The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-12-10

and supervision of the society treasures
and is a close and eager student of the
history of our colonies, many records
of which are preserved on the shelves
and book cases of the society.
The names Of the members of the
society include some of the best known
scholars of the world and on the reg
istry one can see the names of life
members from European countries, In
dia, Japan and almost every civilized
country on the face of the globe.
To be a member means that the per-
son chosen to be one of the society
has accomplished something in original
research and investigation. 1t is the
oldest society of an educational nature
in the city, and was founded by Isaiah
Thomas, whose name is connected with
that of the Massachusetts Spy. Mr..
Thomas contributed many books and
pamphlets that made the start possible.
In 1919 he gave the old building at the
end of Summer street, near Lincoln
square, and the society made it's home
there until 1858, when the generosity of
Stephen Salisbury enabled the society
to move into its present quarters. To-
day Mr.. Barton estimates the number
of volumes owned by the society to be
105, 900.
In the early days George Bancroft,
Francis Parkman and John B. Nc
Master found the volumes of the So
ciety to be invaluable in preparing
their historical material. And today
the name of the society is known
throughout the world as possessing
treasures in the realms of antiquity.
To the man or woman who thinks
that "Ouida" and Richard Henry Saw
age are only worth reading the emu
meration of the many valuable books,
manuscripts, pamphlets and imprints
of the society, would convey little
meaning. But the real antiquarian can
appreciate the list. Said Mr. Barton;
Il, of course, take a pride in the col
lection that represents so much in the
domain of history The imprints pub
lished before 1900 all the literature of
revolutionary times, the list Of the
early newspapers, and many docu-
ments connected with the colonial days
have to me a deep significance"
There are 1000 volumes of neWspa-
pers from the Boston News Letter up
to more recent days. There is first
edition of Elliots Indian Bible printed
in 1868. There is a rich collection of il
Illustrated missels and elaborate works,
mostly of a religious nature, that are
illuminated by hand. From the Koran
and Persian love tales to orderly and
military muster IOllS VI lllG IGNhlhIlplls
one can revel in the rarest manuscripts
of all nations.
However, one feels the most interest
in the literature of this country, and
the large collection includes an exhaus-
tive running history of the early days
of the Massachusetts colony. A num-
Der of the works of Cotton AIather and
records of the Mather family are in
good state of preservation. One of the
best known writings of Cotton Mather
is Observation of the Reverend Doctor
Cotton Mather Concerning Witchery."
The list might be prolonged almost in
definitely, and the mere cataloguing,
SO to speak, of all the literary treas
t,res belonging to the society, might
prove wearisome to many. But there
is no doubt but what Worcester people
take great pride in the ancient institu-
ton of the Society of Antiquity, with
its honored head, whose hair has turned
from brown to gray, since he has taken
the duties of librarian, and who will
for many years to come, all hope, will
he still identified with the American So
ciety Of Antiquity