Research Note: Tom Hardiman, Keeper, Portsmouth Athenaeum: The Library of John Fisher

From the Introduction of Money, Revolution & Books, the Athenaeum's Library of John Fisher of London (7-8)

Tom Hardiman, Keeper

Portsmouth Athenaeum, 2011

In 1829, John Fisher of London (1764-1838) donated his substantial library to the Athenaeum. On August 3rd, the Board voted "that the secretary address a letter of thanks to John Fisher of England, Esq. For his late donation of books to this institution." In the published annual report, the directors noted that this was the "most important donation ever made to the library consisting of some two hundred thirty four volumes of very valuable works in various branches of science and general literature..." Nowhere was there any explanation of who John Fisher was or why a London squire would donate books to a library in provincial New Hampshire. 

As time passed, there would have been few Portsmouth residents who would have known that Mr. Fisher was a native of Portsmouth and his valuable library was a material testament to his family's amazing tale of intercontinental avarice, political subterfuge, harrowing delivery from imminent danger, and their remarkable series of legal triumphs which made them arguable the only victors of both sides of the American Revolution. For all its amazing historic associations, the Fisher library was every bit as fitting for the Athenaeum's Cabinet of Curiosities as for its library shelves, but for 180 years the books were distributed into the general catalog, each banished to its subject. What remains of the Fisher library was reunited and re-cataloged as a discrete collection in December of 2010, and the true significance of the gift can be appreciated for the first time since the gift increased the Athenaeum's holdings by ten percent in 1829.

For exhibition hours and related programs, see http://www.portsmouthathenaeum.org/

Editorial note: Having read Mr. Hardiman's manuscript, it is clear that this publication represents an astonishingly rich trove of new and previously uncovered research. It will prove invaluable to scholars and students of the American Revolution in general and northern New England's role in particular.  For the general reader, the tale of the Fisher family of Portsmouth (NH), Salem (MA), London and various English counties, reads like an intercontinental novel of shifting allegiances, political and courtroom dramas played out amongst royalty and courtiers, with the large northern land grants being traded like chess pieces among family, friends and those connected through various alliances. For local and regional historians and genealogists, the names of the Wentworths, Atkinsons and many others, take on larger personas.  Mr. Hardiman's grasp of his material is exceptional and his ability to make it accessible is indeed worthy of note.

John Fisher, Sr. courtesy of NH Historical Society

Reading Room, Old Library