Contents and Arrangement

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Series 1:Douglas Volk Papers, circa 1870-1965, 2008
11.85 Linear feet
Boxes 1-12, 15-16, OVs 13, 14

Douglas Volk's papers form the bulk of the collection and document all stages of his life and career from his first visits to Europe during his teenage years, until his death. Posthumous material primarily comprises family correspondence, financial material, and photographs, and a 2008 Antiques magazine article on the Volk family's activities at Hewnoaks.

Douglas Volk's papers are arranged as 9 subseries.

1.1. Biographical Material, circa 1897-circa 1929 (0.75 linear feet; Boxes 1, 12, OVs 13, 14)
1.2. Correspondence, circa 1870-1960 (4.54 linear feet; Boxes 1-5, 12)
1.3. Writings and Notes, 1886-1933 (1 linear foot; Boxes 5-6)
1.4. Diaries and Journals, 1873-1935 (0.2 linear feet; Box 6)
1.5. Financial Records, 1873-1953 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 7-9)
1.6. Printed Material, 1873-2008 (0.53 linear feet; Boxes 9, 12, OV 13)
1.7. Scrapbooks, 1900-1927 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 9-10)
1.8. Artwork and Sketchbooks, circa 1870-circa 1934 (0.78 linear feet; Boxes 10, 12, OV 13)
1.9. Photographs, circa 1880-1942 (0.95 linear feet; Boxes 10-12, OV 13)

The bulk of this series has been scanned with the exception of some routine financial records.

1.1:Biographical Material, circa 1897-circa 1929

0.75 Linear feet

Boxes 1, 12, OVs 13-14

Biographical material includes five address books and addresses on notes and business cards; biographical notes and résumés for Douglas Volk and his sons, Gerome and Wendell Volk; a hand-drawn and colored map of Hewnoaks; and a travel itinerary for Volk's 1919 trip to Europe, written on the back of a map of France and Belgium.

Miscellaneous material includes a blueprint of a proposed sarcophagus to be erected in Fryeburg Village Cemetery for Marion Volk and a 1925 receipt for the purchase of cemetery lots; a pair of eyeglasses; two membership cards for the Society for Ethical Culture; two handwritten verses; and genealogical memoranda of the Barlow family and Volk families from the 1600s to the early 1900s.

Biographical material relating specifically to Marion Volk includes a warranty deed for a parcel of Center Lovell land which she purchased from Hattie M. Lyons in 1904; a 1921 address book; a lock of hair accompanied by a photograph of Marion Volk; and a memorial address written for her by Felix Adler.

Description	Container
Addresses, circa 1900-circa 1929	1 1	Select: Addresses, circa 1900-circa 1929
Addresses, circa 1921-circa 1922	1 2	Select: Addresses, circa 1921-circa 1922
Addresses, circa 1928-circa 1929	1 3	Select: Addresses, circa 1928-circa 1929
Biographies and Résumés, circa 1930s	1 4	Select: Biographies and Résumés, circa 1930s
Map of Hewnoaks, circa 1900 Map housed in Box 14	1 5	Select: Map of Hewnoaks, circa 1900Scope and ContentsMap housed in Box 14
Miscellaneous, circa 1897-circa 1925 Oversized material housed in Box 12, Folder 1 and OV 13	1 6	Select: Miscellaneous, circa 1897-circa 1925Scope and ContentsOversized material housed in Box 12, Folder 1 and OV 13
Travel Itinerary, 1919 Oversized material housed in OV 13	1 7	Select: Travel Itinerary, 1919Scope and ContentsOversized material housed in OV 13
Volk, Marion, circa 1904-circa 1925	1 8	Select: Volk, Marion, circa 1904-circa 1925
Oversized Miscellaneous scanned with Box 1, Folder 6	12 1	Select: Oversized Miscellaneous scanned with Box 1, Folder 6
Oversized Miscellaneous scanned with Box 1, Folder 6	OV 13	Select: Oversized Miscellaneous scanned with Box 1, Folder 6
Oversized Travel Itinerary scanned with Box 1, Folder 7	OV 13	Select: Oversized Travel Itinerary scanned with Box 1, Folder 7
Oversized Map of Hewnoaks from Box 1, Folder 5	14	Select: Oversized Map of Hewnoaks from Box 1, Folder 5

1.2:Correspondence, circa 1870-1960

4.54 Linear feet

Boxes 1-5, 12

1.2.1:Family Correspondence, 1871-1960

3.05 Linear feet

Boxes 1-4

The bulk of the correspondence is between Douglas and Marion Volk, dating from around the time of their first encounter and documenting their married life beginning in 1881, and ending in 1924, just prior to Marion's death in 1925. Their correspondence details all aspects of their careers and personal lives as Douglas worked and taught often away from home, and Marion ran the family home and worked to promote the activities of the Sabatos Handicraft Society in Center Lovell, Maine.

