The American Antiquarian Society is one I had not heard of before. I am sure many of you already have of course.

The Society (AAS) is an independent research library founded in 1812 in Worcester, Massachusetts and its library’s collections document the life of America’s people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

What attracted me to the society was their blog, entitled Past and Present.  Their article on New Year’s eve was entitled, oddly enough, “Now where was I?” I’ve not fully figured out the title.. but the article itself was quite interesting.

The article talks about – the humble bookmark – and recounts some of the very interesting items that they find as donated books are catalogued and checked over carefully by their staff.  As the checkers go through the books they remove the various scraps of paper and slips and forward them to their Curator of Graphic Arts who adds them to the Society’s bookmark collection.  The collection includes various slips of paper, assorted ephemera and any flat item which may have been used to mark the pages of a book.

An interesting one that caught my eye was this cut-out of the head of Christ.  Clearly it takes a bit of looking at to really see the image.. but with some imagination, it’s there.

In early days, the provenance of these small items was lost and so we how have a folder of stray bookmarks marked as “removed from nineteenth-century novels,” which includes a blank tax receipt for the town of Ashburnham, an undated note from Martha to her friend Jane asking her to “come sup and call with me on Mrs. Chester Wilson,” and a homemade marker of ferns inscribed on the verso “1876, A happy New Year to all yours, as ever, Clara.”

The article goes on to say: “Before we chide these earlier owners for their untidy use of found material and bits and scraps to mark their place in their books, an assessment of contemporary practices should be considered.” I agree. Have a look at your own bedside table or pile of half read books in the study… what odd and interesting scraps of paper have YOU used to mark your place?

The original blog post has a follow-up which is here. It talks about a bookmark that they found… at the same time as the original blog was being written. The found bookmark was in fact a letter from a Mrs. Gen. Harriet Balch Macomb, widow of US Army General Alexander Macomb (May 29, 1828 to June 25, 1841). The letter was to an otherwise unknown “Mr. Abbott” and encouraged him to buy one of two home made bookmarks for his wife. Unfortunately, in the book, the letter was not accompanied by any other bookmarks … but instead was used as one itself.

How odd that one person at the Society should find that at the same time as another staffer – the blogger – was writing the article.

So there you have it… an introduction to the American Antiquarian Society… and a suggested read on their blog. Enjoy!

I’m Tom Murphy and thanks for helping me give Ephemera the Encore it deserves.

Tom

Have a look at my eBay Ephemera site
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Technorati tags: Encore Ephemera, Ephemera, American Antiquarian Society, Bookmarks

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