Concord School of Philosophy collection

Collection

Identifier: MS-1996-037

Image: "Full Course" ticket, approximately 1883

Browse 14 digital objects in collection

Scope and Contents

Programs, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and photographs relating to the Concord School of Philosophy. Printed materials document lecture topics through programs and circulars announcing the upcoming season's lectures. Also includes ephemera from related schools and movements, as well as notable figures who taught at or supported the school, such as Edward Everett and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Dates

Creation: 1860 - 1903

Creator

Concord School of Philosophy (Organization)

Access Note

Collection is open for research; digital version also available.

Conditions Governing Use

These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials.

Historical note

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The Concord School of Philosophy was a series of summer lectures and conversations on philosophy held in Concord, Massachusetts. These lectures were held from 1879 to 1888 in the Orchard House of Amos Bronson Alcott’s family home. The school offered lectures on a variety of subjects over the course of several weeks. Alcott, who was a member of the Transcendental Movement, opened the school with Franklin Benjamin Sanborn.

Rooted in the teachings of Plato’s Academy, the lectures and readings focused on the Transcendentalists. The school attracted many writers and philosophers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson who attended meetings and was also a lecturer.

The final meeting of the school commemorated Alcott after his death in 1888.

Sources:

Bartlett, George B. Concord: Historic, Literary and Picturesque (Boston: Lothrop Publishing Company, 1895).

Warren, Austin. "The Concord School of Philosophy," New England Quarterly, vol. 2, #2 (April 1929), p.199-233.

Full Extent

.5 Linear Feet (1 container)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Collection documents the Concord School of Philosophy, a summer lecture series held in Concord, Massachusetts from 1879 to 1888, via programs, newspaper clippings, and ephemera relating to the School. Also included are materials by and about notable teachers of the School--including Ralph Waldo Emerson--and related programs.

Arrangement

Organized in two series: I. Printed materials, and II. Related schools and movements. Materials are chronological within series.

Provenance

Gift of Martha Harriet Abbott Simonian in 1946.

Separated Materials

Published works associated with this collection have been transferred within the Burns Library and can be found in the Boston College Library catalog.