Ohio farmer Luzern Humphrey recorded his overland journey from Kanesville, Iowa, to the Oregon Territory, as part of his efforts to create a travel guide. Shown here are his descriptions of Fort Laramie and the rocky scenery of the Nebraska Territory, as well as a list of English words and their counterparts in the language of the Nez Perce Indians. Gift of Philip Ashton Rollins, Class of 1889. Luzern Humphrey Papers, Manuscripts Division.
Author Archives: hachen
Geography schoolbook, 1750. Benjamin Lincoln (1733–1810),
In his notebook of extracts from the popular school text Geography Anatomiz’d by Patrick Gordon (ca. 1700), 17-year-old Benjamin Lincoln studied the government, religion, climate, and commodities of the major countries and continents of the known world, along with the American colonies from New York and New Jersey, shown here, to Carolina. Lincoln would serve as a major general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 608, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Land surveys, 1750. George Washington (1732–1799),
George Washington’s first career was as a surveyor and mapmaker. He participated in his first surveying expedition when he was 15 years old. Two years later, he was appointed surveyor for the newly created frontier county of Culpeper, Virginia. By the time of his death, he had surveyed more than 200 tracts of land and owned almost 70,000 acres. On display is his survey of a plot of land in Virginia for his brother Lawrence (1718–1752). Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
New Jersey land deed, 1674.
This deed is one of the first recorded land transfers in the New Jersey colony. In return for “sundry species of Tradeing goods,” it grants the land now known as Tinton Falls, New Jersey, “called by the Indians Warumnonung and by the English, The Falls,” to John Bowne, Richard Hartshorne, and James Grover of Middletown. The deed bears the marks and seals of Matappeas, Taptawappamund, and Sepequena, sachems of Toponemese (“inland inhabitants”) of the Lenape Indians. Gift of Harry Irvin Caesar, Class of 1913. General Manuscripts Miscellaneous Collection, Manuscripts Division.
Articles of agreement, 1780. Samuel White and John Cushing (1743–1822),
Samuel White and John Cushing were merchants and privateers during the Revolutionary War. Privateers were privately-funded, government-sanctioned ships that preyed on enemy vessels. Captured ships were known as prizes, and their cargo was sold to profit the privateer’s owners and crew. The division of prizes was outlined in articles of agreement such as this one for the ship Tracy. Privateers played a significant role in the war, far outnumbering government-owned vessels and capturing hundreds of British ships. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Account book of the slave ship Nancy, 1793.
Although Rhode Island enacted a law in 1787 forbidding its citizens to participate in the slave trade, the ship Nancy, captained by James B. Cook, continued to sail from Providence to the Upper Guinea coast between 1791 and 1803, trading rum and other goods for African slaves. This account book records the number and price of slaves and the South American plantation owners who purchased them. Gift of Capt. Edward Naumberg, Jr. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 1226, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Plan of West Point, 1781. Louis-Alexandre Berthier (1753–1815),
The topographical engineer Louis-Alexandre Berthier produced this plan detailing the batteries and redoubts around West Point, while marching from Providence to Virginia with the army of Comte de Rochambeau (1725–1807). Gift of Harry C. Black, Class of 1909. Louis-Alexandre Berthier Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
“A Plan of the Boundary Lines…between the Provinces of Maryland and Pennsylvania,” 1768. Charles Mason (1728–1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733–1779),
From 1763 to 1768, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon surveyed the boundary lines between Pennsylvania and Maryland, and between Maryland and Delaware. Drawn and signed by both men, this map shows the eastern section of the boundary. The first official use of the term “Mason’s and Dixon’s Line” appeared over fifty years later in the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which decreed that slavery would be prohibited above the line and allowed below it. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Doran, in memory of their son, Joseph I. Doran II, Class of 1935. Manuscript Maps Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Thirteenth Amendment, 1865.
