THOREAU BOOKS:

BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARIES OF HENRY DAVID THOREAU AND OF OTHER MEMBERS OF THE THOREAU FAMILY, 1776-1869

A finding aid including volumes from the “Thoreau Books” section of the CFPL’s Concord Authors Collection and one title in the Vault Collection (as noted in Item List, below).

 

Plate from a Code of Gentoo LawsEXTENT:  Fifty-one titles, totaling sixty-four volumes. 

ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT:  Items are listed in a single file, arranged alphabetically by author, corporate body, or title, as appropriate.

BIOGRAPHY:  Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)—American author, lecturer, naturalist, student of Native American artifacts and life, land surveyor, pencil-maker, active opponent of slavery, social critic, and almost life-long resident of Concord, Massachusetts—was a grandson of Jean (John) Thoreau (1754-1801) and his first wife Jane Burns Thoreau.  Born on the Isle of Jersey, John Thoreau came to America in 1773, became a successful merchant in Boston, and in 1799 bought property in Concord, where he moved his family.  His children included Elizabeth; Jane; Mary; John (Henry David Thoreau’s father; 1787-1859); Nancy (who married Caleb Billings); Sarah; Maria; and David.  Concord storekeeper and pencil-maker John Thoreau (son of the John born in Jersey) married Cynthia Dunbar in 1812.  They had four children: Helen (1812-1849); John (1815-1842); Henry David (born David Henry); and Sophia (1819-1876).  

SCOPE AND CONTENT:  Titles published between 1776 and 1869, representing a variety of genres and subject areas (science, mathematics, surveying, Native American culture, and etiquette as well as language, literature, and history) and several foreign languages in addition to English.  Collection includes London, Paris, and Edinburgh imprints, as well as American.  Most of the volumes bear evidence of once having belonged to Henry David Thoreau, constituting the largest group of surviving volumes from Thoreau’s library anywhere.  Three titles (Cholmondeley’s Ultima Thule, A Code of Gentoo Laws, and Mills’s The History of British India) were given to Thoreau by Englishman Thomas Cholmondeley, one (Lesley’s Manual of Coal) by Benjamin Smith Lyman, one (McKenney’s Memoirs) by William Ellery Channing (the poet), one (the Smithsonian report for 1856) by Horace Mann.  Other books in the collection belonged to members of Thoreau’s family—his aunts Maria, Elizabeth, and Jane, his father John, his brother John, and his sister Helen.

SOURCES OF ACQUISITION:  Most of the volumes were presented by Sophia Thoreau to the Concord Free Public Library in 1874.  Several came from other donors (as noted in the Item List, below), including one (Oswald’s An Etymological Dictionary) originally presented to the CFPL by Sophia Thoreau, deaccessioned in 1906, acquired by Stephen H. Wakeman and later by George Russell Ready, who donated it once again to the CFPL in 1985.  Some of the titles were presented by Henry David Thoreau to the Concord Town Library (predecessor of the Concord Free Public Library) and transferred from the Town Library to the Concord Free Public Library on its establishment in 1873.

RESTRICTIONS ON USE:  No photocopy permitted from this collection.

PROCESSING NOTE:  The Thoreau Books in the Concord Authors Collection were cataloged individually through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1980-1983, this finding aid adapted in 2006 from the cataloging by Bette Aschaffenburg (preliminary preparation) and LPW.

 

ITEM LIST

The items listed below are linked to sets of pages showing manuscript annotations and markings within the volumes in the collection. These linked pages were created as part of a preservation and access project funded in 2008 and 2009 through the Massachusetts Community Preservation Act as administered locally by the Concord Community Preservation Committee.

Bell, Thomas (1792-1880).  A history of British quadrupeds, including the Cetacea. By Thomas Bell … Illustrated by nearly 200 woodcuts (London: John Van Voorst, 1837).  xviii, 526 pages.

