Hardy (Grahame H.) papers

box 1, box OV 1-27

Series 1. California Businesses 1867-1960

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet1 Manuscript box + 1 Oversize box

Language of Material: English.

Arrangement

Series 1. California Businesses is arranged into six subseries:

Subseries 1.1. Hardy's Bookstore

Subseries 1.2. No ID

Subseries 1.3. No ID (oversized)

Subseries 1.4. Oakland Book Co.

Subseries 1.5. Oakland Book Co. (oversized)

Subseries 1.6. 2046 Fourteenth street

Biographical / Historical

Mr. Hardy's first store was Hardy's Bookstore, an Oakland-based family business he inherited from his father in 1932. Although he initially planned to sell it off, Mr. Hardy ended up using the store to further his railfan hobbies. By selling railroad books and sending out catalogs of railroadiana, he quickly turned Hardy's Bookstore into a center of the California railfan community. By 1936 it had become successful enough to absorb a rival shop, DeWitt's Bookstore.

After a shift towards mail-order catalogs prompted Mr. Hardy to sell Hardy's Bookstore in 1940, he opened another shop called Oakland Book Co. This shop ran on Oakland's 528 Fifteenth Street until Mr. Hardy opened a new business at 2046 East Fourteenth Street in 1948. Both of these stores bought and sold historic railroad material through catalogs and in-person.

Scope and Contents

Contains materials relating to the various enterprises Mr. Hardy ran and established in California, including advertisements, letterhead, permits, business cards, and signage. Contents are matched with whichever of Mr. Hardy's three California businesses (Hardy's Bookstore, the 538 Fifteenth Street shop, or the 2046 Fourteenth Street shop) they are most relevant to.

Subjects include the sale of various artifacts and books, as well as the physical and conceptual evolution of Mr. Hardy's California businesses.

box 1, box OV 1-26

Subseries 1.1. Hardy's Bookstore

box 1, Folder 1

Articles

box OV 1

Assorted historical books 1

box OV 2

Assorted historical books 2

box OV 3

Assorted historical books 3

box OV 4-9

Cash books

box OV 4

1881-1888

box OV 5

1891 and 1893

box OV 6

1895-1898

box OV 7

1898 and 1900

box OV 8

1901-1903

box OV 9

1905

box OV 10-13

Day books

box OV 10

1893 and 1896

box OV 11

1897-1898

box OV 12

1898-1899

box OV 13

1901-1903

box OV 14-22

Ledgers

box OV 14

1878-1880, 1882 and 1883

box OV 15

1884-1886

box OV 16

1887-1889

box OV 17

1890-1892

box OV 18

1893-1895

box OV 19

1895-1896

box OV 20

1898 and 1900-1901

box OV 21

1902-1903

box OV 22

1906 and 1908-1911

box 1, folder 2

Material

box 1, folder 3

Pre-Grahame material

box OV 23-26

Record books

box OV 23

1879-1884

box OV 24

1886-1888 and 1884-1890

box OV 25

1889 and 1891

box OV 26

1895 and 1904

box 1, Folder 4

Subseries 1.2. No ID

box OV 27

Subseries 1.3. Miscellaneous ID (oversized)

box 1, folder 5

Subseries 1.4. Oakland Book Co.

Language of Material: English.

box 1, folder 6

Subseries 1.6. 2046 Fourteenth street

box 2-3

Series 2. California Nevada Railroad Historical Society 1936-1951

Physical Description: 1.333 Linear Feet1 manuscript box and 1 record carton

Language of Material: English.

Arrangement

This series is organized into 15 subseries:

Annual Pacific Railroad Show

Articles

Correspondence

Correspondence (No Date)

Excursions

Excursions (No Date)

Fliers from other societies

Golden Gate International Exhibition

Locomotive 1903/233

Miscellaneous

Official documents

Ribbons

Scrapbooks

Second Virginia and Truckee excursion

Virginia and Truckee excursion

Biographical / Historical

Grahame Hardy helped found the California Nevada Railroad Historical Society out of an existing railroad photography club in 1936. However, it was not until 1937 that the Society was considered "official." Some of CNRHS's major accomplishments include their discovery of over 100 historic Virginia and Truckee Railroad advertisements in 1937, and their recovery of Central Pacific Locomotive 1903 (also called 233) in 1938. Locomotive 1903's recovery was especially significant because it is one of the few engines ever built in California.

