People in Libraries on Postage Stamps

I'm a collector of libraries and librarians on postage stamps which is sometimes called bibliophilately. Of the hundreds of thousands of postage stamps that have been issued by the countries of the world, less than a thousand fall into this category. Of that group only 30 to 40 depict people inside of a library (this does not include images of celebrities in a library). I'm an advocate for a United States postage stamp or group of postage stamps honoring public libraries. Stamps showing people using public libraries would be a great way to do this. Below are some of the stamps in my collection showing people in libraries.

Bophuthatswana, Issued 1990

Greenland, Issued 1980

Iceland, Issued 1968

Kenya, Issued 1984

Norway, Issued 1985

Poland, Issued 1954

Barbados, Issued 1972

Cookbook Librariana

According to The Cookbook Library, a new book on the history of printed cookbooks by Anne Willan and Mark Cherniavsky (Univ. of California Press), cookbooks date back to medieval times. It is not that uncommon for Friends of Libraries groups or other library supporters to compile cookbooks to raise funds for a library. I recently acquired a hansom example that was published this year by the Friends of Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, WI. I have a much older example of a library cookbook that was compiled in 1929 by the Members of the Ripon (WI) Library Association.  My 1929 copy is the fourth edition of the publication. The first edition was published way back in 1892. It got me to wondering when the first library cookbook was published. It might even be the 1892 Ripon cookbook. I found a citation for a Grinnell Iowa Free Library Cookbook in WorldCat that was published in 1896 and a citation for cookbook published by the Aldrich Free Public Library Friends in Moosup, CT in 1897. I currently only have three cookbooks in my librariana collection, but a quick search of eBay leads me to believe that one could put together a nice collection of these books. According to a brief history of the Ripon Public Library, the Ripon Library Association (a subscription library) was created in 1884 and turned its book collection over to the city for a free public library in 1898. The Library Association evidently continued as a library support organization.

Vintage Autos and Libraries on Postcards

I noted in a previous post that horse and buggies add interest to postcards of library buildings. Vintage automobiles do the same thing. Shown below are five of my favorite library postcards with vintage automobiles.

Public Library, St. Joseph, MI

Public Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI (formerly Grand Rapids)

Public Library, Binghamton, NY

Public Library, Benton Harbor, MI

Public Library, Superior, WI

Postal Recognition of IFLA Conferences

The World Library and Information Conference of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) will take place in Helsinki, Finland on August 11-17. This will be the 78th IFLA General Conference and Assembly. The first such conference took place in Rome, Italy in 1928. In the past, several host countries have  recognized the IFLA conference with postage stamps and other postal artifacts. These include:  Belgium in 1977 on the 50th anniversary of IFLA; the Philippines in 1980; Kenya in 1984; Japan in 1986; and more recently Vatican City in 2009 when IFLA met in Milan, Italy. Han Krol has more about the stamps on his Dutch Librariana website (translate with Google translator). Some items from my postal librariana collection are shown below.

A Toot My Own Horn Opportunity

Me and my exhibit at the MN Stamp Expo

Previously I posted information about my "America's Public Libraries and Their Forerunners 1731-1956" philatelic exhibit and the awards it received at the Rocky Mountain Stamp Show in Denver in May. This past weekend the exhibit was on display at the Minnesota Stamp Expo in Minneapolis. At that show, in addition to receiving a gold medal, it received the Reserve Grand Award. That award is given to the second best multi-frame exhibit at the show. It is the highest honor that any of my philatelic exhibits has ever received. It is notable in that my exhibit is classified as a "Display" exhibit meaning that it includes non-postal as well as postal items. The highest awards for exhibits almost always go to more traditional philatelic exhibits. For instance, the Grand Award (for the best multi-frame exhibit) at the stamp show went to an exhibit titled "Sweden - The Medallion Series 1910-1919" (well deserved I might add). Although it is great to be rewarded with awards, it was also extremely satisfying to receive positive feedback from attendees at the stamp show. Philatelic exhibiting about the history of libraries is one way that I promote library history to a broader audience.

