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47-634: Bromley House Library (originally the Nottingham Subscription Library ) is a subscription library in Nottingham , England. The library is situated in Bromley House, a Georgian townhouse in Nottingham city centre . This building is grade II* listed and retains many original features. It was built in 1752 as his town house by Sir George Smith, 1st Baronet (1714-1769) of Stoke Hall, East Stoke , Nottinghamshire,

94-934: 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

141-414: A Scottish-born physician and planter of Antigua . The earliest surviving printed catalogue of 1741 gives the range of readers' tastes, for the members' requirements shaped the collection. Excluding gifts, a third of the holdings of 375 titles were historical works, geographies and accounts of voyages and travels, a category the Library Company has collected energetically throughout its history. A fifth of

188-604: 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

235-594: A glazed cabinet, the earliest extant example of American-made Palladian architectural furniture. Rooms on the second floor of the newly finished west wing of the State House (now Independence Hall ) housed the Library and its collections: there Franklin and his associates performed their first experiments in electricity during the 1740s. Later Benjamin West sent the mummified hand of an Egyptian princess. A charter

282-645: A grandson of the founder of Smith's Bank in Nottingham, the oldest known provincial bank in the United Kingdom. He used part as an office for transacting his lucrative business as Collector of the Land Tax. In 1929 Evans, Clark and Woollatt added a new doorway and frontage, allowing the ground floor to be converted for retail use. In the first-floor 'Standfast Library' is a meridian line , dating from 1836 and used to set clocks to Noon 'local' time in

329-520: A grant from Historic England East Midlands. The refurbished roof was completed in October 2019. The Nottingham Subscription Library was founded on 1 April 1816 at Carlton Street, in the Hockley area of the city. In April 1820, Bromley House was offered for sale by auction and purchased by the library for £2,750 (equivalent to £277,657 in 2023). The library moved in during 1821. In the 19th century

376-436: A point of fact that might be found in a decent library. In colonial Pennsylvania at the time there were not many books; Books from London booksellers were expensive to purchase and slow to arrive. Franklin and his friends were mostly of moderate means, and none alone could have afforded a representative library such as a gentleman of leisure might expect to assemble. By pooling their resources in pragmatic Franklinian fashion, as

423-452: A set of Spenser's Works to the collection and Francis Richardson gave several volumes, among them Francis Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum , but on the whole books in Latin were few. Overtures to the proprietor of Pennsylvania, John Penn at Pennsbury at first elicited no more than a polite response, but an unsolicited gift of 34 pounds sterling arrived in the summer of 1738 from Walter Sydserfe,

470-418: A stock of just under 50,000 books (expanding by 700-800 each year) which includes a good selection of interest to local historians, and a wide selection of 19th and 20th century novels. It also holds audiobooks and CDs. The Heritage Lottery Fund contributed towards a project to create the library's computer catalogue 'Bromcat'. This involved a team of staff and volunteers cataloguing the entire contents over

517-434: 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

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564-714: A tenth of the titles, which set the Free Library apart from collegiate libraries at Harvard and Yale . Another tenth was works of philosophy, and the rest (approximately 1/15 of the collection) was "economics and such social sciences , the arts , linguistics , and the indefinables." The Company's agent in London was Peter Collinson , Fellow of the Royal Society , the Quaker mercer-naturalist of London, who corresponded with John Bartram . The Library Company's example

611-461: A two-year period, completing the work in 2013. 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, was fully and freely accessible to the public. However, during

658-522: A year thereafter to buy books and maintain a shareholder's library. Therefore, "the Mother of all American subscription libraries " was established, and a list of desired books compiled in part by James Logan , "the best Judge of Books in these parts," was sent to London by autumn the first books were on the shelves. Earlier libraries in the Thirteen Colonies belonged to gentlemen, members of

705-709: Is a non-profit organization based on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia . Founded as a library in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin , the Library Company of Philadelphia has accumulated one of the most significant collections of historically valuable manuscripts and printed material in the United States. The current collection size is approximately 500,000 books and 70,000 other items, including 2,150 items that once belonged to Franklin, major collections of 17th-century and Revolution -era pamphlets and ephemera , maps, and whole libraries assembled in

