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The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

The Al Parker collection includes three envelopes of photographs, sheet music, and newspaper clippings as well as a scrapbook relating to the professional and personal life of Philadelphia-based photographer and photographic supplies salesman Alfred Parker.

Envelope A (photographs): includes unmounted oval portraits of Parker’s children Eda and Ray from the early 1900s; studio portraits of Eda and his wife Alice from the 1910s, two of them from the Philadelphia studio of Gilbert and Bacon; an mounted school class photo (ca. 1890s?)

Envelope B (sheet music): includes three examples of World War I songs from the Eagle Publishing Company of Philadelphia with "music by Geo. L. Robertson and lyrics by Al. Parker."

Envelope C (letters, clippings, etc.): includes a letter appointing Dr. Ray Parker head of plastic surgery at a hospital in Johnstown, PA; a magazine article on “Flood Free Johnstown”; letters and clippings about Dr. Ray Parker; article on World War II factory workers; newspaper article on Theodore Roosevelt urging U.S. entry into World War I; and a note from Christmas 1926 from Parker’s grandson Donald addressed to “Ganco."

Scrapbook: The volume (37 x 28) is cloth-bound and has 66 pages total. Materials are not arranged in any chronological or thematic order and so unrelated items often appear together on the same page.

The album begins with photographs of Parker’s family members while the next few pages focus on scenes from his professional life, including a magazine cover from April 1900 and documentation of his break with Willis & Clements in 1910. Portraits of Parker at every stage of his life appear throughout the scrapbook, though not in any chronological order. The earliest is a tintype from the 1850s that shows him as a young boy with his brothers. Many portraits and casual snapshots of Parker's daughter Eda and son Ray from their early childhood into adulthood are included, while a collection of clippings reflects Parker’s pride in Ray's success as a doctor. His delight in playing the doting grandfather is clear from the drawings Parker made for Eda’s son Donald and in the notes that Donald wrote to Parker using the nickname “Ganco.”

A handful of portraits that were taken by Parker show that he was a capable studio photographer in addition to being a successful promoter of platinum photography products while working for Willis & Clements. Requests for his opinions from Eastman Kodak Company, Photo Era magazine, and the Photographers’ Association of New England testify to his recognized expertise. Numerous portraits of Parker in the company of other well-regarded photographers of the day confirm his acceptance in that professional circle.

Many ephemeral items also help illuminate the arc of Parker's career including programs from his minstrel show days; an advertisement for his Australian window blind company; the initial offer of employment from Willis and Clements; business cards from various stages of his career; and an ad for a new camera shutter he invented. Interspersed amongst these items are letters and photographs from various colleagues and employers along with miscellaneous poems, cartoons, programs, drawings, song lyrics, newspaper clippings, and so on.

This collection is comprised largely of advertising broadsides and broadsheets relating to Isaac S. Clough's work as an inventor and manufacturer, his work with a wholesale and retail store, and his work as a salesman and patentee between 1856-1883 in New York and Philadelphia. Among others, Clough's inventions include fly, mosquito, cockroach, and mouse traps; illuminated lanterns; combination knife-fork-spoon style cutlery; firecracker guns; automaton jig dancers; cane seats; shoe blacking; boot jacks; and other "Housekeeping articles and Yankee notions."

This collection is comprised largely of advertising broadsides and broadsheets relating to Isaac S. Clough's work as an inventor and manufacturer, his work with a wholesale and retail store, and his work as a salesman and patentee between 1856-1883 in New York and Philadelphia.

Clough's inventions include fly, mosquito, cockroach, and mouse traps; illuminated lanterns; pastry board attachments; combination knife-fork-spoon style cutlery; firecracker guns; automaton jig dancers (being caricatures of African American dancers); cane seats; shoe blacking; boot jacks; and other "Housekeeping articles and Yankee notions." Also present are a small handful of receipts dating from around 1861 to 1872, one letter to Clough, one typed poem/jingle about his fly trap, several product labels, and a number of business cards and price lists printed on cards.

The James McHenry papers contain correspondence and documents related to the political career of James McHenry. The majority of the materials pertain to his tenure as Secretary of War from 1796 to 1800. In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a full list of letter-writers in the James McHenry papers: James McHenry Contributor List.

The James McHenry papers contain over 800 items related the life and career of James McHenry. Included in the materials are approximately 670 letters and 106 documents, primarily related to McHenry's political career, as well as financial records and miscellaneous documents, including poetry and genealogical materials. The majority of the correspondence and documents are drafts or retained manuscript copies.

