Treasures from the Worcester Room: A Flyer from the Worcester Lyceum

One of the most striking things you notice when considering the library's Worcester Room Collection is not only how many impressive personages walked down the streets of Worcester during the city's long, proud history, but also how interconnected the histories of Worcester's various institutions are. We recently discovered an 1850 flyer from the Worcester Lyceum advertising an planned series of lectures from some speakers who are very well-known in history.  Founded in 1825, and eventually becoming Worcester's Ecotarium, the Lyceum was apparently able to book some notable people to speak,  Put it this way: of the ten speakers, eight of them are well-known enough to have fairly detailed Wikipedia pages.  This was an all-star cast of lecturers.

Horace Greeley was of course one of the most notable newspapermen of all time, and the founder of the New York Tribune.  He and his papers were considered national thought-leaders, and helped shape the opinions of the time, and define the role of the newspaper in American society.  He was also quite active in politics, serving as a senator and eventually running for president in 1872.

Wendell Phillips was one of the most famous abolitionists in American history, and a pioneer in advocacy for the rights of women and Native Americans.  Interestingly, eleven years before the start of the Civil War, several of the other speakers were known for their abolitionist views, notably Edward and Henry Beecher, the brothers of Harriet Beecher Stowe and well-known theologians in their own right.  It is important to remember that Worcester, and Massachusetts in general was a strong supporter of anti-slavery efforts.

Besides the speakers however, the entrance fees (almost $30 for men and $15 for women and children in today's money) included access to the Worcester Lyceum's expansive library.  Interestingly, the books in the Lyceum's library would eventually be donated by Dr. John Green to a new location: the Worcester Public Library.  The Lyceum's library collection is currently housed in our library's Green Collection.  This flyer and its links to the history of the city is just another example of the treasures that you can discover in the library's Worcester Room Collection.