The Past is Present posting for April 8th about timing told of a volume of a periodical that got away from AAS despite the urging of Marcus McCorison. This was the National Magazine published in Richmond, Virginia and Washington D.C. in 1799-1800 by James Lyon. He was a Vermont printer who fled the state. Mr. McCorison wrote a bibliography of early Vermont imprints and was very interested in the career of this printer. For several years he never let me forget I missed acquiring that volume and sent me photocopies from catalogs when it was listed.
The good news is the volume is now here! After his death, many people contributed to a Marcus McCorison fund so we could acquire important materials in honor of him. In particular we wanted to acquire items that coincided with his interests. AAS used some of the McCorison fund to purchase this volume.
This purchase is doubly appropriate because it was acquired from William Reese, a close friend of Mr. McCorison. They first met when Mr. Reese was an undergraduate student at Yale in 1973. Since then they have shared many a book, a drink, and stories. I also wish to thank Mr. Reese who gave AAS a generous discount for the purchase of the National Magazine. His continued support of the institution is deeply appreciated.
