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Langsam Library Exhibit Marks the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation
In 1517, Martin Luther wrote his 95 theses criticizing the practice of indulgences of the Catholic church. He was disturbed by the fact that the faithful were allowed to offer money as penance for their sins. The publication of the 95 theses is considered as the starting point of the Reformation, which marks its 500th anniversary on October 31, 1517, the date long assumed that Luther nailed his theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg. A new exhibit on display on the 4th floor lobby of the Walter C. Langsam Library, as well as on the 4th floor of the library, highlights the complex and multifaceted legacy…
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Now Open: Shakespeare and the Queen City
As first announced in the last issue of Source, the Archives and Rare Books Library’s Shakespearean collection is prominently featured in the current Cincinnati Museum Center’s exhibition, “Shakespeare in the Queen City,” on display now through October 29. The free exhibition has as its focal point one of 82 First Folios belonging to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., each containing 36 of the playwright’s published works. Visitors to the exhibit will also see works from the collections of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company and the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County that show how Shakespeare’s works were performed and celebrated in Cincinnati’s libraries, schools, homes and theaters. One…
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Cincinnati and Shakespeare: The Bard Abides
By Kevin Grace. Enoch Carson was enthralled with William Shakespeare. While the 19th century Cincinnati entrepreneur and civil servant made his fortune in the lamp and gas business, he considered his real wealth to be the hundreds of Shakespeare volumes that he accumulated. For the most part Carson was a self-educated man, attributing his intellectual development to his years spent reading the plays. So, he devoted his life to building a library of as many editions of the bard as he could afford. At one point Carson took his volumes of the prominent Charles Knight 1839 London edition of the plays and disbound them so he could insert the huge…
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New Website Documents Jacobite Collection in the Archives and Rare Books Library
Want to go beyond the hit TV show Outlander and learn more about the Jacobite Movement from 1688-1788? A new website from the Archives and Rare Books Library highlights the recent donation of more than 500 books on the Jacobites from Cincinnatian Virginius C. Hall and provides a compelling and informative resource for scholars, researchers, or anyone hoping to learn more about this violent and important time in Scotland’s history. Hall became fascinated by the Jacobites and “Bonnie Prince Charlie” when he was 15 at boarding school and began his book collection. He continued to book hunt as an undergraduate at Princeton University and later as an Army private stationed…
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A New Look at Digital Collections
Imagine a place where through a computer, tablet or mobile device one could go to view such diverse collections as the House of Refuge Records, the creation of the Triceracopter sculpture, Albert B. Sabin’s archives about his quest to create the oral polio vaccine, as well as images of Great Houses of Cincinnati from environmental artist Alice Weston. This central, online place would also have exhibits about the 25th General Hospital: Courage and Skill in World War II, Promotion through Playing Cards, and Sublime and Beautiful Mountain Scenery among other captivating subjects. Such place does exist with the recently launched redesign of the Digital Collections & Repositories department website. Available…
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Displaying the Armstrong Collection
Thanks to support from the University of Cincinnati President’s office, we are pleased to announce a new permanent public exhibit recognizing Neil A. Armstrong and his time as a professor at the University of Cincinnati, 1971-1979. Located at the entrance of the College of Engineering and Applied Science Library, this exhibit brings together many objects and documents donated by the Armstrong family that are part of the University Archives housed in the Archives and Rare Books Library. The display represents many aspects of Mr. Armstrong’s life and accomplishments. Highlights are a flight mask and gear from his work as a test pilot (ca. 1960s), an encapsulated heat shield from the…
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African-American History Month and the Archives and Rare Books Library
It is February again, a month notable for honoring presidents and for looking forward to spring. February is also a time when we reflect on the heritage of African Americans in the United States and take time to acknowledge that part of our nation’s history. Depending on the media, we also term February as Black History Month, and it had its beginnings in 1926 when “Negro History Week” was created by historian Carter G. Woodson. Woodson’s intent was to celebrate it in February because both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had their birthdays in this month, and as he stated, “If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile…
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Celebrating William Shakespeare
Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it. Of all the many lines about death that William Shakespeare wrote for his plays, perhaps his words from Macbeth best describe his own departure. Shakespeare was certainly successful during his lifetime for his comedies and dramas, but he left London and the Globe Theatre for Stratford well before he died. His reputation became somewhat obscure after that, though with the publication of the First Folio in 1623 just a few years after his death in a single volume that gathered his known plays, interest in his work revived to the point that there shall never be any abatement in studies…
