As long as there has been a Boston Public Library, works on local and family history have been collected. While many libraries have family and local history collections for the town in which they are located, Boston Public Library’s collection is unique in that it includes all of Massachusetts and most of New England. The Local and Family History Collection includes more than 30,000 wide-ranging materials from the 17th–21st centuries. Close to 6,000 items relate to individual families, and...
The Interlibrary Loan Department at the Boston Public Library serves as headquarters for interlibrary loan activity in the Boston Regional Library System. The Department receives requests from the six regional libraries in Massachusetts. These libraries send requests on behalf of their member libraries. These libraries send in requests for books and journal articles. They also can send reference and subject requests. The staff of the Interlibrary Loan Department searches for these requests in...
Topic: BPL Interlibrary Loan
The Houghton Mifflin Company Trade Book Archival Collection is comprised of Trade Division materials that were originally kept in the Park Street building, which the company occupied from 1880 to 1994, before being donated to the Boston Public Library. The company’s editors used this collection as their working library. The collection includes adult and juvenile titles as well as reference materials, audio, and kits from Houghton Mifflin, Clarion, and other Houghton Mifflin Harcourt imprints.
Anti-Slavery collection (approximately 40,000 pieces). In the late 1890's, the family of William Lloyd Garrison, along with others closely involved in the anti-slavery movement, presented the library with a major gathering of correspondence, documents, and other original material relating to the abolitionist cause from 1832 until after the Civil War. The major holdings consist of the papers of William Lloyd Garrison, Maria Weston Chapman and Deborah Weston, Lydia Maria Child, Amos Augustus...
Topics: Anti Slavery, William Lloyd Garrison, Abolition
The BPL’s incunabula collection embodies the varied output of the 15th-century European printing press. As of February, 2020, the collection is comprised of 583 physical items printed during the 15th century, the majority of which are books (issued either individually or as parts of multi-volume sets). The collection also contains a small number of single-sheet publications, blockbooks, and fragments of books that merit individual cataloging. In total, there are 555 discrete 15th-century...
The Thomas Pennant Barton Collection is acknowledged as one of the largest and most comprehensive collections in a public institution focusing on the writings of William Shakespeare and his contemporaries. The collection was the first in the United States to include the first four folios of the collected works of William Shakespeare, as well as some 45 early quarto editions of individual plays, many published during Shakespeare’s lifetime. As the preeminent Shakespeare collection from...
Topics: shakespeare, Thomas Pennant Barton, Boston Public Library
The Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library cares for more than a quarter million cartographic and geographic objects, ranging from the fifteenth century to the present, with a global scope and a focus on Boston and New England. Created in 2004 as a private-public partnership between the philanthropist Norman B. Leventhal and the Boston Public Library, the LMEC is located in the McKim Building at the BPL ’ s Central Library in Copley Square. The LMEC features a...
Covering the years 1780 through 1821, this collection of Boston tax records is organized by year and ward. Beginning in 1802, the records for each year are generally divided into three main categories: taking books, tax books, and transfer books. Taking books (referred to as “valuation books” beginning in 1818) follow the order of the tax assessors' progress through each ward, street-by-street, and record names of individual residents or businesses, assessed values of realty and personalty,...
This collection provides access to materials published by the Boston Public Library, critical administrative records of the library, and collection documentation, including printed finding aids, card catalogs, procedural guidelines, etc.
123,370
123K
1921
1921
by
Lutz, Edwin George, b. 1868
texts
eye 123,370
favorite 894
comment 2
OCLC number: ocm07014379
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 2 reviews )
Topic: Drawing
Comprised chiefly of individual editions of English stage plays issued between 1594 and 1799, the Boston Public Library's collection of early English playbooks is extensive and diverse. Numbering well over 1,500 items, the collection also includes masques, pageants, and other dramatic entertainments. Critical funding to support long-term preservation of and enhanced public access to Boston Public Library collections, including this one, was provided by the Associates of the Boston Public...
Material for this collection has been contributed by the Boston Public Library.
These Catholic directories provide information about the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, including names, addresses, and telephone numbers.
The Ticknor Library of Spanish and Portuguese literature is a 10,000-volume collection that covers many aspects of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American literature and history, including books on art, science, law, and theology. As a collection, the Ticknor Collection is remarkable for its completeness in all that pertains to Spanish literature and belles lettres. Many of these volumes are first editions and handwritten manuscripts that are exceedingly rare. The materials are primarily in...
The Philip Hale scrapbooks contain letters and programs, along with clippings with reviews and criticisms written by Hale and others, all compiled by Hale. There are 60 volumes organized by year, as well as two separate index volumes.
