Our ephemera collection supplements the Society’s other holdings, with a strong emphasis on mid-to-late 19th-century items. Materials cover a wide variety of topics, from civic and religious to social and entertainment.
Included are advertising pieces, fashion plates, maps, posters and broadsides, prints, and the most comprehensive collection of Fall River postcards extant.
Sarah Cornell Broadside
Broadside, LINES Written on the death of Sarah M. Cornell., 1833. Paper; American; unidentified author; unidentified publisher.
The body of Sarah Maria Cornell (1803-1832), a “mill girl” employed at the Fall River Manufactory, was discovered on December 21, 1832, hanging in a stack-yard on the farm of John Durfee in Tiverton, Rhode Island (now Fall River, Massachusetts); an autopsy revealed that the victim was pregnant. The Reverend Ephraim Kingsbury Avery (1799-1869), a Methodist minister, was accused of the crime due to incriminating evidence left by the victim. Following a sensational trial, considered a cause célèbre of the era, he was acquitted on June 2, 1833. The perpetrator of the crime was never brought to justice.
Trade Card
Trade Card, John F. McDonough, Emigration Agent (and dealer in “Dry and Fancy Goods”), 37 Pleasant Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, circa 1860s. Paper, unidentified printer.
Mourners' Carriage List
Mourners’ Carriage List, funeral of Jireh Sherman Borden (1835-1893), Fall River, Massachusetts, March 12, 1893. Paper; published by George W. Dorntee, Boston, Massachusetts.
The smudged ink may be evidence of the rain that occurred on the day of the funeral, which was described by contemporary diarist Roann R. (Sanford) Freelove as “cloudy and wet.”
Sheet Music
Sheet Music, Dancing With Ma Baby, composed by Herbert Ray “Bert R.” Anthony, Fall River, Massachusetts, 1899. Paper; published and retailed by George H. Munroe & Company, Fall River, Massachusetts.
The racial stereotypes of the era are evident in the artwork illustrating this piece.
Advertising Ink Blotter
Advertising Ink Blotter, Mrs. Orra V. Chase, Hair and Fancy Goods, 149 South Main Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, circa 1905. Bibulous paper; published by A. Yerkes, U. S. Novelty Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Advertising Calendar
Advertising Calendar and Thermometer, China Royal Restaurant, 542 Pleasant Street, Fall River, Massachusetts, 1976. Paper, plastic, glass; unidentified manufacturer.