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The Emmett M. Smith photograph album contains approximately 790 photographs and 6 pieces of ephemera related to the experiences of American soldier and engineer Cpl. Emmett Merle Smith while he served with the United States Army Air Service’s 800th Aero Repair Squadron in France during World War I.

The Emmett M. Smith photograph album contains approximately 790 photographs and 6 pieces of ephemera related to the experiences of American soldier and engineer Cpl. Emmett Merle Smith while he served with the United States Army Air Service’s 800th Aero Repair Squadron in France during World War I.

The album (28 x 37 cm) has black cloth covers with “Postal Souvenirs” stamped on the front; the covers and spine are in poor condition, as are a relatively small number photographs (some of which bear signs of insect damage).

On the inside of the front cover is a tipped-in copy of A History of the 800th Aero Repair Squadron, an official unit history account of the squadron published by its members in 1919. A small group of 10 loose photos and 6 pieces of ephemera are also present, including postcards, snapshots, YMCA guides to Paris and Marseilles, and two programs related to jointly held French and American Mother’s Day celebrations in Paris in May 1919 that were organized by L’Association des French Homes.

The first pasted-in photographs in the album are a series of 24 panoramic views showing Parisian scenery and famous landmarks. This section ends with another YMCA guide to Paris and a matriculation card for the Université de Paris Faculte des Sciences 1918-1919 for Emmett M. Smith that includes a portrait. Smith appears to likely have been the compiler of this album as he appears in numerous other photographs throughout. He was a member of the 800th Aero Repair Squadron’s Flight A, who were stationed at Camp de Souge near Bordeaux.

From pg. 15 through to the end of the album photographs are individually numbered from 1 to 781. While a typescript index describes photographs #25-28, there is no overarching index for the entire series. Numerous photos have captions (including manuscript captions), though the majority do not. Images come in a range of sizes and appear to have originated from numerous sources including German and French photographers as well as snapshots possibly taken by Smith himself. “AR” also appears on several photographs, possibly indicating that these images were taken by 800th Aero Repair Squadron photographers. However, by and large photographers are not identified for specific images.

In general, this album contains frontline scenes of battlefields, dead soldiers and animals, trench views, and ruined structures as well as images documenting camp life, military bases, and aerial reconnaissance views. Numerous photographs of military equipment, weaponry, airplanes, tanks, warships, soldiers, and street scenes showing cities/towns and civilians are also present. Post-war scenes include documented stays in Paris, southern France, Italy, and Spain.

• #3 (image showing charging soldiers, some in gas masks, with one man appearing to be clutch his throat while falling; captioned “Actual photo of action at Verdune”)
• #7, 651 (800th Aero Repair Squadron group portraits)
• #12 (shot of Kaiser Wilhelm talking with German officers)
• #15, 17 (aerial views of Albert, France, in November 1916)
• #48, 70.1 (pictures of German tanks)
• #73, 76 (view of citadel with German signage and view showing street signage by ruins; amongst other views that appear to be in Belgium)
• #109 ("Toul - French plane ready for a flight")
• #110, 111 (images showing the French and American sections of the 1918 panoramic painting Panthéon de la Guerre)
• #142, 143 (two images of a train wreck by “Chiljian,” possibly Armenian American photographer Pvt. Henry B. Chiljian)
• #146, 148 (two images showing plane crash wreckage)
• #167 (French observation balloon being inflated)
• #209 (Georges Clemenceau visiting aviation field)
• #219 (clipping showing aftermath of the Halifax explosion with inscription reading “Spent 10 day aboard ship here right after explosion was supposed to have been here just before explosion but was delayed”)
• #374 (post-war image captioned “U.S.A. bound” which precedes series of naval voyage images)
• #451+ (images from Italy and Southern France)
• #525 (railroad scene with “Chicago Opera Association” sign in view)
• #631 (view of three men at typewriters working in an office with maps and aerial photographs pinned to the wall)
• #638 (aerial view captioned “My aviation camp. Camp de Souge - North of Bordeaux from the 2nd Artillery Aerial Observation Island 1917-1918-1919”)
• #649 (view showing surgery being performed on a man in operating room captioned “Hell - without [anesthesia]”)
• #699 (view showing a queue outside of a YMCA in Bangor, Maine)
• #712, 715 (two portraits of young women captioned “My Italian fiancée” and “My Spanish fiancée”)

