G. & C. Merriam Company Collection

G. & C. Merriam Company Collection, 1833-1852

1 half archives box (0.25 linear ft.)

Abstract:

Business correspondence (30 items) written to George and Charles Merriam, booksellers in Springfield, Mass., 1833-1852, from people associated with Amherst College and the town of Amherst.

Terms of Access and Use:

Restrictions on access:

There is no restriction on access to the collection for research use. Particularly fragile items are restricted for preservation purposes.

Restrictions on use:

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection should be directed to the Archives and Special Collections. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights.

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Historical Note

Booksellers in Springfield, Massachusetts, George and Charles Merriam owned and operated a successful press that sold a variety of publications. The most well-known and popular of these was Webster's Dictionary, on which the Merriam brothers bought the copyright in 1845 from the firm J. S. & C. Adams, which had purchased it after Webster's death in 1843. Today the Company exists as Merriam-Webster; it continues to publish editions of Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The collection consists of 30 business letters written to George and Charles Merriam from 1833-1852. Letters are from people associated with Amherst College and the town of Amherst: J. L. H. Adams; Amherst College, Committee for the Sophomore Class; W. H. Beaman; Rev. L. Coleman; Simeon Colton; Edward Dickinson; N. S. Dickinson; George H. Gould; William S. Howland; William W. Hunt; H. B. Nims; William Randall Palmer; E. N. Stores; Martin A. Tinker; W. W. Whipple; and Samuel N. White.

The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Information on Use

Terms of Access and Use

Restrictions on access:

There is no restriction on access to the collection for research use. Particularly fragile items are restricted for preservation purposes.

Restrictions on use:

Preferred Citation

Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:

[Identification of item], in G. & C. Merriam Co. Collection (Box #, Folder #), Amherst College Archives and Special Collections, Amherst College Library.

History of the Collection

Additional Information

Contact Information

Amherst College Archives and Special Collections

Robert Frost Library
PO Box 5000
Amherst, MA 01002-5000

Phone: (413) 542-2299
Fax: (413) 542-2692

Email Reference Form: http://www.amherst.edu/library/archives/info/askus.html
URL: http://www.amherst.edu/library/archives

Language

English

Other Institutions Holding Related Material

G. & C. Merriam Company Archives, General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Arts of the Book Collection, Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. Contains original woodcuts and engravings, microfilms, and photocopies of a set of proofs of the original dictionary illustrations.
The G. & C. Merriam Company Manuscript Collection (1835-77) at the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.

Contents List

Incoming Correspondence, A - C

1833 - 45

Box 1: folder 1

Incoming Correspondence, D - H

1836 - 52

Box 1: folder 2

Incoming Correspondence, N - P

1847 - 48

Box 1: folder 3

Incoming Correspondence, T - W

1839 - 45

Box 1: folder 4

Questions about this collection? Contact the archives
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