752-415: Is also evidence that many of the library's curiosities were available to borrow if permission was obtained from any two directors. In 1769, Owen Biddle used the telescope to observe the transit of Venus from Cape Henlopen . On May 9 of that year Sarah Wistar became the first woman to be voted a library share. The library absorbed smaller lending libraries and outgrew its rooms, renting larger space on

799-735: The Free Library of Philadelphia , was chartered in 1891 to "be free to all", and opened in March 1894. The Library Company suffered financial troubles during the Great Depression and was forced to sell the Locust Street building and consolidate the collections in the Ridgway Library on South Broad Street . As its fortunes improved after the war, the institution focused on its mission as a scholarly research library. In

846-459: The Library of Congress until the national capital was established in 1800. Virtually every significant work on political theory, history, law, and statecraft (and much else besides) could be found on the Library Company's shelves, as well as numerous tracts and polemical writings by American as well as European authors. And virtually all of those works that were influential in framing the minds of

893-432: 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

940-613: The 18th and 19th centuries. The collection also includes first editions of Moby-Dick and Leaves of Grass . The Library Company was an offshoot of the Junto , a discussion group in colonial Philadelphia , that gravitated around Benjamin Franklin . On July 1, 1731, Franklin and a number of his fellow members among the Junto drew up articles of agreement to found a library, for they had discovered that their far-ranging conversations on intellectual and political themes floundered at times on

987-949: 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

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1034-569: The Framers of the nation are still on the Library Company's shelves. In 1785, the Company purchased a collection of Revolutionary broadsheets pamphlets and other ephemera that had been assiduously collected by Pierre Eugène Du Simitière , of which no other copies have survived. Permanent quarters were established for the Library Company in 1789 with the purchase of a lot on Fifth Street near Chestnut across from State House Square. A competition for

1081-459: The Library Company's historian wrote, "the contribution of each created the book capital of all. "Many of the first books in the collection focused Hat the first texts of on religion and education. It is notable t the collection was written in English, when during the period most books held in academic and private libraries were only found in Latin. The first librarian they hired, America's first,

1128-443: 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

1175-529: 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

1222-505: 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

1269-612: The clergy, and colleges. Members of the Library Company soon opened their own book presses to make donations: A Collection of Several Pieces , by John Locke ; Logic: or, the Art of Thinking , by the Port Royalists Antoine Arnauld and Pierre Nicole , which Franklin in his autobiography said he had read at the age of 16; Plutarch 's Moralia translated by Philemon Holland ; Lewis Roberts' Merchants Mappe of Commerce , and others. A bit later William Rawle added

1316-609: The cost of the book. Apparently, their money was given back upon returning the book. The privilege of being a member meant that books could be borrowed for free. Franklin also mentioned that the library was only open on Saturdays, for four hours in the afternoon. On November 10, 1731, at Nicholas Scull's Bear Tavern ten persons paid their forty shillings: Robert Grace (share no. 1), Thomas Hopkinson (share no. 2),2 Benjamin Franklin (share no. 3), John Jones, Jr. (4), Joseph Breintnall (5), Anthony Nicholas (6), Thomas Godfrey (7), Joseph Stretch (8), Philip Syng, Jr. (9), and John Sober (10). It

1363-580: The days before railway time or Greenwich Mean Time was introduced as the British standard. The longcase clock in the room is still set to Nottingham time, 4 minutes and 33 seconds behind Greenwich. In the attics, Alfred Barber opened the first photographic studio in the Midlands on 2 October 1841. Started 1 April 2019 a major refurbishment project comprising new roof, sympathetically restored attic rooms and essential internal repairs partially funded by

1410-743: The delegates. The offer was renewed when the Second Continental Congress met the following spring, and again when the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met in 1787. Nine signers of the Declaration of Independence— Benjamin Franklin , Benjamin Rush , Francis Hopkinson , Robert Morris , George Clymer , John Morton , James Wilson , Thomas McKean , and George Ross —owned shares, some of them serving as directors. The Library Company served virtually as

1457-559: The design of a building was won by an amateur of architecture, Dr. William Thornton , with a plan for a Palladian red-brick structure with white pilasters and a pediment interrupting a balustraded roof. A curving double flight of steps led up to the arched door under an arched niche containing a gift from William Bingham —a marble statue of Franklin in a classical toga sculpted in Italy by Francesco Lazzarini. Member's shares were extended to carpenters and bricklayers in partial payment for work on

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1504-417: 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