The bulk of the letters from the 1890s to circa 1915 are from Douglas to Marion detailing his painting, teaching, business affairs, personal relationships, and living conditions. These letters are most prolific from 1880-1888. His responses to his wife's letters in the early 1900s provide some insight into the heyday of production at Hewnoaks, but two folders of undated letters from Marion to Douglas appear to be from circa 1900-circa 1910, and provide the most detailed information in the series about the family's involvement in the Center Lovell community and Marion's activities in rug-making and textiles. There appear to be no letters from 1891, 1902, and 1905-1906, although some letters are undated and may be from these years.

Volk's 1919 letters to Marion contain detailed descriptions of his European trip to paint portraits of World War I leaders.

Other family correspondence includes letters to Marion Volk from her mother, Margaret Larrabee, and to Marion from other family members and friends; two letters from Emily Clarissa Volk to her son, Douglas; and circa 0.75 linear feet of letters to Douglas and Marion from their children, Gerome (Jerry), Marion Volk Bridge (Mary Ann) and Wendell, which primarily describe daily life unrelated to artistic endeavors. Also found is one letter from Douglas Volk to his son Leonard "Leo" Volk, and two folders of letters from Douglas Volk's sister, Nora Volk Colt.

1.2.2:General Correspondence, circa 1870-1952

General correspondence is with friends, colleagues, galleries, museums, art institutions, art societies, publishers, universities and colleges, and United States Government agencies. There are letters from artists including Edwin Howland Blashfield, William Merritt Chase, Elliott Daingerfield, Cass Gilbert, Philip Leslie Hale and Lilian Westcott Hale, Karl von Rydingsvard, and J. Alden Weir. Six folders of letters from George de Forest Brush and his wife Mary (Mittie) Taylor Whelpley Brush, reveal details about Brush's education in Europe, his experiences in Wyoming and Canada in the 1880s, and his later career. The letters also document the close relationship between the Brush and Volk families, recording their mutual sympathy and support during times of illness and bereavement, including the death of the Brush's infant son, Alfred, from cholera shortly after his birth in 1886, and Leonard Volk's death in 1891.

Also found is correspondence with writer and leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis, Percival Chubb, and Volk family friend and founder of the Ethical Culture movement, Felix Adler and his wife Helen Goldmark Adler. Correspondence with the Buffalo Fine Arts Gallery, Albright Art Gallery includes personal and business related correspondence with Cornelia B. Sage Quinton, which documents, among other things, the gallery's purchase of Volk's Lincoln portrait for $5000.

Correspondence with Beck Engraving Company relates to plates produced by the company from Volk's Lincoln portrait. Correspondence with Charles L. Hinton relates to Hinton's work on the Lincoln medal made from a portrait of Lincoln by Volk and produced by Whitehead & Hoag. Correspondence with Whitehead & Hoag also relates to Hinton's work.

Correspondence with Fred'k Southack & Alwyn Ball Jr. Inc. relates to Volk's New York City studio lease in the mid-1920s.

National Academy of Design records include minutes of meetings and letters from Edwin Howland Blashfield, when Volk was the National Academy's Recording Secretary in the early 1920s. Correspondence with the Portland Society of Art documents the purchase by Cyrus H. K. Curtis of Volk's Lincoln portrait With Malice Toward None which Curtis donated to the Society in 1927.

Correspondence with the United States Military Academy Museum, West Point relates to Volk's portraits of Major-General John G. Foster (1930), and Major-General Gordon Granger (1931).

One folder contains carbon copies of some of Volk's letters from 1920. These copies relate primarily to his contemporary portraits of government and military subjects and include letters directly to, or relating to, David Lloyd George, Brand Whitlock, Comte d'Arschot, and John J. Pershing.

