Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 19 views

    American Antiquarian Society

    Uploaded by

    bob
    The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts is the oldest historical society in the United States, founded in 1812. It functions as both a learned society and national research library focused on American history and culture from before the 20th century. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available for study all printed materials relating to the history of the United States through 1876, totaling over 3 million items in its collection. Notable members have included many U.S. presidents and other important historical figures.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    American Antiquarian Society

    Uploaded by

    bob
    19 views3 pages
    The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts is the oldest historical society in the United States, founded in 1812. It functions as both a learned society and national research library focused on American history and culture from before the 20th century. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available for study all printed materials relating to the history of the United States through 1876, totaling over 3 million items in its collection. Notable members have included many U.S. presidents and other important historical figures.

    Original Description:

    attic

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts is the oldest historical society in the United States, founded in 1812. It functions as both a learned society and national research library focused on American history and culture from before the 20th century. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available for study all printed materials relating to the history of the United States through 1876, totaling over 3 million items in its collection. Notable members have included many U.S. presidents and other important historical figures.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    19 views3 pages

    American Antiquarian Society

    Uploaded by

    bob
    The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts is the oldest historical society in the United States, founded in 1812. It functions as both a learned society and national research library focused on American history and culture from before the 20th century. The Society collects, preserves, and makes available for study all printed materials relating to the history of the United States through 1876, totaling over 3 million items in its collection. Notable members have included many U.S. presidents and other important historical figures.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 3

    American Antiquarian Society

    The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located


    in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society
    and national research library of pre-twentieth century
    American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the
    oldest historical society in the United States with a national focus.[3] Its main building, known as Antiquarian
    Hall, is a U.S. National Historic Landmark in recognition of this legacy.[4] The mission of the AAS is to collect,
    preserve and make available for study all printed records
    of what is now known as the United States of America.
    This includes materials from the rst European settlement through the year 1876.[5]

    Street. There have been several additions to this building


    to accommodate the growing collection, the most recent
    of which was completed in 2003.[16]

    1.1 History of printing


    As part of AASs mission as a learned society, it offers a variety of public lectures and seminars. One topic
    to which AAS dedicates signicant academic energies
    is printing technology, especially in eighteenth-century
    British North America. Since Isaiah Thomas was a newspaper man himself, he collected a large number of printed
    materials.[17] With regard to printing, paper making, edition setting, and reprinting, not much had changed in
    European technology by the eighteenth century. It was
    not until the late eighteenth century that paper-making
    material began to evolve from a hand-woven cloth to an
    industrial pulp. AAS undertakes special eorts to preserve printed records from this time period, as the Society maintains an on-site conservation department with
    various sewing, cloth, and binding materials to aid in the
    preservation process.[18]

    The AAS oers programs for professional scholars, precollegiate, undergraduate and graduate students, educators, professional artists, writers, genealogists, and the
    general public.[6] AAS has many digital collections available, including A New Nation Votes: American Election
    Returns 17881824.[7]
    The collections of the AAS contain over three million
    books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, graphic arts
    materials and manuscripts. The Society has two thirds
    of the books printed in the United States before 1820;
    many of these volumes are exceedingly rare and a number of them are unique.[8] Historic materials from all fty
    U.S. states, most of Canada and the British West Indies
    are included in the AAS repository. One of the more famous volumes held by the Society is a copy of the very
    rst book printed in America, the Bay Psalm Book.[9]
    AAS also has one of the largest collections of newspapers printed in America through 1876, with more than
    two million issues in its collection.[10]

    2 Notable members

    History

    On the initiative of Isaiah Thomas, the AAS was founded


    on October 24, 1812 through an act of the Massachusetts
    General Court.[11] It was the third historical society established in America, and the rst to be national in its
    scope.[12] Isaiah Thomas started the collection with approximately 8,000 books from his personal library.[13]
    The rst library building was erected in 1820 in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts.[14] In 1853, the Society
    moved its collections to a larger building at the corner
    of Highland Street, also in Worcester.[15] This building
    was later abandoned and another new building was con- Isaiah Thomas, the founder of the American Antiquarian Society
    structed. Designed by Winslow, Bigelow & Wadsworth,
    the Georgian Revival building was completed in 1910 The American Antiquarian Societys membership inand stands on the corner of Park Avenue and Salisbury cludes scholars, writers, journalists, lmmakers, collec1

    tors, and civic leaders.[19] Notable members include the


    following:
    John Adams
    John Quincy Adams
    Ken Burns
    Elihu Burritt
    Jimmy Carter
    Bill Clinton
    Calvin Coolidge
    Walter Cronkite
    Esther Forbes
    Henry Louis Gates
    Annette Gordon-Reed
    Rutherford B. Hayes
    Andrew Jackson
    Thomas Jeerson
    Jill Lepore

