Tag Archives: Rare Books

50 Minutes-1 Book: Frankenstein on Halloween

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By:  Kevin Grace

Well, ‘tis the season for that old Scottish prayer: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us!”  Yes, we are in our Halloween days in this month of spectres and the quickness of the night, of harvests and the dying away of nature, and, of things resurrected.  So it is appropriate to turn our attention to a subject such as Victor Frankenstein’s monster.

This month’s “50 Minutes-I Book” lunchtime series in the Archives & Rare Books Library will be about Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.  We’ll take a look at some special illustrated versions of her tale and consider what the book tells us about science and literature in the early 19th century.  Please bring your lunch and conversation, along with a nightmare or two if you wish, and join us on the 31st.

50 Minutes - 1 book poster

50 Minutes-1 Book Series Returns to ARB

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By:  Kevin Grace

The lunch-time discussion series of wonderful items in the Archives & Rare Books Library is ready to go for the 2013-2014 academic year.  Our first presentation is a repeat of a popular talk on our anthropodermic binding.  The book is one for which we always receive numerous questions because of its curious nature.  So please bring your lunch and conversation on Thursday, September 26, at 12 noon.

Future 50 Minutes-1 Book presentations over the next several months include Frankenstein in October; miniature books, including some of the smallest books you’ll ever barely see; the Arabian Nights; George Moerlein’s A Trip Around the World; William Nicholson’s London Types; and Ireland’s Celtic Revival in the early 20th century.

Human Skin Book

Cead Slan, or, A Farewell to Archives Month

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One of the great poets of the ages has died.  Nobel Prize-winning Irishman Seamus Heaney passed way on Friday in Dublin at the age of 74:     http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/kenny-leads-tributes-to-keeper-of-language-seamus-heaney-1.1510607.  It was less than a year ago that Heaney came to Cincinnati to speak at the Mercantile Library for the 2012 Niehoff Lecture Series, and we ran this blog at that time:

October 30, 2012

By Kevin Grace

-Not your colloquial Irish farewell, mind you, because that would have us skipping out when it is our turn to buy a round of drinks, and you just know we would never do that!  Rather, a farewell to Archives Month in Ohio and its 2012 Program for Heaney lecturetheme of “Ethnic Peoples of Ohio.”  In southwest Ohio, the focus has been on Irish heritage and the Celtic contribution to our culture.  From businessmen and women and Civil War soldiers to civic leaders and politicians, to writers and artists, Cincinnati and this corner of the state have been greatly enriched by the Irish.

In addressing this theme in October, we were very fortunate that it coincidentally embraced the annual Niehoff Lecture at the Mercantile Library, presented by Irish poet and Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney.  It could have been happenstance, of course, but more likely cinnuint, or destiny to youse guys.  On Saturday evening, October 20, Heaney spoke before an enthralled audience at the Westin Hotel as part of a lecture series that has helped mark the Mercantile as the center for literary life in Cincinnati. Continue reading →

Union Terminal: A Struggle for Success

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By:  Tyler Morrison, ARB Student Assistant

Construction, December 1931

December 1931

Here at Archives and Rare Books Library, we have the Progress Photographs of the construction of Union Terminal that were organized by the Cincinnati Union Terminal Company.  The Engineer of Construction was George P. Stowitts.  The photographs show views of the different phases of construction from the beginning to the end of the project.  These albums are available for viewing upon request.  Cincinnati Union Terminal was one of the last great train stations built.  It was a significant development in the history of Cincinnati transportation and has become an icon of the city.  The building project started in August 1929 and was completed on March 31, 1933.  Having 94 miles of track, Union Terminal cost $41 million to build.  It was built to accommodate 216 trains per day for 17,000 passengers daily.  Passenger train services ceased in 1972 and started up again in 1991 when Amtrak took over train operations at the station. Continue reading →

Discovering the Queen City

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By:  Tyler Morrison, ARB Student Assistant

The Queen CityWhile the rare book holdings of the Archives & Rare Books Library contain everything ranging from cuneiform and papyrus to Renaissance manuscripts and modern first editions, like every other institution, we also focus on particular genres.  Among these specialties are the history of the book; 18th century British literature; the Arts & Crafts Movement; Charles Dickens; Irish literature; and early travel and exploration.  And because we are in Cincinnati and UC is such an integral part of the city, of course we have many rare and important Cincinnati imprints ranging from the early days of the city’s founding to books published only recently.  Included in the many books on Cincinnati is The Queen City: A Hand-Book of Cincinnati.  Because the book dates back more than one hundred years, it has been restored so that it remains in a useable condition and its value as a part of local history is preserved.

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Philosophical "Ames" of the Archives and Rare Books Library

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By Lauren Fink

Owl BookplateThanks to a generous donation from Anthony Graybosch, The Archives and Rare Books Library now has in its holdings a collection of philosophy books from Van Meter Ames’ private library.  Van Meter Ames was a faculty member in the UC philosophy department, beginning in 1925, and served as its head from 1959 until 1966 when he retired.  Many of the books in this collection have Ames’ annotations, notes, and article clippings in them, as well as correspondence between Ames and fellow philosophers or friends. Continue reading →

UC Libraries Donation Becomes a Sizeable Challenge in Preservation

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By Dawn Fuller

UC Libraries will host a special reception to celebrate the installation of one of the most extraordinary urban maps in the Western world in the Archives & Rare Books Library. The reception will take place from 3-5 p.m., Monday, April 22, in the Reading Room of the Archives & Rare Books Library, located on the 8th floor of Blegen Library.

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50 Minutes-1 Book Series Returns to ARB

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By:  Kevin Grace

After a hiatus for the past few months, the lunchtime talks in the Archives & Rare Books Library return with a new presentation this month.   Held in 814 Blegen in the Schott Seminar Room, these casual talks are held from 12 noon to 12:50, so bring your lunch and bring a friend.   On March 28, the presentation will focus on the 19th century blind Dublin street poet, Zozimus.  And, the presentation will herald a new hallway exhibit in the Archives & Rare Books Library that features photographs of urban buskers from cities far and wide.

Zozimus Lecture

German-American Places & Events and Other Updates on ARB Website

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By:  Suzanne Maggard

The Archives and Rare Books Library has added some new links on our website for Cincinnati German-American places and events.  Have you seen the Sausage Queen at Bockfest?  Have you danced the Chicken Dance at Oktoberfest?  If not, learn more about these German-influenced events in the Cincinnati area.  We’ve also updated other links on ARB’s website for research resources, exhibits, and websites related to our collections.  Take a look and see if there is anything that interests you.  For more information, contact the Archives and Rare Books Library staff directly at 513.556.1959 or archives@ucmail.uc.edu

Screen Shot from German-Americana website

ARB's Next "50 Minutes-1 Book" Presentation

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By:  Kevin Grace

On Tuesday, November 20, the Archives & Rare Books Library will present the second in its series of lunchtime talks for this academic year.  The book to be presented is George Moerlein’s A Trip Around the World.  Moerlein, the son of Moerlein LectureCincinnati beer baron Christian Moerlein, undertook a global journey in 1885 and chronicled his adventures the next year with the publication of this volume.

Printed and designed locally, and heavily illustrated, Moerlein’s travel account was published in both German and English, the better to use as a marketing tool for Cincinnati’s beer-drinking population.  In fact, the end paper of the volume was a color lithograph of the Moerlein Brewery on Elm Street in Over-the-Rhine, a copy of which now decorates the entrance in the Moerlein Lager House brewery and restaurant on Cincinnati’s river bank. Continue reading →