6,776
6.8K
1902
1902
by
Jacobs, Joseph, 1854-1916, ed; Batten, John Dickson, 1860-1932, ill
texts
eye 6,776
favorite 71
comment 0
OCLC number: ocm02530838
Topics: Fairy tales, Folklore
The Benton Collection of Editions of the Book of Common Prayer was bequeathed by Josiah H. Benton in 1919. Benton was a trustee of the Boston Public Library from 1894 until his death on February 6, 1917, and served for many years as President of the Trustees of the Library. He bestowed much of his fortune to purchase books of “permanent value and authority, desirable for scholarly research and use,” and an equal amount of money for additions and improvement to the Library building. In...
Defoe & Defoeana The William P. Trent Collection of Defoe and Defoeana is one of the most comprehensive collections of Daniel Defoe and his contemporaries. In addition to writing some of the first English novels, Defoe was a prolific political pamphleteer and is considered by many to be a founder of modern journalism. The nucleus of this 30,000-volume collection is a set of first editions of Defoe’s works, bound in 77 volumes and formerly owned by Henry Labouchère. There are hundreds of...
xxxiii, 266 pages ; 23 cm
Topics: AIDS (Disease) -- Popular works, AIDS (Disease) -- Treatment, AIDS (Disease) -- Miscellanea
Boston Public Library music collection.
The Boston Public Library has an extensive collection of original manuscripts from the American Revolutionary War era. The letters and documents were drafted by John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, James Otis, Joseph Warren, George Washington and other important Revolutionary War figures. The materials are mostly of American origin, but also include British, European, and West Indian sources. Some of the topics covered include the war’s political origins, the unfolding of military and...
28,026
28K
1861
1861
by
Jacobs, Harriet A. (Harriet Ann), 1813-1897; Child, Mrs. (Lydia Maria), 1802-1880, ed
texts
eye 28,026
favorite 62
comment 1
Preface signed: Linda Brent
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
7,824
7.8K
1918
1918
by
Swift, Jonathan, 1667-1745; Kirk, Maria Louise, b. 1860, ill
texts
eye 7,824
favorite 16
comment 0
Illustrated lining-papers
12,248
12K
1751
1751
by
Luiken, Caspar, 1672-1708, artist; Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712, artist; Weigel, Christopher, fl. 1712, engraver
texts
eye 12,248
favorite 18
comment 0
This is the first edition of the famous "Elizabethan Bible" published during the reign of Empress Elisabeth Petrovna (1709-1761) and represents the so-called "corrected text" of the first edition of the Bible issued in Slavonic characters by Ivan Fedorov in Ostrog, (Volhynia) in the year 1581. See Darlowe and Moule
47,709
48K
1874
1874
by
Pigafetta, Antonio, ca. 1480/91-ca. 1534. Primo viaggio intorno al globo terraqueo. English; Stanley, Henry Edward John Stanley, Baron, 1827-1903
texts
eye 47,709
favorite 59
comment 0
Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Topics: Magalhães, Fernão de, d. 1521, Voyages around the world
Source: bplgrhum
23,766
24K
1923
1923
by
Johnson, Henry Lewis
texts
eye 23,766
favorite 405
comment 2
''Book reference list'':p. [192-193]
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 2 reviews )
Topics: Printing, Book ornamentation, Decoration and ornament
Index: p. 227-235
Topic: Wright family
[4] p., 130 leaves of plates : 37 cm
Topics: Monograms, Initials
The Boston Public Library holds a significant collection of books from the earliest years of English printing, including works from the presses of William Caxton, Richard Pynson, Wynkyn De Worde, and others.
17,032
17K
1904
1904
by
Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles, 1871-1928
texts
eye 17,032
favorite 180
comment 1
Title in red and black
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topic: Heraldry
Source: Gen Ref
23,433
23K
1965
1965
by
Crollalanza, G. B. di (Giovanni Battista di), 1819-1892
texts
eye 23,433
favorite 14
comment 0
Reprint of 1886-1890 ed
Topics: Heraldry, Nobility
9,713
9.7K
1915
1915
by
Jacobson & Company
texts
eye 9,713
favorite 108
comment 0
On cover: Architectural and decorative ornaments
Topics: Plaster, Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Source: BPL_scan_for_me
27,247
27K
1918
1918
by
Hannigan, Francis James, b. 1880
texts
eye 27,247
favorite 3
comment 0
"An index, by author and by title, under one alphabet ... of all the short stories published in ... American magazines."--Preface
Topic: Short stories
Source: bplgrsci
The Improper Bostonian was a glossy lifestyle magazine first published in August 1991 "highlighting the people and places that make Boston a world-class city." After 28 years, publisher Wendy Semonian Eppich announced that the magazine ceased publication effective April 25, 2019. The magazine came out bi-weekly and reported on the area trends in a young and entertaining way. The magazine was a staple in Greater Boston, distributed free at kiosks within city limits, and available via a...
