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The Boston to St. Louis travel diary recounts an arduous month-long journey between the two cities made by rail, steamboat, and stagecoach in the fall of 1837.

The Boston to St. Louis travel diary recounts an arduous month-long journey between the two cities made by rail, steamboat, and stagecoach in the fall of 1837. The anonymous author, a staunchly religious man, refused to travel on Sundays and attended Sunday religious services at Presbyterian churches throughout his travels, which took him through northern New York, down the Erie Canal, across lower Michigan and northern Illinois, and finally down the Mississippi River to St. Louis. The diarist wrote daily entries about frequent delays, bad weather, his route, the scenery, and various traveling companions, many of whom he knew. Though the initial leg from Boston to Rochester, New York, proceeded without difficulty, he became stranded in Cleveland and was frequently held back by poor, muddy roads as he proceeded by stagecoach from Detroit to Chicago. He finally reached St. Louis on November 28 and concluded the journal on November 30, a lonely and homesick Thanksgiving. Though the author's daily entries fully chronicle the hardships of travel in the early 19th century, they also provide interesting anecdotes and commentary, including encounters with wild animals along the road, and news of the murder of abolitionist minister Elijah Parish Lovejoy, which the diarist first heard about in Chicago, but also later in Alton, Illinois, where the murder made "abolitionism…more than ever the topic of conversation" (November 25). The final two pages of the volume consist of a table of distances, fares, and expenses incurred throughout the trip.

This volume contains meeting minutes pertaining to the administration of a school in Bradford, New Hampshire, in the early 19th century. Residents of District No. 4 discussed funding for building repairs, firewood, beginning dates of school sessions, and other administrative matters.

This volume (58 pages) contains meeting minutes pertaining to the administration of a school in Bradford, New Hampshire, from December 22, 1806-April 6, 1829. Residents of District No. 4 met semi-annually and annually to discuss issues such as building maintenance, the construction of a chimney, the supply of firewood, and the opening dates of school terms; some entries include associated costs. The attendees began each meeting by electing officers, who often remained consistent from year to year. At their meeting of April 3, 1809, attendees decreed that parents would be held responsible for any damage that their children did to the school. Later minutes refer to schoolmistresses' board. The volume also contains the copied text of a formal meeting notice dated February 18, 1828.

This diary records the sermon notes and spiritual reflections of an unnamed member of Boston's Brattle Street church between March 1772 and April 1775.

This diary records the sermon notes and spiritual reflections of an unnamed member of Boston's Brattle Street church between March 1772 and April 1775.

The diarist wrote each "Sabbath evening" as well as on occasions when s/he attended special Fast-day services or religious lectures. Entries also appear in the middle of a week when someone the diarist knew died suddenly. Other entries of note include those in which the writer was unable to attend worship because of "bruises I received by a fall from a Sley" [16 Jan. 1774] and because of a smallpox outbreak [26 March 1775].

A typical Sabbath entry opens with thanks to God for the favor to attend "his House," gives an account of who preached and from what text for both the morning and afternoon services, and offers a short reflection on or explanation of the sermon. The writer also examined his/her spiritual state and beseeched God for mercy and for his/her heart to be bent to God's will. Additionally, many entries feature anywhere from a few lines to the complete set of stanzas for hymns from English writers like Isaac Watts and the Wesley brothers.

The diarist mentioned hearing sermons from approximately twenty ministers over this three-year span, including Dr. Samuel Cooper, Dr. Charles Chauncy, Dr. Andrew Eliot, Mr. Joseph Howe, Mr. John Hunt, and Dr. Mather Byles, all of whom were ministers at some of the city's largest churches.

The Bremen, Germany photograph album contains 22 photographs of Heligoland and the Bremen region along the Weser River from 1935 to 1936.

The Bremen, Germany photograph album contains 22 photographs of Heligoland and the Bremen region along the Weser River from 1935 to 1936. Each photograph contains notation in German stating date, time, and location. Images show the Weserwehr (dam), Weserdeich (dike), Oberneuland, Wesermünde, the shoreline in Bremerhaven, and a fish auction at Fischereihafen (Bremerhaven). Also included are images of a trip to Heligoland; a steamer traveling to/from Roter Sand lighthouse, and views from the main island. The album ends with a family photograph.