Pencil notes on endpapers (those on front paste-down endpaper erased). Back lining leaf has list of "Torn out Plates &c.", written in the hand of HDT.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874. Bound in blue-green cloth. Accession no. 10409.

Beltrami, Giacomo Constantino (1779-1855).  La découverte des sources du Mississippi et de la Riviere Sanglante. Description du cours entire du Mississippi, quie n’était connu, que partiellement, et d’une grande partie de celui de la Riviere Sanglante, Presque entièrement inconnue; ainsi que du cours entire de l’Ohio. Aperçus historiques, des endroits les plus intéressans, qu’on y recontre. Observations critico-philosophiques, sur les moeurs, la religion, les superstitions, les costumes, les armes, les chasses, la guerre, la paix, le dénombrement, l’orgine, &c. &c. de plusieurs nations indiennes. Parallele de ces peoples avec ceux de l’antiquité, du moyen age, et du moderne. Coup d’oeil, sur les Compagnies Nord-ouest, et de la Baie d’Hudson, ainsi que sur la Colonie Selkirk. Preuves evidentes, que le Mississippi est la première rivière du monde. Par G. C. Beltrami … (New Orleans: Benjamin Levy, 1824).  v, 327 pages.  

Some markings and annotations in pencil.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Blue-gray paper boards, printed spine label.  Accession no. 10423.

Bénard, Théodore Aimé Napoléon (1808-1873).  Dictionnaire classique universel français, historique, biographique, mythologique, géographique et étymologique ... Par M. Th. Bénard … Quinzième édition, revue et corrigée avec soin (Paris: Librairie Classique d’Eugène Belin, 1867).  vii, 736 pages.

Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Quarter-bound in black cloth with printed spine label; printed blue paper boards.  Accession no. 10435.

Boyer, Abel (1667-1729).  Boyer’s French dictionary; comprising all the additions and improvements of the latest Paris and London editions, with a very large number of useful words and phrases, now first selected from the modern dictionaries of Boiste, Wailly, Catineau, and others; with the pronunciation of each word, according to the dictionary of the Abbé Tardy : to which are prefixed, rules for the pronunciation of French vowels, diphthongs, and final consonants, chiefly collected from the prosody of the Abbé d’Oliver, with a table of French verbs, &c. …  (Boston: T. Bedlington, and Bradford & Peaslee, 1827).  530, 250 pages.  (Second sequence of pagination has separate t.p.: An English-French dictionary, designed as a second part to the Boston edition of Boyer’s French dictionary, with Tardy’s pronunciation.)

Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874. Bound in sheepskin; red spine label.  Accession no. 10440.

Buttmann, Philipp Karl (1764-1829).  Greek grammar for the use of schools, from the German of Philip Buttmann. Second edition of the translation (Boston: Cummings, Hilliard, and Company, 1826).  vii, 336 pages.

Inscribed on front free endpaper: “D.H. Thoreau / Cambridge / Mass 1833.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in leather, red spine label.  Accession no. 10443.

Chalmers, Thomas (1780-1847). Sermons, preached in the Tron Church, Glasgow.  By T. Chalmers, D.D. Minister of the Tron Church, Glasgow  (New York: Kirk & Mercein, 1819).  375 pages.

Presented by Mary Fenn, Nov. 8, 1995.  Inscribed on t.p.: Maria Thoreau / from her friend Rev. C. Suvall [?]. Quarter-bound in leather; blue-gray paper boards. No accession no.

Cholmondeley, Thomas (1823-1863).  Ultima Thule; or, Thoughts suggested by a residence in New Zealand.  By Thomas Chomondeley (London: John Chapman, 1854).  iv, 344 pages.

Inscribed (by Thoreau) on t.p.: “Henry D. Thoreau / from / Thomas Cholmondeley.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874. Rebound in dark red cloth.  Accession no. 10395.