9,948
9.9K
1798
1798
by
Caslon, William, 1754-1833
texts
eye 9,948
favorite 180
comment 0
Issued with: 'A specimen of cast ornaments', London, 1798
Topic: Printing
15,136
15K
1922
1922
by
Joyce, James, 1882-1941; Rodker, John, 1894-1955, publisher; Darantière, Maurice, printer; Egoist Press, publisher
texts
eye 15,136
favorite 70
comment 1
"This edition is limited to 2000 copies on handmade paper numbered from 1 to 2000"--Prelim. p. [9]
favoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: City and town life, Married people, Jewish men, Artists
Pages [xvii]- cxli descriptive of the Red Sea, Egypt, etc
Topic: Exmouth, Edward Pellew, Viscount, 1757-1833
Source: bplill
v. : 23 cm
Topics: Sight-singing, Singing -- Studies and exercises
First published in l9l8 by L. N. Fowler, London and Advanced Thought Pub. Co., Chicago
Topic: Attention
Preface signed: Joseph S. Harris
Topic: Smith family
2,318
2.3K
1971
1971
by
United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Criminal Laws and Procedures; United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary
texts
eye 2,318
favorite 1
comment 0
Includes bibliographical references
Topics: Criminal law -- United States, Criminal procedure -- United States
Source: bplgovdocs
10,843
11K
1923
1923
by
Falls, C. B. (Charles Buckles), 1874-1960
texts
eye 10,843
favorite 55
comment 0
A collection of book lists created and curated by Boston Public Library librarians. It includes: Black Is... (1973-), published in observance of Black History Month and featuring books concerning the African American experience; Latinx Life (2003-), published in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month and featuring books concerning the Latinx experience; We Are Pride (2017-), published in observance of Pride Month and featuring books concerning the diverse experiences of the LGBTQ+...
6,539
6.5K
1905
1905
by
Burnett, Frances Hodgson, 1849-1924; Betts, Ethel Franklin, ill
texts
eye 6,539
favorite 25
comment 0
Also includes ''The story of Topsy'' from Uncle Tom's Cabin
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 5 reviews )
Source: bplill
25,221
25K
1882
1882
by
Dresser, Christopher
texts
eye 25,221
favorite 189
comment 1
xi, 467 p. : 23 cm
( 1 reviews )
Topics: Architecture -- Japan, Art, Japanese, Decorative arts -- Japan, Japan -- Description and travel
Paged continuously
Topics: Phelps family, Phelps, William, 1599-1672
691, [7] p. 27 cm
Topics: Boone family, Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820
14,848
15K
1987
1987
by
United States. Congress. House. Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with Iran; United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Secret Military Assistance to Iran and the Nicaraguan Opposition
texts
eye 14,848
favorite 13
comment 1
"November 1987"--Cover
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topics: Iran-Contra Affair, 1985-1990, Military assistance, American, Political corruption
Source: bplgovdocs
xvi, 236 p. ; 20 cm
Topic: Erotic literature
Source: bplill
131,856
132K
1921
1921
by
Johnson, Samuel, d. 1901; Johnson, O. (Obadiah)
texts
eye 131,856
favorite 79
comment 2
OCLC number: ocm07397140
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 2 reviews )
Topic: Yoruba (African people)
Special collection -- Munsell imprints
Topics: Albany (N.Y.) -- Genealogy, United States -- Genealogy, Columbia County (N.Y.) -- Genealogy
16,721
17K
1658
1658
by
Porta, Giambattista della, approximately 1535-1615; Gaywood, Richard, active 1650-1680, engraver; Young, Thomas, active 1658, publisher; Speed, Samuel, -1681, publisher
texts
eye 16,721
favorite 260
comment 0
Two states are noted. State 1 has pages misnumbered as follows: p. 113 misnumbered 120; p. 120 misnumbered 113; p. 129 misnumbered 131; p. 385-392 misnumbered 381-388. In state 2, the first 2 errors have been corrected
Topics: Science, Industrial arts, Magnetism, Magic tricks, Alchemy
16,361
16K
1854
1854
by
Thoreau, Henry David, 1817-1862; Carew, Thomas, 1595?-1639?
texts
eye 16,361
favorite 54
comment 0
Title vignette (Thoreau's hut at Walden Pond); the plan is a water depth chart of Walden Pond, 1846, opposite p. 307
Topic: United States. Massachusetts. Boston. 1854
14,249
14K
May 21, 2023
05/23
by
Mesureur, G
texts
eye 14,249
favorite 210
comment 1
Consists of designs for embroidery on linen
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 1 reviews )
Topic: Embroidery
Bound in green cloth; stamped in green and gold; decorated endpapers
53,562
54K
1908
1908
by
Smith, Jacqueline Harrison
texts
eye 53,562
favorite 127
comment 2
383 p. ; 23 cm
favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 2 reviews )
Topics: Cookery, American, cbk
This collection contains scans of shelf list catalog cards for printed materials the BPL Rare Books and Manuscripts Department. Cards in this collection are organized by call number.
