Boston’s Congregational Library

This blog post, like many on this blog, began with my acquisition of an artifact related to the history of a library. In this case the library is Boston’s Congregational Library or more specifically the Congregational Library and Archives of the American Congregational Association. The artifact is a stampless folded letter that is an announcement of a meeting of the Congregational Library Association mailed on April 16, 1853. The original name of the American Congregational Association was the Congregational Library Association. What makes this example of postal librariana special is that it was mailed before the official founding of the Congregational Library Association/American Congregational Association on May 25, 1853. The association was founded “for the purpose of establishing and perpetuating a library of religious history and literature of New England, and for the erection of a suitable building for the accommodation of the same, and for the use of charitable societies.” The founders of the association felt that such a library should be created to preserve the original Puritan literature. The announcement in the letter indicates that the discussion at the meeting will be about the section of the library related to Ecclesiastical History. The other two sections of the library were Biblical Literature and Systematic Theology. More about the Congregational Library can be found on the library’s website and on Wikipedia.