Found 3600 collections.

The ancestors of the Polk Family, Jim and Amey, their daughter, Judah, and her husband, Kit, along with their children, upon reaching the age of twenty-one), were emancipated in 1840. This occurred one and one-half years after the death of their master, plantation owner Thomas Smelly, in Isle of Wight County, Virginia. The newly-freed Smelly family left Virginia that same year, according to the law prohibiting freed slaves to remain in the state more than one year, and migrated to New Jersey. At some point the family changed their name from Smelly to Smiley. In New Jersey, the Smiley family met another freed family from Maryland, the Polks, and the two families intermarried. By 1993, Amey and Jim Smiley had over one hundred descendants. The Smiley-Polk family documents consist of nine holograph 19th-century documents relating to the emancipation of the ancestors of the Smiley-Polk family of New Jersey, and other items concerning the genealogy of this family. less

The Donald Oenslager Collection of Edward Gordon Craig is an artificial collection containing correspondence and artwork created by the noted theatrical designer and graphic artist, Edward Gordon Craig. Although born and raised in England, Craig moved to the continent in 1904 where he continued to work; the impact of his radical innovations in stage design were international in scope. Craig’s colleague, Donald Oenslager, an American stage designer and longtime faculty member of the Yale School of Drama, whose own work had been profoundly influenced by Craig, amassed the selection of letters and prints that form this collection. less

Charles Patrick Daly (1816-1899) was an American jurist, lecturer and writer who served as a judge of the New York City Court of Common Pleas for over forty years, the last twenty-seven as chief justice. Maria Lydig Daly, his wife, was active in the Democratic Party and various welfare organizations of the Civil War period. Her diaries of this period were published in 1962 under the title: Diary of a Union Lady, 1861-1865. Papers include correspondence; legal papers; writings and lectures; personal and legal scrapbooks; and diaries and notebooks. Also included are papers belonging to Maria Daly, wife of Charles P. Daly; of her father, Philip Mesier Lydig; and some letters and accounts of the French-born author and explorer Paul du Chaillu less

Dorothy Loudon (1925-2003) was a singer, comedienne and Tony Award-winning actress, who appeared in supper clubs, television shows, films, summer stock and on Broadway. The bulk of the materials in this collection are from 1940-2003. They extensively cover the personal life and professional career of Dorothy Loudon, including materials relating to stage, film and television productions, albums, nightclub performances as well as personal correspondence. less

Anthony Jerome Griffin (1866-1935) was a lawyer and U.S. Representative from the Bronx, New York City. He served in the Spanish-American War, 1898-1899; practiced law in the Bronx; was founder and editor of the Bronx Independent; and served four terms as New York State Senator from 1911 to 1915. He also was an inventor and amateur author. Collection consists of correspondence, writings, legal and military records, political and personal papers, memorabilia, and printed matter relating to Griffin's military and political career. Correspondence, 1885-1935, is largely related to his political activities; the remainder pertains to his legislative concerns, immigration matters for his constituents, as well as some personal correspondence. Legal papers, 1885-1930, include case files, estate files and title abstracts. His writings consist of manuscript and typescript versions and galley proofs of poems, plays and stories. Diaries, 1886-1930, and notes and notebooks, 1883-1934, contain his observations on many professional and personal activities in addition to subject files. Military and patent records concern his military service and endeavors in submarine safety. Political papers are a combination of printed matter, notes and memoranda. Financial records are his accounts from 1887 to 1934. Also, personal memorabilia; graphic materials including photographs, original paintings and maps; and printed matter such as reprints, government manuals and clippings. less

David Hunter McAlpin (1816-1901) was a tobacco manufacturer and philanthropist. In addition to owning the tobacco firm, D.H. McAlpin Company, he also made substantial investments in real estate including the McAlpin Hotel in New York City and was a director of several banks and insurance and energy companies. Collection consists of McAlpin's estate papers, correspondence, scrapbooks of clippings, and photographs. Estate papers, 1871-1930, are the legal and financial documents executed by McAlpin's heirs and include legal papers; accounts; cash books, 1901-1927; journals, 1901-1927; and ledgers, 1901-1923. Remaining papers consist of letters, 1871-1894; estate letters, 1901-1930; letterbook, 1925; scrapbooks of newspaper clippings about McAlpin; and photographs, mainly of the construction site of the McAlpin Hotel. less

