Collections

The Kozo Sasaki collection is comprised of approximately 3,185 images of Asian artwork. The images are a compilation of slides and black & white photographs taken by Dr. Kozo Sasaki. The artwork ranges from the Momoyama period (1573-1603) to the Taisho period (1912-1926).

The Kozo Sasaki collection contains 3,033 slides and 152 black & white photographs taken by Dr. Kozo Sasaki himself. The slides and photographs depict Asian artwork, primarily Japanese, ranging from the late 16th century to the early 20th century and cover the Momoyama (1573-1603) to Taisho periods (1912-1926). The majority of the images are Edo period paintings and hanging scrolls. Many of the slides were taken of art in situ. Also included in the collection are images of sculptures, ceramics, mandalas, woodblock prints, sketches, illustrations, decorative arts, and photographs of temples. A set of twelve Japanese handscrolls are captured in a series of 152 black & white photographs.

The Asian Scrolls collection is comprised of 56 facsimile handscrolls and books of Japanese and Chinese origin. The scrolls depict landscapes and animals, as well as scenes from famous works and stories. Among the scrolls are also examples of the calligraphy of famous artists, such as Kobo-Daishi. The originals were created throughout the Tang, Sung, and Ming dynasties.

The Asian Scrolls collection is composed of 56 facsimile handscrolls and books of Japanese and Chinese origin. The scrolls depict landscapes, animals, and scenes from famous works and stories. Among the scrolls are examples of the calligraphy of famous artists, such as Kobo-Daishi. The original scrolls were created throughout the Tang, Sung, and Ming dynasties. This collection contains copies of the Japanese work “Ippen Shomin Ekotoba” and “Letter to Saicho” and the Chinese work “Admonitions of the Instructress of the Ladies in the Palace." As these scrolls are reproductions, the originals are housed in other institutions such as the British Museum, Beijing’s Palace Museum, and Honolulu’s Academy of Arts. Four of the scrolls are of Chinese artwork but have been reproduced by the Japanese, and therefore, the artist’s names have been translated differently.

Mixed within the collection is a series of approximately five books. The leaves of the books are connected in an alternating format, creating an accordion style book. While many of the books contain artwork depicting scenes of natures and scenes from famous works, one book contains photographs of bronze Chinese objects. The photographs have titles but the book is untitled.

The collection consists of a single diary in which two successive generations of women chronicle the upbringing of their own daughters.

The collection consists of a one-volume diary written by two generations of women about their respective daughters. The diary begins in 1858 with Mary Heald writing about the birth of her own daughter, Mary. Entries continue through the first year of the younger's life, and details not only her growth, but also the elder Mary's experiences raising one child and grieving the early death of her son.

Entires recommense in 1905, when the younger Mary begins chronicalling the young-adult years of her then 10-year-old daughter Madeleine. Mary describes Madeleine's maturation for the next five years and includes some brief notes from Madeleine, as well as her own writing.

The Hubert S. Smith Naval Letters and Documents collection is made up of individual manuscripts relating to naval and commercial maritime operations.

The Hubert S. Smith Naval Letters and Documents collection is made up of over 380 manuscript letters and documents relating to maritime military, commercial, financial, and legal subjects from the 15th to the 20th centuries, primarily concerning Great Britain and America. The collection includes materials relating to Continental European wars, the American Revolution, the African slave trade, the Civil War, and exploratory ventures. The collection also reflects day-to-day ship operations and naval employment, diplomacy, marine technology, the purchase and sale of ships, insurance, and publications and books relating to maritime affairs. While primarily focused on English and American navies, the contributors discuss a wide variety of places, including continental Europe, the Baltic region, Russia, Asia, Turkey, South America, and Africa.

Collection of bound and miscellaneous manuscripts relating to the history of Latin America between 1518 and 1882. These materials pertain to laws, religious doctrines, indigenous cultures and interactions with Europeans, city ordinances, land holdings, and other subjects.