1.3:Writings and Notes, 1886-1933

1 Linear foot

Boxes 5-6

Writings are primarily on art and historical events relating to Leonard Wells Volk's creation of the life mask and hands of Lincoln. They include what appear to be early versions and drafts of Volk's monograph "Art Instruction in Public Schools" (1894) and manuscripts on related ideas including "What should Children Draw?" (1897). Also found is a corrected newspaper copy of an address on the subject of art instruction in schools read before the Minnesota State Convention of Teachers (1886). Related to activities in Center Lovell are multiple partial drafts of writings entitled "Beauty Dethroned..," promoting the value of art and craftsmanship in an age when productivity was increasingly driven by automated processes and the use of machines.

Also found are manuscripts for eight dated lectures and addresses to schools and societies.

Notebooks contain lists and notes relating to Volk's daily business, scattered journal entries, scattered sketches, names and addresses, and some accounting information. The 1901-1905 notebook relates primarily to subscriptions to the Center Lovell community publication The Fire Fly: A Periodical of Fearless Endeavour.

Notes and other fragments and manuscripts include notes and annotated transcripts of letters and reviews relating to Leonard Wells Volk's Lincoln life mask. The notes and letters appear to have been used by Douglas Volk in various addresses and writings on his father's work.

Manuscripts for two plays and a fictional romance story can also be found in this series. Writings by others include Paul Dougherty's statement on Volk's portrait of William Macbeth (1917) that was given to the Brooklyn Museum, and an essay by Edgar Whitaker Work on Volk's Lincoln portrait, With Malice Toward None.

1.4:Diaries and Journals, 1873-1935

0.2 Linear feet

Box 6

Three European journals, written between March 1872 and 1875, record Volk's earliest visits to Europe and the beginning of his artistic education. His 1872-1873 journals record Volk's day-to-day life in Rome, and his impressions and activities during visits to Venice and Paris. They document meetings and friendships with artists including Eugene Benson, George de Forest Brush, George Inness, and others. In the 1873 journal Volk writes of experiencing an earthquake on June 29, 1873, and how a sketch he made of a ruined church at San Pietro di Feretto in the aftermath of the event was published in the London News, constituting "the first time my name has been before the public in connection with my art." A copy of the newspaper clipping that contains the sketch can be found in 1.6. Printed Material.

Volk's 1875 journal contains scattered sketches and records, amongst other things, his study under Jean-Léon Gérôme, visits to London, and the acceptance of his first pictures to the Paris Salon.

The 1903 diary contains only a short list of "Pictures at Knoedlers" and several other scattered notations.

Volk's 1919 journal records his time in Europe making studies from life for portraits of King Albert of Belgium, Prime Minister David Lloyd George, and Woodrow Wilson's Ambassador to Belgium, Brand Whitlock. The journal includes accounts of his sittings with the three men, Volk's meeting with Woodrow Wilson who was in Paris for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the arrival of Cecilia Beaux who was in Europe to paint Cardinal Mercier, and Volk's friendship with John Singer Sargent. Also recorded are preparations for Volk's portrait of General John J. Pershing, and accounts of touring the battlefields of World War I and his impressions of the general devastation of the region.

Volk's 1934 journal documents work on his portrait of Lincoln from his father's life mask of Lincoln.

Description	Container
Journal, Europe, 1872 March-December	6 42	Select: Journal, Europe, 1872 March-December
Journal, Europe, 1873	6 43	Select: Journal, Europe, 1873
Journal, Europe , 1875	6 44	Select: Journal, Europe , 1875
Diary, 1903	6 45	Select: Diary, 1903
Journal, Europe, 1919 May-June	6 46	Select: Journal, Europe, 1919 May-June
Journal, Europe , 1919 July-September Includes a photograph of Pershing taken by Volk	6 47	Select: Journal, Europe , 1919 July-SeptemberScope and ContentsIncludes a photograph of Pershing taken by Volk
Journal, Europe, Loose Enclosures, 1919-1920	6 48	Select: Journal, Europe, Loose Enclosures, 1919-1920
Journal, 1934	6 49	Select: Journal, 1934
Journal, Loose Enclosures, 1934-1935	6 50	Select: Journal, Loose Enclosures, 1934-1935

1.5:Financial Records, 1873-1953

2.5 Linear feet

Boxes 7-9

Financial records document primarily routine, but also art-related, expenses. They include bank statements and canceled checks, some of which record payments to art and professional organizations such as the Architectural League, the Arts Club of Washington, the National Arts Club, the National Sculpture Society, and the Society of Mural Painters, as well as to individuals including William M. Post, John Wanamaker, Russell Cowles, Karl von Rydingsvard, R. Whalen, and others. The canceled checks are supplemented by, and in some cases can be cross-referenced with, check records which consist primarily of check book stubs recording deposits and withdrawals on Volk's account, including art-related transactions.

