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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
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1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
Réponse à une Adresse de l'Assemblée Législative à Son Excellence le Gouverneur-Général, en date du 20 avril 1863
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Rare Books
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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
The collection consists of the personal, estate, legal, and business correspondence of a Herefordshire gentry family with strong ties to the London legal world and with some slight connection to their more important relative James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. The first letter in the collection (26 Oct 1719) is written by William Brydges (1663-1736) to his brother Francis Brydges with regards to setting up a meeting between the two. The next forty letters are written by William Brydges (1681-1764) to his father Francis Brydges. In these letters, William displays traits of a member of the British upper-class. Whether it's by entertaining guests with a harp, mentioning an inclination to be "gentlemen-like", receiving invitations to dine and socialize with local lords, or being the second cousin of James Brydges 1st Duke of Chandos, William is not ashamed of his gentility. His title, Esquire of Tibberton (or Tyberton) in Herefordshire, reflects that as well. Although his work as a lawyer requires him to live in London during this time, he is still obligated to settle matters in Tibberton. The issue that is mentioned the most within this set of letters centers on the tithe dispute of Tibberton Parish. In the early 1700s, there were serious difficulties faced by the established church as the failure of the Anglican Church to meet the needs of its constituents all throughout Britain laid the groundwork for the rise of Methodism and other non-conformist sects- particularly associated with towns. In Tibberton, William and Francis Brydges have a difficult time getting the local citizens to pay for the repair of the collapsed chancel and tower of Tibberton Parish Church. In the case of the Tibberton church, neither the Dean and Chapter of the diocese nor the townspeople agreed to repair these damaged areas. According to William in one of his letters to Francis (17 Oct 1719), he states that the Dean and Chapter want parishioners to pay for the repair of the chancel but nobody is willing to pay. This disorganization leads to William and Francis demanding money from the person who collects the tithes of Tibberton parish, Mr. Tom Jones, in order to pay for the repairs themselves. Seeing as Francis and his father Marshall were both clerks of the church, their involvement in this case appears fitting. A further example of William's dedication to the church lies in his search for records indicating the administrative status of Tibberton and its adjoining church with the name "Madley". When the ownership of the church comes into question, William travels to the augmentation office at Westminster to prove that Tibberton is its own distinct parish. It is not known whether these issues get resolved, but what can be told from these letters is that William found documents proving Tibberton's distinct existence from Madley; the damaged chancel was removed by the end of 1719 (though not yet replaced with a new one); and due to both Tom Jones' refusal to pay his share and inaction from others involved with the church, William and Francis do not resolve the ecclesiastical conflict of law among all sides of this affair. Along with Tibberton, real estate matters are the most mentioned subject within William's letters to his father. These matters deal with William, his father-in-law Andrew Card (1653-1732) who served the Duke of Chandos as a lawyer, and Francis purchasing and selling estates within the towns of Bosbury, Hereford, Bristol, Moreton, Shirkway, and Upleadon. Some of William's cousins play a role in these affairs as well; including Will Vaughn who informs William of his intention to purchase the Brampton estate in Hereford, and Tom Brydges who is selling the Brampton estate in the first place. Another involvement of Tom brought up in these letters involves a complex and strenuous financial affair wherein Tom purchases the life annuity of Andrew Card's widowed sister "Aunt Holmes". The next sixteen letters are written from Joseph Hardwick (fourteen letters) and Stephen Reeves (two letters) to Francis Brydges from 1719 to 1720. Hardwick and Reeves are separate tradesmen hired by Francis to assist in the repairing of the church at Tibberton, but Hardwick also discusses land prices and other business affairs in his writings to Francis. The last three letters are written from notable architect John Wood (1705?-1754) from 1729 to 1731 to William Brydges concerning his estate purchase in Bristol. They consist of architectural suggestions for the estate- thus proving Wood's loyalty to the Brydges family after designing the Duke of Chandos' estate in Bath a few years earlier. From the day to day occurrences illustrated in these primary sources, the Brydges' way of life can be deciphered. The first thing to notice is that business for William, Francis, and Andrew Card is essentially localized. All of the estate affairs (except for Bristol being 40 miles from Hereford) occur in locations that are not only in Herefordshire but also extremely close within the county as well. The fact that there was no effective transport due to poorly maintained roads and a lack of modernized technology in this pre-Industrial Revolution era meant that business could be handled more easily when it was close by. Another thing to note is how often William talked about his family to his father. Seeing as how there was no other means of communication except for talking in person, William felt obligated to inform his father in every single letter that he wrote during this time how his immediate family fared. He constantly mentioned his daughter Elizabeth and nieces Mary and Elizabeth Unett because he shared a close relationship with all of them. Unfortunately, sickness was prevalent among this time due to the instances of Elizabeth "Betty" Unett contracting smallpox, Francis acquiring gout for a brief stint, and Andrew Card suffering from an illness that prevented him from traveling for a whole year and forced him to resign his post as treasurer of Gray's Inn in London in June 1719. William also wrote about politics- mentioning that his uncle William Brydges (1663-1736) lost a by-election at Wells, Somerset on December 14th, 1719; and also giving an account (letter of 26 Sept 1719) of working out a deal with Lord Chandos regarding the British East India Company and an outside agent, meanwhile providing hints towards a warm relationship he shared with his second cousin. The relationship between William, his father-in-law, and his biological father Francis is built on tremendous interaction and trust. Though other family members and various affiliates come to William for legal and financial advice, William constantly mentions throughout his letters to Francis that he relies on Card's counsel before he follows through with these affairs as well. William also trusts Francis enough to let him know everything that is occurring in his life during this time- so much so that the most repeated statement among these letters is: "I entirely submit my thoughts to you [Francis]". This statement demonstrates that people actually come to both William and Francis for legal and financial advice, and at the end of the day the father decides what is best. Thus we observe the family dynamic of the Brydges family in this collection.
