The collection of autographs was discovered by Hartenstein while he was a student working at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When Hartenstein inquired about the collection, he found it that it was going to be discarded after years of storage. When Hartenstein expressed interest in the collection, the library gave it to him rather than discarding it. The autographs were gathered by a reference librarian named Sophie Levin between 1900 and 1911. She wrote to numerous people requesting their autographs. The collection represents the responses she got. Hartenstein donated it to Western Michigan University Libraries in 1983.