Also found are three personal account books which contain daily entries for food, clothes, rent, travel (to Paris, Dournanez, Versailles, Barbizon, and elsewhere), entertainment and painting incidentals including canvas, varnish, crayons, colors, paint boxes, sketchbooks, easels, brushes, photographs, and other items. The books also have scattered notes on galleries and cathedrals, and several sketches, as well as notations of interest such as a December 1873 note about a banquet for Volk's teacher Jean-Léon Gérôme and an October 1873 note about dinner with another teacher, Leon Bonnat.

Bills and receipts include a 1914 certificate acknowledging receipt by the Chicago Historical Society of Volk's gift of the life mask of Stephen. A. Douglas, made in Chicago by his father (Replica 4th original). Tax records include some information about Volk's professional expenses in the early 1920s. Insurance records are both routine and art-related.

Two Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. auction catalogs document sales of Lincoln memorabilia, including that belonging to Jessie Volk in 1953. Records of the sales include correspondence and lists of items sold and buyers.

Description	Container
Account Book, 1873 August 27-1875 January 1	7 1	Select: Account Book, 1873 August 27-1875 January 1
Account Book , 1895 October 12-1899 July	7 2	Select: Account Book , 1895 October 12-1899 July
Account Book , 1910 November 1-1916 November 1	7 3	Select: Account Book , 1910 November 1-1916 November 1
Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1895-1900	7 4	Select: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1895-1900
Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1906-1907	7 5	Select: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1906-1907
Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1912-1914	7 6	Select: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1912-1914
Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1917-1918	7 7-10	Select: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1917-1918
Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1920-1929	7 11-33	Select: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1920-1929
Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1929-1935	8 1-7	Select: Bank Statements and Canceled Checks, 1929-1935
Bills and Receipts, 1896-1925	8 8	Select: Bills and Receipts, 1896-1925
Bills and Receipts, 1926-1936	8 9	Select: Bills and Receipts, 1926-1936
Check Records, circa 1893-circa 1935	8 10	Select: Check Records, circa 1893-circa 1935
Check Records, 1893-1894	8 11	Select: Check Records, 1893-1894
Check Records, 1894-1895	8 12	Select: Check Records, 1894-1895
Check Records, 1895-1896	8 13	Select: Check Records, 1895-1896
Check Records, 1899-1900	8 14	Select: Check Records, 1899-1900
Check Records, 1903-1904	8 15	Select: Check Records, 1903-1904
Check Records, 1907-1908	8 16	Select: Check Records, 1907-1908
Check Records, 1908-1910	8 17	Select: Check Records, 1908-1910
Check Records, 1910-1911	8 18	Select: Check Records, 1910-1911
Check Records, 1912-1913	8 19	Select: Check Records, 1912-1913
Check Records, 1913-1914	8 20	Select: Check Records, 1913-1914
Check Records, 1914	8 21	Select: Check Records, 1914
Check Records, 1917	8 22	Select: Check Records, 1917
Check Records, 1919	8 23	Select: Check Records, 1919
Check Records, 1925-1927	8 24	Select: Check Records, 1925-1927
Check Records, 1925-1926	8 25	Select: Check Records, 1925-1926
Check Records, 1926-1927	9 1	Select: Check Records, 1926-1927
Check Records , 1928-1929	9 2	Select: Check Records , 1928-1929
Check Records , 1929	9 3	Select: Check Records , 1929
Check Records, 1929-1930	9 4	Select: Check Records, 1929-1930
Check Records, 1930-1931	9 5	Select: Check Records, 1930-1931
Check Records, 1931-1933	9 6	Select: Check Records, 1931-1933
Check Records, 1933-1935	9 7	Select: Check Records, 1933-1935
Insurance, General and Life, 1913-1925	9 8	Select: Insurance, General and Life, 1913-1925
Insurance, H. Mosenthal & Son., Inc., 1924-1925	9 9	Select: Insurance, H. Mosenthal & Son., Inc., 1924-1925
Insurance, Herbert M. Smith, 1925	9 10	Select: Insurance, Herbert M. Smith, 1925
Lease and Mortgage Records, 1925-1926	9 11	Select: Lease and Mortgage Records, 1925-1926
Miscellaneous Expenses, circa 1900-circa 1930	9 12	Select: Miscellaneous Expenses, circa 1900-circa 1930
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Sales, 1952-1953	9 13	Select: Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Sales, 1952-1953
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Sales, 1952-1953	9 14	Select: Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., Sales, 1952-1953
Tax Records, 1917-1934	9 15	Select: Tax Records, 1917-1934
Wendell Volk, Account Book, 1906-1907	9 16	Select: Wendell Volk, Account Book, 1906-1907
Wendell Volk, Insurance Records, 1929-1930	9 17	Select: Wendell Volk, Insurance Records, 1929-1930

