John Fiske Addenda: Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Brooke M. Black, January 22, 2013.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
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The Huntington Library. All rights reserved.


Overview of the Collection

Title: John Fiske Addenda
Dates (inclusive): 1851-1901
Collection Number: mssFiske addenda
Creator: Fiske, John, 1842-1901.
Extent: 119 items in 1 box
Repository: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection chiefly contains correspondence of American philosopher and historian John Fiske (1842-1902) and his family. Subjects include: Fiske and his work and writings, Ignatius Donnelly, Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote, Prince Kropotkin, and the assassination of Alexander II in 1881.
Language: English.

Access

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item]. John Fiske Addenda, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Provenance

Gift of Mrs. John Fiske, October 18, 1991.

Related Materials in the Huntington Library

  • John Fiske Papers   (Call number: mssFK 1-1661)
  • Letters to Fiske from Charles Robert Darwin, Thomas Henry Huxley, and Herbert Spencer (In the Literary File)

Biographical Note

John Fiske (1842-1901) was an American philosopher and historian. He was born Edmund Fiske Greene in Connecticut in 1842. He later assumed his maternal great-grandfather's surname Fiske. He graduated from Harvard College in 1863 and Harvard Law School in 1865. He began his career as author by publishing his first article in 1861 in the National Quarterly Review. After that he was a frequent contributor to American and British periodicals. He was a lecturer at Harvard University, Washington University and other schools. He also taught history. Fiske also became a supporter of Charles Darwin and the doctrine of evolution. Fiske published several books including The Discovery of America (1892). He died in Massachusetts in 1901. He was married to Abby Morgan and they had six children: Maud, Ralph, Ethel, Harold, Clarence, and Herbert.
Fiske's mother Mary Greene married Edwin W. Stoughton in 1852 after the death of John's father Edmund Brewster Green. Edwin W. Stoughton was a lawyer in New York and U.S. minister to Russia from 1878 to 1879.

Scope and Content

The majority of the collection is made of up correspondence by John Fiske and his family. It includes letters by his mother Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. There are several letters written to Fiske's step-father E. W. Stoughton. Prominent participants in the collection include: editor George S. Hellman, writer and literary critic William Dean Howells, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Charles Francis Adams, artist James E. Taylor, Reverend Samuel Longfellow, artist Carl L. Brandt, and artist Albert Bierstadt. There are letters by Secretary of State William M. Evarts appointing Edwin Stoughton as minister to Russia (1877) and the letter accepting Stoughton's resignation from that position (1879). Subjects include: Fiske and his work and writings, Ignatius Donnelly, Miguel de Cervantes' novel Don Quixote, Prince Kropotkin, and the assassination of Alexander II in 1881. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by author.
There are several folders of ephemera relating to both E. W. Stoughton and John Fiske. Stoughton’s ephemera relates to his time as minister to Russia including his passport and invitations to events. The “Photographs” folder contains five photographic items related to Russia as well. Fiske’s ephemera includes copies of publications with articles by Fiske in them (including Appleton’s Journal).

Indexing: Subjects

Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, 1818-1881.
  • Subject in John Fiske, 1842-1901, letter to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. Folder 11.
  • Subject in W----- Werbitsky(?) letter to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. Folder 29.
Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de, 1547-1616.
  • Subject in Philadelphia Press telegram to John Fiske, 1842-1901. Folder 21.
Donnelly, Ignatius, 1831-1901.
  • Subject in Philadelphia Press telegram to John Fiske, 1842-1901. Folder 21.
Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kni︠ a︡ zʹ, 1842-1921.
  • Subject in Sophia Penn Page Shaler letter to Abby Morgan Fiske. Folder 22.

Arrangement

Correspondence arranged alphabetically by author, followed by ephemera, photographs, and publications.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Huntington Library's Online Catalog.  

Subjects

Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, 1818-1881.
Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de, 1547-1616.
Donnelly, Ignatius, 1831-1901.
Fiske, John, 1842-1901 -- Archives.
Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kn︠i︡azʹ, 1842-1921.
Stoughton, E. W. (Edwin Wallace), 1818-1882.
Historians -- United States -- Archives.
Lecturers -- United States -- Archives.
Philosophers -- United States -- Archives.
Russia -- History -- 1801-1917 -- Sources.
United States -- History -- 19th century -- Sources.
United States -- Intellectual life -- 19th century -- Sources.
United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century -- Sources.

Forms/Genres

Ephemera -- United States -- 19th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 19th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United States -- 20th century.

Additional Contributors

Adams, Charles Francis, 1835-1915.
Bierstadt, Albert, 1830-1902.
Brandt, Carl Ludwig, 1831-1905.
Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901.
Fiske, Abby Morgan, recipient.
Hellman, George S. (George Sidney), 1878-1958.
Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920.
Longfellow, Samuel, 1819-1892.
Stoughton, E. W. (Edwin Wallace), 1818-1882, recipient.
Stoughton, Mary Fiske Bound Green.
Taylor, James E., 1839-1901.
Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852.