A code of Gentoo laws, or, Ordinations of the Pundits, from a Persian translation, made from the original, written in the Shanscrit [sic] language (London: [s.n.], 1776).  lxxiv, 61, 322 pages; plates.

Inscribed in Thoreau’s hand on front free endpaper: “Henry D. Thoreau / from / Thomas Cholmondeley.”  Inscribed beneath (in another hand): “E.R. Hoar, / from / Henry D. Thoreau. / May 1862.”  Presented by Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar, 1895.  Bound in light brown calf; red spine label.  Accession no. 27332.

Copway, George (1818-1863).  The traditional history and characteristic sketches of the Ojibway Nation.  By G. Copway, or, Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh, chief of the Ojibway Nation.  Illustrated by Darly (Boston: Sanborn, Carter, Bazin, & Co., 1850).  266 pages.

Signature of H. D. Thoreau on front free endpaper (in ink) and on front lining leaf (in pencil).  Annotations in pencil on back lining leaf.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in purple cloth.  Accession no. 10400. 

Davies, Charles (1798-1876).  Elements of surveying, and navigation; with a description of the instruments and the necessary tables.  By Charles Davies …  Revised edition (New York A.S. Barnes & Co., 1847).  188, 100 pages; folding plates. 

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on t.p.  Extensive pencil annotations on back lining leaf.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in calf; black spine label.  Accession no. 10439.

The documentary history of the state of New-York.  Arrranged under direction of the Hon. Christopher Morgan … By E.B. O’Callaghan … (Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., 1850-1851).  Four volumes; plates (some folded).  (Imprint in Volume 4: Albany: Charles Van Benthuysen, 1851).

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front free endpaper of each volume.  Early Concord Town Library volumes, transferred to the CFPL in 1873.  Bound in blue cloth.  Accession numbers: 5800-5803.

Farmer, John (1789-1838).  Collections, historical and miscellaneous; and monthly literary journal … Edited by J. Farmer and J.B. Moore.  Vol. III (Concord [N.H.], J.B. Moore, 1824).  iv, 388, 88, [9] pages.

Inscribed on front lining leaf: D H Thoreau.  Very faint pencil signature of John Thoreau, Jr.,on t.p.  Presented (donor unrecorded), 1927.  Half-bound in leather, marbled paper boards.  Accession no. 65368.

Farrar, John (1779-1853).  An elementary treatise on mechanics, comprehending the doctrine of equilibrium and motion, as applied to solids and fluids, chiefly compiled, and designed for the use of the students of the university at Cambridge, New England.  By John Farrar …  (Cambridge: Printed by Hilliard and Metcalf, at the University Press, 1825).  vii, 440 pages; folded plates.

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front free endpaper.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in blue-gray paper boards, tan paper spine, with printed spine label.  Accession no. 10431.

Farrar, John (1779-1853).  Elements of electricity, magnetism, and electro-magnetism, embracing the late discoveries and improvements, digested into the form of a treatise; being the second part of a course of natural philosophy, compiled for the use of the students of the university at Cambridge, New England … By John Farrar … (Cambridge: Printed by Hilliard and Metcalf, at the University Press, 1826).  vii, 395 pages; folded plates.

Inscribed on front free endpaper: D.H. Thoreau [in pencil] / Henry. D. Thoreau [in ink].  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in blue-gray paper boards, tan paper spine, with printed spine label.  Pages unopened.  Accession no. 10430.

Farrar, John (1779-1853). An experimental treatise on optics, comprehending the leading principles of the science, and an explanation of the more important and curious optical instruments and optical phenomena, being the third part of a course of natural philosophy, ‘ complied for the use of the students of the university at Cambridge, New England. By John Farrar … (Cambridge: Printed by Hilliard and Metcalf, at the University Press, 1826).  vii, 350 pages; folded plates.

Inscribed on front lining leaf: “D H Thoreau / Cambridge.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Light brown paper boards, gray-green cloth spine.  Accession no. 10432.

