Print Collection

Writing in Hardboiled America: The Lurid Years of Paperbacks, Geoffrey O’Brien summarizes the rise of the modern American paperback book:

On April 12, 1843 Colton became the 27th town of St. Lawrence County. In 1842 Colton village was called Matildaville when Abel Brown and his son James moved from Parishville to the west side of the Racquette River. Colton is named for Jesse Colton Higley, a pioneer who settled on the east side of the Racquette River and was instrumental in the formation of the township, serving in every public office available. Colton was the site of many sawmills, a potato starch factory, and one of the largest tanneries in the state. 

A tintype photograph of a Native American in traditional dress about 1870.

The Thousand Islands are located on the St. Lawrence River between the United States and Canada, just east of Lake Ontario. The actual number of islands is actually closer to two thousand, with the official count standing at 1,793. The larger islands are inhabited throughout the year but a few are too small to be inhabited, most of the islands feature summer homes ranging from rustic cottages to mansions, and a couple of castles (Boldt and Jorstadt). This region has the longest undefended international boundary on earth.

Thomas Purves was born on September 28, 1785 in Whitebank, Scotland. He brought his family to the United States in 1819 hoping to work for the Parish family at the iron works in Rossie, NY. He received a cold reception from Parish's agent and instead went to work for Governor Ogden in Waddington, NY as a gardener. He died January 12, 1853 in Waddington.

Thomas John Carlisle was born October 11, 1913 in Plattsburgh, N.Y. and died August 17, 1992. He was educated at Williams College, Union Theological Seminary, and was ordained as a United Presbyterian minister in 1937. He was the author of a number of books of religious poetry, as well as a tutor and teacher various colleges. He wrote the lyrics to "Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One" and "Two Famous Men", and contributed more than 1500 articles and poems to newspapers, religious and literary publications and magazines.

Darwin W. Sunderland and John R. Sunderland, brothers from Rensselaer Falls, NY, were the sons of Albert and Prudence Sunderland. Both served in the Union Army during the Civil War. This collection consists of 65 letters.

William F. Sudds (1843-1920) was born in England but grew up in Gouverneur, N.Y. In his youth, Sudds taught himself to play several instruments, as his family was not able to afford lessons for him. He attended Boston Conservatory and composed musical scores and piano instruction pieces published by Oliver Ditson & Co. and other publishers. Sudds also ran a successful music shop in Gouverneur. The family had a summer home in Chippewa Bay, N.Y.

The albums in this collection were transferred from the Brush Art Gallery to the University Archives in 1998.

The Stillwater Club was founded by a group of men from Canton, New York on May 13, 1893, as a hunting and canoeing club; from its first days, the club showed an interest in conservation as a way to preserve its deer herds for future hunters and its trout for future fishermen.

The notebooks contain such items as membership lists, payments for lodging at the club, lists of deer taken, club by-laws, and financial reports. The photographs are of members with the deer they shot, wildlife, guides, caretakers and cooks. Also included is a map of club lands.

The “Oh You! Scraggy Club” was apparently a hunting club active in the southern-central part of Nova Scotia around 1910. The club was apparently located in the Loon Pond-Scraggy Lake area.

None of the people in the photos are identified but five of the three-dimensional images have some writing on the back. The collection also includes a viewer for the images called a Holmes stereoscope.