The Ohio Medical College: Collotype, Chromolitho, or Hand-colored Silver Gelatin

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Old Print, Medical College of Ohio, c. 1852

Huh?

A researcher recently asked if we had any images of the first building to house the Medical College of Ohio. Turns out we do not. Or if we do, we’re not sure where to find them. That said, we did find a beautiful image of the Medical College when it was on Sixth Street near Vine in downtown Cincinnati.

Daniel Drake founded the Medical College of Ohio in 1819 in Cincinnati and it has the distinction of being the oldest medical college west of the Allegheny Mountains. In addition, it is the second-oldest public college of medicine in the United States. The first classes at the college were held above a pharmacy reportedly owned by Drake himself. Drake left the school in 1823 and a series of different locations for the college followed.

In 1852, the college built on property it had purchased on Sixth Street and it would stay at this new address for the next forty-four years. As many already know, the Medical College of Ohio eventually became, along with the Miami Medical College, the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati.

So that ‘s the very brief story of the school depicted in the photograph, but what about the image itself. At least for us at the Winkler Center it is rare to come across a photograph this old with so much color. Unfortunately the image is in a very nice frame along with two other images pertaining to Drake. Since we are unaware of the item’s provenance we are reluctant to remove the images from the frame. If we could, it would be easy to see what kind of image specifically it is.

As the Archivist/Curator here, I am by no means an expert on photographic processes of the 19th century, so I consulted with some friends who are.  The answers I have been given are:

A) If the photo is post-1880s, it could be a hand-colored silver gelatin print. Under a microscope I would see no paper fibers in the photo. For more info on silver gelatin prints see http://www.graphicsatlas.org/guidedtour/?process_id=337.

If it was done prior to 1880, say during the 1870s, it could be a printing process that was hand colored.  Under magnification perhaps we would see the worm like pattern of the collotype print. http://www.graphicsatlas.org/guidedtour/?process_id=168? Or maybe a letterpress halftone checkered pattern.(http://www.graphicsatlas.org/guidedtour/?process_id=102)?

Regardless, it looks like we won’t find out until we remove it from the frame and put it under a microscope. In the meantime we’ll just enjoy it for what it is, a great, colorful piece of history. We’ll keep you posted.

UC Libraries and the Digital Scholarship Center Host Third Annual THATCamp May 1-3

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thatcamp
Registration is now open for THATCamp University of Cincinnati 2017, scheduled for May 1-3 in the Walter C. Langsam Library Digital Commons space on the 4th floor.

THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp) is an unconference – an open meeting where humanists and technologists of all skill levels and interests gather to learn and to build together in sessions proposed on the spot. THATCamp University of Cincinnati 2017 is free and open to all, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff as well as scholars, archivists, museum professionals, developers and programmers, K-12 teachers and administrators from within and outside UC who have an involvement or interest in digital humanities. THATCamp’s are open and online. Participants make sure to share their notes, documents, pictures and other materials from discussions before and after the event on the web and via social media. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about UC’s first Digital Scholarship Center, a newly launched partnership with UC Libraries and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), with co-directors Arlene Johnson and James Lee. Continue reading →

UC Press Joins Association of American University Presses

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press logo

The University of Cincinnati Press has been accepted as an introductory member of the Association of American University Presses (AAUP) effectively immediately.

Founded in 1937, the Association of American University Presses (AAUP) is a membership organization of nonprofit scholarly publishers located around the world. The mission of the AAUP is to “assist its members through professional education, cooperative services, and public advocacy.” AAUP advocates for university presses on matters of free speech, academic freedom, copyright, and other core issues.

“The publishing industry continues to change as supply chain and user needs become increasingly varied. Having a resource as specialized as AAUP will provide the University of Cincinnati Press with unparalleled support as we move forward with our publishing program,” said Elizabeth Scarpelli, press director. “The network of directors and press staff that we join provide a level of professional support and expertise that surpasses even the largest publishing organizations today.” Continue reading →

Langsam Display Informs about Sexual Assault Awareness Month

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A display on the 4th floor of Langsam Library organized by the Gender-Based Violence Student Education and Outreach (GBVSEO) Team and UC Libraries includes library materials that inform about Sexual Assault Awareness month.

saam display

The GBVSEO Team’s mission is to create a safer campus culture by preventing gender-based violence and supporting survivors through education and outreach. The SAAM display in the library does just that! The display encourages students to educate themselves on the issue by taking out a wide variety of books on the topic. The display also directs students to online resources including films about rape culture. Most importantly, the display includes resources for survivors and information about all of the support services on campus for students who have experienced gender-based violence, which includes sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence.

While the GBVSEO Team has many programs planned for SAAM, we feel that the library display plays a particularly important role in our awareness campaign. Sometimes students don’t feel comfortable stopping by a tabling event to get information, but the library display allows them to engage with the material and pick up resources with more anonymity. The display is also located in an area of campus that has high traffic. We hope that students who pass by the display, even if they do not choose to engage with the material, become aware that this month is SAAM.

The Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) library display was organized and designed by Susan Banoun and Mikaila Corday of UC Libraries and the Gender-Based Violence Student Education and Outreach Team, which includes members from the Women’s Center, LGBTQ Center, Student Wellness Center, and the Women Helping Women On-Campus Advocates.

By Erin R. Mulligan, Gender Based Violence Prevention Education Coordinator, University of Cincinnati Women’s Center.

Beethoven’s “Life Mask” now in the Gorno Memorial Music Library

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The Gorno Memorial Music Library is delighted that a woodcut, dating from 18 December 1920, of Beethoven’s “Life Mask” by August Becker (1878–1942), German artist and Holzschneider, now hangs in the north end of the Reading Room. This work was presumably prepared in celebration of Beethoven’s 150th birthday celebrations, which had occurred two days before its creation.

As Professor Emeritus Edward Nowacki observes: “The image is Beethoven’s life mask surrounded with laurel leaves painted in gold with the motto of the Fifth Symphony across the bottom and Becker’s monogram, AB, at the top. The story of the mask is well known in the Beethoven literature. In 1812 Beethoven’s friend Andreas Streicher, a manufacturer of pianos whose showroom was decorated with portraits of composers, commissioned the sculptor Franz Klein to create a bust of the composer.  As a preliminary step, Klein asked Beethoven to sit for a plaster casting of his face. Midway through the sitting Beethoven panicked and tore off the cast before it had set. The sculptor then persuaded him to permit a second attempt, which was successful. The bronze bust made from this cast is now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. It is considered the most accurate likeness of the adult Beethoven, and several artists have made their own images based on it.”

The woodcut is part of the University of Cincinnati’s Fine Arts Collection. It hung in the offices of the College-Conservatory of Music since 1989, but will now reside in the Gorno Memorial Music Library.

Annual Cecil Striker Society Lecture May 4 to Highlight African American Doctors in Cincinnati

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cecil striker

The Henry R. Winkler Center for the History of the Health Professions and the Cecil Striker Society for the History of Medicine will host the Cecil Striker Society Annual Lecture from 5-7:30 p.m. on Thurs, May 4, in the Kresge Auditorium, Medical Sciences Building, 231 Albert Sabin Way.

This year’s lecture will consist of a panel discussion by prominent African American physicians and is titled “African American Physicians in Cincinnati: Past, Present and Future.”  Moderated by Dr. Elbert Nelson, the panelists will include Drs. Chester Pryor, Charles Dillard, Camille C. Graham and Christopher Lewis.

The evening will include the talk from 5-6 p.m., followed by Q&A and a reception at 6:30 p.m. In addition, an exhibit of the same name will be on display in the Lucas Board Room in the Winkler Center.

The Cecil Striker Lecture is free and open to the public, but RSVP’s are requested to (513) 558-5120 or chhp@uc.edu. Continue reading →

Author J.D. Vance Coming to Clermont

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Author J.D. Vance will be speaking at UC Clermont in Krueger Auditorium on Friday, May 19 at 7pm about his #1 New York Times bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.

This special event is sponsored by Clermont County Public Library and is free and open to the public. No RSVP required.

Mr. Vance writes about his Appalachian, working-class roots and his personal journey – from Middletown, Ohio to the Marines to Yale Law School.  The Wall Street Journal calls Hillbilly Elegy “a beautiful memoir but it is equally a work of cultural criticism about white working-class America….[Vance] offers a compelling explanation for why it’s so hard for someone who grew up the way he did to make it…a riveting book.”

No RSVP is required for Vance’s 7pm speaking engagement, but seating is first-come, first served.

Katie Foran Mulcahy
Library Director

UCBA Bullet Journaling 101 Workshop

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bujo101

Please join UCBA Librarians Michelle McKinney and Kelllie Tilton for Bullet Journaling 101: An introduction to Bullet Journals, a customized planning system.

1p -2p, Friday, April 21, 2017
Muntz 117, Learning & Teaching Center

This workshop is open to UCBA faculty, staff and students and will include:

  • A brief overview of Bullet Journaling
  • Tips and tricks for setting up Bullet Journals
  • A BuJo Petting Zoo to try out supplies and tools
  • Hands-On time to work or start planning your Bullet Journal

Please register at http://uc.libsurveys.com/bujo101

Feel free to bring your own Bullet Journals and supplies to the workshop.

New Exhibit, “Writing UC’s Past,” Combines Flash Fiction with Historic Photographs

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class lecture

From the Archives and Rare Books Library

A new exhibit on display on the 5th floor lobby of Langsam Library features original pieces of flash fiction describing historic images from the collections of UC’s Archives and Rare Books Library.

Flash fiction is a term to describe writing that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer in its entirety. The three pieces in the exhibit average only 300 words but are rich in content. Continue reading →