Collection comprises a 35-page memorandum book maintained by the Haulsey family of London, England, from 1646-1846. The memoranda usually record marriages, births, christenings, deaths, and burials, but there are also separate notes on family genealogy, as well as a few notes on land tenancy transfers, and money lent and received. There is one record regarding numbers of silver trays and candlesticks. Volume entries are handwritten on varying types of paper, and are not in chronological order. The volume also features an embroidered binding and a metal-clasp closure with initials G.W. (one clasp is missing). The embroidery includes images of day and night, as well as a dog, monkey, church, house, windmill, swallow, snail, and various plants and flowers.

Rebecca West was a British writer and critic. The Rebecca West note consists of a single autograph manuscript note to an unknown correspondent reading, "With Miss Rebecca West's compliments." On letterhead stationery: 15, Orchard Court. Portman Square.W.1., Welbeck 3606.

The collection consists of a single autograph manuscript note to an unknown recipient which reads, "With Miss Rebecca West's compliments." On letterhead stationery: 15, Orchard Court. Portman Square.W.1., Welbeck 3606.

Collection comprises a full-color, four-page manuscript metamorphosis book, with verses and pen-and-watercolor illustrations by Elizabeth Winspear, who was possibly a resident of New England. Each page features two flaps that fold out in stages to reveal new illustrations. Characters include Adam and Eve, along with a lion, griffin, and eagle, and themes include the attainment of wealth, and impact of sickness and death. Includes a clamshell box.

Madame de Staël (1766-1817) was a French literary figure whose writings were highly influential in late 18th and early 19th century Europe. She was a political polemicist whose famous confrontation with Napoléon Bonaparte led to her exile from Paris until the Bourbon Restoration. This letter was written in 1814 towards the end of her life. She writes from Paris to the prominent New York mercantile firm LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers concerning a financial transaction in the amount of $20,000. She states that she has transferred the sum to McEvers in London, and wishes to confirm that they will, in turn, transfer it to her account with another firm. At the time she wrote this letter, Madame de Staël owned a large tract of land in upstate New York. Her father originally purchased the land in the event that the family wanted to escape France's instability and settle in America. Although she and her children never moved to the United States, de Staël both increased her land holdings and invested in developing her property. LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers represented Europeans purchasing property in New York State, so it's highly likely that the $20,000 was used to either increase or develop Madame de Staël's American land holdings. This letter is evidence of a degree of financial and business independence that was highly unusual for a woman at the time.

Collection consists of a single one page autograph manuscript letter from Madame de Staël to the firm LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers in New York City regarding a financial transaction of $20,000. The letter is dated 1814 October 12; a note on the back states that it was received in New York 1815 March 10. In the letter, de Staël writes that she is sending their partner in London, Mr. McEvers, a note for $20,000. She asks if they have received her letter of July 25 in which she asked them to transfer the $20,000 to her account with the firm Doxat & Divett, and reiterates this request in the event that they have not received it. The letter is signed Necker de Staël Holstein. At the time, Madame de Staël owned an estimated 30,000 acres of land in what is now upstate New York, (Sakolski) and it's likely that this transaction was related to her American property holdings. Madame de Staël's father purchased land in America for his daughter and her children with the thought of leaving unstable France and settling in America. Although she never lived there, de Staël increased her American land holdings and reportedly invested $20,000 in developing the property. -- Sakolski, The Great American Land Bubble (1932)

Anna Letitia Barbauld was an English woman of letters who had great professional success at a time when women writers were still something of an anomaly. She is remembered for her poetry, children's literature, essays, criticism, and editorial works. She was rediscovered when feminist literary critics examined her place in British literary history. Barbauld was also an abolitionist, something she had in common with fellow educator and Stoke Newington resident William Allen. This item is a single small sheet of paper with an autograph manuscript poem by Barbauld on the front dated August 23, 1823, and another one on the back by William Allen dated August 30, 1823. Both poems were aimed at a juvenile audience. It is likely that their common interests and close proximity led them to develop a friendship. Although this was written towards the end of Barbauld's life, it is evidence that they still had at least an epistolary relationship in 1823.

