Archives and Special Collections

In 1865, Stetson University's future benefactor John B. Stetson established the John B. Stetson Company in a rented room in Philadelphia with what became the ubiquitous Stetson cowboy hat, The Boss of the Plains. By 1870, John B. had bought his first factory building in Philadelphia, and his business making all manner of hats for men and later for women took off. 

This collection includes hats and hat boxes of many different styles manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company, as well as a small number of hats of other brands, jewelry, hat brushes, advertisements, and other items related to the Stetson Hat Company. Also included in this collection is a film reel titled, The Making of Stetson Hats, which has been digitized and is available to view by contacting the Archives.

The Stetson Family Collection includes photographs, objects, film reels, correspondence, records, and other items documenting the lives and careers of legendary hatmaker and major University benefactor John Batterson Stetson, his third wife, Elizabeth Stetson (later, Elizabeth, Countess of Santa Eulalia), and their three children, John B. Stetson, Jr., Benjamin Stetson, and (George) Henry Stetson, as well as other family members.

John B. Stetson, Jr., a Harvard-educated scholar, diplomat, and dedicated U.S. serviceman, also had a leading role in the John B. Stetson Company, and served on the Stetson University Board of Trustees for many years. Much of the collection relates to many of John B. Stetson, Jr.'s activities, particularly his tenure as the United States Minister to Poland from 1925-1929. Highlights of this portion of the collection include photographs of pre-war Warsaw and a series of briefings on Polish affairs addressed to Stetson.

A collection of furnishings, rare books, photographs, scrapbooks, and other items that once belonged to Stetson alumnus Judge Bert Fish.  One of the five men who comprised Stetson's first graduating law school class in 1902, Bert Fish went on to become a prominent Volusia County judge and later, a United States diplomat. His career with the State Department took him first to Egypt in 1934, and then to Saudi Arabia and Portugal.  

The bulk of this collection was formerly exhibited at the DeLand Memorial Hospital Museum as "The Bert Fish Room." It consists primarily of items believed to have furnished Fish's personal office in Cairo. The duPont-Ball Library acquired the collection as a gift arranged by the Museum and the Bert Fish Foundation. It has expanded earlier collection of rare books on Egyptology that Bert Fish bequeathed to Stetson University. Highlights include photographs and scrapbooks from Fish's time in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Portugal, the elaborately carved chairs and bureau from Fish's office, as well as a first edition imprint of Napoleon's Description of Egypt.

The Regar Collection includes 13 Civil War era letters written by James Frederick Allen before, during, and after he became a prisoner of war at Andersonville Prison, the spoon Allen used at Andersonville, the Bible he had in prison, and a number of other family keepsakes. The collection also includes 200 family photos. The collection was donated by James Frederick Allen’s direct descendants Donald Allen Regar and his four children, Donald Allen Regar, Jr., Alison Regar Betancor, Allen William Regar, and Adam Frederick Regar.

The Max Cleland Collection is a sizable collection of personal, military, and political memorabilia of Joseph Maxwell “Max” Cleland, Stetson alumnus, decorated Vietnam veteran, head of the Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter, and former U.S. Senator from Georgia.

The Shaw Collection consists primarily of the official congressional papers of Representative E. Clay Shaw, Stetson alumnus, who represented south Florida in the U.S. Congress for 26 years. The collection includes a large collection of official papers, policy notebooks, videos, DVDs, and many photos. Some items from this collection are available online. Please contact the Archives and Special Collections for access to Rep. Shaw's congressional papers.

In 1963, Dr. T. [Terrell] Wayne Bailey (1935-2021) founded Stetson University's Department of Political Science and was cofounder of the Stetson University Model Student Senate. He also directed the Washington Semester at American University program and served on Stetson’s Pre-Law Advisory Committee. He taught at Stetson for fifty-three years, championing generations of Hatter students. His positive influence advanced the careers of many federal leaders, including Members of Congress, myriad federal and state office holders, and public servants in Florida and throughout the U.S. Upon his retirement in 2016, he was named professor emeritus at Stetson.
 

