1850s Library of Congress Copyright Envelope

 

I've been collecting Library of Congress postal items for over 25 years. These items contitute a postal history of the Library of Congress. Items mailed by or on behalf of the library before 1860 that still exist are rare. Before I acquired the envelope shown above, I had only seen one other postal item mailed by the library before 1860. Obviously I was excited to add it to my collection. The envelope is identified as being mailed by the Library of Congress by the notation or docket on the left side of the envelope. It reads "Librarian of Congress recpt of our Copy Right articles". The envelope was mailed between 1851 and 1854 to Messrs Troup and Fickardt in Circleville, Ohio. George Fickardt and J.A. Troup were druggists in Circleville. The mailing period is established because their partnership only existed from about 1847 to 1854. Additionally, the 5 cent postal rate shown in the postmark went into effect on July 1, 1851 for unpaid postage (to be paid by the recipient). 

The envelope is also of significance in regard to the impact of copyright laws on the Library of Congress. An August 10, 1846 act of Congress authorized the Library of Congress to receive as a deposit one copy of each copyrighted "book, map, chart, musical composition, print, cut or engraving." Because that requirement had no enforcement provision and was largely ineffective it was repealed by an act of Congress on Feb. 5, 1859. An act on March 3, 1865 reinstituted a requirement that the Library of Congress receive one copy of each copyrighted item. On July 8, 1870 President Grant approved an acto Congress that centralized all U.S. copyright registration and deposit activities at the Library of Congress. The implementation of the 1870 law resulted in an enormous expansion of the use of the mail be the Library of Congress. I have developed a philatelic exhibit on the administration of copyright by the Library of Congress during the period 1870 to 1930. 

I have over 50 other blog posts related to the Library of Congress.

The 1982 Library of Congress Stamp

On this day (April 21, 1982) forty years ago the United States Postal Service issued a stamp honoring the Library of Congress. It was significant in that it was the first United States stamp to specifically honor a library. Although there had been previous postage stamps on which library buildings had appeared, those were issued to commemorate academic and other institutions or architects. Originally, the proposed stamp was to commemorate all of America's libraries collectively and the Library of Congress individually. Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin wasn't happy with the design of the stamp, however, and the Postmaster General agreed to issue a separate stamp for the Library of Congress. The stamp honoring America’s Libraries collectively was issued on July 13,1982 at the conference of the American Library Association in Philadelphia. Both stamps were designed by noted graphics designer Bradbury Thompson. I have a large collection of first day covers for both stamps. One of my favorites for the Library of Congress issue is shown above. It was the Library of Congress Philatelic Club Cachet Number 1. The illustration on the envelope (called a cachet) is a pen and ink drawing by Paul Boswell.  Boswell was a staff member at the Library of Congress where he worked for 46 years. Bowell was also a poet and in 1994 Boswell published a book of his poems and drawings titled No Anchovies on the Moon: Three Score and Ten Washington Pictures and Poems. Boswell died in 1994. The first day cover is signed by Boswell and Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin. 

The Library of Congress Philatelic Club produced first day covers for 18 different stamp issues. Their second first day cover cachet was for the America’s Libraries stamp.

I also published a blog post on the 30th anniversary of the issue of the Library of Congress stamp.

Women on Library Postcards Revisited

 As a tribute to Women's History Month I'm revisiting the topic of women on library postcards which I previously posted about on March 12, 2013. The first postcard below was mailed on July 10, 1907 and depicts the female staff of the Aurora Public Library in Aurora, Illinois. The library had moved into a new building in 1904 funded by a $50,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. With the help of more recent staff members I was able to identify the women on the post card left to right as Alice Belleau, Gladys V. Hull, Minnie J. Pooley, Matie K. Quinn, Lillian C. Miles, Kate E. Marshall, and H. Belva Hull. James Shaw, the Librarian at the time, is not shown.

Interior William Fogg Library in Eliot, ME. Unmailed RPPC circa 1907.
Librarian Gail Willis is at table in reading room.

 

Interior Adrian College Library in Adrian, MI. Mailed on 1/10/09.

Interior Hyannis (MA) Public Library. Unmailed RPPC circa 1930s.
Ora Adams, librarian from 1900 to 1943, at desk.

Bookmobile for the Library Associatin of Portland, Oregon. Unmailed circa 1920s.

More Carnegie HBCU Libraries on Postcards

 Andrew Carnegie funded library buildings at fifteen Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). I have previous posts about the library at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and the library at Fisk University. The other libraries are located at: Alabama A&M in Normal, AL; Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA; Benedict College in Columbia, SC; Johnson C. Smith Univ. in Charlotte, NC (formerly Biddle Univ.); Cheyney State University in PA; Florida A&M in Tallahassee, FL; Fort Valley Normal and Industrial Institute Fort Valley, GA; Howard University in DC; Knoxville College in Knoxville, TN;  Livingstone College in NC; Talladega College in AL, Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio; and Wiley College in TX. Postcards for the libraries are difficult, if not impossible, to find. Below are postcards showing Carnegie HBCU libraries in my collection.

