- Henry Bergh founded the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and helped form both the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This collection consists of seven letters by Henry Burgh, most concerning the A.S.P.C.A., or cases of animal cruelty. They are accompanied by one portrait engraving autographed by Burgh. Letter recipients include Orange County, N.Y. justice of the peace John Burt; New York state senator Augustus R. Elwood; the editor of the New York Tribune; actor Lester Wallack; and writer Henry Sedley. Of particular interest are two letters: the first, dated December 11, 1866, protesting the regular feeding of live animals to a snake at Barnums museum; and the second, dated November 7, 1881, requesting that Wallack find a position for "a beautiful young lady, of my acquaintance" at his new theater.
- Correspondence, drafts of essays and speeches, drawings, and autobiographical writings of Alexander Jackson Davis, a successful New York City architect. Includes letters to Davis and miscellaneous papers, 1835-1859, chiefly about building residences. The correspondents include Francis H. Smith of the Virginia Military Institute, Joel Rathbone, W.J. Rotch, and H.K. Harral. The collection also includes numerous examples of autobiographical writing, and notes and essays on the philosophy of architecture, all in draft form, many scribbled in pencil on the backs of advertisements or old letters.