Given our old-school predilection for print, we found a kindred spirit in Starshaped Press, the print shop behind this exclusive letterpress print depicting our beautiful building.
Exhibition Titles
Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s
As the United States marks its semiquincentennial in 2026, renowned historian Marc Stein looks back at the politics of another landmark celebration during a time of striking similarities and surprising differences: the US bicentennial in 1976. In the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate, the bicentennial sparked an extraordinary national conversation about the country's past, present, and future. As patriots, planners, profiteers, and protesters argued about how to commemorate the national birthday, they collectively reimagined the promises and perils of democracy during a transformational decade. From award-winning historian Marc Stein, Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s is an original, illuminating, and insightful study of that era. While focusing on festivities and fights in Philadelphia, the nation's birthplace, the book also explores the many proposed and abandoned celebrations that percolated up around the country. It tells a broadly democratic story of both the "official" bicentennial and counter-bicentennial activism, offering revolutionary perspectives on national politics, social movements, and popular culture. From the queer courtship of President Richard Nixon and Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo to parades and protests with millions of participants, and from a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at Philadelphia's most prestigious hotel to the establishment of groundbreaking African American, ethnic, and Jewish museums, the bicentennial reveals a kaleidoscope of American peculiarities, problems, and possibilities. The lasting influence of 1976 on one of the nation's great urban centers and the United States as a whole is undeniable. As the nation--once again enmeshed in political and social upheaval--marks its two-hundred-fiftieth birthday in 2026, there is no better time to look back at its two-hundredth and marvel at what has changed, and what has not.
$30.00
Studio Series Letterpress Stamp Set
Whimsical vintage type reminiscent of letterpress makes these rubber-tipped wooden stamps perfect for card making, scrapbooking, dot journaling, labeling, crafting, art journaling, and so much more! The rustic wooden box with metal clasp includes 70 stamps: 52 stamps of the alphabet in upper and lower case letters, 8 punctuation stamps, and 10 numbers stamps. Wooden box measures 5-3/4" wide x 3-3/8" deep x 2" deep (12.7 cm wide x 7.6 cm deep x 5 cm deep). Stamps are 1-1/2" (3.8 cm) high, with rubber stamping tip measuring 1/2" x 3/8" (1.27 cm x .95 cm).
$19.99
Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence
William and Benjamin Frank joined the Second Rhode Island Regiment in the spring of 1777, following the tradition of military service established by their father, a veteran of the French and Indian War. The brothers became part of a cohort of free Black soldiers serving in an integrated Continental Army. The Second Rhode Island saw action along the Delaware River in the defense of Fort Mercer and the battle of Red Bank, before falling back with the rest of the army to Valley Forge. Following the brutal winter of 1777-1778 and the pivotal Battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, in June 1778, veteran soldiers of color from the Second Rhode Island, including the Frank brothers, were transferred to the newly segregated First Rhode Island. This regiment was composed of Black and Native American soldiers, including enslaved men who were promised their freedom in exchange for service. Allowing formerly enslaved men to serve was reluctantly authorized by George Washington to address manpower shortages, but in exchange, he introduced segregation into the army. The "Black Regiment," as it became known returned to its home state, where it fought with distinction at the Battle of Rhode Island in August. While encamped near Providence in February 1780, Ben Frank deserted and ended up in British service. His brother William remained with his unit and served during the American victory at Yorktown, Virginia, where the Black Regiment once again demonstrated its effectiveness. William was honorably discharged and returned to Rhode Island, while Ben eventually relocated to Nova Scotia with other loyalists. In Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence historian Shirley L. Green takes the reader on a journey based on her family's history, rooted in its oral tradition. Putting together the pieces of this puzzle through archival research, interviews, and DNA evidence, the author authenticates and expands the family's oral history. In addition to providing context and substance to the Black experience during the war years, the author underscores the significant distinction between free Blacks in military service and those who had been enslaved, and how they responded in different ways to the harsh realities of racism. An original and important contribution to American history, Revolutionary Blacks presents a complex account of Black life during the Revolutionary Era and demonstrates that free men of color shared with white soldiers the desire to improve their condition in life and to maintain their families safely in postcolonial North America.
$29.95
When the Declaration of Independence Was News
Tracing the moments after its creation, this groundbreaking book follows how news of the Declaration of Independence spread to people throughout the thirteen United States and the Atlantic world.In 1776 people could hear the Declaration of Independence proclaimed in public squares and could read it in the pages of their local newspapers. Stories of the Declaration typically recount the work that took place inside the Continental Congress, focusing on the men tasked with drafting the text. Although Congress declared independence, the work of spreading the news involved printers, post riders, ship captains, civic leaders, soldiers, clerks, orators, preachers, diplomats, and translators. When the Declaration of Independence Was News reveals the stories behind how the Declaration was communicated in the United States and around the Atlantic. Tracing the travels of the founding document of the United States from Philadelphia to New York, Boston, Charleston, London, Leiden, Paris, and beyond, Emily Sneff shows how people both celebrated the Declaration and critiqued it. In the weeks after the document was penned, it was printed in the columns of newspapers, translated into German and French, and shared with Native American allies. The document induced some people to make public their privately held beliefs about whether they wanted the United States to be independent or to reconcile with King George III. The Declaration was met with unique circumstances everywhere it went, and people modified the text along the way. The questions of who experienced the news of independence, when, and how reveal an expansive and complex history of a critical moment in the American Revolution. Published for the 250th anniversary of American independence, When the Declaration of Independence Was News returns to a time before the legacy of these words and the outcome of the war against Great Britain were known to reconsider what the founding of the United States meant to the people who were living through it.
