Manuscripts
Edwin W. Clarke correspondence
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Edwin W. Field Correspondence
Manuscripts
Collection of letters from various artists, mostly addressed to Edwin Wilkins Field, with some addressed to his son Walter Field who was also an artist. A few of the letters concern Field's efforts to pass some kind of measure ensuring artistic copyright. Most of the letters are from members of either the Royal Academy or the Old Water-Colour Society. Among the correspondents are: 2 letters from George Cruikshank. HM 42895 & 42896 1 letter from Sir John Everett Millais. HM 42922 3 letters from Samuel Cousins. HM 42890-42891
mssHM 42884-42939
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James Clarke letters to his family
Manuscripts
This series of letters were written by James Clarke to his family in Maine, mostly his brother and his wife, from California between 1854 and 1856. The letters will be described chronologically. HM 21248, written 1854, May 16, and addressed to "Dear Brother," writes of acquiring room and board in San Francisco. HM 21310, dated 1854, September 3, sees Clarke moving to Los Angeles in search of more money. He wishes to eventually purchase a lot of land outside the city and build on it. HM 21353 (dated 1854, May 31; the letter is incomplete, being the middle four pages only) describes his journey to San Francisco. HM 21244 (1854, October 7) is partly written from Santa Barbara, and is also addressed "Dear Brother." Clarke writes of his profits from farming, but he thinks he may have to relocate. The second part of the letter finds Clarke in a boarding house 130 miles outside of Santa Barbara, where he has found work as a carpenter. The next letter is dated 1854, October 7 and 12, and is written in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles (HM 21245). The first part, written in pencil, is addressed to "Mrs. James Clarke", and Clarke is leaving Santa Barbara for Los Angeles, where he hopes to find better fortune. In the second part, Clarke writes he has arrived in Los Angeles after a fifty-day overland journey, and that he hopes to remain there for the rest of the five years of his stay in the West. HM 21247, dated 1854, November 3 and addressed once again to "Mrs. James Clarke," Clarke writes he has sent "some half dozzen letters" home but has gotten nothing in response. The following letter (HM 21246) was written November 1854, and is addressed "Dear Family." Clarke is now also working in a vineyard, and describes the Los Angeles orange groves in detail, and speaks in glowing terms of California produce. HM 21351 is written to Clarke's brother, and dated 1854, December 6. In it, Clarke describes the produce of Los Angeles, as well as the "exceeding agreeableness" of the area's climate. HM 21352 is dated 1855, March 1, and is also addressed to Clarke's brother, and discusses his work in a vineyard. HM 21242 is addressed to "Mrs. James Clarke" and is dated 1855, July 22. He is concerned that the letters and money he is sending home is not making it there, as "every thing is unsettled in Cal. now." He would like to make more money, but says "there is no money to be had." He remains confident that his stay will be financially productive. HM 21243, written to his family on 1856, March 7, contains Clarke's report that after a year's hard work, he now has a house and lot in El Monte, which he calls "the Egypt of California." He is excited about the prospect of farming on his land.
mssHM 21242-21248, 21310, & 21351-21353
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Clark family correspondence
Manuscripts
This collection contains 21 letters from Sarah Clark to her husband and children. The remaining correspondence is between Clark family members. There are a few additional pieces written by friends, relatives, and one business associate. The correspondence covers a wide range of subjects including: the citrus industry in California and Nevada; economic conditions in California, Indiana, and Nevada; agriculture in Northern California; hunting; sickness; courtship; children; and business. There are also two letters containing love poetry, and the collection contains an express receipt from Wells Fargo and Company. Sarah Clark (fl. 1852-1895) is the most prolific figure in this collection, as she wrote twenty-one letters and was the addressee of eight. There are, however, eighteen other authors of these letters, including her sons, Charles 3 Scope and content note (continued) Francis Clark (7 letters), Joshua Clark (6 letters), William G. Clark (3 letters), and Robert V. Clark, Jr. (3 letters). There are 5 letters from her husband, Robert V. Clark, a combined six from Sarah's three sisters, and an assortment of letters from friends, acquaintances, and one business associate. The letters describe day-to-day activities of the family members as well as their hopes, dreams, and longings. Sarah Clark, left to care for six children while her husband tried to establish a new life in California, attempted to survive with little money and with the hope that she would once again be reunited with her husband. Her early letters relate a longing for his companionship and her need to support and take care of him. Her later letters focus primarily on her ill health and occasional discomfort.The letters in the collection also make reference to diseases such as smallpox, home remedies such as a bread and milk poultice for aches and pains, and the death of a child in town where no one attended her funeral. There are upbeat moments as family members participate in various functions such as picnics, parties, and one outdoor event where Joshua Clark recalls that women participated in a football game. Joshua Clark also received two letters containing love poetry from a woman named Reta. There is ample discussion of the citrus industry with at least two family members, C. F. (Charles Francis) Clark and William G. Clark, involved in the distribution and sale of an assortment of fruit. There are passing references to the opera coming to town, singer Jenny Lind (spelled "Lynn" in the letter), and winter sports such as sledding. There is occasional talk of road surveying and road taxes and one family member runs into several "Chinamen" while surveying his property. Some of the correspondence discusses courtship and marriage. In one letter, a woman named Emma requests a photograph of a prospective suitor with very little requirements as to appearance, height, or weight. Her only stipulation is that he be able to support her and be an Israelite.
mssHM 61076-61139
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Correspondence
Manuscripts
The collection consists of letters from various English artists, mostly members of either the Royal Academy or the Old Water-Colour Society, primarily addressed to Edwin W. Field or his son, Walter Field (also an artist). A few of the letters concern Field's attempts to establish an artistic copyright law. The collection includes two letters from George Cruikshank, one letter from Sir John Everett Millais, and three letters from Samuel Cousins.
mssHM 42884-42939
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Ernest Clarke letter to "Dear Folks,"
Manuscripts
In this letter to friends, Ernest Clarke describes his stay at the hotel on Mount Wilson. He talks about the scenery, the animals he encounters along the hiking trails, the flora and fauna, the surrounding areas, and the observatory, its funding and the building of a road to get construction materials up the mountain. The letter is written on "Mt. Wilson" letterhead with an image of the hotel.
mssHM 69393
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Thomas Clarkson letter to Henry Clarke Wright, approximately 1846
Manuscripts
An autobiographical autograph letter written by Thomas Clarkson to "Dear Sir;" the letter is entitled "Extraordinary Phenomenon in the Origin of the Abolition of the Slave Trade as it relates to myself." Though the letter is addressed to "Dear Sir" there is strong evidence it was written to Henry Clarke Wright, American abolitionist. The letter recounts Clarkson's sixty year's crusade against enslavement: his efforts to end the trade of enslaved persons in Great Britain, the foundation of The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and his work with William Wilberforce. The letter is mounted on paper, with some slight staining and a crossed-out pencil profile portrait on recto of the blank leaf; also enclosed is a typewritten transcription of the letter.
mssHM 84410