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Category: Seasonal

Black and white illustration of aurora australis. There is a mountain in the background with water in the foreground. There is a small ship in the water.

Polar Plunge: An Exploration of Antarctic Publishing

Posted by: Callie Beattie

In 1901, on a journey to reach the South Pole, the Discovery Expedition joined together to establish the first Antarctic journal. With illustrations, poetry, and field reports written by sailors and officers alike, the journal provided the crew with a creative outlet over the long polar winter. Six years later, members of that same crew embarked on a new expedition and set out to establish a floating print shop to create the first book ever published in Antarctica known as the Aurora Australis.

Posted in: 20th Century, Fine Press, History of the Book, Publishing, Seasonal

Detail of a copperplate engraving of a scribe, who is seated at a lectern with his quill pen poised over a manuscript in the act of writing.

A Year in Review, 2025

Posted by: Stephanie Stillo

2025 was another great year for the Rare Book and Special Collections Division! Our team was hard at work helping researchers, adding new books to the collection, facilitating classes, and hosting workshops and symposia. We also added several new staff members to our team! As a way of reflecting on this past year and looking forward to the next, we have shared several programmatic highlights and collection resources that are now available.

Posted in: News and Events, Seasonal