Abraham Lincoln Assassination Book Illustrations, ca. 1960-1970
approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes
approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes
The Abraham Lincoln assassination book illustrations collection consists of 300 photographic reproductions likely produced during the 1960s of various 19th-century photographs, paintings, illustrations, maps, diagrams, posters, and ephemera related to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
The collection provides a thorough pictorial history of Lincoln's assassination and its aftermath using photographic reproductions of select period sources. The reproductions are contained in three volumes that have been grouped into five thematic sections: "Assassination" and "Flight and Capture" (Volume 1); "Trial and Execution" and "The Funeral" (Volume 2); and "Funeral at Springfield" (Volume 3). Each thematic section is introduced with a typed index that identifies images and their original sources, which are often listed in abbreviated forms. Image sources that are cited include the Library of Congress (LC), National Park Service (NPS), Chicago Historical Society (CHS), National Archives (NA), New-York Historical Society (NYHS), Lincoln National Life Foundation (LNLF), Illinois State Historical Library (ISHS), Leslie's Illustrated, Harper's Weekly, Claude Simmons (C.S.), and more. While the subject and source of each image are noted, but there is no accompanying text or narrative concerning the events. This collection appears to have been assembled in relation to the prospective publication of an illustrated book on the topic, possibly during the 1960s as a centennial piece. Many of the photographs have chapter and page notations on the back, though there are no specific references to the author or the intended title of the prospective book.
The indexes for each thematic section are as follows:
approximately 300 photographs in 3 volumes
0.75 linear feet
The African American and African Diaspora Collection is comprised largely of individual letters, documents, and other manuscript items relating to slavery, abolition movements, and aspects of African American life, largely dating between 1781 and 1865. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include the experiences and work of enslaved persons in the North and South; the buying and selling of enslaved men, women, and children; participation in the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and Civil War of African descended persons; abolitionists and abolition societies; the American Colonization Society; the lives of formerly enslaved persons; African American education; and many other subjects. For details on each document, see the inventory located under "Detailed Box and Folder Listing"
Approximately 2 linear feet
The Benjamin Brown collection is made up of correspondence, documents, and artifacts related to the showman's career as a circus owner in the early 1800s.
Letters, documents, and printed materials concern Brown's early ventures as a show owner, including correspondence and financial records pertaining to his travels in the Caribbean and to the northeast coast of South America in the early 1830s. These materials document the difficulties of transporting exotic animals by sea, the type of equipment necessary to run a circus, and other logistical issues.
A later group of letters and documents reflects Brown's experiences in Egypt, where he traveled as an agent of the June, Titus, Angevine & Company, attempting to purchase giraffes. Many of these letters are from Stebbins B. June, who was also in Egypt at the time, and several items relate to George R. Gliddon, United States consul in Cairo. Brown's friend Gerard Crane wrote about Brown's business affairs in New York, and frequently reported the increasingly frail health of Brown's father. Benjamin Brown received a letter from P. T. Barnum, who asked him to find a pair of fortune tellers for Barnum's museum. He also inquired about locating a pony small enough to accommodate his performer Tom Thumb (June 29, 1843). While in London, Brown frequently received letters from his sister, Eudocia Brown Noyes, who wrote of the Brown family farm and provided other news from Somers, New York.
The collection includes playbills and broadsides advertising Brown's circus; Brown's marriage license (March 20, 1841); a pencil sketch of Brown; two passports; and three fragments of an Arabic-language scroll, offering protection to the bearer. Later material includes newspaper clippings from 1879, 1880, and 1931, on Brown's life and career, as well as an audio tape of an interview with his grandson, Benjamin Brown.
Box 2 of the collection includes correspondence, documents, printed items, photographs, and audio recordings related to the history of Benjamin Brown, the circus, and Somers, New York. Principally organized around the career and research of Carrie Brown Rorer (1903-1969), President of the Somers Historical Society and Benjamin F. Brown's great-grandaughter, the material provides insight into public history, memory, and research on the circus. Included is a typed document, "Circus History: Recollections by Benjamin Brown (1877-1962) as told to Carrie Brown Roher, (1903-1969), who was one of his three daughters," which details memories of Benjamin F. Brown and family stories about him.
The Egyptian figures may date to around 600 BCE.
25 items
The Bing Crosby collection includes 21 letters and documents from Crosby's professional and personal life, three photographs or photograph reproductions, and one autograph musical quotation. Most letters and documents are in regards to Crosby's film projects during the 1940s and 1950s. Multiple documents pertain to the film White Christmas, including a letter confirming the early script approval by the Paramount Picture Company, and a planning document for the presentation of names in the credits.
See the box and folder listing below for details about each item in the collection.
