This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Spec peddler tale and gifts blur into era’s news
An anecdote on a traveling spec peddler shows practical skill and social visits, while a note highlights a large foundation gift from Ruth Painter Randall to the University of Illinois, plus a Steuben glass gift. The piece closes with a wage contract update from 1973 and a digressive line on money’s changing value.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
University of Ilinois Foundation
Ruth Painter Randall
James Garfield Randall
Mary Todd Lincoln
Lincoln
Jessie
Varina
Steuben Glass