Showing 119 results

"Collection of 208 Koreshan Unity Periodicals - The Guiding Star: Expositor of the Divine Science[together with] The Plowshare and Pruning Hook: Indicator of Commercial Equation[together with] The Flaming Sword[bound together with] The Salvator and Scientist: Evangel of Koreshanity, the Religion of Science and Life.

A substantial group of periodicals and newsletters edited and written by Dr. Cyrus R. Teed, a Utica, NY native and founder of the Koreshan Unity. 'Koreshanity,' as it was also known, was born in the wake of two related western movements: the millenial fervor that swept early-to-mid 19th century central and western New York State, and the utopian communalism that began attracting increasing numbers of adherents during the same period and into the later 19th century.' A graduate of Eclecitc Medical College of the City of New York, Teed's inerests went beyond medicine to encompass alchemy, botany, physics, and metaphysics, and he would regularly conduct experiments in these areas inside what would become known as Koreshanity after experiencing a late-night religious vision. During what he called his 'illumination,' he saw a beautiful woman who revealed to him a series of universal truths which formed foundamental principles of Koreshan belief. 'Among Teed's most interesting beliefs was cellular cosmogony, or the hollow earth - the notion that the earth was not a convex sphere but instead a hollow, concave cell, containing the entire universe with the sun at its center.

After failed attempts at founding communal settlements in Moravia, Syracuse, and New York City, Teed moved to Chicago, IL, where his persuasive oratory enabled him to assemble a firm core of followers in the late 1880's and form the commune called Beth-Ophra. Teed incorporated his organization there as the College of Life in 1886, and established a printing house that began producing three major publications: The Guiding Star, The Flaming Sword, The Plowshare and Pruning Hook. 'These publications began a long legacy of Koreshan publishing aimed at the public as well as their own members, intending to explain and promote their beliefs, relate and preserve their story, and discuss political, social, scientific, and religious ideas and issues.' The Salvator and Scientist, a short-lived publication publsihed concurrently with The Flaming Sword, focused primarily on aspects of Koreshan science, astronomy, and geodesy.

Believing himself to be a messiah who would lead his people in establishing a New Jerusalem, Teed assumed the name Koresh in 1891 (after Cyrus the Great, King of Persia). As with his previous locations, Teed's beliefs did not endear him or his followers to the general public, forcing him to relocate from Chicago to the quiet beach town of estero, FL. in 1894, the final home of the Koreshan Unity where Teed would establish his New Jerusalem. It was here that the Koreshan Unity established a growing, self-sustaining community, though at the height of the movement, their membership numbered no more than 250. Apparently, there were an additional 4,000 members scattered throught the country, including a small contingent who formed a short-lived Koreshan community in San Francisco, CA. Teed died in Florida in December 1908, nearly two years after a brawl with citizens of nearby Ft. Myers, during which he was struck in the head and face several times. " -Lorne Bair / http://www.lornebair.com/

The Thomas G. Ennis collection contains 41 letters written to George Thompson from 1834 to 1838, largely concerned with business matters pertaining to iron forges; a 1929 Pennsylvania court record for John Kiner, sentenced for horse theft; a 1828 copy of appropriation for state penitentiary, Philadephia; several 19th century almanacs; and a number of 19th century newspapers, including one replica of the Saturday April 15, 1865 issue of the New York Herald, the day Abraham Lincoln's assassination was announced.

A growing collection of documents, photographs, and correspondence pertaining to the capture, purchase, bargaining, and freedom of enslaved people in Europe, Africa, and the Americas from the 18th to the 20th century. The collection contains a variety of petitions, contracts, estate settlements, and ephemera that record the activities of enslaved people during that era and illustrate the relationship between enslaved people and the people who enslaved them, as well as local government policy regarding enslavement and ownership in various parts of the Americas. Also included the collection are images and ephemera that feature racial caricatures, which were prevalent during their time of printing.

This collection houses archival materials pertaining to the history of fashion on a global level and currently features 65 issues of the popular French publication, Art-Goût-Beauté, from the years 1921 to 1932 and assorted French clippings and pamphlets.

