Collections : [University of Michigan William L. Clements Library]

This collection is made up of personal letters related to the immediate and extended family of Philip Mason Sears, including his wife, Zilla MacDougall; his children, Charlotte and Philip Sears; Zilla's sister, Charlotte MacDougall; and Zilla's brother-in-law, Danish diplomat Henrik Kauffmann. Family members wrote about foreign travel, service in the United States Navy, and daily life in the United States and abroad from the mid-1910s to the mid-1960s.

This collection is made up of personal letters related to the immediate and extended family of Philip Mason Sears, including his wife, Zilla MacDougall; his children, Charlotte and Philip Sears; Zilla's sister, Charlotte MacDougall; and Zilla's brother-in-law, Danish diplomat Henrik Kauffmann.

Much of the early correspondence revolves around Zilla MacDougall Sears, including letters that she wrote to her parents, grandparents, and sister about her foreign travels and life in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. She visited London, England, in 1916 and 1917, and went to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Berlin, Germany, in the early and mid-1920s. In 1925, she described her travels in China, particularly her experiences in Peking (Beijing). Zilla also discussed her life in Syracuse, New York, and family life in Dedham, Massachusetts, after her marriage to Philip Mason Sears in 1924. In December 1924, the couple received congratulatory telegrams. The collection also contains many telegrams from the 1920s and 1930s concerning family health and family travels, including items sent by William MacDougall and Philip Mason Sears.

Additional early items include letters that Henrik Kauffmann wrote to Philip Mason Sears in the 1910s and 1920s, and letters that Charlotte MacDougall Kauffmann wrote to her parents and sister in the 1920s. Henrik and Charlotte's correspondence, often written on Danish stationery, concerns their travels and lives in China, India, Thailand, Japan, Denmark, and other locations. Prior to their marriage, Henrik discussed his excitement about Charlotte's upcoming visits and otherwise commented on their relationship. Correspondence from the 1930s includes additional travel letters and telegrams, and a group of letters to Zilla MacDougall Sears regarding her desire to purchase a Sicilian donkey from a company in Palermo in 1933. Zilla also wrote a letter to her mother on "swastika" stationery from Cuernavaca, Mexico (March 7, 1936).

Much of the material from the World War II era concerns the naval service of Philip Mason Sears and Philip Sears, Junior. The Sears children wrote a small number of V-mail letters to their father while he was stationed on the USS Fuller in the Pacific in 1942. From 1944 to 1946, Philip Mason Sears, Jr., wrote to his parents and sister about his experiences in the navy, including his participation in the V-12 Navy College Training Program at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and his later experiences on a base in the Nevada desert. He often discussed his desire and attempts to gain entry into the aviation service and/or gunnery school. Additional correspondence from the early to mid-1940s includes letters that Charlotte Sears ("Poppin") wrote to her family about her studies and other experiences at the Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia. Many of her letters feature cartoonish doodles and drawings. Zilla MacDougall Sears also received letters her nieces and nephews, including David and "Liza Jane" (who included colored drawings of horses in her letter postmarked from Lake Placid, New York, on July 18, 1942). The Sears children also received letters from their aunt, Charlotte MacDougall Kauffmann, then living in Washington, D.C.

After the war, the bulk of the collection is comprised of letters from Henrik and Charlotte MacDougall Kauffmann and Charlotte Sears (later Look) to Zilla MacDougall Sears. The Kauffmanns wrote to Zilla after returning to Denmark in 1946; among other topics, they discussed some of the lingering effects of the war. In the early 1950s, Charlotte Sears and her husband, David T. Look, wrote to Zilla about their experiences in Washington, D.C., including their work and leisure activities. In 1953, Charlotte described her travels in southern California and in Europe. The final items largely consist of Charlotte Kauffmann's letters to Zilla Sears from Switzerland and Denmark as late as 1963; while in Switzerland, she mentioned her participation in winter sports.

