Collections

Director of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, professor of art and art history. Subject files relating to his University of Michigan activities and to his involvement with various art museums and art associations; and photographs.

Sawyer's papers document the range of his professional activities as well as his post-retirement projects. The collection spans the years of 1930, when Sawyer was curator at Phillips Academy, to 1997, almost twenty-five years after his retirement from the University of Michigan. Sawyer's correspondence, speeches, and research compose much of the collection; there are also photographs, course descriptions, and committee meeting minutes.

The collection is arranged into the following series: University of Michigan, Organizational Affiliations, Personal, Germanic Architecture, and Photographs.

Charles H. Vial was an alumnus of the University of Michigan. Consists of photographs of student activities, including Forestry Field Day, Cap Night, Senior Sing, a Block M at a football game, and the Union Opera.

The collection consists of photographs of student activities, including Forestry Field Day, Cap Night, Senior Sing, a Block M at a football game, and the Union Opera.

Charles H. F. Daigneault, a teenager in Hudson, New Hampshire, filled this pre-printed account ledger with pencil, pen, and ink drawings between 1904 and 1905 (mostly dated February 1904). The volume had been used sparsely by Ren W. Philbrick as early as 1901; between 1903 and 1905, Ren and possibly other Philbricks contributed a small number of drawings. Daigneault's illustrations feature the Philbricks' "Deer Field Farm," the Hudson schoolhouse, vehicles and transportation, caricatures and anthropomorphic animals, decorative patterns, clothing (uniforms, stockings, garters, shoes, hats, etc.), people and faces, Masonic symbolism and imagery, astrological and horoscope content, mystical and occult symbolism, sideshow performers, museum objects and oddities, American Civil War scenes, historical and mythological torture devices, the use of torture by religious groups, and much else.

Charles H. F. Daigneault, a teenager in Hudson, New Hampshire, filled this pre-printed account ledger with pencil, pen, and ink drawings between 1904 and 1905 (mostly dated February 1904). The volume had been used sparsely by Ren W. Philbrick as early as 1901; between 1903 and 1905, Ren and possibly other Philbricks contributed a small number of drawings.

Daigneault's drawings feature the Philbricks' "Deer Field Farm," the Hudson schoolhouse, vehicles and transportation, caricatures and anthropomorphic animals, decorative patterns, clothing (uniforms, stockings, garters, shoes, hats, etc.), people and faces, Masonic symbolism and imagery, astrological and horoscope content, mystical and occult symbolism, sideshow performers, museum objects and oddities, American Civil War scenes, historical and mythological torture devices, the use of torture by religious groups, and much else.

Charles Dagneault drew pictures of vehicles and transportation, including a view of an electric railroad car full of passengers (page 57), a train engine and part of a coal car with a man shoveling coal (page 69), a rough drawing of a ship looking vaguely like the Merrimack (page 67), a whaling ship beside a whale (page 130), and a U.S. Navy ship (page 66). Daigneault also contributed drawings of horse drawn fire engines, which he labeled "Philbrick Fire Dep. 1904"/"Boston Fire Engine No. 4" (page 49), "Philbrick Fire Dep."/"Chemical No. 1" (page 53), and "Philbrick Fire Dep." (with a row of firefighter helmets and buckets, page 55). In addition to the fire engines, Daigneault made a drawing of fire company hats/helmets, titled "Styles Fire Dept U.S.A." and labeled by years 1811-1850; 1850-1860; 1860; and "First in America Penna"/"Hibernia Philla" (page 88).

Caricatures, full length portraits, busts, faces, limbs, feet, hands, and profiles of humans and anthropomorphic animals are found throughout the volume. Among the caricatures are an "American Schoolteacher" (page 64), "Jewish Junk dealer" (page 58), a cricket player (page 46), and military and police figures. Daigneault drew a number of women's legs in stockings, heeled shoes, and garters. He drew a buttocks in the shape of an upside-down heart with an eye in the middle (page 52) as well as a group of seven overlapping profiles of faces, marked "The Know-alls" (page 59).

