Flora Gardiner Kling collection
Collection
Identifier: L344
Scope and Contents
The collection includes letters, postcards, photographs, bookplates, ephemera, and scrapbooks received, collected, and compiled by Flora Gardiner Kling in Mount Vernon, Indiana and the United States, ranging from 1881 to 1938, undated, regarding her hobby collecting bookplates, which included soliciting bookplates from various universities, libraries, authors, poets, illustrators, actors, inventors, scientists, politicans, musicians, performers, and private citizens, as well as corresponding with other bookplate collectors.
There are also two oversize items: an undated photograph titled "On the Maine Coast" from J. B. Carrington and 1900 "Romantic Lyrics for Piano" sheet music from Franklin Sonnakolb with a note from 1904 (B009).
Prominent names include Louis Adamic, George Ade, Ambrose Bierce, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Richard Harding Davis, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas A. Edison, Max Ehrmann, Charles W. Fairbanks, Hamlin Garland, Rube Goldberg, Clara E. Laughlin, George Barr McCutcheon, John T. McCutcheon, Herbert Hoover, Jack London, Conde Nast, Meredith Nicholson, Eva Katharine Clapp (Gibson), Maud Allan, Joaquin Miller, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Timothy Cole, Captain Jack Crawford, Will Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford.
There are also two oversize items: an undated photograph titled "On the Maine Coast" from J. B. Carrington and 1900 "Romantic Lyrics for Piano" sheet music from Franklin Sonnakolb with a note from 1904 (B009).
Prominent names include Louis Adamic, George Ade, Ambrose Bierce, Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Richard Harding Davis, Theodore Dreiser, Thomas A. Edison, Max Ehrmann, Charles W. Fairbanks, Hamlin Garland, Rube Goldberg, Clara E. Laughlin, George Barr McCutcheon, John T. McCutcheon, Herbert Hoover, Jack London, Conde Nast, Meredith Nicholson, Eva Katharine Clapp (Gibson), Maud Allan, Joaquin Miller, Arthur Conan Doyle, Mark Twain, Timothy Cole, Captain Jack Crawford, Will Rogers, Douglas Fairbanks, and Mary Pickford.
Dates
- 1881-1938
Creator
- Kling, Flora Gardiner, 1858-1940 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Biographical Note
Flora Gardiner Kling was born in June 11, 1857 to John Bush (1809-1891) and Mary Wattles (Holcomb) Gardiner (1820-1904) in Indiana, the youngest of seven children. The Gardiners lived in Posey County, Indiana where John B. Gardiner served as county treasurer in 1860, county auditor in 1870, and a bank cashier in 1880. She married Henry Kling (1862-1939) on May 9, 1887 in Posey County and they lived in Mount Vernon, Indiana. Henry Kling worked as a deputy county clerk, county auditor, and bookkeeper. The couple shared a love of music and had a small orchestra in the city, with Henry playing violin and Flora, the piano. In 1908, Flora Kling was injured, breaking both legs and an ankle, in a collision while riding an interurban between Mount Vernon and Evansville. Kling spent a lot of time at home: first, caring for her ailing mother; then, convalescing after the accident. Collecting bookplates through correspondence served as a diversion when she was unable to leave her home. Kling joined the American Book-Plate Society, the Brothers of the Book, and the Bibliophile Society. The Klings eventually moved to the Protestant Home for the Aged in Evansville in the late 1930s. Flora Kling died of pneumonia on March 22, 1940 and was buried at Locust Hill Cemetery in Evansville.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." 1860 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." 1870 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." 1880 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1900 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1920 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." Indiana, U.S., Marriage Certificates, 1960-2012. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Findagrave.com. "Flora Gardiner Kling." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed Febraury 10, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132052282/flora-gest_kling.
"Motorman Has Disappeared." Goshen Democrat (IN), January 10, 1908. Accessed February 11, 2025. NewspaperArchive.
"Social and Personal." Evansville Courier and Press (IN), October 1, 1901. Accessed February 11, 2025. Newspapers.com.
"State Library Exhibits Bookplate Collection." Indianapolis Star, January 7, 1940. Accessed February 11, 2025. ProQuest.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." 1860 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." 1870 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." 1880 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1900 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1910 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1920 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." 1930 United States Federal Census. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Kling." Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Ancestry.com. "Flora Gardiner." Indiana, U.S., Marriage Certificates, 1960-2012. Accessed February 10, 2025. http://www.ancestrylibrary.com.
Findagrave.com. "Flora Gardiner Kling." Find a Grave Memorial. Accessed Febraury 10, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/132052282/flora-gest_kling.
"Motorman Has Disappeared." Goshen Democrat (IN), January 10, 1908. Accessed February 11, 2025. NewspaperArchive.
"Social and Personal." Evansville Courier and Press (IN), October 1, 1901. Accessed February 11, 2025. Newspapers.com.
"State Library Exhibits Bookplate Collection." Indianapolis Star, January 7, 1940. Accessed February 11, 2025. ProQuest.
Extent
1.83 Cubic Feet (2 manuscript boxes, 1 small manuscript box, 3 clamshell boxes, 1 small oversize folder)
Language of Materials
English
German
Japanese
Arrangement
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a series of donations from Flora Gardiner Kling on 1916/08/16, 1932-1933, and 1939-1940; as well as Louise M. Husband on 1939/01/05.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing and finding aid completed on 2015/05/14 By Nikki Schofield. Collection addition processed on 2016/02/10 by Patrick Ridout. EAD finding aid created 2016/02/10 by Patrick Ridout Collection reprocessing completed 2025/02/17 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid revised 2025/02/17 by Brittany Kropf.
- Actors
- Adamic, Louis, 1899-1951
- Ade, George, 1866-1944
- Authors -- Indiana
- Autographs
- Autographs -- Collections
- Bierce, Ambrose, 1842-1914
- Bookplates
- Bookplates -- Collections
- Bookplates, American
- Calling cards
- Clapp, Eva Katherine, 1857-1916
- Clemens, Samuel Langhorne, 1835-1910
- Clippings
- Correspondence
- Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916
- Diplomats
- Dreiser, Theodore, 1871-1945
- Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva), 1847-1931
- Ehrmann, Max
- Fairbanks, Charles W. (Charles Warren), 1852-1918
- Fairbanks, Douglas, 1883-1939
- Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940
- Goldberg, Rube, 1883-1970
- Greeting cards
- Holm, Frits V. (1881-1930)
- Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
- Hopfmuller, Adolf M.
- Husband, Louise M.
- Journalists
- Laughlin, Clara E. (Clara Elizabeth), 1873-1941
- London, Jack, 1876-1916
- McCutcheon, George Barr, 1866-1928
- McCutcheon, John T. (John Tinney), 1870-1949
- Musicians
- Nast, Condé, 1873-1942
- New Harmony (Ind.)
- Nicholson, Meredith, 1866-1947
- Pamphlets
- Photographs
- Pickford, Mary, 1892-1979
- Poetry
- Poets, American
- Politicians
- Posey County (Ind.)
- Postcards
- Preston, Frances F. Cleveland, 1864-1947
- Rogers, Will, 1879-1935
- Seymour, George Dudley, 1859-1945
- Sheet music
- Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
- Villard, Oswald Garrison, 1872-1949
Creator
- Kling, Flora Gardiner, 1858-1940 (Person)
- Title
- Flora Gardiner Kling collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