Farrar, Timothy (1788-1874).  Report of the case of the Trustees of Dartmouth College against William H. Woodward. Argued and determined in the Superior Court of Judicature of the State of New-Hampshire, November 1817.  And on error in the Supreme Court of the United States, February 1819. By Timothy Farrar … (Portsmouth, N.H.: John W. Foster, [1819]).  [4], 406 pages.

Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in sheepskin; red spine label.  Accession no. 10422. 

Gérando, Joseph Marie de (1772-1842).  Self-education; or The means and art of moral progress.  Translated from the French of M. Le Baron Degerando [by Elizabeth Palmer Peabody] (Boston: Carter and Hendee, 1830).  xi, 456 pages.

Inscribed in pencil on front free endpaper and front lining leaf: “Thoreau.” Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Quarter-bound in brown cloth with printed spine label, light brown paper boards.  Accession no. 10416. 

Giraud, Jacob Post (1811-1870).  The birds of Long Island.  By J.P. Giraud, Jr. … (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1844).  xxi, 397 pages; plate.

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front free endpaper. Sheet with notes in Thoreau’s hand (“Nuttall says of Cooper’s Hawk…”) tipped to p. 21. Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in dark brown cloth.  Accession no. 10411.

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832).  Torquato Tasso.  Ein Schauspiel von Goethe [disbound from a larger collection and bound separately, without information concerning place of publication, publisher, or date of publication].  Pages [187]-314.

Inscribed on front free endpaper: “D.H. Thoreau / H23.”  Some marginal markings and annotations.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Half-bound in sheepskin, marbled paper boards; leather spine label.  Accession no. 10407.

Hayward, John (1781-1869).  The New England Gazetteer; containing descriptions of all the states, counties and towns in New England: also descriptions of the principal mountains, rivers, lakes, capes, bays, harbors, islands, and fashionable resorts within that territory.  Alphabetically arranged.  By John Hayward … Second edition (Concord, N.H.: Israel S. Boyd and William White; Boston: John Hayward, 1839).  Unpaged ([ca. 508 pages]); plates.

Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in leather; spine label.  Accession no. 10438.

Horatius Flaccus, Quintus.  Quinti Horatii Flacci Opera.  Accedunt clavis metrica et notae Anglicae juventuti accommodatae.  Cura B.A. Gould (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, 1833).  iv, 340 pages.

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front paste-down endpaper.  Inscribed on front free endpaper: “Mary Wheeler / from  / Miss Thoreau / June 7th / 1874”; on back paste-down endpaper, in another hand: “Presented to Mary Azuba Wheeler / by Miss Sophia Thoreau / at Concord, Mass. June 1874.”  Annotations and markings in pencil throughout.  Presented by Mary A. Wheeler Tilton (Mrs. Edward S.), 1911.  Bound in leather; black spine label.  Accession no. 44583.

Hunter, John Dunn (1798-1827).  Manners and customs of several Indian tribes located west of the Mississippi; including some account of the soil, climate, and vegetable productions, and the Indian material medica: to which is prefixed the history of the author’s life during a residence of several years among them. By John D. Hunter (Philadelphia: Printed and published for the author, by J. Maxwell, 1823).  402 pages.

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on t.p.  Extensive pencil annotations in Thoreau’s hand on front free endpaper.  Signature of previous owner (partially covered by library bookplate) on front paste-down endpaper, and notes in the same hand on blank page opposite t.p.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874. Gray-bound paper boards, cloth spine; black spine label.  Accession no. 10413.

Josse, Augustin Louis (1763-1841).  A grammar of the Spanish language, with practical exercise … By M Josse.  Revised, amended, improved, and enlarged by F. Sales … Seventh American edition … (Boston: Munroe and Francis, 1836).  468 pages.

Inscribed on front free endpaper: “D H. Thoreau.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874. Bound in leather; black spine label. Accession no. 10427.

