home Ellis Library, Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Ediciones Vigía work on display in Special Collections and Archives

Ediciones Vigía work on display in Special Collections and Archives

An edition of Pierrot y la luna, a dramatic poem by Cuban poet Nancy Morejón, is on display in the Special Collections and Archives reading room through the end of April. The book was designed by Rolando Estévez, the director of the Cuban book arts collective called Ediciones Vigía, and is on loan from a private collection.

Ediciones Vigía was founded in 1985 by artist Rolando Estévez and poet Alfredo Zaldívar in Matanzas, Cuba, a city known for its poets and Afro-Cuban culture. Members of Ediciones Vigía crafted books using ordinary supplies that were easy to procure: brown paper, found objects, and repurposed materials. Each publication was released in an edition of two hundred or fewer copies. Vigía books often contain an element of playful surprise in the form of foldouts, flaps, and insertions. All Vigía books feature the oil lamp as a symbol of the workshop, which Estévez included as “a bright light that is a humble light, an intimate and familiar light.”

More Ediciones Vigía books will be on view in the Ellis Library Colonnade in April in conjunction with the conference Afro-Cuban Legacies: Visual Arts, Literature, Theatre, Music and Religion

Kelli Hansen

Kelli Hansen is head of the Special Collections and Rare Books department.

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives The Husni Collection: Magazine Mayhem!

The Husni Collection: Magazine Mayhem!

Samir Husni Magazine Collection

Samir Husni, Ph.D., believes in the power of print. His decades of research, collecting, and consulting produced a picture of American culture, all told through magazines. Husni, born in Lebanon, is an internationally recognized magazine expert. He earned scholarships to pursue advanced degrees in the United States, receiving a master’s degree from the University of North Texas and a Ph.D. in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri. Nicknamed “Mr. Magazine” by his students, Husni knows what it takes to launch a successful magazine, and what makes the magazine format special. In his 2019 book The Definitive Guide on How to Launch Your Own Magazine, Husni emphasizes the magazine’s role as a reflector in the Twentieth Century:
“This is what a print magazine does best: it reflects the souls and mindsets of the human consumer and engages their concerns and delights in a way no other medium ever has or ever will.”

In October 2022, Husni donated his collection of nearly 100,000 magazines to the University of Missouri Libraries. This includes 24,000 first-issue magazines published after 1985, media kits and prototypes documenting the development of popular magazines, 10,000 magazines published before 1985 (2000 of which are premiere issues) dating back to the 1800s, foreign and non-English magazines, and Samir Husni’s publications about magazine publishing.

After a long year of work from Special Collections staff, Series 1: Samir Husni’s Guide to New Magazines is ready for use. This series contains every first issue published in the United States from 1985 to the present. Husni published a guide to new magazines each year; Simultaneously, he collected a physical copy of all magazines included in his guide. The Husni Collection has it all: Technology, Fashion, Pop Culture, Politics, Sports, Travel, and much more! Whatever your interests, this collection has a magazine for you. Contact Special Collections with questions on how to access materials and begin exploring the Husni Collection.

home Ellis Library, Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Black History Month: “Life in America” Online Exhibit

Black History Month: “Life in America” Online Exhibit

Special Collections has a new digital exhibit in honor of Black History Month: Life in America: Sixteen Black Magazines from 1953 to 1998, curated by John Henry Adams. Magazines offer a snapshot of everyday life, both as it was and how some people might have wished it to be. What makes someone beautiful? What should people be wearing? Who are the important entertainers? What is the best music? What is happening in the world? What should children and teenagers be interested in? All of these are questions that magazines give answers to, and that is before we take into account what is being advertised in the magazines themselves. What is for sale? Who is expected to buy it? Taken together, magazines give us a chance to approach the culture of the past, but also to consider the present through the same lens.

The exhibit features magazines from a recent acquisition, the Samir Husni Magazine Collection, on topics ranging from beauty and fashion magazines to news and lifestyle magazines.

