🔒Q&A: Bringing history to life at the American Antiquarian Society

The world’s largest collection of pre-20th century, American ephemera sits prominently on Salisbury Street in Worcester. Founded in 1812 by Revolutionary War patriot and printer Isaiah Thomas, the American Antiquarian Society houses more than 4.5 million sources. The library’s purpose is to collect and preserve printed materials that promote historical curiosity and research.

What makes AAS different from other libraries and historical societies?

We’re national in scope. While most historical societies focus on one particular place or topic, we collect materials from all parts of what is now the United States, as well as the Caribbean and Canada. We're collecting everything so that researchers who are interested in what is now the United States before 1900 can come here and find relevant material, no matter what topic they're working on.

AAS just received a gift of over 18,000 pieces of ephemera, making it the largest gift in the library’s history. How does this donation impact your collection?

Here's why it's important that this collection now lives at AAS. People who come here to do research will be able to look at objects in this collection. Let's imagine a researcher looking at a trade card or poster for a steamship liner. They might start with the ephemera, which is the poster for a steamship, and then go to a newspaper and find the comings and goings of that steamship from a port and so on. This collection is important for us because it helps people connect the dots between different parts of American life.

What are some of the misconceptions the public might have about AAS?

The biggest misconception people have about AAS is that we're only open to scholars. We are open to anybody who wants to use the collection. Our patrons could be students, locals researching their family histories, or people who are interested in a certain topic. We're open for public tours, which we give every Wednesday afternoon, and have all kinds of public programs available both in-person and live-streaming. The biggest misconception is this building at the corner of Salisbury and Park is somehow closed off, but it is just the opposite. We are very welcoming and here to help.

How do you make history engaging for everyday people?

We let the sources speak for themselves. When you get your hands on a newspaper from 1873 or a trade card for a business that was selling pens in the 1830s, you're hooked. We take great pride in helping people find items that will engage them. We also have created web materials that can connect people to the past online. For example, we had a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant from 2022 to 2024 for Historic Children's Voices, a program where we digitized more than 15,000 pages of material created by children in the 19th century. All of that is now available on our website so that teachers and students can look at that material and hear the voices of 19th-century children. In some cases, they're thinking about the same things children think about today. In other cases, they're writing about things that were part of their own lives such as the Civil War and President Lincoln's assassination. We try to make the material engaging by making it accessible.

What do you think is the oddest or most interesting item at AAS?

Whenever I look at something new from our collection, that something captures my imagination. However, one item that comes to mind is a newspaper called the Borax Miner published in 1872. It came from a mining town in Nevada that no longer exists. There is no other copy of this newspaper known to exist anywhere, which means if you want a glimpse into the lost town of Borax, Nevada, this is the only chance.

What future events or milestones do you have planned in the future?

On April 12, we have an exciting community open house. A printer from Utah with a working replica of the Isaiah Thomas press will be here so people can work and print things. We will give tours of the building and will even have a food truck on site. We want as many people to attend as possible; everyone is welcome.

Why do you enjoy working at AAS?

Because I'm a historian and a history teacher myself. I've been hooked on American history since I was 5 years old. My purpose in life is to excite other people about American history and spur their deeper understanding. This place and the mission of AAS resonate with me more deeply than you can imagine.

This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Correspondent Sloane M. Perron.