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Anita Pollitzer Family Papers

The Anita Pollitzer Family Papers is comprised of documents and photographs gathered by multiple members of the Pollitzer family. The collection contains correspondence, funeral programs, an issue of The Jewish Women Quarterly, Gustave M. Pollitzer’s prayer book in  the original Yiddish, marriage and birth certificates, tickets to events, and family photographs.

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Architecture Publications

This collection features publications related to architecture, including Charleston architecture. Additional works may be added in the future. See also the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs Collection.

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Art Work of Charleston: Published in Twelve Parts

A twelve-part, mostly pictorial publication about Charleston and the vicinity.  Distributed throughout the parts is an essay describing Charleston’s history and development.  The photographs feature buildings, residences, churches, street views, river views, historic gardens, cemeteries, railroad structures, phosphate mining activity, and wharves.  Published in 1893 by W. H. Parish (Chicago, Illinois).

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Business Guide of Charleston, SC

Directory of local businesses of all sorts. Published by Cooke, Howard & Co. (Baltimore, Md.), ca. 1889. Advertisements interspersed throughout, many of which are illustrated. Business types include bakers and confectioners, barbers, blacksmiths, building materials, butchers, contractors and builders, cigars and tobacco, groceries, furniture, hotels, insurance, house furnishings, painters, plumbers, railroad companies, restaurants, sailmakers, tailors, […]

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Charles Fraser Book of Precedents, 1800-1819

Charles Fraser’s Book of Precedents, 1800-1819, was apparently handwritten by Charleston miniaturist Fraser as a reference work for his legal studies. Compiled mostly from 1800 -1807, the book contains copies of writs, pleas and judgments and includes cases adjudicated from 1736-1819, almost all of which were heard in Charleston district courts.

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Charles Fraser Sketchbook, 1793-1796

Charles Fraser (1782-1860) was a renowned Charleston artist and attorney recognized for his miniatures and landscape paintings. Highlights of this sketchbook include some of Charles Fraser’s earliest Lowcountry landscape scenes, and several theatrical views, some of which may be the work of his brother, Alexander.

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Charles Fraser’s Sketchbook, 1796-1805

Charles Fraser (1782-1860) was an American artist, born and died in Charleston, SC. He was best known for his miniature paintings of prominent American figures. The works compiled in this disassembled sketchbook were created at the turn of the 19th century. Works include watercolor and ink on paper and primarily feature landscape paintings and artistic representations of local architecture. 

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Charleston in 1883

In 1883, Arthur Mazyck published the book, “Charleston South Carolina in 1883 : with heliotypes of the principle objects of interest in and around the city and historical and descriptive notices,” which contained images of Charleston buildings and sights. The images are unique, because only three years later, Charleston was devastated by a major earthquake, […]

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Craft and Crum Families, 1780-2007

The collection of artifacts pertaining tot he Craft and Crum families of the Lowcountry includes a myriad of materials; photo albums, letters, account books, and land deeds. The Craft Family Photo Album includes images of Craft family members, famous abolitionists, and other family friends, many of international historical significance. Also included in the collection are […]

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Examples of Colonial Architecture in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga.

The folio, Examples of Colonial Architecture in Charleston, S.C. and Savannah, Ga., features photographic plates of some of the most important houses and buildings in Charleston and Savannah. Photographs include exterior views of the buildings, gates, and entrances, as well as interior views of fireplaces, mantels, doors, rooms, and ceilings. Compiled and photographed by Edward […]

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Flagg Family Papers, 1832-1926

This collection consists of plantation account books, medical journals, medical account books, a time book and letters for Dr. Arthur Belin Flagg and Dr. Joshua John Ward Flagg for plantations in Georgetown County, South Carolina between the years 1792-1926. The medical journals and medical account books had been used to record the medical treatment and […]

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Frank Fisher Notes, 1882-1902

Frank R. Fisher’s notes contain observations, drawings, and photographs relating to scientific studies, particularly astronomical observations made while Fisher was a resident in Charleston, S.C., during the 1880s. Fisher, a cashier at the South Carolina Railroad Company in Charleston, was an amateur scientist and inventor who occasionally worked in consultation with longtime College of Charleston […]

