Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
The case of Thomas Tomkyns, in relation to his debt due to the crown, as cashire to the hawkers and pedlars
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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 is made up of correspondence, patents, photographs, and ephemera. The correspondence includes some original and contemporary copies of Edison's letters regarding the Phonoplex System of Telegraphy, the Edison Phonograph Toy Manufacturing Co., the use of paraphenylenediamine to manufacture phonograph records, the American Fine Arts Society, and the Society for Electrical Development, as well as a letter dismissing Charles H. Davids from his post as superintendent of the West Orange laboratory. There are additional items from the Edison-Bell Phonograph Corporation, Ltd. in England, as well as correspondence between Mina Miller Edison and Lester A. Grimes regarding a signed apron made from Thomas Edison's shirt, also included in the collection.
mssEdisonThomascollection
Visual Materials
One boxed set of watercolor paints, untitled, manufactured by Thomas Reeves and Sons, ca. 1781. The set is comprised of 12 embossed cakes of watercolor paint within a wooden box with a sliding lid. The paints are each within a wooden divider, and are labeled with printed paper labels. The two rows of paint cakes occupy two-thirds of the box; the remaining third is (presumably) for storing paintbrushes. Affixed to the bottom of this third is a printed affidavit which reads: "Society for the Encouragement of Arts, manufacture and Commerce, Adelphi, May 1781. Gentlemen, I am desired by the Society to return you their thanks for the obliging present you have been pleased to make to them of Box of Colours prepared by you for the use of painters in watercolours an art so well adapted to the purpose of forwarding that [?] of polite arts could not fail of being acceptable to the society. Thos. Reeves and Son, Colour manufacturer to Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. I am Gentlemen, your most obedient humble servant. Sam'l Moore, Secretary." The cakes of paint are embossed with a shield and the name of the color. This is the oldest paint box in the collection, and was acquired by DK in Springfield, MA at an Ephemera/Antiques Fair, ca. 1994. Title supplied by cataloger.
ephKAEE
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Manuscripts
Drafts of King's book, Long horn trail drivers, make up the majority of the manuscript material. There is a copy of the manuscript that King sent to the publisher in 1940 and one incomplete draft of the book. In addition, there are a variety of manuscripts written by King relating his memories and stories about the American West and cattle drives, some of which were used in his books or printed in his column "Mavericks." Many of these items are untitled short stories, folklore, and biographies. Other book materials include King's handwritten inscriptions, an incomplete set of chapter drafts from Pioneer western empire builders, and the image proofs. Other items in the manuscript series are short stories, memoirs, and nonfiction writings of King's cowboy friends and associates, which King often quoted for use in his books and articles. There are also nine sketches by R. S. Carroll. The majority of the correspondence expresses interest in King's life in the West, requests, praise, and questions about King's books, praise for his writing and activism on American Indian welfare issues in his "Mavericks" column for the Western Livestock Journal, and submissions of personal stories about life in the American West. The correspondence also includes Kings letters responding to requests for information on his book and the Western Livestock Journal. Prominent correspondents include many of the individuals who King included in his books and articles such as E. A. Brininstool, Chuck Martin, Jeff Milton,Tex Moore and Loraine M. Reynolds. Much of the correspondence provides insight into King's work regarding American Indian rights and welfare issues. In particular, the Loraine M. Reynolds letters highlight her work with the Navajo Indians on the Alamo Indian Reservation and her critique of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Some of the correspondence includes drawings and illustrations of cowboy and trail herding images.
mssKing papers
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Visual Materials
Ray McSavaney asked his friend John Stewart to make a photographic portrait of him in 1992 for the jacket of his book, "Explorations: a photographic journey." The portrait was made at McSavaney's loft at the Brewery.
photOV 11480
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Manuscripts
Letter from Thomas Milliken in San Francisco to William Todd in Cherryfield, Maine. Milliken writes shortly after his initial arrival in San Francisco and records his first impressions of the city. He notes the high cost of laborers, the possibility of selling his steamboat for $35,000, and his plans to "break up the company" and become a blacksmith. He concludes that while San Francisco holds many opportunities for profit, "if I could make a fortune here in one year I hardly know that I would stay in such a Sodom as this."
mssHM 75049
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Manuscripts
Haight reports that he has received Hoffman's letter regarding the case of James Fitzmorris, and gives his opinion on the matter, which concerns Fitzmorris' attempted robbery of a jeweller's shop in Sacramento "with an iron wrench in hand." Fitzmorris, who may have been drinking before the incident, allegedly planned to murder the jeweller as well, but was unsuccessful, and fled when the injured shopkeeper called for help. Printed letterhead of the State of California Executive Department.
mssHM 27913