Additional materials include newspaper clippings about the death of Clinton MacDougall and the atomic bomb, the Sears children's school essays, and other miscellaneous manuscripts. A small number of picture postcards are present throughout the correspondence. The collection's photographs and negatives pertain to United States sailors and to people at leisure indoors and outdoors.

The Seth Tinkham diary contains a diary and orderly book entries covering 1758-1759, when Tinkham was a sergeant in Pratt's Company, Doty's Regiment, in the French and Indian War.

The Seth Tinkham diary has 138 pages of entries, covering May 29, 1758-October 28, 1759. The first few pages of the diary contain a list of officers in Colonel Thomas Doty's Regiment, recorded in 1758, followed by a list of officers in Colonel John Thomas' Regiment in 1759.

The pages numbered 1-18 make up a book of orders given June 28-September 27, 1758. The entries concern provisions, the repair of arms and artillery, the trying of prisoners, the delivery and outfitting of boats, courts martial and punishments for disobedience, and daily routines. They document an oar shortage, resulting in an order that "Each Battoo will be allowed from Coll Bradstreet only 5 oars" (p. 2); the banning of gambling and the instatement of a 300-lash punishment for violators, (p. 3); and the destruction of "Lines made by the French Last year" by a party of 400 men (p. 10). During June and most of July, Tinkham and his company camped at Lake George, near Fort Ticonderoga, but by late July, they moved to Loudoun Ferry and later, Schenectady, New York.

Pages 19-57 contain diary entries by Tinkham, covering May 29, 1758-October 28, 1759, with a gap between December 8, 1758 and April 9, 1759. In early entries, he described mustering and leaving Middleboro, camp activities, movements, battles, and notable incidents. On July 6-8, 1758, he wrote about the Battle of Ticonderoga (also known as the Battle of Carillon), describing the newly-built French defenses, the "hedious yelling of the Indians," and a piece of artillery that killed 18 grenadiers on the spot. He also referenced British losses and being "ordered back" for an unknown reason (pp. 23-24). On September 5, 1758, he recounted receiving advice and aid from three Oneida Indians, who warned of enemies in the area and gave the men corn and salmon. In several entries throughout, Tinkham described hunting and fishing, his health, the capture of prisoners, and travel by boat. The later entries, covering April-October 1759, recount a measles outbreak in late April, intelligence received from the Dutch (May 20, 1759), and daily duties and activities.

The second half of the volume is an orderly book for April 16-October 28, 1759. It contains basic orders, like requirements that soldiers remove their hats when speaking to officers (p. 73) and that they march two deep (p. 76), as well as calls for courts martial (p. 96), and restrictions on the use of ammunition (p. 105).

The collection consists of six penmanship and cypher books kept by William L. Shimer, Susanna M. Shimer, and Nathan M. Shimer of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the 1840s and 1850s and one alphabet card with lower-case and upper-case letters. The blank books include illustrated covers and several have calligraphic titles for their sections. Four of them are dated and range from 1846 to 1853. The cypher books include exercises for arithmetic, fractions, accounting, and weights and measures, with many examples relating to practical issues like farming, business, and estates. Penmanship exercises include the copying of moral proverbs, common business abbreviations, strings of letters, and phrases. Two of the penmanship books are associated with writing systems: George J. Becker's The American System of Penmanship, and Bayson, Dunton and Scribner's National System of Penmanship.

The collection consists of seven penmanship and cypher books kept by William L. Shimer, Susanna M. Shimer, and Nathan M. Shimer of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the 1840s and 1850s and one alphabet card with lower-case and upper-case letters. The blank books include illustrated covers and several have calligraphic titles for their sections. Five of them are dated and range from 1846 to 1853. The cypher books include exercises for arithmetic, fractions, practical geometry, accounting, and weights and measures, with many examples relating to practical issues like farming, business, and estates. Penmanship exercises include the copying of moral proverbs, common business abbreviations, strings of letters, and phrases. Two of the penmanship books are associated with writing systems: George J. Becker's The American System of Penmanship, and Bayson, Dunton and Scribner's National System of Penmanship.

