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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Elizabeth A. McMahan papers, 1926-2010 and undated

18 Linear Feet
Elizabeth McMahan (1924-2009) was an entomologist (termite biology), psychologist, cartoonist, writer of children's books, and ocean traveler. Collection contains materials documenting McMahan's personal and professional life, including correspondence, writings, and photographs. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

J. Walter Thompson Company. Domestic advertisements, part 1, 1875-2001 and undated, bulk 1920s-1990s

360 Linear Feet 300,000 Items
Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) was one of the oldest and largest advertising agencies in the United States. It was headquartered in New York. In 2023 the agency was absorbed into marketing and communications firm VML. The Domestic Advertisements Collection consists of print advertisements created by U.S. offices of the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT). The bulk of the collection dates from the 1920s and after, but a few examples are available from as early as 1875. Print advertisements appear in a variety of formats--magazine, newspaper, color, black-and-white, proofs, tearsheets, negative transfers, clippings, along with a limited number of sketches for outdoor advertising installations. Some of the advertisements feature work from notable artists, such as Norman Rockwell, and photographers like Edward Steichen, Irving Penn, and Baron De Meyer. In addition to the actual advertisements, the files dating from the 1910s to 1950s often contain "insertion schedules" that provide the dates and names of the magazines or newspapers in which a given advertisement appeared. In general, proofs for JWT's long-time clients have been saved more systematically than those for accounts that JWT did not hold for a long time. The collection does not include advertisements which have been transferred to microfilm (see the JWT Microfilm Collection). Also, advertisements created for clients that JWT lost prior to the 1940s are less likely to have been saved, although some were microfilmed and are still available in that form. For some JWT clients there are no print advertisements at all in this collection. Among the most extensive files of print advertisements are those for the following JWT clients: Champion Spark Plug, Chesebrough-Ponds, Eastman Kodak (Instamatic, Pocket Instamatic, and Disc cameras, Kodak film), Ford Motor Company (consumer and dealer advertisements), R.T. French, Irving Trust Bank, J. Walter Thompson Company ("house advertisements"), Kraft Foods (including Kraft cheeses, Miracle Whip, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Velveeta), Lever Brothers (Lifebuoy, Lux, Close Up, Mrs. Butterworth), Pan American World Airways (passenger jet travel, cargo transportation), Radio Corporation of America (RCA) (RCA Victor recordings, consumer goods, National Broadcasting Company), Reader's Digest, Scott Paper, Seven-Up, Standard Brands (Chase and Sandborn, Fleischmann, Royal, Tenderleaf tea), and Warner-Lambert (primarily Listerine, including advertisements produced by the Lambert and Feasley agency). Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. The collection is continued by the J. Walter Thompson Company. Domestic advertisements, part 2.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Phil Weaver collection of World War II films, 1943-1946

2 Linear Feet (15 film cans in two records center boxes.)
Seventeen United States and British government-produced films on 15 reels, dealing with World War II and dating 1943 to 1946, primarily including films made explicitly to sell war bonds, as well as documentaries, training films, and anti-Japanese and anti-German propaganda.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

H. Lee Waters Film collection, 1936-2005, bulk 1936-1942

51.5 Linear Feet 258 Reels
Born in Caroleen, North Carolina in 1902, studio photographer Herbert Lee Waters supplemented his income from 1936 to 1942 by traveling across North Carolina and parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and South Carolina to film the people of small communities. He collaborated with local movie theaters to screen his films, which he called Movies of Local People. It is estimated that Waters produced films across 118 communities, visiting some of them multiple times. The H. Lee Waters Film Collection dates from 1936 to 2005 and is comprised primarily of 16mm black-and-white and color reversal original motion picture films created by Waters during the filming of the Movies of Local People series. The collection, arranged alphabetically by town name, also includes various preservation and access elements created over the years from the original footage: 16mm internegatives, 16mm screening prints, 3/4-inch Umatic videotape, Betacam SP videotape, Digital Betacam videotape, VHS videotape, DVD discs, and high resolution digital files including 2K preservation video copies. The collection contains a small number of papers and physical objects related to Waters' film making, including: a photocopy of two log books (encompassed in one volume) maintained by Waters to record financial and business information during the filming of Movies of Local People; photocopied and original advertisements for screenings of Waters' films; photocopies of Waters' notes, receipts, and correspondence concerning film sales; related ephemera; copy of a 2005 master's thesis written on the films of H. Lee Waters; home movies made by Waters from the 1930s to the 1950s; and oral histories with Mary Waters Spaulding and Tom Waters, the children of H. Lee Waters.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

"A brief history of medicine" short subject film, 1969

.2 Linear Feet (1 box)
Short subject film whose sequence of still images encapsulates the evolution of medical knowledge and practices from Neolithic times to the 20th century. The style is sixties psychedelic, with fast-moving sequences and vivid colors. The still images consist of historical scenes, procedures, and individuals significant to the history of medicine, chiefly Western, but there are a few images from Eastern practices. The only sound is music from "Mass in F Minor" by the Electric Prunes rock group (1968). Produced by staff in the Audio Visual Resources at the School of Medicine at Wake Forest University for educational purposes as well as for photographic research. Although the original 16 mm film is restricted, digital copies are available for viewing. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.
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"A brief history of medicine" short subject film, 1969 .2 Linear Feet (1 box)

