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Finding Aid for the Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series VII: Diaries, 1897-1933 HCFF.1.7
Part of the Frick Family Papers
Table of Contents
Summary Information
- Repository
- The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives10 East 71st Street
New York, NY, 10021
archives@frick.org
© 2014 Frick Collection. All rights reserved. - Creator
- Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919.
- Title
- Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series VII: Diaries
- ID
- HCFF.1.7
- Date [inclusive]
- 1880-1933
- Extent
- 10.5 Linear feet (97 boxes)
- Abstract
- Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) was a prominent art collector and industrialist. This collection consists of diaries maintained by staff in Frick's Pittsburgh office, and a friendship calendar with submissions from his family and friends.
Preferred Citation
Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series VII: Diaries. The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives.
Biographical Note
Henry Clay Frick was born 19 December 1849, in West Overton, Pa. One of six children, his parents were John W. Frick, a farmer, and Elizabeth Overholt, the daughter of a whiskey distiller and flour merchant. Frick ended his formal education in 1866, and began work as a clerk at an uncle's store in Mt. Pleasant, Pa. In 1871, Frick borrowed money to purchase a share in a coking concern that would eventually become the H.C. Frick Coke Co. Over the next decade, Frick expanded his business through the acquisition of more coal lands and coke ovens, and partnered with fellow industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1882. He assumed the chairmanship of Carnegie Bros. & Co. (later Carnegie Steel Co.) in 1889. During his tenure as chairman, differences between Frick and Carnegie emerged, most significantly in their approach to labor issues. Their relationship became further strained after the 1892 Homestead Strike, and in 1899, Frick resigned from Carnegie Steel Co.
Frick married Adelaide Howard Childs of Pittsburgh in 1881. The couple purchased a house (which they called Clayton) in Pittsburgh's East End, and had four children: Childs Frick (1883-1965), Martha Howard Frick (1885-1891), Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), and Henry Clay Frick, Jr. (born 1892, died in infancy). After his break with Carnegie in 1899, Frick began spending less time in Pittsburgh. In 1905, he signed a ten-year lease on the Vanderbilt mansion at 640 Fifth Avenue in New York, and built an elaborate summer residence (Eagle Rock) on Boston's North Shore, which was completed in 1906. Though Frick maintained his status as a Pittsburgh resident for the remainder of his life, he and his family chiefly divided their time between Massachusetts and New York. In 1907, Frick purchased land at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th Street in New York City. Construction of the new Frick residence, designed by Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings, began in 1912, after the demolition of the Lenox Library formerly on the site. The family moved into the house at One East 70th Street in the fall of 1914, and Henry Clay Frick died there on 2 December 1919. The Frick Collection opened to the public as a museum in December 1935.
Scope and Contents note
This series consists of diaries dating from 1880-1933, which are divided into two subseries:
Subseries I: Personal Diaries, 1880 and 1914, consists of two items: a facsimile of a travel diary kept by Henry Clay Frick during his first trip to Europe in 1880, and a friendship calendar compiled by his daughter for the year 1914. Henry Clay Frick did not keep a regular daily diary in his own hand, but the household diaries for his New York residence at One East 70th Street often read as though they were written in his voice. The household diaries are not part of this subseries; for more information and access, see: One East 70th Street Papers.
Subseries II: Pittsburgh Office Diaries, 1897-1933, contains various types of diaries maintained by Henry Clay Frick's office staff in Pittsburgh. Entries document regular income from interest, dividends, and notes; payments for insurance premiums, dues, assessments, and mortgages; regular disbursements to family members and others; board and stockholders' meetings; visitors to Frick's Pittsburgh office and his whereabouts during absences from the city; reminders about office tasks such as payroll, taxes, and bills; and numerous clippings, largely concerning local news, but with some national coverage as well. Not all types of diaries were maintained for every year, and diaries were started and stopped at various times, sometimes due to staff changes, but the reasons are not always clear. Diaries are grouped as follows:
Income and disbursements, 1897-1927, consists of 29 volumes; there are no volumes for 1900 and 1914. These diaries record regular income from interest, dividends, and notes; payments for insurance premiums, dues, assessments, and mortgages; regular disbursements to family members and others; and board and stockholders' meetings. Some volumes from the 1920s note the movements of family members, such as their arrival in Pittsburgh, trips abroad, or the opening or closing of one of the family's residences.
