On “Readies” and Fore-edge Painting

Book of Common Prayer.  New York D. Appleton & Co., 1845.  Gilt fore-edge.

In a New York Times Book Review article last month, Jennifer Schuessler quoted Bob Brown, an early proponent of electronic reading devices.  In his prescient manifesto, "The Readies," Brown declared: “The written word hasn’t kept up with the age....  Writing has been bottled up in books since the start."  Brown called for no less than ...

The Acquisitions Table: Omnibus Editions

4P8V7422

Collection of omnibus editions, ca. 1840-1855. AAS has purchased from member Mark Craig an interesting and very unusual collection of 14 omnibus editions, all in fine condition in the original blind- and gilt-embossed publisher’s sheep bindings. These omnibus editions typically consist of 16mo stereotype reprints of popular and juvenile fiction, with three to four works bound ...

“Listen my children and you will hear …”

RevereMassacre

This past April, the state of Massachusetts marked the 235th anniversary of the famous ride of Paul Revere and the start of the American Revolution at the Battles of Lexington & Concord. As you might expect, AAS takes Patriot’s Day (April 19th) seriously. Like most Massachusetts residents, we have the day off ...

“A very radical proposition”: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Meanings of the Vote

ginzberg

Tomorrow evening, Tuesday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m. Lori D. Ginzberg will be giving a lecture at AAS on "'A very radical proposition': Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Meanings of the Vote." Brilliant, self-righteous, charismatic, intimidating, and charming, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the founding philosopher of the American movement for woman's rights. To many she was ...

It doesn’t stop with “Antiquarian…” or, I’ll take what’s behind door number one!

Blog post 1 001

Assistant Curator of Manuscripts and Assistant Reference Library Tracey Kry comments on her impressions of AAS as a newly-arrived employee. A couple of months ago now, we had a post about creating an AAS Glossary that would talk about terms and collections unique to AAS (http://pastispresent.org/category/aas-glossary/ ).  The first post was about people’s confusion with the ...

The Acquisitions Table: Quagga and Rhinoceros

4P8V6651

The quagga illustrated in this children's book caught my eye because, possibly like you, dear reader, I had never heard of this animal.  And so I went to Wikipedia where I read an interesting article about the quagga's relationship to the plains zebra and about efforts to breed them back into existence.  Curator of Children's ...

The Civil War, Courtesy of the American Antiquarian Society

Currier & Ives lithograph of the capture of Atlanta, Georgia by Sherman

Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War. Many institutions are planning exhibitions, activities, and publications around the events which tore the United States apart between 1861 and 1865. Some organizations have already contacted AAS regarding the possibility of borrowing or reproducing material from our collections. ...

Witches, Alchemists, and Occultists … Oh My!

woodward

Ever wish you could turn common, everyday household objects into gold? Well, now you can! This pitch may sound eerily similar, if in reverse, to the "Cash for Gold" ads flooding our TV airwaves today. In the early modern world, alchemists were the ones pursuing methods to turn common elements into gold. ...