Salinger, J.D.  American author of Catcher in the Rye. Typed letter signed “JDS”. 1972. Written during his extended correspondence with Eileen Paddison, this two-page letter offers sustained reflection on Taoist philosophy as a lived discipline rather than abstract doctrine. Salinger frames himself as “a cluttered man...writer, parent, chauffeur, cook, snow-remover,”.....

[LGBTQ][Gay Activism][Drag] "Miss Jessie" photo archive chronicling 30 years in the life of San Diego drag performer and gay community activist Edward “Jesse” Taylor. The archive documents 30 years of Taylor’s life, as well as images from his 1987 title as Empress XVI in the California Imperial Court, and his.....

[Civil War] [African American Military] [Slavery] Unknown official. Slave impressment receipt and certificate, 1865 documents the Confederate government’s forced mobilization of enslaved labor during the final phase of the Civil War under legislation authorizing the use of enslaved people for military purposes. Issued in Florida under the February 17, 1864.....

[Drag][Las Vegas] Las Vegas Drag photo album, circa 1970s, depicting female impersonators and performers during a formative period in LGBTQ+ performance history. Several images show drag showgirl Joey Skilbred, known professionally as Jocelyn Somers. The album provides direct visual evidence of Las Vegas drag performance culture as it developed in.....

[Biker Subculture][Harley Davidson] Photograph archive of the Southern Eagles Motorcycle Club and its association with Cable’s Harley-Davidson dealership in Winston-Salem, North Carolina between 1958 and 1968. The images show members, public events, and recreational activities of a regional motorcycle club during a period when organized riding groups expanded across the.....

[Harley Davidson Motorcycle] Southern Eagles Motorcycle Club photographic archive documenting Harley Davidson riders and dealership culture in Winston Salem, North Carolina during the 1960s. The photographs record club gatherings, races, dealership events, and recreational rides during a decade when motorcycle clubs expanded rapidly across the United States and became visible.....

[Drag][LGBTQ][Theater and Performance] Drag performance and female impersonation ephemera documenting mid twentieth century queer nightlife and theatrical entertainment in the United States. Materials span the 1950s through the early 1980s and include promotional pieces, programs, and magazines associated with prominent drag performers and venues including Charles Pierce, Jim Bailey, T......

[Cold War] [U.S. Military Intelligence] U.S. Army and Defense Intelligence Agency manuals documenting the evolution of American military intelligence doctrine from the early Cold War through the late détente period, with sustained focus on Soviet military organization, combat intelligence, subversion theory, and battlefield operations under the shadow of nuclear warfare.....

Independent trans interest zine "TV Clip Sheet No. 4" produced by Chevalier Publications ca. 1959, gathering articles on transgender celebrity, cross dressing, and gender nonconformity in the years following new international trans visibility achieved by Christine Jorgensen. The issue, produced in Los Angeles, gathers headlines, human interest archives, and newspaper.....

[African American][New Deal][Labor] Black Civilian Conservation Corps member photograph archives, showing an all-Black CCC unit in Pennsylvania, ca. 1937. These photographs document the experiences of Black participants in the Civilian Conservation Corps, one of the central employment and public works initiatives created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Established.....

[Civil Rights] National Association for the Advancement of Colored People printed and photographic archive documenting organizational activism, legal strategy, and leadership within the American Civil Rights Movement from the 1940s through the late 1970s. The materials trace the NAACP’s work in litigation, membership organizing, public advocacy, and legislative lobbying during.....

[Engineering][Invention and Business] Felt, Dorr Eugene. British Patents for Improvements in Calculating Machines (1900–1904) document the development of one of the earliest commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculators, reflecting the rapid mechanization of clerical labor at the turn of the twentieth century. These patents relate to the Comptometer, first introduced in.....

[Cold War] [U.S. Defense] Official U.S. Army intelligence and doctrinal publications on Soviet equipment and artillery produced at key Cold War moments when Soviet conventional forces, missile technology, and weapons systems were undergoing rapid modernization. These publications illustrate how American military institutions trained analysts and officers to identify Warsaw Pact.....