Collection consists of a single piece of paper (20 x 12.5 cm) with an autograph manuscript poem by Anna Letitia Barbauld on the front and a poem called "Follow Me" by William Allen on the back. Barbauld's poem reads as follows: Born to the weighty honours of a name/Whose deeds of mercy England's shores proclaim/Yet know, you may inherit lands or pelf/But must, for praise - for love, be good yourself. It's signed A.L. Barbauld and dated August 23rd 1823. The verso contains a two-stanza autograph manuscript devotional poem by William Allen titled "Follow Me." It is signed Stoke Newington 30 of 8th month 1823. Barbauld and Allen were both educators and abolitionists who lived in Stoke Newington at the time of this writing. These poems are evidence that they had at least an epistolary friendship.

Collection comprises a letter from the 19th century writer and editor Sarah J. Hale to the prominent Philadelphia publisher Mathew Carey thanking him for his contribution to Hale's charity benefiting Boston seamen.

The collection consists of a single signed autograph letter with text on one side from Sarah J. Hale to the Philadelphia publisher Mathew Carey. Hale thanks Carey for his subscription to her charity, the Seaman's Aid Society and Mariner's House of Boston for the year 1822-1823. Hale also inquires about local interest in a Philadelphia organization that teaches needlework as a means of economic empowerment to poor women.

Collection comprises a certificate written by Fairfax stating that he examined Alsy (Alice), who was a slave being hired out to Charles Mothershead in Westmoreland Co., Va. He found that she had procidentia uteri (her entire uterus was outside the vagina), which caused her to be unable to work. He added, "She may be made useful by the application of an instrument properly adjusted, to keep the part from coming down."

Margaret Fuller was a teacher, journalist, and critic. Collection comprises a letter (1840 December 14) Margaret Fuller wrote to her uncle to request a meeting to review her mother's letter.

Collection comprises a letter (1840 December 14) Margaret Fuller wrote to her uncle to request a meeting to review her mother's letter.

Sophia Foord was a 19th century teacher in Massachusetts who was involved with the abolitionist, utopian socialist, and feminist movements. The Sophia Foord letter to Robert Adams mainly concerns the Northampton Association of Education and Industry, a utopian socialist community.

Three-page letter from Sophia Foord of Northampton, MA to Robert Adams of Pawtucket, RI regarding the Northampton Association of Education and Industry. Abolitionists Lydia Maria Child and William Lloyd Garrison are also mentioned, as is the Underground Railroad. A section is missing from the top of the first leaf, affecting text on the second page.

Collection comprises a volume containing nine handwritten poems prepared by Mary B. Tuckey and others for the 1845 anti-slavery fair held in Boston, Massachusetts, but brought together in a presentation volume. The volume features hand-painted covers and two illustrations, and was presented to Maria Weston Chapman, editor of the Boston Liberty Bell, by Mary Mannix, secretary of the female anti-slavery society in Cork, Ireland, in 1846. The volume was enclosed in a case with a leather spine, with initials "M.M. to M.W.C" and dated "Cork, 1846." One of the poems commemorates Frederick Douglass' visit to Cork.

Collection comprises a printed 1853 "West of England Pocket Book or Gentleman's Diary with an almanack" presented to Isabella Gardner by her husband in 1852. Gardner filled the volume with routine diary entries, usually briefly mentioning the weather and the health of family members, whether they were any visitors, along with any travel or activities and with whom the family took tea or had dinner. More unusual entries have to do with a tooth extraction, the birth of Frank, and a fire at their home. Entries became less frequent from October to December 1853. Also, several pages list household accounts and amounts paid, usually for food and servant salaries. Several items post-dating the diary were laid-in, including four brief letters to and from family members, a recipe for a throat tonic, a note with dates of ancestors, and a religious flier. A child later made drawings in available spaces on pages of the diary.

Collection comprises a letter from Lady Wilde discussing the loss of her mother, followed by her marriage, and announcing the birth of her eldest son, William Charles Kingsbury Wilde. She also comments on marriage, "a woman's duty ends with marriage. She becomes a vegetable, a house leek, a mop--I feel that I am 'potted' for the rest of my days...." Includes an enclosure with a note written in another hand identifying Wilde along with the letter's recipient, whose last name may be Grant.

Letter written by abolitionist Thomas Wentworth Higginson regarding an upcoming lecture entitled A Visit to the Family of John Brown.

