Harry E. Chrisman, former Liberal author and historian, donated a large collection of his writings, photographs, and other items to Liberal Memorial Library for the purpose of research. This database searches the contents of the Chrisman Collection.  
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CallNo: M/F5  
Descriptive Title: Billy Custer and Lee Larrabee   Type: Matting - Frame
Date of Origin:    Provenance:
Size:    Condition: good
Text: On front: 1. Billy Custer, Rancher and Store Owner (derby hat) 2. Lee Larrabee, Store clerk, later prominent businessman at Liberal, Ks. written on it.
Misc Info: There was negative in a negative envelope with: 1. Billy Custer, Rancher - Store keeper 2. Lee Larrabee, clerk (later prominent businessman at Liberal, Ks. written on it. This negative envelope was in this mat/frame.
Subject: Billy Custer
Lee Larrabee
Store owner
Businessman
Liberal, Kansas
Wagon
Horses
Building
Store 		  Related to:  P442
E21
N205
Other:    
CallNo: N205-A3p  
Descriptive Title: Billy Custer and Lee Larrabee   Type: Negative
Date of Origin:    Provenance:
Size: 2 3/4 x 1 11/16   Condition: excellent
Text: 
Misc Info: Negative was in a negative envelope with: 1. Billy Custer, Rancher - Store keeper 2. Lee Larrabee, clerk (later prominent businessman at Liberal, Ks. written on it. This negative envelope was in a mat/frame with: 1. Billy Custer, Rancher and Store Owner (derby hat) 2. Lee Larrabee, Store clerk, later prominent businessman at Liberal, Ks. written on it.
Subject: Billy Custer
Lee Larrabee
Store owner
Rancher
Liberal, Kansas
Horses
Wagon
Building
Store 		  Related to:  P442
E21
M/F5
Other: Negative is a picture of 2 men in a wagon pulled by 1 or 2 horses. There is a big building in the background.    
CallNo: N94-F2a1  
Descriptive Title: Group of Liberal men at Griffith and Baughman Headquarters   Type: Negative
Date of Origin: ca. 1920-1923   Provenance:
Size: 2 7/16 x 2 7/16   Condition: very good
Text: [sign above men] INSURANCE (downward pointing arrow); [other sign above men] ?? Headquarters; Sales . Exchanges . rentals . Insurance; The "Easy Terms" People; Griggith & Baughman. [front of original photo] Griffith & Baughman 209 N. Kansas, Liberal, Kansas "The Easy Terms People" [back of original photo] John W. Baughman extreme right, standing back of man with cane. [note on back of original photo] Charles Hancock identified these Liberal men as some he had worked with during his Liberal years. Identified by Numbers are: 1. Bill Lampe; 2. Lee Larrabee; 3. Bruce Creel; 4. Al Blake; 5. Verne Griffith; 6. Earl Cooper; 7. Jason Hubbard; 8. Bill Antrim; 9. Ralph Colvin; 10. Joe Fuest; 11. Charles Taylor; 12. Mr. Romer; 13. John George; 14. Either H. Scandrett or C.D. Gasaway; 15. Bob Evans; 16. J.W. Bauersfield; 17. Brice Keating; 18. John Baughman; 21. Dr. George Smith. About 1920-1923. [on side of negative] Kodak Safety Film
Misc Info: Group of business-looking men sitting in front of store front; signs hanging overhead. Most of the men are wearing suites, coats and hats.
Subject: Liberal men
Griffith & Baughman Headquarters in Liberal
insurance; John Baughman; Dr. George Smith
Charles Hancock; Jason Hubbard; Bill Antrim
Bill Lampe; Ralph Colvin; Joe Fuest
Lee Larrabee; Charles Taylor; Mr. Romer
Bruce Creel; John George; H. Scandrett
Al Blake; C.D. Gasaway; Bob Evans
Verne Griffith; J.W. Bauersfield; Brice Keating
Earl Cooper; John Riney; Ray Millman 		  Related to:  P420-F2a1
E28
N93
Other: Two negatives from the same photo. Both numbered N94. Copy 2 is 2 7/16 by 2 1/2.    
CallNo: P126-D1a3  
larger image
Descriptive Title: Two cowboys branding a cow   Type: Print
Date of Origin:    Provenance:Mrs. Frank Stefan, Liberal, KS
Size: 4 x 5 3/4   Condition: good
Text: [back] Reduce to 4 1/2" x 3"; 3 col ; Harry E. Chrisman 10245 W. 14th Ave. Denver, Colo. 80215 [stamp appears 2 times]Harry E. Chrisman Liberal address stamp appears once but is hard to read. [note 1] Copy J Con Jackson, Famous bronc rider, and Lee Larrabee, old friend of Charles Hancock, [insert symbol] standing branding on the Cimarron River, 1895. Hancock, as a boy, rode on the roundup with these men [Hancock, as a boy, rode on the roundup with these men is crossed out] Photo courtesy Mrs. Frank Stefan, Liberal, Kansas [note 2] Job # 302760H Ref# 10 .12/1.57 Page# 144-EB HT (circled) Shoot at 81%
Misc Info: Picture of 2 men, 2 horses, 1 cow, 1 man bending over, 2nd man branding cow.
Subject: Branding
cowboys
cows
horses
Con Jackson
Lee Larrabee
Charles Hancock
Cimarron River
1895
open range 		  Related to:  C1-A3hd
Other: Photo has tape on top back.    
