Victorian Embossed Leather Autograph Book, Mid-19th Century
Item Details
Description: A mid-19th century autograph album bound in full dark morocco leather with elaborate blind-stamped borders and a central gilt pictorial device featuring a quill, scroll, and laurel wreath titled ‘Autographs.’ The album contains manuscript entries from March 1859, notably identifying the signatures of Rev. Charles C. Beatty (1800-1882) and his wife Hetty E. Beatty (1802-1876), founders of the Steubenville Female Seminary in Ohio. Other signatories include John R. Agnew, Harriet J. Agnew, Lydia B. Black (Norwich, Conn.), and Libbie Reed (Hartford, Conn.), suggesting a provenance connected to the Seminary or the Beatty family’s ecclesiastical circle. The front pastedown bears a later bookplate: ‘T.A.G. The Library, Sycamore 1608.’
Historical Significance: Rev. Charles Clinton Beatty and Hetty Elizabeth Beatty were prominent figures in 19th-century American education and Presbyterian history, having founded the Steubenville Female Seminary in 1829, a pioneering institution for women’s higher education in the Ohio Valley.
| Type | Autograph Book |
| Period | Mid-19th Century, Antique |
| Date | Circa 1850s (Entries dated 1859, 1860, 1861) |
| Origin | United States |
| Binding | Embossed leather |
Condition
- bumped corners and spine; edgewear; creases; faded ink; folds; tears; toning; foxing.
Dimensions
- Please note: If the winning bidder selects the warehouse transfer option, the item will be available for pickup at the selected warehouse three business days after payment has been finalized.
Item #
ITMGS43154