The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution formally abolished slavery in the United States. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865. The next day, President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) and the members of Congress who voted for its passage signed this souvenir copy, one of at least fourteen such copies. The amend-ment was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865, eight months after the end of the Civil War. Gift of William G. Mennen, Jr., Class of 1936. Abraham Lincoln Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
James Madison Indian peace medal, 1809. John Reich (1768–1833),
Medals such as these were distributed to Native American leaders to mark the conclusion of a treaty or other important occasions. This silver medal, issued during the presidency of James Madison (1751–1836), was given in 1809 to Keokuk (ca. 1780–1848), chief of the Sauk tribe, and has been pierced for wearing. Gift of Mrs. Archibald A. McLeod, Sr., in memory of her son, Archibald A. McLeod, Jr., Class of 1906. Numismatics Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: Read more about this item in a previous exhibition, “Capping Liberty: The Invention of Numismatic Iconography for the New American Republic.”
Lexicon (Basel, 1645). Johann Buxtorf (1564–1629),
The binding of this book is made of otterskin, with decorations characteristic of Eastern Woodland Indians. It covers a Hebrew and Chaldean (i.e., Aramaic) dictionary owned by David Brainerd (1718–1747). Brainerd became a missionary after he was expelled from Yale University for making controversial religious statements. He preached for four years among Native Americans in New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey before dying in the home of Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758), third president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Gift of Mrs. William F. H. Edwards. Edwards Collection, Rare Book Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, with a larger image of the book. Read more about this item on the Rare Book Division’s blog.
$100,000 Reward! (New York, 1865).
On April 14, 1865, the actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth (1838–1865) killed President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) during a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only 5 days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Booth went into hiding, but was found and killed two weeks later by Union troops. Four of his co-conspirators, including David Herold (1842–1865) and Mary Surratt (1823–1865), mother of John (1844–1916), were convicted and hanged on July 7, 1865. Gift of J. Dennis Delafield, Class of 1957, and Penelope D. Johnson. Delafield Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Lista de los Ciudadanos (Santa Fé, 1834). [Santa Fé City Council],
This broadside is the earliest surviving New Mexico imprint, issued while New Mexico was still a part of the Republic of Mexico. It lists the names of men in Santa Fe required, by Mexican law, to serve as jurors in cases involving printing libels and freedom of the press. Western Americana Collection, Rare Book Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, or read more on the Western Americana blog.
Letter to Harriet Cook Young, June 23, 1846. Brigham Young (1801–1877),
After Joseph Smith (1805–1844), the founder of the Mormon faith, was killed by a mob in 1844, Brigham Young took over the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To escape anti-Mormon persecution, he led a vanguard westward, reaching the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. During the journey, he wrote this letter to his fourth wife, Harriet Cook Young (1824–1898), whom he had secretly married and left in Nauvoo, Illinois, urging her to come west. She arrived in Salt Lake City in September 1848. Gift of Edith Young Booth. Brigham Young Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
The Definitive Treaty of Peace and Friendship between His Britannick Majesty and the United States of America (London, 1783).
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, formally ended the war between Great Britain and the United States. It acknowledged the American colonies to be sovereign and independent states, free from British rule. Given by Mr. and Mrs. William M. Cahn, Jr., Class of 1933, in memory of DeWitt Millhauser. Rare Book Division.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Gold Rush scrapbook, 1849–1850. Daniel Gano (1794–1873),
Daniel Gano was a county court clerk in Cincinnati. In 1849, his son Stephen joined the Gold Rush to California. Stephen’s letters to his father describe the perils of the overland crossing and the difficulties and excitement of mining for gold. Daniel saved his son’s letters in this scrapbook, along with newspaper clippings about the Gold Rush and this hand-colored lithograph published by Kellogg & Comstock depicting “California Gold Diggers” at work. Daniel Gano Gold Rush Scrapbook, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item, or see the whole scrapbook.
