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A Chronological Check-list
of the
Publications of the Moorsfield Press
of Champlain, New York
printed by
Hugh, Malcolm and Woody McLellan
from 1919 to the 1970s


        The Moorsfield Press was founded on April 21, 1919 by Hugh McLellan to print historic documents from his father's Abraham Lincoln collection as well as papers of his ancestor Pliny Moore. 

        When McLellan founded the press, he chose the Caslon Olde-Style and Old English typeface and handmade paper to reproduce the style of 18th century publications. 
He consulted with his friend, Winfred Porter Truesdell, who was an experienced publisher, about the sizes and quantities of typeface he needed.  He also discussed with Truesdell about how to print and bind his publications. Truesdell quickly became the mentor of Hugh McLellan in the early years of the press.

        Immediately after founding the press, McLellan received commercial orders from local businesses.  The amount of orders increased over time and left little time for historical publications. McLellan would usually work the entire day, and sometimes into the evening, printing jobs for customers.

        The amount of time needed to write and print historical publications was tremendous. Some publications consisted of only a short transcribed letter and were quickly printed.  Longer publications needed weeks or months of transcription time as it was very difficult to read letters written in the 1700s.  The typeface then had to be set by hand and a proof printed of each page.  Once the correct number of copies were printed of a page, the typeset was reset for the next page.  Each publication was printed page-by-page as there was only a limited amount of typeface available.  Sometimes, it took months or even years to print a pamphlet.  The Pliny Moore Obituary publication was printed over a eight year period.

        Between 1937 and 1938 Hugh and Woody McLellan printed the Moorsfield Antiquarian and included many letters from his historical collection.  At the back of each pamphlet were gravestone inscriptions from a local cemetery that had been copied from the stones (the McLellans copied over 8000 local cemetery stones over the years; many of the stones are not readable today; others have disappeared).  Eight numbers of the publication were printed.  The last number of Volume 2 was finished in the mid-1940s, long after the series had ended.
   
        Besides historical publications, the Moorsfield Press printed for many local businesses and municipalities.  The press printed movie posters, community event announcements, business forms, letterheads, school district forms, municipal government forms, ballots and election material, wedding announcements, tickets and raffle cards.  Because this ephemera was printed up to 100 years ago, the information on these documents is now historically relevant.
 
        A summary of Moorsfield Press' historical publications was printed by Hugh McLellan in his Antiquarian magazine.  The list has been expanded by this author to include all the known historic publications that were printed over the years.  A sample of the business and civic printings is also presented below.  It would be impossible to find and display all of the printings of the Moorsfield Press as it was in operation for over 60 years.


All publications listed below are courtesy of several private collections, except where noted. 


 

1919

1  JONATHAN FRENCH STEARNS.  Sermon on Death of President Lincoln. Newark, N. J., April 16, 1865.  Foreword by Hugh McLellan.  8vo, pp 20, boards.                                                           50 copies
 Caslon type (hand-set); 50 copies on Glaslan paper; board binding.

 

2  JULIUS CAESAR HUBBELL.  Letter to Judge Pliny Moore.  Oct. 24, 1811.  8vo, pp 3(I). 

                                                                                                        
Caslon type (hand-set); 36 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers.
Private distribution.

 

3  NOAH BROOKS.  The Character and Religion of President Lincoln; a Letter Written May 10, 1865.  Foreword by Hugh McLellan. 8vo, pp II(I).                                                                  63 copies
Advertising brochure for two sermons of Pastor Mortimer Blake (1813-1884) and Noah Brooks
  Caslon type (hand-set); 63 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers.

 

1920

4  DOROTHY McLELLAN.  The Carol Singers; a Christmas Story.  8vo, pp 12.                                                                                                                                                                 
Caslon type (hand-set); 75 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers. 
Private distribution.

 

5   LAURA MOORE NYE.  A Letter on the Eighteenth Birthday of her Daughter Ellen.  8vo  
                
                 
Caslon type (hand-set); 36 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers.  Private distribution.

