Scope and Contents:
On Jan. 28, 1828, Sherman Converse sent a confidential circular to distinguished American artist, poets, and novelists asking for their participation in a volume of Biographical Sketches of American Artists. The volume was proposed for the expressed purpose of increasing public awareness of, and interest in, the nation's artists. This circular was addressed to the distinguished American engraver, James Barton Longacre of Philadelphia, Pa., with a personal note from Converse asking if he would do some of the engraving work for the volume. In this note, Converse claims that response to his proposal had been favorable; but there is no evidence that the volume was ever published.