Carnegie Library, Alabama A&M Univ. in Normal, AL

Carnegie Library, Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA

Library is building on the left.

Carnegie Library, Benedict College in Columbia, SC

Carnegie Library, Florida A&M in Tallahassee, FL

Fort Valley Normal and Industrial Institute Fort Valley, GA
Carnegie Library is building on the left.

Carnegie Library, Howard University in DC

Johnson C. Smith Univ. in Charlotte, NC (formerly Biddle Univ.)
Carnegie Library is building on the right.

   

Fisk University Libraries

 

Fisk University is a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) located in Nashville, TN which was established in 1866. The University was the recipient of a grant for $20,000 from Andrew Carnegie for a library building in 1905. The library opened in 1909. It was designed by black architect Moses McKissack III, and it was one of the first major structures designed by a black architect in the U.S. An image of the library is shown above. The building currently serves as the Fisk University Academic Building. The image is from an online article by John Baldwin titled "Fisk University Academic Building (formerly Carnegie Library)" which is part of Clio: Your Guide to History for May 18, 2018. An interesting aspect of the Fisk University Carnegie library building was that it was made available to Nashville's "colored citizens" under the same rules as it served Fisk students. I learned this information from an excellent historical overview of Fisk University libraries by Jessica Carney Smith in Tennessee Libraries. At the time Smith wrote the article she was the Librarian for Fisk. 

By the late 1920s the Carnegie building was inadequate and a $400,000 grant from the General Education Board made a new library building possible. That building which is shown on the postcard above was completed in the fall of 1930. It was designed by architect Henry C. Hibbs. Then University Librarian Louis S. Shores played a major role in its planning. The building was designed to also serve nearby Meharry Medical College. Provision was also made to include a "Carnegie branch library" for Nashville's black residents. A significant feature of the interior of the building was murals painted by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas. 

According to Jessica Carnie Smith's article Arna Bontemps, a Harlem Renaissance writer, became Fisk's first black head librarian in 1943. Bontemps added professional staff and built up special collections at the library. He left Fisk in 1965 and was replaced by Jessica Carney Smith. The need for an even larger library facility resulted in a new 74,000 square foot building that opened in January 1970. it was named the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library in 2000.

I attended George Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville from 1961 to 1965. From 1963 to 1965 I worked part time at the Public Library of Nashville and Davidson County. During that period Arna Bontemps served on the Board of Trustees of the public library. For part of the time his son was also a part-time employee of the public library. In 1965 I applied to the University of Illinois Library School and part of the application process involved an interview with an alumni of the school. Jessica Carney Smith was working at what is now Tennessee State University in Nashville when I applied to the U of I. She had just received her doctorate from the University of Illinois Library School, the first African American to do so, and she conducted my interview. Soon after that Smith became the Librarian at Fisk University.

Hampton Institute's Library School

 

The otherwise unremarkable envelope above which I recently added to my collection of postal librariana has an interesting black history connection. Hampton University (formerly Hampton Institute) in Hampton, VA is one of America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (UBCUs). The envelope was mailed from The Library School Hampton Institute in Hampton, VA on Dec. 17, 1932 to Northfield, MN. A cooperative effort involving the American Library Association (ALA), the Carnegie Corporation, and other philanthropic foundations resulted in the establishment of a library school at the then Hampton Institute in 1925.  It was the nation's first and only library school to serve African Americans. The library school was initially funded with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation and was accredited by the American Library Association to issue a bachelor's degree in library science. The library school lasted until 1939 when it was cut due to lack of funding. An article on "The Passing of the Hampton Library School" by S.L. Smith appeared in the January, 1940 issue of the Journal of Negro Education. Also under consideration for the library school were Fisk University in Nashville, TN and Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. The decision to select the Hampton Institute for the library school is explored in an article titled "Hampton, Fisk, and Atlanta: The Foundations, the American Library Association, and Library Education for Blacks, 1925-1941" by Robert Martin and Lee Shiflett in the Spring 1966 issue of Libraries and Culture. After the demise of the library school at Hampton Institute a  library school was established at Atlanta University in 1941. That library school ceased to exist in 1991. A history of the Atlanta University school is located HERE.

In 2018 when Hampton University celebrated its 150th anniversary the University's Library conducted a forum on "Minority Recruitment and Retention in the Library & Information Science Field." 