Visitors, 1900-1918, consists of 19 volumes; there is no volume for 1919, the last year of Frick's life. On days when Frick was in his Pittsburgh office, entries contain lists of people seen by him. On days when Frick was not in Pittsburgh, staff members recorded his whereabouts, whether traveling, or at his residences in New York and Prides Crossing, Mass. Travel by other family members, especially Frick's wife, son, and daughter, is sometimes also recorded.
William A. Carr diaries, 1902-1913, is comprised of 12 volumes. William A. Carr served as superintendent of the Frick Building in Pittsburgh from 1902 until 1912, though these papers also contain one of his diaries from 1913. During his tenure, he kept annual diaries documenting visitors, meetings, payroll, and events. Carr also recorded information concerning the whereabouts of Henry Clay Frick and other associates, such as D.B. Kinch, and makes general observations on the weather. Numerous clippings are pasted into the diaries, including general news items, business and financial information, politics, real estate, social events, and obituaries. The scope of these clippings ranges from local Pittsburgh news to national and international events.
Office tasks, 1903-1908, consists of 9 volumes; there are no diaries for 1904-1905, 1912-1913, or 1915-1917. These diaries provide a daily record of tasks in the Pittsburgh office of Henry Clay Frick, including payroll, recording interest, preparing vouchers, and paying bills, dues, and taxes.
Karl F. Overholt diaries, 1911-1933, consist of 23 volumes. Overholt, a nephew of Henry Clay Frick, was employed by the family to handle various legal and financial matters. His diaries contain entries regarding meetings, taxes, checks issued, office tasks, and staffing. Clippings are occasionally pasted inside. Overholt continued to work for the family until his death in 1938, but he appears not to have maintained a diary after 1933.
Karl F. Overholt scrapbook, 1911-1912, consists of only one volume containing clippings regarding taxes, real estate, insurance, and other matters.
Taxes and insurance, 1912-1913, is comprised of two volumes. Compiled by Karl F. Overholt and others, these volumes record taxes due and the status of insurance policies on various properties owned by Frick throughout Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, and elsewhere.
Real estate matters, 1914-1917, consists of four volumes. Diaries contain entries regarding payroll at the Frick Building, Frick Building Annex, and the Highland Building, as well as insurance, inspections, and bills. These volumes also contain clippings relating to local business matters and real estate.
Miscellaneous volumes, 1918-1920, is comprised of three volumes. Compiled by an unidentified member of Frick's Pittsburgh office staff, these volumes contain only a handful of entries on subjects such as insurance due and interest paid, and a few clippings.
E.J. McNamara diaries, 1920 and 1930, consists of two volumes. McNamara was first employed as a stenographer at Henry Clay Frick's Pittsburgh office in the Frick Building in 1914. He continued working for the Frick family after Henry Clay Frick's death, though it is not clear when his service with the family ended. His office diaries are sparsely used, containing only a few entries concerning meetings and reminders. There is no explanation for the ten year gap between these volumes. He may have kept diaries for other years, but they do not survive with these papers.
Volumes are grouped by diary type, and arranged chronologically.
Arrangement
Volumes are arranged in two subseries:
I: Personal Diaries, 1880, 1914
II: Pittsburgh Office Diaries, 1897-1933
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
These records are open for research by appointment under the conditions of The Frick Collection/Frick Art Reference Library Archives Access Policy. For all inquiries or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Archives Department at archives@frick.org.
Provenance
On deposit from the Helen Clay Frick Foundation, 2015.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Julie Ludwig, 2014, with funding from the Helen Clay Frick Foundation.
Related Materials
Related Materials
For household diaries from Frick's New York residence at One East 70th Street, see: One East 70th Street Papers.
Controlled Access Headings
Genre(s)
- Diaries.
Geographic Name(s)
- Pittsburgh (Pa.)
Personal Name(s)
- Carr, William A.
- Frick, Henry Clay, 1849-1919.
- Overholt, Karl F., 1877-1938.