The collection consists of a single page autograph manuscript letter from abolitionist Thomas Wentworth Higginson to an unknown male correspondent. Wentworth writes that he has prepared a lecture called A Visit to the Family of John Brown. Sources indicate that Higginson had returned from visiting the Brown family in the Adirondacks on November 4th, 1859. He writes that no one else from Massachusetts has visited the Brown family that he's aware of, except for fellow abolitionist Franklin Benjamin Sanborn. He asks if the recipient would prefer this lecture to the one Higginson had previously prepared. This lecture was likely turned into a chapter in Higginson's 1898 book Contemporaries called A Visit to John Brown's Household in 1859.

Marilla Ricker was an influential suffragist and pioneering woman lawyer. Her scrapbook consists chiefly of newspaper clippings by and about Ricker, chronicling her long activist career and public life advocating for suffrage and equal rights for women. It also includes correspondence and ephemera.

Collection comprises a scrapbook (66 leaves, 27 x 35 cm.) bound in maroon cloth with oak leaf and acorn decoration on front cover. The first leaf is inscribed "Marilla M. Ricker, March 1, 1896, 30 Codman Place, Roxbury, Mass." It consists chiefly of U.S newspaper clippings by and about Ricker. Some clippings have mss. annotations indicating the titles and dates of the newspapers. Topics include Ricker's political writings, philanthropic activities, and extensive activism on behalf of women's suffrage. Suffrage activities detailed in the newspaper stories include Ricker's legal activities, attempts to vote, run for public office, and apply for a diplomatic post. Also pasted in are six notes addressed to Ricker from correspondents including the Arts and Crafts Movement leader Elbert Hubbard, Illinois Senator John A. Logan, and the African-American author, orator, and abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Clipped autographs from faith leader Sarah J. Farmer, suffrage leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Ohio Senator John Sherman are also pasted in. Black and white portraits and illustrations of Ricker are interspersed throughout. The scrapbook also contains an 1881 certification admitting Ricker to the bar of the District of Columbia, an 1899 brief from a case Ricker tried before the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, printed ephemera including the seal of the American Secular Union and Freethought Federation, and 25 U.S. postage stamps.

Collection contains a letter from George Sand to Juliette Lamber, written 18 August 1867 at Sand's Nohant estate. The letter discusses possible plans to meet. Also, Sand acknowledges that she has been depressed by the death of her dear friend François Rollinat, and hopes their meeting can help her find courage to live. In a postscript, she adds that she has read Lamber's THE MANDARIN, and that Lamber has the elements of a serious talent. Includes an enclosure for the letter, as well as an English transcription.

Collection contains a letter from George Sand to Juliette Lamber, written 18 August 1867 at Sand's Nohant estate. The letter discusses possible plans to meet. Also, Sand acknowledges that she has been depressed by the death of her dear friend François Rollinat, and hopes their meeting can help her find courage to live. In a postscript, she adds that she has read Lamber's THE MANDARIN, and that Lamber has the elements of a serious talent. Includes an enclosure for the letter, as well as an English transcription.

Collection primarily includes four sketchbooks by Allingham, but also contains four letters, a carte de visite, and two exhibit labels. The four sketchbooks date from 1868-1916, and feature sketches and drawings made in graphite, watercolor, and pen and ink. Subjects are varied, and include English cottages and buildings, architectural features, sailboats and coastal scenes, figures, landscapes, and botanical items. The letters, dated 1881-1882 and undated, include three written by Allingham. There is one to Marcus B. Huish regarding her painting, The Tea Party, which she reports is incomplete, but she plans to finish before it is exhibited. There is a letter to a friend to whom she sends autographs, then describes her country place and garden, along with her 4-month-old son. Another letter focuses on the difficulty of finding unfurnished rooms. The final letter in the collection is written by Andrew Halliday to Dr. Watkins, regarding Allingham's address. There is also a carte de visite of English women's rights activist Emily Faithfull, with her signature, along with two modern exhibit labels on Allingham.

Collection primarily includes four sketchbooks by Allingham, but also contains four letters, a carte de visite, and two exhibit labels. The four sketchbooks date from 1868-1916, and feature sketches and drawings made in graphite, watercolor, and pen and ink. Subjects are varied, and include English cottages and buildings, architectural features, sailboats and coastal scenes, figures, landscapes, and botanical items.

