The Clements Library often sends holiday cards to members of the Clements Library Associates. Below is a selection of our earliest cards, featuring illustrations from library materials. The Clements Library Associates, founded in 1947, has purchased an estimated...
These Thanksgiving-themed postcards provide illustrations of early 20th century celebrations of this American holiday. The Clements Library ephemera collection contains many examples of printed materials like these, including programs, tickets, brochures, handbills,...
Memorial Day began after the American Civil War as a commemoration to honor fallen Union and Confederate soldiers. In 1868, General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued a proclamation to observe it nationwide on the last Monday...
On this date in 1861, William L. Clements was born to James and Agnes Clements of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Less than two weeks later, Fort Sumter fell to the Confederates and the Civil War began (Visit the Library’s current exhibit, Opening Guns: The First Year of...
In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore penned the lines of the classic Christmas poem, “An Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas,” which begins with the immortal lines: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was...
Guest post by JJ Jacobson, Curator of American Culinary HistoryIf Americans have any one person to thank for the Thanksgiving holiday, it is Sarah Josepha Buell Hale. Hale waged a decades-long campaign for the establishment of a national Thanksgiving Day on the last...
When Columbus returned from his 1492 voyage to the New World, he reported his discoveries in a letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Editions of this letter were printed in major cities across Europe, spreading the news of his travels. This book is significant...
The Spelling Society was founded in 1908 as the Simplified Spelling Society. Its aims are to “[raise] awareness of the problems caused by the irregularity of English spelling and to promote remedies to improve literacy, including spelling reform.” In 1980,...