CNRHS was also known for exhibiting its materials to the public, as well as for running excursion trips on historic railways.

Scope and Contents

Contains all articles, correspondence, documents, and objects relating to the California Nevada Railroad Historical Society and its activities throughout its existence. Subjects include the creation of exhibits, preparation for railfan excursions, and the rescue of Central Pacific engine 1903.

Note that the files "Second Virginia and Truckee Excursion" and "Virginia and Truckee Excursion" letters and other materials are grouped together in these.

box 2, folder 1

Annual Pacific Railroad Show December 1937- March 1938

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Contains advirtisements for, articles (published and unpublished) for, and papers from CNRHS's Annual Pacific Railroad Show. Also includes a menu from the Hotel Oakland prepared for CNRHS's 1938 show, and a sketch of a proposed model railroad layout.

box 2, folder 2

Articles 1937

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Contains published and unpublished articles and clippings about the CNRHS and its members. Some only mention the Society, but most are devoted to it. Includes a piece on Virginia and Truckee advertisement discovery.

box 2, folder 3-13

Correspondence 1936-1951 1937-1939

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Letters sent to and by Mr. Hardy in his role as president of the California Nevada Railroad Historical Society. Letters cover topics such as Society excursions and requests for information or material on hisoric railroads sent to and by the Society.

box 2, folder 3

1936

box 2, folder 4

1937

box 2, folder 5

1938

box 2, folder 6

1939

box 2, folder 7

1940-1942

box 2, folder 8

1943

box 2, folder 9

1944

box 2, folder 10

1945

box 2, folder 11

1947

box 2, folder 12

1948

box 2, folder 13

1950-1951

box 2, folder 14

Correspondence (No Date)

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Undated letters to and from Mr. Hardy in his position as president of CNHRS. Topics include requests (by and of CNHRS) for information and material on historic railroads, as well as potential articles about railroad excursions exhibition exhibits. An ad for another society's excursion and what seems to be a copy of a letter from 1866 are also included.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Correspondence--Letters

Correspondence

box 2, folder 15

Excursions 1937-1950

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Contains advertisements, announcements, articles, brochures, cancellation notices, intineraries, schedules, and tickets relating to CNRHS's various organized excursions on historic railroads. Note that some excursions represented do not appear to have been CNRHS-run, but may have been affiliated with the Society some other way.

box 2, folder 16

Excursions (no date)

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Materials relating to various undated CNRHS excursions.

box 2, folder 17

Fliers from other societies

Scope and Contents

Contains fliers and other circulars from other railroad historical societies.

box 2, folder 18

Golden Gate International Exhibition

Scope and Contents

Contains applications for pass issuances and insurance of exhibited artifacts, as well as bulletins, maps of the convention hall, sketches of exhibit layouts, letterhead, and general information on the Society's exhibit itself.

box 2, folder 19

Locomotive 1903/233

Language of Material: English.

box 2, folder 20

Miscellaneous

Scope and Contents

Assorted paper materials produced by the CNRHS. Includes a history of the Sacramento Northern Railway, copies of Northern Electric Railway timetables, Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Company time schedules and locomotive rosters, Sierra railway maps, an outline of railroad history, a bill for a specially-furnished street car, a bill for moving locomotive bells to and from Treasure Island, an account of Ted Wurm and Mr. Hardy's trip across Nevada, handwritten notes, letterhead, and a Society Christmas card.

box 2, folder 21

Official documents

Scope and Contents

Contains announcements bulletins, and drafts thereof, as well as the Society's by-laws and founding document.

box 2, folder 22

Ribbons

Scope and Contents

Contains ribbons awarded to CNHRS officers and participents in the Society's various events.

box 3

Scrapbooks

Scope and Contents

Contains scrapbooks dedicated to CNRHS and its activities.

box 2, folder 23

Second Virginia and Truckee excursion

Scope and Contents

Contains all materials relating to CNRHS's second excursion aboard the Virginia and Truckee Railway, which took place between September 20 and 21, 1941.Includes advertisements, articles, bulletins, correspondence, fliers, tickets, pamphlets, ribbons, and handwritten notes. Also includes unpublished articles on the history of Virginia City and the Virginia and Truckee Railroad.

