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Cards and Illustrations Scrapbooks

 Collection
Identifier: Ms-2023-093

Scope and Content

The scrapbooks in this collection contain holiday cards, advertising and trade cards, and illustrations.

A red "Scrap Book" contains holiday cards, primarily Valentine's cards. One is dated 1931, and the rest are undated but likely from the 1910s to the 1940s. Some names of recipients and senders include Vesta Manning, Ines Lea, Miss Jones, Mae [Aarr or Carr], and Mary Louise, and several of the cards are to "Teacher".

A partial scrapbook has a light brown cover with illustrations of children and the word "Album". On the front inside cover it says, "Scrap book belonged to Helen Jackson Bennett. It was partially filled by her during the late 1890's. Pictures and cards from Samuel H. Bennett's scrapbook have been added (It was beyond repair). They date from the 1880s. The pages used are marked S. H. B." It contains cards depicting children, animals, and flowers as well as advertising cards for "Hood's Sarsaparilla", "Behring Piano" from the G. W. Strope & Co. of Kansas City, Missouri, and the "Kansas Seed House, F. Barteldes & Co., Lawrence, Kansas".

One partial scrapbook is attached to a book spine but does not have covers. It likely dates to the late 1800s, with at least one item dated 1892. There are holiday cards for Easter, Christmas, and New Year's as well as cards depicting children, flowers, animals, Bible quotes, and winter scenes. Advertising cards for several products and merchants include Soapine, Clark's O.N.T. Spool Cotton, the Richter Brothers Bakery, and T. W. Perry, a clothier in Rome, New York. Drawings cut from magazines, one dated around 1892, portray several American and British authors and preachers, including the Rev. Lyman Beecher family, Amelia E. Barr, Catherine Glynne Gladstone, Dr. Talmage [probably Rev. Thomas De Witt Talmage], Mamie Dickens, and Rose Hawthorne Lathrop.

There are lots of loose pages from scrapbooks, some of which may be from the partial scrapbooks in this collection. These contain more of the same types of cards and illustrations as the scrapbooks dated ca. 1880s-1940s. Additionally, the loose pages contain copies of artwork and pictures of screen actors William Powell, Robert Taylor, and Madeleine Carroll. There are also several birthday and holiday cards to Diane Carol Parmalee and Linda Parmalee, mostly from the 1930s and 1940s.

Dates

  • [ca. 1880s-1940s]

Creator

Language of Materials

The material in this collection is in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Family History - Bennett Family

Samuel Hargrove Bennett (1878-1954) was the son of Samuel T. and Mary Bennett and lived in Plymouth, Kansas. He married Helen True Jackson (1884-1967), daughter of Hugh and Anna or Annie Jackson who also lived in Plymouth, on December 29, 1916, in Kansas City, Kansas. Samuel had attended the Plymouth School, worked as a farmer on his family farm, and later worked as a "vulcanizer and storage battery" for Johnston Bennett Battery Co. Helen attended Hartford School and worked as a homemaker. The couple had at least two children, Cora Ann and Helen, and settled in Peabody. The couple is buried in the Prairie Lawn Cemetery in Peabody.

External sources:

U. S. Federal Censuses, 1880-1950

Kansas State Censuses, 1895-1925

"Miss Helen Jackton" [Jackson] in the U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/99726276:62116, accessed December 12, 2023.

"Mr. Samuel II Bennett" [Samuel H. Bennett] in the U.S., Newspapers.com™ Marriage Index, 1800s-current, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/37170749:62116, accessed December 12, 2023.

"Helen T. Jackson Bennett", Findagrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9105977/helen-t-bennett, accessed December 12, 2023.

"Samuel Hargrove Bennett" in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/27925995:6482, accessed December 12, 2023.

Family History - Parmalee Family

Philip H. Parmalee (1923-1981) enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II on January 27, 1942, and was discharged on November 6, 1945. After the war, he worked as a radio engineer at a radio station.

Philip married Lucy M. Burkett (b. ca. 1925) in Simsbury, Connecticut, on November 1, 1942. She worked as a homemaker. Their daughters, Diane Carol and Linda M. Parmalee were born about 1944 and about 1949, respectively. In the 1950 census, the family lived in Granby, Connecticut.

External sources:

U.S. Federal Census, 1950

"Philip H Parmelee" in the U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010, Ancestry.com, https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/discoveryui-content/view/14243104:2441, accessed December 12, 2023.

"Connecticut Vital Records — Index of Marriages, 1897-2001", Connecticut State Library, https://www.ctatatelibrarydata.org/marriage-records/, accessed December 12, 2023.

Extent

0.8 Cubic Feet (1 box)

Abstract

The scrapbooks in this collection contain holiday cards, advertising and trade cards, and illustrations of people, animals, and flowers. One of the scrapbooks and some pages belonged to the Bennett family of Kansas. Some of the loose scrapbook pages were likely created by the Parmelee family of Connecticut. The owners and creators of the other scrapbooks and loose pages are unidentified.

Source of Acquisition

This collection was acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 2007.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Cards and Illustrations Scrapbooks by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/).

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Cards and Illustrations Scrapbooks was completed in December 2023.

These scrapbooks were shelved together in the departmental backlog, and archivists decided to process them together due to their similar subjects and materials.

Title
Cards and Illustrations Scrapbooks, [ca. 1880s-1940s]
Status
Completed
Author
LM Rozema, Archivist
Date
2023 (CC0 1.0)
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech Repository

Contact:
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434)
560 Drillfield Drive
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
Blacksburg Virginia 24061 US
540-231-6308