Daniel Berkeley Updike Autograph Collection (MS002)

The collection consists of miscellaneous items collected by Daniel Berkeley Updike, chiefly letters and documents, many of which relate to Rhode Island history. Although there is evidence that the collection was initially comprised of New England names, the collection has grown to reflect a more diverse grouping. A selection of the material, much of which had been culled from the correspondence and papers of Wilkins Updike, includes the names of men involved in politics. Eleven presidential signatures are included in the collection.

Also included within the miscellany is a letter from Edgar Rice Burroughs, a poetic excerpt from Sarah Helen Whitman, and a series of fervid letters from a Union soldier to his parents. During processing, a 12 page manuscript by Agnes Repplier (1855-1950), titled "What Pessimism Is" was discovered. Repplier was a Philadelphia born essayist, biographer and occasional poet published regularly within the pages of The Atlantic Monthly. Her numerous essays were also published in Life, Harper's, Monthly Magazine, The New Republic, McClure's, and The Yale Review. "What Pessimism Is" expands upon and clarifies Repplier's criticism of the poetry of Robert Browning. In an earlier analysis, also published in The Atlantic Monthly, Repplier had classified Browning's poetry as "of the pessimistic order." A controversy ensued. Browning enthusiasts found fault with the criticism and surmised that Repplier had failed to grasp Browning's meaning. "What Pessimism Is," offers her defense of the initial appraisal using examples of the poet's works. The essay was published in The Atlantic Monthly Vol. LXII, 1888.

Also included in the Updike Autograph Collection is a leaf from Henry David Thoreau's essay "October, or Autumnal Tints." Originally published in the October 1862 Atlantic Monthly, the essay offers Thoreau's extended meditation on the changing color of New England autumnal foliage. Among the tints that Thoreau focuses upon, the reader will find poetic descriptions of Sarsaparilla, Pokeweed, Red Maple, the Elm, Scarlet Oak, and more. The brief explication on each tint is presented in the order in which the brightest colors are displayed. The manuscript focuses on ripeness, as it is evinced in the brighter hue flowers assume prior to falling. The extract includes passages that were later revised prior to publication. The leaf is float mounted on an 8 3/4 x 10 1/4 sheet of paper.