Collection Inventory
|
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Box | Folder | Date | ||
1 | 1 |
Travel diary
Scope and Contents note
Facsimile of diary kept by Henry Clay Frick during his first trip abroad in 1880. Entries begin with Frick's departure from Pittsburgh on 21 June 1880, and record the voyage overseas, landing at Queenstown, and visits to several cities in Ireland and Scotland. Diary is an incomplete record of the trip; the last entry (11 July 1880) is dated just over a week after landing. |
1880 | |
1 | 2-6 |
Friendship calendar
Scope and Content Note
Calendar with submissions from Henry Clay Frick's family and friends for each day of the year. Compiled by Frick's daughter, Helen Clay Frick. |
1914 | |
One East 70th Street household diaries
Scope and Content Note
6 volumes. Dating from 1914 to 1919, these volumes record events and daily activities at Frick's New York residence located at One East 70th Street. For more information and access see: One East 70th Street Papers, Series VIII: Daily Life. |
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Box | Date | |||
2 |
Income and disbursements, Volumes 1-3
|
1897-1899 | ||
3 |
Income and disbursements, Volumes 4-5
|
1901-1902 | ||
4 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 6
|
1903 | ||
5 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 7
|
1904 | ||
6 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 8
|
1905 | ||
7 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 9
|
1906 | ||
8 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 10
|
1907 | ||
9 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 11
|
1908 | ||
10 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 12
|
1909 | ||
11 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 13
|
1910 | ||
12 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 14
|
1911 | ||
13 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 15
|
1912 | ||
14 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 16
|
1913 | ||
15 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 17
|
1915 | ||
16 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 18
|
1916 | ||
17 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 19
|
1917 | ||
18 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 20
|
1918 | ||
19 |
Income and disbursements, Volume 21
|
1919 | ||
20 |
Income and disbursements, Volumes 22-23
|
1920-1921 | ||
21 |
Income and disbursements, Volumes 24-25
|
1922-1923 | ||
22 |
Income and disbursements, Volumes 26-27
|
1924-1925 | ||
23 |
Income and disbursements, Volumes 28-29
|
1926-1927 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
24 |
Visitors, Volume 1
|
1900 | ||
25 |
Visitors, Volume 2
|
1901 | ||
26 |
Visitors, Volume 3
|
1902 | ||
27 |
Visitors, Volume 4
|
1903 | ||
28 |
Visitors, Volume 5
|
1904 | ||
29 |
Visitors, Volume 6
|
1905 | ||
30 |
Visitors, Volume 7
|
1906 | ||
31 |
Visitors, Volume 8
|
1907 | ||
32 |
Visitors, Volume 9
|
1908 | ||
33 |
Visitors, Volume 10
|
1909 | ||
34 |
Visitors, Volume 11
|
1910 | ||
35 |
Visitors, Volume 12
|
1911 | ||
36 |
Visitors, Volume 13
|
1912 | ||
37 |
Visitors, Volume 14
|
1913 | ||
38 |
Visitors, Volume 15
|
1914 | ||
39 |
Visitors, Volume 16
|
1915 | ||
40 |
Visitors, Volume 17
|
1916 | ||
41 |
Visitors, Volume 18
|
1917 | ||
42 |
Visitors, Volume 19
|
1918 | ||
|
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Box | Date | |||
43 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 1
Scope and Content Note
Highlights include: Reception for A.J. Cassatt hosted by Frick; complaints against Frick for speeding; various stories re: elevators; Union Club of Pittsburgh; Fourth of July events in honor of President Roosevelt’s visit to Pittsburgh; changes in leadership at United States Steel and merger with Union Steel; rumors of Frick running for U.S. Senate; Monongahela Club; bronze lions at the Frick Building. |
1902 | ||
44 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 2
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Reception for P.C. Knox hosted by Frick; death of George M. von Bonnhorst; establishment of the Union Club in Pittsburgh; return of Charles Schwab from abroad; exhibition of Dagnan-Bouveret’s Consolatrix Afflictorum and Chartran’s portrait of Pope Leo in the Frick Building; opening of the Union Safe Deposit Co. in the Frick Building; visits to Pittsburgh by M. Leopold Mabilleau, Sir Swire Smith, and Sir Colen and Lady Scott Moncrieff; various elevator accidents in Pittsburgh buildings; streetcar accident in downtown Pittsburgh; Frick’s purchase and razing of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh; death of Benjamin F. Jones; plans for the Hump removal in downtown Pittsburgh; honorary degrees awarded to Frick; Frick’s meetings with President Roosevelt; Chartran’s Signing of the Protocol, commissioned by Frick and given to the White House; changes in management at United States Steel; death of Mary E. Schenley; rumors of Frick running for M.S. Quay’s U.S. Senate seat (includes political cartoon); fire at the Pittsburgh warehouse storing fossils and antiquities from the Carnegie Museum; Iroquois Theater fire in Chicago. |
