Theodore Stanton Papers

The Theodore Stanton Papers can be described loosely as follows; approximately 1,850 authors represented by their holograph letters and manuscripts (all encapsulated) which cover roughly 15,000 leaves; autographs and photographs of many famous authors and political leaders of the 19th century, which include numerous U.S. presidents; assorted souvenirs of Stanton during his career as newspaper agent and journalist, and in his editorial capacity for many domestic and foreign journals and publishing houses; and notebooks. Apart from a small sampling of his own literary contributions, Stanton at the time of his death was also preparing a manuscript on Clemenceau and had begun working on his own reminiscences.

The lion's share of papers are comprised of Stanton's correspondence as a free-lance literary agent, (approximately ninety-five percent of the total.) He also exhibited a strong interest in collecting material from age fifteen. Stanton amassed an autograph collection of famous people of the day that included literary and political luminaries. Stanton had also commissioned Oliver H. Perry to paint a portrait of his mother, based on a photograph published in 1895. (52) Much later, he found that his growing collection could be put to good use because of its value on the auction block, as part of fund-raising efforts for various causes. His generosity extended to parting with a portion of his collection to Leveson-Gower as an autograph collection for the North American Review. He not only contributed to charity with his own collection of correspondence, but also purchased items to further various other causes.

The scope of Stanton's broad interests, for example, led to the acquisition of unusual items such as a document signed by Charles II for safe passage of Thomas Gray, 1658; A deed of title for land in Canada, written on parchment; and documents from the West Indies. Another collection explores the varied suffrage issues that vexed Britain during the first half of the 19th century. Rounding out the collection are letters that were written after Stanton's death, which reflect on his character, and research upon his life.