 

1923

6  ABRAHAM LINCOLN.  A Letter in  Reply to an Invitation to Jefferson Festival in Boston.  April 6, 1859.  8vo, pp(3). 
Complete Title:  "A Letter of Abraham Lincoln in Reply to an Invitation to Attend a Festival in Honor of the Birthday of Thomas Jefferson."                                                                                                       25 copies              
25 copies were printed for Brown University's 'McLellan Lincoln Collection' display during Commencement Week in June of 1923; 15 prints were handed to visitors; a signed copy was also given to Dr. Koopman who was the Brown University Librarian (shown here in the link).  Print #2 is at the University of Illinois Library (shown at Archive.org & Hathitrust.org).  After Joseph B. Oakleaf's Lincoln Bibliography (1925) was published, there were more requests for this item but Hugh McLellan refused to republish it.  Brown University had also asked for more copies.  McLellan realized it had become a rare item.
The original hand-written Lincoln letter is now at Brown University, John Hay Library, thanks to the generosity of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Class of 1897.
Caslon type (hand-set); 25 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers.

 

1925

7   MORTIMER BLAKE.  Sermon on Assassination of President Lincoln.  Taunton, Mass., April 23, 1865.  8vo, pp 19.       Caslon type (monotype); 52 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers.
Advertising brochure for two sermons of Pastor Mortimer Blake (1813-1884) and Noah Brooks

 

8   MORTIMER BLAKE.  Human Depravity.  A Sermon on John Wilkes Booth.  Taunton, Mass., 1865.  Foreword by Hugh McLellan.   8vo, pp 17.       Caslon type (monotype); 52 copies on Glaslan paper; wrappers.


Advertising brochure for two sermons of Pastor Mortimer Blake (1813-1884) and Noah Brooks

 

1927

9   WOOLSEY PAPERS – I.  Letters of Col. Melancthon Taylor Woolsey, 1758.  Edited by M. Lloyd Woolsey.  8vo, pp 21.      Caslon type (linotype); 150 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

1928

10   CHARLES FREEMAN NYE.  Address; Centenary of Presbyterian Church at Champlain, N. Y., (1902), and sketch by D. Elmer Hattie.  Forward by Hugh McLellan.  8vo, pp 27.   
Caslon type (linotype); 475 copies, 25 large paper copies; Aurelian paper; wrappers.  
500 c. 25 large paper

 

11   HUGH McLELLAN.  Capt. Job Wright’s Company at Ballston, 1782.  (Pliny Moore Papers – I).  8vo, pp 16.       
Caslon type (linotype); 56 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

1929

12  Mrs. Milo H. Marshall.  An Echo of the Battle of Plattsburgh.  Illustrated, 8vo, pp 14.                                     
   
  Caslon type (linotype); 156 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

13  WOOLSEY PAPERS – II.  Letters to Rebecca Woolsey.  1783-1785.  Edited by Melancthon Lloyd Woolsey.  8vo, pp 14.       
Caslon type (linotype); 130 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

14  PLINY MOORE PAPERS – II.  Obituary of Judge Pliny Moore, (1759-1822).  Edited by Hugh McLellan.  8vo, pp 27.     Caslon type (hand-set); 52 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

15  PLINY MOORE PAPERS – III.  Letter of Lieut. Pliny Moore to his Father, Fort Rensselaer, 1783.  8vo, pp 9.           
  
Caslon type (hand-set); 92 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

16  WOOLSEY PAPERS – III.  Melancthon Lloyd Woolsey, (1758-1819).  A Memoir, Illustrated, 8vo, pp 33.             
  Caslon type (linotype); 130 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.     

 

17  PLINY MOORE PAPERS – IV.  “Journal of Drink,” 1774.   With a foreword by Hugh McLellan.   8vo, pp 12.            
  Caslon type (hand-set); 86 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.        

 

1931

18  HIRAM MILFORD MOTT.  The Future of Champlain; an Editorial of 1882.  32mo, pp 7.  A large paper edition with foreword by Hugh McLellan, pp II.                                                         
Caslon type (hand-set); 25 copies, a large paper edition with a foreword by Hugh McLellan; Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

19  THOMAS NYE.  Two Letters Relating to a Journey from Montreal to Chicago in 1837.  Ed. by Hugh McLellan.  8vo, pp 15.      Caslon type (hand-set); 58 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.  

 

1932

20  EPHRAIM WALES BULL, of Concord.  A Letter to Henry Moore, 1843.  Foreword by Hugh McLellan. 8vo, pp II.                 Caslon type (hand-set); 58 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.    

