This page presents high-resolution reference images for each item in The Kitty Arnold Pittman Collection.
The purpose of this page is to support curatorial, archival, and scholarly review by providing a clear visual record of the materials in the collection. Images are supplied for professional evaluation related to research, exhibition planning, or acquisition consideration. They are not intended for commercial reproduction.
Each item in The Kitty Arnold Pittman Collection is documented individually and presented with a consistent image set to facilitate close examination of:
Overall condition and completeness
Binding, covers, and structural integrity
Typography, illustration, and printing techniques
Paper quality, toning, and age-related characteristics
Notable interior plates, illustrations, or design elements
Any known condition issues, distinguishing characteristics, or conservation considerations are disclosed in the corresponding item-level descriptions elsewhere on the site.
All materials were photographed using controlled lighting conditions to ensure accurate color representation and surface detail. No artificial enhancement has been applied beyond standard exposure correction.
Typical image sets include:
Front cover
Back cover
Spine
Title page
Representative interior pages or plates
Detail views highlighting significant features or condition notes
This documentation approach reflects established museum and archival practices and is intended to support informed review while minimizing the need for physical handling.
Items are presented individually and in collection order to allow each work to be reviewed on its own merits.
For each item, images are grouped together as a unified reference set. Historical context, catalog information, and additional notes related to provenance or significance are provided on the associated collection pages.
Institutions interested in:
Additional documentation or condition reports
Provenance clarification
High-resolution image access
Loan, exhibition, or acquisition discussions
are invited to contact the collection steward using the contact form provided on this site.
The Kitty Arnold Pittman Collection is maintained with a commitment to responsible stewardship, transparency, and respectful presentation of historical and cultural materials. This image archive exists to facilitate professional evaluation and constructive dialogue with museums, libraries, and cultural institutions.
The following entries document each item in The Kitty Arnold Pittman Collection individually. Descriptive metadata is presented first, followed by select linked reference images (blue text) that may be opened for examination. Items are presented in a condensed reference format to facilitate efficient review.
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Representative of the Chicago-based door-to-door subscription publishing ecosystem contemporaneous with the books and sales materials in the collection. (1 item)
Retained as an intact sales-agent correspondence group documenting subscription-publishing operations, agent training, order processing, payment, and freight fulfillment practices of AB Kuhlman Company in 1901. (8 items)
Door-to-door sales kit used by A.B. Kuhlman and Morse & Co. sales agents to present titles, pricing, and ordering information to families. Includes sample materials for titles represented elsewhere in the collection. (2 kits)
Abridged salesman’s sample editions with reduced interior content and full table of contents referencing the complete volume; pricing and marketing information printed on rear pages, followed by multiple clean, ruled ledger pages intended for sales-agent notetaking. (2 samples: Soper's Select Speaker and Social Culture)
Sold volumes as delivered to buyers, some containing data/geo inscriptions and retained period ephemera. (23 books)
Sideline product that llustrates diversification of subscription-publishing sales networks into political and topical merchandise, demonstrating the breadth of products marketed through AB Kuhlman Company’s agent-based distribution system. (1 item)
Item Title: Sales Agent Recruitment Envelope
Item ID: KAP-SAR-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: n/a
Publisher: Imperial Publishing Company, Chicago
Publication Year: 1894
Format: Standard Letter-Sized Mailing Envelope
Condition: A
Notable Features: Sales-agent recruitment envelope from Imperial Publishing Company (Chicago), postmarked Aug. 7, 1894, soliciting correspondence for “terms and territory”; illustrates subscription-publishing agent recruitment practices.
Other Notes: Representative of the Chicago-based door-to-door subscription publishing ecosystem contemporaneous with the books and sales materials in the collection.
Item Title: Sales Agent Correspondence Envelope
Item ID: KAP-PPW-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: n/a
Publisher: AB Kuhlman Company, Chicago
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Standard Letter-Sized Mailing Envelope
Condition: A
Notable Features: Sales-agent correspondence envelope issued by AB Kuhlman Company, postmarked October 24, 1901. The envelope was opened via the original flap without damage, consistent with careful use. A red U.S. two-cent postage stamp, address, and primary postmark remain clear and unaffected. A secondary postmark on the reverse documents receipt at the Good Harbor, Michigan post office on October 28, 1901, indicating a four-day transit period. The envelope illustrates subscription-publishing agent communication and distribution practices at the turn of the twentieth century.
Other Notes: Representative example of subscription-publishing sales correspondence, documenting agent-based distribution practices employed by AB Kuhlman Company and contemporaneous Chicago publishers in the early twentieth century.
Item Title: Sales Agent Correspondence Envelope
Item ID: KAP-PPW-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: n/a
Publisher: AB Kuhlman Company, Chicago
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Individual Pages/Papers
Condition: A
Notable Features:
The group comprises original sales-agent correspondence and working documents distributed by AB Kuhlman Company in 1901, including:
• One blank weekly sales report form for agent use.
