Tales and Sketches, From the Queen City

By the 1830s, Cincinnati became a major center in publishing, from the manufacture of paper and ink to authorship and book sales.  The city was also of an age when there could be informed reflection on its history since its founding, on its characters and neighborhoods, and on its hills and river.  Benjamin Drake (1795-1841) was the younger brother of pioneering physician and educator, Daniel Drake.  He was the founder and editor of the Cincinnati Chronicle, one of Cincinnati’s several newspapers, and as a journalist he was deeply interested in capturing the colorful life of a vibrant city on the American frontier.  Drake also authored books on William Henry Harrison and the Indian chief Black Hawk.  His Tales and Sketches is an important document of local history.

Condition and treatment: This is a 19th century half leather binding bound in burgundy colored sheepskin with marbled paper boards. The leather has broken along the spine and is torn along the board corners. There are prior cloth tape repairs along the spine that have also failed. Both cover boards are currently detached. The leather remaining on the spine has darkened and is in danger of becoming lost. Conservation staff will surface clean the binding, remove prior repairs, reattach the covers, and repair the corners of the boards. Evidence of where the call number label was removed by Blumberg will be retained. It will be housed in a cloth covered clamshell.