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Library Cover Stories 2008
A
cover is a philatelic term for an envelope, postal card, or similar postal
artifact that has been sent through the mail (or is intended to be sent through
the mail).
April 2008
National Library Week which began in 1958 is celebrating
its 50th anniversary this year. In
1968 the
Ryukyu Islands issued a stamp to commemorate the 10th anniversary of
International Library Week. At that time the Ryukyus were under the
semi-autonomous administration of the United States. Control of the
islands reverted to Japan in 1972. The "international" aspect refers to
the fact that there were both American military libraries and Japanese village
libraries on the islands. The theme for library week in 1968 was the same as National Library Week
in the states - "Be all you can be --- Read". For a philatelic
tribute to National Library Week click
here.
March 2008
Charles
McCarthy, was the first librarian of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library
which was established in 1901 as part of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. McCarthy was a leader in the Progressive
Movement and is the author of
The Wisconsin Idea. The Wisconsin
Legislative Reference Library served as a prototype for such libraries in other
states and also was the model for the Congressional Research Service of the
Library of Congress. This cover is a pre-stamped postal stationary envelope and
contains the logo of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. It was mailed by
McCarthy from New York to himself at what appears to be his home address in
Madison.
McCarthy was evidently in the habit of taking these
pre-stamped envelopes along on trips and sending communications back to Madison.
Whether this was a personal or business communication is unknown.For
more on McCarthy click here.
February 2008
This
envelope is one of over 30 envelopes which I have in my collection which were
mailed to R. A. Brock or the institutions he worked for in Richmond Virginia
during the 19th century. Robert Alonzo Brock (1839-1914) served at the
Corresponding Secretary and Librarian of the Virginia Historical Society from
1875 until 1892. Envelopes sent to or from libraries before 1900 are
extremely scarce so it is unusual to have acquired so many related to a single
individual.
This envelope, mailed by the State
Library of Massachusetts on July 20, 1882, probably contained an order or
payment for a publication from the Virginia Historical Society. To learn more
about Brock click here.
January 2008
I
acquired this envelope because of its connection
to the Astor Library, one of the libraries which merged to form the New York
Public Library in 1898. It is also an example of an 1853-55 issue
pre-stamped envelope. At the time I didn't have a clue about B. F.
Stevens, the person to whom the envelope was addressed. As it turns out, B. F.
Stevens was Benjamin Franklin Stevens, an extraordinary individual who played a
variety of roles including that of bibliographer, book seller, library
agent, and United States Despatch Agent in London. For more on B. F. Stevens
click here.
Go to
Library Cover
Stories 2007
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