Charles Dickens in Cincinnati

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By Kevin Grace

Dicken's "The British Lion in America"As we continue to celebrate Dickens’ birth (he turned 200 this past Tuesday, and still seems robust), we should note his visit to Cincinnati in 1842.  The visit was part of Dickens’ itinerary on his first journey to America, with initial stops in Boston, New York, Washington, and Pittsburgh.

Accompanied by his wife, Catherine, Dickens thoroughly enjoyed Boston, was not so enthralled by the nation’s capitol with all the necessary politics, and had quite a negative impression of Pittsburgh.  Cincinnati in springtime, however, he found to be “a beautiful city, cheerful, thriving, and animated.”  Dickens documented his trip to the United States in American Notes for General Circulation, published in October after his return to England.  In Cincinnati, he was very complimentary about the orderly streets and houses, so it is apparent that he wasn’t walking about during one of the regular hog-drives to the slaughterhouses!  He enjoyed the view from Mt. Auburn, complimented the city’s system of free schools, and sat in on a nuisance trial in the courts.  In American Notes, he stated: “The society with which I mingled was intelligent, courteous, and agreeable.” Continue reading →

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: An Influential Man

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This is the first page of the 1982 letter from Dr. Sabin to Dr. Kew, which Dr. Racaniello refers to in his article.

Recently I received a Google alert for an article that mentioned Dr. Sabin. The article was about a live debate on H5N1 viruses sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences, and it briefly discussed Dr. Vincent Racaniello’s opinion on using ferrets as “models of flu effects in humans.” According to the article, “when [Dr. Racaniello] began studying viral pathogenesis under Albert Sabin and other eminent experts, ‘The first thing they said was when you study viruses in animals, don’t think you’ll learn much about what happens in humans.’”

Since Dr. Racaniello specifically mentioned Dr. Sabin, I thought I would do a little bit of research on their connection. This led me to a 1993 article by Dr. Racaniello that appeared in an issue of Biologicals dedicated to Dr. Sabin. I found Dr. Racaniello’s discussion of how Dr. Sabin influenced his research quite interesting, so I thought I would share some of the materials that he refers to in the article. Continue reading →

UC Faculty, Submit Your 2011 Published Works to Authors, Editors & Composers

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On Tuesday, April 17, 2012, the University of Cincinnati Libraries will once again recognize the publishing and creative accomplishments of UC’s faculty at the annual “Authors, Editors & Composers” event. Scheduled for 3:30pm in the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center at UC, “Authors, Editors & Composers” will pay tribute to the 2011 scholarly and creative works of UC’s faculty with a reception, presentation of selected works, a printed bibliography, and an exhibit.

Continue reading →

Charles Dickens, the Serial Man

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By Kevin Grace

Edwind Drood CoverPart of Charles Dickens’ immense success as an author in the 19th century was due in no small measure to the changes in book production and readership brought on by the Industrial Revolution.  Steam printing increased book production.  Cheap availability of books, along with the development of libraries and public schooling, led to increased readership.  Coming into his own in writing his novels, Dickens took advantage of a growing demand on the part of readers for fiction.  And, as the consummate marketer of his works, Dickens had his finger on the pulse of all of this.

By 1836, he had compiled his writings that formed Sketches by Boz into a single volume, realizing that he could build his popularity and create a market for his fiction by publishing serial chapters.  The next year, 1837, Dickens became the editor for Bentley’s Miscellany and began issuing chapters of Oliver Twist.  Acutely aware of his reputation and the acclaim given him by the reading public, Dickens made at least four separate arrangements with publishers to serialize his work.  Continue reading →

HSL CampusGuides: Taking Research to a New Level

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The Health Sciences Library is transitioning the “Electronic Resources” topics to a more user-friendly, robust CampusGuides interface during the 2011-2012 academic year. CampusGuides incorporate search boxes, RSS Feeds, embedded media, surveys and can be easily accessed on mobile devices.  See the newly published Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Resources; the first example of a new and improved topic guide.