Lardner, Dionysius (1793-1859).  Popular lectures on science and art; delivered in the principal cities and towns of the United States. By Dionysius Lardner … Fifteenth edition (New York: Henry W. Law, 1856).   Two volumes; plates (one folded).

Early Concord Town Library volumes (Concord Town Library bookplate in Volume 1), transferred to the CFPL in 1873.  Bound in black cloth.  Accession numbers: 1399-1400.

Legendre, Adrien Marie (1752-1833).  Elements of geometry, by A. M. Legendre … Translated from the French, for the use of the students of the university at Cambridge, New England, by John Farrar … New edition, improved and enlarged (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little, and Wilkins, 1831).  xv, 235 pages; folded plates.  (At head of title: Stereotype edition.)

Signature of John Thoreau Jr. on t.p.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Quarter-bound in sheepskin, blue-gray paper boards.  Accession no. 10433.

Leonard, Levi Washburn (1790?-1864).  The literary and scientific class book, embracing the leading facts and principles of science. Illustrated by engravings, with many difficult words explained at the heads of the lessons, and questions annexed for examination; designed as exercises for the reading and study of the higher classes in common schools.  Selected from the Rev. John Platt’s Lliterary and scientific class book, and from various other sources, and adapted to the wants and condition of youth in the United States. By Levi W. Leonard … (Keene, N.H.: John Prentiss, 1826).  xii, 318 pages; plates.

Inscribed on back free endpaper: [in ink] “Helen L Thoreau / Concord Academy / [in pencil] 1827.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in sheepskin; black spine label.  Accession no. 10436.

Lesley, J. Peter (1819-1903).  Manual of coal and its topography.  Illustrated by original drawings, chiefly of facts in the geology of the Appalachian region of the United States of North America.  By J. P. Lesley … (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott and Co., 1856).  224 pages.

Inscribed on front free endpaper by Benjamin Smith Lyman (Sept. 1, 1856), and later by Lyman for Henry D. Thoreau (Concord, Apr. 10, 1859).  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in dark brown cloth.  Accession no. 10402.

Macdonnel, D.E.  A dictionary of select and popular quotations, which are in daily use; taken from the Latin, French, Greek, Spanish and Italian languages; translated into English, with illustrations, historical and idiomatic.  By D.E.. Macdonnel … First American from the fifth London edition, corrected, with additions … (Philadelphia: A. Finley, 1810).  vi, 387 pages.

Inscribed on front lining leaf: “D Thoreau’s.”  Inscribed on t.p.: “Eliza Thoreau.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in leather; red spine label.  Accession on 10426.

Macgillivray, William (1796-1852).  Descriptions of the rapacious birds of Great Britain.  By William Macgillivray (Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart, 1836).  vii, 482 pages; plates.

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front free endpaper.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in gray-green cloth.  Accession no. 10401.

McKenney, Thomas Loraine (1785-1859).  Memoirs, official and personal; with sketches of travels among the northern and southern Indians; embracing a war excursion, and descriptions of scenes along the western borders.  By Thomas L. McKenney … Two volumes in one … (New York: Paine and Burgess, 1846).  Two volumes in one (340, 136 pages); plates.  (Title of Volume 2: On the origin, history, character, and the wrongs and rights of the Indians, with a plan for the preservation and happiness of the remnants of that persecuted race )

Inscribed on front free endpaper: “From the author, as a / token of his high respect, & / friendly regards, to Miss / Fuller. / July 3/46.”  Inscribed beneath this, in Thoreau’s hand: “Henry D. Thoreau / from / W.E. Channing / Ap. 1857.”  Clipping (“The Cherokees and the President,” by George Lowrey, Acting Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation) tipped to back lining leaf.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in purple-bound cloth.  Accession no. 10415.

McLellan, Henry Blake (1810-1833).  Journal of a residence in Scotland , and tour through England , France , Germany , Switzerland and Italy , with a memoir of the author, and extracts from his religious papers.  Compiled from the manuscripts of the late Henry B. McLellan.  By I. McLellan, Jr. (Boston: Allen and Ticknor, 1834).  xvi, 377 pages.

