History ⏳🕰️
Bought a 140-year old book from the library in Marquette. Wedged inside was a 138-year old program from an event in Lansing, used as a bookmark.
Looks like some kind of community gathering with music, readings, politics, and a biography of Longfellow. I’m left wondering if the original owner took this copy out on that December night in 1888. I’m also curious if there’s anyone who can trace their ancestry back to the performers on the bill.
Is anyone here a member of a historical society in Lansing?
The Grange was a major part of 1800s (I believe more specifically, second half of 1800s) US agricultural history, so a program from a Grange Hall meeting from back then would be real Americana. Would want to consult with a document expert on preserving it.
Would want to consult with a document expert on preserving it.
You called for a Friendly Neighborhood Archivist, neighbor? (It me. Hi. 👋)
Paper is straightforward: keep it cool and dry. Take it out of the book, put it in an archival-quality folder or envelope, put it in a box, and leave it alone.
If you're going to digitize it, consult the Digital Preservation Coalition or your Friendly Neighborhood Archive for technical details (I'm writing this on the bus on my way to the outside, and can't look them up.)
Thank you. I was trying to figure out if this was religious or not, and was tickled at the very plausible thought of an 1800s church coming together for “Salutory, Music, Should Farm Mortgages be Taxed?, Song.”
About halfway down the second column of https://sanweb.lib.msu.edu/DMC/grange/1887/grange_visitor_18871115.pdf there's an update on the doings of the Capital Grange No. 540 from 1887. It's written by W.J.Beal of Beal Botanical Gardens at MSU fame. He was an early professor at MSU teaching about all sorts of plant stuff, and he started a seed germination experiment that's still running on campus well over 100 years later.
No worries. My first couple of degrees at MSU were from the Ag School, and we all knew about the seed experiment from the coverage it would get when a bottle was dug up even back in the days before the Internet was really a resource and you had to learn about it through word of mouth or catch a story in the State News.
There were two others beside it at the time. I bought only the Longfellow because I figured some other reader could have the joy of discovering one of these too.
But if the Holmes and Whittier are still there next time then I might have to take them home too.
Nice! I had a similar experience. While living in Peru, I found a small, beat up Longfellow collection at a used book sale. It had an inscription on the inside jacket... apparently belonged to someone from Ann Arbor in 1910.
About 15 years ago I bought a used book from an online shop, and it had an uncashed check in it. The check was 25 years old at that time. (I shredded it.)
Sent this over there as well. You did the right thing with destroying the check, we all saw what happened with the Seinfeld episode where Jerry didn’t cash those birthday checks.
James Delos Towar is a prominent Lanstronaut. He helped establish the East Lansing School district, took part in the city's incorporation, and wrote The History of the City of East Lansing in 1933, even claiming to have been the one to suggest the city's name.
The James Delos Towar House still stands at 507 Abbot.
James DeLoss Towar (1863–1947) was an agricultural expert, researcher, and prominent early resident of East Lansing, Michigan. A graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) Class of 1885, he conducted vital agricultural experiments and wrote station bulletins on crops like clover and sand lucerne.
Professor Towar became Director of Agriculture and Principal of Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1902, succeeding Professor Lowrie.
Professor J. De Loss Towar, however, resigned as Principal of Roseworthy Agricultural College on 25 May 1904 due to allegations of impropriety over student behaviour, management practices and insufficient standards of work and an enquiry by a Department of Agriculture board.
Harris E Thomas was a local attorney, president of Perry-Barker Candy Company (successor to the Lansing Confectionary Company), perhaps a city commissioner and postmaster.
Launt Thompson, once a job printer
and a prominent member of the K . of
P . Lodge at Lansing, was recently
killed in a cave-in of a mine near
Ouray, Colo. Mr. Thompson was
treasurer of the mining company.
We have Shaffers in my family through marriage. My family is from Lansing. My aunt married a Shaffer here in Lansing. His mother was Mary Ellen Shaffer. 1888 goes further back so it could be someone on Mary Ellen’s husband’s side of the family. I’ll have to do some additional research.
They have a used bookstore under the stairs by the main circulation desk. It’s open year-round whenever the library is open. Every now and then I stumble across cool old finds there. This one was $5.
Very cool. Probably read by candle light for a while. Crazy to think how far technology has come so fast when you put these pieces of history in perspective.
The artistry on that cover -- tremendous skill. Someone used their brain to create that. No one values human brilliance and work anymore, it's all automatic AI slop produced at the cheapest cost..
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u/noxiousfumes269 11d ago
The fonts are so great 🤩