Processed by
Charles Latham
22 May 1991
9 October 1992
Revised 3 July 2002
Manuscript Collections Department
William Henry Smith Memorial Library
Indiana Historical Society
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269
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VOLUME OF |
5 manuscript boxes, 5 oversize folders, 4 bound volumes; 83 photographs, 194 post cards, 1 post card album, and 1 tintype. |
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COLLECTION |
1844–1923 bulk 1910–1923) |
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PROVENANCE: |
Mrs. Booth Tarkington, 4270 N. Meridian St., Indianapolis, Ind., Summer 1951 |
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RESTRICTIONS: |
None |
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COPYRIGHT: |
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REPRODUCTION |
Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. |
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ALTERNATE |
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RELATED |
The Hermit of Capri (BL 50 .T3 1910); Posthumous Address to Alumni of DePauw University (1912); Booth Tarkington Papers (M 0273); Slawson-Tarkington Papers (M 0370) |
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ACCESSION |
1951.0605 |
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NOTES: |
7 broadsides and 4 booklets transferred to Printed Collections |
John Stevenson Tarkington (1832-1923) was born in Centerville, Indiana, the son of the Rev. Joseph Tarkington, a Methodist preacher (who served as pastor at Lawrenceburgh, Centerville, Brookville, Vincennes, and Greensburg) and Maria Slawson (Slauson).
John Tarkington graduated from Indiana Asbury University (later DePauw) in 1852, and earned an A. M. degree three years later. He moved to Indianapolis in 1852, served as private secretary to Governor Joseph A. Wright (1853-1857), then studied law in the offices of Albert G. Porter (later Governor). He set up his own law practice in 1855, and two years later married Elizabeth Booth, whose brother Newton Booth was then U.S. senator from California. They had two children, the author (Newton) Booth Tarkington (1869-1946), and a daughter, Mary Booth (nicknamed Haute—1861-1937), who married Ovid Butler Jameson.
Tarkington won a contested election for the Indiana General Assembly in 1863. Having served eight days as a private in one Indiana regiment in 1863, he helped to organize the 132nd Indiana Volunteers the next year, and served in it as captain and provost until the end of the Civil War.
Briefly after the war Tarkington practiced law in partnership with Oliver P. Morton and Elijah B. Martindale. In 1870 he was elected judge of the Fifth Circuit Court, serving Marion and Hancock Counties, and held the post for two years. In the later 1870s he practiced law alone. He retired early from his legal practice, and ran the safety deposit section of the Fletcher and Sharpe Bank. His first wife died in 1909, and a year later he married Mrs. Linda H. Schulz. He had a considerable literary bent, and did quite a bit of traveling. In his later years, under the compound pen-name John Steventon (apparently to avoid confusion with his famous son), he wrote and published two collections of essays, The Hermit of Capri (1910) and The Auto-Orphan (1913).
Sources:
Materials in collection
Indiana Biographical Series, Vol. 1, pp. 73-75, Vol. 4 pp. 234-235
Who Was Who in America, Vol. I
Dunn, Indiana and Indianans, Vol. 3, p. 1232
Biographical Directory of the Indiana General Assembly,
Vol. I
This collection contains correspondence, telegrams, legal papers, skits, typescripts and manuscripts of essays, printed material, post cards, and photographs, from John S. Tarkington, his father, his second wife, and others.
Series 1 contains correspondence, personal papers, and photographs of John S. Tarkington. Two large bodies of material here are papers, by Tarkington and others, from his years at Indiana Asbury University, 1847-1851; and second, papers from his service in the Civil War, mainly reports and rosters. Photographs stored in Visual Collections include two, possibly three portraits of John S. Tarkington at various ages, and a copy photograph of an outdoor Civil War group portrait.
Series 2 includes correspondence of Tarkington's second wife, mainly letters of condolence at his death in 1923; diaries and notebooks from 1856 to 1926; and a ledger for the years 1893-1899.
Series 3 and 4 contain Tarkington's literary output. In Series 3 are successive revisions of his book The Hermit of Capri, beginning with manuscript and ending with the printed book. Series 4 contains copies of essays written by Tarkington; Series 5 contains the same kinds of materials written by others. Among the latter is a short account by his father, Joseph Tarkington, about the founding of a German Methodist church in Lawrenceburgh. This series also contains portraits, mostly unidentified, and a view of an unidentified house.
Series 6 contains two scrapbooks, mainly of clippings, belonging to Tarkington's daughter Haute.
Series 7, “Postals and Photographs: Europe” derives its name from a label found with the oversize photographs during reprocessing. Of note in this series are photographs from Capri, including photographs of Villa Narcissus made by Giorgio Sommer of Naples (1834-1914) and the Anglo–Saxon Company of Capri. Two photographs (Box 8) with the hand-written captions “View from top of Villa Narcissus, home of artist, looking West” and “Moorish Courtyard of Villa Narcissus / Sarin [?] (French Painter) and Coleman” suggest that Villa Narcissus could have been the home of Italian artist Enrico Coleman (1846-1911). One of the scenic photograph of a bay appears in Tarkington’s The Hermit of Capri.
