The Collection of publishers’ prospectuses, catalogs, and other materials contains many different types of source material for the study of 18th-century publishing history in France, from book prospectuses and booksellers’ catalogs to laws and legal opinions related to the activities…
While many Americans are familiar with Thomas Paine as the author of the 1776 political pamphlet Common Sense and as a Founding Father of the United States of America, fewer are familiar with Paine’s French political career. In gratitude of…
We are pleased to announce that Anna Gutierrez has begun her new position this week as our newest Project Cataloging Assistant. Welcome, Anna!
Because the pamphlets that comprise the French Revolution Collection (FRC) share many characteristics, particularly the location and format of important bibliographic information (i.e. title, author, and publication information), we have made ample use of cataloging templates. During the training process…
While many book prospectuses, considering their ephemeral nature, are little more than simply printed single-sheet advertisements, some are rather lushly printed to showcase the beauty and importance of the book they are advertising. One such example from the Newberry’s Collection…
The Newberry Library presents an informal colloquium every Wednesday afternoon to give staff, fellows, visiting scholars, and friends of the library an opportunity to present their work on virtually any topic. Last week, some of the project staff presented a…
Although our project is a “rapid cataloging” project, we are still able to create large quantities of catalog records with rich subject analysis. One method we have integrated into our workflow to help cope with the large number of pamphlets…
While I have been a part of the project team since the project began early this year, today I step into my new role as Cataloging Project Librarian for the French pamphlet cataloging project as Eric moves into his new…
When 18th-century booksellers and publishers in France planned to publish a new title, it was not uncommon for them to request in prospectuses or advertisements for the proposed work that subscribers mail their subscription fee to a notary, who acted…
The Collection of publishers’ prospectuses, catalogs, and other materials at the Newberry Library contains, not unsurprisingly, a large number of book prospectuses. A book prospectus is a description or advertisement with which a bookseller or publisher hopes to generate interest…