Letter to William Sprague, May 1, 1861. Frederick Douglass (1818–1895),
Two weeks after war had been declared, the orator, writer, and former slave Frederick Douglass wrote to clergyman William Sprague (1795–1876), “I find life no burden but rather a precious privilege. . . Once the cause of the country has become the cause of the slave, the difficulty of separating the one from the other, is a ground of hope that in the almost certain triumph of the country the cause of justice and freedom to the bondman will triumph.” Miscellaneous Slavery Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Civil War diary, 1863. A. C. Barber,
The United States Christian Commission was formed in 1861 to respond to soldiers’ needs after the First Battle of Bull Run. Five thousand volunteer delegates distributed millions of dollars’ worth of supplies to battlefields, camps, hospitals, and prisons. Walking among still-unburied soldiers and horses after the Battle of Gettysburg, A. C. Barber distributed tracts and writing paper to wounded Confederate soldiers, wrote letters to the relatives of those who had died in battle, and recorded his observations in this Christian Commission notebook. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 132, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Letter to Hannah Thomson, September 15, 1783. Charles Thomson (1729–1784),
Charles Thomson served as secretary of the Continental Congress for 14 years. At Princeton, the first seat of Congress after the Revolution, he wrote this letter informing his wife Hannah (ca. 1729–1807) that Virginia had ceded its claims to land beyond the Ohio River to the newly sovereign United States. This territory, he says, “will give a great weight to the authority of Congress. It gives them the sovereignty and property of a country at least five hundred miles square.” Charles Thomson Letters, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to Robert Livingston, January 16, 1804. James Madison (1751–1836),
As Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), James Madison supervised the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the United States by adding more than 800,000 square miles and paving the way for westward migration. In this letter to Robert Livingston (1746–1813), who had negotiated the purchase with France, he announces the formal delivery of the “Province of Louisiana” to the United States for $15 million. James Madison Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to Nicholas Roosevelt, June 24, 1810. Robert Fulton (1765–1815),
Robert Fulton is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat in 1807, which revolutionized American transportation and commerce. He wrote this letter, with specifications for building a steamboat engine, to his partner Nicholas Roosevelt (1767–1854), a fellow inventor who introduced vertical paddle wheels for steamboats. Gift of Mrs. Marshall L. Brown in memory of Cyrus H. McCormick, Class of 1879. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 406, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Journal, 1773. Philip Vickers Fithian (1747–1776),
The diary kept by Philip Vickers Fithian (Class of 1772) while working as a tutor to the family of Robert Carter III (1728–1804) is a rich source of information about early Virginia plantation life. His diary is open to the conclusion of an entry dated December 21 describing the sounds of a harmonica being played after dinner, and to the beginning of an entry dated December 23 criticizing the treatment of slaves at Carter’s Nomini Hall and neighboring plantations. After the American Revolution, Carter came to believe that slavery was immoral and implemented a program of gradual manumission that freed his nearly 500 slaves. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Hitchcock. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 349, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
“Lectures on Moral Philosophy,” 1774. John Witherspoon (1723–1794),
In 1768, John Witherspoon traveled from Scotland to New Jersey to become the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He was not only a scholar and administrator, but also an influential politician. From 1776 to 1782, he represented New Jersey in the Continental Congress, where he signed the Declaration of Independence and served on more than 100 committees. In his college lectures on moral philosophy, he cautioned undergraduates like John Ewing Colhoun (Class of 1774), who took these notes, against the excesses of tyranny and unjust government. Gift of John Adrian Larkin, Sr., Class of 1913, in memory of John Adrian Larkin, Jr., Class of 1944. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 233, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Farm Book, 1816–1824. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826),
Thomas Jefferson popularized the idea of the independent farmer as the linchpin of American government, economy, and society. From 1774 until his death in 1826, he kept careful records of his own building, planting, and livestock, as well as a census of the slaves on his estates. Among the names listed on these leaves from his Farm Book are those of Sally Hemings and her children Madison and Eston. Gift of Roger W. Barrett, Class of 1937. Thomas Jefferson Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to James Harrison Wilson, May 27, 1865. Adam Badeau (1831-1895),
As military secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), Adam Badeau witnessed the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870) at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War. He describes the occasion in this letter to his friend, General James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925), commending both Grant and Lee for their dignity and magnanimity. Gift of Shirley W. Morgan. Civil War Letters of Adam Badeau, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to Adam Badeau, May 13, 1865. James Harrison Wilson (1837–1925),
General James Harrison Wilson commanded the cavalry unit that captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) on May 10, 1865. In this letter written three days later to his close friend Adam Badeau (1831–1895), military secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), Wilson vividly narrates the possibly apocryphal story of Davis’s attempt to escape disguised as a woman. Gift of Shirley W. Morgan. Civil War Letters of Adam Badeau, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
A New Map of the North Parts of America Claimed by France (London, 1720). Herman Moll (1654–1732),
The English cartographer Herman Moll produced this map to support British claims to American territories. A message below the map’s title emphasizes the importance of maintaining alliances with neighboring Iroquois and Cherokee Indians to protect Britain’s territories against appropriation by French settlers. Gift of the estate of Noel Bleecker Fox, Class of 1899. Historic Maps Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, with a larger image of the map.