The most prevalent imagery in the volume is Masonic symbolism, decorative and sigil-like illustrations, occult and mystical content, horoscope content, and related visuals. Squares and compasses, Eyes of Providence, crosses and cross pattée, five-eight pointed stars, a Masonic owl, ornate swords, hearts, and more. Many of these are doodled onto pages, but others are the subjects of drawings. A few of the latter include:

• Slightly curved sword with a loopguard and small tassel. Marked "NEVER DRAW me without Cause or Sheath me in Dishonor Sword owned By C. H. F. Daigneault New, Hampshire N H 1904" (page 48)
• An ornate sword with a loopguard and quillion over crossed dirk and hand-axe. The sword and hand-axe bear a symbol of a cross atop a sun cross atop a heart. Marked "C. H. F. D 1904 -- Feb --" (page 52)
• An owl decorated with Masonic symbols, "HOOT-HOOT, HOOT" (page 62)
• A page containing a variety of text and images pertinent to Freemasonry. "3. Points." The name "Peter. Denn" is underlined with a sword and followed by the three points/dots (top dot filled, lower dots not filled). List including "Malice & Revenge" and "Vibration." Other text includes "Moses -- [eye drawing] -- was (a (murderer --" and "Call off your dogs." Drawing of three steps/degrees and a "Holy Bible F.A.M. (Chart)" book atop a podium; sword on top of the book; cross bookmark; E-W arrow and skull and crossbones beside a candelabra with three candles. At the bottom of the page is the text "Apprentice" "Led To the Light" "IV.K.D." (page 100)
• A page containing a variety of text and images pertinent to Freemasonry. "4. Points." Drawing of a goat with square and compass, a triangle with an eye in the middle labeled "DONT LOSE ME CHARLEY." Arm with square and compass, holding a snake. Two hearts. "The Bluff and Poker Game." Marked "C H. F D 1904." "5.P." "What is the Sharpest Lance of a F.A.M." followed by a triangle made up of nine dots. At the bottom of page is a drawing of a Chi Rho cross. Above it the words "Phallic worship" and beside "S.P.O.R.", "I.H.S.", "K.M.", "Past Meridian", "P.G.M.", and "C.H.F.D." (page 101)

The volume contains two sections of numbered illustrations. One is a gallery of sideshow performers and oddities/curiosity museum objects and animals (pages 110-119) and the other is a gallery of mystical, occult, historical, and mythological religious practices/symbols, many of them violent, including torture devices (pages 134-139).

Numbered gallery of illustrations (1): Sideshow performers and oddities/curiosity museum objects and animals--many of which are noted "musee," "C. H. Daigneault museum," or "Bunker Hill museum."

