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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

United Cigarette Machine Company records, 1887-1955 and undated

40 Linear Feet Approx. 12,000 Items
Lynchburg, Virginia manufacturing company specializing in cigarette machine and car parts; plants were located in the U.S. and Germany. The bulk of the United Cigarette Machine Company collection, dating from 1887-1955, consists of thousands of brownprints ("Van Dyke photoprints") and blueprints related to the various cigarette machines and parts manufactured by the company. These include the Universal, U-K, Improved Bonsack (designed by James Bonsack), and Heckendorn cigarette machines; materials from the 1920s also pertain to the manufacturing of Buick, Dodge, and Chevrolet auto parts. Other files contain black-and-white photographs of products, and company catalogs. Additional material includes contracts, legal papers, appraisals, audits, patent lists, tax reports, and minutes documenting company operations and finances. The center of operations was located in Lynchburg, Virginia; the company also owned manufacturing plants in Germany. A few materials are in French and German.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers Survey of the Columbia River, 1891

0.2 Linear Feet 2 Volumes

In 1890 Congress appropriated funds for the surveying and improvement of the Columbia River in Washington state, including $10,000 for surveying the river from the international boundary line southward to Rock Island Rapids. In 1891 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made this survey as far south as the Okanogan River. William Cuthbert led the team that made the survey. His superior was Capt. Thomas W. Symons of the U.S. Engineer office at Portland, Oregon. Their reports upon the 1891 survey were published as part of the annual report in 1893 of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, which is in the Report of the Secretary of War... (Washington, 1893), Vol. II, Pt. 4, pp. 3381-3399. Copies of the reports by Symons and Cuthbert are filed in the Information Folder of this collection.

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United States Army materials relating to the American Civil War, 1860s-1890s

0.5 Linear Feet
The United States Army, also referred to as the Northern, Union, or Federal army, fought against the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. This collection was assembled by Rubenstein Library out of miscellaneous and disparate archival and manuscript collections, including: U.S. Army units and regimental records, inventories, and orders; as assorted letters and correspondence from various Army soldiers and officers; maps, letterheads, and blank forms, all created or produced during the Civil War era. Many materials relate to troop movements; inventories of supplies, equipment, troops, and food; enlistment, pay, and service histories of various members of the U.S. Army; activities of particular regiments; action or battles against the Confederacy; examples of personal letters to and from soldiers' family members; reports and summaries of war conditions in Southern territories (poverty and hunger in Southern towns, destruction and seizure of property, and the difficult circumstances facing newly-freed Black populations); and other assorted bureaucratic and administrative Army records.
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1st Connecticut Artillery (Heavy) narrative history, 1864
Box 1

Manuscript bound volume describing formation, movements, and service of the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, under command of Capt. Uriah Wallace. Volume describes travels through towns and forts in Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, including travel by James and Potomac Rivers. Includes list of deaths and wounded. Author unknown.

Army of the Tennessee records, 1864-1865
Box 1

File contains miscellaneous materials from Dept. of the Tennessee, including: assorted papers relating to pay and service of 1st Lt. John R. Scupham; lists of tools and numbers of men (including "contraband negroes") in the Pioneer Corps; and a list of contracts made under 1st Lt. A.D. Whitcomb of the 1st Missouri Engineers.

David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Walter McGowan Upchurch papers, 1841-1977

8 Linear Feet Approximately 4600 Items
Member of Board of Trustees at Duke University; senior vice-president of Shell Companies Foundation, Inc. Collection spans the years 1841-1977, with the bulk dating from 1930-1977, and contains personal correspondence among members of the Upchurch family, including correspondence between Upchurch and his brother during World War II, when they were both serving in the U.S. Navy; professional correspondence concerning Duke University administrative affairs; genealogical materials for the Upchurch, Daniel, and Meadows families of North Carolina; commemorative material on Upchurch's mother, Minnie Gertrude (Daniel) Upchurch; and photographs, clippings, programs, and school materials. Much of the personal materials reveals the life of a middle-class North Carolina family during the first half of the 20th century. One personal letter is from John Steinbeck's sister, Beth Ainsworthy, and contains comments on Steinbeck and relationships in the Steinbeck family. Another group of materials relates to the world premiere of Samuel Barber's opera, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, at the Lincoln Center in N.Y. on Sept. 16, 1966. Included are invitations, commemorative programs and booklets, and the opera libretto. Other materials include Shell Development Company records on personnel issues such as labor relations and salary administration; and Shell Companies Foundation records (1963-1974), chiefly relating to the foundation's endowments, scholarships, and grants, as well as the company's donation budgets from 1969-1974.
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U.S. Army Foreign Military Studies, 1945-1954