A New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain (London, 1726). Herman Moll (1654-1732),
This famous map is known as the “Beaver Map” for the inset reference to American industriousness and the lucrative fur trade. The map also documents Great Britain’s ongoing dispute with France over the boundaries of their American colonies. Historic Maps Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, with a larger image of the map.
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (London, 1773). Phillis Wheatley (ca. 1753–1784),
Phillis Wheatley was named for the slave ship Phillis that brought her from Gambia, West Africa, to Boston in 1761, and the Wheatley family who purchased her. At 12 years old, educated by her mistress, she began publishing poems and elegies in newspapers. She was freed after the publication of her book. Her depiction in this frontispiece is the only surviving work by the African-American slave artist Scipio Moorhead (b. ca. 1750). Gift of Sidney Lapidus, Class of 1959. Rare Book Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, or read about this item in a previous exhibition, “Liberty and the American Revolution.”
Nova Anglia, Novum Belgium et Virginia (Amsterdam, 1638). Jan Jansson (1588–1664),
This influential map of America’s eastern coast by the Dutch cartographer Jan Jansson is one of the first to depict, in print, the English colonies in New England and Dutch colonies along the Hudson River. Gift of the estate of Noel Bleecker Fox, Class of 1899. Historic Maps Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, with a larger image of the map.
Final sketch for Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, 1786. John Trumbull (1756–1843),
John Trumbull served as an aide to General George Washington (1732–1799) during the Revolutionary War. After leaving the army, he studied with the great American history painter Benjamin West (1738–1820), who encouraged him to paint the war scenes he had experienced. Trumbull thus conceived his “national history” series of paintings, which included The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton. Gift of Junius Spencer Morgan, Class of 1888. John Trumbull, Battle of Princeton Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: Read more about this item on the Graphic Arts blog.
Letter to Uriah Forrest, December 31, 1787. Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826),
As state ratification conventions debated the new Constitution submitted to them in September, Thomas Jefferson wrote this letter, from Paris, to Uriah Forrest (1746–1805) expressing both his admiration for the framers and his concern over the “seeds of danger” they had sown by presuming that succeeding rulers would be as honest as themselves. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Petition to the General Court of Massachusetts, May 14, 1676. Peter Freeman,
In 1676, an Indian named Peter Freeman asked the General Court of Massachusetts for his wife’s freedom “by reason of services rendered the English and as promised by Gov. [Josiah] Winslow.” Near the end of King Philip’s War, there was confusion about which Native Americans were English allies, which had surrendered, and which were still enemies, and many were mistakenly imprisoned or punished. Gift of Gladys Straus. Straus Autograph Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Draft of inaugural address, January 1789. George Washington (1732–1799),
In preparing to become the country’s first president, Washington asked his aide David Humphreys (1752–1818) to help him draft remarks for an inaugural address to the first Congress. Washington rewrote Humphreys’ lengthy draft (now lost) in his own hand, but eventually decided to deliver a much shorter speech. Only fragments like this one remain of his copy of Humphreys’ version. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. Manuscripts Division, André de Coppet Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
List of slaves, 1752. George Washington (1732–1799),
This document records the slaves that George Washington and his younger brothers inherited after the death of their brother, Lawrence (1718–1752). By the time George Washington died, several hundred slaves lived on his estate. However, he evidently came to believe that slavery contradicted the principles of the new nation. In his will, he arranged for his slaves to be freed after the death of his wife Martha (1731–1802), and provided pensions for their care and education. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to Jefferson Davis, April 12, 1864. Robert E. Lee (1807–1870),
Struggling to provide for his army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee wrote to the Confederate President, Jefferson Davis (1808–1889), to plead for supplies lest he be forced to retreat for lack of food. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Confederate paper currency, 1863.
