The materials in this collection are mainly the published and unpublished writings of
John A. Butler, scrapbooks, newspaper articles, correspondence. Also included is one
folder of miscellaneous Butler family related documents and a scrapbook with family
history created by Walter Percy Butler. W.P. Butler arranged and provided the
materials that appear in this album. Many of the photographs he took himself. He
also hand-lettered and provided the decorative illustrations in the album The album
includes images in multiple media. There are 244 black and white photographs. These
photos range in size, though most are smaller than 3” x 5”. Many of the photos have
been cropped to facilitate their arrangement in the album. The album contains 34
postcards. These are a standard postcard size 3½” x 5½”. The majority of the
postcards are in color, though some are black and white. Also contained in the album
are 35 examples of various advertising materials. Some of the materials stand on
their own, but many of them look like they were cut out of souvenir pamphlets or
books. Also included in the album are two sets of 24 informational cards on various
missions in southern California. The cards have been glued into the album so that
each side can be perused adjacent to the other. Three maps are included separately
in the album, though many of the pages include small maps drawn in by W.P. Butler.
Two newspaper clippings from undetermined newspapers were included. Also contained
are one autograph, one poem, and one pamphlet. The photos document W.P. Butler’s
travels throughout the United States between 1901 and 1911. Pages 44-45 do not
exist. At the end of the scrapbook there is an appendix by the creator of the album
entitled “The History of my Minneapolis and Western Album”.
