Call Number:

C0082

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division

Extent:

• 9 boxes
• 3.2 linear feet

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Jasper E. Crane Collection of James and Dolley Madison Materials, Box and Folder Number; Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1783-1968 (inclusive) and 1783-1897 (bulk)

Creator:

Crane, Jasper E. (Jasper Elliot), 1881-1969

Form:

Correspondence -- 19th century, Land grants -- 19th century., Portraits -- 19th century, and Ship's papers -- 19th century.

Abstract:

Consists of selected manuscripts, correspondence, documents, portraits, and other items created by or about United States President James Madison (Class of 1771) and Dolley Madison, collected by Jasper E. Crane (Class of 1901).

Jasper E. Crane (1881-1969) was born in Newark, New Jersey, and graduated from Princeton University (Class of 1901). Crane began his career as a chemist working in plastics and later became a E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company executive. He was also a conservative Presbyterian layman, anti-communist, and member of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and the Princeton Theological Seminary. He was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars throughout his life and collected materials related to American history.

Consists of manuscripts, correspondence, documents, portraits, and other related papers by or about both James Madison (Class of 1771) and Dolley Madison, collected by Jasper E. Crane (Class of 1901). Most materials in the collection were created by the Madisons, but a smaller number are about them. Included are the original congressional report on the Battle of Bladensburg (1814), with tables and descriptions; a signed, autograph copy of Dolley Madison's poem "Lafayette"; and a two-page manuscript entitled "Canons of Etiquette to be Observed by the Executive by President Jefferson." Correspondence covers the period from 1783 to 1848 and includes letters to John Quincy Adams, Francis Preston Blair, Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Richard Rush, Samuel Stanhope Smith, and Samuel Southard. Documents, dated from 1801 to 1817, consist mainly of ship's papers and land grants signed by James Madison. Papers of Dolley Madison consist of writings, correspondence, and documents, including a copy of her will. There are also etched and engraved portraits of both James and Dolley Madison, as well as an essay and printed material about them. Also present is Crane's own correspondence regarding his Madison collection, particularly as related to the acquisition and provenance of various items within the collection.