Henry Reich, Jr. was a poet and author, member of the American Literary League, a previous New York secretary of the Rebel Poets, and a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines. The collection predominantly consists of Reich's correspondence, and his poetry and articles. The form of these poems and articles range include manuscripts, typescripts, clippings, scrapbook compilations, and periodicals and books in which Reich's poetry appeared. Notably, four issues of The Jewish Forum from 1927 in which Reich was published are included.

Also included are several photographs of Reich.

The Helen S. Sternfels Papers contains the following items:

A number of turn of the century programs and playbills from New York playhouses such as 14th Street Theatre, Academy of Music, American Theatre, Broadway Theatre, Criterion Theatre, Grand Opera House, Harlem Opera House, Manhattan Opera House, Manhattan Theatre, and others.

A series of issues from the Puck and Judge humor and satire magazines, from the late 19th century.

Several souvenir books and song books.

An issue of the New York Times Jubilee Number, September 18, 1901, an issue of the New York Daily Times, September 18, 1851, a souvenir issue of The World Paper, 1903, celebrating the construction of the Williamsburg Bridge, and an issue of Harper's Weekly Journal of Civilization, April 2, 1864, an April Fool's issue on the Civil War with cartoons by Thomas Nast .

Contains one phonograph of Eisenhower presidential campaign spots and newspaper clippings regarding World War II.

The Thomas de Valcourt and Michael Lerner collection contains materials concerning 19th century New England poets and authors, most prominently Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, but also Henry David Thoreau, Washington Irving, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walt Whitman, and minor figures. Much of the materials - which predominantly consists of prints, photographs, clippings, photocopies, newspapers, periodicals, postcards, reprints, poetry, and other formats - concerns their famous New England homes and their families' homes, and other literary landmarks in the vicinity. Most of the materials date from the late 19th and early 20th century.

Also included are a scrapbook of clippings of poetry, a 1962 plaster cast bust of Henry David Thoreau by Melvina Hoffman, an 1864 ceramic bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow by M. Milmore, two paperweights with depictions of the Longfellow house, a brick noted as "being used by Thoreau when adding to the family house on Virginia Road in Concord," and one copper ashtray.

The Minnie Moore Willson Papers document the life and career of a noted Florida writer and advocate for the Seminole Indians of Florida. The Papers also include materials related to her husband James Mallory Willson, a prominent Kissimmee businessman and a defender of Seminole Indian rights. The Papers were purchased by the University of Miami in the late 1940s from the Elizabeth Aultman Cantrell Historical Museum in Kissimmee, Florida. Selected materials from the Papers, including books, maps, pamphlets and some periodicals were removed from the collection and sent to the appropriate areas in the Library.

The collection includes material from Minnie Moore Willson as well as material from her husband James Mallory Willson. The Minnie Moore Willson Collection consists of correspondence with individuals including Florida Senator Duncan Fletcher and Florida Representative Ruth Bryan Owen.  Correspondence files also include letters with Seminole Indians such as Billy Bowlegs, Tony Tommie and other prominent Seminole Indian chiefs. The collection contains a number of manuscripts by M.M. Willson related to the Seminole Indians and such issues as the equality of blacks and Southern politics. Additional material relates to the creation of a bird sanctuary in Kissimmee, Florida.

James M. Willson's papers contain business records including correspondence, abstract of titles (original and copies) scrapbooks, and financial records from the 1880's to the 1930's (in the latter years Minnie Moore Willson handled the business correspondence due to illness). Correspondence deals with Mr. Willson's real estate and insurance business in the Kissimmee area. The files also contain manuscripts, correspondence and material collected or written by Elizabeth Cantrell, niece of James Mallory Willson. Correspondence to and from S.B. Aultman (Elizabeth Cantrell's father and brother-in-law of J.M. Willson)and letters with Dr. Howard Kelly, a family friend and widely known surgeon are also organized in these files.

The collection also includes several newspaper clippings from the late 1800's through the 1930's. The majority of these clippings are from Florida-based newspapers. Several maps of Florida have been removed from the collection and placed with Map Collection.

Also included are photographs of the Willsons, Seminole Indians, plants, and animals. The collection also includes postcards depicting scenes from Florida and the United States.