Short subject film whose sequence of still images encapsulates the evolution of medical knowledge and practices from Neolithic times to the 20th century. The style is sixties psychedelic, with fast-moving sequences and vivid colors. The still images consist of historical scenes, procedures, and individuals significant to the history of medicine, chiefly Western, but there are a few images from Eastern practices. The only sound is music from "Mass in F Minor" by the Electric Prunes rock group (1968). Produced by staff in the Audio Visual Resources at the School of Medicine at Wake Forest University for educational purposes as well as for photographic research. Although the original 16 mm film is restricted, digital copies are available for viewing. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

New Day Films archive, 1968-2021

51.5 Linear Feet (82 boxes; 74 film reels; 500 GB)
New Day Films is a filmmaker-run cooperative founded in 1971. Its film archive consists of analog and digital elements for many of the cooperative's films dating from 1971 to the present. Film topics range widely and include women's history and culture; multiculturalism and diversity; social and political history; gender and socialization; media, culture; the environment; mental health; parenting and family; and global concerns. Paper records maintained by feminist co-founders Liane Brandon, Jim Klein, Julia Reichert, and Amalie R. Rothschild and by the cooperative office comprise correspondence between co-op members, staff, vendors, venues, and supporters; records relating to film production and distribution; steering committee and meeting minutes; policies and procedures; reports on activities; fund-raising proposals; film sales and rental receipts; film reviews, articles, fliers, posters, and other publicity; and some photographs of events and members. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Activating the Archive student projects collection, 2015

0.5 Linear Feet (1 box; 7 computer files; 10.6 Gigabytes)
Creative projects produced by students in Activating the Archive: Archival Research as Documentary Practice, DOCST 316-01 / 716-01 / ARTVIS 316-01 / VMS 314S-01, taught by Lisa McCarty in the Rubenstein Library in the Fall of 2015. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Art (Duke University).
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Activating the Archive student projects collection, 2015 0.5 Linear Feet (1 box; 7 computer files; 10.6 Gigabytes)

Creative projects produced by students in Activating the Archive: Archival Research as Documentary Practice, DOCST 316-01 / 716-01 / ARTVIS 316-01 / VMS 314S-01, taught by Lisa McCarty in the Rubenstein Library in the Fall of 2015. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Art (Duke University).
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Consumer Reports Archives records, 1924-2015 and undated

17.2 Linear Feet
Consumer Reports is a product testing and consumer advocacy nonprofit organization based in Yonkers, N.Y., founded in 1936. The Consumer Reports Archive was first established in 1972 as the Center for the Study of Consumer Movements. Collection includes correspondence, forms, photographs, policy and procedure statements and other printed materials that pertain to the operation support activities of the Consumer Union Archives. Included are files relating to archival administration and records management for the organization, reference requests and reference files relating to exhibit planning, Consumers Union and consumer movement history, and photocopied materials for individual research requests on various subjects. Organization resources include staff biographies; collection finding aids, indexes, and inventories; card and microfiche files. 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

William Blackburn papers, 1859-1985

20 Linear Feet 15,000 Items
William Blackburn was a professor of English and creative writing at Duke University. The collection includes correspondence, writings, teaching materials and notes, biographical and family papers, printed materials, scrapbooks, audiovisual material, and photographs from William Blackburn and his family.
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Duke University Archives

Duke Lemur Center records, 1967-1970, 2008, undated

2355 Gigabytes 0.25 Linear Feet
The Duke Lemur Center was founded in 1966 by John Buettner-Janusch and Peter Klopfer. Located in Duke Forest, the DLC houses and conducts non-invasive research on the study, care, and protection of lemurs. This collection contains 16mm film and videocassettes with recordings of lemurs.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

James H. Semans papers, 1878-1955, bulk 1936-1953

23.0 Linear Feet (26 boxes and one oversize folder.)
James Hustead Semans (1910-2005) was an American urologist and the second husband of Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans. This collection documents the history of the Semans family of Uniontown, PA and his medical training and career, which involved stateside military service during World War II, private practice in Atlanta, GA, and teaching at Duke University. His clinical interests included medical rehabilitation and marriage counseling, and he was the creator of polylingual lecturing.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

David Goldblatt photographs and films, 1960-1976

3.6 Linear Feet (5 boxes; 3 film reels) 257 Items
Collection comprises 251 black-and-white photographic prints taken by David Goldblatt during the 1960s of black and white South African miners at work, and South African Afrikaners. Collection also includes copies of three 16 mm films, "Soweto," "On the Mines," and "Some Afrikaners," created by Goldblatt in 1976 from his still images. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts, Duke University.
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16 mm Films, 1976

Contains three black-and-white 16mm films which David Goldblatt created with the still images in the photographs collection.

