One box has some very unexpected contents: engraved metal plates. I can’t be certain without examining them myself, but I think these are electrotyped copies from another publisher! I’m currently trying to locate where the illustration was used to trace it back to the source.

Unfortunately, the blocks in the boxes don’t seem to be in any order whatsoever. Nevertheless Ms. Pevar was still able to locate the frontispiece (block 6995). She hasn’t located the other illustration, block 6996, but there are still 20 more boxes to search.

I quickly realized that series number was the first two numbers of the catalogue number. Martha’s Gift is number 1673 in the catalogue so it’s in the 16th series in proof book. I’m still working on indexing the other 200+ sheets but so far the pattern holds.

Locating the block was a team effort. First, Ms. Pevar photographed the proof book then I organized and indexed the scans. The images from Martha’s Gift are on page 121 and labeled 6995 and 6996. The words “16th Series” are written at the top of the sheet.

In 2024, I hired a fantastic researcher named Susan Gunn Pevar to locate some materials related to the publisher at the Presbyterian Historical Society. The material confirmed that Anne Maria Mitchell was the author and helped me learn about another book for freedmen called the Bible Reader.

I learned about the Teitelman Collection of American Sunday School Union Woodblocks and Imprints back in 2023, shortly after I became interested in Martha’s Gift. I wondered if the blocks from that book might be there, but since there was no finding aid and I couldn’t fathom searching through it.

I’m so thrilled to finally see the engraved wood block used to print this illustration in Martha’s Gift; A Story for the Freedchildren by Anne Maria Mitchell. It’s located in a massive collection of woodblocks at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Locating it is a dream come true! 🗃️

Finally got my hands on some copies of the New York Daily Graphic. I was able to find an article about Maria Mitchell which was written by her niece, Anne Maria Mitchell Payne.

Wait! I think I have one more idea. I could examine other illustrations by Philadelphia artists and try to get a match on the monogram. There were major children’s periodicals published in the city like Child’s World and The Young Reaper.

I also checked the 1869 Philadelphia city directory for engravers, no matches there either.

I searched through American artists : signatures and monograms, 1800-1989 by John Castagno but didn’t find anything plausible. I also checked Philadelphia city directories but the possible matches didn’t yield any good leads. For example, Charles Bremer was a fresco painter.

I’ve been trying to determine who drew and engraved these illustrations but I’m out of ideas. The monogram looks like either CNB or CMB or perhaps CHB. The illustrations are from the book, Paul Kent the Choir Boy by Anne Maria Mitchell. It was published in Philadelphia by Richard McCauley in 1869.

The content is boring but the design is awesome. How often do you you see a dwindling hourglass connected to flaming chariot wheels on a newspaper's masthead? This would be a sick tattoo for an actuary.

My next post will be about his daughter, Anne Maria Mitchell Payne. Then I’ll write about the research trips I took to learn more about them. I’ve been chasing this story across Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, and across the ocean in England. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Working on another blog post; I'm really cleaning up around here. Part of the reason I haven't posted this stuff before is because so much of it is just scaffolding for a much more interesting project. I don't think folks want to read circulation figures for 19th century children's periodicals.

They have a very distinct look and are quite large.

At this point, I’ve examined dozens of 19th century illustrated periodicals in 20 different languages including: Polish, Welsh, Japanese, Armenian, German, Tamil, Dakota, Chinese, French, Bulgarian, Malagasy, Hawaiian, and many more.

This sprawling project began with a very simple observation: the first materials made to educate black Americans didn’t include images of black people. I wanted to understand why, and ultimately fell into a nascent global evangelical publication network.

I thought I knew the boundaries of my current project, but I keep stumbling into ever more Illustrated papers! I’m going to have one heck of a bibliography when this is all done.

Evergreen.

I just stumbled across another example of illustrated magazines within illustrated magazines. This one is detailed enough for each issue to be recognizable. Top row, third from left is the image titled Bob the Cabin Boy. it's the cover of the September 1868 edition of the British Workman.

Still digging through issues of The British Workman and versions in several different languages. It’s surprisingly fun to match up the cover images.

I saw The Return of Benjamin Lay at the Friends House earlier today; it was inspiring on so many levels! It features actor Mark Povinelli, director Tony Buba, and producer @marcusrediker.bsky.social. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading more about Benjamin Lay very soon.

It took me forever to realize this says: Doct. Sproat. The crucial context was finding a list of churches and ministers in Philadelphia. Rev. James Sproat D. D. (1722-1793) was pastor of Second Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.

I love seeing handwritten inscriptions on old textbooks. This one belonged to a child named Kitty Roman in 1789.

You’re right - and now it can be seared into your memory too.

WOW! This is magnificent work. I would love to match up the illustrations with image recognition software. I've been matching them up manually. I have hundreds of 19th century illustrations seared into my mind.

The Edmonia Lewis book arrived!!! It’s so beautiful.

My power is still out so I decided to spend a few hours at the library. There’s some riveting material here.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, VA has a B rating. "Monticello earns a “B” because there is a lack of proportional and adequate focus on the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Jefferson’s attainments, as well as some ideological issues."