The meeting record of the Saint Louis Lyceum is a large hand-written book recording the institution's founding constitution, by-laws, and meeting minutes as recorded by various elected secretaries. It documents the organizations membership, lectures, and debated questions from 1838 into the 1840s.
These papers were saved alongside the circulation and meeting records of the Saint Louis Lyceum. They include drafts, drawings, and some meeting related materials.
Described within as a "Historical Account of the Temporal Spiritual Interests of the First Presbyterian Church of St. Louis, from its organization to the present period."
In the 1830’s seemingly everyone wanted a print or view of the new town or a map of property; Eugene Dupre was an entrepreneur, first coming to St. Louis as s tailor, next a lithographer and mapmaker in these busy days for the city.
This published constitution and by-laws for the Mechanics' Institute of St. Louis contains the list of officers, the board of managers, and the officers of the board.
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.
This directory contains advertisements for local businesses and services, historical sketch of the city, business listing, the names, occupations, and addresses of residents, which in some cases are identified as African-American with the abbreviation col'd (colored). Following the listing, this directory provides information related to tariff charges for a number of common goods, city and county officers, postage rates, mail arrival and departure times, exchange rates, insurance prices, and other information related to public institutions and social organizations. It ends with a calendar for 1837.
Circulation record for the Saint Louis Lyceum, a subscription library and debating club in St. Louis that existed from 1838 to 1851. The record indicates that 870 members borrowed 10,983 volumes from the institution at an unknown time.
This undated and unsigned map of the boundaries of St. Louis shows the growth of the city at different periods: 1780, 1822, 1839, 1841, 1855, 1860, and 1876.
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.
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.