This collection is made up of 43 drafts of outgoing letters by James Mario Matra, while serving as British Consul in Tangier, Morocco, between 1801 and 1804. He wrote detailed letters to the Home Secretary and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in London about diplomatic and trade issues, Anglo-Moroccan relations during the Peace of Amiens, ships seized by Barbary pirates or held by Sultan Mawlay Sulayman, payment negotiations and refusals, happenings in the Moroccan Court, internal consulate affairs, and relations between Morocco, European powers, and the United States. The draft letters include revisions, stricken content, and additions. Also present are English translations of a letter from Sulayman to Tangier consuls and orders to Ra'is Ibrahim Lubaris (enclosed in September 20, 1803).

This collection is made up of 43 drafts of outgoing letters by James Mario Matra, while serving as British Consul in Tangier, Morocco, between 1801 and 1804. He sent detailed letters to London about diplomatic and trade issues, Anglo-Moroccan relations during the Peace of Amiens, ships seized by Barbary pirates or held by Sultan Mawlay Sulayman, payment negotiations and refusals, happenings in the Moroccan Court, internal consulate affairs, and relations between Morocco, European powers, and the United States. The draft letters include revisions, stricken content, and additions. His recipients included Home Secretaries Thomas Pelham, 2nd Earl of Chichester (1801-1803, 26 letters, 86 pages) and Charles Yorke (1803-1804, 7 letters, 27 pages); as well as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (ca. 1804, 9 letters, 34 pages). Also present are English translations of a letter from Mawlay Sulayman to Tangier consuls and orders to ship captain Ibrahim Lubaris (enclosed in September 20, 1803).

James Matra kept Whitehall informed of the many economic, political, and governmental issues pertinent to Tangier and Anglo-Moroccan relations. For example, the consul provided updates about a case involving Marrakesh merchants Meir Cohen Macnin and his nephew David Cohen Macnin from August 1801 to December 1802. In brief, the Macnins were assured funding by the late Governor of Mogadore to purchase trade goods in England and bring them back to Morocco. One of the Macnins stayed while the other went to England to procure the items on long credit. When the cargo-laden ships returned to North Africa, the Sultan ordered the ship master to sign for the goods at full freight cost. Once the goods were delivered, however, "the Moors" would only pay half freight. Two shipments were held in this manner, with goods estimated at 200,000 Dollars. The Macnins' finances and property were held in limbo and the Macnin in England was disallowed from returning. Finally, on December 23, 1802, Matra reported that he'd received a long answer from the Sultan, which contained a history of the case and statement that the Macnins "were not worth an ounce" until employed by the Governor of Mogadore on public monies to expand commerce with England. The Sultan did not believe that an unfamiliar Jewish merchant could secure large credit in London and so the purpose of holding/seizing the shipments was to protect what belonged to his Treasury. Matra concluded, " having no farther demands against the Jew [Macnin] he [Sulayman] pardons him he may return here & Trade, or he may remain in London & trade to the country, for his Person & Property are safe."

James Matra commented on American business and diplomacy throughout his letters. In the summer of 1803, for example, he reflected on Sulayman's "ill humour" because of the non-arrival of the American Consul (James Simpson), followed by the American seizure of the ship Tripoli on its way from Gibraltar. "Being disappointed in cruising on the Dutch, his Barks will sail with Orders to attack the American Commerce, and when they make any Prizes, the Consul will be spoken to. The Imperialists & Neapolitans, not having any connexion with this Country, will also be in danger if met with" (July 1, 1803). Two months later, Matra gave a report on the American Consul and diplomatic matters associated with the capture of an American Brig, which was then "met by a Frigate belonging to the States, who seized the Moor & his Prize; the Moorish Rais in his justification shewed his Orders from the Governor of this Place, by which it appeared that he was sent out expressly to cruise against the Americans" (September 2, 1803). An English translation of the orders to Ra'is Ibrahim Lubaris is present, enclosed in Matra's letter of September 20, 1803. The Sultan then seized an American ship unloading in Mogadore, and James Simpson was placed under guard at the American consulate. On September 20, Matra wrote to Yorke, enclosing an English translation of a letter from "Mulay Suleiman" to the consuls in Tangier, indicating that "Servant Hashash in arresting the American Consul whom he received advice of the taking our Ship, the fighter for the Islam. We neither ordered nor will we Order the Consul to be Arrested, should War ensue between Us and his Nation he shall be sent to his Country in security, both with respect to his person and property." The following month, Matra indicated that Sulayman and the Americans came to an agreement by which opposing ships would be returned with an added stipulation that Sulayman be given the American ship on the condition that it would not return to Tripoli while war ensued with the United States. The ship arrived and "Muly Suleiman for the third time has confirmed the Treaty made by the States with his Father . . . No satisfaction was given, nor none demanded for the sudden & unprovoked hostility of the Moor, nor for the violent treatment of the American Consul. Had the War continued it was the American plan to declare the whole coast blockaded, except the export of live stock for Gibraltar Spain & Portugal; had it gone to that extremity, there would have been a complete revolution in this Country in less than three months."

