Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
Between sittings : an informal autobiography of Jo Davidson
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Rare Books
Image not available
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Manuscripts
Mortgage indenture regarding land in Mendocino County, California, once owned by the late William A. Richardson. The indenture describes that Richardson and his wife Maria in 1853 and 1854 "did convey. . . certain lands" in Mendocino County to Charles S. Compton and Donald Davidson, who in turn sold the land to Robert Walkinshaw, Benjamin Davidson, and William Hood. $35,000 was also paid to Richardson's heirs to clear debts on the estate, with those funds being held in trust for Julius May by Davidson, Samuel R. Throckmorton, and Davidson's attorney, Alexander Forbes. The indenture releases Throckmorton from claims on the land and also releases the land from any further mortgages or liens. Possibly in the handwriting of Benjamin Davidson. Signed by Davidson and by Forbes for Walkinshaw.
mssHM 72998
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Manuscripts
Diary that Davidson kept from June 1840 to the end February 1840, most of which Davidson spent serving onboard the Dale on her maiden voyage to South America. As he sailed from Norfolk to Brazil and around Cape Horn, Davidson meticulously recorded every detail of his duties -- setting sails; logging distance, coordinates, and winds; supervising the crew, etc. The richly detailed diary reveals a young, enthusiastic sailor, endowed with a keen eye, natural curiosity, and a certain literary talent. (His younger sister Virginia Emeline Davidson later became a well known writer.) The diary provides an intimate look at the life of midshipmen ("Middies") and their often complicated relationship with the officers and crew. Davidson described in great detail numerous encounters with British, Danish, French, Peruvian, and American whalers and naval vessels. The latter included the famed frigates Constellation and Constitution. Throughout the voyage, Davidson used every opportunity to go ashore, recording his impressions, paying particular attention to local population, especially the ladies. While in Guayaquil, the Dale was paid a visit by Andres de Santa Cruz y Calahumana, the exiled Marshall of Peru-Bolivian Confederacy. Davidson reported the visit in great detail.
mssHM 69950
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Visual Materials
A series of 27 photographs of scenes along the Northern Pacific Railroad's Pend d'Oreille Division and Clark's Fork Division in Oregon, as well as scenes on the lines of the Oregon Railway and Navigation Co. along the Columbia River. Included are views of the workers along the line, a survey team, the camp tents holding the hospital, camp mess tents, a druggist, and a blacksmith shop. The card photographs are boudoir size, 8.25 x 5 inches, and "Davidson's Views of the Pacific Northwest" is printed on the verso of the mounts.Photographs: Group portrait of men, women, and a child; men with surveying equipment in group portrait; hospital tent with injured men on cots; mess hall tents with tin plates and coffee pitchers displayed; men and women in front of a druggist's tent with medicinal bottles and jars on shelves inside; "Blacksmith Shop of Construction Department, Clark's Fork Division, N.P.R.R."; "No. 26. Block House, Upper Cascades, Columbia River"; "No. 49 Multnomah Falls, Columbia River"; "No. 50 Castle Rock, Columbia River"; "No. 71 View from Block House"; "No. 73 Hallett's Hades--O.R. & N. Co."; "No. 77 Upper Cascades, Columbia River, from Espy's Painting"; "No. 83 Bird's eye view of Fort Coeur d'Alene and the lake, Idaho"; "No. 87 Clark's Fork Crossing, three miles above its mouth, N.P.R.R."; "No. 88 North Cabinet, N.P.R.R."; "No. 89 South Cabinet, N.P.R.R."; "No. 90 Big Rock Cut, one mile above Cabinet, N.P.R.R."; "No. 91 View from Cabinet Rapids down Clark's Fork, Columbia River"; "No. 92 View at lower end of Cabinet Rapids, Clark's Fork"; "No. 93 Cabinet Gorge, Clark's River, looking upstream"; "No. 94 Cabinet Gorge, Clark's River, looking downstream"; "No. 95 Looking out upstream from Cabinet Gorge"; "No. 96 Head of Cabinet Rapids"; "No. 97 Big Grade, N.P.R.R. at head of Cabinet Rapids"; "No. 98 Elk Creek Camp on N.P.R.R."; "No. 99 Grading on Big Bluff, three miles above Heron's Rapids, Clark's Fork"; view of a surveyor and stream.
photCL 427