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Children's Literature
The Children's Literature collection at the American Antiquarian Society is, within its scope, the world's finest. Extending from the sober prose of Thomas Shepard's children's catechism, Short Catechism Familiarly Teaching the Knowledg of God (1654), to the cheerful images of children at play in Young America's ABC and Pretty Picture Book (1900), the collection, now numbering over 26,000 volumes, chronicles the emergence of an American literature for children.
Contact
For questions, please contact our Readers' services department or the Curator of Children's Literature, Laura Wasowicz, lwasowicz@mwa.org or (508) 471-2146. For information on obtaining digital images please review the step-by-step guide.
CollectionsMcLoughlin Bros. One of the major repositories of McLoughlin Bros. materials, including over 1,700 picture books, games, paper toys, publishers' catalogs, and original art work. New AcquisitionsBrief videos introduce new collections in the New at AAS series |
How to FindGeneral Catalog 19th Century American Children's Book Trade Directory |
Digital AccessFreely available By subscription (must be at AAS or an institution that has purchased the digital product): Children's Literature and Culture over 8,000 tiles America's Historical Imprints contains over 7,000 titles Nineteenth Century Collection Online: Children's Literature and Childhood includes over 700 titles |
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