• Unnamed "Simesse [Siamese] Twins" (men connected at the chest area, page 110)
• Millie Christine McCoy (Carolina Twins, page 111)
• "Sir Taemoto" shown reclining with very large feet (page 111)
• "Tivery Skelington / dean Barton / Born France" of a very thin man wearing a French military helmet and epaulettes and carrying a sword (page 112)
• "Elephant Boy" / "Born In England" (page 113)
• An animal that appears to be a bipedal anteater with a rat-like tail and sharp teeth beside a tree; a man running away in the background. "France / woods / Distroyed / Houses / People / Village." (page 113)
• "The Warf Twins 1620" (two seated figures connected at the shoulder or neck, page 114)
• Two-headed calf with the label "2-Headed Calf / Thomas Jefferson / C. H. Daigneault museum / Bunker Hill / museum / 1875" (page 114)
• Two mermaids facing each other, with the label "Mermaides / Ollalu)=olu= / at C. H. D. museum 1875" (page 115)
• Raccoon, with the label "Largest -- Racoon Ever / Caught / at Bunkehill museum / owned By C.H.D. / Proptier" (page 115)
• "A Fine Turtle -- From U.S.S. / old Kersarge" with a drawing of a turtle; on its shell is the text "at C.H.D / Museum / -(1859)- / 1875" (page 116)
• Cannonball broken in half with the year "1861" written on it; "-1875- / First. Second Shell Fired / Into Fort Sumpter / Presented To C H. F. D / Museum" (page 116)
• Long straight pipe, with the text "1875 musee / -Chinese pipes-" (page 116)
• "Musee / Fat Woman / <-580 Pounds- / Madme Waldon," a woman wearing a crown and holding a mirror, wearing a dress, with a heart tattoo on her arm (or heart on an armband) (page 117)
• A horse standing on its rear legs, "alive / Born without Fore legs." To the left is a small drawing of a walled tent "CHFD / W.F." on the roof; with text "Show Run / Union / Haymarket / Square / (C H F. D) / W. (Bill Friend)" (page 118)
• Drawing of a very tall thin man with a tall, pointed hat and carrying what looks like a sheathed sword. In a word bubble the man says, "See all In this Book -- PAY 5c For the Boyes BANK". Next to him is a standing sword swallower, with a sword mostly ingested (page 119)
• Not part of this numbered sequence of drawings, but related content: "Rooster / Born with / 5 Legs - / at / Roxton / Pond / Canada / East." "C H F D / $5.00" (page 128)

Numbered gallery of illustrations (2): Mystical, occult, historical, and mythological religious scenes and practices:

• Elaborate drawing of Moses standing in front an altar, around which are four winged human angels with trumpets. A six-pointed star marked "VENUS" shines down on the altar. The altar has a lit menorah on it, beside skull and crossbones. The symbols on the altar include a snake, a royal crown, crossed shepherd staffs, crescent moon and six-pointed stars, a manicule pointing at a sun and triangle. The Moses figure is wearing a garment covered in similar symbols and is reading a scroll with similar symbols on it. The Moses figure is standing on a snake. "Law / Giver / Moses / In / 7th veil / of The / Temple". The title of the drawing appears to be "No. 3. anchent mode worship / Seeing 4 Holy Angles-" "C H F. D 1904" (page 134)
• Kneeling man at an altar, holding up a sun toward a large sun shining down on him. A pot on the altar emits smoke. The title of the drawing appears to be "2d. Religious worship -- of world" or "worship of The Sun / The Dural Sign." Two rebuses are present on the page. (page 135)
• Drawing of two priest-like figures standing over a person laying on an altar. One carries a staff with a dragon, serpent, or chicken head and wings on it. The other carries a sword dripping with blood and the heart he has cut from the person laying on the altar. The altar has a serpent, six-pointed stars, crescent moons, and other symbols on it. "No 4 / Religion / Mexico / Virgin / Mexico / Temple" (page 136)
• Drawing of a wicker man and moon. "No. 5. / Religion / The Wicker / Man / Yew-Tree / Moon / In Line / Druids / in / England / Inocent / Virgins / Boyes / men / &c / Burned / In / Wicker / Man" (page 137)
• Drawing of a disemboweled man nailed upside-down on a board/rack. "No 6" "The Inquisition / The State Inquisition / & Religions." To the right is a drawing of a person being on a spit over a fire, being turned by an unseen figure. "No. 7. The Zoroaster order." Cross pattée. (page 138)
• "Mans Humanity." Drawing of two men in hats, one heating lead over a furnace and the other pouring "hot lead" onto the body of a tied victim. "No 8 Inquisition." A cross pattée. Below is a drawing of a person hung by their thumbs with a weight tied to their ankles "No. 9. Inquisition" "Thumbs Torture." Beside is an eye of Providence and a cross pattée with an arrow pointing to the rope/thumbs. To the right is a drawing of an iron maiden and a person about to be placed into it. The bottom of the iron maiden has a rotating blade, and a tunnel below has drawings of rectangles and triangles marked "chop up." (page 139)

