Lafayette collection.

Russian documents.

documents relating to the Hite v. Fairfax case, has been photostatted by the generous permission of Mr. C. Vernon Eddy, librarian of the Handley Library of Winchester, Va.

Mr. Bradley L. Skinner, of Baltimore, Md., presented a photographic print of a document issued by Ferdinand II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Of great interest to Americans is the story of Lafayette, the noble Frenchman who participated in the American Revolution. It is therefore noteworthy that the Lafayette collection has been substantially increased during the past year by Mr. Walter P. Gardner's gifts of photographs of original Lafayette letters in his possession; by Gen. Campbell King's deposit of an original Lafayette letter to Ludwell Lee, October 18, 1832; and by the purchase of Benjamin Thomas Hill's collection, "Lafayette in the United States, 1824-1825 " (newspaper clippings, prints, etc., 7 volumes), from Dr. George H. Hill, of Worcester, Mass. Mr. Gardner's contributions hold an unusual interest. One is a letter by Lafayette to Gen. Nathanael Greene, June 21, 1781, detailing the military situation, the latest movement of Cornwallis, and proposals of peace; another is a long letter by Madame Lafayette to a creditor friend, after the Revolution, saying that some financial aid is expected from the United States; and a third is a charming letter by Lafayette to M. Masclet, August 13, 1825, near the end of his tour of this country, in which he declares, “Here I have beheld the miracles of independence, liberty, equality, and selfgovernment. Here has been solved on a magnificent scale the problem of republican institutions." The people had overwhelmed him with their kindnesses, and the new frigate Brandywine was to carry him to France. (Additional materials on Lafayette in America, 1824, August 15-1825, September 7, are mentioned below.)

In addition to the gifts noted above the following purchases of materials from abroad have been made:

Russian miscellany, 1779-1845, a collection of official documents, diplomas, royal decrees, etc. (52 pieces), some on parchments, with seals (collection uncatalogued) from Israel Perlstein, New York City.

ist muster rolls.

American Loyalists: New Jersey Volunteers, muster American Loyalrolls, 1777-1783; and Queens Rangers, muster rolls, 17771783; and the Loyal American Regiment 1777–1780; photostat copies by Project A (Rockefeller gift fund) from originals in the Canadian Archives. To Dr. Carlos E. Godfrey, director, public record office, Trenton, N. J., the Library is indebted for initiative and helpful suggestions in this case.

Mary Hellier's Book (December, 1740), an original manuscript volume of recipes, from E. R. Trapier.

The Schjellerup-Dreyer correspondence, 1871-1886. Dr. Hans Carl Frederik Christian Schjellerup was professor of astronomy and director of the observatory at the University of Copenhagen until his death in 1887, and Dr. J. E. L. Dreyer, historian of astronomy, was a student under him.

scripts.

As had been forecast in the report of last year, the Foreign tranwork of transcribing documents in British, French, and Spanish archives has been carried forward in Europe under the direction of Prof. Samuel Flagg Bemis, of George Washington University, and a special report on its progress is given elsewhere. Suffice it to say here that preliminary arrangements have been effected for the completion of comprehensive programs in each of the countries named during the next four years, and it is expected that the field will be considerably broadened during the coming year. To Project A, a gift by Mr. John D. Rockefeller, jr., and to the personal interest and assistance of Mr. James B. Wilbur, who has also given generous financial support, the Library of Congress renews its acknowledgments. To the collection of Mexican transcripts materials have been added by purchase from Prof. Charles W. Hackett, of the University of Texas.

What may be the collective significance of these accessions of materials from abroad remains perhaps to be seen. Possibly they indicate the beginning of a tendency to recognize the Library of this Nation as a repository of a general importance comparable to that of much older institutions, like the British Museum. And it may be that the historical interests of this country may stimulate the making for the Library of Congress of photo

Modern Language Association deposits.

COLONIAL

FERIOD:

Hill's lists.

static copies of documents on a basis much broader than that now in progress for the history of the United States. Indeed, the broadening interests of the Modern Language Association, which are to be in a large degree historical (see report elsewhere), may be regarded as a step in that direction. In any case, the accumulation of these materials here in the National Library of the United States, where they can be serviced by means of the photostat to all parts of the country, will greatly augment the opportunities for serious and informative research in this country.

Materials relating to the discovery and colonization (see also project A report) have been received as follows: Miss Ruth Putnam has given miscellaneous material relating to the origin of the name of California (see her publication on this subject), and has deposited with this material a transcript of a testimonio of the discoveries which were made by Capt. Francisco de Ulloa, by order of Cortes, along the north coast of New Spain, in Archivo General de Indias, Sevilla, Spain, Estante 1, cajon 1, legajo 2/24.

