Manuscripts

Theodore K. Griffin letter to Byron

Description: This letter contains racist language to describe the Aeta people.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1923 April 29
Call number: mssGriffin
Creator: Griffin, Theodore K(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from Michael Maslan Vintage Posters, Photographs, Postcards & Ephemera, June 2025.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Theodore K. Griffin letter and accompanying photographs

Manuscripts

The four-page letter from Theodore K. Griffin to his brother Byron describes the sugarcane plantations, geography, local vegetation, and Indigenous populations in Luzon, Philippines. The 33 snapshots and 4 photographic post cards depict local Indigenous groups including Igorot children, American soldiers, airplanes, and an aviation wreck. Many of the photographs have handwritten descriptions on the back and some of the people identified are: Brigadier General Hagood; Brigadier General Mitchell; Colonel Hand; and "Chief Lucas," a local Indigenous man given that title by General Hagood. Please note that this collection contains historical images and language that library users may find harmful, offensive, or inappropriate.

mssGriffin

Image not available

Photographic postcards

Manuscripts

mssGriffin

Image not available

Snapshots

Manuscripts

mssGriffin

Image not available

Jack London letter to R. O. Brittain

Manuscripts

This letter is a reply by Jack London to R. O. Brittain's critique of his short story "The Proud Goat of Aloysius Pankburn." In the letter, London uses racist language to refer to the Polynesian people. The letter was written from "Glen Ellen" on "Harbor Rest" stationery. The letter is typewritten but signed by London.

mssHM 84016

Image not available

Theodore S. McLellan letters

Manuscripts

The letters, which are written to McLellan's wife, Mary, discuss McLellan's voyage to and life in California. He tried mining when he first got to California, but he eventually gave it up and took a job in a printing press. His letters also describe both the people and scenes of Sacramento and San Francisco. Two of the letters include pictorial lettersheets including "View of Sacramento City, From Washington Published by The Placer Times." Also included with the letters are five documents: three land deeds, a draft, and a bill of sale for the bark America

mssMcLellan

Image not available

James K. Polk papers

Manuscripts

This collection primarily consists of correspondence and notes of James K. Polk, dating from 1844 to 1849, and correspondence of his wife Sarah Childress Polk, dating from 1883 to 1889; a 19th century copy of Polk's 1849 will is also present. Polk's correspondence discusses politics, plans for his presidency, and the collectorship of New York. His notes on newspaper articles concern Martin Van Buren; Benjamin Tappan, Francis P. Blair and the annexation of Texas; and the Wilmot Proviso. The collection also contains several newspaper articles from 1846 regarding the Oregon boundary dispute, a copy of Senator Arthur Bagby's 1845 open letter to the people of Alabama concerning the annexation of Texas, and an 1849 extract from a French newspaper about events in the United States. Sarah Childress Polk's correspondence primarily concerns biographical sketches of herself and her late husband, with several letters from George Bancroft. In addition, the collection contains a note regarding a Congressional report on title endorsed by James Madison, 1790.

mssPolk

Theodore K. Griffin letter to Byron

Opening Hours

Admission Info and Tickets

You might also be interested in

Theodore K. Griffin letter and accompanying photographs

Photographic postcards

Snapshots

Jack London letter to R. O. Brittain

Theodore S. McLellan letters

James K. Polk papers