The Acquisitions Table: Archive of American Publishers’ Ephemera

Archive of American Publishers’ Ephemera, 1840-1900, 216 pieces. The American Antiquarian Society’s collection of American ephemera includes much material related to the book and printing trades, including bookplates, binders’ tickets, and trade cards for printers and publishers.  A recent donation in honor of long time ephemera dealer and collector Joseph Freedman (who passed away in January ...

The Acquisitions Table: Captain Gregg and His Dog

Captain Gregg and His Dog.Providence: H.H. Brown, 1831. This is a scarce copy of an adventure story about an injured soldier and his loyal dog who survive the perils of the American Revolution in upstate New York.  I was able to successfully bid on this book at a recent Swann auction through the kind assistance of ...

Copyright and the Beginnings of Photography

As a Jay and Deborah Last Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society, I was excited to find a wealth of material related to my dissertation on photography and intellectual property law.  The United States Constitution pledged “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing, for limited Times, to Authors and Inventors the ...

The Acquisitions Table: 100 Pieces of American Ephemera

Group of 100 pieces of American ephemera, 1830-1900. In order to mark the Society’s 200th birthday, AAS member and collector Lisa Baskin took the unique approach of donating 100 pieces of American ephemera, including the examples shown here.  The collection includes labels, trade cards, and tickets, and features a variety of printing styles, including letter press, ...

New K-12 Workshop: The Emancipation Proclamation with Harold Holzer

Over the next several months we are very excited to offer a new series of workshops for K-12 teachers. First up is “The Emancipation Proclamation” on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., led by prominent Lincoln historian Harold Holzer. During this one-day workshop we will examine carefully the text of the proclamation, examine ...

Adopt-a-Book 2013: Lewdness & Loud Talking Forbidden!

Tonight is the night! Come to AAS at 6 p.m. for the Society’s 6th annual Adopt-a-Book event! There will be food, drinks, original collection materials to view, and curatorial knowledge-sharing.  If you haven't pre-adopted it will be $10 to get in, but if you have, it's free! You can still browse the 2013 Adopt-A-Book Catalog to ...

Adopt-a-Book 2013: Poetry and Flowers

We hope to see you in the library in person tomorrow, Friday, April 5, at 6 p.m.  AAS’s 6th annual Adopt-a-Book event will bring together book-loving research fellows, staff, and supporters for an evening of viewing historical material recently purchased by the curators, sharing a drink, and, of course, raising funds for the Society’s future acquisitions. You ...

The Acquisitions Table: Leonard Deming Booksellers’ Stamp

Leonard Deming booksellers’ stamp. In Jonathan Edward’s The Salvation of All Men Strictly Examined.Boston: Published by C. Ewer, and T. Bedlington, 1824. Leonard Deming is best known to scholars today for being (along with Nathaniel Coverly) the other important purveyor of folk ballads and street literature in early nineteenth-century Boston and a prolific publisher of Jim ...

Leaves among the Leaves

Shortly after their arrival, new AAS fellows give a talk to the staff about their project and the sorts of sources they’re hoping to find. In her talk, current fellow Jessica Linker, who is working on her Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut, mentioned that as part of her work on women and science she ...

The Acquisitions Table: Lemuel Haynes Sermon

Haynes, Lemuel, “A Sermon Delivered at Rutlan West Parish in Vermont June 1805.” Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833) was a highly influential religious and anti-slavery leader.  Among Haynes’s many firsts, he was the first African-American to be ordained to the Christian ministry and the first African-American to receive a college degree (an M.A. from Middlebury in 1804).  After ...

New Objects up for Adoption!

Due to the popular demand for “orphans” in our 2013 Adopt-a-Book online catalog, we have recently added twenty new titles for you to review.  All of these new items are priced below $200 and the group includes material from the  books, newspapers, children’s literature, manuscripts and graphic arts departments. Here are two examples from the new ...

The Acquisitions Table: Aspinwall Courier

Aspinwall Courier.  Aspinwall, Panama. In the 1850s, Aspinwall (today known as Cólon) was founded as one of the end points of the Panama Railroad, which spanned the isthmus for and provided part of the route to and from the California gold rush regions.  This paper was edited by Frederic E. Foster and printed in English for ...

Adopt-a-Book 2013: Fires and Trains

The AAS curatorial team is just delighted by the response to our 6th annual Adopt-a-Book event, with over half of the selected “orphans” already adopted by generous supporters.  Thank you!  Below, please find one of the few titles for children still available from the online catalog as well as a railroad map from the cartography ...

WPI Students Team Up with “A New Nation Votes”

Here at AAS we are always happy to collaborate with that institution across the street, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  The students there are required to do what is called an Interactive Qualifying Project, which involves a digital humanities project.  To that end, Dan Boudreau and Bryan MacDonald produced “A New Commonwealth Votes: Using GIS to Analyze ...