John Davis Batchelder Ephemera and Special Collections
Scope and Content Note
Theater programs, playbills, newspapers, incunabula leaves, prints, official documents, bookplates, inaugural souvenirs, and other papers of prominent historical figures in the arts and politics primarily in the US, but also Europe. Persons represented in the collection include Albrecht Durer, Peter Schoeffer, Wynkyn de Worde, Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, Edwin Booth, and several US Presidents.
The 1,499 volumes in John Davis Batchelder’s donation include children’s books, early American publications, incunabula, and such significant literary works as an early edition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1599) and the First Folio edition of his plays (1623). He acquired many book and non-book items because of their primacy, including many first editions, or because of their connection with famous people. Four other divisions also have custody of significant portions of the Batchelder gift: the Manuscript Division, the Music Division, the Prints and Photographs Division, and the Asian Division.
Dates
- Creation: 2200 BCE-1948 CE
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1760-1945
Language of Materials
Collection material in English, French, Italian and Sumerian.
Access and Restrictions
The John Davis Batchelder Ephemera and Special Collections are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Copyright Status
Materials from the John Davis Batchelder Ephemera and Special Collections are governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.) and other applicable international copyright laws.
Biographical Note
John Davis Batchelder was born in Faribault, Minnesota, the son of prominent local attorney George Washington Batchelder and his wife Kate (née Davis). After graduating from Shattuck Military Academy, he attended the University of Vermont, from which he graduated in 1895. He received an A.M from Johns Hopkins, and then attended the Sorbonne in Paris, the University of Berlin, and Oxford University. Returning to the U.S., he taught at the Shattuck School in Faribault, the University of Iowa, and Case Western Reserve University until about 1911. After that date, he appears to have set about collecting the books, manuscripts, and other objects that he would later donate to the Library of Congress.
The 1,499 volumes include children’s books, early American publications, incunabula, and such significant literary works as an early edition of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (1599) and the First Folio edition of his plays (1623). He acquired many book and non-book items because of their primacy, including many first editions, or because of their connection with famous people.
Four other divisions also have custody of significant portions of the Batchelder gift: the Manuscript Division, the Music Division, the Prints and Photographs Division, and the Asian Division.
Extent
480 items
14 containers
Abstract
Theater programs, playbills, newspapers, incunabula leaves, prints, official documents, bookplates, inaugural souvenirs, and other papers of prominent historical figures in the arts and politics primarily in the US, but also Europe. Persons represented in the collection include Albrecht Durer, Peter Schoeffer, Wynkyn de Worde, Napoleon Bonaparte, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allen Poe, Edwin Booth, and several US Presidents.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in one series:
- The collection is grouped by format, but individual series were not created. Formats include theater programs and playbills (18th to 20th centuries), leaves and prints from early printed books, single issues and clippings of historical newspapers and magazines, programs and other ephemera relating to presidential inaugurations and White House gatherings, bookplates, calling cards, ephemera relating to Napoleon Bonaparte, historical bank notes, correspondence relating to the French Revolution, and a cuneiform cone which is undated.
Catalog Record
Provenance
Donation of John Davis Batchelder between 1932 and 1948.
Transfers
In 1961, materials in the John Davis Batchelder gift were transferred to the Manuscript, Music (now the Performing Arts), and the Prints and Photographs Divisions.
Processing History
The collection was compiled by Michael North in 2021.
Source
- Batchelder, John Davis, 1872-1958 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Batchelder, John Davis, 1872-1958, collector. (Person)
- Booth, Edwin, 1833-1893. (Person)
- Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870. (Person)
- Dürer, Albrecht, 1471-1528. (Person)
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, 1769-1821. (Person)
- Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849. (Person)
- Schöffer, Peter, approximately 1475-1547. (Person)
- Worde, Wynkyn de, -1534? (Person)
- John Davis Batchelder Collection (Library of Congress) (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- John Davis Batchelder Ephemera and Special Collections
- Author
- Compiled by the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress
- Date
- 2021
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Part of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division Repository
Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room
10 First Street, SE
Thomas Jefferson Building, LJ 239
Washington, DC 20540-4810
(202) 707-3448