Includes: Letter from Haven Putnam to Bayard thanking him for his work for G.P. Putnam’s Sons in the summer, but understanding his pursuit of other interests. * Approx. 40 letters written to Bayard Putnam from Raphael Pumpelly and Andrew Blair at the United States Geological Survey, relating various aspects of his employment with the Survey, 1879-1880, plus an 1876 letter from F.V. Hayden to a professor, stating he could not hire “your young friend” because of budget constraints – the professor forwarded the letter to Putnam with pencil notes. * Three small leather notebooks used by Bayard Putnam while engaged in surveys. * Pencil manuscript description by Bayard Putnam of his chart-holder, written on the back of 6 printed census forms. * Approx. 20 letters to Bayard Putnam relating primarily to his patented chart-holder, plus two retained drafts of letters from Putnam relating to the same subject. A number of the letters are from lawyer Roger M. Sherman. * Approx. 12 receipts for items purchased by Bayard Putnam relating to his chart-holder, plus a half-dozen trade cards of vendors. * Patent for Combined Protractor and Chart Holder, signed by the acting Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Patents, with seal. With Official Gazette of the U.S. Patent Office, June 26, 1883, listing the chart holder on p.2507. * Three copies of a printed description of Putnam’s Chart-holder and Course Indicator, plus several copies of Directions for Using the Chart Holder, with prices. * Several legal documents relating to the sale of the patent on the chart-holder following Bayard Putnam’s death. * Approx. 10 letters to Mrs. Grace Putnam, widow of Bayard Putnam, relating to her efforts to market the chart holder both before and after her husband’s death.* Approx. 30 letters to Mrs. Grace Putnam after her husband’s death, relating to her various business and other activities. * Approx. 30 photographs, mostly cabinet cards and cartes-de-visite, of various family members, and several glass-plate negatives of Grace Putnam’s cottage and boat. * Plus approx. 30 or so letters from and to other family members, and other miscellaneous pieces of correspondence.
Interesting archive relating to the youngest of the four of publisher G.P. Putnam’s Sons, who chose not to go into the family business, but instead became a geologist, surveyor, and inventor. He died in 1886 at age thirty, apparently a suicide, leaving a wife, five-year old son, and unborn daughter. Much of his energy over the last half-decade of his life was channeled into a chart-holder he invented, a rather ingenious device useful to both the yachting public and potentially the U.S. Navy. Following his death, his widow continued attempts to market the device. She also had to make ends meet, and rented out summer cottages on her property, and also gave sailing lessons before her own death just twelve years after her husband's. The archive offers a snapshot into life and business in the last quarter of the 19th century, and into the 20th, in rather poignant fashion.