James Harper papers, 1800-1925

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Series I: Photographs, circa, 1800-1920

This series is composed of three photograph albums with typical nineteenth century photographic portraits, one recording the Harper-Hyde-Meade branch of the family and the others with portraits of the Leale- Copcutt family members. Four folders of this series contain framed pictures from the beginning of nineteenth century, portraits of Philip A. Harper, from the end of nineteenth century, and pictures of various groups of people, including members and friends of the family, from nineteenth century. Philip A Harper's folder contains pictures of family members and of the family residence in Far Rockaway. Some of the portrait pictures are captioned on the back, but the majority of the group pictures are hard to identify because of either the lack of captioning or a mere mention of a familial relationship or date and event. The folders in this series are arranged chronologically.



Box 1 Folder 1 Photo album Harper family, late Nineteenth Century


Box 1 Folder 2 Framed photo, circa, 1800


Box 1 Folder 3 Photos - Philip A. Harper, circa, 1800


Box 1 Folder 4 Photos - Leale-Copcutt family, late Nineteenth - early Twentieth Century



Box 2 Folder 1 Photo album Leale-Copcutt family, Nineteenth Century


Box 2 Folder 2 Various photos, circa 1800 to 1920, 1800, 1920


Box 2 Folder 3 Various photos, 1881-1923



Box 8 James Harper, Oversize photograph portrait, 1869

Series II: Correspondence, 1882-1952

The items in this series are mainly personal letters of family members, some business letters and three folders of sympathy notes related to the death of James Harper, in January 1944. Two folders contain artist's Lillie Hyde Harper (1881-1941) letters addressed to her brother James, from various European countries, written while she was studying arts in France, in the 1920s. This series contains also letters from Philip a Harper to his grand-mother Maria Arcularius (founder James Harper's mother) and from Ralph Mead to his son-in-law Philip Harper. The folders in this series are also arranged chronologically.



Box 3 Folder 1 Miscellaneous Harper Family Correspondence, 1854-1882


Harper, James, Jr.


Box 3 Folder 2 Childhood correspondence, 1884-1890


Box 3 Folder 3 To Mr. and Mrs. James [and Lillie Mercein] Harper (his parents), 1910


Philip J.A. Harper .


Box 3 Folder 4 Sawyer, Robert H. to Philip Harper, 1858-1861


Box 3 Folder 5 Mead, Ralph to Philip Harper, 1862


Box 3 Folder 6 Harper, Philip General Correspondence, 1858-1893


Box 3 Folder 7 to 9 Harper, Lillie Hyde to James Harper and family, 1923-1927, (3 Folders)


Box 3 Folder 10 Helen Leale Harper correspondence and mementos, 1944-1952



Box 4 Folder 1 to 3 James Harper- Sympathy Cards, January-August 1944, (3 Folders)

Series III: Miscellaneous, 1818-1919

This series is composed of six folders, chronologically organized, of legal papers, diaries and pamphlets, and two over-size folders holding drawings and news-papers. This series includes: Maria Arcularius's diary documenting her trip to Europe in 1835, James Harper Jr.'s baby book, from 1919 (containing a genealogical tree), locks of hair, and short notes of a personal nature. One of the pamphlets in this series is the centennial commemorative 1917 advertisement of the reprint of the first work by Harper printers, Seneca's Morals with facsimile pages from the first edition and letter with a sample reservation note from the company. This pamphlet reveals the fact that Joseph Wesley Harper and Fletcher Harper, the two younger brothers of the four founders, worked on the first printed Harper book, in 1817, as compositors. One folder of this series contains a tentative genealogical outline of one branch of Harper family and a history of family names of English origin (Harper included); the author of both documents is not mentioned. Particularly interesting and revealing, of the history of the family, are the clippings from new papers of several obituaries for the death of Philip A. Harper (a second generation); these short articles from the press of the time brings light into the complicated genealogy and succession of Harpers.



Box 5 Folder 1 Legal papers, 1818-1823


Box 5 Folder 2 Maria Arcularius Harper, diary, 1 1822-1835


Box 5 Folder 3 Pamphlets, 1844-circa 1850


Box 5 Folder 4 Prospectus, Seneca reediting, 1917


Box 5 Folder 5 James Harper Jr., baby book, 1919


Box 5 Folder 6 Miscellaneous, circa, 1900



Box 8 News-papers, oversize Folder, Nineteenth and Twentieth Century


Box 8 Drawings, Twentieth Century

Series IV: Books, 1808-1916

This series is comprised of books owned or published by the Harper Family.


Subseries IV.1: Books owned by Harper Family, 1808-1916

Sub-series IV.1 Books owned by members of Harper family. This sub-series contains two categories of books: general knowledge and bibles, from as early as 1808 to 1912. The general knowledge books are of various subjects as children's book, Italian grammar, orShakespeare and the Precious Stones(signed by the author). The three Bibles belonging to James Harper, Philip Harper and Copcutt family contain some record notes of births, marriages and deaths in the family.



Box 6 Imitation of Christ John Wesley, 1808


Box 6 The book of common prayer, 1818


Box 6 Ring - a - round - a - Rosy Mary A. Lathbury, 1885


Box 6 Elementary Italian grammar Pietro Motti, 1912


Box 6 Shakespeare and precious stones George Frederick Kunz, 1916


Subseries IV.2: Bibles owned by Harper Family, 1842-1855


Box 6 Cupcutt family Bible, 1842


Box 6 Philip J.A. Harper Bible, 1846


Box 6 James Harper's Bible, 1855


Subseries IV.3: Books printed by Harper & Brothers, 1817-1896

Sub-series IV.3 Books printed by J&J Harper and Harper & Brothers. The topics of the six books that constitute this sub-series also varies from geography to geology, fairy-tales to Christian philosophy. The books date from 1817 to 1893, and illustrate the craftsmanship of the printing enterprise founded by Harper brothers.



Box 7 A series of discourses on he Christian revelation viewed in connexion with the modern astronomy, Thomas Chalmers, 1817


Box 7 An essay concerning human understanding John Locke, 1818


Box 7 The fairy book , 1853


Box 7 A tour around New York and my summer acre John Flavel Mines, 1893


Box 7 The Danube from the Black Forest to the Black Sea D. Millet, 1893


Box 7 The Student's Lyell edited by John W. Judd, 1896