9 Linear Feet Approximately 2000 Items
The U.S. Army European Command's Historical Division was charged with performing analyses and studies of military engagements and other events during World War II. Collection contains U.S. Army intelligence documents assembled from 1945-1954 by the European Command's Historical Division, which was charged with gathering information on the capabilities and strategies of the German and Soviet armies during and after World War II. The information centers on specific events and campaigns during World War II, and was gathered chiefly from German military officials and staff during trials and interrogations. Many of the documents have English translations. Formats include copies of transcriptions of interviews or interrogations, reports, and correspondence. Records are arranged by a number code assigned by United States Army Historical Division personnel. A published guide to the documents is included in the first box of the collection, as well as a list of the documents held by the library, which represent a partial set of the original U.S. Army files.
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The United Family Gazette and envelope, 1840-1895

0.1 Linear Feet
Collection comprises a handwritten copy of the Gazette (11 pgs, handstitched), plus an envelope. The Gazette contained a personal and detailed account of the marriage of Charlotte Elizabeth Octavia Collinson (1817-1850) to Charles Stansfield Rawson (1812-1863). The writer of the account was unidentified, but was probably one of Collinson's sisters. There are sections on the bridesmaids, ceremony, cake, wedding breakfast, and other celebrations, as well as desciptions of various family members. Rawson lived at Nether Wasdale, Cumberland, and married Charlotte at Boldon Church on Feb. 18, 1840. Later, two of their sons went to Queensland, where they made a fortune in ranching and pioneered the settlement of Mckay. The envelope, postmarked 1895, is illustrated and addressed to E. Rawson, Imperial Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

University Club of New York Souvenir Album, 1902-

1.2 Linear Feet 1 Items
The University Club of New York is a private social club. The album has 12 photographs of the Club's building.
2 results in this collection
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Tim Valentine papers, 1982-1994

85.5 Linear Feet 40,000 Items

The Tim Valentine papers span the years 1982 to 1994. The collection consists of correspondence, press releases, speeches, legislation, committee files, and video and cassette tapes. Materials pertain to the political life and career of former Congressman Tim Valentine of North Carolina's second district.

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Charles Leonard Van Noppen papers, 1881-1935

9 Linear Feet
Charles Leonard Van Noppen (1869-1935) was a publisher, editor, and author, from Greensboro, N.C. The collection contains letters and papers, mostly relating to the projected extension of Samuel A'Court Ashe's book, Biographical history of North Carolina from colonial times to the present (1908-1925). Collection also contains 356 black-and-white photographs and engravings, almost exclusively 19th century portraits of prominent male North Carolinians.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

James Van Der Zee photographs, circa 1908-1935

.5 Linear Feet (1 box)
Collection comprises 42 photographs taken by James Van Der Zee, known for his portraits and documentation of daily life in Harlem, N.Y., especially during the Harlem Renaissance (1920s-1930s). There are views of parades, athletic teams, a Baptist group, a first-grade Harlem classroom, and the interior of Van Der Zee's studio, as well as fictionalized settings and poses conveying hopes, dreams, and humorous situations. Subjects include an elegant couple in raccoon coats, a soldier, a female impersonator, a funerary portrait of a man in an open casket, Black Hebrews, Black Cross nurses, Marcus Garvey in regalia during a parade, entrepreneurs Madam C.J. Walker and her daughter A'Lelia, boxer Jack Johnson, and entertainer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Included is a self-portrait of the photographer playing a violin, circa 1930. An early portrait of Van Der Zee's first wife and daughter was taken around 1908, in Lenox, Massachusetts, his birthplace. Average print size is roughly 10 3/4 x 12 inches. Almost all are exhibit prints created mostly in the 1980s from original negatives. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture at Duke University.
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Black Cross Nurses, 1924
Box 1 > Image RL.11758-P-0001

Alternate title from an online image: "Black Cross Nurses at UNIA Parade Honoring Marcus Garvey." UNIA was the United Negro Improvement Association, led by Black nationalist Marcus Garvey. Recto bears editing marks; verso carries GGG Studio stamp at 272 Lenox Avenue, indicating the print may have been created afer 1930.

