Folio (ca. 36,5x26 cm or 14 ¼ x 10 ¼ in). [30] leaves of the alphabet index, 1010 numbered leaves of tissue paper (leaves from 660 to 1010 blank; several leaves previously removed from the letterbook). With copies of ca. 450 handwritten and typewritten letters in English and Spanish. With a loosely inserted typewritten manuscript ca. 28x21,5 cm (11 x 8 ¼ in); 11 numbered leaves. With two loosely inserted blue blank envelopes ca. 12,5x25 cm (5x10 in); printed headings “Legation of the United States at” in the upper right corners. With a loosely inserted studio albumen photo ca. 17x21,5 cm (6 ½ x 8 ½ in), captioned and signed “Moody – Bs. Aires” in negative. With two clippings from the “Buenos Aires Herald,” ca. 1895. Period grey full cloth binding; ink title “Particular” on the spine; paper label “Remington letter-book” on the front pastedown endpaper. Binding soiled and rubbed, minor tears on the hinges, several leaves detached from the stub and loosely inserted, creases, the ink of over 100 letters faded or blurry, but overall a very good letterbook.

The journal with photos: ca. 1890s. Elephant Folio (ca. 46x29,5 cm or 18 x 11 ½ in). 151 numbered leaves. First three leaves with 33 mounted gelatin silver photos from ca. 9,5x12 cm (3 ¾ x 4 ¾ in) to ca. 4x13 cm (1 ½ x 5 in). Period maroon quarter calf with cloth boards. Binding rubber in extremities, corners bumped, spine with cracks, photos faded and with creases; overall a good journal.

The journal of expenses: [Buenos Aires], November 2, [1894] – December 31, 1895. Folio (ca. 29x22 cm or 11 ½ x 8 ¾ in). 217 numbered pages of lined paper. Pp. 27-41 and 216 are filled in period ink. Period maroon quarter sheep with cloth boards. Board detached from the stub, spine with tears and chipping, first 24 pages previously removed from the journal. Overall a good copy.

Fascinating, historically significant extensive letterbook of William I. Buchanan, a U.S. diplomat who specialized in South America, documenting his work and life in 1897-1899, when he served as the U.S. ambassador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Buchanan occupied the post of U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Buenos Aires on May 19, 1894 - July 11, 1899. During his tenure, he successfully solved the border dispute between Argentina and Chile in the region of Puna de Atacama plateau. The treaties signed by the two parties on November 2, 1898 and finalized on March 24, 1899, awarded 85% of the disputed territory to Argentina.

The documents in the letterbook illustrate a wide range of activities of William Buchanan as the head of the U.S. legation in Argentina. A number of letters were addressed to the U.S. officials both in the home country and South America. Among them are “Hon. Granville Stuart, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in Montevideo, Uruguay” (a letter about real estate sales, fol. 21); “Hon. Thomas W. Gridler, 3rd assistant secretary of State” (fols. 30-31); “Hon. E.H. Conger, United States Minister in Petropolis, Brazil” (Buchanan asks to send him the latest maps of Brazil, fols. 79, 153); Willis E. Baker, Esq., U.S. Consul in Rosario, Santa Fe Province (fol. 91); “Hon. Joseph P. Smith, Director of the Bureau of American Republics” (fol. 73); “Secretary of the State of Nebraska” (fol. 282); “the City Clerk, Los Angeles” (fol. 302 – regarding the baptism certificate of one Alfonso Hollandin); “James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, Washington” (fol. 378 – regarding a proposed survey of Rio de la Plata); Julios S. Morton, former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (fol. 393 – regarding his planned visit to Argentina; James Wilson, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (fol. 635), and others.

There are also numerous letters to Argentinian officials - President Julio A. Roca (fols. 442-444), Minister of Public Works Emilio Civit (fol. 537); “Señor Doctor Don Lucas A. Córdoba” - Governor of the Tucuman Province (fols. 55, 128); “Señor Sanchez Caballero, Oficina de Correos y Telegrafo, Ushuaia” (fol. 62); “Señor Administrator General, Ferrocarril Nacional Central Norte” (fol. 119); “George I. Crane, Esq., Hon. Secretary of Comision Investigadora la Langosta” (fol. 187); “Dr. Vicira Souto, Rio de Janeiro” (fols. 212-213), &c. The book also includes a confidential letter to the Foreign Minister of Argentina Amancio Alcorta (1841-1902), written in Spanish on November 2, 1898 – the day of signing the treaty on the Puna de Atacama border delineation (fol. 377). Another long letter discussing the border dispute was addressed to the U.S. diplomat and statesman John A. Kasson (fols. 578-580).

