AHJ_ah06142 Inventory of the Mae Reed Porter and Clyde Porter Papers, 1839-1970 Porter (Mae Reed) and Porter (Clyde) Papers Updated and re-keyed by Mary Kenney The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid has been made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
American Heritage Center Dept. 3924, 1000 E. University Avenue University of Wyoming Laramie, WY 82071 Phone: 307.766.2574 Fax:307.766.5511 Email:ahcref@uwyo.edu URL:http://ahc.uwyo.edu/
2006

University of Wyoming

 Finding aid encoded by Mary Kenney June, 2006 2006 Finding aid is in English Collection Summary Mae Reed Porter and Clyde Porter Mae Reed Porter and Clyde Porter Papers 1839-1970 06142 24.87 cubic ft. (53 boxes) University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. English Mae Reed Porter and her husband, Clyde Porter were historians of the American West whose work focused on the paintings of Alfred Jacob Miller and his patron, Sir William Drummond Stewart, who explored the Western territories in the 1830s and 1840s during the trapper and trader era. Biography

Clyde Porter, born in St. Louis, Missouri, and Mae Reed, from Des Moines, met as classmates at Iowa State College and married in 1910. Clyde, like his father, was an executive with Kansas City Power & Light and benefactor of the Kansas City Museum. Mae Reed Porter was an historian of the American West and an art collector. She purchased a collection of sketches and watercolors, 1837-1838, of Alfred Jacob Miller. Miller was born in Baltimore and studied in Paris and Rome. In 1837 he opened a studio in New Orleans, where he met Sir William Drummond Stewart, a Scottish military officer and adventurer. Stewart engaged Miller to accompany him to a 1837 fur trade rendezvous in the Rocky Mountains. On this expedition Miller produced many sketches which he later used as a basis of oil paintings. Miller was researched and popularized by Mae Reed Porter. The content of the art work were the trappers, traders, and personalities of the fur trade era in Montana and Wyoming. Mrs. Porter also gained recognition when she collaborated with Bernard DeVoto on "Across the Wide Missouri", winner of the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1947. George Augustus Frederick Ruxton was another object of historical research for the Porters. Ruxton had written several books about his solitary wanderings in the far West in the mid-1800s. Filling in the gaps of Ruxton’s biography, the Porters produced "Ruxton of the Rockies" (1950) and an annotated version of Ruxton’s "Life in the Far West" (1950).

 Scope and Content

Collection contains research materials, manuscripts, notebooks, publications, and clippings related to Mae Reed Porter’s historical writing, particularly that dealing with Alfred Jacob Miller and Sir William Drummond Stewart. Correspondence, 1932-1975, biographical material, and photographs include both family and historical research materials. Memorabilia, and financial records are also included with some artifacts. The bulk of the collection deals with the decades Mae spent in compiling the background for her writing, which Clyde assisted with after his retirement.

 Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

 Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

 Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by Mae Reed or Clyde Porter at the date of processing.

 Acquisition Information

The papers were from the estate of Jean Porter Harvey and were donated by John Harvey, J. Jean Harvey Brasser, and Julian Harvey in 1976.

 Processing Information

The collection was updated and re-keyed by Mary Kenney in June 2006.

 Preferred Citation

Box Number, Mae Reed Porter and Clyde Porter Papers, Collection Number 06142, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

 Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of select material from this collection are available at http://digitalcollections.uwyo.edu:8180/luna/servlet/uwydbuwy~78~78.

 Access Terms Ruxton, George Frederick Augustus, 1820-1848 Stewart, William Drummond, 1795 or 6-1871 Miller, Alfred Jacob, 1810-1874 Women historians, 20th century Fur traders, Pacific and Mountain States, 19th century Art, West (U.S.) Indians of North America, 19th century Pacific and Mountain States,History , 19th century <?xm-replace_text {Title as Subject}?> People, Ethnicity, and Culture Native Americans Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Fine Arts Literature Container List Series I. Published Material