A deteriorated post card album containing 181 French post cards (127 views and 54 portraits) necessitated the removal the post cards from the album. The post cards have been retained in their original order, including loose cards not inserted into pre-slotted pages (Box 6). The loose post cards all have the notation “M273” on their versos. A hand-written itinerary of a multi-day trip is on the inside cover of the album, so the album was retained. A set of oversized post cards (Box 5, Folder 3), two oversize photographs of Château de Chenonceaux (OVA manuscript photographs), and an unidentified château may relate to this trip.
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Autobiographical (during Civil War) |
Box 1, Folder 1 |
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Genealogical |
Box 1, Folder 2 |
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Indiana Asbury University: program anouncements, 1848-1852 |
Box 1, Folder 3 |
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Indiana Asbury University: papers attributed to JST |
Box 1, Folder 4 |
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Indiana Asbury University: untitled essays, 1847-1851, n.d. (folder 1) |
Box 1, Folder 5 |
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Indiana Asbury University: untitled essays, 1847-1851, n.d. (folder 2) |
Box 1, Folder 6 |
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Indiana Asbury University: untitled essays, 1847-1851, n.d. (folder 3) |
Box 1, Folder 7 |
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Indiana Asbury University: untitled essays, 1847-1851, n.d. |
BV 1741-1743 |
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Indiana Asbury University: diploma, 1852 |
OM 0156, Folder 1, Flat File, FF 11-c |
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Indiana Asbury University: essays and papers by classmates, 1850-1851 |
Box 1, Folder 8 |
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Letters from John York, 1855 |
Box 1, Folder 9 |
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Address to Indianapolis Sunday Schools, 7-4-1855 |
Box 1, Folder 10 |
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Diary, 1857 |
Box 1, Folder 11 |
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Letter about Indiana travels, 1860 |
Box 1, Folder 12 |
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Civil War papers: 1863-June 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 13 |
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Civil War papers: July-August 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 14 |
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Civil War papers: September-November 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 15 |
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Civil War papers: December 1864-1869 |
Box 1, Folder 16 |
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Civil War papers: Quarterly reports, etc., 1864 |
OM 0156, Folder 2, Flat File, FF 11-c |
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Civil War papers: Officer's account book, 1864 |
Box 1, Folder 17 |
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Civil War papers: Muster rolls, 1864 |
OM 0156, Folder 3, Flat File, FF 11-c |
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Civil War papers: Appointment to Captain; 132nd Regiment, Indiana Volunteers, 1864; Loyal Legion award, 1894; Sons of the Revolution Certificate, 1911 |
OM 0156, Folder 4, Flat File, FF 11-c |
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[copy photograph of an outdoor Civil War group portrait] |
Visual Collections: OVC Photographs |
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[Portrait of John S. Tarkington (?), no date] |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 1 |
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Indiana court calendars, 1867, 1876, 1877 |
Box 1, Folder 18 |
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Letters, 1881 |
Box 1, Folder 19 |
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[Portrait of John S. Tarkington], Nicholson Brothers, Indianapolis, 1903 |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 2 |
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California real estate, 1903 |
Box 1, Folder 20 |
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Correspondence and papers, 1890-1909 |
Box 1, Folder 21 |
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Correspondence and papers, 1910-1919 |
Box 1, Folder 22 |
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Marriage certificate, 1911 |
OM 0156, Folder 5 |
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Linda Schulz school certificates 1889, 1891 |
OM 0156, Folder 5 |
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Last wills and testaments, 1913, 1922 |
Box 1, Folder 23 |
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Speech at S. A. R. banquet, 1915 |
Box 1, Folder 24 |
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Correspondence and papers, 1920-1923 |
Box 1, Folder 25 |
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90th birthday, 1922 |
Box 1, Folder 26 |
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“John S Tarkington”: seated portrait, half-tone sheet with printed signature, (three copies) |
Box 1, Folder 27 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Linda S. Tarkington—correspondence, 1921-1930 |
Box 2, Folder 1 |
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Linda S. Tarkington—letters of condolence, 1923 |
Box 2, Folder 2 |
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Linda S. Tarkington—letters of condolence, 1923 |
Box 2, Folder 3 |
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Diaries 1856, 1861; notebook, 1872 |
Box 2, Folder 4 |
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Diary, 1857 |
Box 2, Folder 5 |
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Diary, 1875-1904 |
Box 2, Folder 6 |
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Diary, 1902-1926 |
BV 1740 |
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Notebook fragments, 1886-1887, 1904-1905 |
Box 2, Folder 7 |
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Ledger, 1893-1899 |
Box 2, Folder 8 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Original manuscript |
Box 3, Folder 1 |
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Handwritten copy |
Box 3, Folder 2 |
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Handwritten copy |
Box 3, Folder 3 |
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Partial—typescript and handwritten |
Box 3, Folder 4 |
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Typescript with corrections |