The Carnegie Institution of Washington, department of historical research, through Dr. J. Franklin Jameson, has given the Roscoe R. Hill Lists (MSS cards) which supplement Hill's Descriptive Catalogue of the documents relating to the history of the United States in the Papeles Procedentes de Cuba deposited in the Archivo General de Indias at Sevilla (1916), together with other card lists of documents in foreign archives published before 1906.

Various "indentures of land transfers" have come to the division. Mr. Edmund S. Doty, of Greensburg, Pa., has given those of Richard Mason and others, for lands in Buckingham County, England, to Anne Boswell, November 23, 1665; Miss Susan P. Keech, of Washington, D. C., has given three Maryland land patents of 1665 and 1779 (MS. parchment) as a memorial to her mother, Mrs. Thomas A. R. (M. Virginia) Keech; the Commissioner of the General Land Office has transferred two West Florida land grants of 1769 and 1774, respectively:

(1) Grant by King George the Third through Montford Browne, lieutenant governor of West Florida, to Richard Barrey, of 50 acres on the River Mississippi, West Florida, dated July 4, 1769, recorded July 11, 1769, in Book E at folio 18, with attached certificate of survey and plat dated June 14, 1769, both recorded July 7, 1804, in the town of Washington, Mississippi Territory; (2) letters patent by Peter Chester, Governor of West Florida, to William Wilton, of 500 acres of land on Houma Chita Creek, West Florida, dated October 17, 1774, warrant 2087, filed November 1, 1805; and certified (typewritten) copies of Sampson Darrell indentures of land transfer to George Washington, May 20, 1760, have been purchased from the county clerk of Fairfax County, Va.

Washington's

A document of outstanding interest and importance to Diary of 1762. the close student of the life of George Washington is the Washington Diary for the year 1762, kept in a copy of the Virginia Almanac for that year, which was deposited in the manuscript division by Mr. J. K. Paulding, of New York City.

Other documents of interest are: A contemporary official copy (1694) of Thomas Smith's commission as Governor of Carolina, November 29, 1693, a gift by Mrs. Elizabeth S. Brown, through Mrs. J. Palmer Lockwood, of Charleston, S. C.; and a photostat copy of the Stafford County, England, Wolverhampton Charity School for Boys, board of managers, minutes, 1716–1798, a gift by Mr. Gabriel Wells, of New York City.

Materials relating to the history of the American Revo- The Revolution. lution and of the formation of a more perfect Union are being continually sought, whether in the form of newly discovered collections or of single-item additions to collections already here or elsewhere in public and private libraries; and the comparatively recent development of the process of photostat reproduction has greatly facilitated work in this field, as it has in others. In cases where important manuscript collections have been divided and the several parts have been lodged in several different places, it is now possible, by means of the photostat. to assemble in those places, and in others, complete

George Washington papers.

Baron von
Steuben.

Continental Congress collection.

records of the original collections; also to place in conjunction with them such collateral and supplementary material as may be desired. Already the National Library is beginning to be used as a clearing house for such work throughout the country.

The various additions to collections of the period mentioned above have been made as follows:

To the Washington papers have come, in addition to the Diary for the year 1762, mentioned above, Martha Washington's letter to Fanny [Mrs. George Augustine] Washington, February 25, 1788 (photostat positive), given by Maj. J. J. Bain, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; George Washington to General Knox, March 26, 1783 (photostat positive), given by Mr. Gabriel Wells, of New York; George Washington's annotations (1797) on James Monroe's View of the Conduct of the Executive (1797), photostat copies purchased from the New York Public Library; two unidentified extracts from autograph documents (n. d., photographs) given by Mr. Walter P. Gardner, of Jersey City, N. J.

Photostat of the Richard Varick papers, 1781-1784, relative to the transcribing of George Washington papers, were secured from the New York Public Library by the generous help of Mr. Victor H. Paltsits, chief of the American history division and keeper of manuscripts in that institution.

Supplementary to the George Washington papers have come by purchase at the instance of Gen. John McA. Palmer, from the Baron von Steuben papers in the New York Historical Society, photostat copies of documents relating to the Swiss military system, 1778-1783, and a military peace establishment for the United States.

To the Continental Congress collection have been transferred from the Department of State, division of publication, the following: The Journal of the Congress, 1775, May 10-July 26 (contemporary copy); the Marine Committee Reports, 1776-1781; the account of commissions for private armed vessels, received and forwarded to the several States; drafts of several letters from the Secretary of the Congress to the States; and some miscel