1551-413: The first fifty must be approved by the directors, sign the articles, and pay the subscription. Admitting new members and selecting new books were the directors' ordinary duties. In the back of the library's 1741 catalog, Franklin mentioned that the library was accessible to people who were not members. Those who were not members were allowed to borrow books. However, they had to leave enough money to cover

1598-451: The library had around one hundred subscribers, including George Green and Edward Bromhead . Historically, the first name on the list of subscribers was the Duke of Newcastle as Lord Lieutenant of the county. As of April 2018 had 1,638 members who paid an annual subscription. Items on loan are still recorded using a manual ledger system where each member has their own page. The library has

1645-509: The mid-19th century. A large bequest from Dr. James Rush resulted in a new building at Broad and Christian streets in South Philadelphia. The Ridgway Library, as it was called, was controversial because it was both physically and socially removed from the homes and businesses of its members. A new, more centrally located, library designed by Frank Furness opened its doors in 1880 at Juniper and Locust Street. An unrelated endeavor,

1692-474: 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

1739-592: The new building. The new quarters were opened on New Year's Day, 1791. For the new library Samuel Jennings, an expatriate Philadelphian living in London, painted a large picture, " Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences ." In 1792, the Loganian Library, which had been housed across the square, was transferred to the Library Company, complementing its collection with the 2600 books (chiefly in Latin and Greek) that had been collected by James Logan. This collection

1786-455: 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

1833-478: 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

1880-628: The second floor of the new Carpenters' Company hall in 1773. "The Books (inclosed within Wire Lattices) are kept in one large Room," Franklin was informed in London, "and in another handsome Apartment the [scientific] Apparatus is deposited and the Directors meet." On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress met on the first floor of Carpenters' Hall , and the Library Company extended members' privileges to all

1927-749: 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 . The Library Company of Philadelphia 39°56′52″N 75°09′47″W  /  39.94779°N 75.16306°W  / 39.94779; -75.16306 The Library Company of Philadelphia (LCP)

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1974-410: The titles were literature, mostly in the form of poetry and plays, for the prose novel was still in its infancy: as late as 1783, in the first orders from London after the war years, the directors thought "we should not think it expedient to add to our present stock, anything in the novel way." Another fifth of the titles were devoted to works of science. Theology and sermons , however, accounted for only

2021-416: Was Louis Timothee. He only held the position for a brief time. Until another librarian was found to replace him, Benjamin Franklin took over his duties. Franklin's stint as librarian ended in 1734, when he was replaced by William Parsons, the librarian for the next 12 years. Robert Greenway was the fourth librarian, whose tenure lasted until 1763. The articles of association specified that each member after

2068-448: Was a disappointing turnout: all but John Sober and the hatter Joseph Stretch (son of Peter Stretch ), who later became a Pennsylvania assemblyman, were officers. The library now had eleven paid-up members. Joseph Stretch and his brothers provided half of the original capital to build Pennsylvania Hospital , another of Benjamin Franklin's projects. Over time, fifty subscribers invested 40 shillings each and promised to pay ten shillings

2115-752: Was issued for the Company by the Penn proprietors, March 24, 1742, that included a plot of land, issued in their name by Governor George Thomas . Collinson, who had faithfully executed the Company's requests for books over the years, sent windfalls in 1755 and in 1758 in the form of boxes of his own copies of a score of 17th-century accounts of the newly established British colonies in America, among them such classics as Strachey 's Lawes , Mourt's Relation and John Smith 's General Historie of Virginia . The Library Company's microscope and telescope were frequently borrowed and from time to time, needed repairs. There

2162-477: Was soon imitated in other cities along the Atlantic coast , from Salem to Charleston . The Library soon became a repository of other curiosities: antique coins, including a gift of Roman coins from a Tory Member of Parliament , fossils , natural history specimens, minerals. When John Penn, making up for his slow start, sent an air-pump to the learned society in 1739, the directors, to house it commissioned

2209-740: Was supplemented by the medical library of James Logan's younger brother, a physician in Bristol, England, the best medical library in North America. Thornton's new building immediately required a new wing. The collections went from strength to strength in the 19th century. In mid-century it was considered one of the "five great libraries" in the United States, along with the Harvard University Library , Yale University Library , Library of Congress , and Boston Athenæum . The Library Company's collections were physically split in

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