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A. F. Purdy & Co. Letter Copy Book

 Collection — Box: 01
Identifier: MS-0224

Scope and Contents

The A. F. Purdy & Co. Letter Copy Book contains copies of outgoing business correspondence regarding the sale and delivery of silica sand to glass factories. Most of the correspondence is to their glass factory clients and the railroads and shipping operations that transported the sand. These letters discuss the price of the sand, the amount to be shipped, and other workings of the silica sand mining business. Researchers will also find business correspondence regarding the sale and shipment of logs to a regional paper mill and personal correspondence of Frank Lee Marsden.

Dates

  • 1886-1895

Creator

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for public research. Researchers must make an appointment to view the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

The Copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The user agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rakow Research Library against all claims, demands, costs and expenses incurred by copyright infringement or any other legal or regulatory cause of action arising from the use of Library materials.

Biographical / Historical

A. F. Purdy & Co. of Bernhard's Bay, Oswego County, New York, mined and sold silica sand to glass factories in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Clients of A. F. Purdy & Co. were located in New York and Pennsylvania and included Ithaca Glass Works, Washington Glass Co. (Ithaca, New York), Canastota Glass Co., Dunbarton Glass Works, United Glass Works (Syracuse, New York), and Scranton Glass Works. Frank Lee Marsden, employed by A. F. Purdy & Co. in the 1890s, was the son of Linus P. Marsden, a Bernhard's Bay businessman with interest in the glass factory Potter & Marsden.

Extent

0.2 Linear Feet (1 half Hollinger box)

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Researchers should handle the letter book carefully. Binding is loose and spine is largely chipped away. Some text has faded to illegibility, but most is legible.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Received from Dan Casavant Rare Books in 2019. Accession 2019.023

Processing Information

Processed by Colleen McFarland Rademaker in 2020.

Title
A. F. Purdy & Co. Letter Copy Book, 1886-1895
Subtitle
A Guide to the Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Colleen McFarland Rademaker
Date
January 8, 2020
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the The Rakow Research Library Manuscript Collection Repository

Contact:
The Rakow Research Library
The Corning Museum of Glass
Five Museum Way
Corning NY 14830 USA
607.438.5318