The Latin America collection is made up of 57 volumes of miscellaneous items related to New Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. The items span from 1518 to 1882. The materials came to the Clements Library from multiple dealers and donors between 1928 and 1951. The New Spain series is made up of volumes that broadly cover the areas under Spanish control in Latin America. The Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala series is made up of materials that specifically address each of those areas. Topics addressed in the letters and documents include laws, religious doctrines, indigenous culture and interactions with Europeans, city ordinances, land holdings, viceregal matters, and many other subjects. Of particular note is a 1760 manuscript copy of a 1587 original of three religious dramas in the Nahuatl language. In 2023, an 1822 contemporary manuscript copy of Manuel de la Barcena's Manifiesto al Mundo: La Justicia y Necesidad de la Independencia de Nueva-España was added to Volume 38.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created detailed the following descriptions of each volume in the collection: Latin America Collection: Volume Descriptions.

This bound volume contains individual manuscript copies of documents, which grant persons or institutions of England or Ireland the right to claim and bear hereditary coats of arms and, in some cases, admission to the peerage or alteration of their noble titles. The documents are arranged in three sections, dating from 1666 and 1684-1694 (Section I), 1570-1700 (Section II), and 1716-1721 (Section III).

This bound volume contains individual copies of documents, which grant persons or institutions of England or Ireland the right to bear hereditary coats of arms or admit members to the peerage. The volume was once owned by Earl George Macartney; his bookplate appears on the inside front cover. The documents are arranged in three sections, dating from 1666 and 1684-1694 (Section I), 1570-1700 (Section II), and 1716-1721 (Section III). The first two sections (103 pages and 77 pages, respectively) are separately paginated and indexed. The third section consists of 18 non-paginated, non-indexed pages. Many of the earliest items are likely 18th-century copies.

The documents in Sections I and II are predominantly grants allowing Englishmen to establish or bear hereditary coats of arms, signed by the Garter King of Arms, Norroy King of Arms, and/or the Earl Marshal. They present justifications for a named individual to bear a coat of arms or assume a noble title, often mentioning their high standing and ancestral longevity. Those items related to heraldic devices often provide details about the badge to be granted. Many documents are accompanied by pencil sketches, ink drawings, and colored drawings of coats of arms. Several items reflect notable individuals and institutions, such as Sir George Jeffreys (p. 17); Francis Nicholson, then governor of Maryland (p. 93, 1693/4); and the College of William and Mary (pp. 96-97, May 14, 1694). A few documents in Section II are petitions sent to officials, requesting them to grant coats of arms or similar favors.

• John Beaumont, Viscount
• Thomas Parker, Baron
• James Stanhope, Viscount
• Matthew Aylmer, Baron
• Philip Wharton, Duke
• George Carpenter, Baron
• William Grimston, Baron
• Lionel Cranfield Sackville, Duke
• William Posonby, Baron

This volume is an early French translation of Bartolomé de Las Casas influential treatise Brevissima Relacion de la Destruccion de las India, an indictment of the Spanish conquerors for acts of brutality inflicted on the indigenous peoples of the New World.

In 1539, Bartolomé de las Casas wrote Breuissima relacion de la destruycion de las Indias..., a short treatise that indicted the Spanish conquerors for acts of brutality inflicted on the American Indians in the New World. The first of nine tracts on this subject, Brevissima was first published in 1552 and later published in France in 1579 as Tyrannies et Cruautez des Espagnols Perpetres es Indes Occidentales Quon dit le Nouveau Monde: Brievement Descrites en Lettre Castillane par L'Evesque Don Frere Bartelemy De Las Casas...fidelement traduites par Jackques De Miggrode: à Paris par Guillaume Julien.... Clements manuscript was likely prepared in 1582 for an illustrated Paris edition which was never printed; the 17 watercolor illustrations, depicting gruesome acts of torture, are similar to the engravings used by DeBry for his 1598 Latin edition.

