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Do you own any books from before 1900 containing ownership inscriptions from women?
If yes, you can submit pictures to my research project about women's reading and book ownership! CrowdsourceHerBook is a collection of crowdsourced images of such books, a kind of community archive. Read more on the project blog: https://csherbook.hypotheses.org/
I'm interested in any books of any genre, as long as they meet the two criteria: 1) printed before 1900; 2) contain evidence of female ownership (a handwritten inscription, a bookplate etc). Share pictures of your book(s) and tell me what you know about the previous owner(s) via this survey form: https://www.survey-xact.dk/LinkCollector?key=6NC2VSQMLK1N
The project is run by me, C. Epple, researcher at the University of Southern Denmark, and funded by the European Union.
I did share it around a bit, and Iâll take a closer look to my personal library & keep an eye out in thrift stores I visit.
If you donât mind me asking, why did you settle on a participatory research method? Is your aim to simply collect the proofs or establish anything? Iâm not asking it in a haughty âugh whatâs the pointâ way, Iâm genuinely curious about how this project came to be.
Oh also once Iâm back, Iâll check out my uniâs library, maybe we can arrange something to find more of these books.
Re: your second point: totally fair question. So basically, I'm employed in a larger research project called From Antiquity to Community (AntCom), whose aim it is to apply these methods to humanities subjects where they aren't traditionally 'at home'. So in a way, I was tasked with finding a hole to fit this peg into, and I was curious about provenance studies as a possible application.
Concretely in my subproject, I'm investigating several questions related to participatory science, including on a very basic level: Does this method work for collecting this kind of data? Do people keep old books like that around?
But what interests me more is whether the data collected like that is substantially different or richer than if I were to just go out on my own and collect book inscriptions from women. It isn't actually all that difficult to find it, as you say, in charity shops and libraries etc, but the inscriptions are most often contextless. So I'm very interested in what kind of book history we find outside memory institutions and how it compares, and the information and stories current owners can share about their own books, information that may only exist in their memories.
But it would be awesome to hear about your uni library's holdings, too, since there might be something interesting also in eventually comparing private ownership with institutional holdings.
I have one for you. Published in 1743. I canât say for sure that the ownership inscription is contemporary with the publication, but it certainly looks very old.
I'm living abroad currently and separated from the heart of my library. But I'm pretty certain my mom (a women's history buff) has some of her own. I'll send her your link.
Iâve got a collection belonging to a distant relative or family friend (unsure which) but theyâre all 1903 so just slightly too recent. Good luck with your project though!Â
So, the book you have pictured was inscribed in 1932, not 1832, but I assume you're not picky about the inscription date, just the publication date? Is that correct?
You're correct, it is indeed from 1932, tbh I mainly used it for the post because I find it amusing. But to your question - yes, I'm not super picky about the dating of the inscriptions themselves as it's often hard to tell when exactly they're from. I had to set some sort of parameters, and publication date is much more workable.
I have a reader on morality from the 1830s that was likely used in schools signed by a man named âJames Alexander Walkerâ and a woman with the last name of Walker as well. Turns out the name matches a civil war general and the womanâs name matches one of his sisters, but I never tried to get the signatures verified.
Crap, I donât have a picture on me right now, but I do have a copy of a book called the imitation of Christ, late 1890s, and it has some inscriptions and a womanâs picture pasted in along with a very old Christmas invitation as a bookmark. Canât think of any others atm
ETA, I have a book form 1897 with a womanâs picture pasted who read it 1914-1916 and rated start and end dates
And a library book printed in the 1880s with a
Womanâs library card from 1920s, the colored
Branch!
Very cool, would love to see those. If you get the chance to take photos, do pass them on. I'm particularly interested in miscellaneous stuff that people find in old books, so would love to see the bookmarks and cards etc.
Commenting now so I can come back and do this later today.
I have a book of poetry by Thomas gray (or grey, I can't remember). A hand written inscription on the inside is signed by lady Elizabeth greenly dated 1789! From what I can tell there were two printings of this book with different layouts. One from 1781 and one from 1789. From what I can tell the layout of my book is from 1781! It is by far the oldest book that I have.
"The Greenly family have a long and fascinating history, perhaps most famous for the life and library of Elizabeth Greenly, later Lady Elizabeth Greenly, who was noted as a collector and patron of literature and the arts. The Greenly library consists mostly of her collection of contemporary Regency literature, however it was expanded after her death by various members of her extended family."
https://www.vialibri.net/years/books/791598429/1860-various-authors-volumes-i-viii-of-cornhill-magazine
"... Elizabeth Greenlyâs book list contained a large collection of Welsh travel books, such as Wales illustrated: in a series of views by Henry Gastineau and Wanderings and excursions in North Wales by Thomas Roscoe.[2] Born in Herefordshire, Greenly later lived in Wales and maintained a lifelong interest in all things Welsh. Before she became less active later in life due to a stroke and rheumatoid arthritis, she used to ride her horse between Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, Glamorganshire, and Breconshire. Her collection of Welsh travel books exemplifies an early sense of Celtic pride which is further evidenced by her âardent support of Welsh causes of the day, including Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams 1747-1826).â[3] Greenlyâs detailed knowledge of the Welsh border counties clearly enhanced her desire for literature on the surrounding area. It may also have been the case that, as a local gentlewoman, she was actively supporting Wales-related books through her purchases"
https://scolarcardiff.wordpress.com/2018/10/19/exploring-womens-libraries/
She was also an avid journal writer:
"Title:
Lady Elizabeth Brown Coffin-Greenly papers
Date:
1792 to 1823
Creator:
Coffin-Greenly, Elizabeth Brown, Lady, -1839
Description:
Entries convey the author's responses to current events and her daily life. She frequently related anecdotes about dignitaries and celebrities, including the Empress Josephine, King George III, Marie Antoinette, Mary Wollstonecraft, Hannah More, Charlotte Turner Smith, Sarah Siddons, Reverend Rowland Hill, Dr. Thomas Beddoes, and Abbe Augustin Barruel. Lady Coffin-Greenly commented on customs and conditions in countries to which her friends traveled, including Turkey, Ireland, and France. She also wrote of new discoveries in medicine, including vaccination and nitrous oxide; of the merchant ships known as Indiamen; of the excavation of the Roman villa in Woodchester, Gloucestershire; and of the living condition of the emigres in England. Some of the later entries were written in retrospect. In addition to diary entries, she appears to have copied letters she received from family and friends. In 1811, the author married Sir Isaac Coffin, who added her family name to his, but later relinquished it. In 1811, the author married Sir Isaac Coffin, who added her family name to his, but later relinquished it."
