Finding Aid for the Jesse Collings Tour in the United States and Canada, 1899
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, September 2004; machine-readable finding
aid created by Caroline Cubé.
UCLA Library Special Collections
UCLA Library Special Collections staff
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2009
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Jesse Collings Tour in the United States and Canada
Date (inclusive): 1899
Collection number: 170/605
Creator:
Collings, Jesse, 1831-1920
Extent:
188 leaves : paper, ill. ; 265 x 220 mm. bound to 285 x 233 mm.
Abstract: The bulk of this manuscript is comprised of typewritten letters authored by Jesse Collings, Britain's Under-Secretary of the
Home Office from 1896-1902, describing places visited during his 1899 trip to North America. The typescript is supplemented
with illustrations, photographs, ephemera, and three short essays focused primarily on the Civil War and its aftermath.
Language: Finding aid is written in
English.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Processing Note
Cataloged by Jonathan Naito, with assistance from Jain Fletcher and Laurel McPhee, September 2004, in the Center For Primary
Research and Training (CFPRT).
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Jesse Collings Tour in the United States and Canada (Collection 170/605). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
Jesse Collings (1831-1920) was a native of Devonshire, though he lived most of his life in Birmingham. He started out with
the mercantile firm of Booth & Co. before moving into politics, serving as mayor of Birmingham before representing Ipswich
(1880-1886) and Bordesley (1886-1918) in Parliament. Collings is best known for authoring an important land reform bill, the
Small Holdings and Allotments Bill, often referred to as the "three acres and a cow" policy. Collings served as Under-Secretary
for the Home Office from 1896-1902. One of the reasons he undertook the journey to North America was an invitation to witness
the America's Cup yacht race, but his letters show that his interest in the race was minimal. Instead, he used his time to
explore Canada and the United States. Colllings wrote several books on land and education reform and other issues that he
saw as central to Britain; his publications include "The land question from the labourer's point of view" (1885), "The colonization
of rural Britain; a complete scheme for the regeneration of British rural life" (1914), and "The great war: its lessons and
its warnings" (1915).
Scope and Content
This manuscript consists of typescript letters written by Jesse Collings for his family during his trip to Canada and the
United States in 1899, supplemented with illustrations, photographs, American newspaper clippings featuring interviews with
Collings, menus, a brochure for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and a Confederate ten-dollar bill. In addition, an "addenda"
section includes notes, three short essays, and four published opinion pieces by Collings, most of which concern what he considered
to be Britain's misguided support for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
His major stops during his trip included Quebec, Niagara Falls, Victoria, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago,
New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and Virginia. His letters address topics like the relationship between French and English
in Canada, Chinese and Japanese immigrants, the Gold Standard controversy in Colorado, Mormonism in Utah, and American political
corruption. The newspaper articles demonstrate that he was often expected to speak on behalf of the British government, especially
on Canada's future prospects and the issue of the Boer War. While Collings was publicly optimistic about the war, he is more
ambivalent in his personal letters.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Genres and Forms of Material
Manuscripts.
Related Material
Note
Layout: Average of 25 lines of text per page.
Script: Typescript.
Binding: green cloth over boards
ff. 2r-8r: Onboard the Campania from Liverpool to New York
ff. 8r- 11r: New York City and Albany
ff. 12r-24r: Quebec and Montreal; photographs (some hand-colored), illustrations, and
menus
ff. 24r-38r: Ottawa, Toronto, Niagara Falls; photographs and illustrations
ff. 38r-63r: Western Canada: Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and British
Columbia, especially Calgary, Winnipeg, and Vancouver
Scope and Content Note
clippings from
The Winnipeg Daily Tribune and
Victoria Daily Times; brochure from the Canadian Pacific Railway; illustrations and photographs, including a three-panel panorama of Vancouver
ff. 58r-71r: Seattle, San Francisco; clipping from
Seattle Daily Times
ff. 71r-92r: Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa
Scope and Content Note
with extensive comments on Salt Lake City and Denver; menu from the Rio Grande Western Railway; clippings from
Daily News Denver and
Denver Evening Post
ff. 92r-101r: Chicago
Scope and Content Note
including a meeting with President McKinley; photographs and illustrations
ff. 101r- 129r: Pittsburg, Washington D.C., Richmond, Philadelphia
Scope and Content Note
photographs and illustrations
ff. 129r- 152r: New York, Boston, Cambridge
Scope and Content Note
photographs and illustrations
ff. 154r-160r: Notes on Canadian agriculture, education in America, and the Museum of
Philadelphia
ff. 161r-166r: essay titled "War of Independence"
ff. 167r-179r: essay titled "The Rebellion and Civil War in America"
Scope and Content Note
ten-dollar bill from the Confederacy tipped in
ff. 180r-184r: essay titled "The Southern Question" with holograph corrections
ff. 185r: newspaper clipping titled "The American Question and 'The Western Times;",
signed J.C. and dated June 2, 1862
ff. 186r-187r: newspaper clippings
Scope and Content Note
an exchange between Collings and the editor of the
Devon Weekly Times about the conduct of General Butler in New York, dated November 30-December 7, 1864; also a short article titled "Mr. Coleridge
on Church Rates and Popular Institutions", signed J.C. and dated September 15, 1862
