Manuscript Collections

The Manuscript Collections contain unique, unpublished records created by organizations and individuals in the conduct of their activities. Letters, speeches, minutes, reports, writings, and other types of records document the history and culture of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Manuscripts represent such diverse sources as members of Congress; pioneers and settlers; citizen activists and civic leaders; the forest products industry; labor unions; natural resource conservation groups; members of local Japanese, Jewish, Scandinavian, and other communities; and major cultural figures.

Many manuscript collections are described briefly in Libraries' online catalog. A select few are described in further depth in the online finding aids. The most description about manuscript collections, however, is available in indices and inventories located at the Reference Desk in Special Collections.

Personal Papers

Roger Conant's diary, with travel ticket, telling of the voyage of Asa Mercer's "belles" from New York to Seattle in 1866. (from Roger Conant Papers (diary) and Ann S. Conner Hartsuck Papers (ticket))

Papers range from a single item, such as New York Times correspondent Roger Conant's account of the voyage of Asa Mercer's "belles" from New York City to Seattle in 1866 (see image to the right), to the 1,790-linear-foot Congressional papers of the late Senators Henry M. Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson. Other papers may be handwritten drafts by poets, correspondence among members of an extended family, or notes of historic preservationist Victor Steinbrueck at Seattle City Council meetings. Files of citizen activists typically contain meeting agendas and minutes, correspondence and notes, reports, and miscellaneous other items.

Organizational Records

The collections also represent a wide variety of advocacy groups that are devoted to specific causes: public education, urban development, civil rights, environmental protection, women's rights, and good government. Others -- trade unions, professional organizations, and religious bodies -- protect and nourish the welfare of their members. Business firms, especially those with a long history in the Puget Sound area, are documented by extensive correspondence, reports, financial records, and other material distinctive to their businesses. Special Collections administers both active and defunct organizations' records.