Kevin Bradigan was a photographer, actor, theater technician, and a member of John Vacarro's Play-House of the Ridiculous. The Kevin Bradigan papers primarily document Bradigan's personal life and involvement in the Play-House of the Ridiculous and other experimental theater from the late 1960s to the 1980s. The collection also holds some papers of performers Jackie Curtis and Douglas Fisher. less

John Brooke Pinney was an American born Presbyterian minister, serving as a missionary in Liberia on various occasions from 1833-1878. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1828 where he studied law. In 1832, he graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia that same year. The following year, Pinney became a missionary in Africa as an agent of the American Colonization Society, which constituted him ex-officio Acting Governor of the colony of Liberia. From 1848 to approximately 1872, he was Corresponding Secretary of the New York Colonization Society. Pinney was also one of the organizers of the College of Liberia, now known as the University of Liberia. The John Brooke Pinney journals consist of two journals that Pinney maintained as a missionary for the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church. Two separate trips to Liberia are discussed in his jounrals, one in 1868-1869, and the other in 1876-1877. The journals provide descriptions of Pinney's activities and trips to villages and churches in Liberia, people he worked with and knew, schools he visited and/or helped to establish in Liberia, other missionaries, teachers, students, and American freed slaves then living in Liberia. He also wrote about his journeys and described the production of various agricultural crops and aspects of world history. The 1876 journal contains minutes of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the College of Liberia (now known as the University of Liberia) which he copied, with his comments on changes at the college. In addition, written into the journals are letters that Pinney wrote for others, which he later transferred for mailing. Transcriptions of both journals are available. Biographical information about Pinney is also available. less

Genealogical notes, charts, correspondence, clippings, and printed material, ca. 1940s-1950, produced by Foley's genealogical research on the Foley, de Luze, and related families. Some original 18th and 19th century documents including a letter to Catharine Ludlow Ogden Hammond from her mother, S[arah] Ogden in Newark, concerning the mother's recent widowhood and other family matters, 1790; a family Bible record, 1806-1940, of the Barretts and Kortright families; an approbation (letter of introduction), November 17, 1840, for Philip Schuyler, who was a United States Consul at Liverpool and part of a commission "...to assist their subjects and people in their commerce and traffick there...," signed by Queen Victoria and Lord Palmerston; marriage certificates of Louis Phillippe de Luze and Sarah Ogden, Trinity Church, New York, 1821, and Arthur Mackie Foley and Sarah Alice de Luze, St. Mark's Church, New York, 1878 or 1879; and manuscript and typescript copies of 18th and 19th century wills, marriage certificates, and other legal documents. Of note are ca. 20 letters, ca. 1771-1828, received by Richard Harison of New York attorney-at-law, concerning family, business, and general matters. A few letters are addressed to Jane Harison, and one is from Richard Harison to his mother less

Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer. The collection consists of brief letters, three to Stanford White (1901) touching on the construction of Tesla’s transmission tower and building (known as Wardenclyffe); three to Benjamin F. Miessner (1915) concerning Miessner’s forthcoming book on radio dynamics and Tesla’s own work developing remote-controlled and self-propelled devices; and two thank-you letters. Also present are four Library call slips signed by Tesla. less

Collection consists of a contract for the construction of the pedestal of the monument to Shakespeare in Central Park, as well as ephemera relating to the inauguration of the monument; correspondence, including letters to Lenox librarian Samuel Austin Allibone discussing various editions of Shakespeare's work; an offer to donate a bust of Shakespeare to the Lenox library; and rubbings taken from Shakespeare's tomb. less

Collection consists largely of letters from William Techumseh Sherman to Col C. W. Moulton, 1874 to 1875. Also includes a copy of a letter from J. W. Draper to Sherman concerning H. V. Boynton's criticism of Sherman's memoirs; a contemporary transcript of Sherman's letter to James M. Calhoun and the City Council of Atlanta regarding his orders to evacuate civilians from the city; and other brief letters to and from various parties relating to his official duties. Also present are a cabinet card and carte de visite featuring photographs of Sherman by Matthew Brady, a calling card, and several autographs. less

