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Posted by: Mark Manivong
May Sarton (1912 –1995) was an important and prolific American author of poetry, literature, and journals. The Rare Book and Special Collections Division holds several of Sarton’s first editions in the Rare Book and Gene Berry and Jeffrey Campbell Collections.
Posted in: 20th Century, LGBTQIA+, Poetry, Women in Book History, Women's Stories
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Humans have always been fascinated by eclipses and other astronomical phenomenon. In anticipation of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse that will cross the United States, the Rare Book and Special Collections Division presents one small treasure from the collections: a miniature book of 19th-century eclipse photography!
Posted in: 19th Century, American History, Astronomy, History of Science, News and Events
Posted by: Marianna Stell
Different personalities study best in different kinds of environments. The author of De Disciplina Scholarium, an early handbook for educators, advises about the optimal habits for different kinds of students, and who should reconsider their professional aspirations in education. He also writes under someone else's name.
Posted in: Education History, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press)
Posted by: Mark Manivong
Guy Davenport was an American writer, translator, illustrator, painter, intellectual, and professor. This blog post provides a short biography and some examples of his work found in his collection.
Posted in: 20th Century, Appalachia, Publishing
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: Marianna Stell
Did the earliest printers know what print was? Book historian Anna Dlabacova, former fellow in the W. Kluge Center and senior university lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, offers some observations about what a 15th-century book from the Netherlands can teach us about culture and innovation.
Posted in: 15th Century, Low Countries, Manuscript and Letterpress (Hand Press), Provenance
Posted by: Marianna Stell
In 1866, the Smithsonian physically transferred its library of over 40,000 works to the Library of Congress. A notable event in the history of both information institutions, the Smithsonian Deposit included a range of materials which today are dispersed throughout the Library’s divisions. Among them are some unexpected and intriguing materials in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Posted in: 19th Century, 20th Century, American History, Library History, Provenance
Posted by: Mark Manivong
This post explores the life and work of poet, teacher, and publisher Naomi Cornelia Long Madgett (1923-2020), particularly her creative output and influence on publishing African American poetry.
Posted in: 20th Century, African American Poetry, Poetry, Publishing
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