1.6:Printed Material, 1873-2008

0.53 Linear feet

Boxes 9, 12, 16, OV 13

Series includes two announcements and a pamphlet for the exhibition of Volk's Lincoln portrait With Malice Toward None, as well as eight announcements and catalogs for other exhibitions, including an Exhibition of Paintings by American Artists (1915) at the American Art Gallery, George P. Perkins. Clippings about Volk include reviews of exhibitions and articles about him including a 2008 article in Antiques magazine titled "Douglas Volk and the Arts and Crafts in Maine," by Arlene M. Palmer. This article is a rich source of information about the history of the Hewnoaks artist colony. Other clippings and miscellaneous material include news articles about Abraham Lincoln, David Lloyd George and the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, and articles on art.

Art-related bulletins and pamphlets include a Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art recording the 1915 purchase of Volk's portrait of Felix Adler; two Bulletins of the National Arts Club (1923, 1925); and Volk's menu from a National Academy of Design dinner (1915) signed by attendees.

Of note is a mounted clipping of the London News article which included Volk's 1873 sketch of a church ruined by an earthquake in Italy, the first instance of his work appearing in the press. The clipping is annotated by Volk.

Also found is printed material related to Abraham Lincoln and Leonard Well Volk's monument to Stephen A. Douglas. Two folders of reproductions of artwork, some by other artists, may have been used by Volk as source material.

1.7:Scrapbooks, 1900-1927

0.2 Linear feet

Boxes 9-10

The circa 1903-circa 1918 scrapbook primarily contains press coverage of Douglas Volk's career, including clippings reviewing exhibitions and other events, documentation of the activities of the National Academy of Design, and scattered letters including one each from artists Charles Dana Gibson, Cass Gilbert, and John La Farge.

Scrapbook 1900-1927 concerns the Center Lovell community's activities in rug making, textiles, and other handicrafts. The scrapbook includes photos of Marion Volk, her daughter Marion, son Wendell, and other community members making rugs, as well as letters and news clippings relating to their work. It includes a catalog and program of a "Handicrafts Exhibition" (1901), and one of only three known editions of the publication The Fire Fly, A Periodical of Fearless Endeavour, which were hand-printed on the Hewn Beam Press by Wendell Volk and A. E. Hanson.

Loose enclosures include an announcement for a woodcarving and weaving class offered by Karl von Rydingsvard and Wendell Volk, hand-printed by Wendell Volk.

Description	Container
Scrapbook, circa 1903-circa 1918	9 31	Select: Scrapbook, circa 1903-circa 1918
Scrapbook, Loose Items, circa 1903-circa 1918	9 32	Select: Scrapbook, Loose Items, circa 1903-circa 1918
Scrapbook , 1900-1927	10 1	Select: Scrapbook , 1900-1927
Scrapbook Loose Items, 1901-1927	10 2	Select: Scrapbook Loose Items, 1901-1927

1.8:Artwork and Sketchbooks, circa 1870-circa 1934

0.78 Linear feet

Boxes 10, 12, OV 13

Sketches by Douglas Volk are primarily in pencil with some in ink and watercolor. Also found is a small oil-on-wood and a small oil-on-canvas sketch. Sketches in Volk's fifteen sketchbooks include landscapes, cityscapes of European cities including Venice and Rome, seascapes, figure studies, and studies from master paintings.

