Pretty in pink! Our copy of Dew Drops (New York, 1850) is bound in a pale pink cloth, one of the least common colors we see in our collection.

Browse the Library Company’s database of 19th-Century Cloth Bindings to see more!

Dew-drops. New York : American Tract Society. 1850. 5.5 cm x 3.5 cm x .5 cm  

Library Company founder Benjamin Franklin knew what was up when he said “The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars.“

With this sentiment in mind, we wish you a happy #NationalWineDay! We have a feeling Ben would be celebrating. Cheers!

1867, An elementary treatise on American grape culture and wine making. / Mead, Peter B.  New York : Harper & Bros.

It’s #PublishersBindingThursday, and we have Hen Fever!

We love this binding on our copy of George Burnham’s The History of the Hen Fever (Boston, 1855), in which he claims, “Never in the history of modern ‘bubbles’, did any mania exceed in ridiculousness or ludicrousness.” 

Hen Fever refers to the mid-19th-century trend in collecting rare and beautiful chickens from around the world, popularized by Queen Victoria and her aviary. Although the trend was over as quickly as it began, we are thrilled it resulted in this incredible binding! #Feathursday

[1855], The history of the hen fever : a humorous record.  Burnham, Geo. P. (George Pickering).  Boston : James French and Co.

It’s time for another #SleepingInTheStacks feature! Titled Miss Sleepy-Head, this circa 1840-1880 comic valentine reads:

My pretty maid, to me it seems / You’re always in the land of dreams; / Take my advice, and never wed - / Your mate should be a feather bed.

Comic valentines, very popular in the United States beginning in the early 1840s, are quite different from the lacy, heart-shaped cards that one associates with the holiday today. The cartoons and verses poke fun at various occupations, ethnicities, human frailties, romantic aspirations, habits and pastimes, political activities, as well as participation in the American Civil War.

We know Miss Sleepy-Head is meant as a joke, but we’re kind of jealous of her sleepy ways.

See more comic valentines here!

Miss Sleepy-Head. [between 1840 and 1880?]

A sharp-eyed reader spotted something out of place at the back of a pamphlet titled “Constitution of the Female Association of Philadelphia, 1803.” The page number “23” following page number “32” was clear sign that something was amiss.

Head over to our blog to read Library Company Conservator Andrea Krupp’s post about the fate of this errant leaf!

This week’s publishers’ binding is elegant in its simplicity. We love the delicate gold ferns against the green cloth, and the bevelled edge boards create a luxurious hand-feel. Notice also the type on the gold-stamped title. This spare and understated design is consistent with the aesthetic trend in American publishers’ bindings in the 1860s. Found on our copy of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s May-Day, and Other Pieces (Boston, 1867). #PublishersBindingThursday 

Browse the Library Company’s database of 19th-Century Cloth Bindings to see more! 

Emerson, Ralph Waldo. May-day, and other pieces. Boston : Ticknor and Fields.  1867.     

Queen B! We found this royal insect in our copy of Charles Butler’s The Femininʻ Monarchiʻ, or The Histori of Beeʻs (Oxford, 1634), which was likely previously owned by Benjamin Franklin. #MacroMonday

Butler, Charles. The femininʻ monarchiʻ, or the histori of beeʻs. Oxford [England], Printed by William Turner, for đe author. M.DC.XXXIV. [1634]

We shared this sweet scaleboard binding a few weeks ago and our conservation staff were horrified by the 1960s-era repair that was visible on the front cover. So here it is again, fresh from the lab, looking so much better! #FlashbackFriday

Here’s the text from the original post:

We love the decorated paper and scaleboard binding on our copy of John Witherspoon’s A Series of Letters on Education (New York, 1797).

Witherspoon, who was the president of Princeton College in 1797, was an avowed and determined disciplinarian. In a Series of Letters, he recommends parents “begin the establishment of authority” at the age of eight or nine months, and goes on to say “Do not imagine I mean to bid you use the rod at that age; on the contrary, I mean to prevent the use of it in a great measure, and to point out a way by which children of sweet and easy tempers may be brought to such a habit of compliance, as never to need correction at all.”

We find it interesting that the work was issued in such a tiny format, as though it were meant for the children themselves and not their parents. #MiniatureMonday

Witherspoon, John. A series of letters on education. New-York : printed by J. Buel, for C. Davis. 1797. 108 p. ; 10 cm.

It’s time for our final #BookBouquets feature! We love the delicate gilt-stamped decoration on our copy of Frances Osgood’s The Floral Offering (Philadelphia, circa 1846). In addition to poetic meditations on a variety of flowers, The Floral Offering includes several colored plates of floral bouquets.

Browse our database of 19th-century cloth bindings to see more!  

Osgood, Frances S. The floral offering, a token of friendship. Philadelphia : Carey and Hart. [c1846].

This week’s #MiniatureMonday is for the birds! 

Measuring just over 8 cm, The History of Curious and Wonderful Birds (New York, circa 1830s) is filled with woodcut illustrations of birds from all over the world. We especially love the vibrant yellow printed paper wrappers on our copy.

The History of curious and wonderful birds.  New-York: : Printed and sold by Mahlon Day, at the New Juvenile Bookstore, no. 376, Pearl-Street., [between 1833 and 1839?] 16 p. :  ill. ;  88 mm.