Catalogue of the Institute Library, with the Constitution and By-Laws.
Springfield (Mass.): Horace S. Taylor, Printer, 1847. Item #798 8vo. 190 x 117 mm., [7 ½ x 4 ¾ inches]. 78 [1] pp. Original printed wrappers; some minor chipping to spine and corners, but otherwise a good copy. Short-title catalogue of books of about 2,000 books, in the fields of American and European history, general biography, religion, encyclopedias and grammar books, miscellaneous literature, fiction, novels, and romance, geography, maps and charts, voyages and travel, natural history, political economy, rhetoric, and Americana. The Springfield Institute Library, an outgrowth of the Springfield Library Company, merged with the Young Men’s Literary Society in 1857 to become the City Library Association, a precursor of Public Library System that was to evolve in the third quarter of the 19th century. The catalogue resembles many “private” society libraries of its day, with a collection of general interest books for a growing educated class. These institute libraries were a driving force for the establishment of the public library system that was to develop across America in the 1850’s.
Price: $125.00