  1. Vintage Prints, 1924, 1944

Father, 1944
Box 1 > Image RL.11758-P-0002

Alternate title from an online image: "Father's Farewell." Image of man in open casket surrounded by flowers, with superimposed narrative extolling fatherhood. Verso bears the GGG Studio stamp at 272 Lenox Avenue.

  1. Vintage Prints, 1924, 1944

Vintage Prints, 1924, 1944 2 prints

Original gelatin silver prints by James Van Der Zee.

David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Jim Varney Collection of Advertising, 1983-2000

2.1 Linear Feet 100 Items
Jim Varney was an actor who played the character Ernest P. Worrell in commercials, a television series (Hey Vern! It's Ernest), and numerous movies. These materials were collected and donated by Roy Lightner. The collection (2009-0119) (100 items; 2.1 lin. ft.; dated 1983-2000) includes videotapes of Ernest films; audiocassettes of commericals; advertising kits used to pitch Ernest as a spokesman for local markets; Ernest memorabilia, including t-shirts, movie posters, buttons, a towel, and a doll; and other miscellaneous marketing tools used by the Carden and Cherry Advertising Agency. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

George Van Metre papers, 1732-1943, bulk 1830-1910

9 Linear Feet
George Van Metre was a civil engineer, real estate dealer, local politician and local recorder of weather conditions at Martinsburg, West Virginia. The collection includes surveying notes, drawings, personal and business correspondence and papers of Van Metre as well as William Ferrel and members of his family. Also included are weather observations, account books and letters from a missionary in India.
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Jacob Van Lear papers, 1807-1907 and undated

1.0 Linear Feet
The bulk of this collection consists of receipts for dry goods, and farming equipment, including a S.C. bill for taxes on horses and slaves. There are also a few family letters, and two wills signed by Jacob Van Lear in 1820 and 1821.
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F. Vester photographs of the Holy Land, approximately 1900

0.7 Linear Feet (1 box)
Collection comprises a photograph album with 38 albumen photographs (6 x 4.25 inches) pasted on sheets of thick cardboard. The album's binding features decorated wood with a Jerusalem cross. The back of the binding is marked "Jerusalem" in English and Hebrew. Photographs are numbered and feature subtitles in English and French. Photographic subjects in Jerusalem include: exterior and interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and several stations of the cross, the Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, various gates of Jerusalem, Mosque of Omar, Tomb of the Kings, Garden of Gethsemane, and Mount of Olives. Among the images of Palestine are: Jaffa, Tomb of Rachel, Bethlehem, Hebron, Tomb of Lazarus, Jericho, Dead Sea, the River Jordan, and the Tower of David and Hippicus. There is also a photograph of two women at a mill. All but two of the photographs are signed with the American Colony mark.
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F. Vester photographs of the Holy Land, approximately 1900 0.7 Linear Feet (1 box)

Collection comprises a photograph album with 38 albumen photographs (6 x 4.25 inches) pasted on sheets of thick cardboard. The album's binding features decorated wood with a Jerusalem cross. The back of the binding is marked "Jerusalem" in English and Hebrew. Photographs are numbered and feature subtitles in English and French. Photographic subjects in Jerusalem include: exterior and interior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and several stations of the cross, the Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, various gates of Jerusalem, Mosque of Omar, Tomb of the Kings, Garden of Gethsemane, and Mount of Olives. Among the images of Palestine are: Jaffa, Tomb of Rachel, Bethlehem, Hebron, Tomb of Lazarus, Jericho, Dead Sea, the River Jordan, and the Tower of David and Hippicus. There is also a photograph of two women at a mill. All but two of the photographs are signed with the American Colony mark.
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Maggie Newton Van Cott letter and clipping, 1884

0.1 Linear Feet (2 items)
Collection comprises a four-page letter Van Cott wrote (19 May 1884) to an unidentified close friend regarding her preaching in Dover, Maine, and its impact. She confesses "...I find the people spiritually dead" and tells the story of a father who dragged his son away from her and the altar. The letter is signed, "Peggie." She inserted into the letter a newspaper clipping reporting the revival she led in St. Paul, Minnesota.
2 results in this collection

Maggie Newton Van Cott letter and clipping, 1884 0.1 Linear Feet (2 items)

