Book - Manuscript Library Catalog and Memoranda Book of the Rev. H.D. Latham
Book - Manuscript Library Catalog and Memoranda Book of the Rev. H.D. Latham
1887 – 1890 (Earliest/Latest dates)
Latham, Henry Dearing. Manuscript Library Catalog and Memoranda Book of the Rev. H.D. Latham
4to (257 x 200mm), bound in contemporary black half sheep and marbled paper boards, purchased as a blank record book from Henry Spear, Stationer, of 133 Pearl & 86 Beaver St. New York (stationer's ticket to front pastedown). Early ink ownership inscription to front free endpaper recto ("Mrs. Charles B. Warren, Cold Spring Putnam County New York For M.E.S.") with another on the following free endpaper recto ("Memoranda September 1887 H.D. Latham, Cedar Cliff, Madison. Will this volum[e] Suffice? What remnant of life is left?"). Below is a later ink inscription: "This Book is Mollie's Gift."
A curious manuscript, this volume is comprised of two sections. The first is an extremely well thought-out library cataloging system, presumably that of the Rev. Henry Dearing Latham, a Methodist minister previously of Rocky Hill, which paints the picture of an incredibly well-educated individual interested in organizing disciplines of thought. Latham has divided his disciplines into six "Classes", which include: Theology; Government, Politics, Jurisprudence and Commerce; Sciences & the Arts; Literature; Geography; and History, Mythology, Archaeology and Biography. Within those classes are pages and pages of sub-categories within each, running the gamut from hydrostatics and vulcanology to archery, cookery, Armenian literature, psalmody, and everything in between. Latham was evidently very curious about the world around him, and endeavoured to study every nook and cranny of it.
After the initial outline mentioned above, Latham began recording every single book in his possession, its format (mostly 8mos, with some smaller formats), and its place and date of publication. Under Sacred Scriptures - American, for example, he has recorded eleven different translations of scripture into what he categorizes as "American" languages: "Esquimaux", "Mohawk", "Greenlandish", "Choctaw", and "Negro-English" (his terms), among others. Sadly, it appears as if Latham never finished his impressive attempt at cataloging his library, as the record stops mid-way through Class I: Theology, Section VI: Theological Controversy.
The second half of this curious manuscript is comprised of diary entries beginning in September 1887. The entires are in a smaller, shakier hand, and describe very frankly the daily challenges Rev. Latham faces as an elderly man: "I have been heading my pages for a long time with the phrase 'Waiting.' Waiting for what-- till my change come when waiting for life to open into the [void?] Spiritual. Now I feel as never before that my waiting will not be long. My body is filled with pain. Sleep is rare and brief, decay of strength reveals itself. I cannot [recover] as in former times ... It looks sudden yet I have been more than seventy-five years in the world and should have achieved much in that time. I am writing this page at midnight. No sleep will come to relieve the pains my body endures..." (p.33, 1887 December). Evidently shy, but longing for human connection, he finds comfort in prayer and contemplation. Historical events are noted (including the death of Wilhelm I, Emperor of Germany, and the addition of four states by President Cleveland), as well as the debts he incurs, and local events.
The emotional thrust of his writing centers on his daughter Mollie, however, and he worries fervently for her well-being: "My beloved daughter is singularly unhappy ... She has shattered nerves and is fit for nothing now ... She will not let me enjoy anything, nor be comforted as I might because she is so unblest. What can I do for her?" (Sept. 30 1888). The entries show a heartbreaking view of a father at a loss. As mentioned above, an ink inscription in the front of the book reads "This Book is Mollie's Gift.". Presumably it was given to her after his passing, and we wonder what Molly thought about her father's internal struggles, worries, and heartaches.
4to (257 x 200mm), bound in contemporary black half sheep and marbled paper boards, purchased as a blank record book from Henry Spear, Stationer, of 133 Pearl & 86 Beaver St. New York (stationer's ticket to front pastedown). Early ink ownership inscription to front free endpaper recto ("Mrs. Charles B. Warren, Cold Spring Putnam County New York For M.E.S.") with another on the following free endpaper recto ("Memoranda September 1887 H.D. Latham, Cedar Cliff, Madison. Will this volum[e] Suffice? What remnant of life is left?"). Below is a later ink inscription: "This Book is Mollie's Gift."
A curious manuscript, this volume is comprised of two sections. The first is an extremely well thought-out library cataloging system, presumably that of the Rev. Henry Dearing Latham, a Methodist minister previously of Rocky Hill, which paints the picture of an incredibly well-educated individual interested in organizing disciplines of thought. Latham has divided his disciplines into six "Classes", which include: Theology; Government, Politics, Jurisprudence and Commerce; Sciences & the Arts; Literature; Geography; and History, Mythology, Archaeology and Biography. Within those classes are pages and pages of sub-categories within each, running the gamut from hydrostatics and vulcanology to archery, cookery, Armenian literature, psalmody, and everything in between. Latham was evidently very curious about the world around him, and endeavoured to study every nook and cranny of it.
After the initial outline mentioned above, Latham began recording every single book in his possession, its format (mostly 8mos, with some smaller formats), and its place and date of publication. Under Sacred Scriptures - American, for example, he has recorded eleven different translations of scripture into what he categorizes as "American" languages: "Esquimaux", "Mohawk", "Greenlandish", "Choctaw", and "Negro-English" (his terms), among others. Sadly, it appears as if Latham never finished his impressive attempt at cataloging his library, as the record stops mid-way through Class I: Theology, Section VI: Theological Controversy.
The second half of this curious manuscript is comprised of diary entries beginning in September 1887. The entires are in a smaller, shakier hand, and describe very frankly the daily challenges Rev. Latham faces as an elderly man: "I have been heading my pages for a long time with the phrase 'Waiting.' Waiting for what-- till my change come when waiting for life to open into the [void?] Spiritual. Now I feel as never before that my waiting will not be long. My body is filled with pain. Sleep is rare and brief, decay of strength reveals itself. I cannot [recover] as in former times ... It looks sudden yet I have been more than seventy-five years in the world and should have achieved much in that time. I am writing this page at midnight. No sleep will come to relieve the pains my body endures..." (p.33, 1887 December). Evidently shy, but longing for human connection, he finds comfort in prayer and contemplation. Historical events are noted (including the death of Wilhelm I, Emperor of Germany, and the addition of four states by President Cleveland), as well as the debts he incurs, and local events.
The emotional thrust of his writing centers on his daughter Mollie, however, and he worries fervently for her well-being: "My beloved daughter is singularly unhappy ... She has shattered nerves and is fit for nothing now ... She will not let me enjoy anything, nor be comforted as I might because she is so unblest. What can I do for her?" (Sept. 30 1888). The entries show a heartbreaking view of a father at a loss. As mentioned above, an ink inscription in the front of the book reads "This Book is Mollie's Gift.". Presumably it was given to her after his passing, and we wonder what Molly thought about her father's internal struggles, worries, and heartaches.
B2021.26