Henry Shakespear Stephens Salt, British classical scholar and publicist. · Holograph paper, "Hogg's 'Life of Shelley,'" signed : [ca. Dec 1888] : (S'ANA 0053) : 15 leaves : [from London?] : begins, "'That such a man should have written one of the best books in the world,' says Lord Macaulay, in speaking of Boswell, 'is strange enough. But this is not at all ..."; with a note in Salt's hand in the upper right corner of leaf 1, "Read at Shelley Society Dec 12 '88." Leaf 15 with stamp, postmarks (27 Jul 1889) and address (H. S. Salt / 38 Gloucester Road / Regents Park / N.W.) on verso. The paper was published in 1889 for private circulation as "An Examination of Hogg's 'Life of Shelley.'". less

George Augustus Sala, English journalist. · Samuel L. M. Barlow, American lawyer : 1 autograph letter signed : 7 Nov 1864 : (MISC 1485) : 2 pages (2 single sheets) : from Thirty-Four West Fourteenth St. N. Y. : begins, "It would be a very sorry requital for the constant kindness and hospitality I have received during many months in your house were I to omit to express to you my very sincere regretthat I should have been compelled to let Mr. August Belmont know my opinion of him under the circumstances of last night ...". less

William Bell Scott, Scottish poet and painter. · Holograph "Introductory Memoir" to his edition of The Poetical Works of John Keats : [ca. 1873] : (S'ANA 0055) : 23 pages (23 single sheets) : [no place] : written chiefly on rectos, with notes and additions on a few of the versos; begins, "There is no one of the poets who lived at the beginning of this century, -- the greatest era of lyrical and narrative poetry in England, as the Elizabethan age was of dramatic -- of whom we still find it so difficult to speak without bias or prejudice, for or against, as Keats ...". less

William Wallace Scott, British painter of miniature portraits and landscapes. · To Mary Cowden Clarke, literary scholar and writer : 1 autograph letter signed : 27 Dec 1855 : (MISC 1311) : 4 pages (double sheet) : from 3 Power St. Bedford Sqr. : begins, "On rapid perusal of your kind note, my only feeling was one of painful regret at the idea of losing those whom I have ever associated in my mind with all that is most estimable ..."; with the postmarked envelope. less

Henry James, Baron James of Hereford, British politician and lawyer. · To Sybella Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton, widow of George Lyttelton, fourth Baron Lyttelton : 1 autograph letter signed : 1 Jun 1883 : (MISC 1704) : from The Attorney General's Chambers, New Court, Temple, E.C. (engraved stationery) : begins, "A tremendous discussion has been raging for the last 2 minutes (we can not afford more time) between the young gentleman who performs the greater more responsible portion of my duties and myself ...". less

Joseph Severn, English painter. · To Charles Armitage Brown, writer : 6 letters : -- 1 autograph letter signed : 19 Sep 1821 : (S'ANA 0058) : 4 pages (double sheet made folio size by pasting two sheets together) : from Rome : begins, "I have got both your letters - the last 21 Aug.t came 19th instant ..."; including, "Why my dear Brown, what sad affair is this? I know not what to say in it - except this - that you are the only one to write Keats's memoir ..." -- 1 autograph letter signed : 26 Oct 1822 : (S'ANA 0059) : 4 pages (double sheet) : from Rome : begins, "Owing to my journey - and other unsettling [Bores?] - I have only just got your letter ..."; including, "I am just about putting up the grave stone to our Keats ..." -- 1 autograph letter signed : 21 Jan 1823 : (S'ANA 0060) : 4 pages (double sheet) : from Rome : begins, "I have just returned from the funeral of poor Shelley ..." -- 1 autograph letter signed : 27 Sep 1824 : (S'ANA 0061) : 3 ¹/₃ pages (double sheet) : from Lavinia : begins, "West is a hollow 'impfiddle' with never a string to his bow ..."; crosswritten on page 1. -- 1 autograph letter signed : 13 Jul 1836 : (S'ANA 0062) : 4 pages (double sheet) : from Rome : begins, "'Tis plain that the further we get apart, the nearer we draw together ..."; crosswritten on page 1. -- 1 autograph letter [signed] : 21 Aug 1838 : (S'ANA 0061) : 3 ¹/₄ pages (double sheet) : from 19 Brook St. : begins, "Such a lot of things, but above all the love of 'filthy luck' for I am beginning my 5th peiture here - have prevented me writing to you as I wanted ..."; signature cut away, causing near-complete loss of postscript on p. 4. less