The album is 10.5 x 7.5 cm with brown paper covers.

Breve Trattato di Geografia is a 55-page, 17th-century Italian work on celestial and terrestrial geography, including several maps and diagrams of the world. Assistant Curator of Maps Mary Pedley transcribed and translated the 2-page index that follows the text of the volume: Breve Trattato di Geografia Index .

Breve Trattato di Geografia is a 55-page, 17th-century Italian work on celestial and terrestrial geography, including several maps and diagrams of the world. The treatise is divided into four primary sections and, within them, individual chapters. Early chapters in the book mention the zodiac and celestial features, while later chapters focus on the world's landmasses and degrees of latitude and longitude. The latter half of the volume contains several hand-drawn maps that depict the contemporary view of the world on several scales and according to different projections. One map of the world shows North and South America and "Terra Australe Incognita," while another map of North and South America is labeled "Mexicana" and "Peruana," respectively. Azimuthal projections of Africa and Asia and of the northern hemisphere and a map of Italy showing the location of Rome are also included. Assistant Curator of Maps Mary Pedley transcribed and translated the 2-page index that follows the text of the volume: Breve Trattato di Geografia Index (.pdf).

The Brig Kitty logbook spans April 9 to August 19, 1785, detailing the merchant ship's voyage from the port of Piscataqua, likely near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the West Indies and back to the region near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The bulk of the brig's daily entries are recorded in columns to notate the hour of the day, knots and half-knots for speed, the brig's course, the direction of the winds, and general remarks. Most of these remarks relate to weather, sea conditions, handling of sails, and latitude observations. The volume also includes a "Harbour Logg" kept from May 22 to July 22 at the "Lee Cayes [Cays]", recording the unloading of staves, boards, and shingles while the Kitty was at its destination in the West Indies, as well as molasses taken on board for the return voyage.

The Brig Kitty logbook spans April 9 to August 19, 1785, detailing the merchant ship's voyage from the port of Piscataqua, likely near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the West Indies and back to the region near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The bulk of the brig's daily entries are recorded in columns to notate the hour of the day, knots and half-knots for speed, the brig's course, the direction of the winds, and general remarks. Most of these remarks relate to weather, sea conditions, handling of sails, and latitude observations, and the writer often used phonetic spellings. The log keeper also indicated when barrels of supplies were broached, like water, bread, beef, and pork, but also indicated when they observed other ships. Occasionally, they would speak with other captains, and the writer would record their port of departure and destination, principally ports in New England and the West Indies. The logbook documents land sightings and their distances from the ship. Some places named include Tobago, Rockley Bay, Grenada, Hispaniola, Cape Tiburon, Cape St. Nicholas, Acklins Island, Crooked Island, among others.

The volume includes a "Harbour Logg," kept from May 22 to July 22 at the "Lee Cayes [Cays]", recording the unloading of staves, boards, and shingles while the Kitty was at its destination, as well as molasses taken on board for the return voyage. Several entries also relate to routine shipboard activities, like mending sails, having a cooper come on board, sending a crew person ashore because of ill health, securing the hold, and watering the ship. A Captain Nott appears to have had control of the ship upon its return voyage. The entry for August 17th includes notes on taking depth soundings with brief remarks about sand samples.

The volume's cover is sailcloth. One edge of the cloth appears to be the selvage, where the cloth was finished to prevent unraveling, suggesting this may have been a repurposed remnant.

A loose receipt dated October 3, 1787, from Dover, New Hampshire, is laid into the volume, recording Benjamin Peirce's survey of pine boards and planks for widow Lydia Tibbits. The verso of an interior page includes several accounts, including one for Miss Plummer of Dover, dated September 19, 1785, for food items and other goods. The final two pages of the volume feature mathematical notations as well as financial accounts, seemingly related to room and board as well as some transactions relating to molasses and other items.

A currently unidentified cobbler from Bristol, Maine, kept this daybook between 1836 and 1844, recording the names of customers, their purchases, and amounts charged. Customers purchased shoes, boots, and leather, paid for the labor of making or repairing footwear, and repair work on items like harnesses and halters.