David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Crowing Rooster Arts records, 1964-2024

233 Linear Feet (6 processed boxes, 187 unprocessed boxes) 40 Terabytes (MP4 and MOV video files; WAV audio files.)
The Crowing Rooster Arts records contain original film, video, and audio resources as well as company records associated with Crowing Rooster Arts, a documentary and music production company focusing on Haiti's struggle for democracy and on labor, human rights, and immigration policy in Central America and the United States. Acquired as part of the Human Rights Archive.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Sidney D. Gamble photographs, 1906-2007

15.25 Linear Feet
The Sidney D. Gamble collection consists primarily of contact sheets, hand-colored glass slides, 35mm duplicate slides, contact prints, negatives, and other photographic formats documenting Gamble's four visits to China from 1908 to 1932. In total, there are over 5,000 unique images in the collection depicting urban and rural life, economic conditions, public events, agriculture, religious statuary, architecture, and the countryside. In addition to photographs of China, the collection contains a handful of images captured by Gamble from Japan and Korea and images captured by David Gamble in the western United States, circa 1906. Also included are artifacts, audiovisual materials, including moving images captured by Gamble in China from 1926 to 1933, scrapbooks, a small selection of Gamble's personal papers, and records of the Sidney D. Gamble Foundation for China Studies, which relate to the exhibition of Gamble's photographs in China and the United States, 1980s-2000s. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Peggy Weiss papers, 1976-1986, undated

3.25 Linear Feet 62 audiovisual items (35 16mm motion picture reels, 22 quarter-inch open reel audio tapes, 4 Umatic videocassettes, 1 audiocassette.)
The Peggy Weiss papers consist primarily of commercials Weiss produced as part of the Ogilvy and Mather advertising agency in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for companies such as Unilever, Kimberly-Clark, and General Foods. Additionally, there is a small number of Ogilvy and Mather in-house publications, including instructional materials and an issue of the Ogilvy and Mather newsletter profiling Weiss's team's work on Mueller's pasta. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
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Associated Ogilvy and Mather materials, 1976-1986, undated

Series contains one issue of Ogilvy and Mather's in-house daily newsletter, detailing Peggy Weiss's team's work on Mueller's pasta advertisements, as well as internal training materials published by Ogilvy and Mather.

David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Ipas records, 1962-2020

363 Linear Feet (242 boxes)
Ipas works around the world to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, especially the right to safe abortion. The collection documents this global nongovernmental organization dedicated to ending preventable deaths and disabilities from unsafe abortion.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

McGee family papers, 1857-2016 and undated

25 Linear Feet 4.95 Gigabytes
John Sidney and Doris Thompson McGee were Baptist missionaries to Iwo, Igede-Ekiti, and Ikogosi, Nigeria from 1945-1977. They had two children, John David and Sidney. The McGee Family Papers represent the life work of two missionaries, John Sidney and Doris McGee. John and Doris were appointed to Nigeria in 1945 by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, and served eight consecutive tours of service. The current collection contains collection information, correspondence between the McGee family members as John and Doris served in Nigeria, as well as correspondence between other missionaries, the personal papers of Doris, John S. and John David McGee, printed materials and publications about mission work and life in Nigeria (including books authored by members of the McGee family), hundreds of photographs related to the McGee's work, and audio-visual materials.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Takey Crist papers, 1944-2002 and undated

64.6 Linear Feet 21,903 Items

Accession 2002-0149 (778 items, 22.0 linear feet; dated 1971-2001) contains files of abortion, pregnancy, and hysterectomy malpractice cases in which Crist served as a consultant or codefendant along with the Crist Clinic. There is also printed material on reproductive topics. Also includes 2 VHS videocassettes; 6 color slides; 30 black-and-white and 2 color photographs. Addition 2003-007 (67 items, 7.3 linear ft.; undated) is composed of 16mm films used by "Crist Clinic Audio Visuals" in health education programs (undated). The clinic also offered the films for sale or rent to educators, students, doctors, parents, and others. The majority of the films focus on sex education for children and teenagers. Topics include puberty and menstruation, sex and sexuality, sexual orientation, lifestyle choices, and sexually transmitted diseases. Other topics include abortion; pregnancy and childbirth; infant care and nutrition; marriage and parenting; and drug and alcohol abuse.

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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Tom Rankin photographs and papers, 1977-2016

33.5 Linear Feet (28 boxes; 2 film reels)
Tom Rankin is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, folklorist, professor of art and documentary studies, and former director of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. The collection consists of 147 black-and-white and color photographs documenting the American South and China, as well as supporting materials for Rankin's documentary projects. Photographs from the South focus on religious sites, rituals, and communities in the Mississippi Delta region, and includes Southern landscapes as well as portraits of individuals, including Mississippi writer Larry Brown. An additional documentary project from 2016 took Rankin to China, where he photographed semi-rural landscapes, often taken with high-rise buildings in the far distance or adjacent to industrial structures, as well as bridges and rivers, markets and live fish vendors, and a few street scenes. Finished prints range from 8x11 inch contact prints to 11x14, 16x20, and 20x24 large-format prints. Supporting materials include manuscripts, publications files, and two films, all deriving from Rankin's career and documentary practice. Includes a digital audio recording of a talk by Rankin at the exhibit opening of his work, "Near the Cross: Photographs from the Mississippi Delta." Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

