Tag Archives: Rare Books

ARB Intern Project Near Completion

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The Archives & Rare Books Library’s 2009-2010 intern is headed toward the completion of her special project.  Lilia Walsh, a University of Cincinnati Honors student, has been working for the past nine months on compiling an annotated bibliography and web exhibit of ARB’s rare books on William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement.

Morris (1834-1896) was an artist, designer, writer, and socialist in England, and a giant presence in the Pre-Raphaelite and Arts & Crafts art worlds, particularly with his emphasis on a resurgence in craftsmanship.  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 →

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 →

ARB and the Irish

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Smith's Cork History title pageThe Archives & Rare Books Library has received additional volumes restored through UC Libraries’ Preservation Services and national book conservators.  The most recent volumes that have returned represent the Irish history holdings.  ARB has an excellent collection of Irish history, literature, and drama that garners frequent use from students and researchers in a variety of fields, particularly English, history, European studies, and ethnology. Continue reading →

Foxe's Martyrs Saved From the Stake

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The three volume 1641 edition

In the continuing project to restore key volumes in the Archives & Rare Books Library, UC Libraries’ Preservation Services has completed work on John Foxe’s Actes and Monuments of Matters Most Special and Memorable, Happening in the Church – more popularly known as “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.” This fundamental work of Christian hagiography, first published in Latin in 1559 at Basel, had its first English printing in 1563.  There were many subsequent editions over the next three hundred years.  The Archives & Rare Books Library holds both a 1596 edition, and this restored one, the three-volume 1641 printing.  Both these editions are widely used by students and faculty in history, art history, English, and religious studies. Continue reading →

SERVICE NOTICE

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UPDATE: All services have been restored.

Please note that on Saturday, December 19th from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm electric power to Langsam Library will be out for planned maintenance. This power outage will cause the UC Libraries Web site, the Library Catalog, and Interlibrary Loan services through ILLiad to be inaccessible during this time.

In addition, UCit@Langsam will be closed 5:00 am to 1:00 pm because of the power outage.

Thank you for your patience.

Frankenstein!

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Artwork by Barry Moser from the Pennyroyal Edition of Frankstein

What better time of year to celebrate one of the greatest horror stories in world literature than now?  Since its publication in 1818, the tale of the man-made monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus has captivated readers and caused no small stir of debate on the creation of life and the egotism of mankind.  In fact, Dr. Frankenstein’s monster has been re-created time and again in film and literature, sometimes as an awful and terrible creature and occasionally as a poor wretch who desperately tries to break free of man’s cruelty. The Archives and Rare Book Library hold some electrifying editions of Mary Shelley’s famous work. Continue reading →