Manuscripts

John Parker Davis letter to Albert B. Paine

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Description: A letter from John Parker Davis to Albert B. Paine in response to questions posed by Paine for his biography of Thomas Nast. Thomas Nast (1840-1902) was born in Germany and became the most famous 19th century American cartoonist and caricaturist. Davis goes on at great length describing his memories of Nast and corrects various facts and anecdotes Paine might include in the biography. Davis also includes reminiscences of other famous engravers and historical figures such as Solomon Eytinge and Abraham Lincoln. The letter is autograph with typewritten pages inserted between various pages; some autograph pages have been trimmed with loss of text. Accompanying the letter is a typewritten list of names and dates of persons mentioned in the letter; there is also a slip of paper with the number 397, perhaps a lot number from an auction sale as the letter does have penciled manuscript dealer notations.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1904 August 10.
Call number

Albert Bigelow Paine Letters

Manuscripts

This collection consists almost entirely of letters addressed to Paine (there are only nine letters by Paine himself). The correspondence provides a picture of the literary and newspaper field of Paine's time. In addition to Paine's professional correspondence, there are also family letters in the collection. Persons in the collection represented by ten or more pieces include: Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon, George Fisher Baker, John Kendrick Bangs, Daniel Carter Beard, John Bennett, Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink, Edward Breck, David MacGregor Cheney, William Fayal Clarke, Richard Harding Davis, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman, Charles Harvey Genung, Arthur Colfax Grissom, Ewing Herbert, Edward Mandell House, Mildred Howells, William Dean Howells, Alfred Henry Lewis, John Luther Long, Orson Lowell, Louise Kirby Paine Benjamin Moore, Tom P. Morgan, Sarah Edwards Nast, Frederick Burr Opper, Bradley S. Osbon, Samuel Esterbrook Paine, Bernard J. Rosenmeyer, Joshua Slocum, Pamela Colman Smith, Julian Street, Ruth McEnery Stuart, Sophie Miriam Swett, Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune (Marion Harland), Frank Ver Beck, Eugene Fitch Ware, William Allen White, and Caspar Whitney. Other persons represented in the collection include: Irving Bacheller, John Kendrick Bangs, Edward William Bok, James Bryce, Andrew Carnegie, Mary Hallock Foote, Helen Keller, Dora Paine, John Russell Pope, Margaret Elizabeth Munson Sangster, Upton Sinclair, Charles Warren Stoddard, Mark Twain (copies only - no originals), and Theodore Newton Vail.

mssAP 1-2083

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H. A. Parker pocket letter book

Manuscripts

H.A. Parker wrote this letter from San Francisco, California to his mother over several days from April 25-27, 1853. The letter is in a letter book and is comprised of 40 pages. He wrote in detail about a visit to Chinatown with friends, including the fishing industry. He described the Chinese community, the climate, and his living arrangements. Written in a Gregory's Express Pocket Letter Book, glossy printed wrappers.

mssHM 75845

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John Heath letters to William Heath Davis

Manuscripts

Two letters written to William Heath Davis, Jr., to New York publishing agent John Heath regarding Davis's work Sixty years in California (1889). In the first letter, dated July 6, 1889 (HM 77911), Heath replies to Davis's stated intention to visit New York and have his work "in the market" there. Heath advises Davis to talk to him before making any publishing agreements, and offers to put Davis in touch with references verifying Heath's character and credentials. The second letter, dated August 8, 1889 (HM 77912), contains Heath's reply to Davis's inquiry for ways to improve his book, which he plans to "revise & enlarge." Although Heath had not yet seen a copy of the work, he advised Davis to make it as "attractive and interesting as possible." He speculates that the greatest interest in California existed among residents of the "eastern and middle states," since he believed that emigrants from Eastern states made up most of California's population. He suggests that these readers would be more "inclined and willing to believe" Davis's statements on current conditions in California since he was not a "land grabber, nor an Emigrant Solicitor." Heath concludes by suggesting that might be able to meet with Davis should the latter visit New York. Also included with the letter are two envelopes that appear to have come from other letters.

mssHM 77911-77912

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Mary Davis Bucknall letter to Eugene Lemuel Sullivan

Manuscripts

In this letter to her father, Mary Davis Bucknall writes of mutual acquaintances, and of her desire to vacation in San Francisco. She also writes of the recent exhibition of "a man said to be a native of Borneo. He has only four fingers and no thumbs....he walks on his hands and knees with his legs crossed."

mssHM 19342

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Theodore Roosevelt correspondence with William M. Van der Weyde concerning Thomas Paine

Manuscripts

Volume contains correspondence between Theodore Roosevelt and William M. Van der Weyde regarding Roosevelt's reference to Thomas Paine as a "filthy little atheist" in his publication Gouverneur Morris (1888). Roosevelt alleged his description of Paine was partly based on a quote from statesman Gouverneur Morris's journal. The letters discuss the origin of the Morris quote and histories of Paine by authors Jared Sparks and Moncure Daniel Conway. Roosevelt expounds upon the definitions of "atheist" and "deist" in several letters. The final Roosevelt letter is sent by his secretary on his behalf (1918 September 4, mssHM 6026). Roosevelt's letters to Van der Weyde are all signed typescripts; most contain autograph edits. In addition, the volume contains typescript and facsimile copies of a letter from Roosevelt to "Mr. Hartmann," 1917 October 23 (FAC 50). Van der Weyde's letters are typescript signed copies. An introduction to the correspondence by Van der Weyde and images of Paine, Morris, Roosevelt, Van der Weyde, and others are also present in the volume. Two images are original photographs of Roosevelt, one a portrait and the other at his desk, taken by Van der Weyde and signed by him (undated). Items were bound together by Van Der Weyde for preservation purposes; title on binding is "Roosevelt - Van der Weyde Correspondnce concerning Thomas Paine." Volume contains five Theodore Roosevelt typescript letters signed dated: 1918 April 4 (mssHM 6015), 1918 April 19 (mssHM 6016), 1918 July 1 (mssHM 6019), 1918 July 9 (mssHM 6021), and 1918 August 21 (mssHM 6024).

mssHM 6014-6026

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John Milton Hay letter to James D. Hague

Manuscripts

In this letter, Hay is thanking Hague for sending him proofs from the biography of the geologist Clarence King entitled Clarence King memoirs: The helmet of Mambrino. The King Memorial Committee of the Century Association, of which James D. Hague was a member, published the biography in 1904. Although Hay returned the proofs to Hague, they are not with the letter.

mssHM 54454

John Parker Davis letter to Albert B. Paine

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Albert Bigelow Paine Letters

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Theodore Roosevelt correspondence with William M. Van der Weyde concerning Thomas Paine

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