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).

The Harry Miller papers consist of letters that Miller wrote to Jane Cline, a friend, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

The Harry Miller papers consist of letters that Miller wrote to Jane Cline, a friend, while serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.

Miller wrote 4 letters while stationed at bases in the United States between August 24, 1942, and [October 1, 1944], in which he primarily discussed his leisure activities and his ambitions to become an officer. He attended classes and often joked that he was following Jane's lead in returning to school. The remaining correspondence is from Miller's service in India and China between November 1944 and December 1945. His growing romantic affection for Jane, whom he frequently addressed as "Darling" or "Dearest," is evident, and he expressed his hope that she might reciprocate his feelings one day. His letter of April 29, 1945, contains a discussion about possible Allied treatment of Germany and Japan after a presumed Allied victory. Miller continued to write until the end of 1945, detailing his adventures both on and off base in East Asia. Of particular interest is his lengthy reminiscence of a trip he took with a friend to explore a Buddhist temple outside of Kunming, China (September 5, [1945]). By December 1945, he anticipated his return to the United States and his continuing romantic pursuit of Jane.

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.