1886 · Providence
by Guild, Reuben Aldridge
Providence: Tibbitts & Preston, May, 1886. First collected edition, 8vo, pp. 48; original printed wrappers bound in; early 20th-century half red morocco, title in gilt on spine; very lightly rubbed, the wrappers lightly chipped; near fine. Guild was a librarian at Brown University for forty-five years (1848-1893), and edited several volumes of letters and sermons and wrote many biographical and historical sketches. His major works, Life, Times, and Correspondence of James Manning (1864), History of Brown University (1867), and Early History of Brown University (1897), "remain important in the history of higher education in the United States and have served as the bases for subsequent histories of Brown University... "Guild's accomplishments are substantial. He contributed to the building of a library facility that was state-of-the-art in its time, oversaw the early stages of the founding of a great library collection by the acquisitions of such materials as the famous Harris Collection of American Poetry, was influential in the development of library cooperation, and wrote and edited a number of works very useful to the historian of American higher education" (ANB Online). Guild was also a founder of the American Library Association (1876). See also the entry in DAB.
(Inventory #: 56196)