• One blank book order form for agent use.
• One sales coaching flyer titled “Tired Agents Make Tired Customers — Christmas Is Coming Fast.”
• One letter on AB Kuhlman Company letterhead addressed to “Dear Friend” (sales agent), providing shipment processing instructions and sales guidance regarding delivery of books and collection of outstanding balances; the letter bears a dictation notation (“Dict by Kuhlman”) and the AB Kuhlman Company signature block.
• One stapled set of three related documents consisting of:
• a payment receipt documenting an agent’s order of thirty-five books, stamped as paid by the publishing office;
• a freight receipt dated October 23, 1901, for one box of books shipped to the sales agent, bearing a one-cent Pan-American Expo commemorative postage stamp with Polk Street freight office rubber-stamp imprint and initials;
• a printed notice strip outlining required steps for the agent to claim the shipment.
Other Notes: Retained as an intact sales-agent correspondence group documenting subscription-publishing operations, agent training, order processing, payment, and freight fulfillment practices of AB Kuhlman Company in 1901.
IMAGES
Weekly Sales Report: Front | Back
Book Order Form: Front | Back
Sales Coaching Flyer: Front | Back
AB Kuhlman Letter: Front | Back
Stapled Payment Receipt: Front
Stapled Freight Receipt: Front
Printed Notice Strip: Front
Item Title: Sales Agent Presentation Kit (Untitled)
Item ID: KAP-SAP-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: n/a
Publisher: EC Morse & Company, Chicago
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Binder with Snap Closure Flap
Condition: B
Notable Features: Door-to-door sales kit used by EC Morse & Co. sales agents to present titles, pricing, and ordering information to families. Exceptionally complete sales agent’s sample kit with vibrant sample bindings, inlaid photogravure plates, pricing sheets, title list, and unused sales-agent ledger pages. Includes sample materials for four titles represented elsewhere in the collection (e.g., My Mother’s Life of Jesus, Famous Fairy Tales, Poems That Never Die, and Soper’s Select Speaker).
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Represented Title Covers: 1 2 3 4
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Pricing Sheet: 1 2 3 4
Title List
Ledger Pages
Back Advert
Item Title: Sales Agent Presentation Kit (Untitled)
Item ID: KAP-SAP-02
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: n/a
Publisher: AB Kuhlman Company, Chicago
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Binder with (detached/missing) Snap Closure Flap
Condition: D
Notable Features: Door-to-door sales kit used by A.B. Kuhlman sales agents to present titles, pricing, and ordering information to families. Includes sample materials for titles represented elsewhere in the collection (e.g., Famous Fairy Tales, Social Culture, The Everyday Speaker, and Stories of Travel).
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Represented Title Covers: 1 2 3 4
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Pricing Sheets: 1 2 3 4
Title List
Ledger Page
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Inscription references Bennings neighborhood, Southeast Washington, D.C.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-02
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Dual-dated inscriptions document multigenerational family transmission (1906–1970). Associated ephemera found on page 176: torn magazine page with period advertising (The Cosmopolitan).
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-03
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: C
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Color, blue monochrome (cyanotype), and black-and-white illustrations; cyanotype illustration on rear cover. Inscription dated 1903.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-04
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1900
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Color, blue monochrome (cyanotype), and black-and-white illustrations; cyanotype illustration on rear cover. Inscription dated 1900 referencing Covington, GA.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-05
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Cyanotype on back cover.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-06
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Inscription references Mantua Street, Kent, Ohio.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-07
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1900
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: A
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Color, cyanotype, and black-and-white illustrations; sepia-toned monochrome illustration on rear cover.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-08
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: None
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: Undated (ca.1903-1912)
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features: Title page variation as “Bible Stories for Children for Every Day in the Week”
Other Notes: Undated; publication date inferred from inscription (1912) and comparison with earlier dated editions (1900, 1903).
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-09
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: None
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: Undated (ca.1903-1912)
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features: Title page variation as “Easy Bible Stories for Young People or Sunday Half-Hours with Jesus”
Other Notes: Undated; publication date range inferred from inscription dated 1912 (KAP-MMLJ-08) and comparison with earlier dated editions (1900, 1903).
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-10
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Juvenile Publishing Co.
Publication Year: 1900
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: F
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Color and black-white images with sepia-toned image on back cover only.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-11
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Juvenile Publishing Co.
Publication Year: 1900
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: C
Notable Features: Title page variation as “The Beautiful Story of Jesus Written for All Little Boys and Girls”
Other Notes: Sepia-toned image on back cover only. Pink wallpaper fragment retained in situ between front free endpapers.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-12
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: E
Notable Features: Front cover and back cover are cosmetically strong with good color retention
Other Notes: Cyanotype on back cover.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: My Mother’s Life of Jesus
Item ID: KAP-MMLJ-13
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1903
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features: Final text page exhibits printing misregistration, with text extending to the outer margin; pages are largely unnumbered.