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J.F.R. Papers, 1849-1855

Collection consists of papers, including a handwritten “Journal” [diary], exercises, and lecture notes written by physician, J.F.R. The diary commences at New Orleans, Louisiana and includes entries about classes, students, and faculty at the medical department of the University of Louisiana. In May 1853 the author became the medical officer on the steamer Falcon and […]

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Journal of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney’s plantations, 1818-1819

The Charles Cotesworth Pinckney Journal (1818 April 6-May 16, with a few scattered entries in late 1818 and early 1819) consists of journal entries on pages interleaved in Hoff’s Agricultural Almanac (1818). The journal records daily activities on Pinckney’s plantation. Pinckney not only planted cotton, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, corn, and oats, but relied heavily […]

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Newton Plantation Collection

This collection details the inner workings of Newton Plantation in the 1800s and contains several account and transaction ledgers. Specifically, this collection includes several day books (including the Newton Day Book or the Newton Plantation Day Book) originating between 1854-1872. These books provide records of monetary transactions on the plantation, including accounts payable and accounts […]

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Roswell T. Logan Journal, 1852-1865

Roswell T. Logan’s Journal, 1852-1865, begins in 1852 with an address before his Charleston High School debate club, the Philomathic Society. Among the many speeches, poems and essays included in the journal are three essays published in the Charleston College Magazine: “Mohammed and His religion” and “College life” in the April 1855 issue and “Goodbye” […]

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Septima P. Clark Papers, ca. 1910-ca. 1990

This collection contains material relating to the life and work of Septima P. Clark. The biographical papers include tributes, clippings, certificates, awards, family correspondence and transcripts of various oral history interviews in which Clark discusses her parents; husband; growing up and race relations in Charleston, South Carolina; her work in Citizenship Schools; her work at […]

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Small-Whaley Family Papers, 1796-1994

The Diary of a Voyage to China, 1850-1851, the private diary of Captain Thomas Small, reveals the intense loneliness of command and details the longing he feels for the wife and newborn son he left behind. He comments on marriage, child-rearing, and religion, and frequently expresses his desire to find employment “ashore” to better provide […]

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The James Poyas Daybook

This collection contains images from the daybook of James Poyas, a Charleston merchant. Entries begin in February 1760 and end in April of 1765. James Poyas was born in 1736 to Jean Louis (anglicized to John Lewis) Poyas and Marie Jourdan. He married Elizabeth Portall in 1755, and they had one child, a daughter, Elizabeth. […]

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The Storm Swept Coast of South Carolina

The Storm Swept Coast of South Carolina describes damage and recovery efforts in Beaufort, South Carolina, and the surrounding coastal area after the hurricane of August 27, 1893. Accounts from hurricane survivors describe the destruction of homes, crops, boats, wharves, bridges, railroads, and other infrastructure in the area. The author, Mrs. R. C. Mather, recounts […]

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The Thomas Haythe Rare Book Collection

Printed during the 15th and 16th centuries, this collection of rare books includes works from medieval France with a particular focus on the theme of chivalry. Written primarily in French and Latin, the texts describe stories of love, politics, humor, religion and many other aspects of medieval life. Additional titles in this collection will be […]

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Thomas J. Tobias Papers, ca. 1790-1970

The Thomas J. Tobias Papers collection consists of various documents, diaries, and letters related to members of the Tobias family. Notable in this collection are several Bills of Sale for enslaved peoples belonging to Abraham Tobias; letters from Marx E. Cohen to James Tupper regarding the death of one of his slaves in service; various […]

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Tourism Publications

This collection includes pamphlets, brochures, and souvenir booklets that feature historic buildings, landmarks, historic sites, and other points of interest. Many include Charleston history, narrative descriptions properties, photographs, and other illustrations. The collection spans 1890-1940.

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Vincent P. Lannie Collection, 1733-1974

The Vincent P. Lannie Collection consists of five separate manuscripts by plantation owner Elizabeth Allston Pringle. Elizabeth Waties Allston Pringle (1845-1921) was the daughter of South Carolina Governor Robert F.W. Allston (1801-1864). She married John Julius Pringle (1842-1876) in 1870 and lived at White House Plantation in Georgetown County, SC. Widowed at thirty-one, she moved […]