Library Postcards

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

1913 Hart Memorial Library, Troy, New York

[LIB6653] - The building opened on May 12, 1897 with appropriate ceremony and fanfare. Unfortunately, needed operating support did not match the grandeur of the new library. Mary E. hart presented the sum of $5,000 on the condition that if another $45,000 was raised, she would contribute an additional $5,000. The necessary funds were never raised and under the special conditions of the gift, the original $5,000 reverted to her estate. In 1903 the Trustees voted to change the name of the institution from the Hart Memorial Library to the Troy Public Library in hopes of attracting municipal funding. In 1904 the city of Troy appropriated $2,500 toward the operation of the library, all of which went to pay off a deficit. [Read more about this library] The building, having undergone extensive restoration, is still in use as a public library. This panoramic view of the city of Troy, New York was originally produced by Beck & Pauli in 1881. The map identifies the street names and shows the buildings in Troy more than a century ago. The printed detail is outstanding.

Troy, NY Panoramic Map - 1881 Poster by lc_maps
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1940 Steele Memorial Carnegie Library, Elmira, New York

[LIB6652] - Esther Steele wasn't content just to build a building. Records indicate that a majority of the 6,779 volumes came from the Steele's personal library on W. Clinton St. Further, she recognized the need for a professionally trained librarian to maintain it and recruited her niece, Kate Deane Andrew to be it - but not before asking the Chancellor of Syracuse University to design a training program for Kate and having her spend two years in it. Kate began work in the Steele library in 1900 and retired in 1940! [Read more of the history of this library]

Indian Earth Works, Elmira, NY, 1909 Vintage Postcards by markomundo
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1907 Nesmith Library, Windham, New Hampshire

[LIB6651] - The Nesmith Library collection was created with the assistance of Col. Thomas Nesmith and was housed in the Town Hall until 1899 when the current field stone building was built by George W. Armstrong. See a digitized form of the Dedication Exercises of Armstrong Building from 1899, click here.

Searles Castle Photography Postage by pamdicar
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Public Library and Holden Memorial, Clinton, Massachusetts

[LIB6650] - The Bigelow Free Public Library is named in honor of Erastus Brigham Bigelow, its greatest benefactor. Originally known as the Bigelow Mechanics Institute, it was founded in 1846, as a subscription library. The name evolved to the Bigelow Public Library, with its collection housed, at various times, in several municipal buildings.

1876 Clinton, MA Birds Eye View Panoramic Map Print by PaperTimeMachine
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The Winston Churchill Memorial Library in the United State, Westminster College, Fulton, Missouri

[LIB6649] - The Museum is located on the Westminster College campus in Fulton, Missouri, the site of Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech. The Museum was founded in 1969 to honor the life and legacy of one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century. [Website]