The Correspondence and Documents series spans 1777-1832, with the bulk of materials concentrated around 1796 to 1803. The first box of the collection contains documents and correspondence related to McHenry's service in the Revolutionary War, including correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton. The materials include a draft of a letter to British general Henry Clinton regarding his military failures, written in McHenry's hand but signed "Z" (October 26, 1779), as well as a copy of a letter allegedly written by Clinton to Lord George Germain, which McHenry sent to Samuel Louden of the New York Packet to be published (March 24, 1780). The postwar materials in the collection pertain to McHenry's tenure as a Maryland statesman. Along with documents related to McHenry's political career during those years is a letter dated August 13, 1794, which relates news of the massacre of French colonists at Fort Dauphin in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), led by Jean-François, an important figure in the Haitian Revolution.

The bulk of the collection, representing 1796 to 1803, documents McHenry's tenure as secretary of war under presidents Washington and Adams. The correspondence and documents relate to military structures, provisions, international relations, treaties, politics, and relations with Native American tribes. The collection contains frequent correspondence with other cabinet members and politicians, including Secretary of State Timothy Pickering and Secretary of the Treasury Oliver Wolcott as well as President George Washington, John Adams, and the Marquis de Lafayette. McHenry served as secretary of war during the Quasi-War with France and, as a staunch Federalist, favored positive relations with Britain over France. A large portion of the correspondence during this period relates to the ongoing feud with that country. A letter from James Winchester to McHenry describes the suspicion with which the Federalists regarded Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans, who favored closer relations with France: "…tho' they will not openly shew at this time their predilection for France, they will discover it in the first calamitous event which may happen to our Country. Depend on it they are not to be trusted. I speak of the party here" (April 18, 1789). Several months later McHenry wrote in an unaddressed letter draft that he believed the President should recommend a declaration of war with France to Congress. He also expressed his concerns over "a faction within the country constantly on the watch and ready to seize upon every act of the Executive which may be converted into an engine to disaffect the people to the government" (November 25, 1798).

In addition to national and international politics, many of the items relate to U.S. relations with Native American tribes, including the Creek, Chickasaw, and Miami. The materials frequently concern attempts to maintain peace and create treaties with the tribes, as well as to prevent them from giving their loyalty to other countries, such as Britain, France, or Spain. Box 2 contains a copy of a "Talk of the Chickasaw Chiefs at the Bluffs represented by Wolf's Friend, Ugalayacabé" regarding the tribe's concerns about the Americans: "Tell me if I may return to my Nation to appease the tumult of their minds. Shall I tell them the talk of the Americans is falsehood? Shall I assure our warriors our children and our women that your flag will always wave over our land, or tell them to prepare to die?" [1797]. This box also contains a small series of letters from General Anthony Wayne, written from his headquarters in Detroit, where he was stationed before his death, after successfully leading U.S. troops in the Northwest Indian War (August 29 to October 3, 1796). After the war, Miami Chief Little Turtle, became a proponent of friendly relations with the Americans. McHenry wrote to him upon his resignation as secretary of war, thanking him for his friendship: "…I shall carry with me the remembrance of your fidelity, your good sense, your honest regard for your own people, your sensibility and eloquent discourse in their favour, and what is precious to me as an individual, a belief that I shall always retain your friendship" (May 30, 1800). Other documents include an extract of a letter from Major Thomas Cushing to Brigadier General James Wilkinson, writing that he had given gifts to the Native Americans in order to prevent them from siding with the Spanish at New Orleans, who were attempting to win their favor (February 15, 1800).

Boxes 6 through 8 contain correspondence and documents written after McHenry's resignation as secretary of war at the end of May 1800. Though he retired from politics, his letters document that he maintained a keen interest in domestic and international issues. Senator Uriah Tracy wrote regular letters to McHenry in February 1801, keeping him up-to-date on the daily events regarding the presidential election between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. After the election, McHenry wrote a letter to U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands William Vans Murray, in which he discussed the election and why public opinion had shifted from the Federalists to Jefferson: "I still am of opinion, that we should have gained nothing by the election of Mr. Burr, could it have been accomplished by federal means. The general sentiment is so strong and ardent for Mr. Jefferson, that experience alone can correct it" (February 23, 1801). This section of correspondence also contains a draft of a letter to the speaker of the House of Representatives containing McHenry's defense against charges brought against him regarding disbursements while secretary of war (December 22, 1802), as well as his opinions of current political happenings, including the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and the Embargo Act of 1807. Several of the letters written during this period also relate to McHenry's low opinion of John Adams, who forced him out of office. In a series of letters exchanged by McHenry and Oliver Wolcott in 1800, McHenry described his anger regarding Adams, and expressed regret that Adams remained in office after George Washington left. Over ten years later, McHenry wrote a letter to Timothy Pickering, responding to a series of memoirs Adams had printed in the Boston Patriot . He accused Adams of making significant errors and misrepresentations, and mused, "How many recollections have these puerile letters awakened. Still in his own opinion, the greatest man of the age. I see he will carry with him to the grave, his vanity, his weaknesses and follies, specimens of which we have so often witnessed and always endeavored to veil from the public" (February 23, 1811).