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John Henry Adams

John Henry Adams is a librarian in the Special Collections and Rare Books department. He provides instruction and reference for the history of the book in general, but especially for medieval manuscripts, early European printing, the history of cartography, and English and German literature.

home Ellis Library, Special Collections and Archives, Staff news New Resource: Attack of the Collational Formula

New Resource: Attack of the Collational Formula

When librarians and booksellers describe books, they often include a collational formula, a nightmarish collection of Roman and Greek letters, Arabic numerals, and all manner of subscript and superscripts. If you are interested in learning how to decipher collational formulas, then you may be interested in watching The Attack of the Collational Formula, a series of five videos produced by John Henry Adams, Joseph Sabo, and Caleb Ashlock in a joint project between Special Collections and the Digital Media and Innovation Lab. The project was funded by the Bibliographical Society of America.

The video series includes a basic introduction to bibliographic terms before covering format, collation, and signing in greater detail. Whether you want a refresher or are just getting started, why not check it out? You can find all five videos as a playlist at the BSA’s YouTube channel or you can follow the links below:

John Henry Adams

John Henry Adams is a librarian in the Special Collections and Rare Books department. He provides instruction and reference for the history of the book in general, but especially for medieval manuscripts, early European printing, the history of cartography, and English and German literature.

home Ellis Library, Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Peer Navigator Corner: Special Collections

Peer Navigator Corner: Special Collections

Written by: Margaret Gillam

One hidden gem that Ellis Library holds within its walls is the Special Collections and Archives, which is a collection of rare artifacts, papers, manuscripts and literature, located on the fourth floor west of the library. The Special Collections date back to 1962 and are available to learn about at any time – you just need to make an appointment so they can pull whatever you’re interested in! The collections aim to make rare and significant materials available for research and learning.

During my freshman year, my Honors Greek Mythology professor scheduled a workshop for our class in Special Collections. We had the opportunity to look at papyrus books that dated back to the Egyptians, and got to practice writing cuneiform on our own small blocks of clay. This experience provided my classmates and me with a hands-on experience that sparked a deeper interest in Greek mythology and its rich history, and certainly made class more enjoyable.

To reach Special Collections, take the elevator to the third floor, turn left, and take the wheelchair lift or stairs to the fourth floor on the west side. These collections are a great way to foster more interest in class material, giving students the opportunity to see, feel and learn about artifacts relevant to their studies. To learn more about Special Collections, schedule a visit, or see its hours and location, visit https://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/.

 

New online exhibit: No Bones About It

On October 24, 2023, Special Collections held a spooky exhibit! From 11am until 2pm, we were in Ellis 114A with as many skeletons as we could find in our collections! That exhibit is now available online for your viewing pleasure.

The exhibit includes books in five different languages, from the 15th century to the 20th century, all linked by their shared interest in skeletons. From a book of hours to Vesalius’ anatomy textbooks, from a proto-novel with Death as the main character to art history, these books are full of insights as well as bones. Modern medicine wouldn’t be where it is today if it hadn’t been for anatomists dissecting bodies to see how they worked, and the dances of the dead are an important reminder of our shared humanity, no matter where we live or what we do for a living.

Whether you missed the exhibit while it was down in 114A or whether you just want to take a second look at some of the books, we hope you enjoy the exhibit in its online form!

John Henry Adams

John Henry Adams is a librarian in the Special Collections and Rare Books department. He provides instruction and reference for the history of the book in general, but especially for medieval manuscripts, early European printing, the history of cartography, and English and German literature.

home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Now online: tutorials on finding materials in Special Collections

Now online: tutorials on finding materials in Special Collections

Materials in Special Collections and University Archives are catalogued, arranged, and stored in different ways. Some are discoverable through the library catalog, while others can be located through inventories or finding aids. Learn more about how to find materials in Special Collections and Archives through our tutorials:

Using the library catalog

Using finding aids

We’re always happy to make tutorials on specific topics as well. Let us know how we can help!