Other selected content includes:

• A Punch or Rumpelstiltskin type figure with a tall, pointed hat and a devil on his nose, holding a baby in its arms (page 42)
• Drawing of a bird with a long and segmented neck, stork-like legs, and a raptor beak: "A HARTEPOCHNIA of MYTH AGE" (page 109). Another drawing of the same bird, standing by eggs that are being stalked by a rat, has a speech bubble reading "Say Rats" (page 92)
• Crescent moon and six-pointed star "(Kismet) means Fate." Beneath is a full length drawing of a man wearing a fez (which has a crescent moon and six-pointed star on it), what looks like a Hussar pelisse (with sword and six pointed star on it), sword and gun through waist belts, carrying a spear, with garter socks, a kilt-looking bottom and lettings bearing a flower (page 104)
• Horoscopes by "Prof. Daigneault" for members of the Philbrick family, with additional notes on clairvoyancy/mesmerism/hypnotism (pages 122-127)
• Recipe for pickled cucumbers [pickles] (page 127)

This collection is made up of correspondence, military records, photographs, newsletters, scrapbooks, and other items pertaining to the military career of Charles H. Foster, who served in the United States Navy from 1898-1934.

The Charles H. Foster collection consists of correspondence, military records, photographs, newsletters, scrapbooks, and other items pertaining to the military career of Charles H. Foster, who served in the United States Navy from 1898-1934.

The collection's correspondence (144 items) primarily relates to Foster's naval service after 1902. Letters, memorandums, orders, and reports concern his ship assignments and work at the Naval Gun Factory (Washington Navy Yard) during World War I. One group of letters from the early 1920s relates to the acquisition of dependent's pay for Foster's mother. A series of World War II-era documents respect Foster's fitness for active duty. After World War II, he received letters from military acquaintances and veterans of the Spanish-American War.

Charles H. Foster's 1918-1919 diary concerns his travel on the Huron between the United States and France. Notes, newspaper clippings, and a telegram laid into the volume regard deaths, the military, and historical inquiries.

The papers include 4 of Charles H. Foster's scrapbooks, which contain materials related to the USTS Alliance's 1897-1898 training mission; naval ships, personnel, and theatrical and musical programs and performances; the Mexican Revolution and Mexican politics in the mid-1910s; and naval equipment, camps, and weapons tests.

Sixty-three photographs depict U.S. Navy sailors and vessels. One group of pictures show scenes from the Huron's voyage between France and the United States during World War I. The collection also features photographic postcards sent by Charles H. Foster and others from Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, Germany, and Borneo.

Financial records, legal documents, and service records primarily pertain to Charles H. Foster, with a focus on his time on the USS West Virginia in the 1920s and his mother's financial dependency. Documents, blueprints, photographs, and other items relate to devices patented by Charles H. Foster and others. Two service ribbons appear in the collection, mounted onto a wallet printed with "United States Battle Fleet, Sydney, 1925," which also contains a travel pass and membership card for Charles H. Foster.

The collection includes 429 typescripts about early American history, the Civil War, South Carolina Confederate soldiers, the Spanish-American War, aviation, and the US Navy. Rosters of American Navy ships and personnel include information on Union vessels during the Civil War; casualties from the 1898 USS Maine explosion; USTS Alliance naval apprentices in 1898; USS West Virginia officers in 1926; and the names and addresses of members in several naval veterans' associations.

A "Personal Log" by Royal Emerson Foster relates to his service on the SSAC Bedford in early 1919, with descriptions and illustrations of naval equipment, ship construction, signaling, personnel, and other subjects. The navy publication Rules to Prevent Collisions of Vessels also appears in the Log.

