The Acquisitions Table: Sophia Morgan’s Poetry Journal

Morgan, Sophia.  Poetry Journal, 1824-1827. This small volume belonged to Sophia Morgan of Somers, CT. It is a collection of poems, both original and copied, entered into the volume by Morgan’s friends and relatives. Among the titles are “Withered Violets,” “Friendship,” “Time is Short,” and “Contentment.” Purchased from Shelf Life Antiques.  John Thomas Lee Fund.

Join us tomorrow for: The Legacy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Please join us tomorrow evening, Tuesday, May 24th, at 7:30 p.m. for “Igniting the War: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Antislavery Politics, and the Rise of Lincoln.” Dr. David S. Reynolds, Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, will draw on materials ...

The Acquisitions Table: Old England

Old England: a pictorial museum of regal, ecclesiastical, municipal, baronial, and popular antiquities. Ed. by Charles Knight. Boston: Samuel Walker and Co., [186-?] A fine copy of a most unusual salesman’s sample book. This two-volume large folio (36 cm. high) history of England, profusely illustrated with hundreds of wood engravings and 27 full-page color-printed wood-engraved plates, ...

Jesus Wants You to Send This to 20 People

Dear Past is Present readers, Anyone who has an email account is by now all too familiar with the forwarded email, as well as the accompanying guilt-laden demands to keep forwarding it. The promise: just forward this email to 20 of your closest friends and you will be happy, or rich, or blessed. The threat: vague but ominous ...

Join us for “Liberty and Justice for All”

This Thursday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m., James O. and Lois E. Horton will present “Liberty and Justice for All: The Civil War as Blacks’ Second American Revolution.” Directions to AAS and further information about this and other public programs are available on the AAS website. Describing the scope of their lecture, Professor ...

The Acquisitions Table: Snow White and Red Rose

Snow White and Red Rose. New York: McLoughlin, 1899. This magnificent chromolithograph of “An Exciting Donkey-Ride at the Seashore” is taken from this collection of fairy tales and poems. It is an excellent example of McLoughlin’s turn-of-the-century idealized portrayals of children at play. Purchased from Christopher Holtom. Harry G. Stoddard Memorial Fund. More information: Read more about the McLoughlin ...

Additions to David Claypoole Johnston Inventory

In August and December of 2010, the AAS received additional gifts to supplement the already delectable David Claypoole Johnston Family Collection.  (You can see a portrait of the artist and read a short bio as part of the online exhibition of Portraits at the American Antiquarian Society.) Of the material which came (in the form of ...

The Acquisitions Table: Donation Book of the Oakland Female Institute

Young Ladies Library and Literary Association of Oakland Female Institute. Donation Book, 1853-1855. The Oakland Female Institute was opened in Norristown, PA in 1845. By 1853 the Institute had 186 students and a library of “over 500 volumes of standard value—all trashy literature being contraband,” as an 1853 circular states. The school closed in 1880. This ...