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G. & C. Merriam Company Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MA.00170

Scope and Contents

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. W. Storrs; Martin A. Tinker; W. W. Whipple; and Samuel N. White.

Dates

  • 1833-1852

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

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

Conditions Governing 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.

Biographical / Historical

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. and 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.

Extent

0.25 Linear feet (1 half archives box)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

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.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.

Related Materials

G. and C. Merriam Company letter with enclosures to David Peck Todd (AC 1875), 1907 February 12, in Alumni Biographical files (Class of 1875 - David Peck Todd).

Other Institutions Holding Related Material

  1. G. and C. Merriam Company Archives, General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
  2. 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.
  3. The G. and C. Merriam Company Manuscript Collection (1835-1877) at the Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Connecticut.

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Status
Completed
Author
Zoe Kiefer (AC 2005)
Date
2007
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Amherst College Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst MA 01002-5000
(413) 542-2299

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Amherst College Archives & Special Collections
Robert Frost Library, A-Level
61 Quadrangle Drive
Amherst, MA 01002-5000
archives@amherst.edu
(413) 542-2299
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