• Uriah Hunt & Son, Booksellers, Philadelphia
• Leary's Cheap Book Store, Philadelphia
• Brower, Hayes & Co., Booksellers and Stationers, Philadelphia
• Henry J. Oerter's Cheap Book & Stationery Store, Bethlehem
• Crosby & Ainsworth, Publishers, Boston

The cover of William L. Shimer's 1848 exercise book includes an inscription "L. Shimer, Co. A 10 reg. Militia Pa." William L. Shimer's 1850-1852 cypher book includes notations that he was attending the Gen. Taylor school and was being instructed by A. Stout, as well as geometrical drawings, calligraphic headings, and a pen-and-ink drawing of an eagle's head holding a banner that reads, "Let teh Stars and Stripes proudly float over you."

The Smith family travel photograph albums consist of two volumes containing photographs, chromolithographs, die-cut scrapbook pieces, and pressed flower designs accumulated during a trip to Europe, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine.

The Smith family travel photograph albums consist of two volumes containing photographs, chromolithographs, die-cut scrapbook pieces, and pressed flower designs accumulated during a trip to Europe, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine.

The albums chronicle the journey of siblings “J. M. Smith" and “M. H. Smith.” Each album bears the name of its respective owner on the front cover. The Smiths left New York City on May 20th 1874 on the Cunard Line Steamer Abyssinia, before disembarking in Queenstown, Ireland, on May 29th. After spending time in Ireland, England, and Scotland they visited several locations in mainland Europe including Paris, Switzerland, southern Germany, Brussels, the Netherlands, Italy, Prussia, and Austria. After exploring Europe, the Smiths ventured to the Middle East where they toured Egypt, Christian holy sites in Palestine (present-day Israel), Turkey, and Syria. They subsequently traveled back through Italy and France before boarding the steamer Bothnia in Liverpool and returning to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Volume one (25 x 19.5 cm) has purple covers with “J. M. Smith” stamped in gold on the front and contains 47 photographs, 19 printed items, 1 drawing, and numerous dried pressed vegetation arrangements. Several images found in this album are also found in volume two including commercial photographic reproductions of engraved portraits, Italian Renaissance artwork, and other 19th century paintings. A handwritten itinerary outlining the course of the trip can be found inside the front cover and suggests the albums were finished being compiled by August 20th 1875. Items of interest include several portraits of various individuals including Julia Anderson, Jinnie Miller, Lula Miller, Nannie Anderson, and Reverend Christopher Newman Hall; numerous dried floral compositions; a pen and ink drawing of the “arms & crest of ‘Darsie’”; a photograph of two leaning towers in Bologna; a printed memorial card for Elizabeth Maria Thompson, founder of the British Syrian Schools Mission in Beirut and Damascus; and an image of blind children likely from one of Thompson’s schools.

Volume two (25 x 19.5 cm) has purple covers with "M. H. Smith" stamped in gold on the front and contains 64 photographs, 70 printed items, and numerous dried pressed vegetation arrangements. A handwritten itinerary outlining the course of the trip that is nearly identical to one found at the beginning of volume one is located inside the front cover. Items of interest include a photograph of a painting of Queen Victoria’s family; die-cut scrapbook pieces depicting different manner of dress in nations including the United States, China, and Italy; and numerous photographs and photographic reproductions of portraits of European royalty, rulers, and people wearing traditional ethnic clothing (mainly Swiss, Germans, Italians, and Greeks). Also of note are pressed vegetation and flower designs including moss samples spelling out “Italy” and “Egypt”; photographic and lithographic portraits of Prussian leaders Wilhelm I, Crown Prince Frederick William, Prince Carl, and Otto von Bismarck; a collection of materials from Marie Antoinette’s prison cell along with flowers from around Paris; a photograph of a female professor at the University of Bologna, Italy who was said to be too beautiful to be seen teaching (also found in volume two); a lengthy description of religious sites in Jaffa, Palestine; a reward of merit in Arabic given to M. H. Smith by an Arab guide (also found in volume two); and photographs of the King and Queen of Greece. Numerous photographs have been colored by hand.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Disabled Hats is a humorous handwritten and illustrated booklet related to a fictional organization dedicated to the protection of various styles of hats.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Disabled Hats is a humorous handwritten and illustrated booklet related to a fictional organization dedicated to the protection of various styles of hats.