1903 | ||
45 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 3
Scope and Content Note
Highlights include: B.J. Foley’s suit against Frick; changes in leadership at Pennsylvania Rail Road and United States Steel; deaths of Henry W. Oliver and John G. Holmes; Frick and jury duty; razing St. Paul’s Cathedral in Pittsburgh; J.D. Rockefeller Jr.’s visit to Pittsburgh; rumors of Frick running for U.S. Senate; Hump removal project. |
1904 | ||
46 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 4
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Dinner at the White House attended by the Fricks; Frick Building Annex; investigation of the Equitable Life Assurance Society; Frick’s lease of the Vanderbilt mansion; rumors of a cabinet position for Frick; temperance issues; Hump removal project; Russo-Japanese War; construction of Eagle Rock; Frick Park in Homestead; transfer of Alexander Berkman; death of Frick’s mother and F.W. McElroy’s infant son; William E. Corey divorce. |
1905 | ||
47 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 5
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Release of Alexander Berkman; Standard Oil trust investigation; death of Alexander J. Cassatt; shooting of Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw; Hartje divorce case; appointment of Judge Buffington to the circuit court; purchase of Lenox Library property in New York; San Francisco earthquake; volcanic eruption in Naples, Italy. |
1906 | ||
48 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 6
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Fire at the Wannamaker mansion; murder trial of Harry K. Thaw; new buildings in Pittsburgh, including the Soldiers’ Memorial Hall and Calvary Episcopal Church; various items on John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil, E.H. Harriman, Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Institute, and J.P. Morgan; minor fire at 640 Fifth Avenue; “Frick Known in Gotham as the Mystery of the Wall Street District;” rumors of Frick running for U.S. Senate and building a fine arts academy; Frick’s purchase of Corot and Maris paintings; wedding of William Ellis Corey; chrysanthemum show at Clayton conservatory; death of Frank Ridgway. |
1907 | ||
49 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 7
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Fires at Pittsburgh’s Excelsior and Renshaw buildings; exhibit of Frick’s pictures at the Union League Club; death of Judge Thomas Mellon; summons of Frick in equity suit; various items on E.H. Harriman, Andrew Carnegie, P.C. Knox, Harry K. Thaw, Alexander Berkman, and F.T.F. Lovejoy; building collapse at Homeopathic Hospital; C.L. Magee memorial fountain; Equitable Life, Oliver, and Y.W.C.A. Buildings; deaths of Samuel Ellis Moore and Frank E. Alden; Helen Clay Frick’s debut. |
1908 | ||
50 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 8
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Various items on E.H. Harriman, Theodore Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan, John Jacob Astor, Henry Phipps, and aviator Louis Bleriot; deaths of William G. McCandless, Sarah J. Mellon, and William Frick; bribery case of Councilmen Klein, Brand, and Wasson; inauguration of President Taft; Willie Whitla kidnapping; “Hump” removal; Metropolitan Grand Opera performances; rumored purchase of Holbein’s Christina, Duchess of Milan; new skyscraper on South Highland Avenue; marriage of Virginia Frew; Frick Park; Forbes Field; Hudson-Fulton exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; “The Unassuming Personality of Henry Clay Frick;” purchase of land for Iron Rail; plans for William Penn Hotel. |
1909 | ||
51 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 9
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Various items on John D. Rockefeller (Jr. and Sr.), Andrew Carnegie, Max G. Leslie, P.C. Knox, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Oscar Hammerstein, Childs Frick, F.F. Nicola, F.T.F. Lovejoy, and Helen Clay Frick’s Iron Rail Vacation Home; “Optimism Preached by Frick;” deaths of Thomas K. Laughlin, Mark Twain, and King Edward VII, and Florence Nightingale, John LaFarge, Leo Tolstoy, and Mary Baker G. Eddy. |
1910 | ||
52 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 10
Scope and Content Note