Samuel Carter Hall, Irish-born journal editor and writer. · Holograph presentation inscription, signed : [ca. 1879] : (MISC 4217) : on the title-page of a copy of Hall's Memory of Thomas Moore (London: Virtue Co., 1879). Reads in full: "The Editor of Public Opinion / with the compts regards / of SC Hall." Shelved with reference books under "Moore.". less

Two brief letters by British author William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), one of them thanking the Cozzens family for the “jolliest day I have had for a long long time,” and a letter from Samuel Laurence to “my dear Judge” forwarding a pasted brief note by Thackeray, all concerning social engagements; also, a passage from his work The Virginian written in the hand of his daughter Lady Anne Ritchie; and a letter from Mrs. John G. Moore to S.B. Luyster, 1889, seeking plates and autographs to illustrate Thackeray’s The Four Georges. less

Collection consists of holograph fragments by Henry David Thoreau: from Cape Cod, Chapter V, The Wellfleet Oysterman, 2 p. on 1 leaf (removed from NYPL copy of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Manuscript Edition, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906); a poem, “I will obey the strictest law of love,” 2 p. on 1 leaf (recto page numbered 387 from Thoreau’s journal of 1848-1850); and an account of night sights and sounds, 2 p. on 1 leaf: “made nothing of it. It is easy to see how by yielding to such feelings…,” which closely follows his published journal entry of 1851 August 8. Also present is a brief autograph letter signed by Thoreau at Concord, 1853 (?) July 26 to William H. Sweetser at Charlestown, Massachusetts (“This is the way I write when I have a poor pen and still poorer ink.”) and an envelope, front only, addressed to C.M. Tracy at Lynn, Massachusetts. less

Collection consists of English author William Makepeace Thackeray’s preface (dated 1852 as published) to “Mr. Brown’s Letters to a young man about town; with The proser and other papers” (New York ; D. Appleton and Co., 1853), written in the hand of Eyre Crowe, Thackeray’s secretary during his visit to the U.S. in 1852-1853, with emendations; also, Thackeray’s signature on a card of introduction for S. Lawrence; facsimiles of Thackeray’s writings; illustrations of his works; and portraits of him, including a photographic image. less

Notebook of British author William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), containing notes and drawings for his historical novel The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., and for lectures, with drawings of Lord North, Charles James Fox, the Duke of Cumberland, Dean Atterbury and other subjects. less

Robin W. Winks, a professor of history at Yale University during the major part of his research for Blacks in Canada: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1971), received his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1957. His career was mostly spent at Yale University, beginning as an instructor in 1957, through his appointment in 1977 as Master of Berkeley College at Yale. Additionally, Winks was a visiting professor at the University of Malaya (1962-1963)and the University of Sidney (1963), and he was a State Department lecturer in the Middle East (1966) and West Africa (1972). He conducted research in a number of areas besides race relations, including Canadian-American diplomatic and cultural relations and the role of Australia, New Zealand, and Britain in the Pacific. Among his publications are Failed Federations: Decolonization and The British Empire (1970), Myth of the American Frontier (1971), and The Relevance of Canadian History (1978). He died in 2003. This collection includes correspondence, manuscripts, and research materials related to Winks's authorship of Blacks in Canada: A History (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1971) and other articles concerning the history of Blacks in Canada. Research material consists of notes taken by Winks in the field and in archives; printed matter, consisting of articles, pamphlets, magazines, and newspaper clippings; and correspondence with reviewers. less

Harry P. Wilkinson (Henry Porteus Wilkinson, 1874-1949), of Brooklyn, New York, served in Company G of the 47th Regiment of the New York National Guard, federalized for service in the Spanish-American War. He enlisted May 2, 1898, and mustered out as a sergeant on March 31, 1899. After the war he worked as an electrical crane operator at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The voyage of the 47th Regt. U.S.V., signed H.P. Wilkinson, is a manuscript narrative (9 leaves) covering the regiment’s voyage to Puerto Rico in October 1898, and the early weeks of its service there. The account begins with the regiment’s march to the troop ship Manitoba at Newport, Rhode Island on October 7, ending on an unspecified date at barracks in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He recounts their uncomfortable voyage to Puerto de Ponce and their encampment nearby. On October 22 they sailed for San Juan on board the transport Chester, embarking and disembarking troops along the way, with stops including Arroyo, Humacao, the island of Vieques, and Fajardo. The 47th saw no action, but the voyage on the Chester was marked by the fatal shooting of a soldier named Butler of Company H. less