We’re kicking off the year with what we hope is a banging list of freshly-catalogued manuscript and archival materials. Highlights include the pictorial archive of a mad California inventor lady; the substantial archive of a U.S. military officer stationed in Central and South America who also happened to be a famous maker of castanets; several large photographic archives documenting African-American families; the manuscript accounts of a St. Domingue plantation; an annotated real photo postcard archive documenting an American soldier’s experiences in Russia in 1918, and more. Enjoy!
Download PDF of List #42 - Manuscripts & Archives
[Barranquilla, San Miguel, and other locations in Colombia: ca. 1940s]. [27] leaves, illustrated with 577 black-and-white photographs in mounting corners, with a handful loose. Some photographs captioned in pencil on the verso. Large oblong folio. Contemporary patterned black cloth, string tied. Extremities worn, corners a bit chipped, minor soiling to..... More
[Paris: 1808-1809]. [12]pp. Small folio; loose sheets. Light foxing and toning. Accomplished in multiple, mostly legible hands. A very interesting French legal manuscript, bearing details of an 1809 dispute over the estate of Joseph John Miller, an American businessman from Philadelphia living in Paris until his death in 1806. The..... More
"Naval Asylum" January, 1848. [3]pp., on a single folded folio sheet of lined paper, docketed in pencil on verso of the second leaf, "Dr. Garnett's Essay." Old folds, light toning, minor darkening along folds. A manuscript essay authored by Dr. Alexander Yelverton Peyton Garnett (1820-1888), a Navy surgeon recently returned..... More
San Francisco: Waters Company, [ca. 1915]. 393 silver gelatin photographs, each 8 x 10 inches. Each image annotated in pencil on verso, corresponding to numbered index sheet. Formerly mounted with remnants of glue on verso. Images generally clean, with minor wear and soiling. Several images lightly creased. An extensive photographic..... More
Pomeroy, Oh. 1901. 15 original photographs, each approximately 3.75 x 4.75 inches, mounted on heavy card. Slight curling to mounts. Detailed manuscript notations on verso of each mount except two. Clean and clear images. A striking group of fifteen mounted photographs that depict the town of Pomeroy, Ohio, before and..... More
Washington, D.C. 1839. [3]pp. Large folio. Separated into six pieces, with a very small section of the final attestation lacking altogether. Still highly readable. A wounded, but important document. A rare and historically-important document relating to slavery in the District of Columbia, which was outlawed on April 16, 1862, nearly..... More
[Pickens, S.C. ca. February, 1860]. [4]pp., on a single folded folio sheet. Moderate wear, foxing, and soiling. Manuscript "Bill of Sale of property at Nancy Whitmires / Deceased This Feby 3rd 1860" including "1 Negro Woman." Estate papers on file with the U.S. Wills and Probate Records include a "Bill of..... More
[Phu Cat, Vietnam: ca. 1969]. [10] leaves, illustrated with seventy-six color photographs, plus a few pages filled with newspaper clippings, greeting cards, and other ephemera, and with examples of Vietnamese currency and coins laid in. Contemporary spiral bound pictorial green textured paper-covered boards illustrated with an outline map and stamped..... More
[Various locations, mainly Arizona, Montana, and Illinois: ca. 1925-1942]. [77] leaves, illustrated with 617 original photographs, from about 1.5 x 1 to 4 x 3 inches, almost every page profusely annotated in white ink. Oblong folio. Contemporary faux-alligator brown leather, string-tied. Edges and joints worn, minor rubbing to covers. Compiler's..... More
[Vladivostok, Russia; China; Japan; Philippines; Cuba; Panama; and Egypt: 1918-1922]. Ninety-six real photo postcards, postcards, and photographs, each about 3.5 x 5.5 inches or slightly smaller. A very well-preserved group, arranged in clear plastic sleeves in a brad-bound folder. An informative and ultimately unique collection of mostly annotated images documenting..... More