Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
The Panama and Nicaragua Canals : a report
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Visual Materials
Image of an aerial relief map of a proposed Nicaragua canal between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through lake Nicaragua, with boats in the water.
priJLC_VIEW_000708
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Rare Books
Part of the never built canal through Nicaragua. Prime meridian: GM. Graphic Scale: Miles. Printing Process: Lithography.
233046
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Manuscripts
5 items: original booklet, undated, "Souvenir and log of my voyage," presented by Panama Mail S.S. Co. (ca. 1935); illustrated aerial view of Panama Canal by Charles H. Owens of the LAT Art Staff, undated; 10-pp. report on "Panama ... Crossroads of the Hemisphere," prepared by Middle America Information Bureau / United Fruit Co., 1/25/1946; original book, The Panama Canal - Fiftieth Anniversary, prepared by The Panama Canal Co., 1964; brochure, "Current Foreign Policy" (Dept. of State) , 10/1972.
mssLAT
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Rare Books
Verso gives views and statistics on the canal. The USS Tennessee pictured on the verso sailed through the canal in 1921; see Dictionary of American Fighting Ships. Alt title from verso. Submap: Panama Cross sectional view of canal. Prime meridian: GM. Relief: hachures. Projection: Birds-eye view. Printing Process: Lithography. Verso Text: Numerous photos and descriptive info.
257948
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Manuscripts
Gregory Yale wrote these seven letters to his wife, Fanny, during his journey west from New York to California by way of Panama, and during his stay in San Francisco, where he established a profitable law practice. The letters are dated between 1849 and 1859. In the first letter (HM 16895, dated 1849, November 13-22), Yale has embarked from New York aboard the ship "Crescent City", and is bound for Panama, where he will cross the canal and continue to San Francisco. The time leading up to his departure was quite hectic, as he writes "In all my life I never had so many things to perform in so short a space. Many were therefore half done, and more not done at all." Procuring a ticket for the Pacific was allegedly extraordinarily difficult, but Yale managed without much trouble through nothing more than good fortune. There were 313 passengers aboard; 400 including crew, and Yale describes them as "intelligent and orderly "and from a variety of backgrounds. Some he was already acquainted with. On the 14th, Yale and several passengers brought their firearms on deck to try them out, but the ship captain put a stop to it. On the 17th, a passenger complained about drops of rain leaking into his cabin, and when nothing was done about it, the fellow "cried FIRE with all his might." Following this ill-conceived outburst, Yale writes "some are for throwing him overboard.....others are for having water thrown upon him to put the fire out." Cuba was sighted on November 19, and the ship landed at Jamaica on the 20th. Yale went ashore and wrote of the land and its people, and the ship took on board "an abundance of fruit." HM 16896, written December 4, finds Yale in Panama. He has been there more than a week, at a local farm, and is in fact leaving on the 5th. He reports there are "12 to 1500 Americans" in Panama awaiting passage to California, and describes the local area, as well as his journey across the peninsula in a long canoe. Yale's next letter is dated December 5 (HM 16897), and he gives Fanny his blessing to travel to Florida for the winter, should she so desire. He also warns her against going out in public alone, and of allowing visitors, and urges her to take good care of their child. Yale's next letter (HM 16898; 1850, January 12-13) sees him safely arrived in San Francisco, and recovered from an illness suffered in Panama. He is paying $25 a week to stay at the Graham boarding house, and is paying $300 a month to rent an office for Yale to set up his law practice, divided with a physician and a dentist who also have offices in the same location. Some acquaintances have been working the mines, with little success. The remainder of the letter is largely concerned with business details for law practice, which Yale touts as a most lucrative endeavor. He has sent Fanny a ring made from California gold. In HM 16899 (1850, January 25 and February 1), Yale reports he has received all the letters Fanny has sent, and is relieved to hear she is in good spirits despite their separation. He has been heavily involved with business, continuing to experience success, and has moved his practice to new offices. By April, Yale is still in San Francisco, and Fanny has given birth to a girl (HM 16900, written 1850, April 28). He describes his lodging, and his typical routine of work and meals. Business continues to increase, and Yale sends more money home, as well as copies of articles detailing his contributions to the community through his work. HM 16901 is the seventh and final letter in this series, and is dated 1859, September 7. Yale writes of the burying of a dead child, and of a lost purse.
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Manuscripts
This collection contains out-going letters of the Secretary of State Henry Clay and his Chief Clerk Daniel Brent to foreign ministers in the United States. The correspondence concerns international trade and commerce; the foreign relations of the United States, particularly those with Great Britain, routine State Department matters, and letters to resident representatives of various countries. Topics include negotiations relative to the abolition of discriminating duty of import and tonnage in the commercial intercourse of the United States with: Austria, Brazil, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Prussia, Sicily and the Papal States, Russia, Sweden. American-British diplomatic relations covered include the Northeast boundary dispute (Maine and New Brunswick) 1828-29; letters and instructions to U.S. agents Albert Gallatin and William Pitt Preble; West India trade; and impressed seamen. Letters related to Latin-American republics include the Panama Congress and U.S. neutrality related to the independence of Brazil and Columbia including privateers with prizes in U.S. ports and rights of hospitality. There is also correspondence related to claims for indemnity and points on international law in regard to shipping, extradition, piracy, etc. Countries addressed in four or more pieces: Austria (6 pieces) Brazil (30 pieces) Free city of Bremen (4 pieces) Chile (4 pieces) Central America (and Guatemala) (6 pieces) Colombia (30 pieces) Cuba (4 pieces) Denmark (16 pieces) France (34 pieces) Great Britain (120 pieces) Mexico (16 pieces) Netherlands (13 pieces) Portugal (9 pieces) Prussia (9 pieces) Russia (38 pieces) Saxony (6 pieces) Sicily and the Papal States (13 pieces) Spain (28 pieces) Sweden (and Norway) (21 pieces) Some notable items include: Clay, Henry. To Henry U. Addington, Chargé d'affaires from Great Britain in respect to the Convention for more effectually suppressing the Slave trade. Apr. 6, 1825 _____. To Don Antonio Jose Cañaz, minister from Guatemala, respecting a Canal through the Province of Nicaragua. Apr. 18, 1825 _____. To the Baron de Mareuil, Minister from France, relative to Institutions in the U. S. for the deaf and dumb. Apr. 18, 1826 _____. To Charles R. Vaughan, Minister from Great Britain relative to the execution of the Convention of St. Petersburg. Oct. 12, 1826. ...Your note of the 20th. ult. _____. To Don Hilario de Rivas y Salmon, Chargé d'affaires from Spain, concerning alleged violations of neutrality by the United States in allowing the building of ships employed against Spain, and in the conduct of Commodore David Porter's Mexican squadron in the port of Key West, June 9, 1827 _____. To Don José María Salazar, Minister from Colombia, that the United States join Great Britain and Colombia in an offer of mediation to put an end to the war between Brazil and Buenos Ayres. Oct. 31, 1826 These letters were published in: The Papers of Henry Clay/ James F. Hopkins, ed. [Lexington] University of Kentucky Press, [c1959]-c1992, vol. 4-7.
mssHM 16895-16901
mssHC