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Personal and professional papers of Stedman, including correspondence, letter books, diaries, poetry manuscripts, scrapbooks, photographs, and genealogical materials for the Stedman and Dodge families. Correspondence and manuscripts of his mother, Elizabeth Clementine Dodge Stedman Kinney (1810-1889), poet and diarist, and of his granddaughter, Laura Stedman Gould (1881-1941), author and editor. Also, editions of Stedman's LIBRARY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE including printed materials relating to the marketing; and an album of Civil War photographs by Mathew Brady, inscribed by the photographer to Laura H.W. Stedman as well as additional loose photographs by Brady.

The collection contains correspondence with the authors, including contracts signed with authors as well as negotiations with the authors over various aspects of publishing their works; financial records documenting many aspects of the operation of Harper & Brothers, including royalties paid to authors, records of stock offerings and company reorganizations, and general ledgers which contain daily notes on all aspects of the operation of the business; book catalogues and trade lists; research materials collected by Eugene Exman for his history of Harper & Brothers; visual materials, from drawings and photographs of Harper's authors to colophon designs and an oil painting of the original Harper's building.