseries. Printed Ephemera (4 items) includes an illustrated envelope for the company Fritz and Dean, a business card for John B. Hillard, an image of George S. Hillard, and a bookplate for items bequeathed to the Massachusetts Historical Society by James Savage. The Currency (13 items) was all issued in North America between 1770 and 1780. Three of the four published Pamphlets were written by George Stillman Hillard between 1843 and 1852. The final pamphlet is a copy of "A Clipper Ship and Her Commander" (1924).

Holly Fine was a dancer and performer with the traveling vaudeville production, the Marcus Show, in the 1930s. The collection documents Fine’s relationship with entertainer Danny Kaye, as well as the Marcus Show itself. Includes correspondence, vaudeville programs and promotional material, photographs, scrapbooks, printed material and drawings. The correspondence includes approximately 0.5 linear feet of letters written from Kaye to Fine.

The Holly Fine and Danny Kaye Papers document the relationship between Fine and Kaye, as well as the 1930s traveling vaudeville production, The Marcus Show. The papers have been divided into six series: Correspondence, Vaudeville, Printed Material, Photographs, Scrapbooks, and Drawings and Artwork.

This collection is made up of personal letters related to the immediate and extended family of Philip Mason Sears, including his wife, Zilla MacDougall; his children, Charlotte and Philip Sears; Zilla's sister, Charlotte MacDougall; and Zilla's brother-in-law, Danish diplomat Henrik Kauffmann. Family members wrote about foreign travel, service in the United States Navy, and daily life in the United States and abroad from the mid-1910s to the mid-1960s.

This collection is made up of personal letters related to the immediate and extended family of Philip Mason Sears, including his wife, Zilla MacDougall; his children, Charlotte and Philip Sears; Zilla's sister, Charlotte MacDougall; and Zilla's brother-in-law, Danish diplomat Henrik Kauffmann.

Much of the early correspondence revolves around Zilla MacDougall Sears, including letters that she wrote to her parents, grandparents, and sister about her foreign travels and life in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. She visited London, England, in 1916 and 1917, and went to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Berlin, Germany, in the early and mid-1920s. In 1925, she described her travels in China, particularly her experiences in Peking (Beijing). Zilla also discussed her life in Syracuse, New York, and family life in Dedham, Massachusetts, after her marriage to Philip Mason Sears in 1924. In December 1924, the couple received congratulatory telegrams. The collection also contains many telegrams from the 1920s and 1930s concerning family health and family travels, including items sent by William MacDougall and Philip Mason Sears.

Additional early items include letters that Henrik Kauffmann wrote to Philip Mason Sears in the 1910s and 1920s, and letters that Charlotte MacDougall Kauffmann wrote to her parents and sister in the 1920s. Henrik and Charlotte's correspondence, often written on Danish stationery, concerns their travels and lives in China, India, Thailand, Japan, Denmark, and other locations. Prior to their marriage, Henrik discussed his excitement about Charlotte's upcoming visits and otherwise commented on their relationship. Correspondence from the 1930s includes additional travel letters and telegrams, and a group of letters to Zilla MacDougall Sears regarding her desire to purchase a Sicilian donkey from a company in Palermo in 1933. Zilla also wrote a letter to her mother on "swastika" stationery from Cuernavaca, Mexico (March 7, 1936).

Much of the material from the World War II era concerns the naval service of Philip Mason Sears and Philip Sears, Junior. The Sears children wrote a small number of V-mail letters to their father while he was stationed on the USS Fuller in the Pacific in 1942. From 1944 to 1946, Philip Mason Sears, Jr., wrote to his parents and sister about his experiences in the navy, including his participation in the V-12 Navy College Training Program at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and his later experiences on a base in the Nevada desert. He often discussed his desire and attempts to gain entry into the aviation service and/or gunnery school. Additional correspondence from the early to mid-1940s includes letters that Charlotte Sears ("Poppin") wrote to her family about her studies and other experiences at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia. Many of her letters feature cartoonish doodles and drawings. Zilla MacDougall Sears also received letters her nieces and nephews, including David and "Liza Jane" (who included colored drawings of horses in her letter postmarked from Lake Placid, New York, on July 18, 1942). The Sears children also received letters from their aunt, Charlotte MacDougall Kauffmann, then living in Washington, D.C.

After the war, the bulk of the collection is comprised of letters from Henrik and Charlotte MacDougall Kauffmann and Charlotte Sears (later Look) to Zilla MacDougall Sears. The Kauffmanns wrote to Zilla after returning to Denmark in 1946; among other topics, they discussed some of the lingering effects of the war. In the early 1950s, Charlotte Sears and her husband, David T. Look, wrote to Zilla about their experiences in Washington, D.C., including their work and leisure activities. In 1953, Charlotte described her travels in southern California and in Europe. The final items largely consist of Charlotte Kauffmann's letters to Zilla Sears from Switzerland and Denmark as late as 1963; while in Switzerland, she mentioned her participation in winter sports.

Additional materials include newspaper clippings about the death of Clinton MacDougall and the atomic bomb, the Sears children's school essays, and other miscellaneous manuscripts. A small number of picture postcards are present throughout the correspondence. The collection's photographs and negatives pertain to United States sailors and to people at leisure indoors and outdoors.

This collection contains 153 items related to Ward Napier Madison, a native of Montclair, New Jersey, who participated in a missionary trip to Asia from September 1931-August 1932. The bulk of the material consists of letters, meeting minutes, and other documents about the Laymen's Foreign Missionary Inquiry Commission of Appraisal, which visited Sri Lanka, India, China, and Japan.

This collection contains 153 items related to Ward Napier Madison, a native of Montclair, New Jersey, who participated in a missionary trip to Asia from September 1931-August 1932. The bulk of the material consists of letters, meeting minutes, and other documents about the Laymen's Foreign Missionary Inquiry Commission of Appraisal, which visited Sri Lanka, India, China, and Japan.

The first item is Madison's typed 7-page account of his initiation into the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity at Yale University in December 1923. Madison also compiled a typed diary during his trip to Europe in the spring of 1927. In May 1931, he applied for the position of secretary for the Laymen's Foreign Missionary Inquiry Commission of Appraisal's upcoming visit to Asia. Typed letters between the association's members, Madison, and others pertain to Madison's credentials and his health. Madison was accepted, and the bulk of the collection is made up of letters, meeting minutes, and cables about the group's travels. Madison retained copies of other members' correspondence, in which they described their experiences in Sri Lanka, India, China, and Japan. The commission periodically cabled Madison's mother, Louise N. Madison, about their progress, and Ward Madison wrote manuscript letters to his mother and to his grandfather, Charles F. Napier. Madison described missionary work, religion, and Asian politics, particularly the strained relationship between China and Japan. Madison wrote some of his letters on the backs of printed hotel menus, and he sent one photographic postcard with a picture of a hotel swimming pool in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After Madison's return to the United States in 1932, he corresponded with his grandfather about everyday life.