26,048
26K
1908
1908
by
Nesfield, John Collinson
texts
eye 26,048
favorite 40
comment 0
Includes index
Topic: English language
The major part of this distinguished collection is comprised of religious and devotional texts, but there are also a number of secular and scientific titles. Many are superbly illuminated with exquisite miniatures illustrating the codices and single leaves. Some noteworthy volumes include a 10th-century Lectionary from the Benedictine Abbey of St. Allyre in Clermont, the earliest codex in New England; a Spanish Psalter consisting of 14 miniatures on vellum by Simon Bening, the most famous...
17,544
18K
1926
1926
by
Boston Public Library
texts
eye 17,544
favorite 7
comment 0
Title from cover
Topics: Boston Public Library, Bibliography, Classified catalogs, Catalogs
21,817
22K
1949
1949
by
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Un-American Activities
texts
eye 21,817
favorite 53
comment 5
128 p. 23 cm
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 5 reviews )
Topic: Communism -- United States
27,765
28K
1917
1917
by
Weaver, Louise Bennett; Le Cron, Helen Cowles, joint author
texts
eye 27,765
favorite 151
comment 3
OCLC number: ocm00349841
favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite ( 3 reviews )
Topics: Cookery, American, cbk
12,140
12K
1499
1499
by
Colonna, Francesco, -1527; Alberti, Leon Battista, 1404-1472; Colonna, Francesco, approximately 1453-1517; Guidobaldo, da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, 1472-1508; Scytha, Johannes Baptista; Maro, Andreas, active 15th century-16th century; Manuzio, Aldo, 1449 or 1450-1515, printer; Crasso, Leonardo, publisher; Gottschalk, Paul, 1880-, former owner.
texts
eye 12,140
favorite 57
comment 0
For information about incunabula at the Boston Public Library, consult the library's incunabula research guide . The initial letters of successive chapters in this work form an acrostic that includes the author's name: Poliam frater Franciscus Columna permauit.
Topic: Architectural writing
123 p. ; 12mo
Topic: Cooking, Indic
Index has title page: Alphabetishches namenverzeichnis zur neunten, von grund aus neubearbeiteten und neugestochenen auflage von Stielers hand-atlas
Topics: Atlases, Atlases, German
38,746
39K
1976
1976
by
United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities; Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
texts
eye 38,746
favorite 30
comment 0
Vol. 3-6 lack subtitle
Topics: Intelligence service, Civil rights
Source: bplgovdocs
4,256
4.3K
1975
1975
by
Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration of Massachusetts; Federal Writers' Project
texts
eye 4,256
favorite 6
comment 0
At head of half title: Federal Writers' Project
Topic: Albanian Americans
Source: bplgovdocs
Translation of: L'âme humaine
Topics: Soul, Aura
Source: bplill
12,598
13K
1918
1918
by
Library of Congress. Copyright Office; Parsons, Henry S. (Henry Spaulding), b. 1877
texts
eye 12,598
favorite 0
comment 0
2 v. 25 cm
Topics: Drama, American drama
5,132
5.1K
1885
1885
by
Garrucci, Raffaele, 1812-1885
texts
eye 5,132
favorite 2
comment 0
Pt. 1. Monete fuse.--pt. 2. Monete coniate
Topic: Numismatics
The John Adams Library at the Boston Public Library
20,951
21K
1736
1736
by
Newton, Isaac, Sir, 1642-1727; John Adams Library (Boston Public Library) BRL; Colson, John, 1680-1760; Adams, John, 1735-1826, former owner
texts
eye 20,951
favorite 39
comment 0
John Adams Library copy: significant annotations in Adams's hand. An unfinished posthumous work, first published in the Latin original in v. 1 of the Opera omnia (Londini, J. Nichols, 1779-85) under title: Artis analyticae specimina, vel Geometria analytica. Another translation, without Colson's commentary, appeared London, 1737 as A treatise on the method of fluxions and infinite series.
Topics: Mathematics, Calculus
12,448
12K
1656
1656
by
Paracelsus, 1493-1541; Turner, Robert, fl. 1654-1665, tr
texts
eye 12,448
favorite 109
comment 0
Wing
Topics: Occultism, Alchemy, Medicine, Magic, mystic, and spagiric
Source: bplsc
6,135
6.1K
1949
1949
by
United States. Bureau of the Census; United States. Bureau of the Census. Statistical abstract of the United States
texts
eye 6,135
favorite 0
comment 0
"A statistical abstract supplement."
Topic: Cities and towns
Source: bplgovdocs
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11