Inscribed on front free endpaper:  “To D H Thoreau / from his Aunt / Elisabeth.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in blue cloth; printed spine label.  Accession no. 10398.

Massachusetts.  Zoological and Botanical Survey.  Reports on the fishes, reptiles and birds of Massachusetts.  Published agreeably to an order of the legislature, by the commissioners on the zoological and botanical survey of the state (Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, 1839).  xii, 426 pages; plates.

Some pencil annotations in the hand of Henry David Thoreau.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Accession no. 10396.

Massachusetts.  Zoological and Botanical Survey.  Reports on the herbaceous plants and on the quadrupeds of Massachusetts.  Published agreeably to an order of the legislature, by the commissioners on the zoological and botanical survey of the state (Cambridge: Folsom, Wells, and Thurston, 1840).  viii, 277, 86 pages.  (Each part has special t.p. and separate paging.)

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front of original paper wrapper.  A few pencil annotations in the hand of Henry David Thoreau.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Rebound in green cloth (the original printed tan paper wrapper retained).  Accession no. 10419.

Mill, James (1773-1836).  The history of British India.  By James Mill … Fourth edition with notes and continuation, by Horace Hayman Wilson … (London: James Madden, 1848).  Nine volumes.

Inscribed on front paste-down endpaper of Volume 1: “Henry D. Thoreau / from / Thomas Cholmondeley.”   Signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front free endpapers of Volumes 2-9.  Early Concord Town Library volumes, with Concord Town Library bookplate on the front paste-down endpaper of each, partially covered by CFPL bookplate.  “Presented by H.D. Thoreau” inscribed on Town Library bookplates (the inscription mostly obscured by CFPL bookplate in all but Volume 3).  Transferred to the CFPL in 1873.  Bound in plum cloth.  Title page lacking and folding map detached in Volume 1.  Accession nos. 3498-3506.

More, Hannah (1745-1833).  Practical piety; or, The influence of the religion of the heart on the conduct of the life.  By Hannah More … In two volumes.  Vol. II (Boston: Munroe and Francis, 1811).  234 pages.  (Volume 1 lacking.)

Inscribed on front free endpaper: “Jane Thoreau’s 1811.”  Presented by Mrs. William Brown, 1952.  Bound in gray paper boards with cream paper spine; printed spine label.  Accession no. 104924.

Newman, Henry.  Neuman and Baretti’s Dictionary of the Spanish and English languages; wherein the words are correctly explained, agreeably to their different meanings, and a great variety of terms, relating to the arts, sciences, manufactures, merchandise, navigation, and trade, elucidated. Stereotype edition, carefully revised … (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, Little, and Wilkins, 1831).  Two volumes.

Inscribed on front free endpaper of each volume: “D.H. Thoreau.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in leather; red and black spine labels.  Accession numbers: 10428-10429.

Oswald, John (1804-1867).  An etymological dictionary of the English language, on a plan entirely new.  By John Oswald …  Revised and improved and especially adapted to the purpose of teaching English composition in schools and academies, by J.M. Keagy (Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle, 1844).  10, [v]-xxx, [31]-523, 20 pages.  (Publisher’s advertisements occupy 20 pages following text.)

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau in ink on front paste-down endpaper.  Originally presented to the CFPL by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Deaccessioned by the CFPL in 1906.  Bookplate of Stephen H. Wakeman tipped to front free endpaper (No. 1063 in the [1924] printed catalog of the Stephen H. Wakeman Collection).  Purchased by George Russell Ready of Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, in 1963.  Presented by George Russell Ready to the CFPL in 1985.  Quarter-bound in leather and brown (mauve) cloth with swirl pattern.  Accompanied by sales slip and other materials relating to Ready’s purchase of the volume.  Original accession no. 10437.