Charles Winter Wood, Tuskegee Institute Librarian

 

The un-mailed undivided back postcard above has several different stories to tell. It includes a picture of Charles Winter Wood (1869-1953) who is identified as the Librarian for the Carnegie Library of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. There is little information, however, about Wood's role as a librarian on the Internet. There is an article about Wood's connection with Beloit College in Wisconsin, something that caught me by surprise. Booker T. Washington hired Wood as head of Tuskegee Institute's English and Drama Departments in 1897, a capacity in which he served for over 30 years. In 1900 the Tuskegee Institute received the first of 15 grants made by Andrew Carnegie for  library buildings for  Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs). The Carnegie Library building is shown on the postcard above. Wood assumed the additional role of Librarian for the Tuskegee Institute in 1904. It is not clear how long he maintained this dual responsibility but the postcard was copyrighted in 1907. Outside of his academic responsibilities at the Tuskegee Institute, Wood is most noted for his acting career which was significant. The Charles Winter Wood Theater at Florida A&M University is named for him. Shaundra Walker has written an interesting article about Andrew Carnegie's library grants to HBCUs. There is also an interesting project at the University of Southern Mississippi about Carnegies grants for public library buildings that served African Americans. 

First day cover for the 1948 Booker T. Washington stamp. Includes a picture of the Tuskegee Institute faculty in front of the Carnegie Library. 

Iowa Carnegie Libraries on Postcards

 

Iowa City, IA to South English, IA, April 17, 1905.
Message reads: "This is our library - a gift from Andrew Carnegie, that kind old Scotchman who has gladdened the hearts of so many young Americans by his munificent gifts."

Iowa received grants from Andrew Carnegie to help build 101 public libraries in 99 communities and 7 academic libraries. This was the 4th highest number of grants received by any state nationwide. One or more postcard views exist for almost all of these libraries. Judy Aulik has one of the most complete collections of Iowa Carnegie library postcards. These are displayed on her "Civic Pride in a Lost America: Library Postcards" website. The Iowa images start with this link and continue for multiple pages. I have a much more modest collection with one or more postcards for 51 of the libraries. All postcards shown in this blog post are from my collection.

The Carnegie Libraries in Iowa Project (CLIP)is the most comprehensive source of information about Iowa's Carnegie libraries. There is a separate page on the website for each of the libraries. On that page is a link to "Images" for the library. These images often include the front and back of postcards which are described in detail. Among those images are many that depict postcards from my collection which I made available to the project. The CLIP is an amazing resource and is worthy of replication in other states.

Fairfield, IA to Burlington, IA, Oct. 2, 1809.
In 1892, Fairfield, IA, received the first grant from Carnegie for a library west of PA.

Cedar Rapids, IA to Toledo, IA, Oct. 20, 1910. Cedar Rapids Public Library interior view.

Sioux City, IA to Western Spring, IL, Nov. 29, 1909. Sioux City Public Library.

Edna Isabel Allyn and the Hawaii State Library

 The significance of the nondescript postal card below rests with its connection to one of the most important people in the history of the Hawaii State Library – Edna Isabel Allyn (1861-1927).  When this card was sent to Allyn by her former staff at the Brooklyn Sub Branch of the Cleveland Public Library, she had just become librarian of the Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association.  Allyn would transition this library into a free public library and then the Hawaii State Library. She would become Hawaii’s first State Librarian.  The card is a pre-printed overdue book notice that has been adapted in a humorous way – “Please return yourself at once and avoid accruing our displeasure.”  The postal card is dated June 14, 1907 and addressed to “The Truant”. It has no postage or postmark and was probably enclosed in another envelope for delivery to Honolulu.

The Honolulu Library & Reading Room Association was established in 1879 when Hawaii was still a country with a king and its own postal system. H. A. Parmelee was one of the founders of the library. This postal card was mailed locally in Honolulu on Oct. 31, 1892. 

Postcard shows the library in Honolulu directed by Edna Allyn.  Message on the back reads in part: “The building on the left is the library.  We hope for a better one some day.” Mailed from Honolulu, Hawaii to the Public Library in Newark, NJ, March 16, 1908. 

In 1909 the Hawaii Library and Reading Room Association transfered its assets to the newly formed Library of Hawaii which received a $100,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie for a building. That building opened (shown below) to the public on February 1, 1913. Edna Allyn was appointed the first librarian, a post she held until her death in 1927. The children's section of the library is named in her honor.  Postcard mailed on March 5, 1931. 

After statehood in 1959 the Library of Hawaii became the Hawaii State Library.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Postcard

 

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library , Washington, DC's central public library, is one of the most significant and appropriate memorials to Martin Luther King, Jr. The Board of Library Trustees named the library in memory of King in 1971 before the new building opened on August 21, 1972. The building was designed by world-famous architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The postcard above which shows the library was mailed in 1978. Based on the message on the back of the postcard it was probably sent by a library school student at the nearby Catholic University of America. The postcard was sent to a librarian in Geneva, Il. The message reads: "Here's a library postcard to add to your collection - or is it a friends? Anyway was down here today trying to find Maurice Tauber's Technical Services in Libraries. Do you believe it was out. BORING! which sums up most of my 15 credits - a letter will follow!" Two personal connections to me - library postcard collector and former library school student.

In 2020 the Library completed a massive $211 million rehabilitation. It still serves as an appropriate memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr.