By Jayne Gordon, Executive Director, The Thoreau Society
 The Thoreau Society's research collections are an important way this Concord-based organization carries out its mission for its world-wide membership and beyond. That mission is to "stimulate interest in and foster education about the life, works and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau and his place in his world and ours, coordinate research on his life and writings, act as a repository for material relevant to Thoreau, and advocate for the preservation of Thoreau Country."
The collections -- open to all -- are housed at the Walden Woods Project's Thoreau Institute in Lincoln, which was opened in 1998 as a result of collaboration between the Walden Woods Project and The Thoreau Society. To make an appointment to work with the collections, contact the Institute Curator: Jeff.Cramer@walden.org.
There are five major collections in The Thoreau Society's holdings of over 100,000 items. The following descriptions of each collection are intended to assist researchers in determining the significance of the collections to their projects. In addition, the online Thoreau Society Research Collections: A Finding Aid, covering key portions of the collections, can be accessed going to the www.thoreausociety.org home page under "Further Information/Scholarship and Bibliography".
The Walter Harding Collection
Walter Harding (1917-1996), widely acknowledged as the leading authority on Thoreau, amassed the world's most comprehensive research collection on his subject. It consists of first editions and manuscripts, thousands of articles and pamphlets, art, records, microfilm and extensive correspondence from leading Thoreau scholars. He noted that it was "without question the largest collection -- public, private, or institutional -- of research materials on the life, works, and influence of Henry David Thoreau ever gathered together."
Dr. Harding explained the history and function of the collection: "It is important to point out that it is primarily a research collection built up over a period of fifty years by a student obsessed with the idea of finding out everything possible about Thoreau. Out of the building of this collection have come more than twenty-five books and hundreds of articles on Thoreau written by that student. It is equally important to point out that it is not a "collector's" collection. While it includes virtually every Thoreau first edition or limited edition, the emphasis has been upon "working copies" rather than on pristine copies. And while it includes a few Thoreau manuscripts and association items, the emphasis has not been there either." Dr. Harding attempted to collect examples of every known book, pamphlet, scholarly and popular article published about Thoreau in any language.
The Raymond Adams Collection
 Raymond Adams (1898-1987) was the first president of The Thoreau Society in 1941, serving fourteen successive terms through 1955. The Raymond Adams Collection includes a fine selection of first editions, several Thoreau manuscripts, correspondence from Thoreau's acquaintances to early biographers, and the Thoreau collection of Thoreau biographer, H. S. Salt. (It was through Salt's work that Gandhi was introduced to "Civil Disobedience".) The Adams collection documents the growth of Thoreau's reception and reputation, and intersects with several manuscript and printed collections at the Concord Free Public Library.
The Roland Robbins Collection
Roland Wells Robbins (1908-1987) discovered the remains of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond in 1945. He excavated it, documented it, and published a book about this experience entitled Discovery at Walden. The Roland Robbins Collection consists of his field notes, photographs, and other documentation of the Thoreau site, as well as materials relating to his archaeological work at other historic sites.
The Archives of the Thoreau Society
This is a collection of correspondence, articles, scrapbooks, and photographs relating to the work of the world's oldest and largest organization devoted to the legacy of an American author. The collection also includes the papers of Francis H. Allen, editor of the 1906 edition of Thoreau's journals, and some of the papers of Concord historian Allen French.
The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau Archives
This archive relates to the work of an ongoing project known initially as The Princeton Edition and now as The Thoreau Edition. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, it was initiated in 1966 to answer the need for a complete and definitive edition of Thoreau's writings, including his Journal and correspondence. This collection richly documents an extensive research and editing process that has, to date, spanned almost four decades.
The Walden Woods Project owns several closely related collections, including the Scott and Helen Nearing Papers and the Paul Brooks Collection (editor of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and the Roger Tory Peterson Field Guides). The Ralph Waldo Emerson Society Collections are also housed at the Thoreau Institute.
Information on Thoreau Society membership and activities can be found at www.thoreausociety.org. The Society's office is located at 55 Old Bedford Road, Concord.
Art Credits: photo top right -- Henry David Thoreau, 18 June 1856, taken
at the "Daguerrean Palace" of Benjamin D. Maxham,
Worcester, Massachusetts;
courtesy of the collections of the Thoreau Society. Other photos from Art Today.
Beautiful blue backgrounds by Word of Mouth Web Design.
 
 
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