The Collected Library, Including Americana and Early Photography

Albany, NY: Churchill & Denison, [1867]. 11 x 9 in. album containing 177 albumen photographs of the President, Delegates, Officers, and Reporters from the 1867 Constitutional Convention in New York, all but one measuring approx. 3 1/2 x 2 1/8 in., mounted recto on thick card leaves. An 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. photograph of the President of the Convention, William A. Wheeler, is also enclosed. Many photographs are accompanied by the subject's signature, included below each portrait. Leather covered boards with gilt "D. Rumsey" on front cover. With printed index at front of album. (Front and back covers fully separated, spine lacking, Images overall good with light toning and occasional spotting.)

The 1867 New York State Constitutional Convention was called to revise the 1846 constitution and to address issues regarding suffrage, specifically the property qualification for African American men. The convention, which was dominated by Democrats, debated major reforms including expanding voting rights, but ultimately failed to secure voter approval for the proposed document.