90 items
The Bleecker Houston papers consist of 90 items all of which pertain to her service in the Women's Army (Auxiliary) Corps during World War II. The collection consists of 49 photographs, four photograph negatives, 32 military papers, and five miscellaneous items. The photographs include five of Bleecker Houston herself, four military photographs (including an encampment, a photo of a group of soldiers, red cross vehicle, and a prop plane), 12 photographs of Douglas MacArthur and several other officials, three photographs of the signing of the surrender of Japan, four scenic photos taken in London, and 18 photographs (of photographs) of the sinking of the Bismarck.
Houston's military papers contain 15 documents pertaining to her duties and five documents regarding her training and enlistment in the WAAC. Sergio Osmana and Douglas MacArthur authored 5 documents to the people of the Philippines to provide assurance and to induce a fighting spirit. In a General Order, MacArthur expresses his appreciation to his troops, staff, and the Philippine people. Two documents pertain to Houston's son, John Thomas Simmons Jr., and one pertains to John T. Simmons.
In addition, the collection includes a manuscript piece of sheet music "Women's Army Corps," a certificate of appreciation from St. Mary's County Commission for Women, and two V-mail political cartoons from John Simmons to Houston. The five miscellaneous items include three newspaper clippings related to Bleecker Houston, and two pieces of Japanese currency used by the military.
3.25 lin. ft.
This collection is made up of diaries, correspondence, documents, scrapbooks, photo albums, negatives, yearbooks, awards, artifacts, and regalia of career U.S. Navy officer David Nash. Much of the content relates to Lieutenant Nash's naval career and his time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific during World War II.
The Diaries include two volumes (380 pages) by David Nash, detailing his experiences as a prisoner of war for over three and a half years during World War II. These are illustrated copies made after the war from original diaries and notes (one of his shipmates buried the first portion of the original diary in a 5-gallon tin can on Luzon in order to recover it later). Lieut. Nash's almost daily entries reveal his activities, health, mentality and moods, plus information on the activity around him and any rumors or gossip. Most entries conclude with a note to his "darlings," his wife Honoria and daughter Julie. Detailed illustrations of the prison camps and ships appear throughout the diaries. Nash also included relevant drawings in the margins (guards, a shower, turkey dinner, himself reading, playing cards, etc.).
The first diary is an alphabet-sectioned ledger with 300 lined pages, covering December 1, 1941, to May 29, 1944. It also contains lists of USS Mindanao personnel and occupants of Barrack #9 Camp. The diary opens with two watercolor maps of the China Sea entitled "Cruise of U.S.S. Mindanao, 1941" and "Corregidor and Vicinity, 1942." David Nash described his time on Mindanao, stationed at Corregidor during its surrender and capture by the Japanese forces, and as a prisoner of war at Bilibid Prison, Cabanatuan, USAFFE Camp 91st Division, a second time at Bilibid Prison, and the Davao Penal Colony.
The second diary has 80 lined pages and spans October 13, 1944, to October 10, 1944. This volume continues Nash's account of life as a prisoner of war. He described his experiences on the hell ship Oryoku Maru, at Hoten Camp in Mukden, Manchuria, and during the camp's liberation on August 19, 1945.
The Naval Documents, Correspondence and Articles series contains letters, reports, newspaper clippings, personal notes, awards, an illustration, and ephemera relating to David Nash's naval career and POWs in general; the bulk of which ranges between 1934 and 2005. A portion of the documents in this series relate to the family of a fellow naval officer named Heisinger.
The Scrapbooks series consists of two scrapbooks.
The Photographs series contains four photo albums and many negatives.
Subseries: Photo Albums
Subseries: Negatives. This subseries contains negatives from photographs of wide-ranging dates and topics, all related to David Nash's personal life and career.
The Yearbooks series contains four Lucky Bag United States Naval Academy yearbooks from 1932, 1933, 1934, and a 50 Year Rendezvous USNA-1935 anniversary yearbook.
The Artifacts and Regalia series contains objects from David Nash's career including his desk name plate, two plaques, a naval uniform belt, a bronze star, dog tags, and various other uniform accessories (ribbons, medals, pins, buttons, etc.).
Approximately 113,000 photographs and 96 volumes
The subject contents of different photographic format series within the Tinder collection vary, depending in part upon how each format was historically used, and the date range of that format's popularity. For example, cartes de visite and cased images are most often formal studio portraits, while stereographs are likely to be outdoor views. Cabinet photographs are frequently portraits, but often composed with less formality than the cartes de visite and cased images. The postcards and the mounted prints contain very diverse subjects. The photographers' file contains many important and rare images of photographers, their galleries, promotional images, and the activities of photographers in the field. See individual series descriptions in the Contents List below for more specific details.
Included throughout are images by both professional and amateur photographers, although those by professionals are extant in far greater numbers.