    4 References
    [1] National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
    [2] American Antiquarian Society. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved
    2008-07-10.
    [3] Gura, Philip F. The American Antiquarian Society, 1812
    2012: A Bicentennial History (Worcester: American Antiquarian Society, 2012) p. x
    [4] http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=775&
    ResourceType=Building
    [5] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/mission.htm
    [6] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/programs.htm
    [7] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/digitalaas
    [8] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/tours.htm
    [9] Gura, p. 24
    [10] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/newspapers.htm
    [11] Gura, p. 1
    [12] http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=775&
    ResourceType=Building

    James Madison

    [13] Gura, p. 33

    David McCullough

    [14] Gura, p. 32

    James Monroe

    [15] Gura, pp. 98-99

    Nathaniel Philbrick

    [16] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/development.htm

    Dorothy B. Porter

    [17] Gura, pp. 14, 33

    Franklin Pierce Rice


    Franklin D. Roosevelt
    Theodore Roosevelt
    William H. Taft
    Woodrow Wilson

    EXTERNAL LINKS

    See also
    History of books
    List of antiquarian societies
    Massachusetts Historical Society

    [18] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/conservation.htm
    [19] http://www.americanantiquarian.org/members.htm

    5 Further reading
    Goslow, Brian (2014-01-30). Worcesters best
    kept secret: The American Antiquarian Society belongs to everyone. Worcester Magazine. Retrieved
    2014-10-10.
    Gura, Philip F. The American Antiquarian Society, 18122012: A Bicentennial History (Worcester:
    American Antiquarian Society, 2012) 454 pp.
    Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society.
    Worcester, Mass.: the Society, 1843

    John Ratcli
    List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
    National Register of Historic Places listings in
    northwestern Worcester, Massachusetts

    6 External links
    American Antiquarian Society Homepage

    Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

    7.1

    Text

    American Antiquarian Society Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Antiquarian_Society?oldid=668839053 Contributors:


    Jengod, WhisperToMe, Sfoskett, Ceyockey, Pentawing, Fahrenheit451, Tim!, Eyu100, Vegaswikian, AaronB0413, TexasAndroid, Rjensen,
    Tony1, Doncram, SmackBot, Zyxw, Hmains, Neddyseagoon, Cydebot, Einbierbitte, Missvain, Bobblehead, Floridasand, Appraiser, Jllm06,
    Doug Coldwell, Pvmoutside, Balloonguy, Vox Rationis, Shawn in Montreal, Josette, Shortride, FitzColinGerald, Bleaney, LanceBarber,
    Lightmouse, Rosiestep, Sfan00 IMG, Od Mishehu AWB, Found5dollar, Lx 121, DumZiBoT, Felix Folio Secundus, Dudemanfellabra,
    Innapoy, Yobot, Magicpiano, AnomieBOT, Ksferrante, M2545, Linguisticgeek, Historianofart, Ocaasi, Foraminifer, Churn and change,
    Sonanto, IPBiographer, Amfraas and Anonymous: 9

    7.2

    Images

    File:Coat_of_arms_of_Massachusetts.svg Source:
    Massachusetts.svg License: Public domain Contributors:

    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Coat_of_arms_of_

    Seal_of_Massachusetts.svg Original artist: Seal_of_Massachusetts.svg: Adaptation by User:Sagredo


    File:Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Folder_Hexagonal_Icon.svg License: Cc-bysa-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
    File:Map_of_USA_MA.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Map_of_USA_MA.svg License: CC BY
    2.0 Contributors: own work by uploader, based on Image:Map of USA without state names.svg Original artist: Base versions this one
    is derived from: originally created by en:User:Wapcaplet
    File:Portal-puzzle.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fd/Portal-puzzle.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ?
    Original artist: ?
    File:Red_pog.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0c/Red_pog.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original
    artist: ?
    File:Thomas_jb_revolut_bible_2_m.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Thomas_jb_revolut_bible_
    2_m.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Book Original artist: jp
    File:Turtle_boy_love_statue.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Turtle_boy_love_statue.jpg License:
    Public domain Contributors: English Wikipedia Original artist: Acsumama
    File:USA_Massachusetts_location_map.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/USA_Massachusetts_
    location_map.svg License: CC BY 3.0 Contributors: Own work Original artist: Alexrk2
    File:WorcesterMA_AntiquarianSociety_2.jpg Source:
    https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/WorcesterMA_
    AntiquarianSociety_2.jpg License: GFDL Contributors: Own work Original artist: User:Magicpiano

    7.3

    Content license

    Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

    You might also like