Select a collection name to read its description.
For a better understanding of the overlapping nature and relationship between collections, browse the library collection descriptions arranged topically.
These collection descriptions first appeared in Under Its Generous Dome, a guidebook by the staff of the Society.
Online inventories with the 
icon are fully illustrated.
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Albums | All | |||
| Almanacs | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 | Through 1820; All single-sheet almanacs | AAS holdings reflected in Milton Drake's bibliography, Almanacs of the United States, 2 vols. (New York, 1952); also consult Reference Services for simple lists and files |
| Amateur Newspapers | Online inventory | |||
| Ambrotypes | All |
Online inventory
|
||
| American Fiction | Through 1800; 1821-1840; J.F. Cooper Collection | 1841-1876 | AAS Holdings reflected in Lyle H. Wright's three-volume checklist, American Fiction | |
| American History and Culture | 1821-1840; 1976-present | 1841-1975 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections | |
| American Portrait Photographs | Online inventory | |||
| American Portrait Prints | Online inventory | |||
| Annuals | Through 1830 | 1831-1876 | AAS Holdings reflected in Frederick Winthrop Faxon's Literary Annuals and Gift Books (Boston, 1912) and Ralph Thompson's American Literary Annuals and Gift Books, 1825-1865 (New York, 1936). | |
| Archives | Archives,
1812-present. Series Description A card index in the manuscripts room provides some subject access to correspondence written between 1920 and 1970 |
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| Atlases | All (with the exception 240 USGS Surveys) | |||
| Auction Catalogs | Through 1840 | AAS holdings reflected in Robert B. Winans's Descriptive Checklist of Book Catalogues Separately Printed in America, 1694-1800 (Worcester, 1981) and George L. McKay's American Book Auction Catalogues, 1713-1934 (New York, 1937) |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Bibles | 1821-1830 | 1831-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collection | |
| Bibliographies | All | |||
| Billheads | All | Online inventory | ||
| Bindings | Through 1830 | 1831-1876 | ||
| Biography | 1821-1840 | 1841-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collection | |
| Bookplates and Booksellers' Labels | Consult the Graphic Arts Department | |||
| Book Salesman's Samples | A partial checklist is available at the reference services desk | |||
| Booksellers' Catalogs | Through 1840 | AAS holdings reflected in Robert B. Winans's Descriptive Checklist of Book Catalogues Separately Printed in America, 1694-1800 (Worcester, 1981) and George L. McKay's American Book Auction Catalogues, 1713-1934 (New York, 1937) | ||
| Broadsides |
|
1820-1900 | Uncataloged
collections: 1) post-1860 popular entertainments programs 2) Worcester broadsides 3) post-1850 broadside ballads |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| CD-ROMS | All | |||
| Calendars | Online inventory | |||
| Calling Cards | Online box list | |||
| Canadiana | Through 1840 | 1841-Present | ||
| Canals | All | The railroads collection is described separately | ||
| Cartes-de-visite | Online inventory | |||
| Catechisms | 1821-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collection | ||
| Children's Literature | -1801; 1821- | 1801-1820 | - See the box list for the collection of McLoughlin Bros. Archival Drawings and Prints | |
| Civil War Cartoons | Online
inventory
About half of the collection has been cataloged and is available through the American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I collection. |
|||
| Civil War Envelopes | Online inventory | |||
| Clipper Ship Cards | Online inventory | |||
| Cookbooks | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Daguerreotypes | All |
Online inventory
|
||
| Dated Books | Through 1800; 1820 | 1801-1819 | ||
| Dated Pamphlets | Through 1800; 1820 | 1801-1819 | ||
| David Claypoole Johnston Family Collection |
An online exhibition of the David Claypoole Johnston Collection was created in March 2003 |
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| Devotional Literature | See Bibles, Catechisms, and Prayer Books | |||
| Dime Novels | Albert Johannsen's House of Beadle and Adams and its Dime and Nickel Novels (Norman, Okla., 1950)is annotated with AAS holdings, and the Society maintains checklists of the publications of other dime novel publishers | |||
| Directories | Through 1830 | 1831- , checklist available | ||
| Drawings |
Online inventory |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Educational Institutions | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 | For
pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections
Alphabetic and geographic checklists of institutions represented in the Colleges and Universities (American) and Schools and Academies collections are available online. |
|
| Election Ballots | Online inventory | |||
| Encyclopedias |
Through
1840
|
|
For
pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections
|
|
| English and European Authors | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections | |
| Ephemera | Consult the Graphic Arts Department | |||
| Engravings | Through 1821 | Arranged by subject and size. Consult the Graphic Arts Department. |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| First Editions | Through 1840 | 1841- | ||
| Foreign History and Travel | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Games | Online inventory | |||
| Genealogy | All | |||
| General Institutions | 1821-1840 | 1841-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections | |
| Government Documents | U.S. Serial Set 1821-1830; all state and town docs. 1821-1830 | U.S. Serial Set 1831-1840; most state docs. 1821-1830 | ||
| Gravestones | Online image database |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Hawaiian Collection | See Hawaiian Language Imprints, 1822-1899: A Bibliography | |||
| Hymnals |
Through
1830
|
|
1831- , checklist available |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Invitations |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Latin Americana | Through 1830 | 1831-Present | ||
| Learned Societies | Through 1800 | 1801-Present | Online checklist | |
| Library Catalogs | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 | ||