The Panoplist, for the year ending June, 1807.  Volume the second.  Conducted by an association of friends to evangelical truth (Boston: Printed by E. Lincoln, 1807).  xii, 584 pages.

Faint pencil signature of John Thoreau on t.p. and on front paste-down endpaper.  Mathematical calculations (in pencil) on back paste-down endpaper.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Quarter-bound in leather, marbled paper boards; red spine label. (Lacks free endpapers; t.p. damaged.)  Accession no. 10425.

Ricketson, Daniel (1813-1898).  The autumn sheaf: a collection of Miscellaneous poems.  By Daniel Ricketson (New Bedford: Published by the author, 1869).  300 pages.

Inscribed on front free endpaper: “Miss Sophia E. Thoreau, / with the affectionate regards / of Danl. Ricketson. / Brooklawn, / April 24th 1869.”  Purchased of Malcolm M. Ferguson, June 6, 2000.  Bound in green cloth.  No accession no.

Seneca, Lucius Annaeus,  Medea, a tragedy of Seneca.  Edited by Charles Beck … (Cambridge and Boston: James Munroe & Co., 1834).  xii, 69 pages.

Signature of H.D. Thoreau on front free endpaper.  Inscribed on front lining leaf: “W.M.R. French / Chicago, 1872.”  (William Merchant Richardson French was the brother of sculptor Daniel Chester French.)  Annotations in pencil throughout.  Presented by Alice Helen French (Mrs. William M.R. French), 1940.  Bound in dark green cloth; printed spine label.  Accession no. 85227.

Smithsonian Institution.  Ninth annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution up to January 1, 1855.  And the proceedings of the Board up to February 24, 1855 (Washington: Beverley Tucker, 1855).  463 pages.

Pencil signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front free endpaper.  Early Concord Town Library volume.  Transferred to the CFPL in 1873.  Bound in dark brown (black?) cloth.  Manuscript fragment of Henry David Thoreau’s Cape Cod (in his hand) and printed Smithsonian materials relating to Agassiz’s Contributions to the Natural History of the United States discovered in volume in 1981, later removed to the CFPL’s Henry David Thoreau papers (Vault A35, Thoreau, Unit 1, Box 2, Folder 6).  Accession no. 5686.

Smithsonian Institution.  Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, showing the operations, expenditures, and condition of the Institution, for the year 1856.  And the proceedings of the Board up to January 28, 1857 (Washington: Cornelius Wendell, 1857).  467 pages.

Inscribed in ink inside front cover: “Henry D. Thoreau / from Horace Mann.”  Early Concord Town Library volume.  Transferred to the CFPL in 1873.  Bound in dark brown (black?) cloth.  Accession no. 5688.

Star of emancipation (Boston: For the fair of the Massachusetts Female Emancipation Society, 1841).  108 pages; plates.

Inscribed in pencil on blank reverse of frontispiece: “Maria Thoreau / June 1st 1842.”  Presented by Annie E. Gregory, 1874.  Bound in brown cloth.  Accession no. 9588.  Cataloged as: Vault A45, Thoreau, Unit 5.

Story, Joseph (1779-1845).  Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States ; with a preliminary review of the constitutional history of the colonies and states, before the adoption of the Constitution.  By Joseph Story … Abridged by the author, for the use of colleges and high schools … (Boston: Hilliard, Gray and Company, 1833).  xliii, 736 pages.

Inscribed in ink on front free endpaper: “Henry D. Thoreau”; and below this, in pencil: “D H Thoreau.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in sheepskin, red spine label.  Accession no. 10420.

United States. Department of the Treasury.  [Bound volume of four folded maps to accompany the report of Israel DeWolf Andrews on the trade and commerce of the British North American colonies, the trade of the Great Lakes and rivers, internal improvements in each state, the Gulf of Mexico, Straits of Florida, and the cotton crop of the United States] (Washington: B. Tucker, 1853).