The volume (11 x 7 cm) is a small notebook with a sticker on the front cover of an American top hat. Inside of the front cover the name and originating date of the society are presented. The following pages display a declaration from the society’s “board” before delving into 60 watercolor and ink illustrations of different types of hats, each of which is provided a name. The inside of the back cover contains lists of the society's “board members” and “inspectors.” Also of note is an illustration of a firefighting wagon.

This handmade account book contains financial accounts for the Stephentown (N.Y.) school district library, including fines imposed on individuals for late returns of books, as well as damages. This volume was repurposed later by William Wallace Elliot as a penmanship exercise book.

This handmade account book contains financial accounts of the Stephentown (N.Y.) school district library, including fines imposed on individuals for late returns of books, as well as damages. This volume was repurposed at a later date by William Wallace Elliot as a penmanship exercise book.

The final page is a "Register of damages to books." The cover is made from a scrap of a paper ream wrapper. Sections used by William for penmanship exercise feature repeated phrases and quoted passages.

Stephen Williams kept this copybook in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, possibly in the 1840s. The volume includes penmanship practice, moral maxims, names of presidents and more.

Stephen Williams kept this copybook in Uxbridge, Massachusetts possibly in the 1840s. The volume includes penmanship practice, moral maxims, names of presidents like Andrew Jackson, and more.

The printed blankbook "Sold wholesale and retail by B. CRANSTON & Co. Printers, Publishers, and Booksellers" of Providence, [Rhode Island], features a man hunting in the snow with a dog on the cover. The back cover features two illustrations: one of a bird standing in a tree over a dead bird on the ground, and one of a fox standing over a dead bird. Between the two is the quote, "All may not be our enemies whom we fancy to be so. Harbor no enmity against your companions."

The Strickland family photograph album contains approximately 124 photographs related to the Strickland family of Ontario, Canada.

The Strickland family photograph album contains approximately 124 photographs related to the Strickland family of Ontario, Canada.

The album is disbound and photographs are mounted on eight loose 35 x 43 cm board pages. The original sequence of the pages is unclear and several images appear more than once. Most photographs are studio portraits of individuals, group portraits taken in front of buildings, or scenic views. At least one of the studio portraits is the work of Montreal photographer William Notman. Several images appear to be half-images taken from stereographs.

Images of interest include views of the homes of Catharine Parr Traill and Col. Samuel Strickland on Lake Katchewanooka, Col. Strickland with his family and Traill holding a child, a Native American family beside a lake, a canoeing party and canoe portaging, a view of the front of “Westove” (Traill’s home after 1860) next to Christ Church, possible portraits of Traill as well as Susanna and John Moodie, a party on the front lawn of Col. Strickland’s property engaged in bird hunting and croquet, the grounds of the University of Toronto, and the musical group the Montreal Bell Ringers. Also of note are multiple portraits of children ranging from toddlers to adolescents as well as views of five unidentified buildings likely located in Lakefield, staged images of lumber camps, and an unidentified dam and bridge on a river.

The Summer 1894 snapshot album contains 68 outdoor photographs of various scenes including a militia camp, a lake, Central Park, and a sawmill under construction.

The Summer 1894 snapshot album contains 68 outdoor photographs of various scenes including a militia camp, a lake, Central Park, and a sawmill under construction.

The album (18 x 26.5 cm) is lacking covers but the spine remains partially intact. Images of note include views of a militia camp showing men in uniform relaxing and completing drills, the Bethesda Fountain and the John Quincy Adams Ward Seventh Regiment National Guard, State of New York Memorial in Central Park, men in a store selling hosiery, a group of people in front of a series of changing rooms on a dock, the construction of a sawmill, and a trip in the summer of 1894 to an unidentified lake.

The Sumner H. Cater collection contains materials related to a University of Illinois student's employment as a stereoview salesman during the summer of 1913.