Sub-series I. Books

Oversize "Boerne Star" Boerne, Texas, Centennial Historical edition 1949 1 "Journal of an Expedition to the Mauvais Terres and Upper Missouri in 1850, G.P.O.", Thaddeus A. Culbertson 1952 1 Hong Kong price listings, W. K. Hoffman 1 Kansas City Browning Society, calendar 1954-1955 1 Minitex de Lux Home Hand Knitting Machine, instructions, England Undated 1 "Pathway of the Padres", Howard Norworth 1951 1 Official Guide to the City of Norwich, England 1936 1 "Hannah Johnson and Polly Palmer with Some of their Kinfolk", Jennie Henderson Porter 1930 Oversize "Road from Missouri to Oregon", Charles Preuss 1846 map copies 1 "Scottish Royal Houses" 1 "Blackfeet", Julian H. Stewart 1934 1 "Trapper's Bride: or Spirit of Adventure" 1860 1 "Early Days of the West, Along the Missouri One Hundred Years Ago", Judge Joseph Thorp 1924 1 "La Decouverte du Missouri et l'Histoire du Fort d'Orleans, 1673-1728", Baron Marc de Villiers 1925 Sub-series 2. Catalogs 2 Exhibit catalogs 1933-1967 2 Paintings and Press catalogs 1943, 1951, 1966, undated Sub-series 3. Pamphlets 1934-1967 33 (Includes an item signed by Bernard Baruch, 1938) Sub-series 4. Periodicals 1929-1970 34-36, 50 Periodicals 1929-1970 Sub-series 5. Portfolios 1929-1970 Oversize "War between the United States and Mexico Illustrated", Carl Nebel, "With a Description of Each Battle", George Wilkins Kendall 1851 44 "Wonderful West of Charles M. Russell" 1956 Sub-series 6. Reprints 44 "Behind the Legend of Colter's Hall" 1949 44 "Civic Plate and Insignia of the City of Norwich" 1964 44 "Carl Bodmer's Unspoiled West" 1963 44 "Catalo" 44 "Dr. Ferdinand Herff, Pioneer Physician and Surgeon" 1954 44 "Frederick Adelphus Wislizenus (1810-1889), Pioneer Meteorologist, Physician, and Natural Scientist" 1938 44 "A List of Portraits and Paintings from Alfred Jacob Miller's Account Book" undated 44 "Repair and Cleaning of an Old Painted Buffalo Robe" 1965 44 "Sutler's Store at Fort Laramie" 1946 44 Geriatrics topics 1954-1970 Series 2. Biographical

Sub-series I. Certificates presented to Mae Reed Porter 1909-1966

2 Certificates 1909-1966 Sub-series 2. Clippings 1940s-1960s

2 Articles by Mae Reed Porter Undated 2 Travels of Mae Reed Porter 1957-1959 3-4 Social life, Mae Reed Porter and Porter family 4-5 Resource material on Western History and Western Art 5 Miscellaneous Sub-series 3. Memorabilia

29 Notebook kept by Mae Reed Porter at Iowa State College 1908-1909 50 Cunard Line material 1947, 1952 50 Invitations, programs 51 Social calendars 1938-1963 52 Children's drawings 52 Kansas City Museum Association, American Pioneer Trails 50, 52 Oregon Trail Memorial Association 50 Ancestral Chart, Medical Research Bureau 1937 50 Stamps, postcards, small painting,and odd items Art Storage Oil portrait of Mae Reed Porter Sub-series 4. Legal Documents

50 Joseph Weld, Suffolk, England 1929 50 Daniel Harris estate, Connecticut 1915 50 Contract of O. Pierce, "Prairie and Mountain Sketches" 1954 50 Contract, Hasting's House, "Cane the Captain" 1962 50 New Mexico Land Patent 1947 Series III. Correspondence

Sub-series I. General Correspondence 1909-1966

7-10 Correspondence 1909-1966 Sub-series 2. Alfred Jacob Miller

10 Purchase of A. J. Miller paintings 1945-1951 10 Other correspondence on A. J. Miller 1940-1954 Sub-series 3. Miscellaneous Correspondence 1938-1967 and undated

10 Miscellaneous Corespondence 1938-1967 and undated Sub-series 4. Personal Correspondence 1930s-1960s

12-16 Personal correspondence 1930s-1960s Series IV. Financial Material

Sub-series I. Clyde H. and Mae Reed Porter

17-19 Clyde H. and Mae Reed Porter Sub-series 2. Clyde Porter business papers 1955

18 Clyde Porter business papers 1955 Sub-series 3. Estate of Clyde H. Porter

17 Miscellaneous items 19 Inventory, tax return 1958-1959 19 Trust correspondence and documents 1958-1959 19, 21 Royalties 1958, 1968 19, 20 Mae Reed Porter income tax returns 1959-1963 Series V. Manuscripts