Artwork by others includes an ink and watercolor sketch of Hewnoaks by Wendell Volk (1905), and two sketchbooks of Wendell Volk that date from childhood, but also include some later designs; one sketchbook of Marion Volk Bridge, that also dates from childhood and contains some rug designs; multiple prints of an engraving of a portrait of Douglas Volk by E. G. Williams & Br., NY.; a sketch by Edmund Aubrey Hunt; and a sketch made around a photograph of a fireplace showing a fireplace and mantelpiece design, possibly by Gerome or Wendell Volk.

1.9:Photographs, circa 1880-1942

1.35 Linear feet

Boxes 10-12, 15-16, OV 13

Photographs of Douglas Volk include portraits taken throughout his career, including four by Doris Ulmann, photos of Volk in the studio, and with family members and friends.

Studio photographs of Volk show him working on his painting Father Hennepin Discovering the Falls of St. Anthony (1905), and a painting installed at the Minnesota State Capitol. Some of these photographs are mounted on what appear to be pages from a dismantled scrapbook.

Photos with family and friends include a circa 1880 tintype of Douglas and Marion, and a series of circa 1880s albumen photographs, including some in which Douglas Volk, Leonard Volk, and other family members can be identified. These are possibly related to the photographs of unidentified camps/lakes/woods, some of which may have been taken in the Adirondacks and/or at the Volk's summer retreat in Osceola, Wisconsin. Also found is a group photo taken at the National Arts Club New Year's Eve carnival in 1921.

Individual photos of family members include photos of the Volk children, Gerome, Marion (with her children), and Wendell Volk. Two studio portraits are possibly of Marion Larrabee Volk as they are very similar to a portrait identified as her by the Lovell Historical Society. However, other photographs in this collection which picture Marion with Douglas, raise questions as to the identity of the person in the folder labeled "Marion Volk."

Photos of others include studio portraits of actresses, including Agnes Huntington; a photo of William Merritt Chase inscribed "To my friend Douglas Volk" (circa 1880s); a photo of Karl and Mrs. von Rydingsvard with Wendell Volk; a photo of an unidentified sculptor; a series of photos of boys and men apparently involved in battle re-enactment; and photos of the subjects of Volk's 1919 portraits, including David Lloyd George and King Albert of Belgium.

Photos of places include several of Volk at Hewnoaks, and photos showing the Hewnoaks Rambling Timbers and Viking Court buildings in the early 20th century. Also found are three photographs of the interior of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts, including one of a class in progress.

Photos of Volk's artwork include one showing Volk's work at an undated exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Photos of artwork by others include six cyanotypes, and several photos of wood carved furniture, one identified as being by Karl von Rydingsvard. Other wood-carved furniture pictured may also be by von Rydingsvard, and/or possibly Wendell Volk.

Series 2:Leonard Wells Volk Papers, circa 1858-circa 1930
0.45 Linear feet
Boxes 11-12

Series provides scattered documentation of Chicago sculptor Leonard Wells Volk's life and career through biographical material, checks, land records, letters, memoirs, printed material, and photographs of Volk, his family, and artwork.

Biographical material consists of 4 fragments with notes on Volk's family, colleagues, artwork, and Stephen A. Douglas.

Found are two canceled checks from 1894, and land records which include an 1865 receipt for a house and an 1887 deed for land in Florida. Also found are 1892-1894 letters from the United States Land Office and the Alchua County Tax Collector's office in Gainesville, Florida, including 6 diagrams/plats of Volk family land.

Letters and memoranda include an 1887 letter from Leonard Wells Volk to Douglas Volk enclosing six photographs of scenes in Illinois; an 1886 memorandum written for Volk's wife in case of his sudden death, regarding the value of the Lincoln and Douglas statues at the Illinois State House, which describe his financial investment in the creation of the statues and their subsequent value; a copy of an 1887 letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune regarding an error the publication printed about the making and disposition of his Lincoln life casts; and an 1895 letter from S. S. McClure, Limited, regarding the use of Volk's memoirs.