Las Casas wrote two chronicles, Historia General de las Indias and Historia Apologetica de las Indias, which were designed to form a single work. He asked his executors not to publish them until forty years after his death. They were not printed, in fact, until 1875-1876 at Madrid, when they appeared under the title "Historia de las Yndias." The original manuscripts are in the Biblioteca de la Academia de la Historia, Madrid. The Clements copy corresponds to the prologue and first 11 chapters of the printed Historia General.

The Letters, Documents, and Other Manuscripts of the Duane Norman Diedrich Collection is a selection of individual items compiled by manuscript collector Duane Norman Diedrich (1935-2018) and the William L. Clements Library. The content of these materials reflect the life and interests of D. N. Diedrich, most prominently subjects pertinent to intellectual, artistic, and social history, education, speech and elocution, the securing of speakers for events, advice from elders to younger persons, and many others.

The Letters, Documents, and Other Manuscripts of the Duane Norman Diedrich Collection is a selection of individual items compiled by manuscript collector Duane Norman Diedrich (1935-2018) and the William L. Clements Library. The content of these materials reflect the life and interests of D. N. Diedrich, most prominently subjects pertinent to intellectual, artistic, and social history, education, speech and elocution, the securing of speakers for events, advice from elders to younger persons, and many others.

For an item-level description of the collection, with information about each manuscript, please see the box and folder listing below.

The Viscounts Melville papers contain the letters of British statesman Henry Dundas, 1st viscount Melville, and of his son Robert Saunders Dundas, 2nd viscount Melville, first lord of the admiralty. The collection contains incoming correspondence and some copies of letters and drafts of memoranda by the Melvilles. The papers are almost entirely political in nature and deal with English, Scottish, American, Indian, and European affairs.

The Viscounts Melville papers (14 linear feet) contain the letters of British statesman Henry Dundas, 1st viscount Melville, and his son Robert Saunders Dundas, 2nd viscount Melville, first lord of the admiralty. The collection contains approximately 1,500 Henry Dundas items and 850 Robert Dundas items, and is primarily comprised of incoming official correspondence, some copies of outgoing letters, and drafts of memoranda by the Melvilles. The papers are almost entirely political in nature and deal with English, Scottish, American, Indian, and European affairs.

The Henry Dundas papers chiefly concern British political affairs and military engagements in France, America, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Russia, Spain, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Minorca, Portugal, Corfu, Trieste, Malta, Sicily, the West Indies, the East Indies, and South America. The majority of these span 1794 to 1805, and relate to his tenure as secretary at war and first lord of the admiralty.

• Diplomatic correspondence
• Memoranda on British trade
• Letters dealing with Indian and British patronage
• Military intelligence reports, defense plans, and secret naval memoranda concerning the war with France
• Secret reports on internal affairs of France covering 1791 to 1795 from his nephew George Buchan, Financier Walter Boyd, and J. Bedinfield
• Intelligence on English prisoners of war in France, including details on the treatment of prisoners
• Memorials that provide details on individual service member's careers
• Dealings with the Danish East India Company
• Miscellaneous naval material, such as reports on ship construction and repairs and on the fleets of other nations

American affairs consumed much of Melville's attention in the 1780s and 1790s while he served on the Committee of the Private Council for Trade and Foreign Plantations. Topics discussed include compensation claims from American Loyalists for losses during the war, and claims of British merchants against Americans for unpaid debts incurred during the war. Of particular interest are the letters between Melville and Grenville that relate to American debt issues (1785-1805 with a concentration in 1792). Also of note are letters from Thomas Jefferson and members of Congress concerning the 1794 Jay Treaty between England and the United States. Also present are the trial briefs prepared for Dundas' defense during his 1806 impeachment proceedings.

