Manuscripts

Letters to L: Lieber family

Description: Copies made by various hands; these copies were probably made for the publication of "The Life and Letters of Francis Lieber," edited by Thomas Sergeant Perry (1882).
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: approximately 1880
Call number: mssLI
Creator: Lieber, Francis (1800-1872)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Purchased from Mary Lieber, 1927.
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Letters to Samuel Austin Allibone

Manuscripts

Copies made by various hands; these copies were probably made for the publication of "The Life and Letters of Francis Lieber," edited by Thomas Sergeant Perry (1882).

mssLI

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Ephemera

Manuscripts

The ephemera consists of autograph copies, facsimiles, photocopies and printed material. Two boxes contain the autograph copies of letters written to and from Francis Lieber, probably in preparation for the publication of his collected letters; many of the copies were made by Matilda Lieber. The largest portion of the series is comprised of printed pamphlets, catalogs, clippings, articles, newspapers and journals; this material is in English, German, French, Italian, and Latin; some of this material contains minimal autograph notes by Lieber.

mssLI

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Correspondence

Manuscripts

The correspondence includes Francis Lieber's personal letters with family and friends and correspondence related to his teaching and professional career. The personal correspondence include family letters, many in German, and letters with friends, some spanning decades. The professional letters include those written from South Carolina College and Columbia College, which deal with various school related issues. There is a large amount of letters written in the years leading up to and during the American Civil War; Lieber served as an advisor to Abraham Lincoln's government concerning the treatment of the Rebel army and prisoners of war. The letters also cover many of Lieber's other interests and activities, including prison reform; political science; constitutional law and history; international law and copyright; and immigration. Lieber often pasted newspaper articles onto various letters, which he annotated with titles or comments. Some of the letters contain various penciled notes and locations, in unknown hands, possibly made by earlier Huntington catalogers; also, there are letters with editor's marks and line outs, probably done for the various publications of Lieber's letters. The letters are written by or addressed to Francis Lieber unless otherwise noted; other correspondents include, among others, Samuel Austin Allibone, Edward Bates, Dorothea Lynde Dix, Hamilton Fish, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Simon Greenleaf, Henry Wager Halleck, George Stillman Hillard, Édouard Laboulaye, Carl Joseph Anton Mittermaier, Charles Sumner, Martin Russell Thayer, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Theodore Dwight Woolsey.

mssLI

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Manuscripts

The manuscripts cover a wide span of Francis Lieber's professional career, with a small amount of personal and literary material; there are examples of some of his earliest writing as well as items written shortly before his death. Included in this series are articles, essays, memoirs, questionnaires, remarks, memorandum, and notes. Lieber was in the habit of making use of any paper that was available so he reused the versos of many letters and receipts written to him, as well as scraps and fragments of larger pieces of paper. He also pasted additions to manuscripts at the bottom or sides of pages, as well, he pasted newspaper articles down onto various manuscripts, which he annotated with titles or comments. Some of the manuscripts contain various penciled notes and locations, in unknown hands, possibly made by earlier Huntington catalogers. The manuscripts are written by Francis Lieber unless otherwise noted; the series also includes manuscripts by other authors, most notably, John Jay, Charles Sumner, Martin Russell Thayer, and Theodore Dwight Woolsey.

mssLI

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Letter to Oscar Montgomery Lieber

Manuscripts

Boston. A majority of the letters to Oscar Lieber are copies.

LI 4987

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Francis Lieber papers

Manuscripts

A collection of approximately 6000 items from 1815 to 1936, the collection consists of Francis Lieber's correspondence, notes and other manuscripts and published materials accumulated in the preparation of his works during his political and academic career. The collection contains articles, essays, remarks, correspondence, volumes, commonplace books, research files, printed material, and ephemera. The manuscript material often contains various drafts, with supporting research and subject files; the correspondence contains personal and family letters and a large amount of professional correspondence. Correspondents include, among others, his wife Matilda (Mathilde) Lieber, other Lieber family members, Samuel Austin Allibone, Edward Bates, Dorothea Lynde Dix, Hamilton Fish, James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Simon Greenleaf, Henry Wager Halleck, George Stillman Hillard, Édouard Laboulaye, Carl Joseph Anton Mittermaier, Charles Sumner, Martin Russell Thayer, Alexis de Tocqueville, and Theodore Dwight Woolsey. Subjects in the collection include political science and theory; constitutional history; political economy; international law; philosophy and history of civilization; penology, including Lieber's association with the prison reform movement; education, particularly college and university administration; United States and European politics; antebellum debates and campaigns; slavery and abolitionism; politics of the Civil War, including problems of the citizenship of African-Americans, immigrants, and former Confederates; constitutional powers of the President and Congress; Republican Party, especially its radical wing; military aspects of the Civil War as reflected in Lieber's correspondence with Halleck; reconstruction, including plans for codification of international law; and Lieber's service with the United States-Mexican Claims Commission.

mssLI

Letters to L: Lieber family

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