James B. Pond papers

Spanning the years 1878 to 1944, the James B. Pond papers are largely comprised of the incoming and outgoing correspondence of James Burton Pond (familiarly known as Major Pond), as well as two smaller groupings of correspondence to his son James Burton Pond, Jr. and to his second wife Martha Glass Pond. The collection also includes three holograph memos from Pond's business, two typescript manuscripts, miscellaneous printed matter, and two photographs related to Pond and his occupation as a lecture manager.

The collection is organized in two series: I. Correspondence, II. Manuscripts and Ephemera related to Pond.

Series I. consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence of James B. Pond and others. It is divided into two subseries: correspondence to and from Pond; and correspondence to others. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent's surname. Series I.A. comprises incoming and outgoing correspondence between James Burton Pond and his friends, admirers, and clients. A significant portion of the correspondence discusses business, including requests for lecture tours, suggestions for lecture topics, and scheduling concerns.

Another common theme of the letters is congratulations on and impressions of Pond's book Eccentricities of Genius: Memories of Famous Men and Women of the Platform and Stage (1900) in response to complimentary copies sent out by the author. Notable correspondents include author Poultney Bigelow (1855-1954); Winston Churchill (1874-1965) and his mother Jennie Randolph Churchill, known after her second marriage as Jennie Cornwallis-West (1854-1921); U.S. Senator Chauncey M. Depew (1834-1928); Native American lobbyist and writer Charles Alexander Eastman, also known as Ohiyesa Eastman (1858-1939); and author and journalist Julian Ralph (1853-1903). Correspondents range from adventurers, to business men, preachers, politicians, and writers. The collection includes letters from the adventurers Adrian Hofmeyr (1873-1919) and Joshua Slocum (1844-1909) and writers John Masefield (1878-1967), Justin Huntly McCarthy (1861-1936), and Daniel Webster Wilder (1832-1911). There are also three letters on White House stationary from three consecutive Secretaries to the President between 1896 and 1902, Henry T. Thurber, John Addison Porter, and George B. Cortelyou, referencing presidential reaction to Pond’s lectures.

Series I.B. contains four groupings of correspondence to Pond's second wife Martha Glass Pond, his son James Burton Pond, Jr., his employee Sadie Glass, Columbia University president Seth Low, and author and humorist Bert Leston Taylor, respectively. Letters are arranged alphabetically by sender within each grouping. Correspondence to Mrs. Pond is largely comprised of letters concerning Pond's health and condolences after his death from friends and public figures. Correspondence to James Burton Pond, Jr. and Sadie Glass deal exclusively with the Pond Lecture Bureau which Pond Jr. managed after his father's death. Noteworthy correspondents include wildlife photographer and artist Arthur Radclyff Dugmore (1870-1955), arctic explorer Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933), and radio news commentator H.v. Kaltenborn (1878-1965). There is a letter from Columbia University president Seth Low to a Jacob W. Mack in reference to a lecturer. The single letter from Bert Leston Taylor (1866-1921) is addressed to John N. Cook in reference to the possible publication of Taylor’s novel The Bilioustine: A Periodical of Knock (1901). Taylor wrote a weekly humor column in verse for The Chicago Tribune titled "A Line o' Type or Two" from 1901 to 1903 and 1910 to 1921; however, there is no apparent connection between this letter and the Pond family.

Series II.A. comprises three holograph memoranda organized chronologically followed by undated. Two are on James B. Pond Agency Stationary, one regarding financial calculations and the second regarding childhood memories possibly by Pond. The third memorandum also deals with Pond’s business.

Series II.B. includes two typescript manuscripts organized alphabetically by title. The first is a partial manuscript with pages numbered 7-26 that includes retyped correspondence, conversation, and contextual information about Pond's troubled business relationship with Winston Churchill. The second manuscript is a typescript about Pond for a 1902 newspaper column by the otherwise anonymous columnist "The Philosopher." The newspaper of publication was possibly The Wausau Daily Record or The Wausau Daily Herald .

Series II.C. contains a variety of printed material: a playbill for Mr. William Terriss and Miss Millward at the Town Hall performed in Folkestone, England, on July 4, 1890; a photocopy of "A Dealer in Brains: Major J.B. Pond and His Association with Great Men" by Robert C. Burt from Pearson's Magazine , volume 5, January-June 1898, published in London; and a reprint of United States Senator Chauncey M. Depew's article "The Growing Importance of Transportation: Its Recognition by the Great Nations of the World."

Series II.D. consists of two photographs: a platinotype dated 1895 of U.S. District Attorney of Kansas (1874-1879) and president of the American Bar Association (1905-1906) George R. Peck (1843-1923) and a photograph circa 1897 of James B. Pond, American writer F. Marion Crawford (1854-1909), and an unidentified man.