Box 3, Folder 5 |
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Typescript with corrections |
Box 3, Folder 6 |
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Typescript with corrections |
Box 3, Folder 7 |
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Carbon of complete typescript |
Box 3, Folder 8 |
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Proof sheets |
Box 3, Folder 9 |
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The Hermit of Capri, bound copy. Another copy is in Printed Collections, BL 50 .T3 1910 |
Box 3, Folder 10 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Letter to Mary—untitled |
Box 4, Folder 1 |
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To Mary—scenes from childhood |
Box 4, Folder 2 |
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"An April Fool," 1910 |
Box 4, Folder 3 |
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"Bricks from an old courthouse" |
Box 4, Folder 4 |
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"Can a man do business on Christian principles?" |
Box 4, Folder 5 |
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"In memoriam Abram W. Hendricks" |
Box 4, Folder 6 |
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"An Italian journey" |
Box 4, Folder 7 |
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"My Henrietta"—three versions |
Box 4, Folder 8 |
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"My Henrietta"—with corrections |
Box 4, Folder 9 |
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"Occult science"—partial |
Box 4, Folder 10 |
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"Fragments of occult science" |
Box 4, Folder 11 |
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"The orphan"—with corrections |
Box 4, Folder 12 |
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"The orphan"—typescript |
Box 4, Folder 13 |
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"The college bell" |
Box 4, Folder 14 |
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"Punishment" |
Box 4, Folder 15 |
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"Relation of the spirit to animal man" |
Box 4, Folder 16 |
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"The Simpson twang" and others |
Box 4, Folder 17 |
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"What's the matter?" |
Box 4, Folder 18 |
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Dialect skit |
Box 4, Folder 19 |
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Notebooks with writings |
Box 4, Folder 20 |
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"From our staff correspondent," 1912 |
Box 4, Folder 21 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Autobiography of Joseph Tarkington |
Box 4, Folder 22 |
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Joseph Tarkington—History of German Methodist church in Lawrenceburgh |
Box 4, Folder 23 |
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Miscellaneous correspondence and papers |
Box 4, Folder 24 |
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E. T. Dickey—Memoirs of the Mexican War, 1902 |
Box 4, Folder 25 |
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Jonathan Woodruff—founding of Ames Chapel, 1868 |
Box 4, Folder 26 |
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"Francis Bacon"—anonymous |
Box 4, Folder 27 |
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Printed material |
Box 4, Folder 28 |
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Cartes de visite portrait photographs |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 3 |
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Tintype of two unidentified men |
Visual Collections: Loose Tintypes from Manuscript Collections |
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Unidentified house |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 4 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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Scrapbook #1 |
Box 5, Folder 1 |
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Scrapbook #2 |
Box 5, Folder 2 |
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CONTENTS |
CONTAINER |
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[Photographs of Capri] |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 5 |
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[Photographs of Capri and Amalfi, Italy (oversize)] |
Visual Collections: OVA Photographs, Box 7 |
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Photographs of Villa Narcissus, Capri (oversize) |
Visual Collections: OVA Photographs, Box 8 |
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[Photographs of Belgium Dairy Carts], L. P., photographer |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 6 |
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Cartes Panorama, Rouen and Chateau de Pierrefonds |
Box 5, Folder 3 |
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[French Post Cards] |
Visual Collections: Postcards, Box 6 |
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Cartes Postales [post card album] |
Visual Collections: Photograph Albums |
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Photographs of Château de Chenonceaux. N. D., photographer |
Visual Collections: OVA Photographs |
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Unidentified château |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 7 |
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Firenze [Florence, Italy] – Battistero. La Porta principale [East Door, “The Gates of Paradise”]. (Lorenzo Ghiberti). Photographs by Alinari |
Visual Collections: OVA Photographs, Box 9 |
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[Copy Photographs of Paintings and Statuary] |
Visual Collections: Manuscript Photographs, Folder 8 |
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[Copy Photographs of Classical and Relief Statuary] |
Visual Collections: OVA Photographs, Box 10 |
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[Copy photographs of Paintings and Other Art] |
Visual Collections: OVA Photographs, Box 11 |
For additional information on this collection, including a list of subject headings that may lead you to related materials:
1. Go to the Indiana Historical Society's online catalog: http://157.91.92.2/
2. Click on the "Traditional Search" icon.
3. Click on the "Call Number" radio button.
4. Search for the collection by its call number, using the letter or letters designation and four digits (in this case, M 0273, OM 0156, BV 1740-1743).
5. When you find the collection, go to the "Full Record" screen for a list of headings that can be searched for related materials.