A Sampling of Rare Shaker Broadsides at Hamilton College Library

The Hamilton College Library holds a large collection of imprints unrecorded in Mary Richmond’s authoritative bibliography Shaker Literature. Broadsides account for some of the more interesting examples. The following selection of five rare Shaker broadsides from the Communal Societies Collection illustrates that the Shaker (and sometimes non-Shaker) printer set his type for many different purposes, both sacred and profane. All five examples are exceptionally rare (none are located by OCLC WorldCat) and only one of these broadsides was noticed by Mary Richmond. Most of these selections are likely unique survivals. All are from the nineteenth century, and one example (the only one known to Mary Richmond) furnishes a bit of wit and an element of mystery