Nantucket Atheneum Podcast

The Shelves of Yore: Can you judge a book by its cover? Let's try!

March 14, 2022 Nantucket Atheneum Season 2 Episode 4
Nantucket Atheneum Podcast
The Shelves of Yore: Can you judge a book by its cover? Let's try!
Show Notes

In this week's episode, Janet picks two volumes from the 1841 catalogue because of their curious titles and Ji  dives into what these books are about and who are the people that wrote them.

They discuss The History of Chivalry by George Payne Rainsford James published in 1833, and Dissertation on the Prophecies that have been fulfilled, are now fulfilling, or will hereafter be fulfilled, relative to the Great Period of 1260 years; the Papal and Mohammedan Apostacies; the tyrannical reign of Anti-Christ or the Infidel Power; and the Restoration of the Jews (Say that three times fast) by George Stanley Faber published in 1808.

Janet and Jim also speculate on why book titles used to be so gosh darn long.


The Shelves of Yore is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was written, narrated, and edited by Janet Forest and researched by Jim Borzilleri.

Click here to read The History of Chivalry.

You can find other volumes by George Payne Rainsford James on Hoopla, which is free to use with your library card.

The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org