The Filson History Quarterly: Take the Quiz

Nelson L. Dawson
Publications Editor

1. The first issue of the Quarterly appeared in: A) 1884; B) 1926; C) 1938; D) 1964.
2. The Quarterly has always been published solely by The Filson Historical Society. T or F
3. The full name of the Quarterly has always been The Filson Club History Quarterly. T or F
4. The Quarterly is received only by individual Filson members. T or F
5. The Quarterly publishes articles on the history of: A) Kentucky; B) Ohio Valley; C) Upper South; D) all of these.
6. Articles published in the Quarterly have been approved by an editorial advisory board. T or F
7. The Quarterly is the best source for information about Filson Historical Society news, activities, and upcoming programs. T or F
8. Our present Quarterly cover design is only the third basic design in the history of the Quarterly. T or F
9. The back pages of the Quarterly consist of: A) paid advertisements; B) news about fellowships and Quarterly awards; C) advertisements for Filson publications; D) all of these.
10. The book reviews in the Quarterly deal with all aspects of American history. T or F

Answers

1. B. 1884 was the year The Filson Historical Society was founded. The first publication series of books, also began in 1884, ended in 1938, and the second publication series began in 1964.

2. F The first two volumes of the Quarterly were published jointly by The Filson and by the University of Louisville. This arrangement proved unsatisfactory because some of the history faculty at the university had other interests besides Kentucky history, so it was difficult to maintain a consistent focus. The second issue, for example, contained an article by Prof. Rolf Johannsen entitled "A Roman Town in Africa."

3. F During its first two years the full name of the Quarterly was The History Quarterly which was, as noted on the title page "published by The Filson Club and the University of Louisville." Then from October 1928 through October 1929, the full name was The History Quarterly of The Filson Club. In January 1930 the name was changed to The Filson Club History Quarterly which remained the name until the Winter 2001 issue when the name became The Filson History Quarterly.

4. F In addition to individual and family members, the Quarterly is received by approximately 225 public and academic libraries across the country. The Quarterly is available to a broad spectrum of scholars who are doing research and who are not members.

5. D The history of Kentucky is intertwined with the regions of the Upper South and the Ohio Valley, so a regional focus is a better reflection of our scholarly mission than an artificial restriction to our state boundaries as such.

6. T Since 1983 the Quarterly has had a twelve-member editorial advisory board which reviews articles submitted for publication. The existence of the board means that the Quarterly is a refereed journal, an important criterion for authors in terms of academic credentialing. Two members of the board read and approve of each article which is submitted for publication in the Quarterly. The reviewing board members are chosen based on the content of the articles and their areas of specialization. The current members of the editorial advisory board are: Stephen Aron, University of California at Los Angeles; Joan E. Cashin, Ohio State University; Christine L. Heyman, University of Delaware; J. Blaine Hudson, University of Louisville; James C. Klotter, Georgetown College; James A. Ramage, Northern Kentucky University; Joseph P. Reidy, Howard University; Steven M. Stowe, Indiana University; and Roger Tate, Somerset Community College. Several more scholars will be joining the board soon.

7. F This was generally true for approximately the first fifty years of the Quarterly’s history. Beginning in the early 1970s, however, various experiments with newsletters were made, and then in 1991 our newsletter Connections was begun which gave a much more complete presentation of Filson news. The recent advent of The Filson makes possible a complete presentation of Filson news, upcoming programs, and also in-depth discussions of our collections.

8. T From 1926 until 1992 the design of the Quarterly’s cover was also the contents page in the traditional gray. In 1992 for our Kentucky bicentennial issue, we adopted a cover featuring a portion of John Filson’s map of Kentucky. With the Winter 2000 issue a professionally redesigned cover was introduced with improved graphics and space for new images for each issue.

9. D These back pages present information in all these areas and are well worth reading each issue.

10. F Our book reviews are focused on the areas emphasized in the Quarterly editorial policy statement: Kentucky, the Upper South, and the Ohio Valley. The book notes feature, which appears occasionally with the book reviews, gives essential publication data and a brief description of books, often genealogical works, for which full-length reviews are not feasible.

The Filson Historical Society
1310 South Third Street - Louisville, KY 40208
Phone: (502) 635-5083 Fax: (502) 635-5086