Of particular note are seven volumes of Volk's memoirs which were handwritten in pencil in stenographic notepads, probably between 1885 and 1887, and record Volk's youth, his training in Italy, his artistic career, and his sightseeing trips. Volume 4 recounts his first visits to London, Paris, Rome, and Florence in the mid-1850s, financed partially by Stephen A. Douglas. Volume 5 recalls his journey home, and his first meeting with Lincoln during Lincoln's 1858 senate election campaign and the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Later volumes record his move to Chicago and his involvement with the American Academy of Design. The numbering used for the memoirs in this finding aid was established by Volk researcher John Hoffman who, after consulting the other volumes of Volk's memoirs at the Library of Congress (volumes 1, 3, 6-7, and 9-10) numbered the volume that Volk numbered as 10 and 12, as number 12, and supplied the number 13 to the final volume. Dates in parentheses are the approximate dates of Volk's life as covered in the memoirs.

Photos of Leonard Volk and family include Leonard Volk in the studio carving his bust of Lincoln with his bust of Stephen A. Douglas in the background, a portrait of Volk taken in Rome in 1871, and a copy of a later portrait. Also found are a studio portrait of Volk's wife, Emily Clarissa King Barlow Volk, and several photos of houses and scenes in woods and camps, at least five of which include Emily Volk and probably other family members.

Photos of artwork by Volk include photos of his Lincoln statue installed in Rochester, New York, as well as photos of two men at the statue; photos of his Lincoln life mask, hands, and bust, and a photo of Volk's statue of Stephen A. Douglas. Of additional note is a carte de visite showing a plaster model of the Douglas tomb by Chicago photographer, John Carbutt.

Printed material is primarily related to Volk's Lincoln life mask and hands but also includes a review of Blanc's Grammar of Painting and Engraving (1883) in which Volk is quoted.

Records are arranged as one series.

Series is scanned in entirety.

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To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.

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Douglas Volk and Leonard Wells Volk papers, circa 1858-1965, bulk 1870-1935

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Series 1:Douglas Volk Papers, circa 1870-1965, 2008
11.85 Linear feet
Boxes 1-12, 15-16, OVs 13, 14

1.1:Biographical Material, circa 1897-circa 1929

1.2:Correspondence, circa 1870-1960

1.2.1:Family Correspondence, 1871-1960

1.2.2:General Correspondence, circa 1870-1952

1.3:Writings and Notes, 1886-1933

1.4:Diaries and Journals, 1873-1935

1.5:Financial Records, 1873-1953

1.6:Printed Material, 1873-2008

1.7:Scrapbooks, 1900-1927

1.8:Artwork and Sketchbooks, circa 1870-circa 1934

1.9:Photographs, circa 1880-1942

Series 2:Leonard Wells Volk Papers, circa 1858-circa 1930
0.45 Linear feet
Boxes 11-12

