Literary Commonplace Books collection, 1858-1867
5 volumes and 2 loose items
This collection is comprised of five volumes of copied passages from magazines, newspapers, speeches, and other literary sources, on subjects such as religion, history, philosophy, economics, science, and fiction. Also included is a handwritten essay on "Physical and Moral Courage," and a Wilmington, Delaware, bond related to the estate of Edwin A. Wilson, April 1, 1859.
The creator of these commonplace books, writing in a dense, consistent hand, recorded passages from a wide range of authors that include Plato, Aristotle, Tertullian, Geoffrey Chaucer, Martin Luther, Nathanial Hawthorne, Charles Dickens, Baden Powell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others. Publication notices and excerpts of literary reviews are frequently noted. Passages often include references to the author or the publication source. Latin, Greek, and Hebrew words or lines periodically appear as well.
Included in the collection is a handwritten essay, titled, "Physical and Moral Courage", exploring these ideas within the framework of Ancient Spartan society, as well as their relationship to the legacy of Julius Caesar. A partially-printed bond dated April 1, 1859, from Joseph C. Seed to David Craig and William Tatnall in Wilmington, Delaware, pertains to the estate of Edwin A. Wilson.
- The Atlantic Monthly
- The British Quarterly Review
- The Christian Examiner
- Debow's Review
- The London Lancet: A Journal of British and Foreign Medical and Chemical Science, Criticism, Literature, and News
- The London Quarterly Review
- The National Review
- The New York Tribune
- The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, and Science
- The Spectator
- The Weekly Caucasian
- The Westminster Review