Digging Into the Past

Information At a Glance

ORIGINAL TITLE OF WORK:

Reed, Rebecca Theresa.  Six Months in a Convent; or the Narrative of Rebecca Theresa Reed, who was under the influence of the Roman Catholics about two years, and an inmate of the Ursuline convent on Mount Benedict, Charlestown, Mass. Nearly Six Months, in the Years 1831-2.  With Some Preliminary Suggestions by the Committee of Publication. Boston:  Russel, Odiorne, and Metcalf, 1835.  Print.

MOST MODERN EDITION:

Reed, Rebecca Theresa.  Six Months in a Convent, or, the Narrative of Rebecca Theresa Reed, Who Was Under the Influence of the Roman Catholics about two years, and an Inmate.  Charleston:  BiblioLife, LLC, 2010. Print.

Archival Research

Q:  When, where, and by whom was the text first printed?

A:  Six Months in a Convent was first printed in 1835 in Boston by Russell, Odiorne, and Metcalf.

NOTE:  The National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints lists another edition of the novel published in the same year in Glawglow by a company called “J. Robertson.”  However, no other information is given and it is not shown in any of my other sources.

The original copy was published in Boston, where Rebecca Reed lived.  The printer seemed to publish stories and autobiographies of people’s lives.

Q:  How often was the text reprinted?

A: Reprints:

1.     ca. 1836 in Philadelphia by T.B. Peterson

2.     1852 in London by the Booksellers

3.     1865  in London.by Halifax, Milner, and Sowerby

4.     1893 in Boston by American Citizen Co.

5.     1977 in North Stratford, NH, by Ayer Company Publishers, Incorporated

6.     1977 in New York by Amo Press

7.     1999 in West Lafayette, IN by Purdue University Press (published in book Veil of Fear: nineteenth-century convent tales by Rebecca Reed and Maria Monk).

8.     2008 in Whitefish, MT, by Kessinger Publishing, LLC

9.     2009 by Books LLC (location not listed)

The book seems to have gained popularity through time.  This could be due to several factors.  Perhaps more publishing companies find value in recovering old texts.  Also, in recent decades, feminist scholars are recovering many texts by women. Furthermore, printing and publishing are much easier and more cost efficient.  The text was popular during its time because it questioned the Catholic Church and its motives.  It sparked curiosity from people in many different religions, but it especially appealed to the Protestant religion, because they tended to view Catholicism (and their convents) as mysterious, secretive, and seemingly above the law.  They wanted reason to put down the Catholic Church and question its validity.

Q:  What is the actual size of the text?  What information is available regarding its physical presence, binding, etc.?  Was it expensive or inexpensive?

A:  14 cm, according to the Library of Congress Online.  It was bound in decorative cloth.  The price is not listed in my sources (if it is addressed, it is labeled as “N/A”).

The small size suggests that it was pleasing to the eye.  It was not bulky…in fact, it seems that is was dainty.  It was probably easy to transport and to “show off.”  After all, books were a status symbol. They were not mass-produced and were not readily available to everyone—thus they were a privilege to own.  (There were no Kindles or Nooks in the nineteenth century!).  The first copies were sold for fifty cents each.

Q:  What is included on the original title page?

A:  As one can see, the title page lists locations that sell the book.  Another interesting feature are the notes written on this page.  While the writing is hard to decipher in some areas, I get the sense that someone was trying to decide where to file this book, perhaps at the Dept. of State.

Because it lists where the books were sold, the title page reflects the fact that books were harder to access in the 1800s.

Q:  Describe the frontispiece, engravings, preface, dedication, etc.

A:  Description:

·      Frontispiece:  not present

·      Engravings:  the cover is emerald-colored cloth with circular designs raised in it

·       Preface:  nothing called “Preface” but there is a section called “Preliminary Suggestions…”

·       Dedication:  no dedication, but it does announce:  “ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN 1835, BY RUSSELL, ODIORNE AND METCALF, IN THE CLERK’S OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS.”  And it also says, “Stereotyped by Shepard, Oliver & Co.”

In another digitalized version of this book (1835), 

I found this page with a hand-written message.

The cover was very decorative, again a sign of how valuable and rare books were.  It is also a sign of status.  People who could afford books would probably prefer a fancy, showy cover to put on display.  Not everyone could own one, and because they were not mass-produced to the extent that books are today, special detail could be paid to the cover.  Perhaps mass-production is the reason why our covers are not as elaborate; it would slow the process and make them more expensive in modern day. Furthermore, the message written in this particular book suggests that this was given as a gift to someone by her cousin.  It says "her" (it was given to a female).  Perhaps I'm making too much of a leap here, but maybe this book appealed to the buyer because it was written by a woman.

Q:  How long is the text?  Is it broken into volumes and chapters?  If so, how many?  Is the print large and easy to read, or dense with many words on each page and lines close together?

A: The text is 192 pages, one volume, and is “one big chunk” (unless you count the “Preliminary Suggestions for Candid Readers”, “Introduction,” and “Letter to Irish Catholics” as separate chapters, but they are not labeled as such).  The writing is of a medium size and is easy to read (definitely nothing obscure like the ‘S’s in Winthrop’s short story!).

The print varies from two centuries earlier when the writing was very different in form and the “S”s looked like “f”s.  (Refer to writings from the Documentation of Anne Hutchinson’s Court Case).  There are not as many imperfections in the text as I have seen in books from previous centuries, but the text could be straighter.  There are a few ink splotches, but the imperfections are not as easily detected.

Q:  What back matter exists?

A:  There is not much back matter.  The word “finis” is not present, and there is no list of subscribers or other works from the printer, but Reed does end the book with a letter to the Irish Catholics.

Perhaps the lack of back matter suggests that the printer was not a widely known or widely used one.

Q:  Given all of the above, how does this affect my creation of this blog?

A:  I decided to include the pdf images of the cover and title page, because these are particularly interesting.  The cover is much more ornamented than today’s books, and the title page reminds me that books were not as readily available (especially not books by women, let alone books by women questioning power or societal figures) during the 1800s.  The title page was able to tell the reader where the book was sold.  Today, books are sold all over the country and so it would not be realistic to list every store that sells the book.

Sources Referenced:

Library of Congress Online

Books in Print Online Database

World Cat Online Database

Google Books Online

The National Union Catalog of Pre-1956 Imprints