Irving Samuel Cutter Papers

Collection

Identifier: VAULT-Ayer-MS-3221

Staff Only

Scope and Content of the Collection

Correspondence, together with articles and biographical notes assembled for an article about army surgeon Henry Rinalda Porter, who participated in the Battle of Little Big Horn; also photographs of the battlefield and participants in the conflict.

Henry Rinalda Porter research materials include Cutter's correspondence (1931-1934) with various individuals, including battle participant E.S. Godfrey. There is also extensive correspondence with North Dakota and Wisconsin photographer D.F. Barry, who photographed many of the Indians who participated in the Custer fight. In addition to discussing the battle, these letters reveal much about the later years of D.F. Barry and are accompanied by many brochures and advertisements of his photography business.

Custer battlefield photographs include views of soldiers' death site markers, the battlefield monument, and the adjoining national cemetery. There are also images of the Big Hole battlefield, Fort Abraham Lincoln, Fort Berthold, and Fort Union, and portraits of Curley (Custer's scout), E.S. Godfrey, Henry Rinalda Porter, and Sitting Bull.

Also a Feb. 24, 1888 letter from George Crook to Perry, Mason & Co. regarding articles on his frontier experiences for Youth's Companion, and pencil sketches of western scenes by Charles M. Russell.

Dates

Creation: 1884-1934

Creator

Cutter, Irving S. (Irving Samuel), 1875-1945 (Person)

Language

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

The Irving Samuel Cutter Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Irving Samuel Cutter Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.

Biography of Irving Samuel Cutter

Irving Samuel Cutter was born in Keene, NH, Dec. 5, 1875, the son of Frances Prescott Cutter and Charles H. Cutter, a railroad man. After graduating from the University of Nebraska in 1898, Cutter was for several years a high school teacher and administrator, and an agent for a textbook publisher. In 1910 he graduated from medical school at Nebraska and was appointed instructor in physiological chemistry. During 1913-1915 Cutter was professor of biochemistry and laboratory director, and for ten years he served as dean of the college of medicine. In 1925, Cutter was appointed dean of the medical school at Northwestern University, a position he held until he gained emeritus status in 1941.

Cutter wrote extensively on medical subjects and was interested in military medicine on the western frontier and other historical topics. From 1934 until his death he was health editor of the Chicago Tribune-New York Daily News Syndicate, which distributed his daily column, "How to Keep Well."

Extent

0.4 Linear Feet (1 box)

Additional Description

Abstract

Mainly research materials (correspondence, biographical information, articles) gathered for an article on Henry Rinalda Porter, a surgeon at the Battle of Little Big Horn, with photographs of Porter, the Custer battlefield, and Indians involved in the fight. Also includes a George Crook letter and sketches by Charles M. Russell.

Arrangement

Organized with Henry Rinalda Porter research materials preceding the photographs. The research material is arranged chronologically, and the photographs are arranged alphabetically by subject.