John Adams Library

For over a century, BPL librarians have researched and published on the Adams Library, bringing this collection to the attention of wider audiences.

Articles in BPL publications like the BPL Monthly Bulletin (1867-1925), More Books (1926-1948), and The BPL Quarterly (1948-1959) explored Adams' annotations, his approaches to reading, and the contents of the library itself. Links to many of these articles, along with other resources, are provided below.

Catalogs

• Swift, Lindsay. Catalogue of the John Adams Library in the Public Library of the City of Boston. Boston Public Library, 1917.
• Boston Public Library Adams Library shelflist: Adams (folios) ; Adams.10-199 ; Adams.200-849; Add.1. This is the card catalog shelf list of the printed collection. It contains abbreviated entries for every item in the collection, listed in alphabetical order by call number.
• Dimmock, William Reynolds, and Merriam, Mary B. Catalogue of the Public Library of Quincy, Mass. Boston: Press of Rockwell & Churchill, 1875. This catalog was compiled while the Adams Library was held at the Thomas Crane Library and lists the contents of the Adams Library.

Collection History and Overview

• Deeds and Other Documents Relating to the Several Pieces of Land, and to the Library Presented to the Town of Quincy by President Adams ; Together With a Catalogue of the Books. Cambridge: Hillard and Metcalf, 1823. Text of John Adams' bequest of land, his stipulations for the construction of a place of worship and an academy, along with his wishes for the disposal of his library. Also contains a catalog of books.
• Kraus, Joe W. "Private Libraries in Colonial America." The Journal of Library History 9, no.1 (1974): 31-53. An examination of the size and makeup of various colonial American libraries. Useful for contextualizing the intellectual and bibliographical landscape in which the Adams Library was built.
• Haraszti, Zoltán. John Adams & the Prophets of Progress. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952.

BPL Monthly Bulletin

• "The John Adams Library." The Bulletin of the Boston Public Library, ser. 4, vol. 5, no. 1 (1923): 1-13

BPL's More Books and The BPL Quarterly

Articles listed without an author were written by Zoltan Haraszti, former BPL Keeper of Rare Books and Editor of Publications.

• "Autographs in the Adams Collection." More Books, vol. 1 (1926): 65-67. An index of books autographed by known individuals.
• "The Golden Verses of Pythagoras." More Books, vol. 1 (1926): 106-110. A list of the marginal notes John Adams wrote in his copy of the Life of Pythagoras.
• Gummere, Richard. "The Classical Politics of John Adams." BPL Quarterly, vol. 9 (1957): 167-182. An examination of Adams' politics based on Adams' reading of classical Greek and Latin authors, with many examples from the Adams Library.
• "John Adams Among His Books: Memorial Exhibition." More Books, vol. 1 (1926): 4-9. 
• "John Adams on the Abbe de Mably." More Books, vol. 8 (1933): 125-145.
• "John Adams on Condorcet: His Comments on 'The Outline of the Progress of the Human Mind' Now First Published." More Books, vol. 5 (1930): 473-499. A description of the substantial marginalia written by Adams in his copy of Cordorcet's book on intellectual history and progress.
• "John Adams on Dr. Priestly: His Marginal Notes in Priestley's Theological Works." More Books, vol. 10 (1935): 301-318. 
• "John Adams on Frederick the Great." More Books, vol. 9 (1934): 117-133, 161-173. Details Adams' marginal notes throughout his copies of Frederick the Great's Oeuvres and Oeuvres Posthumes (ADAMS 220.7 and ADAMS 220.6).
• "John Adams on Napoleon and the French." More Books, vol. 9 (1934): 201-231. A contextual examination of Adams' marginalia in his copy of Comte d'Hauterive's The State of France (ADAMS 170.14).
• "John Adams on Religion." More Books, vol. 9 (1934): 373-398. A discussion of Adams' marginal notes in his copy of John Disney's Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Arthur Ashley Sykes, D.D (ADAMS 131.9).
• "John Adams on Rousseau: His Comments on Rousseau's 'Inequality Among Mankind' Written in 1794 and Now First Published." More Books, no. 1 (1926): 53-64.
• "John Adams and Turgot." BPL Quarterly, vol. 1 (1949): 3-32.
• "Madame de Stael, the Vain Woman." More Books, vol. 1 (1926): 101-105. A discussion of John Adams' opinions of Madame de Stael and her book, Influence of the Passions upon Happiness.
• "More Books from the Adams Library." BPL Quarterly, vol. 3 (1951): 109-126.