J. Walter Thompson Company. Edgar Hatcher papers, 1952-1992

4.5 Linear Feet 250 Items

The Edgar Hatcher Papers, 1952-1992, document Hatcher's career as a copywriter and creative director for several major advertising agencies, including G.M. Basford Co.; Benton and Bowles; Ogilvy, Benson, and Mather; Kenyon and Eckhardt; Batten, Barton, Durstine, and Osborn's San Francisco office; McCann-Erickson; and J. Walter Thompson Company. The collection provides an overview into oil company advertising and the development of advertising in several firms from the 1950s through the early 1990s. Materials include reports, correspondence, memoranda, scripts, storyboards, collateral literature, notes, photographs, audio and video tapes, films, and cassette recordings which document the creative development of print, radio and television advertising for various clients. Clients represented include General Electric, Air Reduction Co., Chemical Manufacturer's Association, IBM, Shell Oil, Maxim Freeze Dried Coffee, Ford and Lincoln Mercury, Chevron Oil, Exxon/Esso, Campbell's Soup, Advertising Council, National Council on Productivity and Quality of Working Life, Savings and Loan Foundation, Eastman Kodak, and Beechcraft.

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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

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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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Marty Rosenbluth papers, 1980-2006 and undated

12 Linear Feet
Marty Rosenbluth was Amnesty International's area specialist for Israel/Occupied Territories in the 1980s. He is also an independent documentary film-maker. The Marty Rosenbluth papers include publications, reports, case studies, press-releases, mailings, communications, leaflets, audiovisual recordings, and ephemera created by Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups. These groups include Al-Haq (Law in the Service of Man), Badil, B'Tselem, Hamoked (Center for the Defense of the Individual), Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, The West Bank Data Base Project, and Alternative Information Center. The papers also feature materials from Palestinian trade unions and United States-based solidarity groups, as well as unofficial, locally published first-person reports of events and conditions in the Occupied Territories.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Rob Amberg photographs and papers, 1975-2009

15 Linear Feet 457 Items
The photographs and papers of documentarian Rob Amberg span the years 1975-2009. The gelatin silver prints and pigmented inkjet color prints in the collection represent three bodies of work: The New Road: I-26 and the Footprints of Progress; The Sodom Laurel Album; and The Vanishing Culture of Agriculture. Amberg focuses primarily on the social life and customs of the rural South, especially in the mountains of his home state of North Carolina. Images range from landscape shots taken before and during construction of an interstate highway in the N.C. mountains, to portraits of individuals and families affected by the changes in rural culture. Images also depict agricultural activies such as tobacco cultivation and dairy cattle farming, as well as work in the poultry industry. He has a special concern for documenting the way in which industrial and economic progress seems to be erasing many aspects of rural culture at the turn of the twenty-first century. Amberg's papers account for the rest of the collection and are organized into five series: Correspondence, Printed Materials, Subject Files, and Writings and Research, and Audio. Acquired as part of the Archives of Documentary Arts at Duke University.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Americans For Immigrant Justice records, 1982-2020; 1982-ongoing

103 Linear Feet 23625 Items
Americans for Immigrant Justice (formerly Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center [FIAC]) is a not-for-profit legal assistance organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the basic human rights of immigrants of all nationalities. The Americans for Immigrant Justice records span the years of 1980-2017. The collection contains project files and correspondence regarding immigrant detention policy and conditions in the state of Florida, particularly concerning the Haitian community; legal documents regarding the same, including restricted and confidential legal files; and audiovisual material produced by or for AIJ. The bulk of materials are organized by subject and detention facility.
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Duke University Archives

John Shelton Curtiss papers, 1796-1981

6.5 Linear Feet
John Shelton Curtiss was a professor emeritus of history at Duke University, specializing in Russian history and civilization. The collection includes professional and personal papers, as well as extensive documentation of Curtiss family history and genealogy.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

John Humphrey Small papers, 1720-1946, bulk 1850-1870, 1912-1937

13 Linear Feet 9,721 Items
Lawyer and U.S. Representative from North Carolina. Correspondence, legal documents, and other papers (chiefly 1850-1870 and 1912-1937) of John Humphrey Small; of his father-in-law, Col. Rufus W. Wharton, lawyer and planter; and of Col. David M. Carter, lawyer, planter, businessman, and court official, of Fairfield, N.C. Small's papers form the bulk of the collection and concern his North Carolina agricultural interests, his legal practice, his activities in Congress, river and harbor improvements, the Intracoastal Waterway, patronage, Southern financial conditions, U.S. and North Carolina politics, World War I labor problems, and the 1929 Depression. The papers before 1850 are mainly deeds, family papers, and legal documents. Wharton's and Carter's papers relate largely to the legal profession and to their agricultural interests.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

