Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
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Manuscripts
Gideon Pillow writes to his wife of his ongoing recovery from a wound suffered during the Mexican War in 1847, and of his experiences as part of the struggle. He hopes to be well enough in a couple of weeks to resume his duties. He writes of his children, and says he will send his wife a lock of his hair in his next letter, which he hopes to write in ten days, as proof that the horrors of the war have not caused him to neglect "the requests of his dear wife."
mssHM 3614
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Visual Materials
The Singleton Collection is organized into four discrete yet interrelated units. The first consists of 79 photographs by Mathew Brady (1823-1896) and Alexander Gardner (1821-1882) of scenes of the Civil War taken between 1861 and 1865. Included are group portraits of generals with their staffs, important wartime sites and activities, and photographs of paintings depicting various skirmishes. While the photographs were taken by Brady and Gardner during the war, the images were printed around 1885 by John Taylor and marketed by the firm of Taylor & Huntington. These photographer-entrepreneurs hoped to capitalize on twenty-fifth anniversary war reunions and commemorations by reissuing the once-familiar views. On the verso of each image is a partial list of the photographs sold by Taylor & Huntington for 75 cents a piece. The second grouping of photographs depicts two views of Abraham Lincoln and portraits of the Lincoln conspirators and their execution. These were also taken by Brady and Gardner during the war and, as with the first group, printed and issued around 1885 by Taylor & Huntington. Of particular rarity are the fourteen photographs of the Lincoln assassination conspirators including portraits of David Herold, George Atzerodt, Edward Spangler, two views of Lewis Payne, two views of Michael O'Laughlin, and an unidentified conspirator. Additionally, there is a complete set of three images depicting the execution of Mrs. Surratt and the conspirators taken by Alexander Gardner on July 7, 1865, as well as three of the five known images documenting the execution of Captain Wirz, the notorious Keeper of Andersonville Prison. Eighty-three cabinet portraits of Confederate Generals and other Southern leaders by George S. Cook (1819-1902) comprise the third section of the collection. Cook was a friend and former employee of Matthew Brady, and he provided E.& H.T. Anthony Co. with portraits from the South, including the first portrait of Colonel Robert Anderson. These portraits may come from sources other than Cook as he purchased competing photographers negatives, issuing them on his mounts. These portraits were taken in the 1860s but printed between 1880 and 1890 when Cook operated his Richmond, Virginia studio at 913 East Main Street. The last grouping of photographs contains 210 images by William H. Tipton (1850-1929), the self-described "Battlefield Photographer." The imperial-sized photographs depict the numerous monuments erected on the Gettysburg battlefield to honor the soldiers who fought and died in this decisive battle. The photographs date from the 1880s. The Singleton Collection constitutes of one of the most complete historic archives of the Gettysburg monuments.
photCL 445
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Manuscripts
Letters, manuscripts (including Welles' 1846-1849 diaries), documents and ephemera covering Welles' career as a naval administrator: Chief of Bureau of Provision & Clothing for the Navy, 1846-1849; Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1869 (requests for appointments, purchase of government vessels by George D. Morgan); criticism of Welles's successor, George Maxwell Robeson, and Robeson's assistant David Dixon Porter. Naval operations during the Civil War, including blockades, letters of marque, and the capture of New Orleans in April, 1862; Welles' views on Reconstruction politics; Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson. Much of the correspondence is written to Welles' son, Edgar T. Welles.
WE 508
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Manuscripts
Letters, manuscripts (including Welles' 1846-1849 diaries), documents and ephemera covering Welles' career as a naval administrator: Chief of Bureau of Provision & Clothing for the Navy, 1846-1849; Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1869 (requests for appointments, purchase of government vessels by George D. Morgan); criticism of Welles's successor, George Maxwell Robeson, and Robeson's assistant David Dixon Porter. Naval operations during the Civil War, including blockades, letters of marque, and the capture of New Orleans in April, 1862; Welles' views on Reconstruction politics; Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson. Much of the correspondence is written to Welles' son, Edgar T. Welles.
WE 401
Visual Materials
Image of the Battle of Fort Pillow in Henning, Tennessee, in 1864 during the American Civil War; Confederate soldiers are depicted murdering African American soldiers and civilian men, women and children at the water's edge; soldiers, officers on horseback, and cannons on cliffs in background; Confederate and white surrender flags visible on hills.
priJLC_MIL_000771
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Manuscripts
Letters, manuscripts (including Welles' 1846-1849 diaries), documents and ephemera covering Welles' career as a naval administrator: Chief of Bureau of Provision & Clothing for the Navy, 1846-1849; Secretary of the Navy, 1861-1869 (requests for appointments, purchase of government vessels by George D. Morgan); criticism of Welles's successor, George Maxwell Robeson, and Robeson's assistant David Dixon Porter. Naval operations during the Civil War, including blockades, letters of marque, and the capture of New Orleans in April, 1862; Welles' views on Reconstruction politics; Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson. Much of the correspondence is written to Welles' son, Edgar T. Welles.
WE 537