US Naval Ex. Apprentices Association materials include copies of Trade Winds, the association's newsletter, from 1939-1964. The newsletters are accompanied by a list of Alliance apprentices in 1898. A copy of Rocks and Shoals, a publication for former crewmen of the USS Memphis, is also present. Other printed works include military publications about equipment and procedures, a handbook on medicine, the Mariner's Pocketbook, A History of Guantanamo Bay, newspaper clippings, a souvenir book from the US Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island, a death announcement, and a map of Arlington National Cemetery.

Notes, reports, and a bound volume concern the history of the Foster, Yates, and Lindstrom families.

The Charles H. Hosmer collection is made up of a diary (365 pages, 1877), 13 stereoscopic photographs (1872-1877), and a published volume (1870) related to the Hosmer's career as an assistant surveyor with the United States Coast Survey. The diary covers his experiences working along the Banana River in Florida and in Bar Harbor, Maine.

The Charles H. Hosmer collection is made up of a diary (365 pages, 1877), 13 stereographs (1872-1877), and a published volume (1870) related to Hosmer's career as an assistant surveyor with the United States Coast Survey.

The Diary is a partially printed Excelsior pocket diary for the year 1877, with each page devoted to one day. Hosmer wrote brief daily entries, covering his experiences on a surveying expedition along Florida's Banana River onboard the steamer Steadfast; his journeys to Bar Harbor, Maine, and Chicago, Illinois; and his daily life in Bristol, Rhode Island, between his travels.

From January to mid-May, Hosmer wrote from the Steadfast along Florida's eastern coast. He frequently visited Titusville and often recorded his successful duck hunting excursions. Entries also pertain to his hydrographical work for the United States Coast Survey, other workers onboard the ship, and Hosmer's acquaintances. He discussed his railroad journey home to Bristol, Rhode Island, various aspects of his social life, and later working journeys to Bar Harbor, Maine, and other locations. Memoranda at the back of the volume include a list of letters written by Hosmer, an address list, and tide gauge statistics recorded along the Banana River (1876 and 1877) and in Maine (undated).

A collection of 13 black-and-white Stereoscopic Photographs depict three-dimensional scenes from the southern United States and from Taunton River, Massachusetts, and Rockford, Illinois.

• Photographs of Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia (3 items)
• Pavilion Hotel, Savannah, Georgia (undated)
• Fort Sumter (1872)
• The Charleston Hotel, Charleston, South Carolina (undated)
• A storefront in Rockford, Illinois (undated)
• John R. Porter residence, Rockford, Illinois (undated)
• Surveying equipment and men at a camp near Taunton River, Massachusetts (2 items, September-October 1876)
• Number 707 Glen House, [Littleton, New Hampshire?] (undated)
• United States Steamship Bavataria [sic] (undated)
• Burnham slate quarry (undated)

The Printed Publication is a copy of United States Coast Survey. Memoranda Relating to the Field-Work of the Secondary Triangulation, written by Richard D. Cutts and published by the Government Printing Office in 1870. The text includes related tables. Charles Hosmer's name is printed on the front cover. A 10-page packet of manuscript documents laid into the book, contains Hosmer's descriptions of flagstaffs and signals "Between New Rochelle and Greenwich" (3 pages); tables recording several geographical positions with brief copied notes from G. Bradford (6 pages, June 1885 and undated); and a letter to Charles Hosmer from C. O. Bontelle of the C. & G. Survey (1 page, June 1, 1885). Bontelle's letter contains a small diagram showing old and new Bessel data lines, used in surveying.

The Charles Hicks letter books contain the letters and accounts of an American merchant operating out of St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1730s and 1740s, as well as notes concerning the estate of the Hicks family of Flushing, New York, between 1800 and 1828.

The Charles Hicks letter books (two volumes, 234 pages and 175 pages) contain the letters and accounts of an American merchant operating out of St. Augustine, Florida, in the 1730s and 1740s. The volumes are comprised of financial accounts, logs, letter drafts, and miscellaneous records, with 112 pages of letters in English (approximately 60 items), and 98 pages written in Spanish. The volumes were created concurrently, and entries are often undated and lack clear chronological organization. In addition to the mercantile records are notes concerning the estate of the Hicks family between 1800 and 1828, found at the beginning and end of each book.

