Category Archives: ARB Library

Posts related to the archives and rare books category

UC's Commitment to Community Was Significant During the Great Flood of '37

Posted on by

By: Dawn Fuller

 As Cincinnati marks the 75th year of the greatest flood to ravage this area, UC Archives reveal the university’s volunteer efforts and personal accounts in a university president’s diary.

“In the battle in which our city waged against the greatest flood in the history of the Ohio Valley, the University of Cincinnati has done its duty.” – UC President Raymond Walters, in a February 1937 letter to The News Record student newspaper.

The Great Flood of 1937 was never seen before in this area and has never been seen since. Record rains, followed by surging floodwaters, led to catastrophes that included fires and explosions on the Ohio River in Cincinnati and left behind massive destruction, power outages and, ironically, outages of clean, drinkable water. The local damage alone in 1937 was reported at $20 million ($300 million in current value). More than 50,000 people were reported to be homeless. Continue reading →

50 Minutes-1 Book

Posted on by

By Kevin Grace

Drawing from Don QuixoteThe next “50 Minutes-1Book” lunchtime talk in the Archives & Rare Books Library will be Thursday, January 19, at noon.  Jerry Newman has graciously agreed to talk about his favorite book, Don Quixote.  Originally published in two volumes a decade apart,  in 1605 and 1615, El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha), is one of the cornerstones of Western literature.  Jerry has spent decades exploring Miguel de Cervantes’ masterpiece, reading and re-reading it, and studying its history.  His informal talk will look at the novel as a cultural event and its lasting influence.  He’ll discuss the personalities and relationship of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, as well as the book’s publication history, some of the unusual and unique attributes of it, as well as the lasting fame and adventures of Don Quixote’s characters, and their influence in Western culture. Continue reading →

The End of the World? December 17, 1919?

Posted on by

While perusing the Cincinnati Observatory records, I ran into this time-sensitive letter from Mrytle Riley of the Western Electric Company in Cincinnati, which seems very appropriate for this apocalyptic year.  (If you haven’t heard, according to the Mayans, the world is supposed to end in 2012.  For more information, read an explanation in UC Magazine.)    Mrytle Riley had heard that the world was going to end on December 17, 1919 and contacted the observatory to find out if this was true. Continue reading →

Cincinnati Looks to the Skies: The Cincinnati Observatory Records and the Paul Herget papers

Posted on by

The Cincinnati Observatory is a local historical treasure and holds what was once one of the world’s largest telescopes.  Throughout its history, the observatory has served as a source of weather forecasts, official Cincinnati time, and a site of scientific discovery.  It also has a long connection with the University of Cincinnati.  The Archives and Rare Books Library holds many observatory records along with the papers of long-time director Paul Herget.

Observatory Buildings

The Cincinnati Observatory in Mt. Lookout, 1943

Continue reading →

Notice: Archives and Rare Books Library Renovation

Posted on by

By Kevin Grace

Notice: On January 9, the Archives & Rare Books Library will begin moving our offices and reference/reading room to the north end of the 8th floor in Carl Blegen Library in Room 814.  This move will allow the final phase of renovation of the Archives & Rare Books Library through a grant from the Schott Foundation.

Two years ago, the north end of the floor was renovated with fresh paint, new carpeting, creation of the Marge Schott Seminar Room, a small book arts room, and exhibit cases.  This final phase on the south end will also see fresh paint and new carpeting, and the relocation and building of a new reference desk, all to better meet the needs of students and researchers.

It is anticipated that the renovation will take three months, but there will be no disruption in reference and research services.  However, ARB’s reference holdings will not be available during the project.  All other archival materials and rare books can still be accessed.  Room 814 will serve as our office space and our reading room, as well as continuing to be the venue for our monthly “50 Minutes-1 Book” lunchtime lecture series.

For further information, please call 556-1959 or email us at archives@ucmail.uc.edu.

The Estimable Mr. Hoffner

Posted on by

By Kevin Grace

Mick and MackStudents with Mick and MackThe University of Cincinnati community is well-schooled in the story of its lions, Mick and Mack, perhaps ad nauseam. Here in the Archives & Rare Books Library, the subject is a frequent one: we relate to the inquirer how they stand as sentinels in front of McMicken Hall, once facing each other but now facing away (Mick is on the left, Mack on the right), how occasionally lipstick marks will be found on them, and that they supposedly roar whenever a virgin walks by.  The fact that they have never roared should not trouble the demure – non-roaring lions are a hoary tale on many campuses.  And, that Mick and Mack took up their posts in 1904 when UC was a municipal university and city officials needed to find an appropriate home for them.  And, that the lions are copies of larger versions in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy (not Kentucky).  And, that even one of those “originals” was a copy of ancient Roman statue.

