U.S. History: New Database Provides a “Window into the Early American Book Trade”

From an American Antiquarian Society Blog Post by Molly O’Hagan Hardy:

A year ago today, we announced work on a database that would make the extensive financial records of Mathew Carey, a Dublin native who came to Philadelphia in 1784, navigable. One St. Patrick’s Day later, we are happy to announce that this resource now exists. Carey’s records include receipts, bills, memoranda, invoices, bills of lading, and other records of his publishing house—arguably the most influential in the early Republic—and its successors: Carey, Lea, and Company; and Lea and Blanchard. Constructed from three drawers of index cards that were created in the late 1920s, the database contains over 12,000 names, most of which refer to people, but also contain references to ships, firms, and institutions such as schools.
After keying that information into a spreadsheet, members of our assiduous library staff have matched it to the box and folder number where it will appear and added the corresponding URL, so a search for a name in our database will render an account number and a link to GIGI, our digital asset management system. The URL will lead to a handful of images that include a reference to the searched name.
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The database of course only works if one has a name to search for, but we also encourage users to browse the names in the database. On the database site, we have included the spreadsheets for the complete list of names in an xlsm file that can be easily downloaded. This spreadsheet will not only enable browsing, but please also feel free to use that data for independent projects.

Read the Complete Blog Post to Learn More About the Database (Includes Several Screenshots)
Direct to GIGI

Filed under: Data Files, Libraries, Management and Leadership, Patrons and Users, Publishing, Resources, School Libraries