Approximately 113,000 photographs and 96 volumes
1.5 linear feet
This collection is made up of 158 letters, 8 speeches and writings, 36 documents, 25 ephemeral items and currency, 5 pamphlets or booklets, 43 newspaper clippings, 26 lithographs, and 99 photographs by or related to Lieutenant Colonel Demas Lindley Sears. The bulk of the collection pertains to his service as a mid-level intelligence officer in the U.S. Army's 37th Infantry Division during World War II. A small portion of the collection reflects his service in the 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment during the Punitive Expedition of 1916 and in the First U.S. Cavalry during World War I.
The Correspondence begins with a telegram and four letters respecting the death of Demas and Lura Sears's child in August 1918. The remainder of the correspondence is made up of original and contemporary carbon copies of letters by Demas L. Sears between 1942 and 1946. The bulk of one hundred and forty three letters are personal letters from Demas "Pop" to his wife Lura "Mother" and daughter Frances "Baby," or from Demas to others, between January 1944 and December 1945.
Lt. Col. Sears was an engaging writer and he described everyday experiences with thoughtful attention to detail. Within the restrictive confines of military censorship, he was unable to share what he called "real news," but wrote about his living quarters, food, plans for his return home, requests for letters and photographs, and generally about life in the South Pacific. He sent his wife souvenirs, such as a Japanese rifle and an entrenching shovel. His descriptions of combat and war atrocities are vivid (see, for example, his letters from late February 1945, as the 37th fought to capture Manila).
Between April 2 and July 4, 1943, Demas Sears wrote a 46-page letter to his wife in a diary-like form. He kept the letter as an uncensored account of his time on the Fiji Islands and Guadalcanal (before departing for New Georgia). It is accompanied by a typescript of the letter, titled "From the Fiji Islands to Guadalcanal with the 37th Division."
Between March 8 and September 14, 1945, Demas also composed 10 diary-like letters, producing multiple carbon copies for Lura to distribute to particular family members. In the margins, Demas identified (by hand) March 8 and September 14 as the first and last of these "family bulletins," and provided his wife with lists of intended recipients.
A series of Writings and Speeches include one war date essay and eight postwar speeches. From the Solomon Islands after November 14, 1942, he reflected thoughtfully on the war as a "young man's war" (he was able to identify a total of 22 men out of 14,000 who had served in World War I) and the importance of maintaining U.S. military strength in peacetime. His speeches relate to his war experiences and his audiences included a Congregational Church Men's Club, a Memorial Day gathering at Bucyrus, an American Legion group, and others.
The collection's 36 Documents, 1917-1946 (bulk 1942-1946), include certificates and orders related to Demas Sears's commendations and awards; training materials; intelligence (G-2 Reports, copies of a captured and translated Japanese Sergeant's diary, summaries of the interrogations of General Tomoyuki Yamashita, a Japanese map of the Pacific, etc.), and other similar papers.
Seventy-one Printed Items include ephemera and currency, booklets and pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. Among the ephemeral items are three unique World War I-era holiday menus; a menu for a 1945 banquet in honor of Maj. Gen. Robert S. Beightler; admission and transport tickets; Japanese currency; two World War I-era record of service posters, and a manuscript note in Japanese. The two posters are located in the Graphics Division, and more information can be found in the Separated Materials section. The five booklets and pamphlets are each listed in the box and folder listing below. Forty-three newspaper clippings pertain to Lt. Col. Sears's World War II service.
The printed items also include 26 lithographs of pencil sketches by Edward "E. J." Dollriehs of the headquarters battery of the 37th Division. His illustrations include buildings, airfields, military headquarters, portraits, and the wreckage of Japanese planes. Dollriehs identified each with captions; most of the images are from the Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, and Tarlac.
The Sears papers contain 99 Photographs. Fifteen images from the period of Sears's service in World War I include two panoramic photographs of the First Cavalry Regiment, one panoramic photograph of the headquarters staff of the 37th Division, and 12 snapshots and portraits. The collection also contains 84 photographs from Sears's World War II service in the Pacific, including individual and group portraits, snapshots depicting camp life; a series of aerial snapshots taken from a C-47 on a leaflet-dropping mission over the Philippine Islands; five photographs of a Kava Ceremony in the Fiji Islands; and a selection of confidential Signal Corps photographs.
1 linear foot
This collection is comprised largely of the World War II letters of United States Army Air Forces Lieutenant Donald R. Caird (of Southeast Michigan) to Margaret MacDonell (of Phoenix, Arizona). Lieut. Caird's correspondence spans his Army Air Forces flight and instrument training at bases in Texas, Arizona, and California, 1943-1944; and his services as a pilot instructor at Merced, California, and Lincoln, Nebraska, from 1944 to 1945.
Correspondence Series: In his letters, Donald Caird commented on his training, on the flying students, his own instructional methods, his administrators ("the brass"), weather conditions that had an effect on flying, his quarters, clothing and laundry, frustration with changing instructional requirements, vehicles and transportation, the GI Bill (March 22, [1945]), playing golf, bowling, and watching basketball and football games.