Highlights include: Divorces of Andrew W. Mellon and Lula Frick Clarke; Childs Frick’s Abyssinian expedition; trials of A.H. Eames, Laura F. Schenk, Frank N. Hoffstot; changes in leadership at United States Steel; anti-trust suit against Standard Oil; robbery at the William Thaw residence; deaths of C.S. Overholt, Howard Childs, Co. L.T. Brown, Joseph Woodwell, E.E. Beddoe, Richard M. Gulick, John W. Gates, Francis L. Robbins; weddings of Vivien Gould and Lord Decies, Mary McNeal and Lawrence Dilworth, Julia Parish Dodge and James C. Rea; Frick’s purchase of Velasquez’s Philip IV and Gainsborough’s Lady Duncombe; establishment of Carnegie Corporation of New York, and numerous clippings mentioning Carnegie; coronation of England’s King George and Queen Mary; temperance issues; anti-trust hearings re: United States Steel; rumors of Frick buying a mansion in Pasadena; political cartoon of Frick, Carnegie, etc. as Pittsburgh boomers; visit of John Brashear to Prides Crossing and Skibo Castle; theft of the Mona Lisa; stampede in Canonsburg, Pa., theater; Sewickley-Coraopolis bridge; President Taft’s visit to Pittsburgh. |
1911 | ||
53 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 11
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Henry Clay Frick's trip to Egypt; Childs Frick's trip to Africa; fire in the Equitable Building, New York; P.C. Knox, Andrew Carnegie; Theodore Roosevelt; John Brashear; Harry K. Thaw; Mrs. John Jacob Astor; Frick organist Archer Gibson; J.P. Morgan; steel trust hearings in Washington, D.C.; Titanic disaster; Helen Clay Frick's Iron Rail Vacation Home; Lenox Library, New York; Hump removal in Pittsburgh; purchase of Rembrandt's Portrait of a Dutch Merchant; summer fête at Eagle Rock; rumored purchase of Chamberlain's portrait of Benjamin Franklin by Henry Clay Frick. |
1912 | ||
54 |
William A. Carr diary, Volume 12
Scope and Contents note
Highlights include: Theater event hosted by Helen Clay Frick; lawsuit against Henry Phipps and Paul N. Decette re: Café Fulton; Hump removal project in downtown Pittsburgh; disappearance of Walter S. Burchinal; engagement of Childs Frick; fire at the Samuel S. Brown mansion; new tabernacle in Oakland. |
1913 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
55 |
Office tasks, Volume 1
|
1903 | ||
56 |
Office tasks, Volume 2
|
1906 | ||
57 |
Office tasks, Volume 3
|
1907 | ||
58 |
Office tasks, Volume 4
|
1908 | ||
59 |
Office tasks, Volume 5
|
1909 | ||
60 |
Office tasks, Volume 6
|
1910 | ||
61 |
Office tasks, Volume 7
|
1911 | ||
62 |
Office tasks, Volume 8
|
1914 | ||
63 |
Office tasks, Volume 9
|
1918 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
64 |
Karl F. Overholt diaries, Volumes 1-3
|
1911-1913 | ||
65 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 4
|
1914 | ||
66 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 5
|
1915 | ||
67 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 6
|
1916 | ||
68 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 7
|
1917 | ||
69 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 8
|
1918 | ||
70 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 9
|
1919 | ||
71 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 10
|
1920 | ||
72 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 11
|
1921 | ||
73 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 12
|
1922 | ||
74 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 13
|
1923 | ||
75 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 14
|
1924 | ||
76 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 15
|
1925 | ||
77 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 16
|
1926 | ||
78 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 17
|
1927 | ||
79 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 18
|
1928 | ||
80 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 19
|
1929 | ||
81 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 20
|
1930 | ||
82 |
Karl F. Overholt diary, Volume 21
|
1931 | ||
83 |
Karl F. Overholt diaries, Volumes 22-23
|
1932-1933 | ||
84 |
Karl F. Overholt diaries - Inserts
|
1924-1933 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
85 |
Karl F. Overholt Scrapbook
|
1911-1912 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
86 |
Taxes and insurance, Volume 1
|
1912 | ||
87 |
Taxes and insurance, Volume 2
|
1913 | ||
|
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Box | Date | |||
88 |
Real estate matters, Volume 1
|
1914 | ||
89 |
Real estate matters, Volume 2
|
1915 | ||
90 |
Real estate matters, Volume 3
|
1916 | ||
91 |
Real estate matters, Volume 4
|
1917 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
92 |
Miscellaneous diary, Volume 1
|
1918 | ||
93 |
Miscellaneous diary, Volume 2
|
1919 | ||
94 |
Miscellaneous diary, Volume 3
|
1920 | ||
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Box | Date | |||
95 |
E.J. McNamara diary, Volume 1
|
1920 | ||
96 |
E.J. McNamara diary, Volume 2
|
1930 | ||
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