A currently unidentified cobbler from Bristol, Maine, kept this daybook between 1836 and 1844, recording the names of customers, their purchases, and amounts charged. Customers purchased shoes, boots, and leather, paid for the labor of making or repairing footwear, and repair work on items like harnesses and halters. Several newspaper clippings of poems are pasted or laid into the volume, and the inside front cover bears several inscriptions by Annie Ervine.

This 82 x 43 x 36 cm wooden document trunk, dating from around 1765, includes a hand-wrought iron lock, reinforcement bands, corner tips, and fancy handles. Its interior is grooved for the placement of three removable wooden panels, one of which is present. Contemporary manuscript lettering on the interior left side of the lid reads "Commissariat / on His Majs: Acct / from Mr Oswald" and on the right "Papers / for the Germn: Army / May 1766 / accounts – [A?] & B."

This 82 x 43 x 36 cm wooden document trunk, dating from around 1765, includes a hand-wrought iron lock, reinforcement bands, corner tips, and fancy handles. Its interior is grooved for the placement of three removable wooden panels, one of which is present. Contemporary manuscript lettering on the interior left side of the lid reads "Commissariat / on His Majs: Acct / from Mr Oswald" and on the right "Papers / for the Germn: Army / May 1766 / accounts – [A?] & B."

A January 9, 1861, note by Philadelphia lawyer Henry J. Williams indicates that the trunk was seized by the French as a prize during the American Revolution, and that his father Jonathan Williams brought it to the United States when returning from his service as acting U.S. Consul at Nantes. Mid-twentieth-century paper tags indicate that the trunk was one of three from the estate of Henry J. Williams' son-in-law Alexander Biddle, discovered after the death of Biddle's son Lynford Biddle in 1941, and sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries in 1943.

The Brookline, Massachusetts, photograph album contains 34 photographs and 2 half tone prints showing people and places in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The Brookline, Massachusetts, photograph album contains 34 photographs and 2 half tone prints showing people and places in Brookline, Massachusetts.

The album (14.5 x 18.5 cm) has green cloth covers with "Photographs" stamped in gold on the front. Images of interest include views of Italianate and Dutch Colonial houses, Brookline after a heavy snowfall, a Deerfoot Farm Dairy Brookline Delivery cart, a young woman with a Gibson Girl hairstyle, portraits of women and men playing tennis and resting on a lawn, people at a rocky beach, an interior view of a residence, group portraits taken during a hiking trip, and two halftone prints of the Harvard Congregational Church.

The Brown and Fox family photograph albums are a two-volume set of albums containing approximately 253 snapshots of people and places in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan as well as views of Colorado.

The Brown and Fox family photograph albums are a two-volume set of albums containing approximately 253 snapshots of people and places in Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan as well as views of Colorado.

Volume one (19 x 14 cm) has brown paper covers with "Photographs/Souvenirs/of/Denver Colo" stamped on the front cover and contains approximately 67 photographs. Contents mostly consist of architectural photographs of houses in rural or semi-rural settings as well as portraits, many of which are accompanied by handwritten notes. Images of interest include the farm of Henry Brown near Toledo, Ohio; a woman standing near a roadside fruit and flower stand; the homes of Will, Ben and Harry Fox; the Abraham Lincoln home and tomb in Springfield, Illinois; the Catholic Church in Stuart, Iowa; and the courthouse and high school of Fremont, Nebraska. Also of note are photographs of the High Bridge in Boone, Iowa, the Methodist Church in Pueblo, Colorado, and a large house in Monroe, Michigan, possibly the home of Cyrus Augustus Olmsted (1863-1948).

Volume two (20 x 15 cm) has black fabric covers and contains approximately 186 photographs. Contents mainly consist of portraits and outdoor views from a trip to Colorado. Between the inside front cover and seventh page there are numerous portraits of men, women, and children, and many more individual and group portraits are present throughout the remainder of the album. Subsequent images of interest include outdoor views of the American West; a rest tent called the "Corona Café"; a cyanotype of a woman sitting on a rocking horse; the front of a train and the downtown area of a small railroad town; a church en route to Denver, Colorado; a woman holding a Brownie Box camera on her lap; Castle Rock, Colorado as seen from aboard a train; multiple pictures of an infant; views of Garden of the Gods; a snowy street scene with a streetcar in what appears to be Denver; and a group of people shaking hands with an individual wearing a Native American headdress.