The most prevalent content in the Caird's correspondence pertains to his courtship with Margaret I. MacDonell, their marriage, the birth of their first son, and other aspects of their relationship, household, and newly forming family. He wrote about attending mass and confessional; planning before their December 1943 wedding; anticipating the birth of "shack rat"/"Roscoe" (i.e. Donald Caird) in November 1944; discussing Margaret's pregnancy, health, and medical treatments; working with real estate agents to find a house for Margaret and Roscoe near his Air Forces bases; wondering and reflecting on Roscoe's growth; trying to help manage finances; and planning for furloughs. He frequently discussed the next times he would be able to connect with Margaret. A small number of other correspondents contributed to the collection, including, for example, a couple of letters from Donald R. Caird's mother Ella Caird, enclosed in his letters of January 1944, and a letter from Dr. D. H. Moulton of Chico, California, on Margaret Caird's physical condition and pregnancy (June 13, [1944]).
A selection of Lieut. Caird's letters bear illustrated, printed letterheads, including those of the Hotel Tioga, Merced, California, "The Gateway to Yosemite"; "GARDNER FIELD", California (June 13, [1944]); and "New HOTEL OAKS", Chico, California (summer 1944).
Documents Series: The six partially printed documents contain records of Donald R. Caird's training at Thunderbird Field II, near Phoenix, Arizona, with aircraft types (all Stearman Aircraft Company PT-17s), flight times, and instructor names, December 8, 1942-January 19, 1943.
Printed Items Series: The printed items include five invitations/announcements/memorials, three newspaper clippings, and one printed pamphlet. The announcements include an invitation to the ordination of Rev. Alfred P. Caird (1915-1980) at Saint Basil's Church, Toronto, Ontario, September 29, 1941, along with a smaller announcement card for Rev. Caird's "First Solemn Mass" at Detroit, Michigan, October 5, 1941. The announcements/memorials include three variant printings memorializing Ella C. Caird following her death on July 5, 1962 (William Sullivan & Son Funeral Home, Royal Oak, Michigan). The three undated (World War II era) newspaper clippings regard the marriage of Dorothy Rohrbacher to Ted Levandowski, the birth of Donald Caird on November 21, [1944], and a pictorial announcement about the newly organized Ria Club Alumnae (including Margaret McDonell in a group portrait). The collection's single pamphlet is: Steve Caird, et al.The Greatest Generation: Caird Stories Volume 2 . Artifact Uprising, [21st Century].
885 items
The MacArthur collection contains 885 letters, documents, photographs, and published works dating from March 23, 1885, to July 5, 1983. The bulk of the material (710 items) consists of military documents and manuscript notes from September 8, 1917 to January 27, 1919.
The military materials include general orders, field orders, field messages, memoranda, intelligence, and communications, related to the U.S. 42nd Division (The Rainbow Division), A.E.F., founded in 1917. The majority of the collection falls during the period of time from late 1917 to early August 1918, when Douglas MacArthur was Chief of Staff for the 42nd Division. Documents from military units that fought alongside the 42nd Division (both French and American), the U.S. Chemical Warfare, and the Intelligence Divisions -- as well as various German, French, and American communications -- are included. Organizational documents, such as training schedules, and march tables, are also present. A considerable number, if not all, of these materials must have been approved or viewed by MacArthur, and many of the items in this collection bear his initials or the initials of his information assistant, William Hughes, Jr. From early August 1918 until the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918, MacArthur acted as the commanding officer for the 84th Infantry Brigade, and several military orders bear his name.
Seventy-six letters in the collection (located in Box 1) are either from Douglas MacArthur or pertain in some way to him. Six of these items, dated 1904, pertain to MacArthur and Florence Adams, whom he met in the Philippines, including a 46-page diary MacArthur wrote to Adams while he was on board a ship from Manila to the United States. Five letters, dated 1921 and 1925, are written by MacArthur to Louise Brooks who became Mrs. Douglas MacArthur in 1922. These letters contain both romantic content as well as personal reflections on the events in MacArthur's life at the time. Also included are nine letters from MacArthur to Hamilton Fish, Jr., dated 1921-1934. The remainder of the correspondence is a miscellaneous collection of letters written by Douglas MacArthur, Jean MacArthur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, and others.
The Douglas MacArthur collection also contains a notebook kept by Kenneth A. Sutherland, veteran of the 42nd Division, which contains a selection of items related to the Division's post-war activities and reunions; 40 aerial photographs and negatives taken by the 91st Reconnaissance Squadron, October 10, 1918; several photographs of Douglas MacArthur; thirteen published works by or about the General; and other miscellaneous materials.
Current results range from 1595 to 2017