Earl Albert Selle papers (Ms.2007.002)

The collection consists of items as diverse as the curiously filled out baby book of Earl Albert Selle, his curfew pass from Shanghai issued just before World War II, scrapbooks of articles on the Chinese Revolution (1911-1922) and the Russo-Japanese War collected by William Henry Donald, snap shots of the Chiangs visiting Chinese war orphans, a fan letter from Rabindranath Tagore to Mme. Chiang, Selle's first hand account of Pearl Harbor, post-war Pacific Rim articles filed by Selle for newspapers chiefly in Honolulu and an account by one of Selle's sons about what it was like to live in Hong Kong.

The earliest items in the collection are the 1906 clippings assembled by William Henry Donald while working for the newspaper China Mail, and Earl Selle's baby book from the same year. (The latter reads "1907" and has his name filled in as Alberta Earl Selle). The most recent items are articles written in the early 1970's by Selle about post-war developments not only in the Far East but in Hawaii where he was then living.

The collection is arranged with the personal materials of Selle and his family first, followed by his professional writings, correspondence on his book Donald of China and a photocopy of the cover for that book. The next grouping of materials comprises materials collected by Selle from and about William Henry Donald and includes signed photographs and correspondence, and Donald's two surviving scrapbooks.

The ensuing series contains materials on 20th century China. It consists of correspondence to Mme. Chiang Kai-shek in date order, photographs and negatives grouped as much as possible by subject and printed materials on China in order by date. All of these materials were probably collected by Donald but were never processed into scrapbooks and photo albums. The last section contains general materials on China in the 20th century and miscellaneous photographs and articles which Selle found interesting enough to save.