Bradford Club records, 1859-1868

Summary

Creator:

Moreau, John B. (John Bostwick), 1812-1886

Abstract:

This collection is comprised of three volumes holding the correspondence and meeting minutes of the Bradford Club, a mid-19th century bibliophilic society that published books about various topics related to American history.

Extent:

3 volumes

Language:

English

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Clements Staff and Meg Hixon, November 2011

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection is comprised of three volumes holding the correspondence and meeting minutes of the Bradford Club, a mid-19th century bibliophilic society that published books about various topics related to American history. The first two volumes consist of 550 letters addressed to the club's secretary, John B. Moreau, often thanking the club for sending copies of its publications and requesting further volumes. Additionally, letters from printers and other collaborators document the contemporary publishing process, including issues related to copyright. The third volume contains the group's meeting minutes, compiled by Moreau throughout the entirety of the Bradford Club's history. Club members often met to discuss the publication of a new historical volume, and their meetings most frequently concerned distribution of the books. A printed circular advertisement for the club's latest publication accompanies each set of minutes. One circular, attributed to "A few Gentlemen in the City, interested in the study of American History and Literature," predates the Bradford Club (April 1859). Additionally, Moreau recorded an inventory for each publication, including a list of the recipients of each individual copy. This volume also holds a printed list of the Bradford Club's subscribers, as well as a manuscript copy of its constitution. Loose documents laid into the volume include financial records related to printing costs and an engraving showing a rock labeled "Washington" in a stormy sea.

Biographical / Historical:

The Bradford Club held its inaugural meeting in New York City on October 24, 1859, for the purpose of publishing informative volumes on topics related to American history. Its members included William Menzies, J. Carson Brevoort, Charles Congdon, Charles C. Moreau, and John B. Moreau. Menzies served as the club's president and John Moreau as its secretary. The club met periodically and published 8 books, each printed in a limited quantity and distributed among members and the club's subscribers. The Bradford Club dissolved on November 10, 1867.

Acquisition Information:

1934. M-229 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Related

Additional Descriptive Data:

Related Materials

The Clements Library has a copy of each of the Bradford Club's publications:

• Drake, Joseph Rodman, and Fitz-Greene Halleck. The Croakers. 1st complete ed. New York, 1860.
• Duyckinck, Evert Augustus. Memorial of John Allan. New York, 1864.
• Hough, Franklin Benjamin. Papers Concerning the Attack on Hatfield And Deerfield by a Party of Indians from Canada, September Nineteenth, 1677. New York, 1859.
• Hough, Franklin Benjamin. The Northern Invasion of October. 1780: A Series of Papers Relating to the Expeditions from Canada under Sir John Johnson and Others Against the Frontiers of New York, Which Were Supposed to Have Connection with Arnold's Treason. New York, 1866.
• Laurens, John, and William Gilmore Simms. The Army Correspondence of Colonel John Laurens in the Years 1777-8... New York, 1867.
• Murphy, Henry Cruse. Anthology of New Netherland: or, Translations from Early Dutch Poets of New York... New York, 1865.
• Shea, John Dawson Gilmary. The Operations of the French Fleet Under the Count de Grasse in 1781-2: As Described in Two Contemporaneous Journals. New York, 1864.
• Smith, Buckingham. Narratives of the Career of Hernando de Soto in the Conquest of Florida: As Told by a Knight of Elvas, and in a Relation by Luys Hernandez de Biedma, Factor of the Expedition. New York, 1866.

A complete list of contributors is available in the following volume: Peckham, Howard H. Guide to the Manuscript Collections in the William L. Clements Library. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1942.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Copyright--United States.
History--Sources--Publishing.
Publishers and publishing--United States--History.

Formats:

Letters (correspondence)
Minute books.

Places:

United States--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.
United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783.