Sub-series I. Galley Proofs

21 "Across the Wide Missouri" 21 "Matt Field on the Santa Fe, 1839" 21 "Alfred J. Miller, The Adventures of the Stewart-Miller Oregon Expedition (1837-1838), A Discovery of the Old West" Sub-series 2. Resource Material

44 Jean Baptiste Charbonneau 44 Notes from "Fur Trade in the Far West" and other material on the fur trade 1935 44 Matt Field, copied letters and notes 1843 44 "Notes on Daniel and Rachel Francis and Some of their Descendents" 1938 44 William Frazer 44 Notes on Kansas City Museum by Mae Reed Porter 44 William Laidlaw letter from Fort Douglas, copy 1817 44 Antoine LeRoux 44 Apollo Gallery Miller Show, review 1839 44 Notes on Miller, Field, etc. 44 Articles mentioning Alfred Jacob Miller 1957, 1966 42, 45 William Mulky, Kansas City pioneer 45 Genealogical data on "Pico Family" 45 Mae Reed Porter family (including MRP's notes on Miller and Stewart) 46 George Ruxton 46 Translations of original letters from Alwin H. Soergel, Galveston, Texas 1846-1847 46-48 William Drummond Stewart 50 Drawings of historic costumes 50 "Private Land Claims in New Mexico" 1862 49 Interview with Bernardo DeVoto on "Across the Wide Missouri" with comments by Mae Reed Porter (4 reels) 1948 49 Unidentified recording 49 "Rights of Servicemen" recording by Ed Sherman 49 Indian music recorded by Francis Densmore, Library of Congress (phonographs): Chippewa, British Columbia Indian songs 11 Peace Medals, Clyde Porter letters 1951 11 Jean Baptise Charbonneau, Alcalde letters 1955-1957 11 Clyde Porter letters, dealing with A. J. Miller, George Wilkins Christy, Western Expedition of WIlliam Drummond Stewart in 1843, Matt Field, Jesuit missionaries, and Charles Andreas Geyer 1943-1945 Sub-series 3. Notebooks

29 Toussaint Charbonneau 1954 29 Alfred Jacob Miller 29 "The West That Was" 29 Sterling Price, Battle of Corinth 1962 29 Charles Andreas Geyer 30 "Wi-johi" 1951, 1952, 1954 30-31 Riverboats 30 Pony Express 30 Glasgow 31 White Cloud steamboat fire 1850 31 Individuals on 1843 expedition 31 Dr. Stedman Tighman and family 32 Alfred Jacob Miller paintings, photographs, and notes 31 Binder with photographs 32 George F. Ruxton, "Life in the Far West" 32 "Mansfelder Blatter" translation 1839-1840 32 Nicholas Janius (1787-1863), genealogical material 32 George Reed letters 32 Bottles 32 Mae Reed Porter handwritten notes (loose) Series VI. Photographs and Negatives

Sub-series I. Porter Family

37 Ancestors 38, 39 Unidentified Porter family photographs, friends and associates 40 Negatives 40 Jean Porter Harvey negatives 41 Mae Porter and Jean Porter travel album 1949, 1951 Sub-series 2. Alfred Jacob Miller works

40 Miller's watercolors, boxed set of photographs 40 A. J. Miller painting, displays and gallery scenes 41 "Rendezvous", "Rendezvous near Green River", others 41 Gallery scenes 41 Displays in Nelson Gallery, Kansas CIty 41 "Yell of Triumph", "Caravan Enroute" transparencies 41 Painting photographs, "Alfred Miller Glossies" 41 Painting photographs, with notes 41 Paintings in William T. Walters Collection, Baltimore 41 Sites of Miller's studios in London and New Orleans 41 A. J. Miller's paintings including "Auguste Thrown by a Blooded Stallion", Fort Laramie 1837 42 Miller paintings at Murthly Castle, Perthshire, Scotland (2 binders) Sub-series 3. Identified People

