The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring a new collection full of architectural drawings and related materials: the Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. A Chicagoan architect, Frederick Wainwright Perkins (1866–1928) designed residences and buildings throughout the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Among other drawings and photographs, this digital collection includes architectural drawings for the Charles H. Schweppe residence, commissioned in the early 20th Century by Marshall Field & Co. Chairman John G. Shedd (also known for gifting the funds to create the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago) as a wedding present for his daughter Laura and her husband Charles Schweppe.
Here are a few of our favorite items from this new collection:
Charles H. Schweppe Residence – South Elevation, January 28, 1915. January 28, 1915. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
J. H. Barker Residence – Plan of Attic, Sections, and Entrance Porch, circa 1905 [front]. 1905. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.A Group of Buildings for Charles H. Schweppe – First Floor Plan, January 7, 1914 [front]. January 7, 1914. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Photograph of three people outside of Cudahy residence, under construction, 1904. 1904. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Cellar Plan, circa 1896. 1896. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Frederick Wainwright Perkins Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!
This month we’re featuring two new collections from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, both of which feature historic correspondence. These handwritten letters (as well as photographs in one collection) give us an intimate look into the personal and professional lives of the writers and the recipients, as well as the culture and period in which they lived.
Charles E. Mudie Papers: An English author and publisher, Charles Edward Mudie (1818–1890) founded “Mudie’s Select Library,” an innovative library that introduced the concept of lending books through a circulating system operated by subscription membership. The letters in this digital collection are not only between Mudie and his family (including his wife and son who helped the Library run smoothly), but also between Mudie and contemporary writers such as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Thomas Carlyle, Wilkie Collins, and Robert Browning.
William Allingham Papers: William Allingham (1824–1889) was an Irish poet and editor who, along with his wife Helen Allingham (née Patterson), a watercolorist and illustrator, were well-acquainted with the members of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and collaborated with some in the publication of Allingham’s poems. In addition to letters between Henry and Helen Allingham, the letters in this digital collection are also between Mudie and Pre-Raphaelites and contemporary writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Everett Millais, Anne Isabella Ritchie (née Thackeray), and William Michael Rossetti.
Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:
Letter from Harriet Beecher Stowe to Charles E. Mudie, October 3, unknown year [page 1]. 18uu-10-03. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Charles E. Mudie Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Letter from Alfred Tennyson to Charles E. Mudie, undated. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Charles E. Mudie Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Letter from Wilkie Collins to Charles E. Mudie, December 5, 1860. 1850-12-05. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. Charles E. Mudie Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
Letter from William Michael Rossetti to William Allingham, December 14, unknown year [sheet 1, pages 1 and 4]. 18uu-12-14. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. William Allingham Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.Letter from Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie to William Allingham, undated [sheet 1, pages 1 and 4]. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. William Allingham Papers. Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library.