 

21  THOMAS NYE.  Journal Written During a Journey between Montreal & Chicago in 1837.  Edited by Hugh McLellan. 
[See item 19 in this list].  8vo, pp 30 (I).                                                       
Caslon type (hand-set); 68 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.


22   ORIN E. SOUTHWICK (1789-1881), The Line of Orin Southwick. A Descendant of Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick. 1932. pp 49.            

Caslon type (hand-set); 83 copies on Aurelian paper; wrappers.

 

1933

 

23   JONATHAN F. STEARNS, D.D. Rejoice with Trembling. Fast-day sermon after the assassination of Lincoln. Newark, N. J. 1933. pp 25.      

Caslon type (hand-set); 52 copies on Aurelian paper; board binding.

 

1935

 

24   WILLIAM F. AND ROGER E. BRANCH. Branch Family of New England. Line of William Farrand Branch, 1935. pp 43 (z).       87 copies




(this original list of printed journals was compiled by Hugh McLellan in 1932
but did not include many of his other publications)






Additional Publications of the Moorsfield Press



1920s







1930s


    






 

Editorial Foreword
Pliny Moore Papers - A Frontier Committee of Safety During the War Scare of 1807
Pliny Moore Papers - John Jacob Astor Correspondence: Fur Trade with Lower Canada 1790-1817 - Part I
Outbreak of the Papineau Rebellion in Lower Canada in 1837
Letters from New Madrid, Missouri - Theophilus Woodward, 1846 - 1849
Lincoln's Visit to Richmond, April 4, 1865
Opening of the Pacific Telegraph, October 24, 1861
  • 1937    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 1, No. 2
Pliny Moore Papers - John Jacob Astor Correspondence: Fur Trade with Lower Canada 1790-1817 - Part II
Pliny Moore Papers - Peter Dubree and Peter Janqueray vs. Jacques Rouse of Rouses Point - an Address to the Grand Jury, 1794
War of 1812 - Garrison Orders at Burlington, Vermont - July 13 - August 4, 1813
A Minnesota Farmer in 1862 - Thomas Hartt to Freeman Nye of Champlain, New York
An After Effect of the Civil War - Letter of William Chamberlain, 1880
The 1860 Presidential Campaign - Letters of Cassius M. Clay to Cephas Brainerd

  • 1937    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 1, No. 3
The Moorsfield Antiquarian Title Page
Editorial Comments and Reviews
Pliny Moore Papers - The First Years of the Revolution, Letters to Pliny Moore, 1774 - 1776

Pliny Moore Papers - John Jacob Astor Correspondence: Fur Trade with Lower Canada 1790-1817 - Part III
A Relief Subscription in 1847 - The Famine in Ireland and Scotland

From Illinois to Cuba in 1837-1838 – Letters From George Moore of Concord, Massachusetts
Missouri in the 1860 Campaign: Correspondence of Thomas C. Reynolds
An Impressed American Seaman - John Briggs of Windham, Maine, 1811-1812

  • 1937    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 1, No. 4
Pliny Moore Papers - John Jacob Astor Correspondence: Fur Trade with Lower Canada 1790-1817 - Part IV
Pliny Moore Papers - Pierre Huet de La Valiniere, Priest on Lake Champlain, 1790-1791
From Allegheny To Lake Superior - Journal of George M. McGill, Summer of 1852
A Letter From Elyria, Ohio In 1837 - Salmon Pangman to Bartlett Nye of Champlain, New York

  • 1938    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 2, No. 1
Editorial Comments
Pliny Moore Papers - The Year 1781 at Saratoga: Col. Marinus Willett’s Regiment of Levies

With the American Fur Company in the Michilimackinac Dependencies, 1818-1822, Contract of Bartlett Nye

