Americana; recent acquisitions--antiquarian & ephemeral

The library consistently acquires antiquarian, ephemeral and out of print publications in all areas of U.S. history. The following list is a sampling of recently added titles:

Nevada County, the famous Bartlett pear belt of California. Its horticultural resources, healthfulness of climate, temperature, rainfall, topography, facility for irrigation, large and profitable yield of fruits, and other useful information for home-seekers ... Ed. and comp. by E.M. Preston. Pub. by the Nevada County Land and Improvement Association. Nevada City, Brown & Calkins, Printers, 1886.

Report to the Lake Tahoe and San Francisco Water Works Company, on its sources of supply; proposed line of works; estimated cost and income. By A.W. Von Schmidt ... October 1, 1871. San Francisco, Alta California Printing House, 1871.

Morehouse, Alonzo Church, b. 1820. Autobiography of A.C. Morehouse, an itinerant minister of the New York and New York east conferences of the Methodist Episcopal church. With an introduction by Bishop Newman. New York, Tibbals Book Co., 1895.

New Orleans Railways Company. Tourists' guide to New Orleans : what to see & how to see it / published and distributed gratis by the New Orleans Railways Company. New Orleans: The Company, [1904].

Sorgho sucré, or, Chinese sugar cane : method of cultivation and manufacture, and its value as a forage plant : including practical experiments, both in cultivation and manufacture, made in various parts of the United States / collected and condensed from authentic sources by a Massachusetts farmer. Boston : D.T. Curtis and E.W. Cobb : For sale by A. Williams & Co., 1857.

Stand up for America : the life of George C. Wallace.[Montgomery, Ala.:Wallace Campaign, 1968]

Stories and comments about George C. Wallace, next President of the United States.[Montgomery, Ala. : Wallace Campaign, 1968?]

Official annual, Sacramento District, Ninth Corps Area, Civilian Conservation Corps.Baton Rouge, La. 1938.

Eley, P. H. (Peter Harden), b. 1876. An epoch in history. Roanoke, Va.: Hammond's Print. Works, 1904. [An account of experiences in the Philippines by one of the teachers sent out by the United States government.]

Furnas, Robert W. (Robert Wilkinson), 1824-1905. Forestry on the plains : an address prepared and delivered by Robert W. Furnas, Brownville, Nebraska, at the fourth annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Horticultural Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, February 23, 1883. [S.l. : s.n., 1883?]

Kleinholz, George. The battle of Washington, a national disgrace. New York City, The B.E.F. Press, c1932. Note: Includes a history of the "Bonus Expeditionary Force", extracts from the press and a compilation of "facts concerning Mr. Hoover". cf. p. 4-5.

Manker, W. J. The ventilator : the ventilation of the radical House of Representatives, showing the most infamous system of swindling that can be found in this or any other country. Indianapolis : Sentinel Printing and Binding Establishment, 1868.

Official handbook of the Girls' Branch of the Public Schools Athletic League of the City of New York. New York, N.Y. : American Sports Pub. Co., 1913/14.

Release of President Lyndon B. Johnson's telephone conversations from May 1968 to January 1969

The LBJ Library released the final segment of President Lyndon Johnson's telephone tapes yesterday (December 4). The library has been working on the telephone conversation tapes since 1993. Read details of the release and listen to MP3 files of selected conversations at the LBJ Library's site.

Online exhibit: Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition, 1909

The Seattle Municipal Archives has recently posted an interesting online exhibit highlighting the 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exhibition, which was held in Seattle from June-October, 1909. The exhibit contains a number of images and documents digitized from the holdings of the Seattle Municip

"The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, held in Seattle from June 1 to October 16, followed on the heels of the 1906 Lewis and Clark Exposition in Portland, Oregon. Initial inspiration for the fair came from a group of Alaska's gold rush pioneers in 1905. In 1906, Seattle businessmen altered the original plan, postponed the 1907 date (so as not to conflict with the Jamestown, Virginia tricentennial celebration) until 1909, and sought financial support for an enlarged scope. The AYPE followed a tradition established in 1876 when Philadelphia held a Centennial Exposition. It was an opportunity for Seattleites to display pride in their heritage and their patriotism."

Two recent donations; 19th Century Americana

Thanks to the kind generosity of two donors, the libraries have recently acquired two wonderful pieces of 19th century Americana.

Lynn Noble donated a copy of Sebastian Adams' magnificent 22 foot scroll, "A Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern, and Biblical History," a chart that depicts the history of the world from biblical times to the mid-19th century. Compiled by Adams, an early pioneer of Oregon, as well as a clergyman and historian, and first printed in 1871, the libraries' copy is the fifth edition from 1883. In 2007, the Oregon State Library displayed its copy of Adams' scroll, prompting an article in the Salem News.

While the libraries' digital holdings of American newspapers from the early republic are rich, we have fewer bound editions of early 19th century American newspapers. Now, thanks to a generous donation by Steven Johnson and Jean Coblentz, the libraries hold a wonderful bound edition of the 1815 Boston Patriot, published by Davis C. Ballard. The bound Boston Patriot complements the American Newspaper Collection, 1794-1958, housed in Special Collections, which contains scattered issues of 266 American newspapers, including many from New England and the middle Atlantic states (largely clustered in the colonial period and the early republic,) as well as 19th and 20th century newspapers from Northern California.