John McIntosh Kell papers, 1735-1944 and undated

9 Linear Feet
The collection includes papers and volumes created by John McIntosh Kell (1823-1900) of the U.S. Navy and his family. Family correspondence includes letters from John McIntosh Kell's period of service in the U.S. Navy, family and buisness papers from the Kell, Nathan Campbell Munroe, and Tabitha Easter (Napier) Munroe families discussing Georgia policitcs and other local events. Volumes in the collection include logs of the U.S. frigate Savannah, the U.S.S. Falmouth, and Shark. There is also an unpublished manuscript by Kell's wife and scrapbooks she maintained. Includes family legal papers, genealogical materials, writings, and miscellaneous papers.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

John Hook papers, 1737-1889 and undated

30 Linear Feet Approx. 7392 Items
Scottish merchant and Tory, of Hale's Ford (Franklin Co.), Va. Letters, papers, and mercantile records belonging to John Hook of the mercantile firm of Bowker Preston, Hook's son-in-law, and Smithson H. Davis at Goose Creek, Bedford Co., Va.; and of a similar firm of Asa, Smithson H., and Alexander G. Holland and John D. Booth at Hale's Ford and Germantown, both in Franklin Co., the Holland family apparently being connected with the Hook family by marriage. John Hook's papers consist of daybooks, ledgers, letter books, and memoranda of his mercantile firm and its branch stores, as well as plantation and land records of his extensive holdings and genealogical materials. There is also information concerning sequestration proceedings brought against him by David Ross, a former business partner. The records span the last quarter of the eighteenth century and document the American colonial and post-revolutionary trade system. Records of Bowker Preston and Smithson Davis concern the operation of their mercantile firms, 1813-1830, and include information on goods purchased in Philadelphia, New York City, and Richmond and Lynchburg, Va., and on the tobacco trade in Virginia, especially the effects of the panic of 1819. Records of the Holland family consist of merchants' correspondence, ledgers, account books, and daybooks.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Thomas Nelson Page papers, 1739-1927 and undated, bulk 1885-1920

12.4 Linear Feet
Virginia lawyer and writer; ambassador to Italy from 1913-1919. The Thomas Nelson Page Papers span the years 1739-1927. Personal and professional correspondence, legal and business papers, writings, diplomatic dispatches, clippings and other items (chiefly 1885-1920) relate to Page's legal and literary career; his activities as a lyceum lecturer; his marriages and family relations; and his interest in civic affairs, plantation life, social reform and race relations in the United States, particularly during and after Reconstruction; American politics and diplomacy, especially during World War I; and European travel. Many of his papers directly relate to his term as ambassador to Italy during World War I, from 1913 to 1919.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Farrar Family papers, 1740-1984 and undated, bulk bulk 1878-1940

9 Linear Feet 5000 Items

Chiefly family and professional correspondence, but also printed material, writings and speeches, scrapbooks, diaries, clippings, and photographs. The collection primarily pertains to the Farrar family and to Preston C. Farrar. Much of the Correspondence Series (1801-1976, undated) consists of personal letters among family members, especially written to Preston C. Farrar; his wife Edna P. Farrar; brother Samuel Clark Farrar, Jr.; sister Josephine; father Samuel Clark Farrar; and mother Ettie Farrar. However, the series also documents the careers in education of Samuel Farrar, Sr., and Preston Farrar. Business letters from Samuel Farrar concern real estate investments in Pennsylvania and New York that father and son owned jointly.

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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Hammond family papers, 1751-1914, bulk 1820s-1890s

6 Linear Feet Approx. 3507 Items
Residents of Frederick County, Maryland. Collection consists chiefly of business and legal papers of various members of the Hammond family of Maryland. The earliest items (1750s-1820s) are land grants and other land records of Nathan Hammond and Vachel Hammond. The papers of Thomas Hammond, who served as a judge of the Orphans' Court of Frederick Co., are mainly the records of his service as administrator of several estates or as guardian of orphans, but also include farm records, financial receipts, and slave purchases. The papers of Dawson V. Hammond, brother of Thomas, concern the administration of estates, including Thomas's holdings. There are a few references to Unionist sympathies in Maryland during the Civil War and economic conditions in the U.S. during the 1870s.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Person Family papers, 1754-1971

6 Linear Feet 3000 Items
Family active in Louisburg, Franklin Co., N.C. and also in Nash Co., N.C. Correspondence, accounts, diary (1869), bills, deeds, wills, legal documents, and other papers (largely 1829-1897). The bulk of the collection relates to Thomas A. Person and his family, and includes letters written from Harrison Co., Tex., and New Orleans (ca. 1850s); student letters from various North Carolina schools (1835-1860); letters of Confederate soldiers concerning military life; and family and business letters with Civil War reminiscences. The early material mostly concerns Thomas A. Person's father, Presley Carter Person, of Louisburg, N.C., and the settlement of his estate. Later material concerns patent medicines manufactured by a member of the family. Other correspondents and names mentioned include W. P. Montgomery, Harriett Person Perry, Levin Perry, Theophilus Perry, Jesse H. H. Person, Joseph Arrington Person, M. P. Person, and Willie Mangum Person. Addition comprises primarily land deeds and surveys, other deeds of sale, receipts, personal wills, and other financial information. Also includes personal correspondence and memory books. An 1834 deed of gift to John W. Harris from P. C. Person includes five named slaves, one gray horse, 12 head of cattle, and 12 head of sheep. An 1808-1864 ledger book of Presley Person includes Person family genealogy and names and birth dates of his slaves and of the slaves owned by his son, Thomas A. Person. Other names mentioned include Matthew Culpepper, Arthur W. Person, Prudence Person, and W. M. Person.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Saltar family correspondence, 1759-1880 and undated