• January 14, 1735: Report to the Great Britain Board of Trade on the state of American and West Indies commerce and fortifications, covering 1734-1735 (40 pages)
• May 5 and July 14, 1763: Secretary of State Charles Wyndham, 2nd earl of Egremont to the Privy Council, concerning trade in the American colonies after the French and Indian War and a proposal to create a frontier military force
• June 12, 1784: Dr. John Halliburton to Henry Melville, relating his struggles as a Loyalist who fled from Rhode Island to Halifax during the American Revolution
• July 10, 1791: Lady Eglantine Wallace's account of the plan for the French Royal Family's attempted escape
• November 19, 1794: Draft of the Jay Treaty (American Treaty of Commerce, signed by Lord Grenville, along with a copy of a letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Hammond regarding the treaty, 81 pages)
• August 3, 1798: Mary Scott's description of the young King of Prussia
• July 18, 1799: Anonymous letter from a secret service agent in Göttingen concerning "cloak and dagger" operations to send intelligence through Frankfurt
• June 29, 1804: Secret intelligence from Admiral William Cornwallis concerning attacks on Brest and plans to burn the French fleet there
• October 17, 1807: William Sweetland's report on the Barbary Coast enclosed in a Sir Charles Flint letter

The Robert Dundas Melville papers relate primarily to his office as first lord of the admiralty from 1812 to 1830. These include material concerning the War of 1812, and secret admiralty memoranda documenting ship locations and movements, strength of forces, and instructions to and from various British admirals. Notably, Melville received copies of intercepted letters from Albert Gallatin, John Quincy Adams, John Speyer, S. Bourne, and R. G. Beasley to President James Madison from 1813 to 1814. The collection also provides insights into American-British tensions in the Great Lakes region in the years after the war. Between 1815 and 1820, Melville received many reports and letters related to the treatment of scurvy in the navy.

• June 6, 1812: Lord Keith's "Observations upon the Coast of America"
• January 6, 1813: Richard Bickerton concerning proposed attacks on Boulogne and Dieppe
• October 6, 1813: Admiral George Tate to Robert Melville containing a complete list of the Russian fleet
• November 23, 1813: George Campbell's plans for constructing naval vessels in the Great Lakes, with detailed ship diagrams
• February 26, 1814: Britain Navy Commissioner Samuel Bentham's detailed report on the Battle of Lake Erie (25 pages)
• July 15, 1814: Charles and George Baillie's presentation of a petition for abolishing the British slave trade
• March 1815: Many letters concerning the Duke of Orleans's plan to escape England
• September 25, 1815: Manuscript draft to Thomas Moore regarding communications about the "Merchants of Liverpool & Manchester engaged in the trade to Spanish South America."
• November 1815: Dr. William Beaty's letter on the value of providing lemon juice and vinegar to sailors for health at sea
• April 25-August 6, 1820: Anthony Maitland, 10th earl of Lauderdale, to Robert Melville concerning Trieste and Malta with detailed information on affairs
• August 25, 1823: Account of scurvy patients received yearly at naval hospitals at Haslar, Plymouth, Yarmouth, Deal, and Paington for the years 1803-1822
• 1825: Lord Auckland's report on prize ship laws

• The Melville Correspondence, 1780-1830 (146 items), containing official letters to and from the viscounts Melville
• Frederick Duke of York letters to Melville (32 letters), relating to militia and military matters, and including a color portrait of the Duke, and 1804 and 1810 accounts for field work expenses incurred by the Home Office, covering the years 1795 to 1803
• "Precis of Mr. Dundas's Correspondence with the Several Departments of his Majesty's Government," covering the Portland and Perceval ministries (46 pages), March 1807-July 23, 1810
• Four bundles of military letters and documents concerning conflicts in Europe, covering the years 1793, 1794, 1795, and 1804-1813

Sir Walter Raleigh's A Discourse of the Peace with Spain and retayning of the Netherlands is a 49-page manuscript treatise intended to persuade King James I to maintain a positive relationship with the Netherlands during peace negotiations with Spain in 1602.

Sir Walter Raleigh's A Discourse of the Peace with Spain and retayning of the Netherlands is a 49-page treatise, bound in vellum, intended to persuade King James I to maintain a positive relationship with the Netherlands during peace negotiations with Spain in 1602. Raleigh outlined the reasons for his belief that England should accept an alliance with the Netherlands following a thaw in relations with Spain and discussed relationships between major European powers.