Other Notes: Printed cut-out depicting two colored parakeets retained as ephemera in situ within the “The Boyhood of Jesus” section. Inscription references Horatio, PA.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: Soper’s Select Speaker – Abridged Salesman’s Sample
Item ID: KAP-SSS-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Henry M. Soper
Publisher: Monarch Book Co. (Philadelphia/Chicago)
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book; Salesman’s Sample
Condition: B
Notable Features: Abridged salesman’s sample edition with reduced interior content and full table of contents referencing the complete volume; spine includes an affixed thickness filler attached to the inside back cover to simulate the full book’s thickness.; pricing and marketing information printed on rear page, followed by multiple clean, ruled ledger pages intended for sales-agent notetaking.
Other Notes: The attached thickness filler also indicates alternative red leather and gilt binding option.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Affixed Thickness Filler
Item Title: Soper’s Select Speaker
Item ID: KAP-SSS-02
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Henry M. Soper
Publisher: Elliott Publishing Co. (Philadelphia)
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features: Well-preserved example with minimal evidence of use.
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: Soper’s Select Speaker
Item ID: KAP-SSS-03
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Henry M. Soper
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features:Newspaper clipping (love poem) retained in situ at p. 250, with localized toning indicating long-term placement.
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: Poems That Never Die
Item ID: KAP-PND-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Margaret M. Browning
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1902
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: C
Notable Features: Contains over two dozen pieces of late Victorian to early Edwardian ephemera retained in situ, including bookmarks, newspaper clippings, and printed images.
Other Notes: Dated inscriptions 1904 and 1959.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Page
Select Ephemera: 1 2 3 4 5
Item Title: Poems That Never Die
Item ID: KAP-PND-02
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Margaret M. Browning
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features: Retains period ephemera in situ, including handwritten automobile sale notes referencing a 1926 Packard sedan and a 1934 Oldsmobile sedan.
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Page
Ephemera: 1 2
Item Title: Stories of Travel
Item ID: KAP-SOT-01
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Professor TR Harper
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: C
Notable Features:Preserved botanical leaf (likely magnolia) retained in situ between pp. 146–147.
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Ephemera In Situ
Item Title: Stories of Travel
Item ID: KAP-SOT-02
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Professor TR Harper
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: C
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Inscription of Eaton Rapids, Michigan.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: Stories of Travel
Item ID: KAP-SOT-03
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Professor TR Harper
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features:
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: Famous Fairy Tales
Item ID: KAP-FFT-01
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Unattributed
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Gift inscriptions dated 1905 retained on front endpapers, documenting early domestic ownership shortly after publication.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages
Item Title: Famous Fairy Tales
Item ID: KAP-FFT-02
Primary Display Item: No
Author Attribution: Unattributed
Publisher: Unattributed
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: D
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Exceptional color retention to front cover; back cover illustration fully intact, making this a strong visual example of the title despite structural fragility.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Item Title: The Everyday Speaker for Our Boys and Girls
Item ID: KAP-EVS-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Florence Underwood Colt
Publisher: Juvenile Publishing Company
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features:
Other Notes: Inscription of Forreston, Illinois.
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2 3
Item Title: Social Culture: A Manual of Etiquette and Deportment – Abridged Salesman’s Sample
Item ID: KAP-SOC-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: Annie Randall White
Publisher: LD Abbott & Company
Publication Year: 1901
Format: Illustrated Hardcover Book
Condition: B
Notable Features: A salesman’s description and pricing page appears at the rear of the book, followed by multiple unused ruled ledger pages intended for order-taking. An illustrated page depicting the optional Half Morocco leather binding offered to purchasers is also present. A pink ribbon bookmark remains in situ at page 157.
Other Notes:
IMAGES
Front Cover
Spine
Back Cover
Title Page
Representative Interior Pages: 1 2
Pricing Page with Ledger
Back Advert
Item Title: Taft Postcard – Wholesale Sales Solicitation
Item ID: KAP-TFT-01
Primary Display Item: Yes
Author Attribution: n/a
Publisher: AB Kuhlman Company, Chicago
Publication Year: ca.1908
Format: Standard Photo/Printed Postcard Mailer
Condition: A
Notable Features:Wholesale sales solicitation postcard issued by AB Kuhlman Company, promoting Taft campaign–themed postcards as a high-volume agent sideline product. One side features a photographic portrait of William Howard Taft; the reverse advertises bulk pricing, commission opportunity, and agent earnings potential, identifying the cards as “Bryan Post Cards — Big Sellers.” The card lists wholesale quantities and pricing and promotes immediate ordering for campaign use, emphasizing national distribution and agent profitability. Unused and preserved as issued.
Other Notes: Illustrates diversification of subscription-publishing sales networks into political and topical merchandise, demonstrating the breadth of products marketed through AB Kuhlman Company’s agent-based distribution system.