0.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Over 200 pieces of correspondence dating from 1759–1880, written by women of the Saltar and Gordon families of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland between themselves and other family relations. Over a third of the letters date before 1825. The principal correspondents are Elizabeth 'Betsy" Gordon Saltar, her daughters Lucy Saltar and Frances "Fanny" Saltar, and Elizabeth's cousins Mary Gordon and Polly Gordon. Dozens of other letters come from family friends and relatives, male and female, from prominent families in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, and some from the Midwest and New England states. Topics include courtship; marriage; religion; pastimes; visits and travel; and the welfare of family members and friends. There are many references to illnesses, with many details on treatments and outcomes. There are also long passages and references to grief and mourning on the death of loved ones, and some discussions of finances. There are a few references to slavery and to enslaved people and servants. Letters sent during the Civil War discuss events centered around Pennsylvania, particularly in 1863; one discusses African American troops and their role in the war, and the circumstances surrounding the recruitment of the 3rd United States Colored Troops' commander, Benjamin C. Tilghman. A few earlier letters speak of the War of 1812, especially in and around Baltimore and Philadelphia. Acquired by the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture.
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1759 May 5: Mary Penry to Polly Gordon
Box 1

Presentation of the Gospel and Penry's own testimony. Penry describes herself as lowly and insignificant in comparison with her mighty Savior (Christ), and accordingly she can focus only on his grandeur. She hints that Polly may not have yet experienced the "true Happiness" of Christ, and that Polly is thus more concerned with the "World" than she need be.

  1. Letters to Polly Gordon, 1759 May 5 - 1818 June 20, and undated
David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Scarborough family papers, 1760-1945, 1996 and undated, bulk 1803-1930

6 Linear Feet Approx. 2300 Items
Family based in Mt. Gilead, Montgomery County, North Carolina; relatives were located in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Related family names include Clarke, McLeod, Nash, and Smart. Correspondence, legal and financial papers, and other materials dating from the 1700s to the 1940s, relating to the Scarborough family based in Mt. Gilead, Montgomery County, N.C. Papers document rural life in N.C., cotton and tobacco farming, mercantile activities, and the experiences of family members in the Civil War and World War I, and their careers as teachers, local officials, and members of the Republican Party in the 20th century. Includes many letters from friends and relatives who migrated to other Southern states. Bound volumes include account books, court dockets, a scrapbook, a family history, and public school district registers. There are a few items referring to slaves, including two lists of slave names, most likely from N.C. Over 100 Civil War letters were exchanged between family members at home and relatives and friends serving as Confederate soldiers in N.C. locations such as High Point (Camp Fisher), Greenville, Raleigh (Camp Mangum), Tarboro, and Wilmington; Petersburg, Virginia; and Camp Winder and Jackson Hospitals in Virginia. The letters refer to battles, troop movements, camp life, the status of various individuals both at home and abroad, prices of commodities and produce, and life in home towns such as Mt. Gilead, NC, and Bruceville and Warrior Stand, Alabama.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Southgate-Jones Family papers, 1760-2008

22.4 Linear Feet circa 13,456

The Southgate-Jones family papers, 1794-1990s (bulk 1912-1933), are largely comprised of both business and personal correspondence, but also include printed material; photographs; genealogical information; business records in the form of volumes, reports, and minutes of meetings; clippings; and legal and financial papers. Several generations of Southgate and Jones family members are represented, including James Southgate, James H. Southgate, Mattie Logan Southgate Jones and James Southgate ("South") Jones. These individuals were involved in business, educational, political, civic, social and cultural activities in Durham and North Carolina during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Areas include insurance, real estate and tobacco businesses, banking, the administration of Trinity College, the women's suffrage movement, the Durham Civic Association, and Durham Masonic Lodge No. 352. The collection is useful for studying the history of Durham and North Carolina, the regional application of national policy toward farmers during the 1920s and 1930s, and the family history of prominent citizens.

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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Gaess Outdoor Advertising photographs, 1950s-1960s and undated

2.4 Linear Feet 3000 Items
Gaess Outdoor was a family-owned outdoor advertising company founded in the 1930s in northern New Jersey, serving the New Jersey-Metropolitan New York market. It was acquired in 1997 by Universal Outdoor, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. The Gaess Outdoor Advertising Photographs collection spans the decades of the 1950s and 1960s and includes black-and-white photographs and negatives of painted and blank billboard structures, locations, proposed locations and competitors' billboards. Clients include Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch), Cities Service (Citgo), Gulf Oil, Schaefer and Schlitz. 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

James Iredell Sr. and James Iredell Jr. papers, 1724-1890, undated

9.5 Linear Feet
James Iredell Sr. was a statesman and one of the first justices of the Supreme Court of the United States serving from 1790 to 1799. James Iredell Jr. was the governor of North Carolina (1827-1828) as well as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina (1828-1831). Topics in this collection include revolutionary sentiment in North Carolina, North Carolina's ratification of the U.S. constitution, national politics, the legal and political careers of both James Iredell Jr. and Sr., correspondence from family and friends in England and Ireland, and other family affairs.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

