The archival collections at Special Collections are a small part of the entire collection, but dense with historical significance. Archival collections are mainly paper materials, like letters, photographs, drawings, and scrapbooks. In Special Collections, few of the archival collections had finding aids, or content lists. Even fewer collections had finding aids that were available online as many were still paper copies. The items in this case come from collections that I recently reprocessed. Reprocessing the collections included reorganizing materials, ensuring proper storage, and creating a digital finding aid. All of these collections are now more accessible to a wider audience than previously had access to them. The items in this display are examples of different types of materials and formats in the archival collections.
River Sketch, no. 52. 1901. Survey expedition to Tocantins-Araguaya region of Brazil.
One of the numerous sketches of the Tocantins and Araguaya riverways in Brazil, created by Louis Moreels on a survey expedition. The expedition, paid for by the Compagnie du Tocantins-Araguaya, Societe Anonyme, was headed by Leon Thiery and included eight other members, including Moreels. The main goal was to chart the rivers so they could be navigated for commercial purposes. During this time, Brazil was the highest producer of latex, or rubber, which was in high demand due to the “rubber boom” in western Europe. Other resources found in Brazil, like cacao, tobacco, and salt, were also of interest to the group. It was vital for them to understand the riverways to transport these goods to the main port because the rivers had many tributaries and would often divert into rapids or waterfalls. The expedition lasted for at least one year, during which Moreels created dozens of sketches of the two rivers.
Letter from Bessie Riggs Walsh to her mother, Cora Gaylord Riggs.
This is one of the hundreds of letters sent between Bessie Riggs Walsh and her mother, from Havana, Cuba to New York in the early 1900s. Walsh’s husband was the superintendent of the American Steel Company of Cuba. In her letters, Walsh describes the social life of Havana, Cuban customs and culture, and local clubs. In this letter, she divulges some local gossip, “…Mrs. De Sola had told her nurse that when we left their house last year that we had broken everything & left a terribly dirty house & that I didn’t pay any attention to my house, that it was dirty…”. Later in the letter, she tells her mother that “I don’t think I am quite as ugly looking as Mrs. De Sola…”. Walsh died in 1915 of what was likely tuberculosis, which is hinted at in many of her letters to her mother. In this letter, Walsh expresses her frustration about Mrs. De Sola “…saying that I had had tuberculosis for six months just because I had a cough & that is gone now & all & three doctors…told me my lungs were perfect.”
Illustration for “Wonder Story Book #5: They were Brave and Bold” by Charlotte Huber, Miriam Huber, and Frank Seely Salisbury
This illustration is from a series of children’s books called, “Wonder Story”. Margaret and Florence Hoopes were sisters who worked together to illustrate a number of Basal reader books. Their most famous works are the “Alice and Jerry” books and the “Janet and John” books, both written by Mabel O’Donnell.
“Au Peuple de France” drafts
This draft of a leaflet was created by the Psychological Warfare Branch of the US military during the height of World War II. It was drawn up by Harold Salemson, who was working as the Editor-in-Chief of the French Leaflet Section of the PWB, which was based in Algiers, Algeria. The draft was then turned into paper leaflets that would be dropped by the hundreds from planes. Leaflets and pamphlets were dropped all over German-occupied territories in a variety of languages including German, Italian, French, and English.
Two sketchbooks.
These are two sketchbooks by Nene Humphrey from 1977. Humphrey was enrolled at York University in Toronto, Canada during this time. She earned her MFA in 1978. She is originally from Portage, Wisconsin. She has lived and worked in New York City as a sculptor, installation artist, and photographer.
Four photographs of Aymara people of Peru.
These four photographs are of the indigenous Aymara people of Peru, taken in the early sixties by anthropologist, John Hickman. Hickman stayed in Chinchera in Peru for about 9 months in 1961-1962 observing and interacting with the people, documenting their societal customs. The Aymara had previously been visited by Harry and Marion Tschopik in the 1940’s, when they conducted an ethno-linguistic anthropological study. Tschopik’s research focused mostly on the Aymaran language as well as customs relating to birth, death, and dreams. Hickman’s subsequent stay, twenty years later, aimed to build on Tschopik’s notes.
Photograph of Renee Lang from her scrapbook, “Lugano”.
These are early photographs of Renée Lang, presumably during a trip to Lugano, Switzerland. She came to the US in 1940, where she worked as a professor of French at a variety of universities, including Wells College, Tulane University, and Marquette University. Lang was an expert on Andre Gide, Rainer Maria Rilke, Paul Valery, and Natalie C. Barney. Her papers include hundreds of handwritten notes on these figures. Much of her collection of books are also housed in Special Collections.
Printing die from “Flora: poems” by Ann McGarrell, printed by Perishable Press Limited.
This is a printing die used for “Flora: poems”, printed by the Perishable Press Limited. The Perishable Press Limited was started and run by Walter Hamady, known for his book-binding and papermaking. Hamady worked as a Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for 30 years before retiring in 1996. He printed 125 copies of “Flora: poems”. Both Special Collections and Kohler Art library have a copy.
Photo album of beekeeping in the Netherlands.
This is one of the photo albums that highlight beekeeping practices in other countries. While this specific photo album focuses on the Netherlands, other albums center around India, Poland, and Scotland. The Miller Bee collection was created in memoriam of Charles C. Miller, an early beekeeper who was North America’s largest producer of comb honey. Many of their materials were donated by bee-keepers or bought with donations.
