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49-600: The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of membership libraries , for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The institution was founded in 1807 by the Anthology Club of Boston , Massachusetts . It is located at 10½ Beacon Street on Beacon Hill . Resources of the Boston Athenaeum include

98-934: A public library , access was often restricted to members. Some of the earliest such institutions were founded in Britain, such as Chetham's Library in 1653, Innerpeffray Library in 1680 and Thomas Plume's Library in 1704. In the American colonies , the Library Company of Philadelphia was started in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . By paying an initial fee and annual dues, members had access to books, maps, fossils, antique coins, minerals, and scientific instruments. This library began with 50 members, swelled to 100 quickly, and then grew prosperous enough to begin to publish its own books. When

147-604: A catalogue of 690 plays which he claimed to be ready to lend "upon reasonable considerations" from his premises in Westminster . Circulating libraries charged subscription fees to users and offered serious subject matter as well as the popular novels, thus the difficulty in clearly distinguishing circulating from subscription libraries. Occasionally subscription libraries called themselves 'circulating libraries', and vice versa. Many ordinary circulating libraries might call themselves 'subscription' libraries because they charged

196-540: A gallery of sculptures and paintings, collections of coins and natural curiosities, and even a laboratory. This ambitious design has developed over the past two hundred years with some changes in focus (e.g., there is no chemistry lab) but remaining true to the ideal expressed in the institution's seal, chosen in 1814: Literarum fructus dulces , meaning "Sweet are the Fruits of Letters." The first yearly subscriptions were sold for ten dollars; only members were allowed to enter

245-504: A large circulating book collection; a public gallery; a rare books collection of over 100,000 volumes; an art collection of 100,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and decorative arts; research collections including one of the world's most important collections of primary materials on the American Civil War ; and a public forum offering lectures, readings, concerts, and other events. Special treasures include

294-434: A subscription, while the earliest private subscription libraries, such as Leeds , Warrington , or Liverpool, describe themselves as 'circulating' libraries in their titles. Since many circulating libraries called themselves after the town where they were situated, it is often difficult to distinguish the type of a particular library, especially since many are only known to posterity from a surviving book label, with nothing but

343-635: A time. By the early 1840s, Boston was a fast-growing city, and Pearl Street was built up commercially, with warehouses crowding around the Athenæum building. The trustees moved to construct a new building in order to facilitate access to the Athenaeum. Land was acquired on Beacon Street overlooking the Old Granary Burying Ground , and the cornerstone was laid in 1847. In 1849, the current location opened at 10½ Beacon Street. It

392-671: A wider audience through Vimeo , an open video platform. A few examples of the special collections: The collections include many areas that are not documented elsewhere, e.g, the newspapers from the Confederate States of America Imprint Collection Subscription library In the 18th century, there were virtually no public libraries in the sense in which we now understand the term i.e. libraries provided from public funds and freely accessible to all. Only one important library in Britain, Chetham's Library in Manchester,

441-508: A young Harvard graduate by the name of Phineas Adams established the magazine The Monthly Anthology, or Magazine of Polite Literature . Adams left the New England area in 1804, having insufficient funds to continue the periodical; however, the printers Munroe and Francis convinced other young men to contribute to and continue the magazine under the new title of The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review . By 1805, these young men founded

490-658: Is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology , Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was for a time after the Revolution called the "Stone Chapel", an 18th-century structure at the corner of Tremont Street and School Street in Boston , Massachusetts. The chapel building, completed in 1754,

539-535: Is decorated with miters and carvings from the Bridge organ of 1756, and it is slightly below average in size compared with most mid-1900s European chapel organs. For forty-two years starting in 1958, the eminent American composer Daniel Pinkham was the organist and music director at King's Chapel. He was succeeded by Heinrich Christensen. The King's Chapel bell, cast in England , was hung in 1772. In 1814 it cracked,

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588-453: Is one of the finest designs of the noted colonial architect Peter Harrison , and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 for its architectural significance. The congregation has worshipped according to a Unitarian version of the Book of Common Prayer since 1785, currently in its ninth edition. Despite its name, the adjacent King's Chapel Burying Ground is not affiliated with

637-552: The American Revolution , the chapel sat vacant and was referred to as the "Stone Chapel". The Loyalist families left for Nova Scotia and England, and those who remained reopened the church in 1782. It became Unitarian under the ministry of James Freeman , who revised the 1662 English edition of the Book of Common Prayer along Unitarian lines in 1785. Although Freeman still considered King's Chapel to be Episcopalian ,