Charles Hicks' business dealings were primarily with Spanish merchants in Florida and Cuba, and with British colonial merchants in New York and Charleston, South Carolina. Hicks discussed the trade conditions in Florida and Havana, and occasionally referenced the strained political relations between Spain and England. Entries contain references to trading enslaved Africans, whom Hicks sold on various Caribbean islands. He also described the activities of the slaves he owned, one of whom was named Caesar (volume 1: pages 39, 82, 196-109, and 133). Also of interest are a copied article and a recipe on how to cure "hydrophobia," to be used when bitten by a rabid dog (volume 1, page 29). Letter contributors and recipients include captains Samuel Bradstreet and Othniel Beale; Florida merchants Juan de Acosta, Joaquin Blanco, and Dr. Pedro A. Estrada; and New York merchants Samuel Franklin, Nicholas Gouverneur, Isaac Gouverneur, Jacob Walton, William Walton, Anthony White, and Nicholas Wycoff.

In addition to the Charles Hicks material are accounts, inventories, and notes regarding the Hicks family of Flushing, New York, recorded at the beginning and end of each volume (1800-1828). Family members mentioned include Hick's children Charles, Eliza, Ann, Scott, Caroline, Philip (a resident of the island of Antigua), and son-in-law Willet Bowne (volume 1: pages 19 and 29). Also present is an inventory for the personal estate of Charles Hicks of Flushing (grandson of the merchant Charles Hicks), who died in 1824 (volume 1: pages 76-79).

In the 1870s and 1880s Charles H. Lund of Nashua, New Hampshire, compiled this collection of letters, documents, essays and other writings (including a manuscript newspaper), artwork, and miscellaneous printed items relating to his education, social life, and participation in the Nashua City Guards. The collection is accompanied by the original album in which Lund housed them.

In the 1870s and 1880s Charles H. Lund of Nashua, New Hampshire, compiled this collection of letters, documents, essays and other writings, artwork, and miscellaneous printed items relating to his education, social life, and participation in the Nashua City Guards. The collection is accompanied by the original file which housed them.

The Correspondence Series consists of eleven letters, ten of which are addressed to Charles H. Lund. The bulk appear to have been written by former schoolmates and commented in some fashion on education. One was likely written by one of his teachers. A handful of others relate to politics, railroads, agriculture, and the Nashua City Guards.

The Documents Series consists of miscellaneous items relating to Lund's education, including report cards for Charles and Marcus Lund, a reward of merit, and notices for readings from the Taming of the Shrew. The series also contains a receipt for payment to the Nashua City Guards, a document relating to payment for use of the patented "Richardson's Centennial Gate," and a handmade advertisement for Charles Lund's "Crosses Cut to Order."

The Writings Series includes school essays and compositions on topics like American history and the causes of the American Revolution, the seasons, the last day of school, railroads, "A Kiss in School," secret societies, Edmund Burke, and others. Lund annotated one essay from 1870 with the message, "First Composition and a poor one too." The verso of an undated essay entitled "Railroads" includes a manuscript drawing of a school desk along with diagrams of how the interior was organized. A manuscript newspaper, "The Star," was dated March 17, 1887, and proclaimed itself "The leading grange paper in Nashua. Is adapted to the farmer, the mechanic, the business and professional man." It features poetry, jokes and riddles, advertisements, and articles relating to farming, religion, cities, manhood, and other topics. Two poems are also present in the series.

The Original Artwork Series includes calling cards for Charles H. Lund and several of his acquaintances, featuring manuscript drawings of birds, flora, and calligraphic embellishments. Other drawings in the series include pencil illustrations of flowers, a bicycle, a train engine, dogs, Charles Lund's initials done in colored pencil with graphic elements added, and a pencil and colored pencil rendering of the Lund homestead, showing the main residence and outbuildings.

