The Preservation of 18th Century Parchment
This post was written by Janet Lee, Conservation Assistant Parchment is a kind of processed animal skin that has been used for centuries as a writing surface. Considered strong and stable, parchments...
View ArticleWoman of Letters: Charlotte Lennox and The Life of Harriot Stuart
Written by Maureen Maryanski, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections. Among the uncatalogued treasures at the New-York Historical Society are two small, leather bound volumes I recently stumbled...
View ArticleRare Books Revealed: Parchment Repurposed
Sometimes when catalogers examine a book, we find that parts of its structure use recycled materials from other books. These materials are often invisible, hidden away under outer coverings of paper or...
View ArticleCopying History: A Handmade Facsimile of a Rare Franklin Imprint
In 1725, a then unknown nineteen-year-old journeyman printer named Benjamin Franklin printed A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, responding to William Wollaston’s The Religion...
View ArticleLab Notes: Stabilizing a Volvelle
A handwritten circa 1721 Navigation Notebook currently featured in our exhibition Harry Potter: A History of Magic, on view until January 27, 2019, contains all sorts of information that may be helpful...
View ArticleTinker, Tailor, Printer, Spy: Pierrette Jeanne Sophie Charpentier de Mailly
An unassuming French pamphlet sits on the shelves at the New-York Historical Society. However, there is far more than meets the eye beneath its aged, brown wrappers. Premier rapport fait au nom du...
View ArticleVictuals, Mincemeat, Pudding, and Veal: William Worcester Dudley’s Food Diary
Sometimes people leave behind a little piece of history that is worth so much to modern day scholars. We do not know who William Worcester Dudley was, but between December 1785 and October 1786, he...
View ArticleGustavus Conyngham: American Privateer
On July 3, 1776, the Continental Congress authorized privateering on the high seas. Essentially, any private citizen who obtained a Commission of Marque and Reprisal would be permitted to capture...
View ArticleCelestial Science and National Revolutions: An 18th Century Prediction
What comes to mind at the mention of astrology? Perhaps zodiac signs and horoscopes? Or maybe millennials, the full moon, and new-age ideas? Today astrology has the less than stellar reputation as the...
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