James Rogers papers, 1768-1794 and undated

10 Linear Feet
Collection consists almost entirely of photocopies of documents held in the Public Records Office (London) originally belonging to James Rogers, Bristol, England, a merchant, ship owner, and slave trader who engaged in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The material, dating from 1768-1794, largely consists of incoming correspondence, bills of sale, receipts, and other items related to ships' voyages and trading activities. Many of these voyages were for the purpose of acquiring and trading enslaved laborers from Africa. A paper guide to the collection created by the donor of the collection and available to researchers includes descriptions of most of the ships' voyages.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Campbell family papers, 1731-1969

20 Linear Feet
Family, business, and political correspondence of David Campbell, Governor of Virginia; William Bowen Campbell, Governor of Tennessee; Arthur Campbell, soldier in the Revolutionary War who fought indigenous peoples in North America; John Campbell, Virginia statesman and U.S. Treasurer; James Campbell, lawyer and member of the Tennessee legislature; Virginia Tabitha Jane (Campbell) Sutton; and other members of the Campbell family; and papers of related families, including the Owens, Montgomerys, Kelleys, and Newnans. Topics covered include national political issues such as the War of 1812, the formation of the national banking system, Jacksonian party politics, and social and economic reforms, as well as Virginia and Tennessee state politics and education, and general discussions of educational experiences, personal philosophy, and family news.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

McCoy-Love Family papers, 1774-1970 and undated

12.3 Linear Feet circa 9,210 Items
Asheville, N.C. residents. Two prominent members of the families were George William McCoy, Sr. (b. 1901), editor of the Asheville-Citizen Times, and his father-in-law, Harry Weaver Love (b. 1883), YMCA executive. The collection contains personal and business correspondence, genealogical material, financial and legal records, printed material, clippings, addresses and writings, scrapbooks, miscellaneous items, photographs, and a number of volumes. Topics include the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Assoc. Harry Love's business papers include a large number of correspondence, reports, pictures and volumes relating to his work with the YMCA, in the U.S. and abroad; there are a great many items relating to the Philippine Islands. There are a sizable number of papers from Wythe Munford Peyton, a civil and highway engineer, who worked for several N.C. railroads; the papers of William C. Coleman, a businessman who sold and serviced Harley-Davidson motorcycles (1914-1915); and papers of the Frelinghuysen-Southwick family of N.J. and N.Y., one relative being a Senator and another, Emeline Sherman Smith, a poet. There are a few items concerning Thomas Dixon who founded the Mt. Mitchell Assoc. of Arts and Sciences.
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Duke University Archives

Office of Student Activities and Facilities records, 1936-ongoing

65.5 Linear Feet 23 Megabytes
The Duke University Office of Student Activities and Facilities (OSAF) serves as a liaison between the university administration and student groups, clubs, and organizations. The Office of Student Activities and Facilities Records, 1936-ongoing, contain correspondence, charters, directories, annual reports, financial statements, and other information on Duke University student organizations, including Duke Student Government, Associated Students of Duke University, the Undergraduate Publications board, the Duke University Union, and the Office of University Life. The OSAF Records also document Duke University student life more generally, including their social life, customs, and political activity.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Jeanne Audrey Powers papers, 1904-2017

75 Linear Feet (137 boxes)
Reverend Doctor Jeanne Audrey Powers is a retired prominent activist clergywoman who was one of the first women to be ordained in the United Methodist Church. She is a longtime advocate for ecumenism and inclusiveness within the church. She was the highest-ranking UM church official to come out as gay in 1995. The collection contains materials documenting Reverend Doctor Powers' personal and professional lives including correspondence, writings, family history, education, committee work, sermons, travels and activism.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Henry James Seibert papers, 1779-1912 and undated

15 Linear Feet 16,658 Items
Lawyer, election clerk, and Virginia legislator, of Martinsburg and Hedgesville, Virginia (now West Virginia). Correspondence, account books, ledgers, and other professional, business, and family correspondence (chiefly 1820-1885), of Seibert and of his family. The collection relates to family matters, Virginia and national politics before the Civil War, migration into the Old Northwest, social life and customs, and slavery in Virginia.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

McMullen Family papers, 1783-1969 and undated bulk 1880-1945

13.4 Linear Feet 10,053 Items
Family of Irish origin living in Pennsylvania, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. Family and business correspondence and invention papers of an Irish Catholic family living in Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C., whose members engaged in promoting inventions. The papers center on John Francis McMullen (1830-1900), and his wife, Lavelette (Johnson) McMullen. Includes letters from relatives in Ireland, from Virginia cousins and friends, from nuns of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, from business acquaintances, from friends traveling in the U.S. and Europe, and from the novelist Mary Johnston; and papers relating to the settlement of a disputed legacy left to Mary McMullen by Miss Jane Agnes Riggs, the last of the children of George Washington Riggs, Washington banker. Also includes manuscripts of the Confederate poet, John Banister Tabb, writings of Dysart and Mary McMullen, letters and poems of William Hand Browne, editor, author, and librarian, and correspondence of Mary McMullen which gives glimpses of the Riggs family.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Patrick H. Cain papers, 1783-1940