The Confederate treasury issued over a billion dollars in paper currency to finance the Civil War. Because it lacked gold and silver reserves, almost all bills, like the $100 bill displayed here, promised to pay the bearer only after war’s end. This bill presents an idealized vision of slavery, at top, and former U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun (1782–1850), at bottom. Gift of Mrs. George W. Martin. Throop and Martin Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Friendship album, ca. 1827. Anicartha Miller,
Like many young people today, Anicartha Miller, the daughter of a New York City judge, asked her acquaintances to contribute poems, sketches, and other mementos to fill her friendship album. The artist George Catlin (1796–1872), who would later be celebrated for his depictions of Plains Indians and the American West, gave her two watercolors, including this view of Niagara Falls. Acquired with support from the Barksdale-Dabney-Henry Fund. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 577, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Post Office, San Francisco, California (ca. 1850). William Endicott (1816–1851) & Co., after H. F. Cox,
The U.S. Post Office opened its first San Francisco branch in 1848. No mail was delivered to the gold fields, so miners waited each morning for the post office to open. This lithograph, made after a drawing by H. F. Cox, depicts four lines at the post office, for Spanish-language service, general delivery, parcel delivery, and newspaper pickup. American Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: Read more on the Graphic Arts blog.
The Repeal, or the Funeral Procession of Miss Americ-Stamp (1766). Benjamin Wilson (1721–1788),
This hand-colored engraving mocks the supporters of the Stamp Act. Published on the same day that the act was repealed, the print became so popular that the publisher could not keep pace with the orders he received, and it became one of the period’s most copied satirical prints. Acquired with support from the Barksdale-Dabney-Henry Fund. British Prints Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: Read more on the Graphic Arts blog.
Letter of marque, 18th century. U.S. Continental Congress,
Owners of American privateer ships would receive a printed license from the Continental Congress that authorized its bearer to attack and seize British vessels in the service of the United States. This one is signed by the president of the Second Continental Congress, John Hancock (1737–1793). Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Captivity diary, 1758. Thomas Gist (d. 1786),
The son of Ohio Valley explorer and Indian agent Christopher Gist (1706–1759), Thomas was captured in 1758 during the French and Indian War by Wyandot (Huron) Indians near Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh). Taken with other prisoners to the Huron town opposite Fort Pontchartrain (Detroit), Gist was adopted by a Wyandot family and well treated. He escaped after a year of captivity. This account may have been written by a family member after Gist’s return. Gift of P. Blair Lee and E. Brooke Lee. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 376, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
Dispatch box commemorating repeal of the Stamp Act, 1766.
This leather-covered pine box commemorates the repeal of the Stamp Act from England to America. It is embossed with the monogram of King George III (r. 1760–1820) and inscribed “GR | Stamp Act Rep’d | March 18, 1766.” Inside, the box is lined with pages from an agricultural journal. It was owned by John Witherspoon (1723–1794), the sixth president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Gift of William Patton Woods, Class of 1884. Museum Objects Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
[Stamp Act] (London, 1765). Great Britain,
In 1765, the British Parliament imposed a tax on printed materials in the American colonies to help pay for troops stationed in North America after the Seven Years’ War. However, many colonists believed the act violated their rights as British subjects to be taxed only if they were represented in Parliament. They responded with riots, boycotts, and other organized protests, and the act was repealed in 1766. Gift of Sidney Lapidus, Class of 1959. Rare Book Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record, or read more about this item in a previous exhibition, “Liberty and the American Revolution.”
The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles (London, 1624). John Smith (1580–1631),
The soldier and adventurer Captain John Smith became president of the Jamestown Colony’s governing council in 1608. He led the colony through its first year by improving defenses, cultivating land, and maintaining relations with Native Americans, whose agricultural knowledge and food stores were vital to the colonists’ survival. Between 1623 and 1624, during a period of weakening trust in the Virginia Company, Smith rushed to publish this major work supporting the Jamestown settlement. This copy bears the arms of King James I of England (r. 1603–1625). Rare Book Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See this item’s catalog record.
