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General Manuscripts Collection
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Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The General Manuscripts Collection consists of individual manuscripts and small collections of papers and records which are related in some way to the history, students, and alumni of Princeton University. The vast majority of the documents in the General Manuscripts collection were produced by alumni, although there are several exceptions such as trustees or other members of the University community.
Notes within the contents list provide further details on the contents of individual folders.
Documents within the General Manuscripts Collection are arranged alphabetically by the name of the individual or organization that authored or created them.
The manuscripts and collections which comprise the General Manuscripts Collection have all been cataloged individually, and are searchable through the Princeton University Library's online catalog . The information presented in this finding aid duplicates that found in the online catalog records.
Additions are made to the General Manuscripts Collection when materials which fit the scope of the collection are accessioned by the Library.
The documents which comprise the General Manuscripts Collection have been collected by the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library over a span of several years, primarily beginning in the 1990s. Whenever possible, accession numbers have been included with folder descriptions.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Mudd Library Staff. Finding aid written by Daniel Brennan in March 2009. Finding aid updated by Phoebe Nobles in 2022 and 2023.
No information on appraisal is available.
- Publisher
- University Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Daniel Brennan
- Finding Aid Date
- 2009
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Speech given by C.H. Andrews titled "On National Ingratitude" at Nassau Hall on February 18, 1820 on the topic of a lack of gratitude for the country's veterans.
Physical Description1 box
Consists of one letter containing an invitation for participation in the spring sports of the Philadelphia Fencing and Sparring Club/
Physical Description1 folder
Contains copies of The Eagle, a campus newsletter written by Lafayette Butler, Class of 1908.
Physical Description2 folders
One letter from James Campbell Davis to David B. Smith concerning the upcoming Presidential election of 1848 and other current affairs.
Physical Description1 folder
(Correspondence between Thomas H. English, Class of 1918 and English Professor Morris H. Croll, as well as papers regarding the posthumous printing of Croll's work.)
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of typed reminiscences of Princeton University trustee Wilson Farrand describing the dispute between then-president Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Fleming West regarding the location of the proposed graduate school. Also included is a retelling of Senator James Smith, Jr.'s nomination of Woodrow Wilson for the office of governor of New Jersey in 1910.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of the journal kept by Carole Grayson documenting her experiences as a student teacher at Princeton High School.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of one book of meeting minutes documenting the organization and activities of the Hour-Glass Society. Mentioned in the entries are the lecture topic of given meetings as well as the speaker and the number of attendees.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of the personal papers and correspondence of James Creese (Class of 1918), primarily dating from his years as a student at Princeton University. Included are academic records, financial records, and correspondence with personal friend Alfred Noyes.
Physical Description7 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
(Two Noyes poems, one ALS written for a Cloister Inn book)
Physical Description1 folder
(References to Hamilton Fish Armstrong)
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
Insurance policy taken out by Professors John Maclean, Albert Dod, and Joseph Henry on the life of Jaeger for four hundred dollars.
Physical Description1 box
Consists of 19 letters written by Edward MacMillan to the Kopp family of Princeton from the front lines in France during World War I. In the letters MacMillan discusses the trials of warfare as well as lighter matters, such as news of fellow Princetonians and regimental baseball games.
Physical Description1 folder
Book of numbered and colored mechanical drawings produced by Gilbert MacMillan while an undergraduate.
Physical Description1 folder
A detailed account of the 1855 fire which consumed Nassau Hall, penned by an unknown eyewitness.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of two volumes containing the meeting minutes and the financial accounts of the Nassau Hall Missionary Society.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of numerous documents relating to the financial accounts of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University) at the end of the 19th century. While there are some general reports of the treasurer present in the collection, most of the records directly relate to Henry Fairfield Osborn's efforts to fund the redevelopment of the college's athletic fields and facilities.
Physical Description2 folders
A set of 52 postcards sent by R. Kenneth Perry to Princeton President Harold Shapiro from various towns and locations named Princeton throughout the United States.
Physical Description1 folder
Correspondence Between Gerald H. Rosen '55 *59 and Professor John A. Wheeler primarily consisting of letters of thanks from Rosen to Wheeler for having provided him letters of recommendation.
Physical Description1 box
Consists of one journal kept by the family of Weld Merrick and Laurance Stevens '04. The journal, written in many hands, describes weather, social events, outings, and family genealogy.
Physical Description1 folder
The receipt is for the expenses of woodworker Caleb Bruen. He lists charges for paying and boarding his apprentice, a "mantell tree," and a door frame, totaling 3 pounds. It is signed by Stockton and Judge John Berrien, a judge of the Supreme Court of New Jersey and fellow trustee.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
Consists of a pencil on paper sketch labeled "Our Room - East College" depicting the artist's dorm room and furnishings.
