Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Grahame H. Hardy papers
- Dates:
- 1808-1993, bulk 1870-1930
- Abstract:
- Collection contains a wide variety of materials, including original paper documents, photocopies, newspapers, photographs, scrapbooks, negatives, objects, and a lock of Mr. Hardy's hair. These materials come from all periods of Mr. Hardy's life, from his early childhood to after his death. Also included are papers and belongings of Mr. Hardy's relatives and close friends, especially his parents, grandfather, wife Paula, son Toby, and Mr. Charles Beebe. The bulk of the collection, however, consists of unsold inventory from Mr. Hardy's various businesses, all of which can be found in Series 9.
- Extent:
- 110 Linear Feet 60 record cartons + 15 manuscript boxes + 35 oversize boxes + 1 manuscript half box
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Grahame H. Hardy Papers, MS 530, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Grahame Hardy papers consist of roughly 110 linear feet of mixed materials organized into 76 boxes and 35 oversized boxes. The general layout of the collection is as follows: Series 1 (California Businesses) contains all materials relating to Mr. Hardy's various Oakland-based enterprises, including Hardy's Bookstore and Oakland Book Co. Materials include advertisements, signage, business permits, letterhead, and photographs, and are grouped under the name of whichever business they best represent. Please note that due to the large amount of material relating to Hardy's Bookstore, materials for that business have been further sub-categorized as being from either before or during Mr. Hardy's ownership of the shop. Also given special attention are the dozens of historical cash, day, ledger, and record books kept for the bookstore by Mr. Hardy's father and grandfather. A box has been set aside for materials with no immediately obvious connection to any specific shop.
Series 2 (California Nevada Railroad Historical Society) contains all materials relating to the eponymous society, which Mr. Hardy helped found in 1936. Topics include exhibitions and excursions run by the society, correspondence with Mr. Hardy in his capacity as president of the group, and materials relating to Central Pacific Locomotive 1903/233, which Mr. Hardy recovered from an Oregon cement yard.
Series 3 (Correspondence) contains all letters sent by and to Mr. Hardy about topics that do not relate to any of the other seven series in the collection. In other words, nothing in this series discusses Mr. Hardy's publications, historical society work, or personal life in any meaningful capacity. The most common topic found here is negotiations between Mr. Hardy and railroad collectors whose artifacts he wanted to buy.
Series 4 (Legal) contains all materials relating to Mr. Hardy's 1953 campaign for Justice of the Peace in Nevada, as well as his 1966 lawsuit against one-time business partner Paul Hess. Includes fliers from and articles about the former, as well as written testimony prepared for the latter.
Series 5 (Nevada Businesses) contains all materials relating to Mr. Hardy's various Nevada-based enterprises, including Hardy's Country Store and the Mark Twain Museum of Memories. Like Series 1, materials here include advertisements, signage, business permits, letterhead, and photographs, and are grouped under the name of whichever business they best represent.
Series 6 (Private Life) contains all materials not originally meant for anyone beyond Mr. Hardy himself or those close to him to see. These include drawings, newspaper clippings, and personal belongings like books. Mr. Hardy has his own subseries, while his parents, ex-spouse, spouse, and children each have folders and/or boxes devoted to them. Also included are subseries for scrapbooks, photographs and personal correspondence. Please note that all correspondence exchanged by Mr. Hardy with friends and relatives are under in that group, while correspondence exchanged by Mr. Hardy's relatives (independent of him) are in their associated relative's file.
Series 7 (Publishing) contains all materials relating to Mr. Hardy's publishing work. These include manuscripts, book jackets, correspondence with authors Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, and advertisements, all of which are grouped according to which book they are related to (American Locomotives, Cable Car Carnival, Legends of the Comstock Lode, Narrow Gauge Railways in America, or Virginia and Truckee). Also included is a file dedicated to the various articles Mr. Hardy wrote, as well as the books he had a more indirect hand in publishing.