6 Linear Feet Approx. 2,904 Items
Merchant, tobacco merchant, landowner, distiller, and State Representative, from Mocksville and Settle (Davie Co.), N.C. Personal, legal, business, and financial papers of Patrick H. Cain and the Cain family, from Davie County, N.C. Included are letters describing life and social customs in Georgia; the education of women; student life at Normal College (later Trinity College, then Duke University) and at the University of North Carolina; Western migration; prices of products and services, the value of slaves, and the wages of freedmen; and the life of Confederate soldiers and military actions at First Manassas and Gettysburg. Legal papers consist of land grants, deeds, mortgages, arrests and summonses for debts, promissory notes, and material relating to the administration of various estates. Financial records include tax receipts and accounts. There is one volume of patient accounts, 1906-1925, belonging to Dr. John Cain. Correspondents include George Burgess Anderson, Francis Asbury, Samuel Ashe, Kemp P. Battle, John Joseph Bruner, D. R. Bruton, Lyman Copeland Draper, David Moffatt Furches, William H. Hayes, William Hill, Hamilton C. Jones, Leonidas Polk, Zebulon Vance, and Jonathan Worth.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Robert Leslie papers, 1783-1934 and undated, bulk 1814-1872

23.7 Linear Feet Approximately 15,398 Items
Merchant, of Petersburg, Va. Correspondence, accounts, invoices, statements, and legal papers (chiefly 1814-1872) of Leslie, a member of the Virginia mercantile firm of Leslie and Shepherd, and a slave owner. The papers before 1819 largely concern the processing and sale of cotton, tobacco, rice, and western lands. Most of the papers after 1819 pertain to tobacco manufacture in the Richmond-Petersburg area. Other topics include Leslie's career, family, and travels in England; his western landholdings and efforts to develop the West; his slaveholding and attitude toward it; mercantile prices and U.S.-British trade; and absentee landlordship referring to the maintenance of American property owned by Englishmen. Later material includes scattered correspondence and business papers of Leslie's nephews, Robert L. Watson and John McGill, whom Leslie had admitted to partnership in the firm.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

James Hamilton papers, 1769-1870, bulk 1785-1858

15 Linear Feet (16 boxes; 1 oversize folder)
Merchant and plantation owner of Charleston, S.C., later of Philadelphia, Pa. Collection comprises business and family correspondence, accounts, and receipts, including papers related to several of Hamilton's business partnerships (dating mainly from 1785 to 1818) and numerous private transactions, including purchases of slaves (1784-1785, 1801, 1808). There also are papers from voyages of ships in which he had a major interest, including routes to India, the Mediterranean, and the West Indies. The collection concludes with accounts and records related to the settlement of his estate from 1832 to 1870.
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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Craven-Pegram Family papers, 1785-1966

11.4 Linear Feet Approximately 6,565 items

The Craven-Pegram Family Papers span the period 1785 to 1966, with the bulk dating from 1892 to 1958. The collection chiefly consists of correspondence among various family members and friends, and photographs. Included are legal and financial papers, writings and speeches, genealogical material, newsclippings, and printed material. While the principal focus of the collection is Sallie Kate Craven (Kate) and her sister, Emma L. (Craven) Pegram and her family, information about earlier generations of the Craven, Pegram, and Leach families is included in the legal and genealogical material.

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David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library

J. Walter Thompson Company. London Office. Knowledge Centre subject files, 1941-2002

60.0 Linear Feet
Founded in 1864, the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) is one of the oldest and largest enduring advertising agencies in the United States. It is headquartered in New York. The London Office first opened in 1899. The Knowledge Centre was a reference library for staff use. Collection comprises a vertical file of articles, clippings, market research reports, institutional and government publications and other printed material. Topics include advertising industry, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, automobiles, computers and computer software, food, radio and television, tobacco products and travel and tourism industry. 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

William Clark Grasty papers, 1788-1906 and undated, bulk 1800-1869

10.9 Linear Feet 8,175 Items
General merchant, Pittsylvania Co., Va. Correspondence, account books, daybooks, fee books, invoices, ledgers, memoranda books, records of sales, inventories, and letterpress copybooks, chiefly 1800-1869, of three generations of general merchants of Pittsylvania Co., Va. Business interests included a general store, a tavern, a blacksmith shop, a simplified type of banking, and the keeping of a post office. Large amounts of tobacco were bought and sold before the Civil War. Post-war records indicate a large volume of trade in Peruvian guano and commercial fertilizers. Partners in the firm included Philip L. Grasty and other members of the Grasty family, John F. Rison and Samuel Pannill. Includes letters (1849-1867) of John S. Grasty, a Presbyterian minister, referring to North Carolina agriculture, slave hiring, Unionist sympathy among the Dutch population of Botetourt Co., Va., and the devastation of Fincastle, Va., during the war.
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