General

Previous archivists to work on this collection compiled this folder. Within it, they chose to include a "Museum of Memories Shop" business card, two "Souvenir Nevada Day 1939" circulars, and some papers relating to the book "Gold Rush Days in Nevada City."

box 2, folder 24

Virginia and Truckee excursion

Scope and Contents

Contains all materials pertaining to CNRHS's first Virginia and Truckee Railroad Excursion, which took place between June 4 and 5 in 1938. These include advertisements, articles, circulars, correspondence, menus, and tickets. Also included is an unpublished article on the Virginia and Truckee Railroad's history.

General

Previous archivists assembled this folder.

box 4-5

Series 3. Correspondence 1930-1969

Physical Description: .67 Linear Feet2 Manuscript boxes

Language of Material: English.

Arrangement

This series is organized into 30 subseries:

No ID

A

B

Beebe, Lucius

Broadbelt, H.L.

C

D

E

F

G

H

Hammack, E.S.

I

J

Jukes, Fred

K

Kimball, Ward

L

Langevin, Locke, and Lloyd

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U-V

W

X, Y, X

Scope and Contents

Contains all non-personal correspondence that is unrelated to any other series. Many letters either focus on negotiations between Mr. Hardy and private collectors, or contain more than one series-relevant topic.

Arranged alphabetically by the other party's surname. Lucius Beebe, E.S. Hammack, Fred Jukes, and A.C. Kalmbach have dedicated folders. There is also a folder of letters without clear identification, and a folder containing letters between Messrs. Langvin, Locke, and Lloyd.

box 4, folder 1

No ID

box 4, folder 2

A

box 4, folder 3

B

box 4, folder 4

Beebe, Lucius

box 4, folder 5

Broadbelt, H.L.

box 4, folder 6

C

box 4, folder 7

D

box 4, folder 8

E

box 4, folder 9

F

box 4, folder 10

G

box 4, folder 11

H

box 4, folder 12

Hammack, E.S.

box 4, folder 13

I

box 4, folder 14

J

box 4, folder 15

Jukes, Fred

box 5, folder 1

K

box 5, folder 2

Kimball, Ward

box 5, folder 3

L

box 5, folder 4

Langevin, Locke, & Lloyd

box 5, folder 5

M

box 5, folder 6

N

box 5, folder 7

O

box 5, folder 8

P

box 5, folder 9

Q

box 5, folder 10

R

box 5, folder 11

S

box 5, folder 12

T

box 5, folder 13

U-V

box 5, folder 14

W

box 5, folder 15

X-Z

box 6

Series 4. Legal 1954-1968

Physical Description: .333 Linear Feet1 Manuscript box

Arrangement

This series is organized into 2 subseries:

Justice of the Peace campaign

Lawsuit

Biographical / Historical

In 1954, just three years after moving to Carson City from Oakland, California, Mr. Hardy decided to run for the Justice of the Peace position in Nevada. As Justice of the Peace, he would have been responsible for presiding over minor civil issues and criminal cases, as well as officiating at weddings.

Mr. Hardy built his image as a candidate around Nevada's "Wild West" heritage--a process that involved wearing a ten-gallon hat and claiming he'd moved to Carson City because Oakland had grown "too big." If elected, he promised to bring "pioneer justice" back to the state. He ultimately came in 6th of the eight candidates.

In 1966, Mr. Hardy began a legal campaign of a different sort when he sued Fred Hess. Hess, a Virginia City local with a less-than-stellar reputation. The Hardys had made Hess a partner in their Wells Fargo museum, but the partnership quickly fell apart. The lawsuit came about because Hess tried to take over the museum building, among other things.