Kelli Hansen

Kelli Hansen is head of the Special Collections and Rare Books department.

home Newsletter, Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Special Collections Lesson Plans Now Available Online

Special Collections Lesson Plans Now Available Online

Special Collections staff have compiled a number of past lesson plans and handouts on our website for instructors and students alike to peruse. We invite you to download them and adapt them for your own teaching or research, or to contact us to discuss help in customizing them.

Links to our lesson plans and handouts can be found by following the links below:

Other materials can be found on our Teaching Resources page at https://library.missouri.edu/specialcollections/teaching-resources.

John Henry Adams

John Henry Adams is a librarian in the Special Collections and Rare Books department. He provides instruction and reference for the history of the book in general, but especially for medieval manuscripts, early European printing, the history of cartography, and English and German literature.

home Cycle of Success, Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives A Resource for the Study of Early Printed Plays in Spain: Comedias Sueltas USA

A Resource for the Study of Early Printed Plays in Spain: Comedias Sueltas USA

by Diana Vasquez

Comedias Sueltas USA is a website dedicated to the study of Spanish plays, primarily by means of its comprehensive database which maintains and compiles records of comedias sueltas printed before 1834 and are currently held in the collections of academic and research libraries across the United States. Referred to as chapbooks in English, sueltas emerged from printing centers of Spain mainly in the 18th century, and they continued to be produced well into the 19th century. Key characteristics of comedias sueltas include quarto format printed in double column. These singly printed three-act plays were often 32 to 64 pages in length resulting in 4 to 8 gatherings that were later stab- stitched. Many have a printed number on the upper portion of the first page by which printers kept track of the inventory. A primary place for decoration was the area around the title and the author’s name. One finds arrangements of metal ornaments such as fleurons, stars, ivy leaves, and manicules, or elaborate woodcut tailpieces at the very end. Booksellers also took advantage of pages following the end of the play to advertise other titles they had for sale. Early examples of sueltas often lacked imprints and can be dated only through typographical analysis, however, over time dates appeared gradually in the colophons of sueltas.

The first page of Las Bizarrias de Belisa by Lope de Vega Carpio.
The first page of Las Bizarrias de Belisa by Lope de Vega Carpio.

These ephemeral works have managed to survive in significant numbers, as printers and publishers maintained these titles in print for the theater-going public. The theater-going public also enjoyed amateur performances and often purchased multiple copies of sueltas for reading at home. From the colophons we see that printers operated in all the major cities in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, and Salamanca), as well as in some of the smaller cities, and sold some of their sueltas through booksellers all over Spain. It was an active and thriving business.

Director Szilvia Szmuk-Tanenbaum and the team at Comedias Sueltas USA hope that the Database and some of the other features of the website will serve as a valuable resource for students and scholars exploring different aspects of the Spanish theater, book history and the printing culture of the hand-press period in Spain. This comprehensive census includes records and images. As an ongoing process we will continue to enhance records with new data as it emerges. Our objective is to bring awareness and accessibility to these collections, enabling scholars to analyze trends, document change, and provide context allowing for a deeper understanding of the time periods in which they were created. To this end, in addition to accurate bibliographic records, we are including copy specific images of the first and last pages of each play from its holding institution for exact identification.

Other resources available on the website include:

  • An extensive Bibliography that consists of publications supporting the study of sueltas in connection with specific items or collections, comprehensive bibliographic resources covering literature that integrates material on comedias sueltas, and references to printers or booksellers of suelta editions, as well as broader insights into printing history that illuminate the practices applicable to suelta
  • A Glossary of terms, a recent addition still a work in progress, compiles a list of terms that scholars are likely to encounter in our bibliographic records, essays, or general literature about comedias sueltas. Additionally, the diagram of the anatomy of a comedia suelta serves for easy identification of parts and their proper name.
  • The Websites of Interest section assembles a list of various platforms, mostly from Spain, useful for researchers engaged in the study of Spanish history, theater, or literature.

