"Everything old is new again": research collections at the American Antiquarian Society

Library Trends, Summer, 2003 by Joanne D. Chaison

After their stay at AAS concludes, fellows submit a written report of their impressions and experiences. In his 1990 report, Scott Casper, then a doctoral candidate in American studies at Yale University, referred to AAS as a "research spa--an intellectually rigorous but relaxing and nurturing environment that enables the scholar to accomplish enormous amounts of research and to rekindle enthusiasm" (Casper, 1990). Seven years later, as a member of the history department at the University of Nevada, Reno, he returned to AAS and further reflected upon his research experiences at a symposium marking the twenty-fifth anniversary of visiting fellowships. Professor Casper highlighted the benefits of staff recommendations to use uncataloged of underutilized collections and suggested that such conversations often help scholars redefine or transform their projects. When he began his fellowship, he said that he

   wanted to explore the cultural work of nineteenth-century American
   biography, the stories that biographies told and the cultural
   purposes they sought to achieve. As I concluded my [staff] talk [the
   head of readers' services] asked whether I knew about the Society's
   collection of library catalogues: printed catalogues of
   nineteenth-century libraries all over the United States, ranging from
   ladies' lending libraries to prison libraries. Of course, my answer
   was no--but not for long. Within a week [she and her staff] were
   bringing me stacks of uncatalogued library catalogues.... I was
   hooked and my dissertation was transformed. (Casper, 1997, p. 272)

Often a fellow's initial "want list" of materials expands after conversations with the knowledgeable staff and curators. For example, Barbara Hochman, professor of foreign literatures and linguistics at Ben Gurion University in Israel, recently arrived at AAS to work on her study of the publication history and popular response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's bestselling novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Initially, she focused on reading the abolitionist newspaper, The National Era (Washington, D.C.), where the novel first appeared in serialized form on 5 June 1851. But, after following through on recommendations she received from the staff, her project took on greater depth to reflect the phenomenal popularity of this novel. Professor Hochman had access to numerous editions of the novel--in fancy and cheap bindings, hard and soft copy, and foreign language imprints. She could access children's editions of the book, Topsy and Eva paper dolls, Uncle Tom songsters, pictorial scenes from the novel represented on lithographed sheet music covers, book reviews in nineteenth-century periodicals, broadside advertisements for the stage adaptation, and a wealth of "anti-Tom" novels that sprang from Stowe's work. One of the best suggestions Hochman received came from the curator of manuscripts who provided her with references to the novel in readers' letters and diaries. Her study took on far deeper dimensions than she originally envisioned (Hochman, personal communication, April 12, 2002).