Thanks to the Wilson County Public Library, a decade of Annual Announcements from the Book Club of Wilson are now available on DigitalNC!
Book Clubs are not a new trend and these items prove it! Domestic book clubs originated in England during the 18th century, as women pushed for intellectual autonomy (Heller). The Book Club of Wilson began in 1898 with a group of women who selected readings for monthly discussion. They met in each others’ homes and discussed about half a dozen pieces each month. Dating from 1901-1911, these announcements cover a variety of topics, including Shakespeare, U.S. social issues, and romance in Scotland.
These resources could be useful for researchers interested in women’s education in the early twentieth century, especially outside of the traditional school system. They could also be a fun project or starting point for beginning a book club of your own!
You can see all of the Book Club Annual Announcements at the links below:
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1901-1902]
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1902-1903]
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1903-1904]
- The Book Club of Wilson, North Carolina [1904-1905]
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1905-1906]
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1906-1907]
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1907-1908]
- Annual Announcements of the The Book Club, Wilson, North Carolina [1908-1909]
- The Book Club of Wilson, North Carolina [1909-1910]
- The Book Club of Wilson, North Carolina [1910-1911]
In addition to the book club announcements, Wilson County Public Library also contributed a copy of a baseball Score Card from 1923. This booklet contains photographs and advertisements centering on baseball in Wilson County during the early 1920’s.
To learn more about Wilson County Public Library visit the contributor page or the website.
Heller, Nathan. “Book Clubs: Why do we love them so much? Is it the zucchini bread?” Slate. 2011
