The Acquisitions Table: Moses B. Holmes Excelsior Writing Book

Holmes, Moses B., Excelsior Writing Book. Moses B. Holmes (1837-1894) lived in Campton, New Hampshire. He married Ann M. Bartlett (1839-1914) and the couple had two children, Willie B. Holmes and Lewis Holmes. Moses was young when he began writing in this writing book, which was manufactured by Norton and Crawford in Concord, New Hampshire; some ...

The Acquisitions Table: Address of the Carrier of the Kentuckian

Address of the Carrier of the Kentuckian. Frankfort, Kentucky: s.n., A.T. Leonard., 1830. This broadside is the earliest example of a Kentucky carrier’s address in the AAS collection (earlier addresses are known, but are lacked by the Society). Bordered with elegantly laid out type ornamentation topped off with eagles and a cut of a printing press, ...

The Acquisitions Table: Children’s Book for Sabbath Hours

Bullard, Asa.  Children’s Book for Sabbath Hours.  Springfield, Mass. & Chicago: W.J. Holland & Co., 1873. With the secularization of American society after the Civil War, this book by minister Asa Bullard answered a need to give children something wholesome yet entertaining to read while keeping the Sabbath free from raucous play.  This is a selection ...

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 ...

Wiggins Lecture: “In Search of Phillis Wheatley”

We are pleased to announce the start of our signature bicentennial Fall Public Programs! The programs this fall include an impressive array of scholars and artists who will share new perspectives on key moments and fascinating people in American history. We will be kicking off the series on September 28 at 7 p.m., when Vincent Carretta, ...

Symposium: Poetry & Print in Early America

Today, poetry occupies one of the smallest possible corners of the publishing landscape. The market for books of poetry by contemporary poets is miniscule, and—apart from occasionally having one of the poems in, say, the New Yorker catch one’s eye—many readers can go months (if not years) without seeing a contemporary poem in print. This ...

Growing, Growing, Gone

Augustus Chatterton, Esq. World traveler, wit, and author of a late eighteenth-century book of poems, Buds of Beauty; or, Parnassian Sprig. The only problem is that no one knows who the man is. After Chatterton authored the 1787 work, which contains such picks as "The Printer and Plagiarist," "The Segar," and "Epitaph on a Mean Wretch," ...

On the Poetry of Phillis Wheatley

With the publication of Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (London, 1773) [AAS online catalog record], Phillis Wheatley became the first published African American poet. Because of her status as a house slave in Boston, Massachusetts, she achieved high literary recognition in the years following publication. Prominent political figures like George Washington and Thomas ...

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.

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 ...

The Acquisitions Table: The New Tale of a Tub

The New Tale of a Tub. London & New York: George Routledge and Sons, [ca. 1870] The Routledge firm was a popular transatlantic picture book publisher and a direct competitor of McLoughlin Bros. The New Tale of Tub is a humorous poem about two Bengalese gentlemen whose picnic feast is interrupted by the approach of a ...