But what of the lions’ owner and the university’s benefactor, Jacob Hoffner?  Who the heck was he and what was he doing with marble lions?  We’ve always known a bit about him, that he was a Cincinnati real estate man and business speculator who enjoyed traveling in Europe.  He maintained a nice little estate in Northside and decorated his gardens with a variety of statuary, some of which he had copied from what he saw abroad.  Hence, the lions.  Hoffner died in 1894 at the age of 96, leaving everything for the use of his wife, Maria.  On her death in 1904, following a part of Jacob’s will, his statuary was donated to the city.  And that was that. Continue reading →

50 Minutes-1 Book

Posted on by

By Kevin Grace

Last Thursday we had a wonderful turnout for the monthly 50 Minutes-1 Book lunchtime talk.  Greg Hand, UC’s Associate Vice President for Government Relations and University Communications, spoke on the 1943 Cincinnati Guide in the federal Writer’s Project program.  It was an excellent presentation that put this seminal Cincinnati book in the context of the Great Depression, national politics, and local history.

Please join us next month, January 19th, to hear Jerry Newman talk about a key book in Western literature, Miguel Cervantes’ Don Quixote. February’s presentation will be on Oscar Wilde’s Salome. The 50 Minutes-1 Book lunch talks are held in the Schott Seminar Room, 814 Blegen Library, Archives & Rare Books Library from 12-12:50.

LiBLOG Considered Among the Best in Cincinnati

Posted on by

How pleased we bloggers at UC Libraries were to learn that our very own LiBLOG, the UC Libraries blog, made Cincinnati Magazine’s “Best of Cincinnati, 2011” list. Below is the entry:

Peek into the Archives – OK, we’re geeks. We love LiBlog, the UC libraries blog. When Kevin Grace shared a postcard from his personal collection showing the original University Building on the eve of its demolition, we were charmed beyond reason. Why? As Kevin writes: “Before demolition, a UC alum with fond memories of his alma mater requested of a friend that some bricks be sent to him. When he received them, Joseph Strauss placed them in a pylon of a bridge he was building. So, there is a little bit of UC’s heart in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.” Go ‘cats, indeed.

Continue reading →

50 Minutes-1 Book

Posted on by

By Kevin Grace

The first 50 Minutes – 1 Book lunchtime talk for this academic year will be held Thursday, December 8, in the Archives & Rare Books Library, in the Schott Seminar Room, 814 Blegen Library at 12:00 noon.

Greg Hand will discuss the book variously known as “The Cincinnati Guide” or “The WPA Guide to Cincinnati,” although its actual title is Cincinnati: A Guide to the Queen City and its Neighbors, published in 1943 and written by the workers of the Federal Writers Project. In the seven decades since publication, it has become an essential starting point for historians of Cincinnati. For this discussion, Hand will talk about the Great Depression and the WPA in Cincinnati and Ohio. He will review the development of the guide, its reception on publication, and a great deal about the post-WPA life of its editor.

Last year, the 50 Minutes – 1 Book series featured presentations on the world’s smallest book, a book bound in human skin, the work of local bookbinder and designer Gabrielle Fox, and Barry Moser’s magnificent Pennyroyal Caxton Bible.  As we renew the lunchtime presentations, we look forward to more wonderful discussions about books.  January’s talk will be on Cervantes’ Don Quixote, presented by Jerry Newman.

Please join us on December 8 for another casual noon get-together.   Bring your lunch, order in, or just come to listen, look, learn, and converse.  All students, faculty, and staff are very welcome.

Netwellness Collection Now Available in ARB

Posted on by

By Lauren Fink

What is hemochromatosis?

Do children get migraines?

Why is sleep loss linked with obesity?

What are the holiday blues? And do I have them?

Finding valid answers to these medical questions is easier, and closer to home, than you might think…

Over 15 years ago, a government grant allowed the University of Cincinnati to create the Ohio Valley Community Health Information Network (OVCHIN) which later evolved into NetWellness.  NetWellness, then a collaboration between UC, The Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University, is a non-profit consumer health website devoted to high quality, unbiased, scientifically sound information. Professionals from all three universities create and evaluate all of information found on the website and offer an “Ask the Expert” feature, as well as descriptions of and links to myriad health and research topics.

Continue reading →