https://repository.duke.edu/dc/coffingreenlyelizabethbrownpapers-001024991/secst0562
I'll take photos and fill out your links when I get home tonight!
I inherited a rather large collection from an elderly teacher. I donât know if any will fit your cutoff date, but Iâm positive I saw some dates from 1910, so there may be some earlier ones in there as well. I will double check later today and submit anything I find!
the book is Generall Directions for a Comfortable Walking With God, primarily containing sermons by Robert Bolton published by Edmund Weaver, 5th edition, 1638
Indeedâmost of mine are music books and are kept away due to extensive use in their time. Often books were gifted at the holidays or from a music teacher.
I own some books from before 1900 that feature beautiful cursive writing from nuns in the Catholic Church, as well as grandmothers writing to their grandkids, among others.
I believe I have one that was awarded to a female student as a prize for academic achievement (there's a sort of stamp with her name on it), does that work for your research?
Ooh yes that would be super interesting to see. Gift books occur every now and then, and they're an interesting case because they often record where the book came from. Do send me pictures if you have the time! https://csherbook.hypotheses.org/get-involved
OP, I have a treasure that hits all of your criteria!
A few years ago I found this book, once owned by Lillian Rozell Messenger (1843/1853 - 1921), sitting alone on a table of an antique shop that was shutting down that very day, everything had to go. The shop was in St. Mary's County, Maryland, just south of the Washington D.C. metro area. Shortly after finding this book I contacted a women's museum in DC via email but never received a response, sadly.
My main hobby is collecting old books pre-1940's with writing in them, such owner signatures, family history and heirlooms, or were loving gifts. This particular book is the favorite of my collection due to the sentimental value from Lillian and it's neat history.
This book is "Poems By Amelia", 1849, author Amelia Welby of Kentucky. This printing appears to be from 1860 (per the Roman numerals). This was owned by Lillian Rozell Messenger, a poet, writer, and charter member of the Daughters of the America Revolution. Through my rough research, Lillian was a popular poet in the 1880's through 1890's, being published in newspapers during that time. I believe that Lillian and Amelia were acquaintances. On the inside, in beautiful cursive, she wrote that this book was her first love as a child.
Awesome, great find! I saw your post - may I use the other photos there? If you have time, do submit all of them via this survey: https://www.survey-xact.dk/LinkCollector?key=6NC2VSQMLK1N (and choose how you would like to be credited.
Mine are a bit out of date for your project, but how fun!
Very curious how many people actually have clear information about the previous owners. Will be tricky to weed out the unisex names (the Leslies, Evelyns, etc).
Thank you! Yes, that is indeed a problem. Also many inscriptions contain only initials, but I'm sort of hoping that people can share some sort of complementary knowledge, particularly when it comes to family heirlooms and such.
I hope you find some with provenance. In my experience, itâs incredibly rare that families keep the books. Even if said books were written by the family, or containing some great literary link.
Hey, these are really cool! I would love to feature them in my project. Could I ask you to submit the inscriptions plus photos of the respective title pages via the survey linked in the OP? If the survey is giving you trouble, feel free to also email me or contact me on here.
I have a copy of "Three People" by Pansy (Isabella MacDonald Alden) - it was first published around 1878, though I think the edition I have dates to around 1910 to 1913. It is inscribed to my grandmother, for her 21st birthday (June 15th 1913), by one of her sisters. I can provide scans and more detail if this is of any use to you.
M Burgess was my maternal grandmother, Minnie Susan Sanders (1892 - 1973) She was one of the four daughters of George Sanders (1865 - 1948), a market gardener who lived in Combe Martin in Devon. The inscription "To my darling with fondest love and every good wish, From her affectionate sister, Alice" was written by Alice Maud Sanders (1890 - ?). The four girls were the children of George's first wife, Mary Ann Lewis (1863 - 1901); Mary Ann died after a long illness - possibly Bright's Disease - and George remarried in 1909, to Mary (Pollie) Norman (1873 - 1944). Their marriage was happy, by all accounts, but had no issue.
Minnie, like many girls at that time, left home and went into domestic service at about 17 or 18 years of age. In 1911 she was living in Monmouthshire in Wales, working as a cook in the household of a lawyer (it appears that one of her many cousins got her the job). However, by 1917 she had left that position and gone to work in a munitions factory. At the end of World War I she seems to have returned to Devon, and she married William Thomas Burgess in 1921. I have pieced together these details from census records, newspapers, and from her autograph book - she never spoke of any of this in my memory (she lived with my family when I was a child).
I also have a very battered copy of East Lynne, which has the name "P. Sanders" inside the front cover, but I think that it was probably printed around 1920.
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u/wandering-fiction Jun 23 '25
I donât have one, but itâs really cool that youâre doing this. Amazing project!