686-699: The Anthology Society . The Boston Athenaeum was founded in 1807 by members of the Anthology Society , literary individuals who began with a plan to have a reading room. The first librarian, William Smith Shaw , and the new trustees had ambitious plans for the Athenaeum, basing their vision on the Athenæum and Lyceum in Liverpool, England. Their vision was expanded to include a library encompassing books in all subjects in English and foreign languages,

735-644: The King's Chapel Library and the Theological Library belonging to the Boston Association of Ministers were deposited in the Athenaeum. Work was begun on a shelf catalog in 1827. That same year, the art gallery was established, and the first annual exhibition opened. Measures were undertaken in 1830 to turn the collections into a circulating library. Once the Athenaeum became a circulating library, only four books were allowed to be checked out at

784-865: The National Portrait Gallery (an arm of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.) for $ 5 million; when this agreement became public in April 1979, there was strong public opposition to it in Boston but the National Portrait Gallery argued that the portraits were of national historic value and belonged in the Smithsonian. A campaign by prominent Bostonians to raise $ 5 million to keep

833-432: The subscribers , chose books for the collection that were general, rather than aimed at a particular religious, political or professional group. The books selected for the collection were chosen because they would be mutually beneficial to the shareholders. The committee also selected the librarians who would manage the circulation of materials. Subscription libraries were also referred to as 'proprietary' libraries due to

882-478: The Athenaeum's rooms, although they could bring guests. The Athenaeum's collections were initially non-circulating, meaning that even members could not check out books to take home. At first, the Boston Athenaeum rented rooms, then in 1809 bought a small house adjacent to the King's Chapel Burying Ground , and in 1822 moved into a mansion on Pearl Street, where a lecture hall and gallery space were added within four years. In 1823, Shaw stepped down as librarian, and

931-400: The Boston Athenaeum employed the architectural firm of Bigelow and Wadsworth to expand the building. The fourth and fifth floors were set back so as not to disrupt the symmetry of the façade. This renovation fireproofed the building and expanded the space, including the addition of the beautiful fifth floor reading room and the fourth floor Trustees’ Room. At the same time, much-needed shelving

980-949: The Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, they did so in the same building as Franklin's Library Company and delegates were given member privileges for the library. Franklin's subscription library became so popular that many subscription libraries were founded in the colonies, making him remark that it was, "the mother of all the North American subscription libraries, now so numerous". The first subscription library in Canada, The Quebec Library/Bibliotheque de Quebec, opened in 1783. The materials available to subscribers tended to focus on particular subject areas, such as biography , history , philosophy , theology and travel , rather than works of fiction, particularly

1029-511: The Episcopal Church's first bishop Samuel Seabury refused to ordain him. The church still follows its own Anglican-style hybrid liturgy . It is a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association . Inside, the church is characterized by wooden columns with Corinthian capitals that were hand-carved by William Burbeck and his apprentices in 1758. Seating is accommodated by box pews , most of which were originally owned by

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1078-555: The Library of Congress system. Many of the Trustees at the Boston Athenaeum participated in the movement to create a separate museum in Boston. In the years 1872–1876, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts exhibited in the Athenaeum's gallery space while awaiting completion of its new building's construction. There would be no more annual exhibitions; shelves were installed and the library spread to the first and third floors. From 1913–1914,

1127-443: The advent of free public libraries in the 19th century, most subscription libraries were replaced or taken over by the governing authorities. In London, numerous scientific dabblers , amateurs, professionals concentrated in the comparatively small geographic area began to form a unique development – the learned society : These societies are voluntary associations of men and women who have come together because they are interested in

1176-529: The aims and objects which the societies serve and they feel that they can pursue those interests better as members of a society, rather than as individuals. The libraries therefore have been collected together for the purpose of serving the objects to which the various societies are dedicated and they do this, for the most part, by serving their members. Learned society libraries were private but were owned by larger groups of people. Materials were often lent or borrowed by qualified individuals or institutions outside

1225-407: The chapel or any other church; it pre-dates the present church by over a century. The King's Chapel congregation was founded by Royal Governor Sir Edmund Andros in 1686 as the first Anglican Church in colonial New England during the reign of King James II . The original King's Chapel was a wooden church built in 1688 at the corner of Tremont and School Streets, where the church stands today. It

