Category Archives: ARB Library

Posts related to the archives and rare books category

Leigh Harline Brought Memorable Characters to Life

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Pinocchio Recordings

Record Cover for Recordings of the Music from Pinocchio

Walt Disney Studios is known for their great animated films filled with memorable songs, songs that we remember from our childhood and that last with us through adulthood.  They are songs we share with our own children as they grow.  We usually remember the names of the actors who brought the characters to life, but not everyone pays attention to the names of those who wrote those songs that stay with us.  Leigh Harline, a prolific composer, was one of those people who brought the early Disney characters to life through his songs.

Harline was the son of Swedish immigrants who converted to Mormonism.  He was born in Utah on March 26, 1907, and was his parent’s thirteenth child.  His family recognized his musical talents early in his life, and he played the organ on Sundays at the Mormon Tabernacle when he was twelve years old.   He attended the Latter Day Saints High School and then the University of Utah, where he majored in music and studied piano and organ with J. Spencer Cornwall, the conductor of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Continue reading →

Department of Philosophy Records in ARB

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By Janice Schulz

Philosophy Program

Announcement for the 35th Annual Philosophy Colloquium in 1998

The Archives and Rare Books Library has completed processing a three-box collection of records from the College of Arts and Science’s Department of Philosophy. The collection covers the years 1960-2010 and includes department handbooks, policies, and rules, degree program requirements and assessments, and records and reports on the annual colloquium, honors classes, and enrollment statistics.

Handbooks from 1970-1998 document the development of the department, including program requirements, classes offered, faculty, and activities. The annual colloquium, first held in 1964, is a gathering of speakers who present papers on topics within the field of philosophy. Each year the colloquium revolves around a theme, such as “Anti-Individualism in the Philosophy of Mind and Language” (1992), “Semantics” (1994), and “Perspectives on Rationality” (1998). The collection contains records for several events between 1992-2005 including programs, speakers, and papers presented. Continue reading →

New Collection Documents Fundraising During Trying Times

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Mont Reid Brochure

In 1943 the University created this brochure to solicit donations for the Mont R. Reid Memorial Fund to benefit the College of Medicine.

By Janice Schulz

A new collection in the Archives and Rare Books Library shows how the University was able to fund programs, research, and building projects as the country was in the midst of the Great Depression and later in World War II. Transferred to ARB from the Controller’s Office, the one-box collection contains records from the former Department of Business Administration of funds, grants, fellowships, scholarships, and gifts to the University from the 1930s and 1940s. The research of prominent persons, such as Mont Reid, Lucy Braun, George Sperti, and Otto Szász was funded during this time. Some of the biggest donors to UC were Procter and Gamble, Coca-Cola, Baldwin Piano, Julius Fleischmann, and the Streitman Biscuit Company.

In 1934, the Alumni Association started the Committee on University Bequests. Made up of alumni working as practicing attorneys, bankers, trust officers and insurance officials, the committee was designed to provide assistance to those wishing to include UC in their will as well as to encourage alumni to do so. The collection contains the records of the committee’s founding, including correspondence, meeting minutes, and reports. Continue reading →

Carl H. Lindner College of Business Papers Now Available

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By Kate Krueger

A new collection consisting of papers from the College of Business is now available. Established in 1906, The Carl H. Lindner College of Business has been a vital part of the University with approximately 2900 undergraduate and 600 graduate students. This collection contains documents from the mid 1970’s to early 2000’s ranging from revisions of various programs in the department such as the MBA and PhD program and materials from student groups. Also included in the collection are papers from the Alpha Rho Epsilon fraternity.

Ph.D Candidate Book

Ph.D Candidate Book, 1982-1983

MBA Case Competition

MBA Case Competition Finalists and Judges, 1994

 

Continue reading →

A Look into the World of Landscape Architecture: The Myrl E. Bottomley Collection

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By Janice Schulz

Myrl Bottomley

Professor Myrl E. Bottomley

In 1922, the College of Engineering and Commerce started a new degree program in Architecture that included a few classes in Landscape Design. The classes were well received, and when the Architecture Department moved to the newly created School of Applied Arts in 1925, a complete degree in Landscape Architecture was offered. With the growth of the Landscape program and the School of Applied Arts, a dedicated professor was needed to lead the Landscape Architecture program. Enter Professor Myrl Elijah Bottomley in 1926. A native of Michigan, Bottomley earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State College in 1916. He served in World War I as a lieutenant on the front lines in France, where, as a result of gas attacks, he developed health issues that would stay with him for the rest of his life. After returning from the war, he earned a Master of Landscape Design from Cornell University in 1922. Before coming to UC he served as Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Iowa State College from 1922-1925. Continue reading →

Paul Hoxworth and Greater Cincinnati's Blood Bank

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Blood Donation

Blood Donation, circa 1940. Image from Paul Hoxworth’s dissertation.