The Sumner H. Cater collection contains materials related to a University of Illinois student's employment as a stereoview salesman during the summer of 1913.

The collection includes the original salesman case used by Sumner H. Cater which contains 1 stereoviewer, 24 sample stereographs (3 by Keystone View Company and 21 by Underwood & Underwood), and 3 explanation cards that help demonstrate how stereographs work. Photographic content includes 4 foreign views showing "Picking lemons" at an orchard in Sicily, "The Japanese hillside trenches," "A hospitable home in old Ireland," and "Concrete Arches" at the Panama Canal; 4 domestic views showing "A mountain of petrified water" and "'Old Faithful' geyser in action at Yellowstone National Park, the "Famous trotting ostrich 'Oliver W.'" in Jacksonville, Florida, and "Feeding the Chickens" on a New Jersey farm; and 16 views from the Underwood & Underwood "Holy Land" series mainly showing scenes from Jerusalem.

• “Keystone World Tours” by J. Paul Goode, Keystone View Company, Portland, Oregon (1 item)
• “A Pilgrimage Through Palestine,” Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1907 (1 item)
• “The Stereoscope, The Stereograph, Sun-Painting” Sun-Sculpture” by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1910 (1 item)
• “The Underwood Travel System,” Underwood & Underwood, New York, 1913 (1 item)
• “Manual of Instruction,” Underwood & Underwood, New York, 1908 (1 item)
• “Old Mother Earth’s Babies,” Keystone View Company, New York 1907 (1 item)
• “Key to 72 Travel-Tour of the World Through Stereoscope” by J. Paul Goode, Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pennsylvania (1 item)
• “Keystone Cabinets and cases,” Keystone View Company, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1905 (1 item)
• Underwood & Underwood stereoview listings (2 items)
• Two editions of "The Underwood Travel System Newsletter" listing totals from completed sales by various salesmen as well as best practices regarding sales strategies, announcements, and new photographic subjects in stock (2 items)
• Two editions of "U.T.S. [Underwood Travel System] Selling Aids" (2 items)
• Unused envelopes addressed to Keystone View Company and Prof. Ira O. Baker (5 items)
• Contract between Sumner H. Cater and Keystone View Company agreeing to terms of employment between June 10th and September 10th 1913 (1 item)
• Unused "Salesman's Weekly Report to Keystone View Company" template forms (3 items)
• Letter from Keystone View Company to Sumner H. Cater dated April 2nd 1913 notifying Cater that a duplicate of his contract with Keystone is attached, insisting that Keystone will assist him in making the “largest amount possible from your vacation work,” and urging him to study the products on offer (1 item)
• Letter from Keystone View Company to Sumner H. Cater dated April 19th 1913 notifying Cater that Keystone had received his "Letter of Credit" and that they were sending stereographs his way, with Panama Canal views emphasized as products he should try especially hard to sell during his pending window of employment (1 item)
• Letters from Keystone View Company to Sumner H. Cater (originally addressed to Princeton, Illinois, but remarked for general delivery in Garrison, Iowa) dated June 16th and 17th 1913 notifying Cater that records indicate they have not yet heard from him despite his window of employment having officially begun while also positing to Cater that this summer will prove to be the "best season that Keystone college men have ever known," before listing off names of other salesmen alongside how many hours they have worked and how many orders they have successfully procured (2 items)
• Letter from Underwood & Underwood to Sumner H. Cater dated June 14th 1913 and addressed to Benton, Iowa, notifying Cater that the Benton area has been reserved for himself and "Mr. Hey" and encouraging him to work thoroughly in such a large area (1 item)
• Letter from Underwood & Underwood to Sumner H. Cater dated June 16th 1913 and addressed to Garrison, Iowa, notifying Cater that they have sent him an outfit and a "Canvass and Delivery Instruction" booklet (1 item)
• Letter from the treasurer of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Y.M.C.A. to Sumner H. Cater indicating that while he made a subscription payment of $2.00 the previous fall there was still a remaining unpaid balance of $1.50 (1 item)