In addition to ongoing diplomatic and trade minutia, Matra was frustrated with challenges in his own consular home. For example, in a letter to Lord Pelham, he gave his report on a long-running struggle with Richard Mounteney Jephson, his wife Catharine Joliffe Jephson, and "Miss Jolliffe," one of Catharine's sisters. According to Matra, he and Jephson had a cordial official relationship. However, Miss Jolliffe had been staying with the Matras for around eight months, during which time they learned that she was treated with the "contempt of her Sister, & tyranny of the Husband." While James Matra was in London, the Jephsons invited themselves to visit the Matras' home in Tangier, and then argued with Henrietta Matra, disgusted her, and kept Miss Jolleffe in tears "the whole time he was here." The Danish Vice Consul made arrangements for the Jephsons to stay in a "Moorish House" until James' return. Matra indicated that Miss Jolliffe took ill, during which time her sister Catharine made no inquiries about her health. Acrimonious correspondence ensued between them until Matra resolved to safely restore Miss Jolliffe to her mother. Afterward, according to Matra, the Jephsons began entreating Miss Jolliffe against doing so, with visits, messages, and letters containing "much very illiberal abuse." At one of the visits, Mrs. Jephson gave Miss Jolliffe "the obscene Letter from her Brother" [which Matra sent to Pelham but is not present in this collection]. Matra believed that no more improper paper could be handed from one sister to another and told Mr. Jephson that no reconciliation could be made. Jephson agreed, and, to the Matras, he described Miss Jolliffe as "the most abandoned Character" and warned them "against the danger of giving our confidence to such a monster." To this, Henrietta was staggered, but Matra indicated that he defended Miss Jolliffe.

James Matra's letters cover wide range of additional subject matter, including remarks on Sulayman's brothers, Napoleon Bonaparte's ambitions in the lead-up to the War of the Third Coalition, the American blockade of Tripoli (and their refusal to grant Great Britain a pass to deliver corn to that city), antisemitism, supplying gunpowder and armaments to Sulayman, an "adventurer" who claimed to be Syrian but who Matra believed was a French spy, and other diplomatic and consular matters.

The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.

The William A. Lewis photograph collection consists of approximately 1,530 items pertaining to a wide range of visual subjects that are represented across a variety of photographic formats including daguerreotypes, cartes de visite, stereographs (which form the bulk of the collection), and glass plate negatives as well as modern slides, film strips, snapshots, and postcards.

The subject matter of this collection is thematically and chronologically diverse and reflects the broad interests of the collector, with the U.S. Civil War and 19th-century views of American and European cities being particularly well-represented topics. The collection is organized into four main series according to subject matter and is further divided into specific subject groupings within each series. In most cases, multi-item sets have been kept together and placed within the most generally appropriate subject grouping. An extensive number of photographers and publishers are represented throughout the collection including the likes of H. H. Bennett, C. B. Brubaker, John Carbutt, Centennial Photographic Company, B. F. Childs, E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, Alexander Gardner, T. W. Ingersoll, International Stereoscopic View Company, Keystone View Company, William Notman, Timothy O'Sullivan, William Rau, Strohmeyer & Wyman, Underwood & Underwood, and F. G. Weller.

