Mary Miller's Autograph Book
Scope and Contents
Each of the autographs has a name and date, and is usually accompanied by a brief well-wish or poem. Some pages have colorful stickers/cutouts pasted to them. Many of the autographs are addressed to “Friend Mary.” One of the first pages in the book has a sticker for L. Schick pasted in the top left corner, potentially covering up some pencil writing. The opposite page features a colorful page with the word Autographs printed in the middle of an elaborate fan. Several of the autographs also include a location, presumably where it was signed.
Dates
- Creation: 1882-1907
Biographical / Historical
Mary E. Miller was born around 1866 in Michigan. Her parents were born in Pennsylvania, but moved to Michigan some time before her birth. Some of her cousins and relatives seem to have still lived in Pennsylvania, but she did get to meet them at some point, as is evidenced by the autographs from them included in her book. She lived in Bloomingdale, MI, and likely lived on her family’s farm. Bloomingdale was incorporated as a village in 1881, so she and her family lived around the time of the village’s founding and development. Her father was a farmer, and it seems she inherited the property after her father passed, as when she died in 1953, the farm was sold as part of her estate. She was buried next to her brother, Abel Miller, who had also spent most of his life on the farm.
Extent
0.1 Cubic Feet ; Folded, the book measures 4 inches by 6 inches, while unfolded it measures 4 inches by 12 inches.
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection is composed of an autograph book belonging to Mary Miller (1866-1953), used from 1882 to 1907.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Given by the Galesburg Library.
Physical Description
Folded, the book measures 4 inches by 6 inches, while unfolded it measures 4 inches by 12 inches. The front cover has some raised details, with some of the indented patterns colored silver. Although most of the pages are either mainly blue or off-white, the edges of the pages are gold-colored.
The book is in decent condition. The front and back covers show signs of discoloration and wear, though nothing too major. Many of the pages have brown stains on them, not opaque enough to obscure a lot of writing, but undeniably present. A few of the pages have torn free from the binding, and are loosely enclosed within the book. The stickers have held up remarkably well, showing no signs of their color fading or are in any danger of peeling off. Some of the writing’s ink has faded in a few places, but is still mostly legible. The binding has four strands of twine punched through each of the pages, affixing them to the book. Two of these strands seem to have either broken or been removed, leaving the two strands in the center the main thing keeping the pages together. While the remaining twine seems to be holding up okay, some of the spine of the book has peeled away from the binding edge of the pages, most noticeable at the end of the book.
Subject
- Miller, Mary E., 1866-1953 (Person)
- Title
- Mary Miller's Autograph Book Finding Aid
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Meena Jacobs, Mallory Heslinger
- Date
- 2024-10-04
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Western Michigan University Archives & Regional History Collections Repository
Charles C. and Lynn L. Zhang Legacy Collections Center
1650 Oakland Drive
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5307 US
(269) 387-8490
arch-collect@wmich.edu