Excerpt:
The books in this collection bear nineteenth century American imprints, dating mainly from between 1850 and 1880. They have been digitized by the University of Michigan as part of the Making of America project, a major collaborative endeavor to preserve and provide access to historical texts. Currently, approximately 1,500 books are included. The collection is particularly strong in poetry and in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
Annotation:
The collection is divided into seven general themes: Civil War, Slavery and Abolition, Religion, Education, Self-Help and Self-Improvement, Travel and Westward Expansion, and Poetry. Each section opens with a 200-word descriptive essay, and each book featured on the site is accompanied by notes on the author, full title of the work, date and place of publication, and the publisher. The site is keyword searchable and can be browsed by subject, author, and title. The site is ideal for exploring late-19th-century literature and popular culture.