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Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
Though ice skating has been around for centuries, it only came into its current form and fashion in the mid-19th century and was still taking shape as a professional and competitive sport when Charlotte Oelschlägel (1898 - 1984) wrote The Hippodrome Skating Book in 1916.
Posted in: 20th Century, News and Events, Provenance, Women's Stories
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
Born in Harlem on August 2nd, 1924, novelist and essayist James Baldwin (1924 – 1987) is regarded as one of America’s greatest writers. At the time of his death on December 1st, 1987, Baldwin was working with sculptor and printmaker Leonard Baskin (1922–2000) of the Gehenna Press to publish a fine press edition of an unpublished work. Gypsy and Other Poems features six of Baldwin's poems that reveal an intimate, introspective side of the writer.
Posted in: 20th Century, Fine Prints, Literature
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
Published in 1978, Paul Avrich’s "An American Anarchist: The Life of Voltairine de Cleyre" was the first substantial biography of Voltairine de Cleyre (1866-1912), an influential member of the American labor movement at the turn of the 20th century. Donated to the Library of Congress in 1986, the biography refers to de Cleyre as “one of the most interesting if neglected figures in the history of American radicalism.”
Posted in: 20th Century, American History, Women's Stories
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
Rachel Louise Carson (1907-1964), pioneer in environmental awareness and protection, authored her landmark work, Silent Spring, in 1962. This Earth Day post remembers her legacy as an author who wrote to inspire wonder in her readers.
Posted in: 20th Century, American History, History of Science, Seasonal
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
Written by American aviator Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) but compiled and arranged by her husband after her fatal flight, the copy of "Last Flight" in the National Woman's Party Library in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division has a special provenance linking Earhart to the women's suffrage movement.
Posted in: 20th Century, American History, Seasonal, Women in Book History
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
This post explores the life and work of Chester Himes (1909-1984) and his friendship with fellow African American author Ralph Ellison (1914-1994), as evidenced by Himes' books in Ralph Ellison's personal library.
Posted in: 20th Century, American History, Provenance, Seasonal
Posted by: Amanda Zimmerman
No vegetable splits opinion quite like the Brussels sprout, which caused a disagreement between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lady Clementine Churchill in the summer of 1944.
Posted in: 20th Century, American History, Botanicals, Gastronomy and Culinary Arts, History of Science