Yearbooks
The yearbook collection is a comparatively small one, consisting of about
300 volumes, dating from 1831-1959, although most are from the second half
of the nineteenth century. Many describe themselves in terms other than
yearbook -- register, catalog, almanac, handbook, annual and directory
being
commonly found in titles and on spines. This collection might easily be
considered a first cousin to the directories, for they share the common
purpose of conveying useful information. This is evident in the very
detailed titles which are found in both collections. A New York yearbook
published in 1868, for example, has the title, Kellogg's United States
Mercantile Register for the year 1867-8. The object of the Register is to
supply to the public a convenient, useful, and popular work adapted to the
every-day wants of the entire business community, for all
purposes of
GENERAL business reference, both as a directory and as a compend of
miscellaneous information... The underlined and capitalized words,
quoted
exactly as printed, are a pointer to the broad nature of this collection
as distinct from the directories, which contain only information relevant
to individual cities and towns. The yearbooks are shelved separately from
the directories under the heading "Yearbooks and Trade Directories." While
it is true that the majority are trade publications, a number clearly are
not, Sadlier's Catholic Almanac..., for example, which, although it
has
advertisements for such things as clerical clothing and altar wines, is
primarily concerned with lists of clergymen. Similarly, Beadle's Dime
Base-ball Player is concerned with the statistics of the
game--wherever
it
was played--for the whole of one year.
In all cases, the publishers of yearbooks were anxious to supply
information which was as comprehensive as possible about all of the United
States and beyond, for example: The Banker's Directory of the United
States
and Canada... (Chicago: 1876) and United States Hardware and Metal
Trades
Directory. Comprising a complete list of the manufacturers, importers,
wholesale and retail dealers, commission merchants, brokers, and artisans
in all the baser metals, and all goods manufactured from them in the
United States and Territories. (Boston: 1875). As can be seen from
these
titles, yearbooks were comprehensive in terms of the sheer quantity of
information they contained, but limited by virtue of being devoted to
specific subjects. Each yearbook was essentially about the one thing, and
the American Antiquarian Society is rich in the diversity of subjects
contained in its collection -- banking, hardware, metal trades, mercantile
interests, mines, dogs, horses, baseball, publishers and publishing,
newspapers, shipping, shoemakers, real estate and textiles, to name a
few. It is evident that, with the passage of time and the increase of
trade and population, the immense amount of information required to serve
the every-day wants of the entire business community has led our
collection to grow quite literally -- several later volumes of The
Publishers'
Trade List Annual are slightly over eight inches thick.
The yearbooks, which are not yet cataloged, are shelved by subject, and
there are approximately fifty subject categories in our collection. A
checklist in the acquisitions department is arranged both by subject and
title. A number of items of a yearbook nature, which are shelved in such
other collections as Institutions, Government Docsuments and Railroads,
are also
included in the checklist. In some cases, the American Antiquarian Society
has only one volume of a title -- possibly the only edition published; in
others, a complete run of twenty years or more.
- Jennifer Code, Acquisitions Manager
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For current information on the cataloging status of this and
other AAS collections, choose "Collection Access" below.
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