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Home » About » Blog » New Graphics Finding Aids: Fall 2022

The Clements Library is pleased to announce that the following collections in our Graphics Division are now described online and may be requested for use in the reading room. 

The Clements Library is now open for research by appointment. All researchers are encouraged to contact Clements Library staff for guidance on how to complete their research with both digital and physical materials. Please contact us with any questions about your research.

 

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Wella and Pet Anderson Spirit Drawings Photograph Album, 1879 

The Wella and Pet Anderson spirit drawings photograph album contains 26 cabinet card photographs of pencil-drawn portraits of spirits of various historical figures made by a spiritualist couple in San Francisco, California in the early 1870s.

 

 

The drawings of spirits by Wella and Pet Anderson that are photographically represented in this album were described as members of “The Ancient Band,” a collective of prominent spirits of historical figures who had supposedly used their combined wisdom to positively impact mankind over the course of many centuries.  While many of these figures were real people, such as Alfred the Great, Confucius, and Plutarch, numerous fictional characters were also counted amongst their ranks.  Several members were even purported to have belonged to the lost civilization of Atlantis, including the individual pictured here named “Orondo.”

Manuscripts fanned out

Thomas M. Bridges Crow Creek and Fort Hall Reservations Collection, ca. 1850-1918 (bulk 1892-1899)

 

The Thomas M. Bridges Crow Creek and Fort Hall Reservations collection contains approximately 242 photographs in 5 albums, 13 loose photographs, a Catlinite pipe bowl, and a ball headed war club. These materials were associated with Dr. Thomas Miller Bridges, a physician and surgeon who was employed on Native American reservations during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

Among the Library’s many commonplace books and memory albums is this unique example compiled by Edith A. Moore Frist (Pictured Left), which includes photographs of some of the signers.

Lewis J. Cox Photograph Album, ca. 1900-1910

The Lewis J. Cox photograph album contains 47 photographs of Lewis J. Cox’s family and home in Terre Haute, Indiana, taken between approximately 1900 and 1910.

The photograph to the right is accompanied by a typed caption stating “500 wagons for issue to the Indians at the Crow Creek Agency, S.D.”

Lewis J. Cox Photograph Album, ca. 1900-1910

The Lewis J. Cox photograph album contains 47 photographs of Lewis J. Cox’s family and home in Terre Haute, Indiana, taken between approximately 1900 and 1910.

 

Seth Eastman Watercolors, ca. 1849-1858

The Seth Eastman watercolors consist of 12 sketches produced by U.S. Army officer Seth Eastman.

Watercolor depiction of Fort Pembina, Dakota Territory, ca. 1858.  While this piece is unsigned, it bears strong similarities to other works by Eastman.

Charles Forrest Watercolors, 1780-1781

The Charles Forrest watercolors consist of five topographical watercolors of the island of St. Lucia produced by Lieutenant Charles Forrest of the 90th Regiment of Foot while stationed there in 1780 to 1781.

Auguste Hervieu Watercolors, ca. 1819-1830

The Auguste Hervieu watercolors consist of seven watercolor illustrations attributed to French painter and book illustrator Auguste Hervieu.

Jerome, Arizona Mining Photographs, ca. 1903-1917 

The Jerome, Arizona mining photographs consist of 56 photographs (including 33 real photograph postcards) related to mining operations, anti-labor vigilantism, and Arizona scenery.

Lantern Slides and Glass Plate Negatives Collection, 1890s-1910s

The Lantern slides and glass plate negatives collection consists of approximately 1,260 magic lantern slides, glass plate negatives, and glass plate transparencies from commercial and non-commercial sources documenting a wide range of subjects.

Lincoln Assassination Book Illustrations, ca. 1960-1970

The Abraham Lincoln assassination book illustrations collection consists of 300 photographic reproductions likely produced during the 1960s of various 19th-century photographs, paintings, illustrations, maps, diagrams, posters, and ephemera related to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Mugshots Collection, ca. 1892-1920

The Mugshots collection consists of approximately 100 photographic portraits produced between 1892 and 1920, the vast majority of which are mugshots.

Northern Michigan Photograph Collection, ca. 1906-1940s

The Northern Michigan photograph collection contains an assortment of 43 photographic postcards, 28 mounted photographs, and 6 unmounted photographs showing people and scenes related to logging camp operations in northern Michigan, street views most likely from the town of Trenary, and road construction between Rapid River and Masonville.

Lake Superior Scenery, 1865 

Lake Superior Scenery consists of 26 watercolor sketches produced by artist Albert L. Rawson during a steamboat tour of the Great Lakes (primarily Lake Superior) in 1865. The sketches were compiled into a presentation album gifted to Louise C. Ely, a fellow traveler befriended by Rawson during the tour.

Pencil portrait of Grace Adele Pierce

The front cover of this album bears a cryptic message of presentation to Mrs. Louise C. Ely by her “Lake Superior friend,” who is identified elsewhere in the album as Albert Leighton Rawson.  It is possible that Rawson (a noted engraver, artist, author, and conman) targeted Ely, a recent widow and wealthy individual, with an ulterior motive in mind.  

Many of the watercolors in this album depict scenes from Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, including this view of Chapel Rock.

Victor Leroy Rushfeldt, Jr., Collection, 1941-1980s

The Victor Leroy Rushfeldt, Jr., collection contains an assortment of materials including a diary, photograph album, paper files, and a VHS tape, all of which pertain to U.S. Army Air Corp pilot 1st Lt. Victory Leroy Rushfeldt, Jr.’s service in the 20th Combat Mapping Squadron during World War II.

Thomas Smith Collection, ca. 1820-1826

The Thomas Smith collection includes a disbound sketchbook of eighteen watercolors and six drawings depicting scenes in the northeastern United States and Canada made between 1820-1826 as well as three letters written by Smith between 1820-1822.

Dennis K. Sullivan Photograph Album, ca. 1865-1870

The Dennis K. Sullivan photograph album contains 28 images compiled by Detroit, Michigan-based detective Dennis K. Sullivan, including 27 portraits primarily of men and women accused of various crimes, the majority of whom are identified through inscriptions.

Views of Early St. Louis, 1840-ca. 1898

Views of Early St. Louis contains 27 photographs of scenes from St. Louis, Missouri, between 1840 and 1895 that were assembled by German American photographer Emil Boehl during the late-1890s, including several photographic reproductions of various works by other artists such as Daguerrean photographer Thomas M. Easterly.

Warrensburg, Missouri Photograph Albums, ca. 1865-1880

The Warrensburg, Missouri photograph albums consist of two photograph albums containing 21 studio portraits, including several portraits of members of an African American family based in Warrensburg, Missouri during the 1870s.