1274-504: The collections' strengths focus on Boston and New England history, biography, British and American literature, as well as fine and decorative arts. The Boston Athenaeum's rare and circulating books, maps and manuscripts reflect the collecting interests of the Library as it has narrowed its focus from encyclopedic in the 19th century to an emphasis on the humanities and its large, historic collection of art includes paintings, sculpture, prints, photographs, and decorative arts. Over 260 book funds,

1323-462: The congregation by Puritan minister Thomas Brattle. Other organs that followed were built by Richard Bridge, Hook & Hastings, and Simmons & Willcox. The fifth organ installed in the chapel was a large 1909 E.M. Skinner organ. It had been a gift from Frank E. Peabody in memory of his deceased son Everett. The present organ, the sixth installed in King's Chapel, was built by C.B. Fisk in 1964. It

1372-417: The expectation that subscribers not only pay an annual fee, but that they must also invest in shares . These shares could be transferred by sale, gift or bequest . Many could not afford to purchase shares to become a member, even though they may have belonged to reading clubs . The increasing production and demand for fiction promoted by rising literacy rates and the expansion of commercial markets, led to

1421-412: The largest portion of President George Washington's library from Mount Vernon ; Jean-Antoine Houdon busts of Washington , Benjamin Franklin , and Lafayette once owned by Thomas Jefferson ; a first edition copy of John James Audubon 's The Birds of America ; a 1799 set of Francisco Goya 's Los caprichos ; portraits by Gilbert Stuart , Chester Harding , and John Singer Sargent ; and one of

1470-604: The member families who paid pew rent and decorated the pews to their personal tastes. The coveted Pew No. 30 is the Governor's Pew (reserved for Jonathan Belcher , the Royal Governor) was, on October 27, 1789, occupied by George Washington . Belcher's son, Jonathan Jr. , was wed in the chapel in 1756. The current uniform appearance of the pews dates from the 1920s. Music has long been an important part of King's Chapel, which acquired its first organ in 1713, bequeathed to

1519-464: The most extensive collections of contemporary artists' books in the United States. The Boston Athenaeum is also known for the many prominent writers, scholars, and politicians who have been members, including Ralph Waldo Emerson , Nathaniel Hawthorne , Louisa May Alcott , Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. , Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. , John Quincy Adams , Margaret Fuller , Francis Parkman , Amy Lowell , John F. Kennedy , and Edward M. Kennedy . In 1803,

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1568-474: The name as identification. In Britain there were more than 200 commercial circulating libraries open in 1800, more than twice the number of subscription and private proprietary libraries that were operating at the same time. Many proprietors pandered to the most fashionable clientele, making much ado about the sort of shop they offered, the lush interiors, plenty of room and long hours of service. "These 'libraries' would be called rental collections today." With

1617-455: The novel. Subscription libraries were democratic in nature; created by and for communities of local subscribers who aimed to establish permanent collections of books and reading materials, rather than selling their collections annually as the circulating libraries tended to do, in order to raise funds to support their other commercial interests. Even though the subscription libraries were often founded by reading societies , committees, elected by

1666-487: The oldest and largest of which was endowed by John Bromfield Jr. in 1845, support the addition of more than 3,000 volumes per year to the collection. In addition to catalogs of special collections such as the catalog of the Washington Collection, the Athenaeum printed the following general-purpose catalogs of books in its collection before creating a card catalog in 1903: The first catalog, that of 1810,

1715-590: The portraits could not be sold without his permission. In early 1980, the National Portrait Gallery and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts agreed to jointly purchase the portraits, which would then spend alternating three-year terms at each institution. The mission of the Boston Athenaeum is to engage all who seek knowledge by making accessible the library's collections and spaces, thereby inspiring reflection, discourse, creative expression, and joy. The Athenaeum's holdings currently include over 600,000 volumes, and

1764-565: The portraits in Massachusetts fell well short of its goal. The Athenæum refused to lower the $ 5 million price, which it called a significant discount from the portraits' market value. The City of Boston sued to forestall the sale, naming Massachusetts Attorney General Francis X. Bellotti (whose office the Commonwealth's constitution designates as "custodian of public property") in the suit, and this led Bellotti to declare that

1813-531: The rise of circulating libraries , which met a need that subscription libraries did not fulfill. William Bathoe opened his commercial venture at two locations in London in 1737, and claimed to have been 'the Original Circulating library'. An early circulating library may even have been established in the mid-17th century; in an edition of "Tom Tyler and his Wife" in 1661 Francis Kirkman included

