In the summer of 2023, while completing my MA in book conservation at West Dean College in Chichester, England, I undertook a 10-week internship at the American Antiquarian Society, working alongside Chief Conservator Babette Gehnrich and Library and Archives Conservator Marissa Maynard. In between my time spent writing a thesis, attending a week-long course on ...
Category: AAS Interns
Reflections from a Returning Intern
DeWitt Clinton and the Common School Fund: Early Public Education in the Collection
For the past few months, I have had the opportunity to work as an intern in the manuscripts department here at the American Antiquarian Society. Usually, I spend my days the digitizing department working as a liaison between AAS and our vendors, paging newspapers and serials. I jumped at the chance to work in manuscripts ...
Quicken the Thought — The Game of Authors
AAS houses a representative collection of American games, from board games inspired by the adventures of Nellie Bly to educational puzzles and fancy paper dolls, but one fascinating subgroup of this collection harnesses the popularity of one entertainment option of the 1800s: reading. Before the world ogled over athletes and movie stars, the greatest celebrities were authors. People traveled ...
‘Uncle Cleve’: President Grover Cleveland, His-story v. the Truth
In a packed box of uncatalogued cabinet photos, in between portraits of the minister Charles Cleveland and the 22nd President, I came across three portraits of a young, dark-haired woman. In each photo, she looked to be about twenty years old -- attractive, well-dressed, and entirely unrecognizable to me if it weren’t for the titles ...