Physical Description1 folder
Consists of 36 letters and postcards sent to Theodore Von Laue by Princeton graduate students serving in the armed forces during the early years of American involvement in the Second World War, which generally discuss military life and current events. Also included are four issues of Von Laue's informal newsletter, written to keep the history students in the service up to date on each other's locations as well as apprised of emerging trends in the study of history.
Physical Description1 folder
Book, signed by the author, published by Kenneth Perry '1950 documenting road trips he and his wife took to every town in the United States named Princeton. Each stop along the journey includes photographs and historical information about each location.
Physical Description1 box
This folder contains a guest book of signatures for Robert Montgomery Brown's dormitory room, #6 Middle Dod, as well as news clippings, both loose and glued into the guest book, and news photographs of Brown and his room. Robert Montgomery Brown, Class of 1930, attracted press attention for his domestic "Rube Goldberg" contraptions such as the alarm clock that would trigger the mechanics to boil an egg.
Physical Description1 box
Signed by Issac Snowden and Mary Snowden.
Physical Description1 folder
Page two of this newspaper contains a transcript of an oration, "On the rising Glory of America" delivered July 4, 1792 by a student of Princeton College, New Jersey.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Includes slides of buildings on campus, two prints of Professor Pascu, and a photograph of a science lab. The photographs were taken by Robert Wagner *51, a graduate student in chemistry.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes printed material collected by and/or mailed to Henry Clay Cameron, including Princeton Theological Seminary materials, donation certificates to the Witherspoon Memorial Fund, invitations to the 1876 (town of) Princeton Centennial and a Princeton borough voting ticket. Also includes invitations addressed to Reverend A.A. Taylor and A. Guyot Cameron.
Physical Description1 folder
Printed letter soliciting "college recollections" from alumni for a proposed book (never published) about the "college experience." With handwritten notes from Charles Edward Hart, Class of 1858, addressed to Reverend Edward Norris Kirk, D.D., Class of 1820, in Boston.
Physical Description1 item
Includes signatures and subscription amounts pledged by Robert Hunter Morris, Andrew Johnston, John Burnet, Charles Read, John Johnston, James Alexander, William Smith, Joseph Murray, and others.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
"Thereby entitling said Dean West to the proud distinction of being the first alumnus of Princeton University qualified to vote for Alumni Trustees."
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
In thanks to the Alumni Council for sending a copy of Woodrow Wilson's Baccalaureate Address to the Class of 1909.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
Four letters written as Governor and President; to Minot Morgan, Charles Scribner, Henry B. Fine, and William B. Moore.
Physical Description1 folder
Ellen Wilson's letter relates to a Woodrow Wilson letter to Henry B. Fine in the previous folder, regarding nomination of Fine as Ambassador to Germany.
Physical Description1 folder
Contains entries from January 27 to April 2, 1910, covering preparations for the trip, the voyage from New York to Sardis, with many stops in European ports, as well as in Alexandria, Egypt, and a week's worth of entries covering time in Sardis. The entries that document work in Sardis run from March 2 to April 2. Although the author of the diary is unnamed, he seems to have had responsibilities for procuring equipment for the expedition. He indicates that his home is in Utica, NY, and that he has an M.S. diploma.
Physical Description1 Volumes
Signed copies of a printed letter originally drafted by Howard Russell Butler, showing support for the country and people of France during World War I. Several Princeton University professors and faculty signers include Archibald A. Gulick (prof. of humanities), Andrew F. West (1st Dean of Princeton Graduate School), and William Phelps Hall (prof. of history), Allan Marquand (prof. of art history), Radcliffe Heermance (Admissions Director) and many others.
Physical Description5 folders
Folder includes one campus photograph with Marquand Chapel, Whig Hall and Clio Hall visible; a photograph of Dinky railroad tracks with Little Hall and Blair Arch visible; an April, 1949 photograph of Harold Stassen and Albert Elsasser at the dedication of the Princeton University Library; three photographs of the 1947 Bicentennial Procession; and one photograph by Elizabeth Menzies of the West Stairway of Nassau Hall stairwell, accompanied by a note from Menzies to Elsasser (1956). Albert Elsasser taught in the English Department at Princeton University between 1924 and 1962.
Physical Description1 folder7 photographs
The letter sent from the Army Building in New York concerns a possible delayed visit to Washington, a "nervous attack," the potential marriage of a daughter, and a reference to a game of football at Princeton attended by "Cump" from Yale.
Physical Description1 folder