All Items 11 Collection 1 Archives & Special Collections 11 Contributor 2 Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 11 Nelson, Arthur W., 1880-1958 2 Location 3 White Mountains (N.H. and Me.) 2 Goshen (N.H.) 1 New Hampshire 1 Topic 20 Juvenile fiction 6 Adventure and adventurers 5 Hunting 4 Description and travel 3 Juvenile literature 3 Camping 2 Diaries 2 Family 2 Crop improvement 1 Fishing 1 Food crops 1 Imaginary places 1 Landscapes 1 Naval battles 1 Partridges 1 Photography 1 Pictorial works 1 Schooners 1 Seafaring life 1 Skating 1 show more 15 show fewer Part Of 1 Nelson Family Juvenilia Collection of Pamela Russell and Murray McClellan 11 Genre 8 Children's literature 10 Booklets 5 Fragments 3 Diaries 2 Periodicals 2 Children's art 1 Drawings (visual works) 1 Robinsonades 1 show more 3 show fewer The world, volume 2, number 1 Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 An undated issue of the Nelson brothers' periodical "The World," containing three stories of adventure and presented in a two-column format. The cover indicates it was "published by E. & A. Nelson and Co." "Whaling" by Arthur Nelson recounts the adventures of a whale ship near Pager Island, their attack by dogfish and subsequent catch of a whale. "Surrounded" by Elmer Nelson tells of the schooner "Skipper" as it is surrounded by many other schooners. The skipper draws its cannons, escapes to a harbor and drives the other schooners back. "Out Hunting" by Arthur Nelson is the story of a hunting party that goes out while their steamer ship is being repaired. While hunting they were confronted by a large buck. The world, volume 2, number 1 Five years in the White Mountains, volume 2 Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 This second volume of "Five Years in the White Mountains" picks up the story of the three brothers' outdoor adventures at the beginning of their second year in the mountains. The volume is incomplete, featuring only the beginning of a story entitled "Lost in the Mountains." In the story the narrator and his two brothers headed upstream to go hunting but soon lost their bearings after pursuing a rabbit one of them had shot and only wounded. Forced to make camp for the night, the story ends abruptly with two of the boys trying to put the third one at ease about the loneliness of sleeping in the woods at night. The book is unattributed but it has been inferred that Elmer Nelson, the author of volume 1, is the creator. Five years in the White Mountains, volume 2 A partridge Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 An account by Elmer Nelson of a time when a family cat brought a dead partridge into their home. Their uncle found the bird and Elmer removed the tail feathers to make a fan. The story includes a detailed physical description of partridges. A partridge The America [sic] family Robbinso [sic] Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 An adventure story written by Elmer Nelson that was inspired by works like Swiss Family Robinson (1812) and Robinson Crusoe (1719). In the story, the characters Jimmy and Alice go sailing and spot an island. They decide to explore the island and encounter sharks and monkeys as they go about securing food and shelter. Arthur Nelson wrote a second volume that continues this story, which is labeled on the cover as volume 2. Although there is no volume number on this story by Elmer Nelson, it has been inferred that it is volume 1. The America [sic] family Robbinso [sic] Nelson brothers diary fragment Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 This diary fragment about the family life of the Nelsons extends from November 5 through November 17, but the name of the author and the year of the diary are missing. Arthur Nelson and Walter Nelson are mentioned in the diary, and in another passage the phrase "we boys" is used by the author, suggesting that Elmer Nelson possibly is the author. Though only three pages long, the diary provides a good feel for the daily activities and the pace of life in Goshen, New Hampshire in the 1890s. Activities include shingling a barn; cutting and splitting wood; locating a skunk found by the family dog; spending time with neighbors and attending meetings. The diary also makes clear the interest the Nelsons had in photography. In addition to taking many pictures, the author writes about time spent developing the plates and creating lantern slides. Nelson brothers diary fragment Elmer Nelson fragment from an unidentified publication Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 An unidentified fragment signed by Elmer Nelson containing three completed stories and a fourth that is unfinished. "Blackbird" tells of a boy hunting blackbirds. This is followed by "In the Forest" where two brothers hunt a bear. The final completed story, "Fell In," tells of two brothers out fishing when they encounter a wolf. Following these stories is a detailed illustration of two women eating and, on the verso, the beginnings of a story titled "Lost in the Woods." The work may have been intended as another Nelson brothers periodical. Elmer Nelson fragment from an unidentified publication Sketch of house and barn Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 This sketch of a house and barn was done in pencil on the back of a church schedule of events. Written on this schedule is "Elmer 10," suggesting Elmer Nelson might have drawn the picture when he was ten years old. Sketch of house and barn Five years in the White Mountains, volume 1 Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 Written by Elmer Nelson, the first volume of "Five Years in the White Mountains" is presented as having been published by the fictitious publishers, Green and Little, representing the alter egos of Elmer and Arthur Nelson respectively, as part of their Forest Series. The volume includes a list of chapters and a full list of illustrations, providing additional evidence that the Nelson boys were developing their skills not only as writers and illustrators, but also as makers of quality books. Over the course of six chapters, the boys (the narrator and his brothers William and Ethan) are attacked by a moose and by a bear, they climb a mountain and discover a lake, they hunt and fish, they go beachnutting and blueberrying, and they spend time ice skating and sugaring. Five years in the White Mountains, volume 1 Elmer Nelson hunting diary fragment Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 These pages from Elmer Nelson's diary describe a hunting trip he took with his brothers, their father and their dog, Sparks. Setting off into the mountains on Monday morning they hunt and trap small game. At camp that night Elmer Nelson and Walter Nelson each write up an account of the day. On Tuesday, they continue hunting as they summit Blood Mountain and Signal Pole Mountain. These appear to be pages from a longer diary as the text ends mid-sentence at the bottom of page four. Elmer Nelson hunting diary fragment The intellectual farmer, March Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 The Nelson brothers intended this realistic periodical to serve as an inexpensive publication for the sharing of information among farmers so that all farms might be more productive and the lives of all farmers made easier. Using one of their fictitious publishing firms, Nelson Bros. & Co. of Goshen, New Hampshire, the Nelson brothers offer the publication for fifty cents a year. The first article, written by Arthur Nelson, concerns the cultivation of Albany strawberries. The other two articles were both written by Elmer Nelson. One reminds farmers of the many benefits that come from taking good care of a farm and its crops; the other is on the virtues of the pearl bean, a novelty variety with a very high yield. The issue is presented in a two-column format. The intellectual farmer, March Jims [sic] cruise Nelson, Elmer H., 1878-1930 Written by Elmer Nelson, this short story is about a fourteen year old boy looking for adventure who boards a ship and heads out to sea. After enduring sickness, battling eagles while on a high cliff and surviving the fury of a major storm that damaged the ship and took the lives of several sailors, Jim returns home having had "quite a nice time." There are illustrations of Jim and the three-masted ship named "Speed." Jims [sic] cruise