Scope and Contents

Contains all materials relating to Mr. Hardy's 1954 Nevada Justice of the Peace campaign and his 1966 lawsuit against Paul Hess.

box 6, folder 1

Subseries 4.1. Justice of the Peace campaign

box 6, folder 2

Subseries 4.2. Lawsuit

box 7, box OV 28

Series 5. Nevada Businesses 1951-1970

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet1 Manuscript box and 1 oversized box

Arrangement

This series is organized into 11 subseries:

Carson City

Carson City Letterhead

Fairs

Hardy's Country Store

Mark Twain Museum of Memories

No ID

Oversized

Territorial Enterprise

Virginia City

Virginia City Depot Museum

Virginia City Depot Museum tintypes

Biographical / Historical

The opening of Mr. Hardy's first Nevada-based business, Hardy's Country Store, coincided with his own move to Carson City from Oakland--both took place in 1951.

Hardy's Country Store operated for several years as a mail-order and in-person railroad antique shop. It became fairly well-known throughout the state for its unique offerings and frontier atmosphere. Even as he ran it, though, Mr. Hardy also ran a wholly mail-order publishing and catalog business, and occasionally participated in book and antique fairs.

By the early 1960s, Mr. Hardy had left Carson City and opened two museums in Virginia City: the Mark Twain Museum of Memories and the Virginia City Depot Museum. He also attempted to found a Wells Fargo museum, but that venture was short-lived thanks to conflicts with his partner, Fred Hess (detailed in Series 4).

The Territorial Enterprise was the newspaper Mark Twain worked for in the 1860s. Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg revived it, and Mr. Hardy appears to have helped them distribute it.

Scope and Contents

Contains materials relating to Mr. Hardy's Nevada-based businesses, including his brick-and-mortar stores, mail-order businesses, and various museums. Note that material for the Wells Fargo Museum can be found in Series 4, Subseries 2, "Lawsuit."

Subjects include advertisements, articles written about Mr. Hardy's businesses, signage from his stores and museums, material relating to Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg's TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE newspaper, and material relating to the book and antique fairs Mr. Hardy would attend.

box 7, folder 1

Carson City

box 7, folder 2

Carson City letterhead

box 7, folder 3

Fairs

box 7, folder 4

Hardy's Country Store

box 7, folder 5

Mark Twain Museum of Memories

box 7, folder 6

No ID

box OV 28

Oversized

box 7, folder 7

Territorial Enterprise

box 7, folder 8

Virginia City

box 7, folder 9

Virginia City Depot Museum

box 7, folder 10

Virginia City Depot Museum tintypes

box 8-15, box OV 29-33

Series 6. Private Life 1808-1993

Creator: Hardy, Grahame H.

Physical Description: 6.014 Linear Feet8 Manuscript boxes and 5 oversized boxes

Arrangement

This series is organized into 5 subseries:

Correspondence

Grahame Hardy

Hardy family

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Scope and Contents

Series includes articles about, certificates and receipts addressed to, and various belongings of Grahame Hardy, his parents, his wife Paula, his son Toby, and other members of the Hardy family. Also included here are Hardy family photographs and correspondence, mainly of and between themselves.

Please note that the "Correspondence" subseries contains letters exchanged WITH Mr. Hardy only--letters exchnaged by other family members with other people can be found in the relevant family member's file.

box 8

Correspondence

Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence between Grahame Hardy and his father, mother, sons, and friends. Correspondence is of a personal (not business-related) nature and includes holiday cards.

box 8, folder 1

No ID

box 8, folder 2

With/about father

box 8, folder 3

With/about friends

box 8, folder 4

With/about mother

box 8, folder 5

With/about sons

box 9, box OV 29-31

Grahame Hardy

Scope and Contents

Contains Mr. Hardy's personal belongings and documents, such as radio liscencing papers and drawings. Also contains articles about Mr. Hardy's life and death.