“The Particulars of & Sketches Taken during a Voyage to and Journey over the United States of America and Back,” 1810–1811. James Glennie,
As transportation improved in the 19th century, America became an increasingly attractive tourist destination. James Glennie was one such tourist, sailing from London on September 24, 1810, to travel through the Atlantic states. He kept this journal in the form of letters to his mother, in which he described visits with President James Madison (1751–1836) and other statesmen, and composed more than sixty drawings, including views of Boston, Charleston, and Washington, D.C. Gift of André de Coppet, Class of 1915. André de Coppet Collection, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to Elizabeth Blair Lee, August 25, 1865. Mary Todd Lincoln (1818–1882),
Mary Todd Lincoln wrote this letter on mourning stationery to her friend Elizabeth Blair Lee (1818–1906). In it, she grieved over her husband’s death but also looked forward to the nation’s future, sharing her thoughts on the presidential aspirations of Secretary of State William Henry Seward (1801–1872) and General Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885). Gift of P. Blair Lee and E. Brooke Lee. Blair and Lee Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
“Proclamation to the People of South Carolina,” 1832. Edward Livingston (1764–1836),
The authority of the central government over the states was tested during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1767–1845). South Carolina, perceiving a series of national tariffs to be responsible for its economic problems, declared the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 unconstitutional and unenforceable within its boundaries. In response, Jackson issued the “Proclamation to the People of South Carolina” on December 10, 1832. On display is U.S. Secretary of State Edward Livingston’s draft of this document. It declared South Carolina’s actions to be “incompatible with the existence of the Union” and threatened military force. Congress passed a compromise tariff the following February, and South Carolina repealed its Nullification Ordinance on March 11, 1833. Gift of J. Dennis Delafield, Class of 1957, and Penelope D. Johnson. Edward Livingston Papers, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Letter to Francis Preston Blair, Sr., December 21, 1860. Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865),
After Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election in November 1860, seceding states seized federal forts within their own borders. In this confidential letter to politician Francis Preston Blair (1791–1876), Lincoln orders that federal forts lost before his inauguration in February 1861 must be retaken afterwards. In April 1861, his attempt to send supplies to Fort Sumter in South Carolina resulted in the first shots fired in the Civil War. Gift of P. Blair Lee and E. Brooke Lee. Blair and Lee Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item.
Keys to the wine cellar at Monticello, ca. 1791. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826),
Gift of Mrs. Charles Mayhoff. Museum Objects Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
View of Ithaca, Tompkins County N.Y. Taken from West Hill, (1839). Henry Walton,
In 1839, Henry Walton set up his studio in Ithaca, New York, where he made several lithographs depicting the charms of the rural community. He continued to produce views of upstate New York until he joined the gold rush to California in 1851. Gift of Leonard L. Milberg, Class of 1953. Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
“Striped Ground Squirrel,” 1841. John James Audubon (1785–1851),
John James Audubon’s nickname was the “American Woodsman,” an image he encouraged by wearing a buckskin coat and oiling his hair with bear grease. equally ambitious project, The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845–1848). The American lithographer John T. Bowen (ca. 1801–1856) drew the plates from watercolors like this one, and the work was produced in Philadelphia, making Quadrupeds a truly American production. Gift of John S. Williams, Class of 1924. John James Audubon Collection, Graphic Arts Collection.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: Read more on the Graphic Arts blog.
Portrait, 1864. Isaac Plumb (1842-1864),
Isaac Plumb Jr. served in the 61st New York Infantry of the Union Army during the Civil War from his enlistment in 1861 until his death in 1864 from wounds suffered at the Battle of Cold Harbor. On display are his swords and items in his wallet at the time of his death, including this portrait of him, a letter from home, a telegram sent a week after he was wounded, and an ace of hearts. Isaac Plumb Jr. Family Papers, Manuscripts Division.
FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION: See the finding aid for this item, or read more on the Manuscripts Division blog.
Photographs of North American Indians, 1847–1865.
These photographs of Algonquian and Dakota Indians belong to one of two albums containing more than 1,000 mounted albumen prints, including portraits of delegates to Washington, D.C., expedition photographs, and early Western studio portraits. The numbers in the corner of each photograph may be in the hand of renowned photographer William Henry Jackson (1843–1942).
Clockwise from upper left: Op-Po-Noos (1847, photograph by Thomas M. Easterly); Cut Nose (ca. 1862, photograph by Joel E. Whitney); unidentified Dakota man (ca. 1858, photograph by James McClees Studio); Medicine Bottle (1865, photograph by Joel E. Whitney); Bum-Be-Sun (1847, photograph by Thomas M. Easterly); Ma-Za-Ka-Te-Mani (1858, photograph by James McClees Studio). Western American Photographs Collection, Manuscripts Division.