Collection comprises a four-page letter Van Cott wrote (19 May 1884) to an unidentified close friend regarding her preaching in Dover, Maine, and its impact. She confesses "...I find the people spiritually dead" and tells the story of a father who dragged his son away from her and the altar. The letter is signed, "Peggie." She inserted into the letter a newspaper clipping reporting the revival she led in St. Paul, Minnesota.
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Charles DeWitt Watts papers, 1917-2004 and undated

13.6 Linear Feet Approximately 7249 Items
Pioneering African American surgeon who was chief of surgery at Lincoln Hospital, clinical professor of surgery at Duke University, founder of Lincoln Community Health Center, director of student health at North Carolina Central University, and vice president and medical director for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, all in Durham, N.C. Spanning the period of 1917 to 2004, the Charles DeWitt Watts Papers contain files related to Watts's education, family, community activities, centered in Durham, N.C., and his career as a surgeon, administrator, and trustee on several boards. There is material on the formation in 1901 of Lincoln Hospital, a medical care facility for African Americans in Durham, N.C.. and other items on the early 20th century history of Durham, but the bulk of the papers relate to the later half of the 20th century. Formats primarily consist of correspondence, reports, notes, speeches, photographs, and print materials. It is organized into the following series: Community Relations, Personal Files, Photographic Materials, and Professional Files. Material in the Medical Records Series have been separated and are currently closed to use. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture.
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Alexander Russell Webb Journals, 1892

0.2 Linear Feet 3 Items

The collection contains Webb's "Journal No. 1, From Manila to Calcutta" (142 pp.), Aug. 29-Oct. 19, 1892, and his "Journal No. 2, From Calcutta to Bombay and Agra" (144 pp.), Oct. 20-Dec. 15, 1892. This is the first journal that Webb ever wrote (Vol. 1, p. 1). His journal continued beyond Vol. 2; the last sentence was continued elsewhere, and no pages appear to be missing from this volume. A later volume or volumes contained the account of the rest of his journey which is incomplete here.

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Alexander Russell Webb Journals, 1892

The following description does not include references to every person, place, or topic mentioned in Webb's journals, but sufficient detail is provided to indicate the richness of their contents and to serve as a guide to them.

Alexander Russell Webb Journals, 1892 0.2 Linear Feet 3 Items

The collection contains Webb's "Journal No. 1, From Manila to Calcutta" (142 pp.), Aug. 29-Oct. 19, 1892, and his "Journal No. 2, From Calcutta to Bombay and Agra" (144 pp.), Oct. 20-Dec. 15, 1892. This is the first journal that Webb ever wrote (Vol. 1, p. 1). His journal continued beyond Vol. 2; the last sentence was continued elsewhere, and no pages appear to be missing from this volume. A later volume or volumes contained the account of the rest of his journey which is incomplete here.

David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Woman's Christian Temperance Union collection, 1873-2013, bulk 1880s-1980s

15 Linear Feet (12 boxes, 1 oversize folder, 1 oversize banner)
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded in 1874 by women seeking to limit or prohibit alcohol sale and consumption in the United States. It rapidly grew to become a global organization, led by Frances Willard between 1879 and 1898. WCTU members advocated for women's suffrage, prohibition, and social reform. This collection contains a variety of WCTU materials from different regions, particularly chapters in Maine and California, and WCTU headquarters in Illinois. Items include manuscripts, printed materials, printed ephemera, photographs, and souvenirs spanning the late 19th through mid-20th century.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Diane Weddington papers, 1956-2014

91.5 Linear Feet
Diane Weddington worked as a journalist and religion editor at the Contra Costa Times in the 1980s-1990s. She has also taught courses in journalism, public policy, new media, and ethics. Collection includes Weddington's published articles, research clippings, reporter notes, and other publications and materials from her journalism career, divinity school studies, background material for arts journalism, and materials documenting Weddington's educational and teaching careers. Topics represented include the gay and lesbian community in San Francisco, the ordination of women and gay clergy, the women's rights movement, domestic violence and child abuse, Alzheimer's Disease, and other miscellaneous subjects.
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Todd Webb photographs, 1948-1979, bulk 1948-1951

1 Linear Feet (1 box)
Collection consists of 25 gelatin silver prints of images taken in France by noted American photographer Todd Webb. The majority were taken from 1948 to 1951, with some from the 1970s, on the streets of Paris, particularly in the Latin Quarter, with other images from small towns and rural areas in Provence and one from Le Cannet, on the French Riviera. Subjects include streets, storefronts, squares, restaurants, outdoor advertising, doorways, and other city scenes, some with pedestrians and other figures. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
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