Lines from the Library

I have been talking to a lot of classes over the last few weeks, so I thought I would highlight some of my favorite teaching examples in this space.

This one is at the very top of my list. Dig it:

Here's a transcription of the label:

Sams' Circulating Library, Hoddesdon, Herts.
Books Lent to Read, by the Year, Half-Year, Quarter, or Single Volume.
Magazines, And other Periodical Publications, on the Shortest Notice.
Every Article in the Stationery, Bookselling, and Perfumery, at the London Prices.
Genuine Medicines.
Books Neatly Bound.

If you are interested in learning about the circulation of books in the nineteenth century, the history of commercial circulating libraries is the place to start. Here's an article that makes for a nice introduction: "The Economy of Novel Reading: Jane Austen and the Circulating Library" by Lee Erickson. For a longer treatment of the company I often describe as the Blockbuster Video of the nineteenth century, check out this book: Mudie's Circulating Library and the Victorian Novel by Guinevere L. Griest (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1970).

But without reading anything further about the circulating library, this label gives you a sense of the context in which this object circulated. Sam has all of your light reading needs covered AND you can pick up your perfume and "Genuine Medicines"! One-stop shopping, 1820s style.

The text inside? It's another one of those unknown gems:

Isn't it Odd? by Marmaduke Merrywhistle (London, 1822)

Here are two more examples of circulating library labels in Fales books. Unlike the example in the previous entry, these labels are on the inside front covers, so they were harder to find.

Here's a specimen that's quite similar to Sam's:

John Carpenter offers an almost identical selection of merchandise -- no genuine medicines and no specific mention of magazines, however. Carpenter also offers more actual printing services than Sam.

This label was in a copy of Songs by the Ettrick Shepherd -- that's Mr. James Hogg.

[Apologies for the lousy image here.]

Here's a nice American example:

B. Huling in Saratoga Springs, NY kept his label short and sweet. Remember that Saratoga Springs in the nineteenth century was a very swank vacation spot -- comparable to Bath in England.

This label is in a copy of Master Humphrey's Clock by Charles Dickens.

This is just one of ELEVEN editions of Master Humphrey's Clock held in Fales. I'll keep my eyes peeled for more labels.

I could pull any number of Halloween-themed items from the vast collections in Fales. Something from our 18th-century Gothic holdings; something from Peter Straub or Stephen King or H.P. Lovecraft. Instead, I present you with one of the most underrated American masters of the weird and fantastic: The King in Yellow by R. W. Chambers (1895).

About half of the short stories contained in this volume are set in and around Washington Square. This passage from "The Repairer of Reputations" is one of the most chilling reading experiences I have ever had:

It was, I remember, the 13th day of April, 1920, that the first Government Lethal Chamber was established on the south side of Washington Square, between Wooster Street and South Fifth Avenue. The block which had formerly consisted of a lot of shabby old buildings, used as cafes and restaurants for foreigners, had been acquired by the Government in the winter of 1898. The French and Italian cafes and restaurants were torn down; the whole block was enclosed by a gilded iron railing, and converted into a lovely garden with lawns, flowers and fountains. In the centre of the garden stood a small, white building, severely classical in architecture, and surrounded by thickets of flowers. Six Ionic columns supported the roof, and the single door was of bronze. A splendid marble group of "The Fates" stood before the door, the work of a young American sculptor, Boris Yvain, who had died in Paris when only twenty-three years old.

For those who don't know their historic New York City geography, Washingon Square South between Wooster Street and Fifth Avenue South is the exact location of Bobst Library.

Happy Halloween!