37 Armstrong-Browning Library, Texas, and J. Joseph Armstrong 37 Bonneville, General Benjamin L. E. 37 Chancellor Chase, University of the City of New York 38 Day, Joseph, a Shawnee 37 Driggs, Dr. Howard, in New York 42 Dripps, Andrew 37 Field, Matthew C. (3 items) circa 1839 37 Field, Martin S. 1911 in Wyoming, 1953 37 Green, Tom and Ethel at Jim Bridger's grave 37 Guinn, Charlie, guide 37 Hamilton, Alexander, portrait copy 37 Heermann, A. L. 37 Hoskins, Arthur, of St. Louis 42 McGill, James and wife 37 Kelly, Cornelius, president of Anaconda Copper 1948 37 Major, Ralph and Wanda 42 Mulky portraits and home 37 Neilson, Alice, singer, London 37 Pickard, Dr. M. W. "Gandhi" and family 37 Price, General Sterling 37 Price home 37 Ranahan, Tom, stage coach driver, pony express rider 37 Reed Family 37 Rowland, Richard (1813-1866), member of 1843 William Drummond Stewart group 37, 42 Ruxton, George 37 Dr. James Brown Scott, president of Carnegie Foundation 37 Seachrest, Effie, art lecturer 37 Smith, Waddell F., president, National Pony Express Centennial Association 37 Sunder, John E. 37 Thomas, Lowell, MRP, and others, Caracaras, Venezuela 1957 Sub-series 4. William Drummond Stewart and Family

37 Small folder card with Inman portrait of WDS (48 duplicates) 38 Artifacts 41 Portraits of WDS and family 41 Historic photographic material 42 Stewart coat-of-arms and Murthly Castle 42 Glasgow, Missouri 52 Indian portrait of Sir William Drummond Stewart, printing plates Sub-series 5. Scotland

37, 40 Historical materials 41 Murthly Castle, Taymouth Castle, Grandtully Castle in Perthshire 42 Chouteau on Scotland 42 Ruxton family and objects 42 Price family in Scotland Sub-series 6. Artistic Works

37 Richard Caton Woodville, sketches and Otoe Indina Agency drawings 39 Unidentified paintings 41 Evans, Dr. Herbert, painting of Prince Maximilian 41 George Ruxton portrait 41 Portraits by various painters 41 Field, Matt, illustrations, 1843 trip to Rockies, also George Christy 1843 41 Christy, George, Fort Laramie sketch 1843 41, 50 Garretson, Martin S., photograph, "The Sinful Maverick" and brochure 41 RIndsbacher, Peter, photographs of his sketches 42 Western sketches, various artists Sub-series 7. General Historical

37 Objects 37 Buildings and Monuments 37 Pierre Menard home and Chouteau 37 Indian Peace Medals with some ancestors 39 Postcards 40 Taos, Santa Fe or Albuquerque, by John Craig 1899 40 Ruins in New Mexico 40 Oregon Trail 41 Fort William, Canada by H. W. Robinson 1897 41 Guanajuato 41 Guatemala Sub-series 8. Slides

43 Mae Reed Porter and family 43 Alfred Jacob Miller watercolors, William Drummond Stewart, John Harvey (Porter son-in-law) duplicate set 43 Mexico trip 43 France 43 Jewelry at Nelson Gallery 43 United States 43 "The West That Was", A. J. Miller watercolors (carousel trays) 43 Wedding of Crown Prince of Japan Series VII. Posters, Prints, and Scrapbooks

Sub-series I. Posters

44 Clyde Porter lecture on Indians before the Culture Vultures, undated 44 "Centennial Celebration of Old Fort Laramie, Wyoming" 1949 44 "Southern Garden Tour in Color, by Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Porter" 1949 42 Matt Field's hunting knife 1949 Sub-series 2. Prints

44 Felix Bridger 38, 44 Daniel Boone Oversize Print from Edward Eberstadt by Karl Bodnar of Fort Union, Missouri Oversize Hand-drawn Christmas card 1957 44 Map of 1814 Lewis and Clark Expedition Oversize "Masterpieces of Primitive American Art" Oversize Seneca Chief Corn Planter by E. C. Biddle, Philadelphia 1837 44 "Trapper's Bride" by Alfred Jacob Miller 38, 44 U. S. presidents, U.S. capitol, White House Sub-series 2. Scrapbooks

48 "American Pioneer Trails Association, Greater Kansas City Council" 48 Cartoons about Lewis and Clark from "Kansas City Star" 1955 Oversize Feature articles purchased by Kansas City "Star" and "Times", during Mae Reed Porter's residence in Glasgow, Marshall, and Kansas City, Missouri; Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico 1934-1964 49 Riverboats