Restoration challenge: Joshua L. Chamberlain's Home library

While searching for images and references to libraries that belonged to famous and influential persons (more on that to come, I hope), I came across what seems to me yet another dimension of home library research and fascination. The house of the famed Civil war hero, Joshua L.Chamberlain is presently undergoing restoration. The house features a home library, as shown in this 1870s photo:



This is a definite challenge. Restoring a historic home library involves paying great attention to the furnishings of the room (as it is the case with any other room), but it is a lot more demanding task to locate all the books that can be traced to this particular library, as well as find other books that are suitable based on their publication date and themes. An important dilemma is whether to make this library available to the public or at least the researchers. Given the interest in Civil war history, it would also be expected that books that have been since written about Chamberlain would also somehow find there place on the premises. This project is managed by the Pejepscot Historical Society of Maine.

Chamberlain house restorations
159 Park Row
Brunswick, ME 04011
Phone: 207-729-6606
Fax: 207-729-6012