Meaghan Wright, CLA Librarian
As we enter the holiday shopping season, have you considered gifting books? Perhaps you are inclined to get a loved one something a little extra special, such as a beautifully illustrated coffee table book or a fancy edition of a beloved classic.
If so, you would be continuing a long tradition of purchasing holiday gift books. A gift book is, as it sounds, a book intended to be given as a gift with special features such as illustrations, decorative covers, gilt edges, and high quality paper.
Presents for the Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, and the New Year date back to pre-Roman times, and the rise of Christianity shifted the practice more toward New Year’s Day and Epiphany (January 6, the day marking the Magi’s gifts to the infant Jesus).
By the early modern period, New Year gifts were common in England, and though they tended to be simpler for most people before the rise of literacy, books as gifts were common among the upper classes. In fact, a young Elizabeth I famously gifted her stepmother Katharine Parr an embroidered book on January 1, 1545.
During the Reformation, Protestants tended to shift gift-giving away from the feast days of Epiphany and St. Nicholas toward Christmas, although the New Year remained a popular time for gifts as well.
The Victorians preferred to change Christmas celebrations from a rowdy, adult-centered party atmosphere to a wholesome, family-friendly holiday. This coincided with the development of several British and American Christmas traditions such as Christmas cards, presents on or under a tree, wrapping paper, and gift books.
Interestingly, in the stacks at 14 Beacon, you will find more examples of inscriptions mentioning the New Year than Christmas.
The three books below (The Ministry of Comfort, The Upper Currents, and When the Song Begins) were given to Mrs. Martha B. Hazen from her Uncle Calvin. Although they are all from the same author and publisher, they were published and given as Christmas presents over a period of four years.
The Industrial Revolution made the mass production of beautifully decorated books possible, which coincided with an increasingly literate public who could enjoy such products.
One specific type of gift book is a gift annual, a volume that is released annually and contains an anthology of poetry and prose. They were particularly used as gifts for women and children, as the content was considered suitable for such “delicate” audiences.
The first gift annual in England was published in 1823, probably inspired by German gift books in glazed paper boards, and itself inspired the first American gift annual in 1825. By the 1850s, there were more than five dozen gift annuals on the American market, although the trend declined in the following decades. These books were generally published late in the year for the holiday market, and often contained the date for the next year to seem new. The publisher might even reprint the exact same content and change or remove the date the following year.
Some of the CLA’s examples contain inscriptions that date before the publication date, indicating they were likely published for the previous year’s holiday season. “E.M. Heus, Christmas ‘76” was inscribed in Flower and Thorn published in 1877 and “Annie W. Turner from Alice & Josie, Dec. 21 1866” was inscribed in Sabbath Bells published in 1867.
The content for gift annuals often combined famous and lesser known authors, introducing the reading public to a range of writers. The works of great authors such as Henry Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe all appeared in gift annuals. Female writers were also featured, such as Lydia Maria Child, Catherine Beecher, and Hannah Flagg Gould.
The importance and prevalence of gift annuals can even be seen literary works, such as the scene in Little Women when all the March girls receive books in different colors for Christmas.
Some gift annuals were published with more purpose than just collecting pleasant writings, and were themed on topics like religion, abolition, temperance, and regional authors. For example, The Liberty Bell focused on abolition and was published for a fundraising sale at the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Fair from 1839-46. The CLA's copy is from 1839 and specifically mentions the Fair within the publication information.
But whatever the content inside, the first consideration most people had in purchasing a gift book was the impression it made, so they are typically beautifully covered and illustrated. We would be happy to pull a few of them for you to see in person during your next visit to 14 Beacon.
Learn More . . .
Read The Library Company of Philadelphia's subject guide on gift books.
Explore the history of Christmas gift giving in an article from English Heritage.
Learn more about Victorian gift books in a blog post from the American Bookbinders Museum.