HISTORY OF CANADA

Yesterday was Flag Day in Canada, and in honor of that special day we wanted to let you know of a couple of items in the Bullis Collection that have to do with our good neighbor to the north.

First, there's a copy of  Montreal: Canada Railway News Co. Ltd. It was published sometime in the 1880s, and is listed in the data base as "Souvenir of Quebec." This single folded sheet contains 12 leaves of plates.  We're all curious about how it came to be a part of the collection. Did a Bullis family member bring it home as a souvenir of a trip to Montreal? Once again, we wish these items in the collection could talk.

Another Canada item is the book A History of Canada, written by Charles George Douglas Roberts and published in Toronto in 1902. According to the website "Queen's University Archives," Douglas was a talented poet and prose writer who was born in New Brunswick in 1860.  His literary talents were recognized with his award of the 1926 Lorne Pierce medal and with knighthood in 1935. Prior to that, the Royal Society of Canada elected him a fellow in 1890. Douglas died in 1943 in Toronto, leaving a huge volume of poetry and prose that is still read and appreciated today.

One more thing - We'd like to extend a special invitation to our Canadian neighbors: when you travel south of your border, please stop in the Bullis Room and say hello to us. It would make our day...no, our week...even our year!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY (again)

This week our search for "Valentine's Day" in the Bullis data base resulted in these two hits:

Laboratory Manual of Biology

by George W. Hunter

and

American Politics (non-partisan) from the

beginning date...; also a complete Federal blue book....

by Thomas V. Cooper

At this point, we have no idea what these books have to do with Valentine's Day! (When we have a chance to look them over, we'll let you know.) In the meantime, we are including a link to our 2010 post which we think does a proper job of wishing you the best on this February holiday.

http://bullisbookchronicles.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-valentines-day.html

HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY

This past week we took a close look at this book in the collection: History of New York City from the Discovery to the Present Day (written by William Leete Stone and published in New York by Virtue and Yorston in 1872).

If you are looking for information about NYC's current present day, you'll need to continue your search. But if you're interested in the city's history from its discovery to 1872 (the author's "present day"), this is the book for you.

The volume is divided into three parts. The first part covers the period from 1508 to 1674; the second from 1674 to 1783. The third part covers the years 1783  to 1872 and includes information about these topics:

Publishing Houses

Banking Capital Invested

Schools of Art, Painting and Sculpting

The visit of the Russian Duke

Dickens Dinner

Also included are 38 pages of plates as well as illustrations and maps. You're welcome to stop by and take a look.

THE STORY OF THE GREAT MARCH

We have a suggestion for all of you interested in the Civil War - stop by the Bullis Room and ask to take a look at the book The Story of the Great March by George Nichols, published in 1865.

"This is the Civil War diary of Major George Ward Nichols, aide-de-camp to General William T. Sherman during the latter part of the war. It is a personal story, describing his experiences during Sherman's March to the Sea and the subsequent march through the Carolinas.

  "For a personal journal it is surprisingly well written and describes this journey as a decidedly uncertain endeavor. Written in the vernacular of the time, it provides a unique insight into the operations and risks associated with the most singular military event of the war."

Illustrations, plates and a folding map aid in the reader's appreciation of this event. You won't be disappointed.

AUSTIN STEWARD'S SOJOURN

In three weeks, we'll have an opportunity to learn more about Austin Steward's journey from slavery to freedom.  Steward, you remember, escaped from slavery in the early 1800s and was aided by anti-slavery members of the Society of Friends in the Farmington area.

On Sunday, February 10, 2 PM in MPL's Community Room, Dr. David Anderson and members of AKWAABA: the Heritage Associates will present "If My Life is But Spared," a dramatic presentation on the life of Steward based on Underground Railroad reenactments created by AKWAABA.

Dr. Anderson states, "There is much to the Steward story; in my book he is heroic, and a pathfinder for those who would follow, including Frederick Douglass."

So, please mark your calendars. We hope to see you at Dr. Anderson's presentation. And afterwards, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room.

VOLUNTEER WEEK 2013

In our last two posts, we wrote about some of our older books in the collection. Now we're focusing on taking care of all the books in the Bullis Room.

Lot of work goes into maintaining this collection. Over the years we've cataloged,  shelved, sorted, repaired, and restored books while also setting up, organizing, cleaning and dusting the room they are in. All of this takes lots of volunteers, and we are always in need of more.

In 2013 National Volunteer Week runs from April 21 to April 27, but we don't have to wait until then to get involved.  The beginning of this new year is a good time for all of us to be thinking about how we can use some of our spare time to help our community.

We hope that you will consider the Bullis Room when you're doing your volunteer planning. If you'd like more specific information about what sort of tasks are involved, please stop by the library and ask for June. She'll give you a tour and fill you in.

HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD BOOKS (Part II)

Happy New Year! This week we nosed around to find more hundred-year-old books that were published in 1913. Here's a list for you to browse through the next time you stop by:

The Light That Failed

by Rudyard Kipling

Among New England Inns

by Mary Crawford

Missionary Explorers Among the American Indians

by Mary Humphreys

Retrospection

by Hubert Bancroft

Story of Waitstill Baxter

by Kate Wiggins

Treatise on Roads and Pavements

by Osborne Baker

History of England

by Spencer Walpole

Pictures that Every Child Should Know

by D. Bacon

Data for Use in Designing Culverts and Short Span Bridges

by Charles Moorefield

Plants and Their Uses

by Frederick Sergent

Desert Gold

by Zane Grey

In the next few weeks, we'll take a closer look at some of these books (as well as some from last-week's posting of 1912 publications) in order to determine why they were of interest to our ancestors a century ago. In the meantime, we hope you find at least one book on this list that grabs your interest enough that you'll pay us a visit in the Bullis Room.