Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
Josiah White's history
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Manuscripts
Letter from Dr. Josiah Simpson, a surgeon with the United States 6th Infantry Regiment during the Mexican War, written to his brother. The letter is missing several pages but describes the fall of Mexico City and the negotiations of the United States treaty with Mexico. Also includes Simpson's military orders, field diary, and copy of the New Testament in Spanish and English.
mssSimpsonj
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Manuscripts
This group of manuscripts is a series of letters from philosopher and historian Josiah Royce to Henry L. Oak, a librarian in California who was part of the founding of the Bancroft Library, which was known as the Pacific Library in its early years. The letters are dated between 1884 and 1886. In HM 20132, Royce writes of the book on California history that he is writing, with advice from Oak. Details of Royce's interview with General John C. Frémont and a possible conspiracy are in HM 20147 and HM 20133. Royce tells of his trip to Washington D. C. to search for "the Frémost documents" in HM 20134, where he failed to find a trace of "any secret instruction" for Frémont. It appears that Royce may have found such evidence in Oak's collections at the Bancroft Library, and considers presenting it to Frémont to gauge his reaction. Royce gives Oak permission to use whatever information from the interview he may find interesting for his own purposes. In his own book, he has included "an elaborate attack on Frémont's honor." Most of the letters are concerned with Frémont's apparent indiscretion and Royce's pending book on the matter, and Royce is keeping Oak informed as Oak's information played an important role in Royce's developing story. HM 20138, dated 1885, August 29, has cross-hatch writing on the first page. By mid-1886 (HM 20143, June 20), Royce's book has been published, and he discusses the resulting reviews and criticism. In July, Royce is happy to accept a list of suggestions from Oak to improve a future edition of his book (HM 20144, July 26), and upon the finding of a mistake in his book, asks Oak to "keep this on file as record of my discovery of my own blunder" while also requesting him to "let me know in case there should be any noteworthy attack on my book from any respectable source" (HM 20145, July 29).
mssHM 20132-20147
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Manuscripts
The two notebooks contain engineering notes taken by Flagg while on trips through Argentina, Peru, and California in 1872 and 1874. In his notebooks, Flagg describes architecture, buildings, machinery, bridges, tunnels, railroads, mines, and other machines and structures that he observes on his journeys. The notebooks are illustrated with Flagg's sketches of these structures and machines as well as containing his descriptions of their design and construction. While in California, Flagg took notes on the San Francisco cable cars, on various mines and mining methods and particular on the New Almaden Mines. Flagg briefly mentions the people he meets during his journeys. Also included is a photograph of Josiah Foster Flagg.
mssHM 66485-66486
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Rare Books
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