The Bound Items series consists of a diary, a published book of letters, a book of U.S. Army regulations, an account book, and a book of poetry. McHenry kept the diary from June 18 to July 24, 1778, beginning it at Valley Forge. It contains accounts of daily events, intelligence, orders, the Battle of Monmouth, and the march of Washington's army to White Plains, New York. The 1931 book, entitled Letters of James McHenry to Governor Thomas Sim Lee is the correspondence written by James McHenry to Maryland governor Thomas Sim Lee during the 1781 Yorktown Campaign. The book of army regulations spans ca. 1797-1798, while the account book covers 1816-1824. The book of poetry is handwritten but undated and unsigned.

In addition to this finding aid, the Clements Library has created a full list of letter-writers in the James McHenry papers: James McHenry Contributor List.

This composition book was kept by 8–10-year-old Mildred Wood and Mary Wood while living in Illinois and Missouri. The volumes include copied song lyrics and poems, and pencil and crayon drawings. A number of pressed flowers and leaves are laid into the volume.

This composition book was kept by 8–10-year-old Mildred Wood and Mary Wood while living in Illinois and Missouri. The volumes include copied song lyrics and poems, and pencil and crayon drawings. A number of pressed flowers and leaves are laid into the volume.

The song lyrics and poems focus on themes relating to nature, love, and friendship, and include titles such as "Missouri School Song," "The Yellow Rose of Texas," and "Illinois." The drawings feature flowers, houses, and a portrait of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. One outdoor scene shows two girls playing in front of a house, labelled "Living on the farm." Two pencil and crayon drawings done on tracing paper are laid into the volume: one of a ladies' boot with the name "Hamilton Brown shoe Co." on it, and another of a valentine with Cupid holding a bow and arrow.

Several entries are suggestive of schoolwork, such as sentence diagrams, a list of courts, a passage about U.S. history, a list of teachers in the Venice Public School and the average grades in their classes, and a list of the "Names of the Teachers I have had at Differ[e]nt Schools." Another passage is titled "The Japanese Fan."

Later entries were written in a different hand and consist mostly of quotations and proverbs. The word "Graduate" is printed on the cover of the volume.

The Willard Cundiff scrapbook contains 64 photographs as well as poems, cartoons, illustrations, and inscriptions compiled by a young man visiting El Paso, Texas, and other western locales while being preoccupied with unrequited love.

The Willard Cundiff scrapbook contains 64 photographs as well as poems, cartoons, illustrations, and inscriptions compiled by a young man visiting El Paso, Texas, and other western locales while being preoccupied with unrequited love.

Sometime between 1905 and 1908, Willard Cundiff became enamored with a young woman in El Paso named Argyra White. Both were teenagers at the time and while they may have seen each other on a few occasions the infatuation was clearly not mutual as Argyra was apparently more interested in a young man named Eldon Burns. By 1909 she had married a doctor and moved to Chicago. Various captions in the scrapbook suggest that the volume was mostly compiled in the aftermath of Cundiff’s rejection.

The scrapbook (26 x 33 cm) has green cloth covers and is framed as a personal tribute from Cundiff to Argyra White. Photographs of El Paso and other towns in the southwestern United States and Mexico (including Cloudcroft and Mesilla Valley in New Mexico and Tucson, Arizona) taken by Cundiff may have started out as potential postcard material for his employer at the time, Humphries and Co., yet Cundiff compiled and reimagined these scenes as places he might have enjoyed with Argyra. Small illustrations and verses he included with the photos express both his devotion to her and his disappointment at being rejected. Nearly every drawing includes a small image of a bleeding heart with an arrow driven through it. Some illustrations are of scenes near Antwerp and Innsbruck, suggesting that Cundiff also may have traveled to Europe. A few of the drawings seem to record actual encounters that Cundiff had with Argyra on a street, at a theater, and at a skating rink. The album ends with a picture of a cemetery captioned “we go to the last long sleep, the end of all disappointment.”

Cundiff appears to have recovered from his ill-fated romantic endeavors eventually. By 1908 he had relocated to southern California and became a successful illustrator. In that same year he published a cartoon version of Who’s Who in Riverside California, and in 1914 he came out with an innovative book of road maps envisioned from the air, The Panoramic Automobile Road Map and Tourist Guide of Southern California, published by The Cadmus Press in Los Angeles.