Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Manuscripts
Rowlandson's tour in a post chaise, 1782; with text by Joseph Grego
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Manuscripts
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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
This collection contains research files of English art historian R. B. Beckett, chiefly consisting of study photographs and clippings collected from the late 1940s to early 1960s documenting the works of John Constable and other English artists including William Blake, Thomas Gainsborough, Thomas Rowlandson, J. M. W. Turner, and Richard Wilson. In addition there are also images and clippings related to English portraiture, as well as sporting and comic images. The artist research files contain study art photographs and clippings, with some occasional correspondence and notes and manuscripts by Beckett. Six artists (Blake, Constable, Gainsborough, Rowlandson, Turner, and Wilson) are distinguished as their own subseries, and their files typically contain study photographs, article clippings, some scattered manuscripts and correspondence, and exhibition catalogues. The largest of these are the John Constable files (Boxes 3-9), which includes seven boxes of study images. Other art images in the collection are arranged either in the "Artists (various)" subseries (Box 13) or in the "Portrait artists" subseries (Boxes 14-15). While some of the images are professional photographs acquired from museums, most of the images are clippings from British magazines such as The Connoisseur and Burlington. Most of the images are not annotated or only contain brief handwritten identifications typically of the artist, painting title, date, dimensions, etc. Overall there are very few manuscripts by Beckett in the collection. Exceptions consist of a sketchbook from the late 1920s containing pencil sketches of landscapes by Beckett and a few documents. The correspondence is chiefly from galleries, museums, and publishers related to Beckett's research and publications.
mssBeckett
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Manuscripts
This message from Joseph A. Mower to Ulysses S. Grant was sent during the Vicksburg Campaign, most likely in May 1863. The ironclad DeKalb mentioned in the note was sunk in July 1863. The message, written in pencil, is most likely in the hand of Mower's adjutant or aide-de-camp. The note reads: "Genl Grant- Gunboats DeKalb and Signal are here. Neither of them has instructions to convey us to Satartia. Jos. A. Mower Brig. Genl." On verso: "Signal Officer."
mssHM 83167
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Manuscripts
An artist's sketchbook possibly evolved from J. Goldsborough Bruff's encounter with Dr. W. H. Gatliff, an Englishman who was a graduate of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, while visiting the Gold Bluffs region of northern California near Trinidad in February 1851. Bruff and Gatliff spent time together sketching various scenes, including views of the California landscapes by both men, along with several portraits, some featuring Mexican residents of California, drawn by Gatliff. Accompanying the volume are two cartoons from newspapers: one regarding ship voyages to California and the other is a racist depiction of Native Americans arriving in Sacramento.
mssHM 83972
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Rare Books
Henry Clark Rouse accompanied General Nelson A. Miles on a world tour setting out from San Francisco on October 1, 1902, and returning to New York, February 15, 1903. The album focuses on the military inspection and diplomatic tour of Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Japan, China, and concludes with the journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway. This privately printed work is illustrated lavishly with photographs taken on the trip. The photographs are particularly rich in depictions of daily life and military installations in the Philippines, where the party spent three weeks sailing between the islands and this section comprises the bulk of the photographic and textual content of the work. Photographs from China include locations in Hong Kong, Canton and Peking (Beijing) and the Great Wall. Two photographs of the aftermath of a public execution in the streets of Peking are also present.
27801
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Manuscripts
These volumes cover Hatchett's tour of England and Scotland from April 26 to August 14, 1796. In the diary, Hatchett talks about the cities in which he traveled; the various landscapes he passed; and each town's mining, manufacturing and metallurgy industries. He started his tour in London and traveled to Devon where he saw the Portland stone quarries and the Bovey lignite mines. He then went to Cornwall where he observed mining and smelting operations and collected materials. His next stop was Birmingham where he visited Boulton & Watt and other factories of brass-ware before proceeding to the great iron works at Coalbrookdale. Hatchett travels then to Derbyshire where he describes the city's lead mines. He also visited the steel works in Sheffield and chemical and lead works in Newcastle. He traveled north to Edinburgh where he spent two weeks in academic circles. Also in Scotland he visited lead mines at Tyndrum and Glasgow. He journeyed through Clydesdale and Lowther Hills where he saw their lead mines and ironworks. He then started his journey home through the Lake District.
mssHM 71899 (vol. 1-5)
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Manuscripts
This manuscript is Nevins' account of his journey from Illinois to California via the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads, and then by steamboat through the Panama Canal to New York. Much of it is description of the countryside, towns, and inhabitants he visits en route. He arrived in San Diego, CA, on February 21, 1874, and prospected for three weeks without success, then boarded the boat. Upon reaching Panama, there was a delay, as the ship Nevins was to take was being repaired; he writes "The waiting here is very irksome. I fear the folks at home will be anxious about us." Dated January 10 through April 1. Also included is 15-page typescript of the original.
mssHM 26339