If you’re trying to find out how much a book is worth |
If you’d like to include these texts at your own site
Other things I’ve done |
What’s new at this site
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What is all this? It’s my indulgence. I love early 19th-century American works for children. It’s that kind of
love that screams at the racism, the sexism, and the jingoism and the
xenophobia. And then looks for more, because this is important stuff.
This is what 19th-century American citizens, voters, and politicians
read in their most impressionable years. This is the stuff that
still pops up in some American culture and thinking—sometimes in
ugly ways. Certain early 19th-century books for adults also interest
me, especially the stuff written by writers not usually studied in
classes on American lit.
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Why focus on THIS stuff? Robert Merry’s Museum has been my central passion—intellectually, that is—since I discovered it in 1985. I needed a subject for my doctoral dissertation in American Studies and figured I could get about 200 pages out of a magazine that ran for 32 years. Little did I know that I’d have to leave out stuff to keep the dissertation to one volume! I’ve realized that the Museum was probably the central magazine in the history of American children’s magazines: its popularity strengthened the combination of literary fiction and nonfiction that became the hallmark of 19th-century periodicals for children and that we see today in magazines like Cricket; and the Museum was the first to consciously create a community of readers, which other magazines soon copied and which we still see today. Studying the Museum, I got interested in Samuel Griswold Goodrich. And Jacob Abbott; and 19th-century American children’s magazines; and 19th-century American children’s lives; and .... Just for the sake of sanity (mine), I’ve focused on American culture from 1800 to 1872. 1872 because that was the Museum ’s last year; 1800 because—well—because I needed a beginning date. That doesn’t mean that I don’t know that 1800 was the last year of the eighteenth century, nor does it mean that if I’m ever offered a copy of a pre-1800 children’s magazine, I won’t grab it and add it to the site. (Go ahead—offer me one & see what happens.) |
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Why the transcriptions? Transcribing these pieces lets me think about them and connect them with other works written for children (and adults) at the time. And, to be truthful, it offers me a chance to read a lot of what I’ve collected. I was surprised to find that no one had yet offered transcriptions of Goodrich’s works or—more surprising—of Fanny Fern’s essays. On the other hand, that allowed me to do it. And, yes, almost all the stuff I transcribe are from copies in my personal collection. (Why it costs more every time I move .... ) |
What’s to come? I have several more books by Gail Hamilton, and a children’s book by Fanny Fern. And 13 more volumes of the Token. And a handful of gift books for children. And tons of Peter Parley stuff, including a charming little chapbook that describes early 19th-century New York City. And Dilworth’s grammar, selections from Caleb Bingham’s works, several books on letter writing, and Jenkins’ Art of Writing. I’d also like to transcribe Henry Ward Beecher’s Star Papers. There are a number of serials from Merry’s Museum that I think people would enjoy, including the Civil War stories “Battles at Home” and “Philip Snow’s War”. And I’ve barely started on my eight volumes of Our Young Folks. Or The Little Corporal. Or The Children’s Hour. Or the Student/Schoolmate magazines. Or the Juvenile Miscellany. Or the Youth’s Companion, Youth’s Cabinet, Forrester’s Playmate, Forrester’s Boys and Girls, Our Boys and Girls, Riverside Magazine, Juvenile Gazette, and Parley’s Magazine. I’m behind on the The Slave’s Friend (a very happy state of affairs!). And— Well, I think you’ve got the gist. |
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How much is ---- worth? $5. (Since I’m not a dealer, I don’t try to price books. But there was a marvelous book dealer who, every time I dragged out a book he hadn’t priced, would say, “Five bucks?”) If you’re trying to find out the price actual book dealers have put on copies of your book, you can get an idea by looking it up at Bibliofind or Bookfinder; you also could see how much someone paid for it on eBay. If you’re trying to learn more about its author (birth and death dates, and what else they’ve written), or when it was published, the Library of Congress online catalog is a good bet. |
Other things I’ve done
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To “Nineteenth-Century Children & What They Read” Some of the children | Some of their magazines |
To “Voices from 19th-Century America” Some works for adults, 1800-1872 |