Willard Hubbell was a South Florida architect and playwright. His collection contains several plays, clippings regarding and programs of the plays, architectural documents and correspondence, a blueprint titled "Cloth House No. 1," four issues of The American Eagle newspaper, a typescript titled "F. W. Munson - (Questionaire about Merritt Island)," a document titled "History of the Koreshan Unity" by A. H. Andrews, and other items.

William P. Halstead was a Professor of the University of Miami English Department. The collection contains manuscripts, essays, reprinted articles from periodicals, notebooks, and photographs.

The Abraham Schwaczkin collection consists primarily of Jewish cantorial sheet music and lyrics.

Also included are a birth certificate and marriage certificates of Schwaczkin, a 1953 copy of the B'nai B'rith messenger newspaper, a catalog, several yearbooks from Jewish congregations, a photograph, and a series of letters between Schwaczkin and a Mrs. Morrison from 1940.

Dr. Murray Sanders was a physician and medical researcher with the University of Miami and Variety Children's Hospital. He was the former chairman of the Department of Medical Research of the University of Miami. His papers consist of correspondence, periodicals, essays, photocopies of articles and essays, and newspaper clippings regarding medical research. Also included are photographs and prints of Dr. Sanders, as well as a biography and a curriculum vitae.

The Bernhardt E. Muller collection is a compendium of newspapers, architectural drawings, renderings, and photographs related to the design and construction of Opa-locka, Florida, the nation’s largest concentration of Moorish Revival architecture. The city, incorporated in 1926, was the third Florida suburban real estate development of Glenn H. Curtiss, aviation pioneer and millionaire developer. Opa-Locka is the only known city in the United States that used Moorish Revival architecture as its original theme.

The contents of the Muller collection fall into two distinct groups: architectural materials related directly to buildings designed by Muller and his staff; and supporting materials presumably collected by Muller that pertain to his work and the city of Opa-Locka. The vast majority of these materials are directly concerned with Muller’s work in the Opa-Locka and Miami area between 1925 and 1928. Supporting materials, including magazine extracts, brochures, and newspapers, date mostly from 1926 and 1927, with a few items from 1928, 1930, 1959, and 1960.

The Muller collection’s importance concerns its detailed documentation of the progress of Opa-Locka from a developer’s dream to a constructed city. Opa-Locka was designed according to a specific theme: a combination of Arabic, Persian, and Moorish architectural styles. It is also the first known instance of a town developed from interpretations of a literary work, The One Thousand and One Tales of the Arabian Nights.

The collection contains construction documents, sketches, renderings, and photographs of Opa-Locka’s first buildings. Extensive material exists on the designs of the Opa-Locka Company’s administration building, now the City Hall, as well as plans for seventeen institutional and public projects, including the Archery Club, Bathing Casino, and Observation Tower, with unbuilt designs for a Golf Club, school, and Mid-Winter Southern States Exposition.

Eighteen commercial buildings are found in the Muller collection, including many stores and apartments, as well as an unbuilt Chinese hotel. Sixty-three private residences of various sizes and designs are included in these drawings. It is probably that most of the work Bernhardt Muller ever did for Opa-Locka is contained in the collection. The majority of these drawings and materials date from 1926 to 1927, with only three drawings dated later than 1927.

The Muller collection is significant for its documentation of the history and development of South Florida. The volume of work designed and media contents demonstrate and describe the magnitude of the Florida Land Boom, which peaked early in 1926, just as construction began on Opa-Locka.

The Muller collection contains newspaper articles describing the hurricane that struck South Florida on September 17 and 18, 1926. The storm’s direct effect was a loss of 372 lives and $159 million in property, but its long-term results included the onset of the land “bust” and an economic decline that preceded the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  There are numerous articles and photographs of the hurricane's destruction.

Jeanne Perkins Harmans was a journalist and writer residing in the Virgin Islands of the United States. The collection consists of materials from and regarding the Virgin Islands on a wide range of issues in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including political conditions and controversies, tourism, description of the islands, and race and sexuality concerns on the islands. Many of the items consist of correspondence with and type-written notes by Harmans, or clippings from newspaper articles by Harmans and others; but there are also reports, periodicals, brochures, bibliographies, and maps. Some of the correspondence concerns Harmans's publishing activities, including that of a 1691 book titled "The Virgins: Magic Islands." A signed copy of this book was contained in the collection, but later separated out and housed with the Special Collections monographs.