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Description	Container
"A Romance From Maine", circa 1890	5 62	Select: "A Romance From Maine", circa 1890
"Abraham Lincoln - Breasting the Winds", circa 1890-circa 1930	5 63	Select: "Abraham Lincoln - Breasting the Winds", circa 1890-circa 1930
"Art Instruction In Public Schools," Corrected Newspaper Copy, 1886	5 64	Select: "Art Instruction In Public Schools," Corrected Newspaper Copy, 1886
"Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (1 of 5)", circa 1890s	5 65	Select: "Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (1 of 5)", circa 1890s
"Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (2 of 5), circa 1890s	5 66	Select: "Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (2 of 5), circa 1890s
"Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (3 of 5), circa 1890s	5 67	Select: "Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (3 of 5), circa 1890s
"Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (4 of 5), circa 1890s	5 68	Select: "Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (4 of 5), circa 1890s
"Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (5 of 5), circa 1890s	5 69	Select: "Art Instruction in Public Schools," Drafts (5 of 5), circa 1890s
"Art Instruction In Public Schools," Manuscript, 1897	5 70	Select: "Art Instruction In Public Schools," Manuscript, 1897
"Beauty Dethroned: Beauty and it's Enemy the Machine" and Related Drafts, circa 1900-circa 1930	5 71	Select: "Beauty Dethroned: Beauty and it's Enemy the Machine" and Related Drafts, circa 1900-circa 1930
"Beauty Dethroned: Beauty and it's Enemy the Machine" and Related Drafts, circa 1900-circa 1930	5 72	Select: "Beauty Dethroned: Beauty and it's Enemy the Machine" and Related Drafts, circa 1900-circa 1930
"Beauty Dethroned: Beauty and it's Enemy the Machine" and Related Drafts, circa 1900-circa 1930	5 73	Select: "Beauty Dethroned: Beauty and it's Enemy the Machine" and Related Drafts, circa 1900-circa 1930
"Going to Gen'l Grant's Reception", circa 1870s	6 1	Select: "Going to Gen'l Grant's Reception", circa 1870s
"Interview with the Aid de Camp of the King of Belgium", circa 1919	6 2	Select: "Interview with the Aid de Camp of the King of Belgium", circa 1919
"Motive and Subject in Art", circa 1890-circa 1930	6 3	Select: "Motive and Subject in Art", circa 1890-circa 1930
"Protecting Brain Work", circa 1890-circa 1930	6 4	Select: "Protecting Brain Work", circa 1890-circa 1930
"What Should Young Children Draw?", circa 1890-circa 1930	6 5	Select: "What Should Young Children Draw?", circa 1890-circa 1930
Untitled Fragments, circa 1890-circa 1930	6 6	Select: Untitled Fragments, circa 1890-circa 1930
Untitled Fragments, circa 1890-circa 1930	6 7	Select: Untitled Fragments, circa 1890-circa 1930
Untitled Fragments, circa 1890-circa 1930	6 8	Select: Untitled Fragments, circa 1890-circa 1930
Untitled Manuscripts, circa 1890-circa 1930	6 9	Select: Untitled Manuscripts, circa 1890-circa 1930
Untitled Writings on Handweaving Textiles/Rugs, circa 1890-circa 1930	6 10	Select: Untitled Writings on Handweaving Textiles/Rugs, circa 1890-circa 1930
Addresses/Lectures		Select: Addresses/Lectures
"Addressed to an Art Student", circa 1890-circa 1930	6 11	Select: "Addressed to an Art Student", circa 1890-circa 1930
"Art as an Expression of Life," Bowdoin College (1927 May 12), 1927	6 12	Select: "Art as an Expression of Life," Bowdoin College (1927 May 12), 1927
"Art as an Expression of Life," Bowdoin College (1927 May 12), 1927	6 13	Select: "Art as an Expression of Life," Bowdoin College (1927 May 12), 1927
"Art as an Expression of Life," Bowdoin College (1927 May 12), 1927	6 14	Select: "Art as an Expression of Life," Bowdoin College (1927 May 12), 1927
"Art Matters in Norfolk," To Norfolk Society of Arts, circa 1924-1926	6 15	Select: "Art Matters in Norfolk," To Norfolk Society of Arts, circa 1924-1926
Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932	6 16	Select: Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932
Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932	6 17	Select: Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932
Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932	6 18	Select: Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932
Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932	6 19	Select: Conway Rotary Club Address on Lincoln and Leonard Volk (1932 June 12), 1932
"Fryeburg Address: Lincoln and Trip Abroad", 1920-1929 includes letter from Henry White (1919) and Brand Whitlock (1920)	6 20	Select: "Fryeburg Address: Lincoln and Trip Abroad", 1920-1929Scope and Contentsincludes letter from Henry White (1919) and Brand Whitlock (1920)
Memorial Ceremony in Honor of Dr. Maurice Francis Egan, 1926	6 21	Select: Memorial Ceremony in Honor of Dr. Maurice Francis Egan, 1926
"Montclair Early Days", 1926 February 11	6 22	Select: "Montclair Early Days", 1926 February 11
"Preamble on reading the Declaration of Independence at the celebration held in Center Lovell, ME July 4, 1918", 1918	6 23	Select: "Preamble on reading the Declaration of Independence at the celebration held in Center Lovell, ME July 4, 1918", 1918
Play, "A Studio Romance", 1893	6 24	Select: Play, "A Studio Romance", 1893
Play, "A Studio Romance", 1893	6 25	Select: Play, "A Studio Romance", 1893
Play, "A Studio Romance", 1893	6 26	Select: Play, "A Studio Romance", 1893
Play, "Witchcraft", circa 1890-circa 1930	6 27	Select: Play, "Witchcraft", circa 1890-circa 1930

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Douglas Volk and Leonard Wells Volk papers, circa 1858-1965, bulk 1870-1935