Arrangement

Contents arranged alphabetically by subject.

box 9, folder 1

Advertisements

box 9, folder 2

Advertisements (small Western railroads)

box 9, folder 3

Articles

box 9, folder 4

Autograph book

box 9, folder 5

Booklets

box 9, folder 6

Book pages

box 9, folder 7

Chapter books

box 9, folder 8

Cufflinks

box 9, folder 9

Doorknob

box 9, folder 10

Drawings

box 9, folder 11

Ephemera

box 9, folder 12

Foreign

box 9, folder 13

Hair

box 9, folder 14

Handwritten notes

box 9, folder 15

Homework assignment

box 9, folder 16

Jokes

box 9, folder 17

Magazines

box 9, folder 18

Memberships

box OV 29

Maps and blueprints

box 9, folder 19

Miscellaneous

box OV 30

Newspapers

box 9, folder 20

Other

box 9, folder 21

Pamphlets

box 9, folder 22

Passes

box 9, folder 23

Periodicals

box OV 31

Poster

box 9, folder 24

Radio Licensing Papers

box 9, folder 25

Receipts

box 9, folder 26

Ribbons

box 9, folder 27

Stocks

box 9, folder 28

Textbook

box 9, folder 29

Typed notes

box 9, folder 30

Yearbook 1926

box 9, folder 31

Yearbook 1929

box 10-12, box OV 32

Hardy family

Language of Material: English.

Scope and Contents

Contains folders for the personal belongings (such as journals and non-Grahame Hardy-related correspondence) of Mr. Hardy's father, mother, wife, ex-wife, sons, and other relatives. Materials relating to his mother Josephine are in their own box.

box 10, folder 1

Charles (father)

box 11

Charles books

box 12, box OV 32

Josephine (mother)

box 12, folder 1

Articles

box 12, folder 2

Bible

box 12, folder 3

Book

box 12, folder 4

Calendar

box 12, folder 5

Charter of American Liberty

box 12, folder 6

Correspondence

box OV 32

Correspondence in box

box 12, folder 7

Correspondence in envelopes

box 12, folder 8

Doilies

box 12, folder 9

Ephemera

box 12, folder 10

Journal

box 12, folder 11

Letterhead

box 12, folder 12

Miscellaneous

box 12, folder 13

Receipts

box 10, folder 2

Mary (second wife)

box 10, folder 3

Other relatives

box 10, folder 4

Paula (third wife)

box 10, folder 5

Paula books and notebooks

box 10, folder 6

Toby (son)

box 10, folder 7

Wartime correspondence

box 13-14, box OV 33

Photographs

box 13, folder 1

Artifacts

box 13, folder 2

Automobiles

box OV 33

Framed and oversized

box 13, folder 3

Locations - California

box 13, folder 4

Locations - Europe

box 13, folder 5

Locations - No ID

box 13, folder 6

Locations - other USA

box 13, folder 7

Miscellaneous

box 13, folder 8

Portraits - Beebe, Lucius

box 13, folder 9

Portraits - Charles (father)

box 13, folder 10

Portraits - Grahame

box 13, folder 11

Portraits - Grahame in groups

box 14, folder 1

Portraits - Grahame in youth

box 14, folder 2

Portraits - Josephine (mother)

box 14, folder 3

Portraits - no ID

box 14, folder 4

Portraits - others

box 14, folder 5

Portraits - Toby (son)

box 14, folder 6

Portraits - W.B. (grandfather)

box 15

Scrapbooks

box 16-22, box OV 34

Series 7. Publishing 1947-1956

Physical Description: 2.838 Linear Feet7 Manuscript boxes, 1 manuscript half-box, and 1 oversized box

Arrangement

This series is organized into 6 subseries:

American Locomotives

Cable Car Carnival

Legends of the Comstock Lode

Narrow Gauge Railways in America

Other

Virginia and Truckee

Biographical / Historical

Grahame Hardy published five books between 1949 and 1951, three of which (VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE, LEGENDS OF THE COMSTOCK LODE, and CABLE CAR CARNIVAL) were written by esteemed railroad authors Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg and two of which (NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS IN AMAERICA and AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES) he wrote or edited himself. He also assisted in the publication and distribution of a number of other books and articles.

