This exhibition celebrates the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Manuscript Society. Founded in 1948 as the National Society of Autograph Collectors, the organization changed its name to the Manuscript Society in 1953. Composed of archivists, collectors, dealers, institutional libraries, librarians, and others, the Manuscript Society promotes the collection, preservation, and use of autographs, manuscripts, and historical documents.
The quarterly journal Manuscripts is the flagship publication of the Manuscript Society. The journal features articles about notable historical documents, book reviews, information about specific repositories of historical materials, and auction trends. The Manuscript Society News, a newsletter also produced by the society, provides updates on the activities of the organization.
Over the years, the Manuscript Society has published a number of books, including Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collector’s Manual (Scribners, 1978), Manuscripts: The First Twenty Years (Greenwood Press, 1985), Autograph Collector’s Checklist (Manuscript Society, 1990), and History in Your Hand: Fifty Years of the Manuscript Society (Praeger, 1997).
Each May, the Manuscript Society holds its annual meeting. The location of the meeting rotates annually. It provides an opportunity for members to visit local institutions to view various documents and artifacts while conducting the official business of the Society. The annual meeting in 2023 was held in Los Angeles, California from May 17-21.
The Manuscript Society Archives, an extensive collection that documents the history of the organization, are preserved in the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in the Georgetown University Library. Included are files of Society presidents and other officials together with materials about the annual meetings. The records are open to researchers and can be viewed by appointment in Booth’s reading room.
Constitution of the National Society of Autograph Collectors, 1948
Typescript draft of the group’s constitution with some underlining and handwritten annotations.
Manuscript Society Archives: Box 1 Folder 2
Autograph Collectors’ Journal
First Issue, October 1948
The Society began publishing the quarterly Autograph Collectors’ Journal in 1948, the year of its founding. To celebrate its 75th anniversary, it reproduced the cover of the Journal’s first issue on the Winter 2023 cover of Manuscripts.
First Annual Meeting of the National Society of Autograph Collectors
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1948
Photograph of Otto O. Fisher and Mrs. Robert H. Cook at the Society’s first annual meeting, viewing the Louisiana Purchase treaty signed by Thomas Jefferson. Since its founding, the Society has held an annual general meeting, usually in the United States, but occasionally in international locations such as London, Ottawa, and Dublin. The Manuscript Society Archives contain materials concerning every annual meeting from 1948 through 2000. Documentation of meetings from 2001 to present is expected to be added to the Manuscript Society Archives at a future date.
Manuscripts Society Archives: Box 39 Folder 1
Manuscripts
First Issue with New Title, Summer 1953
In 1953, the group changed its name to the Manuscript Society and renamed the quarterly journal Manuscripts. On display is the first issue of the journal under the new title.
Bicentennial Traveling Exhibition
To commemorate the Bicentennial of the United States in 1976, the Manuscript Society and the Smithsonian Institution collaborated on a traveling exhibition titled, “Manuscripts of the American Revolution.” This itinerary lists the organizations which hosted the traveling exhibition.
Manuscript Society Archives: Box 65: Folder 10
Manuscripts
Recent Issue, Fall 2022
Manuscript Society News
Recent Issue, Fall 2022
This recent issue of Manuscript Society News highlights the May 2023 annual meeting in Los Angeles, California.
Manuscripts: The First Twenty Years
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1984
Edited by Priscila S. Taylor. Co-Editors: Herbert E Klingelhofer, Kenneth W. Rendell, and John M. Taylor
Autographs and Manuscripts: A Collector’s Manual
New York: Scribners, 1978
Edited by Edmund Berkeley, Jr. Co-Editors: Herbert E. Klingelhofer and Kenneth W. Rendell
Annual Meeting Program for Los Angeles, 1958
The year 2023 marks the third time the annual meeting will be held in Los Angeles. This printed program documents the first meeting of the Society in Los Angeles.
Manuscript Society Archives: Box 40 Folder 3
Curated by Scott S. Taylor, Manuscripts Archivist