If you have ever donated blood, you probably did not sit and think about the history of blood donation in the process.  You likely were more concerned about the needle stick, watching that little bag fill up with your blood or avoiding doing so, or maybe you were already thinking about that cookie you could eat after it was all over.  What you may not have realized was the important role the University of Cincinnati played in developing the modern blood donation process.  Certainly, if you have ever donated blood in the Greater Cincinnati area, you have heard of the Hoxworth Blood Center, which is actually part of the University of Cincinnati.  You may not have heard of its namesake, though.  Dr. Paul Hoxworth was the founder of Greater Cincinnati’s blood bank.  He helped to revolutionize blood donation, thereby saving countless lives. Continue reading →

Greg Hand's History of UC Series Now Available from the ARB Website

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Greg Hand

By Janice Schulz

In January, 2012, UC Assistant Vice President and University Spokesperson Greg Hand began a series of lunchtime talks focusing on the history of the University of Cincinnati. At the inaugural presentation, Hand noted that the dozen or so talks he plans to give will be a good way to get people thinking about the University’s bicentennial celebration in 2019. The UC Foundation has agreed to record and post each lecture and make them available on the web. The first two, “Cincinnati’s Efforts to Create a University: 1800 to 1870” and “An Overview of UC History from 1870 to 2010” have been posted and are linked from ARB’s University Archives page.

The talks are held the third Thursday of each month at 12:30 p.m. in TUC’s Main Street Cinema. The remainder of Hand’s talks this academic year includes:

  • March 15  —  Evolution of UC’s Campus and Many Campuses of UC’s Colleges
  • April 19     —  Student Pioneers: First Alumni
  • May 17     —  Origin of UC Regalia & Symbols

The University Archives page offers many links to information about UC’s history and is a great starting point for researchers interested in UC’s story.

City Reports Offer Wealth of Information for Cincinnati Researchers

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Loan Sharks

In 1912 the Department of Charities and Correction launched a crusade against loan sharks who were targeting the poor of Cincinnati

By Janice Schulz

The Archives & Rare Books Library holds City of Cincinnati Annual Reports from 1853-1870, 1875-1876, 1905-1914, and 1926-1958. These reports contain valuable information for anyone researching the history of Cincinnati, its departments, its people, and its issues.

While reports included in each volume vary, the Mayor’s report is always available.  Also available may be various city financial reports and reports from City Council, schools, the Health Department and health care facilities, the House of Refuge, the Fire Department, the Police Department, Public Works, the City Engineer, jails, Civil Service Commission, City Solicitor, Parks Department, the University of Cincinnati, and other city commissions. Until 1914, each individual annual report is published in full, but after that time the reports take on more of a summarized format under the title Municipal Activities. Continue reading →

Source, UC Libraries Newsletter Available

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Want to Know the Latest in Library News? Read Source, the UC Libraries newsletter for faculty, students, staff, and friends.

This volume announces the availability of the papers of Theodore M. Berry in the Archives and Rare Books Library. Berry (1905-2000) was the first African American mayor in Cincinnati, served the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential administration in civil rights programs, and was an active attorney for the NAACP. The Berry papers, acquired by the UC Libraries many years ago, were able to be fully processed through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission of the National Archives. The materials are now available for research and teaching. Continue reading →

Does the Magic 8 Ball have a UC connection? Signs Point to Yes.

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By Janice Schulz

At the Archives & Rare Books Library we frequently get requests asking us to verify that a certain individual attended UC or one of its predecessor schools. Recently a call came in asking us to substantiate a claim found on the internet that Abe Bookman, creator of the Magic 8 Ball, was a graduate of the Ohio Mechanics Institute (OMI). Generally this is an easy task – we simply look in alumni directories, yearbooks or commencement brochures for the person – but Abe proved to be a bit more elusive than most. With no attendance dates to go by, we started pouring through all of the resources we have for OMI using his birth date and the Magic 8 Ball’s introduction as guides, but to no avail. After further research, the reason for his elusiveness began to become clearer – at some point around 1936, we believe he Anglicized his surname from Buchmann to Bookman. He seemed to use both names until around 1955, eventually dropping Buchmann and exclusively using Bookman. That research also uncovered some interesting details about his life. Continue reading →