Box 1

Correspondence, ephemera, photographs, and publications

Folder 1

Adams, Charles Francis, 1835-1915. 1 letter (1875, Mar. 10) to John Fiske, 1842-1901. 1 item.

Folder 2

Bangs, Francis Reginald. 1 letter (1904, Feb. 23) to Abby Morgan Fiske. 1 item.

Folder 3

Bierstadt, Albert, 1830-1902. 2 letters (1874-1884) to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 2 items.

Folder 4

Brandt, Carl Ludwig, 1831-1905. 2 letters (1882-1884) to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 2 items.

Folder 5

Brooks, James Willson. 1 letter (1864, Nov. 22) to John Fiske, 1842-1901 and Abby Morgan Fiske. 1 item. Includes note by Abby Morgan Fiske.

Folder 6

Evarts, William Maxwell, 1818-1901. 2 letters (1877-1879) to E. W. (Edwin Wallace) Stoughton, 1818-1882. 2 items. With envelopes with was seal of the U.S. Department of State.

Folder 7

Fiske, John, 1842-1901. 2 letters (1868) to Mrs. John Bound. 2 items.

Folder 8

Fiske, John, 1842-1901. 11 letters (1868-1881) to Abby Morgan Fiske. 11 items.

Folder 9

Fiske, John, 1842-1901. 1 letter (1868, June 6) to “My dear Lizzie.” 1 item.

Folder 10

Fiske, John, 1842-1901. 2 letters (1868) to E. W. (Edwin Wallace) Stoughton, 1818- 1882. 2 items.

Folder 11

Fiske, John, 1842-1901. 31 letters (1862-1881) to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 32 items. Includes piece of music by Fiske.

Folder 12

Fiske, Maud. 1 letter (1885, Aug. 20) to Ralph Fiske. 1 item.

Folder 13

Fiske, Maud. 1 letter [1886] to “My Own Dearest Family.” 1 item.

Folder 14

Fiske, -----. 1 letter (1889, Nov. 16) to Maud Fiske and Ethel Fiske. 1 item. Incomplete?

Folder 15

Hellman, George S. (George Sidney), 1878-1958. 1 letter (1918, Jan. 2) to Abby Morgan Fiske. 1 item. Incomplete.

Folder 16

Holmes, Maria B. 2 letters (1886-1887) to John Fiske, 1842-1901. 2 items.

Folder 17

Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920. 1 letter (1882, Aug. 1) to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 1 item.

Folder 18

Ingersoll, Julia H. 1 letter (1879, Oct. 31) to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 1 item.

Folder 19

Longfellow, Samuel, 1819-1892. 1 letter [before 1892] to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 2 items. With envelope and printed poem.

Folder 20

Moore, Bessie. 1 letter (1886, Jan. 16) to Ralph Fiske.

Folder 21

Philadelphia Press. 1 telegram (1898, Jan. 15) to John Fiske, 1842-1901. 1 item.

Folder 22

Shaler, Sophia Penn Page. 1 letter (1901, Mar. 14) to Abby Morgan Fiske. 3 items. Includes two profiles including Homer.

Folder 23

Shea, Mary. 1 letter (1900, June 15) to Abby Morgan Fiske. 1 item.

Folder 24

Stoughton, Mary Fiske Bound Green. 1 letter (1890) to John Fiske, 1842-1901, and Abby Morgan Fiske. 1 item.

Folder 25

Taylor, James E., 1839-1901. 1 letter (1899, Dec. 28) to John Fiske, 1842-1901. 1 item.

Folder 26

Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852. 1 letter (1851, May 24) to Susan Flint. 1 item.

Folder 27

Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852. 1 letter [1851, Nov.] to ----- Hall. 1 item.

Folder 28

Webster, Sarah Burlingame. 1 letter (1896, Jan. 7) to John Fiske, 1842-1901. 1 item.

Folder 29

Werbitsky(?), W-----. 1 letter (1881, Mar. 18) to Mary Fiske Bound Green Stoughton. 1 item.

Folder 30

Unidentified Correspondence (1879). 2 items.

Folder 31

Ephemera related to John Fiske, 1842-1901 (1871-1899). 4 items.

Folder 32

Ephemera related to E. W. (Edwin Wallace) Stoughton, 1818-1882 (1858-1879). 13 items.

Folder 33

Photographs [c.1879]. 5 items.

Folder 34

Miscellaneous Ephemera (1884). 5 items.

Folder 35

Publications with Articles by John Fiske, 1849-1901 (1869-1870). 11 items.