Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation
Cyrenius C. Bristol papers
Bristol, C. C. (Cyrenius C.)
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872
Patti, Adelina, 1843-1919
Rogers, Maria Bristol
A.B86
/repositories/2/resources/576
.25 cubic feet
(1 container)
1840-1899
English
.
Biographical/Historical note
Cyrenius C. Bristol was a descendant of one of the earliest families of Buffalo, NY. A well-known chemist and druggist, he was the maker of the famous extract of sarsaparilla. In 1838 he published Bristol's Gazette and Herald of Health, a monthly that was discontinued in 1842. The following year he published Bristol's Free Almanac, first in Batavia, NY, and then in Buffalo. In 1848 it became Bristol's Sarsaparilla Almanac. From 1854 to 1861 C.C. Bristol was owner and publisher of the Buffalo Republic.
Scope and Contents
The Cyrenius C. Bristol Papers contain 9 autograph manuscript letters from Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol, dated 1840-1868, including 1 letter from Greeley to C.C. Bristol's daughter, Maria Bristol (who later became Mrs. Lafayette Rogers). During this time, Greeley was involved with several small newspapers, including the New Yorker, Brother Jonathan, New World, and The Log Cabin (several advertisements for "Bristol's Sarsaparilla Extract" appear in the 1840 weekly issues of The Log Cabin). The letters from Greeley to Bristol deal largely with problems of newspaper publishing, but also reflect a personal friendship between the two men. There are also 2 autograph manuscript letters written to C.C. Bristol by Charles A. Dana, who in 1846 became the city editor of the New York Tribune, a publication launched by Horace Greeley in 1841.
The Cyrenius C. Bristol Papers also contain 6 autograph manuscript letters written to Mrs. Maria (Bristol) Rogers from Adelina Patti, dated 1893-1899, including 1 letter to Mrs. Rogers from Adelina's goddaughter Mabel Woodford. Adelina Juana Maria Patti (1843-1919), a brilliant soprano, was born in Italy and as a young child moved to the United States with her family, where she received her musical training. Adelina was married three times; first to Henri, Marquis de Caux, in 1868 (they divorced in 1885); then to tenor Ernest Nicolini (d.1898); finally to Swedish Baron Rolf Cederström in 1899. The letters to Mrs. Rogers deal with Adelina Patti's highly successful concert tours, the state of her health, and her social life at her home, Craig-y-Nos Castle in South Wales. Additional Adelina Patti ephemera is also found in the collection, including personalized printed greeting cards, a theater program, and photographs of Adelina Patti.
Access
The Cyrenius C. Bristol Papers is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Books Special Collections & Preservation Department prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Presented to the University of Rochester Library by Mrs. Robert H. Pierson, May 6, 1946.
Use
In consultation with a curator, reproductions may be made upon request. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from a curator. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Preferred Citation
[Item title, item date], Cyrenius C. Bristol Papers, A.B86, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Newspaper publishing
Correspondence
Bristol, C. C. (Cyrenius C.)
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872
Patti, Adelina, 1843-1919
Rogers, Maria Bristol
Correspondence (Greeley + Dana)/repositories/2/archival_objects/1277851840-187411H[orace] Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127792February 13, 1840H[orace] Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127793May 9, 1840Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127794August 7, 1840Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127795November 9, 1842Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127796November 24, 1842Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127797December 30, 1846Charles A. Dana to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127798October 4, 1849Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127799November 6, [18]54Horace Greeley to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127800May[?] 22, 1868H[orace] G[reeley] to [C.C.] B[ristol]/repositories/2/archival_objects/127801June 10, 1868Horace Greeley to Maria Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127802October 8, 1868C[harles] A. Dana to C.C. Bristol/repositories/2/archival_objects/127803October 6, 1874Correspondence (Patti, etc.)/repositories/2/archival_objects/12778612Adelina Patti Nicolini to [Mrs. Maria (Bristol) Rogers]/repositories/2/archival_objects/127804March 6, 1893Adelina Patti Nicolini to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/127805August 20, 1893Mabel Woodford to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/127806January 11, 1895Adelina Patti Nicolini to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/127807October 6, 1896Adelina Patti Nicolini to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/127808February 27, 1898Adelina Patti Nicolini to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/127809April 25, 1898Adelina Patti [Nicolini] Cederstrom to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/127810February 24, 1899Scope and ContentsEnclosure: menu for wedding breakfast celebrating the marriage of Madame Patti Nicolini to Baron Rolf Cederström.
Autograph manuscript: "Plant Trees!" by Horace Greeley/repositories/2/archival_objects/127811[circa 1854?]13Scope and ContentsAutograph manuscript signed, 3 pages. Also includes typescript copy, 2 pages.
3 calling cards: Miss Millard Fillmore; Mary Van Buren; and Mr. and Mrs. James Van Buren/repositories/2/archival_objects/12781314Scope and ContentsEnclosed in envelope addressed to Mr. and Mrs. C.C. Bristol
6 Christmas and New Year's personalized printed greeting cards from Adelina Patti and husbands Ernest Nicolini and Baron Rolf Cederström/repositories/2/archival_objects/127815152 photographs of Adelina Patti; 1 photograph removed from magazine/repositories/2/archival_objects/12781716Miss. Patti items/repositories/2/archival_objects/127791172 cards with Adelina Patti's manuscript autograph: (signed "Adelina Patti") and (signed "A.P.N.")./repositories/2/archival_objects/127819November 3, 18825 empty envelopes: 4 addressed to Mrs. [Maria (Bristol)] Rogers; 1 addressed to Miss Kate Rogers/repositories/2/archival_objects/1278201894-1900Scope and ContentsAll envelopes are addressed in autograph manuscript in Adelina Patti's hand.
Theatre program: "The Broken Melody, A Musical Comedy-Drama in Three Acts"/repositories/2/archival_objects/127821December 5, 1895Scope and ContentsProgram by Herbert Keen and James T. Tanner. Special Matinee performance at the Patti Theatre at Craig-y-Nos Castle, featuring M. Auguste Van Biene.