Marietta College - Mariettana Yearbook (Marietta, OH)

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MARIETTANA N INETEEN AND NINE In the spring of the next year a special effort was made by a few den voted friends of the college to secure funds for the enlargement of the: library. Nearly $9,000. was given by the citizens of Marietta. The names of a few of the donors have been found. Douglas Putnam, from whose hand came every Marietta college diploma up to the year 1894, heads the list with a gift of $2, 500. Col. John Mills, treasurer of the college without salary for the first fifteen years, also appears as a large giver. More than half this money was expended and the re- mainder funded. The purchases were apportioned almost equally among the departments of wmetaphysics, theology, mathematical and physical science, philology, history and general literature. Some of the important serials then purchased once belonged to the private col- lection of Louis Philippe. It was in 1850 also that Samuel Prescott Hildreth, M. D., of our own town, presented to the college his valuable mineralogical and' other collections together with several hundred volumes of scientific works. To these he added from time to time, not only books of scien- tific character, but some valuable historical works, chief among them his own two histories of pioneer times in this region. In addition and by no means least important of his gifts were several manuscript vol- umes of his correspondence with prominent scientiiic men of this and foreign lands, and a mass of manuscripts relating to the early days of this colony. Among these last are some excellent pencil pictures of Farmers, Castle, the Point Garrison dated 1791, Campus Martins and; other interesting points. One curious sketch is of the plan for a pound, pillory and whipping post with the recommendation that they be tilocated on the lot donated to the county by C01. E. Sproat. A note is appended signed by Dr. Hildrethis initial which says iiThese engines of punishment remained in use about eighteen years. This sketch is dated June 18, 1800. An interesting and beautiful book in this collection is a bound volume of colored sketches made by Dr. Hildreth, of larvae and moths 20

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h NINETEEN AND NINE MARIETTANA himself, says of the purchase These books were carefully selected, and purchased for the most part by personal attendance upon the great auction sales of Leipsic and Halle. In this way the institution came into possession of one of the most valuable collections in the West, and for a sum probably less than one-third the price it would have cost in this country. That the trustees of an infant institution should have appro- priated to Greek and Latin classics with lexicons, grammars and other helps, the first $1000. given for books is worthy of record. Soon after returning from Europe Prof. Smith formed the plan of translating and editing the Homeric lexicon of Crusius, then re- cently published in Germany. His edition of this lexicon has been called an honor to him and to our country. It was dedicated to Samuel Stone for the reason given in the foilowing paragraph which is found in the volume: This translation is gratefully dedicated to the memory of Mr. Samuel Stone, late of Townsend, Mass, who- crowned a life of active usefulness by leaving his estate to be devoted; to the cause of christian benevolence. As one result of the benefaction, the library of Marietta college is in possession of a department of. valuable philological works, to which, in their selection and use, the present volume owes its existence? And thus was created a lasting memorial to Samuel Stone. It would perhaps be a pleasure to the book lover to spend a few moments in the examination of these old volumes, some of them dating back to the early years of 1500. They are bound for the most part in vellum, some of them having the remains of clasps and straps. A few' have the fortune to be bound in manuscripts. One, which is somewhat the worse for wear and age, shows two layers of manuscripts, the outer one bearing a musical score of words, with illuminated capitals. The back is reinforced with stamped pigskin. Two or three have the imprint of the house of Aldus, an anchort and a twisted dolphin. In the catalog of 1848-9 the library is said to contain 3,600 volumes. I9

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-IE-r NINETEEN AND NIN E MARIETTANA which are so real that they seem starting from the page to perform their evil work upon tree and shrub. These exquisite sketches are accompanied by manuscript notes and nearly every page is signed by Dr. Hildreth,s initials. The library has been enriched from time to time by gifts from many individuals. Noteworthy among these gifts are four collections, three of which, according to the wish of the donors are now kept as units. First, several hundred volumes from the estate of Charles E. Lindsley of the class of 1840. This aside from its own value, is prec- ious as showing the affectionate remembrance in which Marietta is held by her alumni. Second is the HHildreth Cabinet Libraryu to which reference has been made. The next collection, of over 1400 volumes, is the gift of a living alumus of Marietta College. It consists of books pertaining to philosophy, psychology, religion, science, art and literature. Every volume has been carefully selected and the aggregate forms a most desirable section of the library. The donor, a man of fine literary judg- ment, is still adding to his gift. The last collection of note is the magnificent gift received at Commencement 1900 from the Hon. Rodney M. Stimson tLibrarian 1881-1890 and treasurer 1881-1900i consisting of 18,712 volumes. This collection, while embracing the various departments, is peculiarly rich in matter pertaining to American history, especially of the North- west Territory. It is said by some Who are probably qualiiied to judge that in this respect it is second to none west of the Allegheny mountains except that of the Wisconsin Historical Society. The col- lection is the work of a man who knows and loves books well and who put into the work nearly twenty years of painstaking labor as well as a goodly sum of money. In its historical department there are many hundreds of volumes which deal with the important wars of our 21