Early Aurora (IL) Library Workers Identified

L to R: Alice Belleau, Gladys V. Hull, Minnie J. Pooley, Matie K. Quinn, Lillian C. Miles, Kate E. Marshall, and H. Belva Hull

My post for July 8 showed two photographs that included a large number of unidentified early women library workers. One of the photographs was on a postcard which was mailed from Aurora, Illinois. The current staff of the Aurora Public Library have now identified the photograph as one that shows an earlier group of staff members at the Aurora Public Library.  The image above is an enlarged detail of the women on the postcard with their names. One of the women pictured is Lillian C. Miles, the Assistant Librarian. James Shaw, the Librarian, is not shown. The Aurora Public Library was founded in 1881. James Shaw became the Librarian in 1884. In 1904 the library moved into a new building (shown on the postcard below) funded with a $50,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. The photograph of the women library workers was taken sometime between the date the Carnegie library opened and the date the postcard was mailed (July 10, 1907). The building was drastically remodeled and expanded in 1969. The remodeling included a new facade for the building.

Libraries and horse and buggies on postcards

I'm always on the lookout for library postcards with interesting added features. There's nothing like a horse and buggy to add a little interest to the exterior of a library building. Five library postcards in my collection with horse and buggies are shown below.

Carnegie Library, Waterville, ME

Public Library, Kalamazoo, MI

Carnegie Library, Houston, TX

Public Library (Carnegie), Sheboygan, WI

Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT

Destruction of Stanford's Library in 1906

"It was soon after sunrise April 18, 1906, that the ground now solid underfoot began to heave, to tremble. As one journalist described the sensation of the earthquake, 'It pounced on the earth as some sidereal bulldog, with a rattle of hungry eagerness. The earth was a rat, shaken in the grinding teeth, shaken, shaken, shaken, with periods of slight weariness followed by new bursts of violent rage.' Everyone had supposed the massive construction and modest dimensions of this building would ensure its safety. As a matter of fact, the splendid masonry was stripped off that steel frame under the dome like flimsy paper from a bill-board. The walls that looked as if they might outlive Europe's cathedrals crumbled like lumps of sugar at afternoon tea."  The previous quotation is from the back of a stereoview (see above) showing the destruction of the newly completed library building at Stanford University in Palo Alta, California by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Fortunately, the new library was not yet occupied. More about the impact of the earthquake on Stanford University including the library can be found on the University's website. The stereoview was created by Underwood & Underwood a major publisher of stereoviews. Stereoviews are double images of a scene on a card that when viewed with a stereoscope appear to be three dimensional. Several decades before libraries appeared on picture postcards they could be viewed on stereoviews. I only have a handful of stereoviews in my collection of librariana.

Szabo to ALA in 1915 - Where's my Booklist?

Ervin Szabo (1877-1918) was Hungary's most famous librarian. Hungary has issued two postage stamps in his honor and has named one of its largest libraries for him. He was the first director of the Municipal Library in Budapest which is now the Metropolitan Ervin Szabo Library. I recently acquired a government issued postcard from Hungary that was mailed on July 12, 1915 to the Publishing Board of the American Library Association. The postcard was mailed by the Budapest Municipal Library and it indicates that the A.L.A. Booklist for 1915 issue 1 "has not come to hand". There is a printed signature on the card for Ervin Szabo as Director of the Library. ALA began publishing Booklist, a book reviewing journal, in 1905. More about Szabo who has been described as a "socialist theoretician" can be found in the online YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. More librarians on postage stamps can be found HERE.

Early Portland (OR) Bookmobile Postcard

The predecessor of the Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon was the Portland Library Association which was established in 1864. Originally, the Portland Library Association was a subscription library, but in 1902 it became a free public library serving all of Multnomah County. Bookmobile service was one of the strategies used to extend library service to the county. I recently acquired the postcard above showing one of the Library Association's early bookmobiles. The caption on the back reads: "The Graham Brothers Truck has been in service at Portland, Oregon, for over eighteen months and has exceeded the fondest expectations of the Library Association in increasing the number of rural readers. The inside of the body carries approximately 600 books." This bookmobile dates from the early 1920s. There is another view of the Graham Brothers bookmobile on the Multnomah County Library's Flickr site. There are also many other views of bookmobile service on the Library's Flickr site. The Multnomah County Library no longer provides bookmobile service.