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Welcome to the John Adams Manuscript Collection at the Boston Public Library (BPL). The Rare Books and Manuscripts Department (RBD) at the BPL has more than 200 manuscripts relating to the second US President John Adams, including many of his letters and the manuscripts found between the pages his personal library of more than 3,500 books (which is also at the BPL). For more information or a login ID to edit this wiki, please contact a librarian listed below or the department at 617.536.5400 x4432.
Please note: The majority of John Adams's papers are held by the Massachusetts Historical Society, and are available for viewing on their website.
Contents |
The Boston Public Library: John Adams Manuscript Collection
Overview
Abstract
The Boston Public Library, and specifically the Rare Books Department (RBD), has a significant interest in the second US President John Adams, his personal library, and manuscripts. The RBD houses Adams’s personal library of more than 3,500 books (all individually cataloged), as well as approximately 60 letters written by Adams, 2 written to him, 35 written about him, and 75 items found from inside Adams’s books (approximately 35 of those in Adams’s hand).
Access
Open
Usage Restrictions & Privileges
Readers are required to fill out an RBD registration form before entering the Reading Room. All users must have a Boston Public Library card or a courtesy card and a valid picture ID. Additional identification may be required, such as a driver's license, university or business identification card, a letter of introduction from a university or a research library, etc.
Readers are required to check all personal property. Only loose paper, pencil(s), and laptops are permitted in the Reading Room.
If possible, readers are asked to examine the finding aid for the collection, make an appointment, and request items to be consulted prior to coming to the Reading Room.
Provenance
This is an artificially constructed collection based on intellectual content; the provenance of each item varies.
Extent
Approximately 200 items; primarily manuscripts.
Items Separated
The John Adams Manuscript Collection is stored in four separate archival boxes of folders by series. This includes the items found in John Adams’s books, which have been removed for safety and preservation; in most cases, a digital copy has been inserted into the book in the original place.
Date Opened
November 2006
Finding Aid and Wiki Prepared by
Abbreviations Used
AD: Autograph document
ADS: Autograph document signed
AL: Autograph letter
ALS: Autograph letter signed
ANS: Autograph note signed
DS: Document note
DNS: Document note signed
LS: Letter signed
TD: Typed document
TDS: Typed document signed
TLS: Typed letter signed
Arrangement
The first three series are arranged by date; the third is arranged by Adams call number. All the folders have been give a new Adams call number from Adams 300 - Adams 479 beginning with the first in Series 1 through the last in Series 4. This is to make arrangement and order easier.
Biographical Note
John Adams spent his youth on a Massachusetts farm, educated primarily by his parents and a tutor. After attending Harvard, he studied law and opened a successful private practice. His early book-collecting focused on creating “the best library of law in the state.” A leading advocate for revolution in the early Continental Congresses, Adams tirelessly promoted American independence with influential political essays, impassioned speeches, legislative proposals, and contributions to many of America’s founding documents.
During the Revolution, he spent ten years abroad as diplomat in France, England, and the Netherlands. Adams secured essential financial loans, negotiated pivotal peace and commercial treaties, and served as America’s first ambassador. He also purchased hundreds of books overseas—it took nearly two days to unpack his library upon his return.
From 1789-1796, Adams served two terms as vice president under George Washington before being elected America’s second president in 1797. Adams’s Federalist administration suffered from partisan infighting at home and turmoil abroad, and he lost his bid for re-election to Thomas Jefferson in 1800. Adams retired to his farm in Quincy, where he spent the next twenty five years engaged in his three favorite occupations: reading, writing, and receiving visitors.
Collection Overview
The John Adams Manuscript Collection primarily consists of letters written by John Adams, many of them being to his close friend, Dr. Benjamin Rush. The items found inside Adams’s books range from translations to pen trials to newspaper clippings. The letters to Adams and about Adams vary widely, but include correspondence with Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and John Singleton Copley.
This finding aid is available in Word document. There is also a quick-reference spreadsheet available in an Excel file.
List of Series
Each series is described in more detail on the purple, individually linked pages.
Series 1: Letters written by John Adams
Series 2: Letters written to John Adams
Series 3: Letters written about John Adams
Letters written about John Adams
Series 4: Items found in John Adams’s books
Items found in John Adams’s books
Contact Us
Beth Prindle, John Adams Grant Manager
Boston Public Library
700 Boylston Street, Copley Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
617.536.5400 x2379
eprindle@bpl.org
OR
Department of Rare Books & Manuscripts
Boston Public Library
700 Boylston Street, Copley Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02116
617.536.5400
OR
For technical issues:
Dawn Bovasso, former John Adams Project Librarian
dawnbovasso@gmail.com