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Am I Not a Man? And a Brother? (Cambridge, 1788). Peter Peckard (ca. 1718–1797),
One of the most widely circulated images of the 18th-century abolitionist movement first appeared in print in this pamphlet addressed to the British Parliament. It had been designed in 1787 as a seal for the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Gift of Sidney Lapidus, Class of 1959. Rare Book Division.
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Description of a Slave Ship (London, 1789).
This broadside is an icon of the antislavery moment in England and the United States. It appeared after Parliament passed an act in 1788 that limited the number of slaves that could be transported on a ship and made visually striking the inhumanity of the statistics in the explanatory text. By the end of the 18th century, more than 200,000 copies had been issued. The support it generated helped to end the slave trade (but not slavery) in the British Empire in 1807. Acquired with support from Sidney Lapidus, Class of 1959. Rare Book Division.
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“The First Decade Conteyning the Historie of Travell into Virginia Britania,” 1612. William Strachey (1572–1621),
The first permanent English settlement in North America was Jamestown, Virginia, founded in 1607. William Strachey sailed to Jamestown in 1609 and became the Virginia Company’s secretary to the colony. This manuscript is a contemporary scribal copy of Strachey’s eyewitness account of the colony, with his handwritten corrections and signature. It was extra-illustrated with 27 hand-colored engravings made in 1590 by Theodor de Bry (1528–1598). Depicted here is the Algonquian village Secotan. The continent’s Native American population may have numbered in the tens of millions before European settlement. In 1612, Strachey presented the manuscript to Henry Percy (1564–1632), 9th earl of Northumberland, known as the “Wizard Earl” for his interest in science. Gift of Cyrus H. McCormick, Class of 1879. General Manuscripts Bound, no. 1416, Manuscripts Division.
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Lake Ah-Wi-Yah, Yosemite Valley, California, 1861. Carleton Watkins (1829–1916),
After emigrating from his hometown of Oneonta, New York, in 1851, Carleton Watkins found work as a photographer’s aide in San Francisco. Once in business for himself, he began photographing the Yosemite Valley and California mining scenes. His stereoviews and mammoth photographs of Yosemite made him famous and helped to influence federal legislation to protect the valley, which President Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) signed on June 30, 1864. Western Americana Photographs Collection, Manuscripts Division.
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Map of Princeton, 1781. Louis-Alexandre Berthier (1753–1815),
Louis-Alexandre Berthier joined the army of Comte de Rochambeau (1725–1807) to fight for the American cause during the Revolutionary War. A topographical engineer, Berthier produced more than 100 maps of the historic march of Rochambeau’s army from Rhode Island to Virginia in 1781. Displayed here is the army’s camp at Princeton from August 31 to September 1. The “Collège” is Nassau Hall. The crossroads at the lower part of the map is the current intersection of Nassau and Harrison Streets. Gift of Harry C. Black, Class of 1909. Louis-Alexandre Berthier Collection, Manuscripts Division.
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Document box, ca. 1815. Livingston family,
Many of the treasures that fill this exhibition were once stored in document boxes like this one. It was probably made in New York around 1815, since it is lined with printer’s waste from an address on infectious diseases by Dr. David Hosack (1769–1835), Class of 1789, which was published in New York in 1815. The wooden box is covered in patterned wallpaper, with its original hand-wrought iron handles and clasps. Gift of J. Dennis Delafield, Class of 1957, and Penelope Johnson. Edward Livingston Papers, Manuscripts Division.
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Photographs of the Battle of Antietam, 1862. Alexander Gardner (1821–1882),
More than 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing after the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, still considered the bloodiest single-day battle in American history. Antietam was also the first American battlefield to be photographed before the dead were buried. These photographs were owned by General George McClellan (1826–1885), the leader of the Union forces at Antietam, and taken by Alexander Gardner, McClellan’s staff photographer. Gardner’s photographs shocked viewers, many of whom saw these devastating scenes of war for the first time. Gift of George B. McClellan, Class of 1886. George B. McClellan Papers, Manuscripts Division.
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