Series 8 (Virginia and Truckee Railroad) contains all materials relating to the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, of which Mr. Hardy was a lifelong fan. These include clippings from newspaper articles discussing the line's 1950 abandonment, as well as materials created when Mr. Hardy purchased the abandoned company's presidency for himself.
Series 9 (Wares/Store Inventory) is the largest of the series and contains unsold merchandise from Mr. Hardy's various railroadiana-selling enterprises. Contains correspondence, official documents, railroad employee personal items, timebooks, reports, forms, posters, accident records, inspection reports, train orders, and many similar materials created by and for railroads and railroad-related individuals.
Much of the collection is original, however there are some photocopies of newspaper clippings, advertisements, and articles in the mix. Please note that some folders were pre-arranged by previous archivists, and remain in the state these archivists left them. These folders are tan instead of blue/green.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Grahame Hetherington Hardy was born June 19, 1907 to Charles and Mary Josephine Hardy in Oakland, California. He spent most of his childhood in England but moved to New Hampshire, then back to California, in the early 1920s. He graduated from Piedmont High School in 1927 and split his time in college between the University of California, Stanford University, the Universty of Texas, and the University of Oakland.
In 1932 Mr. Hardy inherited Hardy's Bookstore, a book and stationary shop in Oakland founded by his grandfather. Being a dedicated fan of railroads, he quickly began selling railroad books and artifacts, both of which the public recieved well enough that he went on to open new stores throughout California and Nevada that were dedicated wholly to railroadiana.
Mr. Hardy married Harriet Angela Rothe in 1934. They had one child, a son named Grahame Hardy Junior born in 1938, before divorcing.
In 1937, Mr. Hardy helped found the California Nevada Railroad Historical Society, a group dedicated to preserving the history of railroads in the Western United States. This group recovered old engines and displayed them at annual exhibitions. They also organized excursions on historic railroad lines.
In 1944, Mr. Hardy remarried to Mary Elizabeth Raines, with whom he had a son named Toby. Some time after this, Mr. Hardy's work with railroad books and artifacts brought him into contact with Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, two authors famous for their railroad books. Mr. Hardy became their publisher in 1949 and helped them create three books. He also published two books of his own.
In 1951, Mr. Hardy moved his family and business to Carson City, Nevada. There, he established an antique shop called Hardy's Country Store. He also continued his publishing work through another Carson City business, Grahame Hardy Books. Four years later, he remarried again to Paula Eddie Curtis and became her son Joe's stepfather.
Mr. Hardy founded the Mark Twain Museum of Memories in Virginia City, Nevada, in 1961, and moved to nearby Silver City not long after. Two years later, he opened the Virginia City Depot Museum near the Museum of Memories. He also attempted to found a Wells Fargo Museum in 1966, but had a conflict with his partner in the venture, Paul Hess.
Mr. Hardy passed away from a heart attack at Carson Memorial Hospital on June 16th, 1968, three days shy of his 61st birthday.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by Paula Hardy in annual batches between 1981 and 1986.
- Processing information:
-
Mr. Hardy's correspondence (distinct from the correspondence found in Series 9, which was store inventory and largely historical in nature) has been arranged by subject wherever possible. The correspondence series (Series 3) largely represents letters discussing Mr. Hardy's attempts to purchase material from private collections, but letters containing multiple topics are also included. The correspondence subseries under the Private Life series (Series 6) contain letters exchanged between Mr. Hardy and the subject of each folder. Correspondence not involving Mr. Hardy (ex. Josephine letters to friends) are in the relevant family member's file.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged into nine series:
Series 1. California Businesses
Series 2. California Nevada Railroad Historical Society
Series 3. Correspondence
Series 4. Legal
Series 5. Nevada Businesses
Series 6. Private Life
Series 7. Publishing
Series 8. Virginia and Truckee Railroad
Series 9. Wares/Store Inventory
- Physical location:
- Statewide Museum Collection Center
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-20 19:30:56 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. Permission for publication must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Grahame H. Hardy Papers, MS 530, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
111 I StreetSacramento, CA 95814, US
- Contact:
- (916) 323-8073