The Children’s Hour

October 1, 2013

The Children’s Hour: Three Centuries of Children’s Books and Texts from the Collections of the Newport Historical Society

Newport Historical Society Childrens Book Exhibit

This year the Rhode Island Center for the Book’s Art of the Book Program celebrates literature created for the young and young at heart. The Newport Historical Society is pleased to join this initiative as they debut their latest exhibit The Children’s Hour: Three Centuries of Children’s Books and Texts from the Collections of the Newport Historical Society.

The Children’s Hour, which debuts at the Museum of Newport History on October 1, 2013, presents a selection of 18th, 19th and 20th  century children’s books and printed materials from the Society’s extensive collection. Highlights include the works of 19th-century Newport authors Susan Coolidge (What Katy Did), Laura E. Howe Richards (Captain January) and Clement C. Moore (A Visit from St. Nicholas). Children’s educational materials will also be exhibited such as 19th and 20th century primers, a penmanship book and a unique 1803 “game” comprised of pictures and sight words.

“We are so pleased to again be a part of the statewide Art of the Book program facilitated by the Rhode Island Center for the Book,” explains NHS Collections Assistant Jennifer Robinson who is curating the exhibit. “It has provided a great opportunity to present materials from our collection which have rarely been displayed to the public. Children’s books have a universal quality – and I think visitors will find it interesting to compare our examples to stories they might remember from childhood.”

Founded in 2003, The Rhode Island Center for the Book is an affiliate of The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Institutions participating in 2013 Art of the Book Program include: The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, Providence Athenaeum, Providence Library, Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Rhode Island Historical Society, Rhode Island School of Design Library and Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society.

The Children’s Hour: Three Centuries of Children’s Books and Texts from the Collections of the Newport Historical Society runs at the Museum of Newport History, located in the Brick Market: Museum & Shop, 127 Thames Street, Newport, RI beginning October 1, 2013 through January 2014. Museum admission is free, suggested donation is $4 per person. The museum is open daily at 10am, closed major holidays. For additional information call: 401-841-8770.