Portia Pratt Dahl Papers, 1864-1955
2 boxes (.75 linear ft.)
Collection number: MS 175
Terms of Access and Use:
The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Mortimer Rare Book Room.
The Portia Pratt Dahl Papers are the physical property of the Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors of the works or their legal representatives.
Helen Portia Pratt Dahl was a graduate of Smith College Class of 1914. After graduation she traveled often between the United States and Europe and in 1926 was in China. She studied bookbinding in Paris in the late 1920s and eventually established a bookbinding studio in Boston, Mass., where she designed and bound many rare editions of English and French texts. In 1932 she married Dr. Ernst O. Dahl, M.D., a Danish physician. Together with him they traveled often to Europe, spent summers on Cape Cod and extended periods of time in California. Dr. Dahl died in 1949. Portia Pratt Dahl died on Jan. 20, 1970 without heirs and left the bulk of her estate to Smith College.
Ms. Dahl's father, Seth F. Pratt, attended Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois, and at one time was a cashier at the Roseville Union Bank, Roseville, Illinois.
Nothing is known about Peter Dahl (1857-1929) except that he was born in Jutland and died in Copenhagen, Denmark. He likely was a relative of Dr. Ernst O. Dahl.
The Portia Pratt Dahl papers consist of .75 linear feet and include documents related to Ms. Dahl's work as a bookbinder from her student days in Paris, France and her workshop in Boston, Mass. The papers also include a commonplace book, documents and photographs of her father, Seth F. Pratt. In addition, there is an artist's sketchbook of Peter Dahl (1857-1929), possibly a relative of her husband's, Dr. Ernst O. Dahl.
This collection is organized into three series:
The papers are open to research according to the regulations of the Mortimer Rare Book Room.
The Portia Pratt Dahl Papers are the physical property of the Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors of the works or their legal representatives.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Portia Pratt Dahl Papers, Mortimer Rare Book Room, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
The Portia Pratt Papers were donated by Portia Pratt to Smith College and transferred from the Smith College Archives to the Mortimer Rare Book Room in August 1993.
Processed by Melvin Carlson, Jr., 2006.
| Contact Information |
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Mortimer Rare Book Room
William Allan Neilson Library
Smith College Northampton, MA 01063 Phone: (413) 585-2906 Fax: (413) 585-2904 Email: mrbr@smith.edu URL: http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/rarebook |
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SERIES I. PORTIA PRATT DAHL'S PAPERS
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Diary. Scattered entries in English and French related to Dahl's bookbinding studies in Paris. The diary is a leather bound volume,
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1927.
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(21 cm.)
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Box 1: folder 1
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Bills of sale related to bookbinding tools and purchase of books, as well as other miscellaneous materials,
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1914-1955.
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Box 1: folder 2
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| Note: (Removed from the back of the diary) |
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Leather samples for bookbinding.
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Box 1: folder 3
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| Note: (Removed from the front of the diary) |
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Drawings by Dahl for bookbinding,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 4
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| Note: (4 examples) |
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List of books bound,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 5
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Trade card for French bookbinder H. Noulhac with cloth sample,
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n.d.,
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Box 1: folder 6
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Photograph of E. Maylander, Dahl's binding instructor in Paris, France,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 7
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| Note: Autographed by Maylander to Dahl. |
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Sketch for residence, Boylston Street and Fisher Avenue, Brookline, Mass. by Angel & Swift, Architects, Providence,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 8
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| Note: (Contains some genealogical information about the Pratts on the verso) |
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SERIES II. SETH F. PRATT'S COMMONPLACE BOOK AND PAPERS
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Commonplace book kept by Seth F. Pratt, 1873-1896. It bears the inscription Monmouth College, Monmouth, Ill.,
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May 8th, 1873.
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Box 1: folder 9
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| Note: This commonplace book was kept by Pratt and is largely poetry and prose Pratt has copied from other sources or printed materials he pasted into the book. (The commonplace book is written in a commercial book with the following title-page: Index rerum ; or, index of subjects; intended as a manual to aid the student and professional man in preparing himself for usefulness, with an introduction ..., by John Todd. Northampton, Mass.: Bridgman & Childs) |
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Holograph materials copied by Pratt on separate sheets of paper,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 10
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Clippings from printed sources (poetry and prose) kept by Pratt,
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1896, n.d.
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Box 1: folder 11
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Ms. related to financial matters of the Roseville Library Association, Roseville, Illinois, late
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1890s.
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Box 1: folder 12
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Confederate States of America five dollar bill, Richmond,
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Feb. 17th, 1864.
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Box 1: folder 13
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Miscellaneous items, including a business card for the Roseville Union Bank, Roseville, Ill., with Seth F. Pratt listed as cashier, items
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n.d. 3
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Box 1: folder 14
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Correspondence (carbon copies) of business correspondence,
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1901-1902.
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Box 1: folder 15
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| Note: Fourteen letters, most signed by H. H. Jenkins. |
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Photograph of Seth F. Pratt, J. G. Lansing and J. H. Mason, Monmouth, Illinois.
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May 1873,
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Box 1: folder 16
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Daguerreotype of Seth F. Pratt,
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n.d.
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Box 1: folder 17
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Miscellaneous photographs with no identification,
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1893, n.d.
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Box 1: folder 18
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| Note: (Removed from the commonplace book) |
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Photograph of Seth F. Pratt(Monmouth, Ill., Root & Son),
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June 1875
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Box 1: folder 19
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Another copy of photograph in folder 16 of Pratt, Lansing and Mason.
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Box 1: folder 20
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Photograph that includes Seth F. Pratt with male classmates,
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1870s.
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Box 1: folder 21
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Photograph of H. Portia Pratt, Roseville, Ill., in childhood.
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n.d.,
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Box 1: folder 22
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Pages from printed sources (high school yearbooks?) that include photographs of Portia Pratt, late
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1900s.
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Box 1: folder 23
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Miscellaneous photographs, unidentified,
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1898-1899.
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Box 1: folder 24
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Commercial photographs from the Southwest and California consisting largely of the California Mission churches and of American natives,
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1900, n.d.
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Box 1: folder 25
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SERIES III. PETER DAHL'S SKETCHBOOK AND RELATED MATERIALS
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Peter Dahl's sketchbook,
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1893-1928.
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Box 2: folder 26
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| Note: Dahl was born 1857 in Jutland and died Dec. 1929 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Largely pencil drawings on small pieces of paper and mounted into a bound volume. Includes one drawing by Paula Dahl. |
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Letters,Kobenhavn and , Smedegade.
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1884 May 24, 1884 Apr 15
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Box 2: folder 27
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A 1950 Christmas greeting to Portia Dahl from "Sven and Hulda"; postcard addressed to Dr. Ernst O. Dahl dtd .
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1940
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Box 2: folder 28
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Commercial colored prints (2), Bockel Studio,
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n.d.
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Box 2: folder 29
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Photographs of an unknown young man,
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n.d.
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Box 2: folder 30
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Photograph of two unknown women,
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n.d.
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Box 2: folder 31
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The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. To find additional materials use these headings to search this web site, the Five College Library Catalog, or other library catalogs and databases.
The following terms represent persons, organizations, and topics documented in this collection. Use these headings to search for additional materials on this web site, in the Five College Library Catalog, or in other library catalogs and databases.