The letters, dated 1881-1882 and undated, include three written by Allingham. There is one to Marcus B. Huish regarding her painting, The Tea Party, which she reports is incomplete, but she plans to finish before it is exhibited. There is a letter to a friend to whom she sends autographs, then describes her country place and garden, along with her 4-month-old son. Another letter focuses on the difficulty of finding unfurnished rooms. The final letter in the collection is written by Andrew Halliday to Dr. Watkins, regarding Allingham's address. There is also a carte-de-visite of English women's rights activist Emily Faithfull, with her signature, along with two modern exhibit labels on Allingham.

Collection comprises a diary (49 pages) Sarah Ewing maintained in ink, focusing on the domestic abuse she suffered from her husband, including verbal and physical abuse. One entry also records her husband's arrest for an assault that took place outside the home. By the end of the diary, Sarah has left her husband in fear for her safety, taking with her the baby. After visiting the house in order to retrieve more clothing, she ends the diary with a note that she is not a thief, "I had never in my life before removed or taken away from H.H. [Haydon House] any articles of clothing or jewelry of any sort." Marginal notes made by an unidentified writer in pencil indicate that the diary may have been used in legal or other proceedings on her behalf.

The Sarah Orne Jewett letters consist of two pieces of correspondence written by the author to an editor, Mr. Sawyer, and to Lucy Coffin. Sarah Orne Jewett was a well-known 19th century author whose fiction is set in her native rural Maine. In the first letter, Jewett declines to send Mr. Sawyer anything to print in the first issue of his magazine, as she has been ill and busy, and doesn't want to write something in a hurry, although she wishes him well with his new publication. The second is a condolence letter to Lucy Coffin of Newbury, Massachusetts on the loss of her father. The Coffins were a prominent Massachusetts family.

Collection consists of two autograph manuscript letters written by Sarah Orne Jewett. The first is addressed to a Mr. Sawyer, the editor of a new journal, declining to send him anything to print in his first issue, as she has been ill and doesn't wish to write something in a hurry. She sends him "hearty good wishes for the success of his magazine," asks him to send her a prospectus, and "suppose[s] that, like all editors, you have more verses than you wish to print." The letter is on a single sheet of folded paper with writing on three pages dated 1877 June 15 and written from South Berwick, [Maine]. The second letter is a sympathy note written on mourning stationery and addressed to Miss [Lucy] Coffin dated 26 December, but lacking a year. A Boston address appears at the top. Jewett expresses sympathy for the loss of Miss Coffin's father from both her and her companion Mrs. Field, and reminisces about a day they had spent together in Newburyport. Jewett references John Greenleaf Whittier, who was a student of Lucy's cousin Joseph while at Dartmouth College. The Coffin Family was prominent in New England and lived in Newbury, Massachusetts for many generations.

Collection consists of a single letter from the Pre-Raphealite poet Christina Rossetti to an unnamed recipient in the publishing industry. She grants him permission to use poems from three of her published collections in an upcoming "Fine Art Book for Christmas 1882." Rossetti states that there should be no variation of the text from the source material, and that she chose those three collections because she personally holds their copyright.

Collection consists of an autograph manuscript letter signed Christina G. Rossetti, granting the unnamed recipient, presumably a publisher, permission to reprint some of her poems. The letter is written on a single folded sheet of paper with text on two pages. She lists her address as: 30 Torrington Square - London - W.C. Rossetti refers to the correspondent's "assurance that no variation whatsoever" will appear in "your Fine Art book for Xmas 1882." Rossetti names three of her books he may use as source material: "Poems," "Pageant," and "Sing Song." She writes, "I name these, because not every piece to be found elsewhere is in every instance of my own copyright."

Collection comprises a volume entitled "Needlework," containing 16 pages of illustrations for sewing and darning patterns and techniques, accompanied by 22 finished samples. The title page indicates the work was done by Louisa Wright during a "Second Year" at an unnamed institute or training facility. There are illustrations for hemming and seaming, stitching, sewing on a tape, gathering, setting-in, making a buttonhole, herring-boning, darning a thin place, tacking, making a gusset, making a calico patch, darning a hole, whipping, using a print patch, crosscut darning, Swiss darning and grafting, and stocking-web darning. The volume has a sewn cover in khaki cloth featuring two pink ribbon closures with bows, buttons, and thread button-loops. The title "Needlework" is emboidered in pink thread.