The special collections of the St. Louis Mercantile Library consist of over 400 individual collections with archival materials numbering in the millions, including over 100 historic newspaper titles, presidential letters, early travel diaries and civil war era letters, fur trade records and the newspaper and printing morgue of the St. Louis Globe Democrat, some of which is available digitally. The M-Series of collections represents the core of the Mercantile's holdings. Finding aids and descriptions can be accessed from the library's website through the Mercantile Special Collections Directory.
St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis
The Saint Louis Lyceum was a public forum for lectures and debates in early St. Louis. It was founded in 1838 in the spirit of the Lyceum Movement, a national effort towards self-improvement and community led education for adults. It maintained and built upon the library of the city's first subscription library, the St. Louis Library Association, which was founded in the early 1820s. The Lyceum overlapped in activities and collections with the Young Men's Lyceum and the Mechanics' Institute of St. Louis. The archives and books of these early libraries were bought by the Mercantile Library in the early 1850s, and became a cornerstone bibliographic collection at the Mercantile. This collection was reassembled from the stacks of the Mercantile through study of the original accession records concerning the acquisition in 1851.
The larger collection consists of approximately 500 printed books and pamphlets from this early book collection, some with association annotations, original ownership marks, or bookplates. Most of the scanned materials relate to the week to week meeting minutes, circulation records, and founding documents.
I Jno. K. Walker Sheriff as hereby certify that caused to be put up at the following named places a copy of this advertisement twenty days before the sale -- before the 30th day of March 1831 at the court house doors, at Fashnughty Barber Shop, at the Missouri Hotel at the city Hotel, at the Green Tree Tavern in the city of St. Louis, at Phillys Tavern in Bonhomnic, at Blacksmith Shop 5 miles east of Manchester, at -- Store in Manchester, at Lamisi Store in same place, -- McDonald's Mill in St. Ferdinand Township at Owens Station at Thomas Shop, at Connelly Grocery in Florissant, and at I. Aubuchon's -- same village, one at H. Jofo Tavern on Florissant Road -- at Darny -- Loc -- -- in St. Louis Township. Ten of the most public places in the county. Shff cost $5.00 Jno. K. Walker Shff.
Letter written by Charles H. Smith, an Army Paymaster in the Territory of Florida. Writing from St. Augustine in East Florida, Smith discusses the status of payments to both regular and volunteer troops. He also responds to a letter from Florida territorial governor Richard K. Call. The last page of the letter, which bears an address to Nathaniel Towson, the Paymaster-General of the United States Army, features a St. Augustine postmark and a “FREE” handstamp. The letter is dated October 26, 1836.
Manuscript lease indenture between John Scudder and Benjamin L. Turnbull to lease the Missouri Hotel in St. Louis. The manuscript, dated November 15, 1836, contains witness signatures and an inventory of hotel goods, including feather-beds, lamps, linens, and a Franklin stove. The document indicates the property will be used as a tavern or house of entertainment, and a list of payments is included on the back.
Letter written by John Brown of Peoria, Illinois to his parents in Morris County, New Jersey. The letter describes plans for possible fur trapping expeditions in the Rocky Mountains and the “Winnebago swamps”. Brown describes the necessary equipment for this kind of expedition and extends an invitation to his friend William Laurence to join the group. He also discusses the rapidly increasing population in the area, the prices of goods, and his work on the construction of the Peoria County Courthouse. The letter is dated July 7, 1835.