mssHM 75705-75763
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Visual Materials
The Peabody Collection consists of 672 glass plate negatives (4 x 5 inch, 5 x 7 inch, and 8 x 10 inch), 1054 film negatives (4 x 5 inch, 5 x 7 inch, 8 x 10 inch, and stereograph), 24 photograph albums (housing 1174 photographs), and 887 loose photographs (boudoir cards, cartes-de-visite, stereographs, 8 x 10 inch prints, and large mounted prints), published works, and manuscript material (ledgers, catalogs, correspondence, and ephemeral materials), created and collected by Henry G. Peabody, 1859-1993 (bulk 1890s-1900s). The materials describe Peabody's long career as a commercial landscape photographer working on both the east and west coasts of the United States. The photographs and negatives depict Peabody and his family; landscape views in New England, Canada, the western United States, California, and Mexico; Native Americans; city and landscape views in Great Britain, France, and Switzerland; portraits; architectural renderings; plants and animals; unidentified landscapes; and miscellaneous images. The images of Peabody and his family consist of portraits of Peabody, his wife Dora, and daughter Mildred; family photographs; and images from family trips. The majority were taken by Peabody in his studio at 52 Boylston Street in Boston; a few were created by Peabody while in partnership with Alexander Hesler in Chicago; and others were taken by Hesler and other photographers. Also included are views of Peabody with his camera equipment in the outdoors, views of Peabody's studio in Pasadena, oversize group photographs of Peabody's tenth reunion at Dartmouth College, and the interior of "Car 159" (Peabody's private car on the Boston and Maine Railroad). The family photographs include images of Dora and Mildred in Massachusetts, and many images of Mildred--at summer camp on Lake Champlain in Vermont, with friends, and at various national parks. Peabody's house at 800 Prospect Boulevard in Pasadena is represented, as is his sailboat, the Venture. Two photograph albums describe a trip taken by Peabody, his wife, and friends to the north, south, and middle forks of the King's River circa 1900. Other family images include a group photograph of Peabody's father's fiftieth Dartmouth reunion and a portrait of Peabody's Aunt Helen. Peabody's New England photographs consist exclusively of city and landscape views. Included are stereograph views of Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, Connecticut and Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts; historic sites in and around Boston; the Massachusetts coast; New Hampshire; the coast of Maine; Lake Champlain and Mallett's Bay in Vermont; and images of the Boston and Maine Railroad trains and ferries. Many of these images include Dora and Mildred Peabody; many were published in Picturesque New England (box 50); and many have identifications written by Peabody on the verso. Peabody's work in Western Canada consists entirely of photographs of the Canadian Rockies in the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. Included are various mountains, mountain ranges, glaciers, and lakes in Banff National Park, Glacier National Park, and Yoho National Park. Some of the photographs were taken for the Detroit Publishing Company and have imprinted copyright information; others bear Peabody's copyright. Peabody's images of the Western United States' national parks and monuments depict Yellowstone National Park, the Teton Mountains, and Shoshone Canyon and Buffalo Bill Dam; Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park; the Grand Canyon; Yosemite National Park and assorted national parks and monuments in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico; Death Valley; Canyonlands National Park and Glacier National Park; Hoover Dam; the Snake River in Idaho; Ship's Rock in New Mexico; Monument Valley; and San Xavier del Bac Mission. Some of the images were produced by Spence Air Photos and Charles F. Lummis. Views of California include street scenes and buildings in central Los Angeles; Hollywood; Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley; Long Beach; Avalon Bay; the Mojave Desert; northern California; Riverside County; the San Bernardino Mountains; San Diego County; San Francisco and vicinity; Santa Barbara County; Ventura County; the California Missions; and unidentified California landscapes, residences, and ocean views. Images of Mexico consist of sights and churches in Mexico City, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Taxco, Guadalajara, Vera Cruz, Cordova, Celaya, Cholula, Chapultepec, Puebla, Tepozotlan, Cuernavaca; Mounts Orizaba and Popocatepetl; and