Scope and Contents This collection contains correspondence, a property indenture, and a store ledger relating to California history from various sources, assembled under one collection for ease of access and use in USC Libraries Special Collections instruction. The earliest item in the collection is an 1850 letter written by T. R. Billings, a California gold seeker, to his wife, Elizabeth Billings, back home in New York. Billings' letter describes the hardships and financial troubles experienced by many who...

Abstract The Cecile R. Parker letter and liberated woman die-cut consists of two items relating to women's history during the American Victorian and Edwardian eras. The first item is an 1874 letter from Cecile R. Parker to Mrs. Evaline Price regarding Parker's marriage, divorce, and her new life after leaving her former husband. The second item is a two-part advertising embossed die-cut portraying a woman wearing bloomers and riding a bicycle. The die-cut was created circa 1900 and includes an...