Discovery: Herald of Freedom and Peter H. Clark

Newspapers are a huge and important part of our collection here at the American Antiquarian Society. They take up over five miles of shelving here. From establishment papers like the New York Times to amateur prints, preserving newspapers gives readers a glimpse into the mundane and day-to-day, as well as insight on relevant social issues ...

The Acquisitions Table: Clark, B. (Benjamin), Sen. The Past, Present and Future in Prose and Poetry

Clark, B. (Benjamin), Sen. The Past, Present and Future in Prose and Poetry. Toronto: Adam, Stevenson, & Co., 1867. BIB #565812 Benjamin Clark was born to emancipated African American parents in Maryland in 1801, and he died in Detroit in 1864. He married, had ten children, and lived with his family in Pennsylvania. He also established ...

Now that’s a hat!

459391_0001

The People’s Pathfinder  (St. Louis, MO)  Spring 1853.  Edited by William H. Keevill. This is a rare advertising piece for the dry goods palace of Hubbell & Hunt at Corinthian Hall in St. Louis, Missouri.  As can be seen from the large woodcut on the front page, this publication is about hats.  The articles are about ...

No blondes need apply.

436129_0001

The Matrimonial Bazar.  A Monthly Journal, Devoted to the Interests of Love, Courtship and Marriage  (Chicago, IL)  May 1876. Long before there were online dating services there were singles ads.  Local or community newspapers often have a section of advertisements for men seeking women, women seeking men, and a variety of other combinations.  SWF and DBM ...

Vimmin and politics!

465696_0001

Penny Yankee Doodle  (New York, NY).  November 2, 1850. This is one of a number of illustrated humor newspapers and periodicals that appeared in the 1840s and 1850s.  The editor says they are not an imitation of Punch from England, but, “I am myself alone – the original Genius of American Humor.”  There are the usual ...

Thanksgiving, 1863

Thanksgiving_0008

It has been a big year for some of the country’s most important documents. January saw the sesquicentennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, and just last week was the 150th anniversary of the reading of the Gettysburg Address. This Thursday in the United States we celebrate our national day of Thanksgiving, and so are looking back, ...

The Acquisitions Table: New-York Clipper

New-York Clipper (New York, NY).  Apr. 13, 1863 – Apr. 8, 1865. At a recent book fair, AAS was offered two bound volumes of this extremely rare sporting and entertainment periodical.  It began in 1853 as a periodical covering sporting events.  By the time of the Civil War the New-York Clipper included coverage of the theatrical ...

The Bachelors’ Journal

AAS has a strong collection of American periodicals dating back to the 1740s, which often focused on a particular subject or advocacy.  Scattered throughout the stacks are serials focusing on topics such as religion, agriculture, temperance, crafts, abolitionism, vegetarianism, reform, anti-masonry, art, or women. There is one periodical that is unlike any other in the collection, ...

The Acquisitions Table: Our Song Birds

Our Song Birds (Chicago, IL). July 1866. George Root was noted as a composer and as one of the largest music publishers in Chicago during the 1860s. This cute little 64-page booklet was written by Root and B.R. Hanby, and published by Root & Cady. It comprises one issue of a juvenile musical quarterly, Our Song ...

The Acquisitions Table: Calathumpian Advocate

Calathumpian Advocate (Concord, NH).  June 19, 1850. This interesting political periodical could be described as rabble rousing. The term “calathumpian” is probably a colloquial Americanism relating to a society of social reformers, especially those that disrupt political events. This particular issue includes a report of the Calathumpian Fusiliers disrupting an election in Concord, ending with a ...

Samuel Cornish, John Russwurm, and the Early Black Press

In March 1827, Rev. Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm co-founded Freedom’s Journal in New York City. It served as the first African-American newspaper in the United States and commemorated the 50th anniversary-year of the first American anti-slavery statutes in the 1777 Vermont Constitution. One of their primary objectives in starting Freedom’s Journal was to combat ...

Adopt-a-Book 2011, Part 7: Newspapers & Periodicals

Today we continue a series of blog posts highlighting items from our upcoming Adopt-a-Book event, slated for Tuesday, March 29, 2011, at 6PM in Antiquarian Hall. You can read the entire Adopt-a-Book 2011 catalog on the AAS website, where you will find descriptions of all 176 items up for adoption this year. The Society’s ...