John Filson’s Kentucke: Internet Search Uncovers “Hidden” Manuscripts

In 2010 the University Library System (ULS) at the University of Pittsburgh embarked on an ambitious mission to digitize the content of the Darlington Memorial Library, which comprises thousands of rare books, manuscripts, maps, broadsides, atlases, lithographs, and artwork. Partnering with the Internet Archive, the ULS sent thousands of books to one of their facilities that subsequently scanned and provided access to the items online. One researcher discovered the presence of several "tipped-in" manuscripts in one of the books. As it turned out, this book was unique since the manuscript additions were not part of the original publication run. It is surmised that Mr. William Darlington, an avid collector of Americana material, possibly arranged to insert these original manuscripts into the text where important figures of American and Kentucky history were named, such as Daniel Boone, Levi Todd, and George Rogers Clark