This week at the Luzerne County Historical Society, I continued cataloging the Welles collection and came across two interesting books. One small book I came across was titled “Twenty-Two Years of Protection” by Henry V. Poor, written in September 1888. In his book, Poor discusses the transitions of America’s financial history from the colonial period to the late 1800s, dividing the transitions into three distinct phases:  ‘The Period of Construction’ (1789-1829), ‘The Period of Attempted Destruction’ (1829-1865), and lastly, ‘The Period of Restoration’ (1865-1887). Throughout the book, Poor discusses each phases of America’s financial history, but focuses on the last phase extensively. I thought the book was appealing because of the title, even though I don’t have much interest in its topic. On the other hand, if any readers are interested in America’s financial history, they should not hesitate to take a look at it.

The other interesting book I came across was titled “The Right and Left Hand Blessings of God: Designed as a Cure for Covetousness” by Rev. Nathaniel West. The book got my attention as I was reading the title and its claim that it can cure one’s greed. Inside the book, there are excerpts of scripture, right hand blessings, and so on. These components highlighted by West were, and possibly are presently, believed to be a way to heal a greedy individual’s spirit. Due to time restrictions, I unfortunately could not look further into the book. However, when I do have the time I would like to read it, because the “right hand blessings” highlighted in the book, such as the ‘Length of Days’ and ‘Riches and House’,  seem interesting to me. Anyhow, as the semester is coming to an end, I am going to continue cataloging the Welles collection until mid-December. Thus, I wonder what I will find next week in the collection!