Maine Troops on Lake Champlain and the Loss of the Eagle and Growler, May-July 1813
Letters from California - 1852-59: Wallace W. Bordwell to Benjamin Booth of Champlain, New York
With General Butler at New Orleans: Letter of John Coddington Kinney Together with a Letter of his Father, Rev. Ezra D. Kinney -1855
  • 1938    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 2, No. 2
Editorial Comments - Sesquicentennial of the Town of Champlain in 1938
Pliny Moore Papers - Lake Champlain Location No. One: Journal of Preliminary Survey, 1785, of Champlain, New York
McGill Papers - A Description of Missouri in 1855: As a Missionary Field for Presbyterian Ministers
McGill Papers - Education of Andrew D. Hepburn: Son-in-law of William Holmes McGuffey 1848-1857
Letters from California, continued - 1852-59: Wallace W. Bordwell to Benjamin Booth of Champlain, New York
Spooks, Spirits, Ghosts, Hobgoblins: Singular Phenomenon in Dutchess County, New York, 1820; Letters to George Heyworth of Peru, NY
Carpenter's Painting of Lincoln
The Reduction of Fort Sumter Before the Inauguration of Lincoln - Argument of Governor Pickens of South Carolina



A more comprehensive description of Pliny Moore's surveys of Champlain is presented in the 2007 Champlain Historic Calendar: The Founding of the Village and Town of Champlain, Part I

  • 1938    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 2, No. 3
McGill Papers - The Crisis at Ohio University Following the Resignation of President McGuffey, 1843-1848

  • 1938    The Moorsfield Antiquarian: A Quarterly Magazine of American History. Volume 2, No. 4

Pliny Moore Papers - In the Mohawk Valley in 1782: Col. Marinus Willett’s Regiment of Levies

Loyalists in Nova Scotia 1786: Ed. Phelon to Colonel Joshua Mersereau

Letters from California - 1852-59: Wallace W. Bordwell to Benjamin Booth of Champlain, New York

A Sketch of the History of the Town of Essex, New York, by Henry Harmon Noble

Senator John Sherman on the Tariff, February 1, 1888
With the U.S. Sanitary Commission, May, 1864: Alexander Taggart McGill


Editorial Comments - Sesquicentennial of the Town of Champlain in 1938




1940s







1950s


  • 1955    A Short History of the Presbyterian Church of Chazy, New York, 1805-1955

  • 1955    Evelyn Erving Dance Revue sponsored by the Niagara Hose Company    (A short history  of the revue, external link)     





1960s






1970s





Other Material Printed by the Moorsfield Press


1924 - 1926
 
"The Print Connoisseur"
edited and published by
Winfred Porter Truesdell and printed by the Moorsfield Press


Winfred Porter Truesdell and the Troutsdale Press
        Truesdell was a printer and collector of book plates, engravings and wood-cuts.  He operated the Troutsdale Press in Boston, N.Y.C. and Champlain, NY.  He was an authority on the photographs of Abraham Lincoln.  

            Biography and summary of Truesdell's publications ==>>




North Country Notes
published by the
Clinton County Historical Association
1960 - Present Day
Newsletter written by Allen S. Everest and Charles W. McLellan, Editors.

North Country Notes Newsletter



Moorsfield Press Posters




Moorsfield Press Business Printings

        The following web pages contain a sample of some of the business and civic printings that the Moorsfield Press did from the 1920s to the 1980s for people and businesses in the Town of Champlain, New York.  This is an incomplete sample of the printings and they are not organized in any way.  Printings for individuals and many small businesses still or recently in operation were not included with these scans due to their personal nature.




Moorsfield Press Printings
from the Collection of the
Clinton County Historical Association
(displayed with written permission of the Association)

 
  Includes historical information cards, Christmas cards, Bredenberg Ski brochures, Champlain restaurant menus, Champlain Community Exhibit programs from 1933 & 1934, school graduations in the mid-1900s, Champlain community announcement posters and Lyceum and Lyric Theater movie posters.  Over 200 items are displayed.





SPECIAL PUBLICATION NOTES:
THE MANY PUBLICATIONS AND BUSINESS PRINTINGS OF THE MOORSFIELD PRESS PRESENTED HERE
WERE SCANNED FROM MATERIAL

THAT IS OWNED BY THIS WEBSITE AUTHOR

THREE ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS AND SOME POSTERS ARE COURTESY
THE SAMUEL de CHAMPLAIN HISTORY CENTER AND ARE CREDITED ACCORDINGLY. 

A SEPARATE WEB PAGE OF PRINTS ARE COURTESY THE CLINTON COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
AND ARE DISPLAYED HERE BY WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE ASSOCIATION. 
  THE PRINTS ARE WATERMARKED ACCORDINGLY.


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