Name/Title
Dunham Library Book, The Army Under Pope, by John RopeEntry/Object ID
2024.67.01Secondary Title
John Codman Ropes, Campaigns of the Civil War, vol. IV: The Army Under Pope (New York" Charles Scribner's Sons, 1882).Description
According to a partial bookplate attached to the inside front cover, this book once belonged to the Spool Shop Library, a circulating library of the Willimantic Linen Company (1854-1898), which became part of the American Thread Company in 1898. The WLC/ATCO library was also known as the Dunham Hall Library, founded in the late 1870s and closed in the early 1940s. The book is 229 pages, including the index.Context
The Austin Dunham Hall Library was founded in the late 1870s by William E. Barrows, the President and General Manager of the Willimantic Linen Company, who named it after his boss, one of the Company’s owners. Barrows followed a philosophy that historians call industrial benevolence, or industrial paternalism. In his view, the Company and its executives were like parents, and the workers were like children. The Company would provide its workers with decent housing, a school, a library, a bank, and a park for recreation. In return, the workers would accept low wages and unsafe working conditions. They would not join unions nor go on strike. Of course, most workers resented the philosophy of industrial paternalism. Ironically, there was also resentment among the Company’s investors, who thought that Barrows spent too much money on libraries, banks, and parks, along with his other improvements, like switching from waterpower to steam power and installing electric lights. Eventually, Barrows would be fired.
The Library is a prime example of industrial paternalism. Barrows believed in education. He also believed that reading promoted cultural refinement and middle class values of thrift and sobriety. To create a refined atmosphere, Barrows made the Library elegant. It had two fireplaces, polished oak floors, and vaulted timbered ceilings made of cypress, the latest style in the 1870s. Barrows hired a professional librarian, and the Library was open to workers, their families, and other townspeople. There was a large collection of books, including books on self-improvement, learning the technical skills needed to become one the Company’s skilled workers, literary classics, newspapers, histories, adventure stories, and romances — but not, unsurprisingly, not any literature associated with socialism, anarchism, or labor unions.
The Dunham Hall Library was located on the third floor of the WLC's company store, erected in 1877. The Spool Shop, while part of the WLC complex was a separate building. Does the bookplate indicate that the Spool Shop had a library of its own, perhaps an annex of the Dunham Hall Library? Was it a name for part of Dunham Hall Library litself, perhaps a corner devoted to history books? There is a mystery here to be solved.Collection
General CollectionLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
BookNomenclature Sub-Class
Other DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsDimensions
Height
7-1/2 inWidth
5 inDepth
1 inDimension Notes
223 ppBook Details
Author
Ropes, John C.Place Published
City
New York, NYRegion
NortheastContinent
North AmericaDate Published
1882Publication Language
EnglishPublication Subjects
U.S. Civil WarLocation
Location
Room
Dunham Hall Library Reading Room* Untyped Location
Main Museum BuildingCategory
ExhibitDate
November 30, 2024Condition
Overall Condition
Very GoodDate Examined
Nov 30, 2024Examined By
Eves, J.Copyright
Type of License
NoneCopyright Holder
Public DomainCopyright Date
1882Created By
historian@millmuseum.orgCreate Date
November 30, 2024Updated By
historian@millmuseum.orgUpdate Date
November 30, 2024
