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The Fairbank Family Papers consist almost exclusively of correspondence written between members of the Fairbank family and their religious associates. The letters, carried by steamer between India, America and other parts of the world, span the years 1837-1971, with the bulk occurring between 1905 and 1940. Earlier letters were sent by Samuel Bacon, Katie, and Emily Fairbank and Thomas Snell Smith to Samuel's brother and other relatives in the United States.

Collection spans 1840-1986 and includes newspaper and magazine clippings and tear sheets, catalogs, ephemera, memorabilia, and other printed material primarily from the U.S., Great Britain, and France. Advertisements represent products and services from a wide range of categories including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, businesses, cosmetics and other health and beauty products, fashion (including clothing, jewelry and watches), food, hotels and other tourist and travel destinations, household products, movies and theater events, tobacco products (primarily cigarettes) and transportation (airlines, automobiles, buses, cruise lines, trains, tires and other automotive accessories). The bulk of materials are in English, but French, Greek, and Spanish-language items are also present. Companies represented include Ford, Packard, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Coca Cola, TWA, Henri Bendel, Goodyear, and DeBeers. Non-advertising related materials include sheet music from the vaudeville, ragtime, and minstrel era; World War I; and depictions of African Americans, Native American, and other ethnicities in advertisements and print media. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

The British-American Tobacco Company, Ltd., was established in 1902 by an agreement between the Imperial Tobacco Co. of Great Britain and its rivals, the American Tobacco Co. and its associates. These firms divided the world's market for manufactured tobacco products, and British-American took over trade with those territories not reserved to Imperial and American, that is, the export business everywhere outside Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Cuba, and the U. S. and its overseas dependencies. Ownership of British-American was divided between its parent companies, American holding substantially two-thirds of the stock. The headquarters was located in London, England, and the office at 111 5th Ave. in New York City handled the purchase of leaf and manufacturing in the U. S.

Collection comprises letters to and from Piatt. Topics include Pennsylvania canals; Democratic Party politics in Pennsylvania in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s; the temperance movement; the Piatt family, Pennsylvania railroads; the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1872; and the Liberal Republican Party.

The papers of Thomas Carroll span the years 1844 to 1914 with the majority of the papers dating from 1844 to 1887. They consist primarily of correspondence and accounts relating to his plantation, general store, and guardianship of orphans.

Primarily the diaries of Mr. Bower, which date from 1883 to 1930 and concern his personal and business affairs. Entries refer to various organizations Bower worked for, including: the Pacific Fire Insurance Company of New York; the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad in New York; the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad Company in Cleveland; and the New York Central Railroad Company in Cleveland. Other entries concern life in Middlefield, Ohio, where Bower was born; Ohio Business University in Cleveland; and Bower's ties to the Masons, the Presbyterian Church, and the Sons of Union Veterans. A memorandum book (1844-1849), written by an unidentified student, contains a section describing life in Columbia Seminary, a Presbyterian school. Other materials include: address and daybooks, clippings, and photographs. One clipping quoting Bowers' aunt identifies her father as abolitionist who assisted runaway slaves; another is an obituary of Enoch E. Kile, who was perhaps related to Bowers. Also includes a Bible given in 1861 to Bower's uncle, who served in the Civil War.