Comedias sueltas USA has identified just over 100 academic and independent research libraries in the United States that have holdings of comedias sueltas. The size of these collections varies, with approximately one-third of the libraries holding only a few titles, several more holding 11-975 titles, and about 8 collections hold more than 1000 titles. For instance, the University of North Carolina boasts a collection of over 2200 titles and similarly, the Hispanic Society Library and Museum in New York possesses nearly an equivalent number.

At the time of this writing, the team at Comedias Sueltas USA has uploaded 69 collections of sueltas into its database and many more are getting ready to be uploaded. We very much appreciate Kelli Hansen’s assistance by providing images of the first and last pages of each item in the Ellis library Spanish play collection. We feel that having the 62 titles, some of which we haven’t seen before, really adds to the completion of the census.

A cover of one of the factitious volumes in Ellis Library's collections.
A cover of one of the factitious volumes in Ellis Library’s collections.

The sueltas in the Ellis library database offer good examples for teaching the history of printing ephemera. These are generally single plays, but we also find them bound as factitious volumes. The term factitious volume is used to describe some randomly bound volume (usually of 12 plays) selected by a collector, bookseller, or librarian. These bound volumes were thought to be easier to handle than the ephemeral pamphlets. The Moreto plays Confusión de un jardín and San Franco de Sena, with no imprint dates, seem to be the earliest in the collection. The most recent suelta in the collection, Sancho Ortiz de las Roelas by Cándido María Trigueros was printed in 1814. A selection of Trigueros’ works are 18th-century adaptations of plays originally written by Lope de Vega. Curiously, nearly half of the Ellis collection is authored by Lope de Vega, a prominent Spanish playwright and poet of the Golden Age. By closely examining this collection students can observe first-hand the printing styles across the 17th -19th century.

Looking at these plays in chronological sequence, it is easy to observe change in typography and orthography. For example, the use of long s (a letter that looked almost like an f) transitions to a modern short s during this period. Other aspects of spelling become modernized as well. The use of a short s but with an early date in the colophon indicated a “concealed reprint” which was done to avoid paying the fee a printer should have paid for reprinting an earlier work.

Women played an important part in the world of 18th century Spanish printing. Seven of the 62 plays in the collection were produced by women printer/booksellers. Women often assumed the reins of their late husband’s or male relative’s business. As was the case with Viuda de Quiroga (Manuel de Losada Quiroga’s widow) and Antonia Gómez (José de Orga’s widow). In addition, there was Teresa de Guzmán who was a printer and bookseller in her own right in Madrid from 1733-1737.

It is important for Special Collections to bring the history of the book and older printing practices to the attention of its users. Plays that students now read in modern paperback edition or electronically did not appear that way to their first readers two or three centuries ago. It is important to have them touch the paper that was made one sheet at a time during this era of printing and even to feel the bite of the type as the raised letter was formed. Experiences such as these bring a deeper understanding to the evolution of printed materials. We hope that faculty, students, and researchers at the University of Missouri will see the value of their Spanish plays collection.


To access comedias sueltas or any other materials in Special Collections, schedule an appointment through the Special Collections website.

Kelli Hansen

Kelli Hansen is head of the Special Collections and Rare Books department.

home Ellis Library, Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives New Exhibit: The University of Missouri Press

New Exhibit: The University of Missouri Press

A new display by University Archives in Ellis 401 provides a glimpse into the 65-year history of the University of Missouri Press through archival records from University Librarian Ralph Parker, Professor of English William Peden, and author Upton Sinclair.

The exhibit will last through September 30, 2023.

John Henry Adams

John Henry Adams is a librarian in the Special Collections and Rare Books department. He provides instruction and reference for the history of the book in general, but especially for medieval manuscripts, early European printing, the history of cartography, and English and German literature.