Pencil signature of Henry D. Thoreau on blank verso of the first and last maps in the volume (that on the first map followed by the pencil note in Thoreau’s hand: “Andrews Report to / with 4 U.S. maps Report Thos Corwin 1853 [sic].”  Early Concord Town Library volume.  Transferred to the CFPL in 1873.  Bound in dark brown cloth.  Accession no. 5595.

United States.  Senate. Select Committee on the Harper’s Ferry Invasion.  Report.  The  Select Committee of the Senate appointed to inquire into the late invasion and seizure of the public property at Harper’s Ferry … (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1860).  71, 255 pages.  (36th Congress, 1st Session.  Senate.  Rep. Com. No. 278)

Pencil signature of Henry D. Thoreau on front paste-down endpaper.  Presented by Annie E. Gregory, 1874.  Bound in dark brown cloth.  Accession no. 9616.

Verplanck, Gulian Crommelin (1786-1870).  Discourses and addresses on subjects of American history, arts, and literature.  By Gulian C. Verplanck (New York: J. & J. Harper, 1833).  257, 6 pages.  (Publisher’s booklist, 6 pages following text.)

Inscribed in ink on front free endpaper: “Mr John Thoreau Jr.”; beneath this, in pencil: “Henry D. Thoreau.”  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in plum cloth; printed spine label.  Accession no. 10399.

Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de (1694-1778).  Histoire de Charles XII, roi de Suède.  Par Voltaire.  D’une édition stéréotype de Paris (New York: Collins and Co., 1831).  287 pages.

Faint pencil signature of H.L. [Helen L.] Thoreau on front free endpaper.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in light brown leather, black spine label.  Accession no. 10406.

Voltaire, François Marie Arouet de (1694-1778).  Histoire de l’empire de Russie, sous Pierre-le-Grand, par Voltaire … Édition stéréotype, d’après le procédé de Firmin Didot (Paris: De l’imprimerie et de la fonderie stereotypes de Pierre Didot l’Aine, et de Firmin Didot, 1815).  Two volumes in one (230, 223 pages).

Signature of H. D. Thoreau in ink on front lining leaf.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874. Quarter-bound in sheepskin, pink paper boards.  Inscribed in pencil on page [1]: “”Cambridge, Mass.”  Accession no. 10706.

West, Jane (1758-1852). Letters addressed to a young man, on his first entrance into life, and adapted to the peculiar circumstances of the present times … (Charlestown: Printed by Samuel Etheridge, for Samuel H. Parker, Court-Street, Boston, 1803). Two volumes in one (208, 160 pages).

Inscribed in ink on front free endpaper: “John Thoreau Jr / 1834.” Source unidentified. Bound in leather; black spine label. Unaccessioned.

Woodhouselee, Alexander Fraser Tytler (1747-1813).  Elements of general history, ancient and modern.  By Alexander Fraser Tytler … With a continuation, terminating at the demise of King George III., 1,820.  By Rev. Edward Nares … To which are added, a succinct history of the United States; with additions and alterations.  By an American gentleman … With an improved table of chronology; a comparative view of ancient and modern geography; and questions on each section.  Adapted for the use of schools and academies, by an experienced teacher (Concord, N.H.: Horatio Hill, & Co., [1830]).  527, 44 pages.  (The continuation by Edward Nares and the “Questions for the Examination of Scholars” have separate title pages, each dated 1830; the latter is paged separately.) 

Signature of Henry D. Thoreau in ink on front paste-down endpaper and (in the form “H.D. Thoreau”) on front free endpaper.  Presented by Sophia E. Thoreau, 1874.  Bound in leather; black spine label.  Accession no. 10408.

c2006-c2009 Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.
Not to be reproduced in any form without permission of the Curator of Special Collections, Concord Free Public Library.

Back to Finding Aids Page

Back to Special Collections homepage

Home

Mounted 5th April 2006. rcwh -- rev. 17 June 2009.