Scope and Contents

Contains all materials relating to the conception, creation, and publication of the books and other materials Mr. Hardy published over the course of his career, organized by subject. Materials include correspondence, rough drafts, book jackets, advertisements, and reviews, as well as articles Mr. Hardy wrote for various railroad-focused magazines.

box 16

AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES

box 16, folder 1

Advertisements

box 16, folder 2

Correspondence

box 16, folder 3

Drafts

box 16, folder 4

Miscellaneous

box 17, box OV 34

CABLE CAR CARNIVAL

box 17, folder 1

Advertisements

box 17, folder 2

Articles

box 17, folder 3

Cable Car Week

box 17, folder 4

Correspondence

box 17, folder 5

Drafts

box 17, folder 6

Miscellaneous

box OV 34

Posters

box 17, folder 7

Reviews

box 18

LEGENDS OF THE COMSTOCK LODE

box 18, folder 1

Articles

box 18, folder 2

Correspondence

box 18, folder 3

Drafts

box 18, folder 4

Miscellaneous

box 18, folder 5

Reviews

box 19

NARROW GAUGE RAILWAYS IN AMERICA

box 19, folder 1

Advertisements and reviews

box 19, folder 2

Correspondence

box 19, folder 3

Drafts

box 19, folder 4

Miscellaneous

box 20-21

Other

box 20

Articles

box 20, folder 1

An Interoceanic Ship Railway

box 20, folder 2

Biography of a Locomotive

box 20, folder 3

By the Seashore, in the Mountains

box 20, folder 4

Catalog History

box 20, folder 5

Golden Junk

box 20, folder 6

How They Get Your Name

box 20, folder 7

Highball the Main!

box 20, folder 8

Hobart Estate Co. 5

box 20, folder 9

Locomotive Jamboree

box 20, folder 10

Locomotive Pageantry

box 20, folder 11

Nevada Treasure Trove

box 20, folder 12

No ID

box 20, folder 13

On California history

box 20, folder 14

On narrow gauge railways

box 20, folder 15

On "romance"

box 20, folder 16

Railroad Employee Timetables

box 20, folder 17

Railroad Hobby Show

box 20, folder 18

Railroadiana

box 20, folder 19

Railroad Passes

box 20, folder 20

Railroad Relics

box 20, folder 21

Railroad Relics for the Country Estate

box 20, folder 22

Railroad Timetables

box 20, folder 23

Steamer Encinal

box 20, folder 24

Stephenson's Rocket

box 20, folder 25

The Millionaire Tramp Arrives on Special

box 20, folder 26

Tickets Please

box 21, folder 1

Correspondence

box 21, folder 2

Hardy's Pictorial Carson City Guide and Map

box 21, folder 3

MANSIONS ON RAILS

box 21, folder 4

MANSIONS ON RAILS manuscript

box 21, folder 5

Miscellaneous publications

box 21, folder 6

MIXED TRAIN DAILY

box 21, folder 7

OIL LAMPS AND IRON PONIES

box 21, folder 8

Radio Shows

box 21, folder 9

Royalties

box 21, folder 10

US WEST: THE SAGA OF WELLS FARGO

box 22

VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE

box 22, folder 1

Advertisements

box 22, folder 2

Articles

box 22, folder 3

Correspondence

box 22, folder 4

Drafts

box 22, folder 5

Jackets

box 22, folder 6

Miscellaneous

box 22, folder 7

Reviews

box 23, box OV 35

Series 8. Virginia & Truckee Railroad 1949-1967

Physical Description: 1 Linear Feet1 Manuscript box and 1 oversized box

Arrangement

This series is organized into 5 subseries:

Correspondence

Miscellaneous

Newspapers

Official documents

Presidency

Biographical / Historical

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad was a Gold Rush-era narrow gauge short line that served the Comstock area in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was first used to haul gold and other raw materials down from the mines, but towards the end of its life it carried mail instead. Mr. Hardy was a great fan of this railroad, and tried to stop it from shutting down in 1950. Even after it went out of business, however, he loved it so much he purchased himself title of company president in 1967.

Scope and Contents

Contains correspondence about and official documents produced by the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, as well as a great deal of newspaper clipping on the Railroad's abandonment. Most of the material here revolves around said abandonment and Mr. Hardy's role in the struggle to save it.

box 23, folder 1

Correspondence

box 23, folder 2

Miscellaneous

box OV 35

Newspapers

box 23, folder 3

Official documents

box 23, folder 4

Presidency