Category Archives: ARB Library

Posts related to the archives and rare books category

The Papers of George B. Barbour, Geologist, World Traveler, and Teacher

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A Chinese Boat Woman and her Baby from a latern slide Barbour used in his classes

A Chinese Boat Woman and her Baby from a latern slide Barbour used in his classes

Professor George Barbour was an internationally-known geologist and educator, whose life was filled with adventure.  Barbour traveled the world for the first time at age 21, served in the First World War, and was involved with the research group that discovered the “Peking Man.”  His papers, which are part of the University Archives collection in the Archives and Rare Books Library, contain correspondence, photographs, field diaries, and teaching materials which illustrate both his personal and professional life. Continue reading →

Poor Pearl, Poor Girl! The Awful Story of the Murder of Pearl Bryan

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hangingOne hundred thirteen years ago, two UC dental students were executed by hanging.  Yes, it’s true: the University of Cincinnati once had a dental school.  It was the Ohio College of Dental Surgery and from 1888 to 1906, and then again from 1923 to its closing in 1926, the dental college was part of the university.  Cincinnati had a distinct shortage of dentists in the early years of the 19th century – there were only two in 1830.  The Ohio College of Dental Surgery was founded in 1845, and just a few short years after that, the Queen City boasted a directory of over forty dentists.  The school attracted students from around the Midwest and was the first dental college to graduate a woman, one Lucy Hobbs of McGregor, Iowa.  It was the custom of the college’s faculty in those days to send each student out into the world equipped with both a diploma and a Bible.  There are, after all, many kinds of cavities to fill in day-to-day existence.  The college’s later affiliation with the University of Cincinnati was a reflection of the number of medicine-oriented schools in 19th century Cincinnati that strived to combine classroom instruction with practical experience. Continue reading →

Celebrating Women's History in the Archives & Rare Books Library

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The Cover of Woman Triumphant by Rudolph Cronau, published in 1919.

The Cover of Woman Triumphant by Rudolph Cronau, published in 1919.

Since 1980 the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) has designated the month of March as a time to celebrate women’s history. The celebration began in 1980 when President Carter issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. In 1987 Congress extended it to the entire month thanks to successful lobbying efforts by the NWHP.

The 2010 Women’s History Month theme is “Writing Women Back into History.” According to the NWHP, “It often seems that the history of women is written in invisible ink. Even when recognized in their own times, women are frequently left out of the history books.” Continue reading →

Former President Nancy Zimpher's Papers in the University Archives

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The Office of the President recently transferred nineteen boxes of papers from former UC President Nancy Zimpher for inclusion in the University Archives Collection. President Zimpher, UC’s first woman president, served the University from October 2003 to May 2009, when she resigned to become Chancellor of the State University of New York system.

The new collection, accessioned as UA-10-01, mainly consists of the hundreds of speeches that President Zimpher made between 2004 and 2007. She was a popular sought-after speaker, averaging one speech a day to both campus groups and outside organizations. Also included are subject files from her work with The Coalition of Urban Serving Universities and The Brookings Institute, as well as various publications from 2005-2009.

The Archives holds two other collections of President Zimpher’s papers as well:  Collection Number UA-09-24 contains calendars from 2003-2009, and Collection Number UA-06-07 contains office files from 2003-2006. Finding aids for all of the collections can be found on the Archives & Rare Books Library website at http://www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/arb/archives/collections/UACollectionRecords.html.

– Janice Schulz

Sam the Scaramouch - Cincinnati's 19th Century Satirical Tabloid

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sam1a_webFor thirteen months between February 1885 and February 1886, a tabloid publication in Cincinnati published a wide range of articles, cartoons, editorials, and stories that lampooned American life.  No topic or person escaped the sharp wit of Sam the Scaramouch, and for the short time this weekly newspaper was in existence, its editors took on national tariffs, elections from Cincinnati to Washington, the temperance issue, urban sophisticates and country bumpkins, race and ethnicity, and, a growing national obsession with sports.  Grover Cleveland was president.  European colonization of Africa was in full force.  The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York, and Ulysses S. Grant died.  And, in many ways, Sam was like other newspapers around the country in covering these events, carrying local advertisements and notices, and publishing occasional doggerel and short fiction, and reflecting the “new” journalistic Realism. Continue reading →

Hamilton County Morgue Records Offer Unique Perspective on Social History

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morgue_scan2As part of the Ohio Network of American History Research Centers, the Archives and Rare Books Library holds Hamilton County Morgue records spanning the years 1887-1930. Despite the rather gloomy first impression that these 21 volumes may give, they offer valuable information for use in social research.

The office of Coroner is one of the oldest in the State of Ohio, dating back to a 1788 ordinance of the Northwest Territory, which provided that the Governor appoint a coroner for each county to serve a term of two years. The purpose of the Coroner in the early days was to preside over inquests held over bodies believed to have been victims of criminal violence. Continue reading →

The Eugene Ruehlmann Papers Show the Dramatic Changes in Cincinnati in the 1960s

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The construction of Riverfront Stadium, June 1969, from the Municipal Reference Library Collection in the Urban Studies Collection. This collection is not processed.The 1960s were a tumultuous time in American history, and the city of Cincinnati was not immune to the changes during this decade. Riots displayed the city’s difficult race relations, the Bengals brought professional football to the city, Riverfront Stadium was built and changed the layout of the riverfront, and the city of Cincinnati grappled with urban renewal. Each of these events is documented in the papers of Eugene Ruehlmann, which are housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library’s Urban Studies Collection. Continue reading →

Complete Finding Aid for the papers of German Studies Professor Hans-Georg Richert is Now Available

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The Archives and Rare Books Library holds the papers of former professor of Germanic Languages and Literature, Hans-Georg Richert.   Richert was a dedicated teacher and scholar with research interests in the history of the German language, medieval studies, and 19th century German literature.  He taught both undergraduate and graduate courses in the German language, German literature, and German culture. Continue reading →

St. John's Unitarian Church Records: Searching the History of one of Cincinnati's Oldest Churches

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1903confirmation_web2

The Confirmation class of 1903 with Rev. H.G. Eisenlohr

The Archives and Rare Books Library holds the records of a few local churches, including St. John’s Unitarian Church, one of Cincinnati’s oldest houses of worship.  This church’s rich history began in 1814 when Joseph Zaeslin (also spelled Zaeslein), a Moravian minister, organized a church for German immigrants in Cincinnati under the name The German Evangelical and Reformed Church.   The history of this church is important to both Cincinnati’s religious history and to the history of Cincinnati’s German-American community. Continue reading →

Winter 2010 Records Quarterly Now Available

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rqwinter2010_40pThe Winter 2010 edition of Records Quarterly, the newsletter of University of Cincinnati Records Management, is now available on the records management website . This issue features articles about records retention schedules and the recent shredding event sponsored by Information Security, as well as the continuation of our series on the history of records at UC. The current installment discusses records from the founding of the University of Cincinnati to the eve of the introduction of the university’s first computer. Continue reading →