The Printed Materials Series consists of programs, two catalogs for the Nashua Literary Institution, a printed calling card for Lund, a menu for the Profile House, and a newspaper clipping of a government bond.

The album in which the collection was originally housed is located at the back of the box.

The Charles H. Marias photograph album contains approximately 162 images documenting a Portland-based Y.M.C.A. group's travels around Oregon including visits to the Klamath Agency.

The Charles H. Marias photograph album contains approximately 162 images documenting a Portland-based Y.M.C.A. group's travels around Oregon including visits to the Klamath Agency.

The album (18 x 28 cm) has black cloth covers and black paper pages. The majority of images have handwritten captions, many of which are extensively detailed in identifying locations, dates, and people represented. Besides the album's compiler Charles H. Marias, numerous other individuals (many of whom were also members of the Y.M.C.A. Portland excursion group) are identified including Rex B. Parelius, Lyndon Street, Lewis Hauglum, Clarence H. Prehn, Bill Blumenscheim, Emerson Harley, Amandus Pfaender, A. M. Grilley, William W. Belcher, Jim Arbuthnot, George Sebben, Fred Nelson, and Judge G. T. Baldwin. Also of note are identified Native American individuals including Joe Scott, George Pitt, Jack Pitt, Charles Pitt, and Clayton Kirk. While Marias is presumed to have likely taken the majority of snapshots included in this album, several other excursion group members are also credited as photographers in various captions.

Images of interest include views of salmon hatchery operations (including Native American laborers and fishermen); a group of excursion members playing the card game "Pedro"; Native American man Joe Scott (possibly a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation) posing with his twin sons as well as cow punching gear; landscape photographs of natural features including the Salmon River, Sandy River, Baldy Butte, Bear Creek, Rogue River, Mill Creek Falls, Crater Lake, Wizard Island, Mt. Hood, Mt. Pelican, and Mt. McLoughlin; hiking and camping-related expedition photographs; a humorous staged photograph of a mock stagecoach robbery; numerous views of abandoned log cabins previously occupied by early white settlers in the region; a view of the log cabin at which the assassination of Gen. Edward Canby occurred during the Modoc War of 1873; views from the Klamath Indian Reservation including a portrait of Bill Blumenscheim posing with an older Klamath woman making baskets for sale as well as a set of views related to the humorous treatment of a newlywed couple; views of the river boat Curlew and steamboat Winema; a snapshot of a streetcar captioned "The only car in Klamath Falls"; various scenes in Medford, Oregon; and a professionally produced group portrait of the Y.M.C.A. Portland excursion group posing with three automobiles and a small dog who appears to have accompanied the group on their travels.

Of particular note are voting-related scenes from the Klamath Indian Reservation including several images with captions variously stating "Indian cayuses at Klamath Reservation on the day of the first election ever held by the Indians," "Klamath Indians about to cast their first vote. Election of Council-men. This was done so as to avoid the troublesome 'Pow-Pows' when their affairs were to be settled," and "At the election (No the squaws didn't vote)."

Soldier from Battle Creek, Michigan who served as captain in the Second Michigan Infantry during the Civil War. Diary of his war-time activities.

Diary of his war-time activities.

The papers consists mostly Hodskin's Civil War letters and diary, and a 2003 student term paper based on the collection.

The collection includes correspondence between Charles and his wife and their friends. Charles’ diary and four Civil War era letters describe the weather, military drills, skirmishes with the enemy, the failures of General A. E. Burnside, heavy federal losses, many prisoners being taken, Negro troops, fighting, and marches to Bardston, Lebanon, Jamestown, and Memphis, Tennessee.

Also included is a 2003 CMU student term paper (74 pages) by Kathryn S. Anderson entitled “The 1863 Civil War Journal of Charles Horace Hodskin, 1836-1905,” which is a transcription of his diary.