| Librettos | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections. For post-1840 materials, author and title checklists available in Reading Room. | |
| Lithographs | All | |||
| Local, County and State Histories | 1821-1840 | 1841-Present | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections. | |
| Lottery Tickets | Consult the Graphic Arts Department |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Manuscripts | More than 80 per cent of the collection | Manuscript Collection Descriptions | ||
| Maps | For
early maps printed in America, consult the bibliography compiled by
James Clement Wheat and Christian F. Brun, Maps and Charts Published
in America Before 1800 (New Haven and London, 1969). This was reprinted
in 1985. Kenneth Nebenzahl's Bibliography of Printed Plans of the
American Revolution (Chicago, 1975) also reflects the holdings of
AAS. Consult the Graphic Arts Department. |
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| Mather Family Collection | Through 1800; 1821-1840 | 1801-1820; 1840-Present | ||
| Mather Family Library | A main-entry card file marked with shelf numbers is in the Reading Room | |||
| Menus | Online inventory | |||
| Microforms | Consult Reference Services | |||
| Miniature Books | All | |||
| Miscellaneous Pamphlets | Holdings are recorded in the AAS copy of National Union Catalog: Pre-1956 Imprints. |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Newspapers | All; with the exception of new acquisitions | For detailed holdings information, consult the Newspaper card catalogs in the Reading Room. |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Periodicals | Holdings information is recorded in the AAS copy of the Union List of Serials | |||
| Photographs | Consult the Graphic Arts Department | |||
| Photographs of Native Americans | All |
Online
Inventory |
||
| Photographs of Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Structures in Massachusetts taken 1887-1945 by Harriette Merrifield Forbes | All |
Online Inventory |
||
| Plays | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collections. For post-1840 materials, author and title checklists available in Reading Room. | |
| Portraits | Described in Portraits in the Collection of the American Antiquarian Society (2004) | |||
| Postcards | Consult the Graphic Arts Department. The collection is arranged geographically by state and city. | |||
| Prayer Books | 1821-1830 | 1830-1876 | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collection | |
| Printing and Publishing History | 1821-1840 | 1840-Present | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collection | |
| Publishers' Series | All |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Railroads | Through 1800; 1821-1840 | 1801-1820 | 1840-1876, checklist available | |
| Religion | 1821-1840 | 1840-Present | For pre-1821 materials, see the Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets Collection | |
| Reserve Collection | Through 1840 | 1840-1876 | ||
| Rewards of Merit | Most | Online inventory |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| School Books | All | |||
| Secondary Works in the Arts | Through Present | |||
| Secular Music | Pre-1831 | 1831-1840 | 1831-1877 checklist available |
|
| Sentiment Cards | Online box list | |||
| Sheet Music | -The
music is shelved alphabetically by composer. -A title index is housed with the collection. -For lithographed sheet music, there are supplemental indexes to lithographers, titles, and subject. The topical classification for sheet music with pictorial lithographed covers is available online. |
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| Silhouettes | Online inventory | |||
| Songsters |
Through
1830
|
1831-1840
|
1831-1877,
checklist available
|
|
| Sound Recordings | All | |||
| Stereographs | Consult the Graphic Arts Department. The collection is arranged geographically by state and city. |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Textile Printing | Consult the Graphic Arts Department | |||
| Tintypes | Online inventory | |||
| Tracts | Most. For a description of uncataloged items, see "notes" | Uncataloged tracts include "adult" tracts published by the American Tract Society, the American Sunday School Union, and the American Unitarian Association which date after 1840, as well as tracts for children which were produced by any organization or tract society | ||
| Trade Cards | ||||
| Trade Catalogs | Through 1840 | 1841-1876 |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| U.S. Historic Scenes | Online inventory | |||
| U.S. Views | Online inventory |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Western Americana | Through 1800; 1821-1840 | 1801-1820; 1841-1876 | ||
| Worcester Portrait Prints | Online inventory |
Collection |
Fully Cataloged Online |
Some Records Available Online |
Digital Access |
Notes |
| Yearbooks | A checklist in the acquisitions department is arranged both by subject and title |
Library Collection Descriptions Arranged Topically
General Collections
- Dated Books and Dated Pamphlets
- Broadsides
- Almanacs
- The Reserve Collection
- Bindings
- Miniature Books
- Miscellaneous Pamphlets
Topical Collections
- The Book Arts
- The United States
- American Institutions
- Theology and Religion
- Literature
- Graphic Arts
- Drawings
- Engravings and Lithographs
- Ephemera
- Bank Notes
- Billheads
- Calendars
- Calling Cards
- Civil War Envelopes
- Christmas and Holiday Cards
- Clipper Ship Cards
- Election Ballots
- Invitations
- Lottery Tickets
- Membership Certificates
- Menus
- Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition Collection
- Ream Wrappers
- Rewards of Merit
- Sentiment Cards
- Textile Printing
- Thomas and Eno Collection
- Tickets
- Trade Cards
- William Allen
- Artists' Collections
- Games
- Photographs
- Ambrotypes
- Cartes-de-visite
- Daguerreotypes
- Stereographs
- Tintypes
- Photographs arranged by subject:
- Photographs of Actors and Actresses
- Group Photographs
- Photographs of Native Americans
- Photographs of Sculpture on American Gravestones
- Photographs of Seventeenth and Eighteenth
Century Structures in Massachusetts taken 1887-1945 by Harriette
Merrifield Forbes
- Theodor Clemens Wohlbrück Photographs of Towns in Worcester County, c.1905-1915
- Worcester Portrait Photographs
- Ambrotypes
- Portraits and Artifacts
- Postcards
- Secondary Works in the Arts
- Silhouettes
- United States Views
- Drawings
- Newspapers and Periodicals
- Manuscripts and Archives
fully illustrated inventory
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