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History of Conserving History: The Evolution of Paper Conservation in Libraries – Past is Present
In the summer of 2024, I spent eight weeks at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) for my first paper conservation internship as part of my master’s program in conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Under the guidance of Chief Conservator Babette Gehnrich — who has dedicated over 35 years to stewarding…
New to AAS: Sharecropper Account Book, 1866-1868 – Past is Present
This account book, kept on an unidentified Georgia plantation in the mid-1860s, features accounts for over fifty Black sharecroppers. Sharecropping families were frequently trapped in a cycle of debt due to laws restricting sale of sharecropped goods on former plantations and unethical practices by southern planters. On this specific Georgia plantation, Black laborers are recorded…
A Scoundrel at Work in the Archives: George Weeks’ Scams – Past is Present
In my work as the Serials Cataloger at AAS, I recently came across the Ladies' Enterprise, a periodical printed in several New England cities (including Worcester!) in the 1850’s. I was immediately drawn in by its subtitle “Edited and published by females” and its decorative masthead depicting women working at a print shop. Further digging…
New to AAS: Constitution of the Portsmouth Encyclopedia Society, ca. 1803 – Past is Present
Pasted into volume 11 of Encyclopaedia; or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature (Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson, 1798), this broadside appears to be the only surviving evidence of one of the most unusual private circulating libraries. It demonstrates the cultural importance of one encyclopedia and the lengths people might go to be able to…
New to AAS: Miss H.M. Rice Trade Card. Boston, ca. 1830s – Past is Present
The early 19th century saw a resurgence in the use of leeches for medical use, especially during the cholera epidemic of the 1830s in Europe and America. Though leeches did prove to have anti-inflammatory effects, they did not cure or mitigate cholera and by mid-century were rarely used in medicine. This trade card touts a…
Finding Family After Slavery: The Last Seen Project and AAS – Past is Present
In January 2025, staff at the American Antiquarian Society attended a workshop on African American print culture taught by Dr. Derrick Spires, associate professor of English at the University of Delaware (and an AAS member and councilor), generously sponsored by the Nadia Sophie Seiler Family Fund. Dr. Spires shared how Black people used African American…
New to AAS: Alice in Wonderland: A Play; Emily Prime Delafield, 1898 – Past is Present
Inspired by a performance of scenes from Alice in Wonderland performed in Japan by a cast of English-speaking children in 1890, New York socialite Emily Prime Delafield (1840-1909) wrote her own dramatized version of Alice. It was originally performed at the Waldorf Hotel in March 1897 as a benefit for the Society of Decorative Arts,…
New to AAS: The Genius of Universal Emancipation, 1830-31 – Past is Present
Benjamin Lundy was a prominent abolitionist in the 1820’s and 1830’s. Brought up as a Quaker in what is now West Virginia, he saw the iniquity of slavery. In 1821 he started the Genius of Universal Emancipation in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. From there the periodical moved several times, being published in Greenville, TN; Baltimore, MD;…
New to AAS: Worcester County Jail Records, 1860-1900 – Past is Present
Worcester County sheriff Lewis Evangelidis and his team were looking to rehouse their cache of county jail records during a recent construction project and, thanks to a diligent staff member, reached out to AAS to ask if the Society was interested in acquiring the records. The records had been otherwise set for destruction, so it…
Ephemera Explored: Over 40,000 New Images Give Glimpses into 19th-Century American Life – Past is Present
Have you ever wanted to catch a ride on the Flying Dutchman? Or wondered what people ate at Faneuil Hall to celebrate the 4th of July? Would you like to attend a nineteenth-century séance? Earn ten cents from your teacher? Or shop for a tombstone? You can learn about all those activities (and more) from…
Not Everything That is Printed is on Paper: Survey of Textile Broadsides – Past is Present
One lesser-known collection at the American Antiquarian Society is a group of broadsides printed on textiles. Broadsides are ephemeral, single-sheet items that are usually printed only on one side. Some topics typical of broadsides include advertisements, official proclamations, theater announcements, and opinions. AAS has approximately 148 textile broadsides that showcase the breadth and type of these…
A Ghost in a Receipt and a Matter of Some Interest – Past is Present
Amasa Southwick was a Quaker born in Bolton, MA in 1778. By 1809 he was living in Leicester, where he was engaged in the manufacture of cards used in processing cotton and wool fibers. The Amasa Southwick manuscript collection1 at the American Antiquarian Society (AAS) mainly consists of business correspondence and financial documents. An example…
‘To Which is Added’: The History, Structure, and Conservation of New England Primers at the American Antiquarian Society – Past is Present
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…
Artifacts of an Antebellum Physician – Past is Present
Within the vast collections at the American Antiquarian Society there is a particularly interesting assortment of items that offer a unique glimpse into the world of Dr. Nathan Staples Pike, his family, and the medical trade in antebellum America. The Pike-Wright Family collection, donated to AAS by Susan Pike Corcoran, contains Dr. Pike’s early 19th…
“Your cooperation is requested”: The American Antiquarian Society and Operation Alert – Past is Present
Operation Alert was a Cold War exercise designed to assess how prepared both government agencies and citizens were in the event of a nuclear attack on the United States. Starting in 1954, about 200…
Adultery, crime, and the “professedly obscene”: The beginnings of book bans in the United States – Past is Present
Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in libraries and schools across the United States: according to the American Library Association, who have tracked book censorship since 1982, over 1,…