Record book and other papers related to finances and membership of the New York Liberal Club, 1874-1877. The Liberal Club was a group of New York City's social and intellectual leaders who gathered and sponsored weekly lectures about a wide range of topics including "The Morality of the Theatre," "The Pathology of the Skin," "The Evils of Trade Unionism," and "Women and Her Sphere". The lectures were followed by debates about the truth or falsity of the premises in the lecture. The lectures were given and attended by notable New Yorkers, including the historian James Parton, Walt Whitman, and Horace Greeley (the first President of the Club). Although women were not invited to membership in the club at first, they did attend lectures and presented them as well. This record book is a fine source for anyone interested in the intellectual life of New York City in the late nineteenth century.
