Concord library basement is full of literary past
Collection links region, nation
CONCORD - They are there right in front of you as soon as you walk into the room containing the Concord Free Public Library's special collection. Locked in a protective glass case: the surveying compass and tripod of writer Henry David Thoreau.
The aging brown instruments from the 1840s may not seem like much at first, until you remember that Thoreau surveyed Walden Pond before he wrote "Walden." And when he was not making a living writing other works like "Civil Disobedience" or earning fame for refusing to pay taxes because of his opposition to slavery and the Mexican-American War, he worked as a property surveyor for private companies and the town of Concord. His surveying led to the laying of roads, some still functioning.
Leslie Wilson, the library curator, said that visitors often pause when they see the compass and tripod display, circling it as they try to make out what it is. "A lot of people don't know that side of Thoreau," Wilson said. "He had a lot of odd jobs when he wasn't writing."
They are among a number of historical items that can be found in the library's basement, connecting the present to the literary past of the region and the nation.
Tucked away deep in the collection's safe are well-preserved manuscripts by Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. In one manuscript, Thoreau's 1862 essay "Walking," you can see notes written on the side and words crossed out, since it was originally a lecture, Wilson said. The rest of the manuscript was transcribed from Thoreau's notebook by his sister as Thoreau raced to finish it while on his deathbed. He was dying from tuberculosis.
Also in the library's safe are the original signed petition of the 1774 Solemn League and Covenant and a 1776 printed version of the Declaration of Independence that was probably read out loud to citizens. The first document urged citizens to cease buying goods from Britain and has the signatures of the townspeople. The latter declared - well, you know about that.
Lawrence tintype may not reflect actual smiles
The small tintype photographs from the Civil War-era make it seem like people back then weren't a happy bunch.
The faces of the people seem stoic and sad. But according to Louise Sandberg, the Lawrence Public Library's special collection archivist, the subjects usually had to stay still for a while so as not to blur the photos. The camera's shutter speed was very slow by today's standards, and keeping a smile in the same position for long was just too hard.
The tintype photos are of Lawrencians from the mid-1800s. Many people in the images are not named, though Sandberg can often track down their families. More than likely, said Sandberg, the tintypes were stored in someone's purse, then passed down from generation to generation until the family no longer knew who was who. So they gave the items to the library.
Someone also gave the library an original tintype of General Ulysses S. Grant. "It was probably handed out to a Union soldier during the Civil War," Sandberg said.
Also stacked away in the third floor of the library is a vast collection of World War I posters, some of which urge citizens to save wheat, meat, fats, and sugar for victory. Others try to get residents to buy war bonds, or conserve energy, or enlist. Buried beneath the pile of posters is the original banner than hung from the library's building advertising war bonds.
A large number of the posters aren't in good shape, which prevents the library from using them in regular exhibits, Sandberg said. Some also may need to be restored. For years, they had been sitting untouched in the library's cabinets and just recently have been organized.
The third floor also contains copies of many of the city's former newspapers. Over the years, Lawrence has seen some 67 newspapers distributed in the city. A large number of them were in languages other than English, ranging from Italian newspapers to Arabic publications serving the city's immigrant populations.
Schoolchildren hear Woburn legend
Legend has it that the square piece of cloth from the coat President Lincoln wore on the night he was assassinated - a treasure at the Woburn Public Library - came from an open exhibit on Lincoln when members of the audience rushed forth to slice off pieces of the exhibit as souvenirs, said Kathleen O'Doherty, the library director.
The piece of cloth isn't the only artifact from that era at the library; there is also a small chunk of the US Department of War building from the 1850s.
The two items are among the things O'Doherty shows the many schoolchildren who visit the library's top floor during specially scheduled field trips. The items were donated to the library, as was a Revolutionary-era butter churner, a Civil War-era American flag, and a World War I German machine gun. To see the artifacts, you must ask the library staff, who will guide you up a swirl of stairs, unlock a door, then lead you up another set of stairs.
On the third floor you will find a Civil War pistol from Union soldier William Henry LeBaron, shoe buckles from the Revolutionary War, and a chest made from wood taken from John Hancock's house.
"For some reason, people keep giving us this stuff," said O'Doherty. "And we're happy to take it."
Most of the historical artifacts are pieces of Americana that once were locked away in someone's basement, said O'Doherty.
The upstairs "museum" also contains bits of Woburn history that shed light on the social history of the region. For example, sitting in the back is Woburn's first post office box from 1797. To mail letters back then, you had to go to Bud Parker's Tavern, where the post office box was located, O'Doherty said.
There are also farming tools from the 1700s, shoemakers' utensils, Revolutionary War era plates that weren't melted down to make bullets, and, of course, pamphlets.
"We need more space," O'Doherty said.
Russell Contreras can be reached at rcontreras@globe.com.