More topic guides will be coming soon.  As the topics transition to CampusGuides some will appear in the old interface and some in the new.  The links on the Electronic Resources page will be changed to lead directly to the new topic guide as they are developed.

We look forward to your feedback and suggestions to help make these topic guides as useful as possible.

 

A Charles Dickens February

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By Kevin Grace

Drawing by CruikshankIn our Dickens scene for today, young Oliver watches the Dodger pickpocket a gentleman at a newsstand, an image drawn by London caricaturist George Cruikshank (1792-1878).  Cruikshank penned scathing cartoons in which he lampooned the well-heeled set of London as well as the denizens of despair, and it is these drawings which have made his lasting reputation for 19th century English social and political commentary.   Cruikshank also illustrated several books by Dickens and, in fact, toward the end of his life he claimed that it was he who devised the plot of Oliver Twist.  Dickens, as one would expect, viewed these literary matters quite differently and was rather miffed at Cruickshank anyway because the artist gave up a life of mild debauchery to reject the drink and to squelch discussion of his numerous illegitimate offspring with his mistress, Adelaide Attree.  Dickens thought imbibing in moderation was quite all right.  We shan’t say whether it was for alcohol or keeping paramours. Continue reading →

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: India is One Year Polio-Free

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Photograph from Dr. Sabin's trip to Bombay in 1963 as a WHO Consultant.

I recently read an article on the BBC News website, which stated that India had not reported case of polio in the country for a whole year, from January 13, 2011 to January 12, 2012. According to the World Health Organization, India was once considered “the world’s epicenter of polio.” Just a couple years ago, there were 741 reported cases in the country. The fight against polio in India has made significant strides in just a couple of years. The use of the oral polio vaccine, originally developed by Dr. Sabin, has helped India become polio-free for the first time.

The Hauck Center for the Albert B. Sabin Archives contains a good amount of materials related to the fight against polio in India. The collection includes correspondence between scientists working on polio research and the oral polio vaccine, documents written by Dr. Sabin and others on the status of polio in India, and photographs from his travel there. The photograph seen above is from his trip to India and Ceylon in 1963. Continue reading →

Please Sir, I Want Some More, or, a Dickens of a Celebration

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By Kevin Grace

Oliver TwistThis month marks the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens, a man who once remarked on an 1842 visit to Cincinnati that the Irish marchers in a temperance parade behaved quite nicely.  Of course, that visit was in January so the St. Patrick’s Day parade was still two months away.  Dickens’ bicentennial is February 7, and throughout the month the Archives & Rare Books Library will be commemorating this notable event.  “Why?”  is the question we hear being whispered across campus.  It is because ARB holds a very fine collection of Dickens – Dickens in parts, Dickens first editions in single and multiple volumes, Dickens in collected works, Dickens, Dickens, Dickens.  It is the Dickens, we say.  Continue reading →

The Albert B. Sabin Digitization Project: Milk Research Makes Headline News!

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In May 1950, at the sixtieth annual meeting of the American Pediatric Society, Dr. Sabin reported that he had discovered an “Antipoliomyelitic Substance in Milk of Human Beings and Certain Cows.”[1] Although Dr. Sabin was cautious to say that research was still needed to determine what the substance was and how it could be useful, the popular press picked up on the report with headlines such as:

“Mother’s Milk Has Anti-Polio Substance,” Science Service, 16 May 1950

“Researcher Seeking Factor in Milk to Prevent Paralysis in Polio Cases,” Cincinnati Times-Star, 19 May 1950

“Anti-Polio Human Milk,” Science News Letter, 27 May 1950

Telegram from Mr. Vinciguerra to Dr. Sabin, 1950

This information even appeared in the May 29, 1950 issue of Time magazine. Due to the the large amount of publicity that this report received, Dr. Sabin accumulated letters from researchers and other interested parties. The information contained in these letters ranged from encouragement to suggestions for further research. For example, Dr. Sabin received several letters suggesting that he test goat’s milk for the same substance. Others provided suggestions as to what the mystery substance might be. Another example appears in the telegram seen to the left, in which Mr. Vinciguerra suggests testing sheep’s milk.[2] Continue reading →

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

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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 →