CallNo: P176-A1a  
larger image
Descriptive Title: Liberal, Kansas   Type: Print
Date of Origin:    Provenance:
Size: 3 7/16 x 4 15/16   Condition: very good
Text: [front] -- 10 days old -- Liberal, Kansas - April, 1888 [back] Return photo to Harry E. Chrisman 10245 W. 14th Ave. Denver, Colo. 80215 [note] Liberal, Kansas "Boom Town." Age 10 Days. Looking north from the railroad, a tent and shack city had begun. By 1988, a modest little [little is crossed out] city of 16,000, the "Queen of the Southwest" as her residents call her. Photo courtesy the late Lee Larrabee. [Photo courtesy the late Lee Larrabee. is underlined]
Misc Info: Picture is of a small town with tents and shacks.
Subject: Liberal, Kansas
April 1888
boom town
tents
Lee Larrabee 		  Related to: 
Other: Photo has tape on top back.    
CallNo: P228-F1b  
larger image
Descriptive Title: Lee Larrabee   Type: Print
Date of Origin:    Provenance:
Size: 4 15/16 x 8 1/2   Condition: poor
Text: Lee must have been about 18 or [20 or so] when this was taken. Lee Larrabee, Liberal, Kansas I picked this up from Lee's big home when we moved it to present site as museum. HEC [front] Schneider Garden City, Kans.
Misc Info: Photo is on a black cardboard mat/frame. The top of picture is flaking off. There are spots in middle doing the same.
Subject: man
Lee Larrabee 		  Related to: 
Other:    
CallNo: P261-A3p  
larger image
Descriptive Title: The Billy Custer Store at Arkalon   Type: Print
Date of Origin:    Provenance:
Size: 4 3/4 x 9 7/16   Condition: good
Text: [back] 5 col [stamp] HARRY E. CHRISMAN LANE D, APT. 74 BLUEBONNET COURTS LIBERAL, KANSAS [note] THE BILLY CUSTER STORE AT ARKALON Lee Larrabee is the clerk, shown at both sides of the picture, since the picture was taken in two shots. Mr. Custer sits at the desk. Jess McCoid once told how, at Fargo Springs, Custer and another man quarreled in a card game, took to the street, fired a cylinder of cartridges each from revolvers at each other. Failing to score a hit, the two made up again, finished the card game. From an original picture owned by Mrs. Frank Stefan, 711 N. Sherman, Liberal
Misc Info: Photo is of the inside of a store. There are 2 men sitting in chairs and 2 men behind the counters. Looks like same man behind counters at opposite end of store. There are 2 possibly 3 men standing in the store. There is a woodstove. There is a kerosene lantern hanging from the ceiling. Products line the shelves and floor.
Subject: store
Arkalon, KS
inside store
barrel
merchandise
clerk
Billy Custer
Lee Larrabee 		  Related to: 
Other: Photo has tape tear mark and tape on top back.    
CallNo: P442-A3p  
larger image
Descriptive Title: Billy Custer and Lee Larrabee   Type: Print
Date of Origin: 1888-1890   Provenance:
Size: 5   Condition: very good
Text: [front] II [back] II ; THIS PAPER MANUFACTURED BY KODAK ; Return To HARRY E. CHRISMAN 10245 W. 14th Ave. Denver, Colo. 80215 [Return To HARRY E. CHRISMAN 10245 W. 14th Ave. Denver, Colo. 80215 is circled] [note] Q. What prompted businessmen to start up a mercantile store on the vast expanse of prairie in the West? A. Businessmen usually "picked a spot" where they felt the ranchers and settlers would come to them, [would come to them, is underlined] for example along a new railroad, or at a river ford, or at a point where cattle shipments brought trade. This rancher-businessman and his store clerk showed great faith in building along the Cimarron River, in Kansas, in 1888-9. At left, in derby hat, BIlly Custer; Right, Lee Larrabee. ---- Photo from author's collection ; II
Misc Info: Photo is of two men sitting in a buggy with two horses hitched to it. They are standing still in front of a huge building.
Subject: Billy Custer and Lee Larrabee
store
horses
business
mercantile store 		  Related to:  P439-
Other: "The 1000 Most Asked Questions about the American West"    
CallNo: P78-I2  
larger image
Descriptive Title: Jack rabbit roundup   Type: Print
Date of Origin: 1935   Provenance:private collection - Lee Larrabee
Size: 3 1/2 x 5 9/16   Condition: good
Text: [front] Photo by C.A. Smith - 1935 [back] 3 [3 is circled] Harry E. Chrisman 10245 W. 14th Ave. Denver, Colo. 80215 [address is stamped twice] Harry E. Chrisman LANE D, APT 74 LIBERAL, KANSAS [address is stamped once] [note] 3 [3 is circled] Picture No. 3 When the slat (fence) gate is closed behind them, the men and boys enter pen and club frightened animals to death. The woman in pen with club is mopping up on jacks that have been beaten and stunned but are still alive. Thousands of dead jackrabbits litter the ground over an area of fifty to seventy-five yards in the Pen. - Photos courtesy Lee Larrabee.
Misc Info: Photo is of dead and stunned jackrabbits in pen; people clubbing rabbits while people in background watch.
Subject: jack rabbits
people with clubs
slat gate or fence
Lee Larrabee
vehicles
men
boys
woman
pen 		  Related to:  P77
P123
P257
P552
P553
Other: Photo has tape on top back and a paperclip stain on top right corner.