The following list provides a breakdown of every topical subsection of the collection and includes item counts for each grouping:

• Airships (11)
• Bridges (69)
• Civil War I--stereographs (91)
• Civil War II--cartes de visite, Kodachrome slides, negative film strip copies of stereographs held at the Library of Congress, postcards (48)
• Disasters (49)
• Expositions (24)
• Industry & Labor (89)
• Miscellaneous (23)
• Portraits (109)
• Railroads (62)
• Ships (80)
• War (30)

• Alaska (47)
• Arizona (3)
• California (20)
• Colorado (2)
• Dakota (4)
• District of Columbia (50)
• Florida (2)
• Hawaii (1)
• Illinois (17)
• Iowa (2)
• Maine (8)
• Maryland (27)
• Massachusetts (20)
• Michigan (31)
• Missouri (3)
• New Hampshire (10)
• New York (116)
• Ohio (2)
• Oregon (2)
• Pennsylvania (16)
• Tennessee (1)
• Texas (1)
• Vermont (3)
• Utah (3)
• Virginia (6)
• Washington (1)
• West Virginia (1)
• Wisconsin (2)
• Wyoming (2)
• Unidentified locations (35)

• Austria (5)
• Belgium (6)
• Brazil (1)
• Canada (3)
• Cuba (5)
• Czechoslovakia (1)
• Egypt (5)
• England (21)
• France (43)
• Germany (14)
• Greece (1)
• India (2)
• Ireland (4)
• Italy (22)
• Japan (3)
• Mexico (1)
• Miscellaneous (31)
• Monaco (4)
• Netherlands (1)
• Norway (3)
• Palestine (5)
• Panama (41)
• Puerto Rico (3)
• Scotland (10)
• Spain (2)
• Sweden (2)
• Switzerland (9)
• Turkey (1)

• Keystone Alaska and Panama views, set box (1)
• Stereoscope (1)

• Post-WWI Keystone views of German and American zeppelins and one real photo postcard showing pre-WWI aircraft (Series I, Box 1, Airships)
• Numerous views of the Brooklyn Bridge under construction and after completion, and the Niagara Falls suspension bridge (Series I, Box 1, Bridges)
• Views of Civil War battle sites, encampments, and leaders on contemporary mounts as well as numerous reproductions of stereographs showing important battlefield sites and troops (Series I, Boxes 1-2, Civil War)
• Stereographs, real photo postcards, and other images documenting the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, 1871 Chicago Fire, 1889 Johnstown Flood, 1900 Galveston Hurricane, and other calamities (Series I, Box 3, Disasters)
• Images showing scenes from various American and European events, with an emphasis on the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia (Series I, Box 3, Expositions)
• Images showing mills, factories and people engaged in various occupations, including a boxed set of 50 images related Sears, Roebuck operations produced around 1906 (Series I, Box 3, Industry & Labor)
• Hand-colored early groupings of French theatrical tableaux (Series I, Box 3, Miscellaneous)
• Approximately 109 portrait photographs in different formats of various individuals, including William Jennings Bryan; a boxed set of 50 cartes de visite depicting Danish actors and actresses; cartes de visite of Emperor Napoleon III and the Mikado of Japan; and numerous unidentified subjects represented in real photo postcards (1), tintypes (17), framed/cased ambrotypes, and daguerreotypes (13) (Series I, Box 4, Portraits)
• Approximately 62 images of railroads, mostly in the U.S., including photographs from an 1866 expedition to the 100th meridian on the Union Pacific Railroad while under construction (Series I, Box 5, Railroads)
• Approximately 80 images of ships including warships, freighters, riverboats, passenger ships, shipwrecks (including of the USS Maine), and shipyards mostly in the U.S. with the notable exception of a photo of the 1858 launch of the SS Great Eastern, with Isambard Kingdom Brunel possibly in the crowd. Also of interest are 8 photos and postcards showing ships in World War I-era "dazzle" camouflage (Series I, Box 5, Ships)
• A Keystone View Co. series of images related to World War I (Series I, Box 5, Wars)
• A number of images produced by Keystone View Co. and other stereograph purveyors that focus on major cities such as Boston, New York, Paris, Constantinople, and Jerusalem (throughout Series II & Series III)
• Views from geological expeditions to the American frontier in the 1860s and 1870s (Series II, Unidentified Locations)