1862-651: The society. Societies were concerned mainly with the sciences, physical and biological, and often cooperated with other groups like the Royal Society . Exclusive subscription libraries, the world's oldest being the Chemical Society in London, was founded in 1841 for the general advancement of chemistry . Its primary objective was to guide and direct original research in chemistry and to disseminate that knowledge through debates , lectures and its own journal . King%27s Chapel King's Chapel

1911-552: The space, using it to spread out the collections and to revise and complete the five-volume catalog. He created his own classification system, known as Expansive Classification , in order to revise and finish the five-volume catalog. Later, the Cutter system became the basis for the Library of Congress classification system; the sections of call number used to alphabetically designate authors’ names are still known as "Cutter numbers" in

1960-459: The wooden church. When the stone church was complete, the wooden church was disassembled and removed through the windows of the new church. The wood was then shipped to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia , where it was used to construct St. John's Anglican Church . That church was destroyed by fire on Halloween night, 2001. It has since been rebuilt. Originally, there were plans to add a steeple, although funding shortfalls prevented this from happening. During

2009-553: Was also named a member of the Company in its 1629 royal charter but never sailed for New England , instead remaining in London to tend to business affairs; his brother William frequently clashed with John Winthrop , and eventually removed himself to Scituate, Massachusetts . The monument to Vassall, London merchant, mentions his resistance to King Charles 's taxes imposed on Tonnage and Poundage , especially as Parliament had refused

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2058-519: Was appointed as Stanford Calderwood Director of the Athenaeum. The Athenæum had long owned two famous, unfinished portraits of George and Martha Washington . They had been on loan to the Boston Museum of Fine Art since 1876, but eventually the Athenæum, needing money, asked the Museum to purchase them outright, which the Museum declined to do. The Athenæum then agreed to sell the portraits to

2107-479: Was compiled by the Rev. Joseph McKean . The Athenaeum has digitized a wide range of its holdings, and continues to do so. The digitized holdings are described on-line and are an effort to make them more accessible to researchers, students, Athenaeum members, and scholars. A few examples from the many collections in the digital library: Since 2013, the Athenaeum has made its extensive on-going lecture series available to

2156-569: Was fully and freely accessible to the public. However, during the century, there came into being a whole network of library provision on a private or institutional basis. The increase in secular literature at this time encouraged the establishment of commercial subscription libraries. Many small, private book clubs evolved into subscription libraries, charging high annual fees or requiring subscribing members to purchase shares. Subscription libraries would in turn use these earnings to expand their collections and later create their own publications. Unlike

2205-428: Was installed in the form of a drum stack — a ten-story Snead stack occupying a semi-circular space from the basement to the third floor. The Boston Athenaeum was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Between 1999 and 2002, the Boston Athenaeum underwent a major renovation to update its climate control system, gain more space for books, and add new gallery space on the first floor. In May 2020, Leah Rosovsky

2254-631: Was recast by Paul Revere and Sons, and was rehung. It is the largest bell cast by the Revere foundry, and the last one cast during Paul Revere's lifetime. It has been rung at services ever since. Within King's Chapel is a monument to Samuel Vassall , brother of the colonist William Vassall, a patentee of the Massachusetts Bay Company , and an early deputy of the Massachusetts Bay Colony . Samuel Vassall of London

2303-469: Was situated on the public burying ground, now King's Chapel Burying Ground , because no resident would sell land for a church that was not Congregationalist (at the time, the Congregational church was the official religion of Massachusetts). In 1749, construction began on the current stone structure, which was designed by Peter Harrison and completed in 1754. The stone church was built around

2352-524: Was the first space designed for the Boston Athenaeum's specific needs. The first floor held the sculpture gallery; the second, the library; and the third, the paintings gallery. The architect was Edward Clarke Cabot , an artist and dilettante whose design was selected because his ingenious arch over graves in the Granary Burial Ground allowed more space on all floors above the basement level. The neo-Palladian façade of "Patterson sandstone"

2401-511: Was unique in Boston and remains so today. The Boston Athenaeum included sculptures by John Frazee . Charles Ammi Cutter became librarian in 1869, succeeding William Frederick Poole . Until this point, work had been uninspired on the comprehensive catalog of the library's holdings. The Athenaeum's exhibition area opened up when the Museum of Fine Arts moved the collections into their own space overlooking Copley Square. Cutter took advantage of

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