A large group of letters are correspondence with the U.S. companies and businessmen: managers of “Las Palmas Produce Co. Ltd.” (Buenos Aires) and “Taylor & Co.” (Shanghai) about shipments of “canned meats for the Chinese soldiers” (fol. 22-24); “Andrew Felipe Power, Esq., Secretary of the Exporters’ Association of America, New York City” (fol. 72); “Merwin McKaig, Esq., President of the Cumberland Iron & Steel Shafting Co., Maryland” (about the largest iron and steel concerns of Argentina, fols. 80-81); “George H. Barbour, Esq., General Manager of the Michigan Stove Co., Detroit” (fol. 123); “The Albert Dickinson Co., Seed Merchants, Chicago, Ill.” (fol. 188); “Manager of the Mead Cycle Co., Chicago, Ill.” (regarding the feasibility of entering the bicycles market in Argentina (fol. 413); “D. Hirsch, Esq., President of the Corpus Christi National Bank” (fol. 559); “Cutler Shoe Company, Chicago” (fol. 572); and others.

Very interesting are various replies to the inquiries of American citizens - “D.P. Peck, Esq., New Cambria, Missouri” (discouraging him to work in the “railway business” in Argentina, fol. 15); “Captain Yates Stirling, U.S.S. “Lancaster,” Montevideo, Uruguay” (about the conditions of joining the “Club de Residentes Estranjeros” of Buenos Aires, fols. 17-18); “Hon. Robert W. Davis, Palatka, Florida” (about Argentinian “tanning material or substances from which tannic acid is produced,” quebracho, fol. 33); “William L. Olwell, Esq., Milwaukee, Wisconsin” (about “advisability for you to seek commercial employment in South America,” fol. 59); “William M. Carrick, Esq., Newark, New Jersey” (answering that “base ball is not professionally played in the Argentine Republic,” fol. 71); “Captain Moses Y. Ransom, Cleveland, Ohio” (about the gold mining claim he had on Rio Lopez, Terra del Fuego, fols. 86-87); “Hon. A.B. Farquhar, York, Pennsylvania” (regarding Argentine customs duty on “agricultural implements, farm wagons and yellow pine lumber,” fol. 151); “W.L. Seaman, Esq., Cleveland, Ohio” (regarding his application for a teacher position in Argentina, fol. 290); “Professor George Davidson, San Francisco” (regarding Argentinian publications on statistics and geography, fol. 312); &c.

There are also several recommendation letters to the U.S. officials regarding “Señor Alberto Schneidewind, Inspector General of Railway Construction in the Argentine National Railway Board,” who visited the United States to purchase materials for the National Railway (fols. 114-120); letters to “Hon. Moses I. Hardy, Chicago Times-Herald” (regarding his participation in the Paris Exposition,” fols. 34-38); John S. Billings, Director of the New York Public Library (regarding the purchase Argentinian editions for the library, fol. 433) and many others. Most letters are signed “Wm. Buchanan,” but several are written and signed by the secretaries and clerks of the American Legation.

The collection also includes a loosely inserted albumen photo by a Buenos Aires photographer Enrique Carlos Moody (1863-1935). It shows “Vestibulo, Hotel Bristol, Mar del Plata;” Buchanan’s manuscript note on verso reads “Hotel Hall (Dining Room). Mar del Plata.” Two newspaper clippings from the “Buenos Aires Herald” (October 3 and 6, 1895) report about “Minister Buchanan’s lecture on American writers” in the English Literature Society. Two light blue envelopes have printed headings “Legation of the United States at” and were most likely used by Buchanan during his service as an American envoy in Argentina. The collection also includes an 11-page typewritten list of Buchanan’s private telegraph codes, “to be used in conjunction with “Adams Codex” where necessary.”

The second journal contains 33 amateur gelatin silver photos, apparently taken by Buchanan or his family members during their life in Argentina. The images show river ports, steamers and sailboats, a city square with a sign “Hojalateria Italiana” on one of the buildings, a cattle farm, a clock tower, a railway car, portraits of local children, a man wearing poncho, &c. The third journal records the Buchanan family private expenses in November 1894 – December 1895, during their residence in Buenos Aires, including “laundry,” “strawberries,” “butcher,” “butter & milk,” “bread,” “vegetables,” “theater,” “mosquito bars,” “Spanish teacher,” “Kodak,” “coal,” “lace,” “school,” “ice,” “gas,” “Dr’s bills,”  “plumber,” “carpenter,” “wash woman,” &c.

Overall a significant, content-rich private archive, illustrating the activities of the American embassy in Argentina in the late 19th century.