various miscellaneous images. Some of these were published in Sylvester Baxter's Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico. Peabody's European images are primarily in two photograph albums, one of Great Britain, the second of France and Switzerland. The Great Britain album contains images of London; Stratford-upon-Avon; and cathedrals in Peterborough, Lincoln, York, and Chester. The France album contains images of Paris (specifically Notre Dame Cathedral); Chartres, Amiens, and Rheims cathedrals; and Lucerne and the Swiss Alps. Native American images depict members of the Navajo, Hopi and Papago tribes; examples of Navajo architecture; Walpi and Oraibi, two Hopi communities; and miscellaneous images. Peabody's studio work is documented by portraits in boudoir photograph format. These include portraits of women, men, women and children, and children. The collection includes photographs of a number of architectural plans and renderings. These include work by architects Allison and Allison, Buchanan and Brockway, Foss Designing and Building Company, Hubert Frohman and Harold H. Martin, Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, Elmer Grey, Myron Hunt, and Withey and Davis; engineers W.P. Shepherd and Herbert A. Hamm; and landscape architect Paul G. Thiene. Other images include plants and animals; images of students at work in a classroom; copies of daguerrotypes and paintings; and photographs of the Handy Stereopticon. Peabody's published work is represented by three texts. Picturesque New England, published by or for the Boston and Maine Railroad, contains photomechanical views of numerous mountains, lakes, rivers, the seashore, and historic and "picturesque" sites in New England. The fair city contains 49 original photographs of selected buildings and attractions of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition "photographed, enlarged and printed by Henry G. Peabody." Glimpses of the Grand Canyon of Arizona contains text and reproductions of Peabody's photographs. The manuscript material that accompanies Peabody's photographs and negatives provides background information on the photographer's travels, professional interests, and commercial output. It consists of ledgers and negative lists; commercially published catalogs; correspondence; ephemera; and materials collected by Robert Weinstein. The ledgers and negative lists record information about Peabody's negatives, such as negative number, size, title/subject, and copyright date. The negative lists detail negatives for some of the national parks and monuments in the Western United States, and the Canadian Rockies. The catalogs were published by Peabody and list the slides (lantern and film), manuals, and films that made up his Swastika Educational Series. The correspondence consists of letters to and from Henry Peabody and various businesses and individuals (including the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway; Bell and Howell Company; Dartmouth College; Encyclopedia Britannica; Ideal Pictures Corporation; National Geographic Magazine; the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities; and the Society for Visual Education). Much of it concerns sales of Peabody's slides and albums to private individuals, schools, and museums; technical discussions about the projection of his films and slides; sales, purchases, and discussions of projection equipment; and slide and film production. The ephemera consists of a scrapbook created by Henry Peabody, a brochure about the Grand Canyon published by Gates Tours, and scripts for Peabody's lectures on El Camino Real. The scrapbook documents Peabody's youth and career and contains, among other items, catalogues of Peabody's work; the slide narration for Peabody's lecture on Zion National Park; a floor plan of his Boylston Street (Boston) studio; subscription announcements for Peabody's publications; price lists for Peabody's services and for photographic equipment; Peabody lecture programs; an advertisement and brochure for the sale of Peabody's house at 640 North Prospect Boulevard, Pasadena; ephemeral materials; Swastika Educational Series brochures and catalogs; and Peabody's Christmas cards (featuring his hand-colored photographs). The Gates Tours brochure, What the tourists say, contains quotes about the experience of seeing the Grand Canyon. The El Camino Real scripts are Peabody's narrations written to accompany his slide lectures. The materials collected by Robert Weinstein include autobiographical and biographical material on Peabody; notes and photocopies created by Weinstein; an essay on Peabody; letters to and from Weinstein; and some of Peabody's lecture scripts.
photCL 478