Our Collection

Governor William Livingston.
Governor William Livingston.

Popular Books

The books listed below are those that were most popular among Library members during the years covered by the first charging ledger, 1789-1792. It provides a fascinating look at reading activity in 18th-century New York City, featuring titles and authors both canonical and nearly forgotten.

The number to the right of each title is the number of circulations recorded in the ledger. Click on book titles for more information, including fuller titles, links to pdfs of the Library’s 1789, 1791, 1792, or 1793 catalogs if the book appears therein, and a local note that indicates whether the book is still in the Library collection. If the book remains in the collection, a link will take the user to its cataloging record. Each book page also includes the circulation history of the title. Click on the borrower name for more information on the person.