Decorated Publishers’ Bindings 1840 to 1930: Collections from the State Library of Massachusetts

The library is pleased to announce the opening of its new exhibit Decorated Publishers’ Bindings 1840 to 1930: Collections from the State Library of Massachusetts, on display June 27 through September 9, 2011 outside of the State Library, Room 341 of the State House.

Books were once the luxury of the wealthy, bound by hand in leather or silk to suit the individual. As the literate public and its appetite for books increased, publishers began to take on the task of binding, greatly reducing the need for independent bookbinders. The Industrial Revolution brought about several technological advances that turned the craft of hand bookbinding into a process that could produce books en masse. The invention of mechanical presses enabled the cloth bindings to be imprinted, stamped and gilded to resemble the fine bindings traditionally produced by hand.

Publishers’ bindings enjoyed popularity from 1830 to the end of the 1930s when they were replaced by decorative dust jackets. This exhibit explores the artistic development of publishers’ bindings, their styles and reflections upon the events of the time, with over seventy-five examples from the State Library of Massachusetts.

A digital version of the exhibit is available on the Library’s Flickr site. Click here to view the online exhibit.

For more information on the exhibition please contact the State Library’s Special Collections Department: special.collections@state.ma.us.

Special thanks to Ann-Katreen Hollon, Marissa Sorek, Krista Barresi, Kate Boutin, April Pierce and Angela White for their work on this exhibit.

- Lacy Stoneburner, Preservation Librarian

Brown Bag on the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

"The Funding Of Public Sector Benefits in an Era Of Limited Means”

Join us for a Brown Bag Lunch
On TUESDAY, June 14th 2011
State Library of Massachusetts
Room 442 State House
12 until 1:30 PM

Bring your lunch and join us to hear Michael J. Widmer, President of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, speak about this prominent public policy organization. The MTF deals with state expenditures as they relate to such topics as health care, state government reform and capital spending among others. The State Library’s holdings include many materials published by the Foundation.
To register, RSVP to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2V68R9J
You may also let us know you will attend by calling the Reference Department at 617-727-2590 of e-mailing to reference.department@state.ma.us



Sponsored by the Friends of the State Library



Future Brown Bags will include:

July 14th, 2011- Sean Murphy, reporter, Boston
Globe, professor, Suffolk University

August 11th, 2011, Dr. John Warner, Archivist of the
Commonwealth, The Massachusetts State Archives

September, 2011, Noah Berger, Massachusetts
Budget and Policy Center (date to be announced)

October, 2011, Celia Wcislo, The Commonwealth
Connector (date to be announced) The Connector is the
independent state agency charged with implementing elements
of the Massachusetts 2006 Health Care Reform Law

Exhibit Preview

The library's summer exhibit opens June 27th and I am happy to give you a sneak peek into the exhibit. Decorated Publishers' Bindings 1840 to 1930: Collections from the State Library of Massachusetts is an exhibition exploring the artistic development of publishers' bindings, their styles and reflections upon the events of the time, with examples from our collections.

At left is one example from the exhibit, which will include over sixty books spanning ninety years of publishing history. The subjects of the books vary widely, including Boston and New England history, the arts, farming, industry, society and travel writing.

Can't wait for the exhibit to open? Check out the library's Flickr set of Decorated Bindings. This set has grown over time, but only six of the books were chosen to be included in the exhibit. Additional images from the summer exhibit will be added to the Flickr set after the exhibit opening. Can you guess which six made the cut?

Image: Adams, John Coleman. Nature Studies in Berkshire. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1899.

- Lacy Stoneburner, Preservation Librarian

Inaugural and State of the State Addresses of the Governors of the Commonwealth- Treasures of the State Library for June, 2011

In the first year in office, the Governor of the Commonwealth delivers his or her Inaugural Address. Speeches given in a Governor's other years in office are called the "State of the State." These non-inaugural addresses have also been termed "Communication from His Excellency the Governor" or "Annual Message."

These special documents are all housed in the State Library. For the years before the legislature adopted a "two year session" (the first was 1995-1996) ,these were always found in the legislative documents of the Senate and were Senate bill number 1 of each year.

With the two year sessions, the Inaugural address is Senate 1 and the subsequent speeches by a Governor may have another Senate number.
The State Libary's collections include all petitions put forward in the legislature.

Pamela W. Schofield, State Library Reference

Electronic Repository Software Being Upgraded

The library is in the process of upgrading DSpace, its electronic repository software. We expect this process to take 3-4 weeks. During this time, we will not be able to add new material to the repository and there may also be short periods of downtime.

Five Feet High and Rising

On a rainy May 16, 1874, residents of Williamsburg and surrounding towns were struck by disaster. Early that morning the Mill River Dam, which harnessed over six hundred million gallons of water, gave way, wiping out four villages, destroying homes and factories, and taking 139 lives early that morning. The explosive wave of water ranged between 20 and 40 feet wide, and was the length of a football field. It only grew larger as it barreled down the river bed, ripping sediment and trees out of the ground as it gained momentum. Survivors of the flood described it as an enormous cloud of dirt and debris (including furniture, farm animals, and even people) speeding downstream.

There was a coroner’s inquest to discover who was at fault. It was apparent that the mill owners who commissioned the dam construction in 1865 had no formal engineering training. After consulting with engineers on the potential project, the mill owners felt the proposals ranging around $100,000 were beyond their $30,000 budget. They instead decided to consult with a railroad engineer to write up an inexpensive and flexible design, and found contractors to do the work for a mere $22,000. After construction was complete, there was much speculation among professional engineers as well as villagers living around the dam as to its safety. These accounts of concern are well documented in the interesting and engaging book, In The Shadow of the Dam: the Aftermath of the Mill River Flood of 1874 by Elizabeth M. Sharpe.

In 1875 the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed an Act which would hold builders of dams accountable for the first time. Plans for building would now have to be approved by county commissioners before construction began, and inspections would continue to take place even after construction was complete, in order to assure the safety of the structures. You can view the State Library's copy of An Act To Provide For The Supervision Of The Construction And Maintenance Of Reservoirs And Dams online.

-April Pierce, Special Collections intern

Newspaper image taken from Hartford Daily Courant, May 18, 1874, Hartford CT (courtesy of Newsbank and the American Antiquarian Society, 2004).

Brown Bag on the Massachusetts General Court

Join us for a Brown Bag Lunch
On Thursday May 19th 2011
State Library of Massachusetts
Room 442 State House
12 until 1:30 PM
Bring your lunch and join us to hear Neil Savage, historian and author, speak about the Massachusetts legislature. He will focus on the origination of the Great and General Court of the Governor and the Company At the Massachusetts Bay in New England. His presentation will also include discussion of significant legislation and about some outstanding members.
To register, RSVP to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6CJMJTV
You may also let us know you will attend by calling the Reference Department at 617-727-2590 or e-mailing to reference.department@state.ma.us
Sponsored by the Friends of the State Library

Future Brown Bags will include:
June 14th, 2011- Michael Widmer, President, The Massachusetts Taxpayers Association
July 14th, 2011- Sean Murphy, reporter, Boston Globe, professor, Suffolk University
August 11th, 2011, Dr. John Warner, Archivist of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts State Archives
September, 2011, Noah Berger, Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, (date to be announced)
October, 2011, Celia Wcislo, The Commonwealth Connector, (date to be announced)