$29.99
Promise of America: Reflections on Our Enduring Ideals
*Includes an essay by Free and Independent curator Eric Slauter*Presented by the National Constitution Center, an inspirational collection of essays exploring the founding principles that continue to shape American democracy from the nation's leading constitutional scholars across the political spectrum. The Declaration was just the beginning. The revolutionary ideas of 1776 set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the national framework established in the Constitution in 1787 laid the foundation for America's story--chapters that continue to shape our nation. What did liberty and equality mean in 1776 and what do they ask of us today? In this one-of-a-kind keepsake volume, leading historical scholars take a fresh look at America's founding documents--the texts, historical context, key principles that animated the framers, and their influence across American history and around the world. Featuring US Supreme Court Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Stephen G. Breyer (Ret.), world-renowned scholars like Walter Isaacson and Akhil Reed Amar, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Danielle Allen, and numerous other New York Times bestselling authors, this commemorative collection of essays brings together our nation's foremost historians and scholars from across the political spectrum, and invites all Americans to explore the ideals that inspired the greatest and most enduring democratic experiment in history.
$18.00
Jackie Ormes: The First African American Woman Cartoonist
At a time of few opportunities for women in general and even fewer for African American women, Jackie Ormes (1911-85) blazed a trail as a popular cartoonist with the major black newspapers of the day. Her cartoon characters (including Torchy Brown, Candy, Patty-Jo, and Ginger) delighted readers and spawned other products, including an elegant doll with a stylish wardrobe and "Torchy Togs" paper dolls. Ormes was a member of Chicago's black elite, with a social circle that included the leading political figures and entertainers of the day. Her cartoons and comic strips provide an invaluable glimpse into American culture and history, with topics that include racial segregation, U.S. foreign policy, educational equality, the atom bomb, and environmental pollution, among other pressing issues of the times--and of today's world as well. This celebrated biography features a large sampling of Ormes's cartoons and comic strips, and a new preface.
$24.95
Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel (Revised)
"A fascinating collection" of wartime cartoons from the beloved children's author and illustrator (The New York Times Book Review). For decades, readers throughout the world have enjoyed the marvelous stories and illustrations of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. But few know the work Geisel did as a political cartoonist during World War II, for the New York daily newspaper PM. In these extraordinarily trenchant cartoons, Geisel presents "a provocative history of wartime politics" (Entertainment Weekly). Dr. Seuss Goes to War features handsome, large-format reproductions of more than two hundred of Geisel's cartoons, alongside "insightful" commentary by the historian Richard H. Minear that places them in the context of the national climate they reflect (Booklist). Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman's introduction places Seuss firmly in the pantheon of the leading political cartoonists of our time. "A shocker--this cat is not in the hat!" --Studs Terkel
$24.99
Pride
Queer X Design: 50 Years of Signs, Symbols, Banners, Logos, and Graphic Art of LGBTQ
The first-ever illustrated history of the iconic designs, symbols, and graphic art representing more than 5 decades of LGBTQ pride and activism.Beginning with pre-liberation and the years before the Stonewall uprising, spanning across the 1970s and 1980s and through to the new millennium, Queer X Design celebrates the inventive and subversive designs that have powered the resilient and ever-evolving LGBTQ movement. The diversity and inclusivity of these pages is as inspiring as it is important, both in terms of the objects represented as well as in the array of creators; from buttons worn to protest Anita Bryant, to the original 'The Future is Female' and 'Lavender Menace' t-shirt; from the logos of Pleasure Chest and GLAAD, to the poster for Cheryl Dunye's queer classic The Watermelon Woman; from Gilbert Baker's iconic rainbow flag, to the quite laments of the AIDS quilt and the impassioned rage conveyed in ACT-UP and Gran Fury ephemera. More than just an accessible history book, Queer X Design tells the story of queerness as something intangible, uplifting, and indestructible. Found among these pages is sorrow, loss, and struggle; an affective selection that queer designers and artists harnessed to bring about political and societal change. But here is also: joy, hope, love, and the enduring fight for free expression and representation. Queer X Design is the potent, inspiring, and colorful visual history of activism and pride.
$27.00
Newberry Exclusives
Baseball Cap - Black with Mulberry Logo
This imprinted cap is made from 100% cotton.Each cap features an unstructured, low-profile design with a soft-lined front.Designed with a six-paneled crown and a pre-curved visor.Includes a self-fabric closure strap with an antique silver buckle.
$19.95
Yellow Manuela Tote
This bright yellow tote features artwork from a woodcut lace border detail with grasshoppers and other local flora and fauna, from a doctoral Thesis Print on Logic. Original printed on satin by Manuela Cereza and defended in the Cathedral of Puebla, Mexico, in 1746.Call number: Ayer BC60.F74 1746$20.00
$25.00
Newberry Gift Certificate
Give the gift of choice to your favorite reader or Library fan!Sold in $25, $50, $75 or $100 dollar amounts, A Newberry Bookshop Gift Certificate can be used on any item in the Newberry Bookshop, including sale merch and Adult Ed titles.
$0.00
