Libraries, Reading Communities and Cultural Formation in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic is a three-year project that began in October 2019. Based in the History Department at the University of Liverpool, its primary aim is to investigate the contribution of books to social, cultural, and political change in the eighteenth century. It will do this by exploring in unprecedented range and depth the role played by voluntary subscription libraries in the reading lives of communities and individuals across the Anglophone Atlantic between 1731 and 1800. The New York Society Library, with our extensive 18th-century history, is pleased to be a partner library in this project.

The 18th-century Libraries Online team together with partner libraries runs a Book of the Month Club, drawing attention to books that appealed to eighteenth-century library goers.

This month:

What do an ill-fated expedition to locate the north-west passage and a lengthy dispute with the Board of Trade regarding lost earnings have to do with one of the most popular texts of the late eighteenth century? For July’s ‘Book of the Month’ we mark Independence Day in the United States by considering Jonathan Carver’s Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America in the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768. An incredibly popular text on both sides of the Atlantic, Carver’s Travels forms an account of his journey from Boston through to the Minnesota River, including his time spent residing among the Dakota Sioux Amerindians.

A digitized version of the book can be found here. Participants are welcome to join the discussion whether or not they have read any of the book. Discussion will explore the fascinating story behind Carver's Travels and consider its reception amongst the members of our eighteenth-century libraries.

AT EVENT TIME, CLICK HERE. (Download or update your Zoom Meetings software here.)

Learn more about Carver's Travels here.

Find out more about the 18th-Century Libraries Online project on the project's website.