Dr. Bailey was an active leader in the local, State, and National Democratic Party. He served as the State of Florida Democratic Party Chair, National Committeeman, and as a delegate, attending ten Democratic National Conventions between 1972-2012. He was vice chair of the Volusia County Charter and Study Commission that created the Volusia County Constitution. He chaired the first two Charter Review Commissions and served as a member of the commissions in 1995 and 2006. In 2011, Dr. Bailey was named Volusia County Citizen of the Year.
 

An active member of the American Lung Association for more than thirty-five years, Dr. Bailey advocated against the dangers of smoking and helped make the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act a reality. He was the first person in the United States to receive the Discovery Health Channel Medical Honor in 2004. He served on the Florida Hospital DeLand Foundation board of directors, served multiple terms as Deacon at the First Baptist Church of DeLand, and was active in the Tiger Bay Club and numerous other local, community, and national organizations. 
 

The T. Wayne Bailey Collection includes his papers, as well as newspaper clippings, assorted political memorabilia, including Democratic National Convention ephemera and a collection of 511 political pin-back buttons, Stetson University memorabilia, American Lung Association memorabilia, awards, photographs, and other objects and ephemera.

The Surratt Collection is comprised of fourteen historical manuscripts: thirteen letters written between 1816 and 1864 to U.S. Rep. James B. Reynolds, a 19th-century congressman from Tennessee; and a handwritten draft of a circular Reynolds wrote to his constituents in 1825. The collection was donated to Stetson by Dr. James Surratt, Volusia school superintendent from 1984 to 1991.

 The Lucas New and Minority Religions Collection features books, periodicals, newsletters, recordings, interviews, ephemera, and other materials documenting new and minority religions. The collection is curated by Dr. Phillip Lucas. 

Phillip C. Lucas is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at Stetson University. He taught courses on World Religions as well as courses on Comparative Spirituality and American religious history. He founded the Millennialism Studies Consultation of the American Academy of Religion to examine controversies that arise in millennial movements around the world. Dr. Lucas is also the founding editor of Nova Religio, a scholarly journal dedicated to the study of minority and new religious movements throughout history. Lucas created the non-profit corporation Association for the Academic Study of New Religions, which supports research in new and minority religions and in the publication of Nova Religio. He has written four books: New Religious Movements in the 21st Century: Legal, Political, and Social Challenges in Global Perspective, with Thomas Robbins (2004); Cassadaga: The South's Oldest Spiritualist Community, with John J. Guthrie, Jr., and Gary Monroe (2000); Prime Time Religion: An Encyclopedic Guide to Religious Broadcasting, with J. Gordon Melton and Jon R. Stone (1997); and The Odyssey of a New Religion: The Holy Order of MANS from New Age to Orthodoxy (1995). He has also published numerous articles on new and minority religions in edited books and peer-reviewed journals. In his later career Lucas has created 3 documentaries on religious pilgrimage around the world. He also maintains a website on Neolithic Studies.

After earning his doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1992, he began teaching at Stetson. In 1999 he was a visiting associate professor at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. At Stetson he has served on the Faculty Senate and on numerous other committees. In 1995 and 2007, he won Stetson’s Hand Award for Excellence in Research, and in 2002, he won Stetson University’s McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Books and periodicals in this collection are cataloged. Please consult with Archives & Special Collections to access these materials as well as files that are not listed in the library catalog. 

The Treasure Collection comprises approximately 800 books and other items that have been determined to have significant monetary value and/or have been determined to be rare or not widely held by libraries. Items from the closed Treasure Collection are available to be used by the Stetson community on request, but may not be taken from the building. Items in the Treasure Collection are not available for interlibrary loan; depending on the condition of the material, however, limited photocopies may be made for interlibrary loan requests.

The M. Jean Greenlaw Collection is a large collection of children’s books, many of them first editions and signed by the author and/or illustrator. Donated by Stetson alumna and University of North Texas Professor Emeritus Jean Greenlaw.

The Stetson Collection includes books, music CDs, and other items that are about Stetson University and/or have been written by Stetson professors or alumni. Items from the closed Stetson Collection are available to be used by the Stetson community on request, but may not be taken from the building. Items in the Stetson Collection are not available for interlibrary loan; depending on the condition of the material, however, limited photocopies may be made for interlibrary loan requests. The collection is housed in the Johnson Room on the ground floor of the duPont-Ball Library.