Category Archives: ARB Library

Posts related to the archives and rare books category

St. Mark and the Lion

Posted on by

On the Archives & Rare Books website, we try to keep it fresh by putting up new images from time to time, especially our banner pictures.  All of them are taken from our various holdings and we often get queries about what they are exactly, what collections they’re from, what era they represent, and the like.  Lately, we’ve received several about our banner image of St. Mark.  The painting of the gospel writer is from our book of hours, what we call the Limoges Book of Hours, but is listed in UCLID as Ms. No. 37.

St. MarkCreated ca. 1475 in a monastic workshop in Limoges, France, this book of hours is written on vellum and bound in velvet.  There are exquisite illuminated pages throughout the volume illustrating events like the Conception and the Resurrection.  As with all books of hours from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, the volume contains the prayers read at the designated times of day, along with a list of saints and feast days important to the region in which the book was made.  Additionally, most books of hours contain the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  And this is where St. Mark comes in.  Continue reading →

Shillito Hall Comes Home to the UC Campus

Posted on by

By:  Kevin Grace

For the past few weeks, Mr. Dennis Christine (CCM, Class of 1969), has corresponded with Sue Reller, Mark Palkovic, and me about an old bronze plaque he had.  He wished to donate it to us as a piece of University of Cincinnati heritage that he strongly felt should be preserved, and we’re very fortunate that he thought of us because the plaque that reads “Shillito Hall” is a reminder of CCM’s past and its merger with the University of Cincinnati in the 1960s.  Yesterday I met him at the gatehouse on Clifton and hauled it in to the Archives & Rare Books Library.

Shillito Hall

Continue reading →

UC Libraries Launch Source Online

Posted on by

Newsletter, first published in 2002, contains the latest news and happenings from UC Libraries.

sourceUC Libraries is transforming  technology, people, space and information resources to “become the globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university – positioning ourselves as the hub of collaboration, digital innovation and scholarly endeavor on campus.”

It is in this spirit of transformation that we are changing the way in which we deliver Source to our readers. The online newsletter will still contain the latest information about the organization, people, places and happenings in UC Libraries, but will no longer be produced in print. By moving Source online, we are able to reach a greater number of readers on various devices – computers, phones, tablets and more.

Continue reading →

ARB’s " 50 Minute Talk" in October Features Edgar Allan Poe

Posted on by

By:  Kevin Grace

Last year around Halloween, the Archives & Rare Books Library’s “50 Minutes” program featured Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, looking at the book’s heritage through illustrated editions as well as viewing the novel in terms of the history of science.  It was all part of a rare books tribute to Halloween and iconic fright.

So this year, we’ll continue the tradition of classic scary stuff by discussing Edgar Allan Poe’s dark poem, “The Raven.”  How Poe and his poem have been portrayed in pop culture and American literature will be presented, along with some Poe titles from the Rare Books Collection.  And since it is all in good fun, what would a Poe program be without plenty of Halloween candy and a few door prizes?

Please join us on Friday, October 17, at noon in 814 Blegen Library.  Bring your friends, bring your lunch, bring an appetite for the awful.  Throughout October, we’ll also be posting several blogs on this master of the macabre.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…”

50 Minutes October 2014

Exploring UC in Photographs

Posted on by

By:  Iman Said, Archives & Rare Books Library Intern, 2014-2015

Hello, and welcome to my first blog! My name is Iman and I’m a student in the College of Business, studying Operations Management. This year, I am working as a research intern in the Archives & Rare Books Library, a cozy nook on the 8th floor of Blegen Library. The ARB Library is a home to the University’s rare books collection, UC archives, hundreds of archival collections, and texts from all over the world. Just an hour of working in this corner of campus is enough to get a glimpse into the history and traditions that have influenced the way our laws are made, the way we interact with others, even the way our society functions.

UC Football Team 1895

UC Football Team 1895

Continue reading →

ARB’s "50 Minutes" Talk for September

Posted on by

By:  Kevin Grace

Headstone The Archives & Rare Books monthly talk returns on Wednesday, September 24, at 12:00 noon with a special presentation on UC’s first female graduate.  Like nearly every other institution of its kind, documenting the “firsts” and the significant moments of our history lends context to our heritage, and, reveals some very interesting stories.  And for this 50 Minutes talk, we welcome back Greg Hand to campus and to Blegen Library.  Greg made some very interesting 50 Minutes talks in the past few years on Cincinnati’s Federal Writer’s project guide to the city; artist, poet, and mystic William Blake; and pioneering cartoonist Winsor McCay.  Now he comes with another…     Continue reading →

Exhibit Honors Theodore M. Berry – Pioneer. Activist. Leader.

Posted on by

tedberryIMAGES-01In observance of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act, UC Libraries have created a display on the 4th floor of Blegen Library celebrating the papers of Theodore M. Berry, noted Civil Rights pioneer, community activist, and elected official from Cincinnati. Ted Berry’s papers represent one of the notable collections in the Archives & Rare Books Library’s Urban Studies Collection.

Continue reading →

Cincinnati’s Bathtub Hoax and a Missing Giant Tub

Posted on by

By:  Kevin Grace

Mencken

H.L. Mencken

In 1917, the noted journalist and philologist H.L. Mencken published an article in the New York Evening Mail concerning the history of the bathtub in the United States.  According to the Baltimore writer, known as much for his satire and acerbic wit as he was for his political reporting, Cincinnati was home to this tub.  Mencken asserted that America’s first bathtub was introduced on December 20, 1842 by Adam Thompson who lived, in all places, Cincinnati, Ohio.    Made of mahogany and lined with lead, the vessel was introduced by Thompson to his guests at a Christmas party, described how it worked, and invited the partygoers to take a dip.  Four of them took him up on his offer, and the next day the invention was widely reported in the press. Continue reading →

RESCHEDULED – ARB’s "50 Minutes" Lunchtime Series Returns for the 2014-2015 Academic Year

Posted on by

By:  Kevin Grace

This presentation has been rescheduled for TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25.  The series of monthly talks in the Archives & Rare Books Library will return this fall  for its fifth year.  Each month at noon, ARB holds a casual presentation in 814 Blegen Library with a focus on its collections, local heritage, or book history.  In the past, we’ve hosted talks ranging from the Depression-era Cincinnati WPA guide to the smallest book in the world, from Frankenstein to a book bound in human skin, from William Blake to John Milton; and from Don Quixote to the Arabian Nights.  Our presentation originally scheduled for Wednesday, August 27 has been rescheduled for Tuesday November 25.  This presentation will be about rare books and coffee, looking at how coffee production, trade, heritage, and lore have been portrayed by ethnographers, historians, and explorers.

Please join us for this 50 Minutes-One Book talk.  Bring your lunch and your conversation, and of course, coffee will be served!  Other upcoming presentations include the first female graduate of UC back in 1878; Irish poetry during the Great War, the Easter Rising, and the Irish Civil War; UC during World War II; the Hellfire clubs of the 18th century; and fairy tale and fantasy illustrators.  We are also open to any ideas or presenters for these talks.

50 Minutes November

 

Cincinnati Subway and Street Improvements: your feedback needed!

Posted on by

Have you used the Cincinnati Subway and Street Improvements collection yet? See digital.libraries.uc.edu/subway. You’ll find the story of the unfinished Cincinnati subway and a map showing the route the subway would have taken, linked to the photographs themselves.

Please complete our brief survey to help the University of Cincinnati Libraries improve the support and delivery of digital collections and to plan future digital collections.


full screen map
Continue reading →