Loyalist Books Seized and Sold in Boston
Seizure, inventory, and ultimate disposition of the confiscated libraries.
Jeremy B. Dibbell, Special Collections Librarian, has written a fascinating study of “The Confiscation and Redistribution of the Libraries of Boston’s Loyalists, 1776 to 1779.”1
Thousands of books from the private libraries of Boston’s loyalist population were confiscated by the wartime government of Massachusetts in the spring of 1776. Most were sold at auction over the next several years. Drawing on records at the Massachusetts Archives, this article tells the story of the seizure, inventory, and ultimate disposition of the confiscated libraries. While most prior scholarship on seized loyalist properties has focused on lands and estates, from a book-historical perspective the distribution of the loyalist libraries—the largest sale of books in Boston during the wartime period—offers an important glimpse into the book culture of Revolutionary Boston and provides a useful springboard for future research.
Among the loyalists whose books were seized were Silvester Gardiner (physician, pharmaceutical merchant and land developer of Maine), rector of Trinity Church, Rev. William Walter, and rector of King’s Chapel, Rev. Henry Caner.
Jeremy B. Dibbell used the Massachusetts Archives Collection for his research.
Patriots and Loyalists
Dibbell, Jeremy B. “‘A Great Variety of Books’: The Confiscation and Redistribution of the Libraries of Boston’s Loyalists, 1776 to 1779.” Libraries (University Park, Pa.) 8, no. 2 (2024): 91–110.
If anyone wants to read a terrific novel about the Loyalist cause in Boston during the Revolutionary War, I wholly recommend Kenneth Roberts' Oliver Wiswell (1940). May be hard to find but it will alter your perspective on America's most important moment. As the Boston Herald Traveler wrote at the time--"The story historians dared not tell..." And it's nearly 800 pp. long! I loved every page!
Delightful. It’s good to see you back. Informative as always