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Daniel Wadsworth Coit Letters
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. 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
Daniel Wadsworth Coit, originally of Norwich, Connecticuit, was a banker who moved to California following the 1849 gold rush to buy and sell gold dust. Coit was also an amateur artist, producing some of the earliest depictions of San Franscisco.
The collection consists primarily of the 485 pages of letters, 1815-1828, by Coit to his family in Connecticut--mostly to his father, Daniel L. Coit, with a few to his brother, sister, and cousin--originating from Lima, Peru, and various cities in Europe, and letters, 1844-1851, to his wife, Harriet Coit, from the Western United States, Mexico, and San Francisco, California. Coit's letters to his family are photostatic copies. The letters discuss Coit's travels, the War of Independence in Peru, business ventures in international trade, local affairs and customs, and his plans for buying and selling gold dust in California after the gold rush of 1849. Also present are typescript copies of 16 letters to Pelatiah Perit, a New York merchant.
The letters are arranged chronologically, with pages numbered consecutively from 1 to 485.
The collection was the gift of Alan Haines, Princeton Class of 1945, presumably a relative of Coit, in 1992.
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.
Folder inventory added by Nicholas Williams '2015 in 2012.
No appraisal information is available.
Place
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Date
- 2008
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- 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. For instances beyond Fair Use, 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
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