Kelli Hansen

Kelli Hansen is head of the Special Collections and Rare Books department.
home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Reader Request: The Magic of MERLIN

Reader Request: The Magic of MERLIN

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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Last week we posted the first in an occasional reader request series, focusing on what you want to see from the University of Missouri Libraries Special Collections.  This week, I'm going to show you exactly how to find what you're looking for using our catalog, the Missouri Education and Research Libraries Information Network.  Or, you know, MERLIN.

Since you are interested in Special Collections, we're going to do an advanced search.  Starting from the main MERLIN screen, click on the Advanced tab.

On the Advanced Search page, enter your keywords at the top.  You can use the dropdown menu to search within Author, Title, or Subject (Table of Contents and Notes are not advised for Special Collections materials).  Or you can leave it open to search all available fields.

Scroll down to Add Limits.  Under Specific Library Location, choose MU Ellis Special Coll.

You can use additional limits such as language or year of publication.  Because Special Collections holdings include lots of microfilms (about 8 million titles, in fact), it's useful to limit by Material Type.

Hold down the CTRL key to make multiple selections. 

  • Looking for books, pamphlets, journals, etc.?  Limit to Books and Journals/Newspapers.
  • Posters – limit to Images
  • Maps – limit to Maps
  • If you ARE looking for microfilm/fiche, limit to Microforms

​But Wait! Not Everything is in MERLIN!

That's true; not everything is in MERLIN.  That's where the Special Collections website comes in.  It contains collection descriptions and finding aids that can also help you track down the resources you need.  A finding aid contains a detailed description of a collection and its organization.  It doesn't have an inventory of particular items (usually), but it will lead you to the right places to look.  Here's a complete list of collection descriptions and finding aids on the Special Collections site.

Now you're all set to search!  Have fun, and let us know via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or email if you find anything you want to see!

home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Reader Request: Quackenbos’ English Grammar

Reader Request: Quackenbos’ English Grammar

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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Thanks to a conversation with our friend Coffee and Donatus (Twitter, Tumblr) we're kicking off a new occasional series featuring the materials you want to see from our collections.  This week's request fits in perfectly with our back-to-school theme this week.  It's An English Grammar by George Quackenbos (New York, 1862), from the Historic Textbook Collection.  

@MUSpecColl It's hard to choose, but how about your first edition of Quackenbos' An English Grammar? http://t.co/0G7RZGgL7O

— Coffee & Donatus (@CoffeeDonatus) August 14, 2014

 

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Quackenbos was born in New York in 1826 and became a well-known educator and author of textbooks.  When he died in 1881, his obituary in the New York Times stated,

"There are few English-speaking schools in the United States where the name of Quackenbos is not familiar, for during his studious and busy life the deceased published a great many series of text-books of elementary histories, grammars, arithmetics, rhetoric, and natural philosophy.  His later publications were regarded as occupying the very first rank among educational text-books. …  He was an enthusiast in educational matters, and it was the aim of his life to simplify and improve the prevailing methods of instruction." (New York Times 26 Jul 1881, pg. 5)

An English Grammar is a thorough introduction, starting with a chapter entitled "Letter, Syllables, Words, Sentences" and ending with chapters on rhetoric and prosody.  This particular volume once belonged to William Hudson of Hiram, Ohio, who signed his name on the flyleaf.  He may also have added the date in pencil: Oct. 11th, 1865.  Interesting to us, the book also includes advertisements on the front and back endpapers, which give an idea of the other textbooks in use at the time.

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Reading through the textbook, my favorite was the section on interjections.  Next time you need to express wonder, exultation, or weariness, why not try some of these?  

  • "Hoity-toity! Look at all those students studying in the library!"
  • "Heyday! I found an empty study carrel in the west stacks!"  
  • "The library's open until 2am, but heigh-ho! I'm going back to my dorm to sleep."

Try on some rhetorical gestures while you're at it, and you'll really be communicating old school.  

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As we mentioned on Twitter, we think of our blogs/social media as an extension of the reading room.  Here's a link to the MERLIN catalog.  What will you request?

home Special Collections and Archives, Workshops Join us for Fridays @ the Library this semester

Join us for Fridays @ the Library this semester

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Special Collections and Archives Workshops
Posted on

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This semester, librarians from across MU Libraries are teaming up to bring you a great program of workshops and tutorials that can help you research smarter, not harder.  Take a look at all the great offerings from our colleagues!  Special Collections will be participating on September 12 with a session called Jumpstart Your Teaching and Research in Special Collections.

Special Collections has over 90,000 items – from rare books and manuscripts to comics and posters – and a staff that wants to empower you to use them.  Whether you’re new to campus or just need a refresher, come and find out how these exciting and inspiring resources can contribute to your semester. We'll provide an overview of our collections and cover strategies for using Special Collections in class visits, undergraduate assignments, and your own research.

Go here to register, or contact Goodie Bhullar with any questions about the workshop series.

home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives The one and only Mark Twain autograph in Special Collections

The one and only Mark Twain autograph in Special Collections

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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A letter from Samuel Clemens to journalist Walter Williams, who served as the founding dean of the Missouri School of Journalism in 1908, and was University of Missouri president from 1931 to 1935.

March 4/94

Dear Mr. Williams:

I shouldn’t be able to do it, for if I should be in America in July it would be on business & my time would be fully occupied. I am leaving for Europe day after tomorrow. The compliment of your invitation gratifies me exceedingly & I want to thank you for it notwithstanding I am debarred from taking advantage of it.

I seem to have written this letter to you before; or something like it. But surely that is not possible.  I don’t know how I get the impression; & yet it is a quite strong one.

Truly Yours

S. L. Clemens  

This letter is pasted onto the front endpaper of Walter Williams’ personal copy of Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World – one of a couple of notable copies of that text in Special Collections.  Take a look at the catalog record for information on the others.  The text on the photo frontispiece is printed, not handwritten – but you can compare Samuel Clemens' signature to that of Mark Twain.

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home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Remembering Lauren Bacall

Remembering Lauren Bacall

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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Actress and icon Lauren Bacall passed away yesterday at the age of 89.  Well-known for her film roles, she also appeared in various stage productions, including Cactus Flower (1965), Applause (1970), and Woman of the Year (1981).  These are a sampling of the covers available in the Theater Programs Collection here in Special Collections, which numbers over 2,300 programs (and counting).  They document Bacall throughout her stage career, from the 1960s to her appearance at Powell Symphony Hall in Saint Louis on November 17, 1997.

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Find them in the MERLIN catalog: Cactus Flower, Applause, Woman of the Year, and Grand Center is proud to present a Grand Evening with Lauren Bacall.

home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Dogs, Jackals, Wolves and Foxes, and an Adopt a Book program update

Dogs, Jackals, Wolves and Foxes, and an Adopt a Book program update

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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St. George Jackson Mivart was a well-known nineteenth-century English biologist. He served as Vice-President of the Zoological Society twice (1869 and 1882)and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his work On the Appendicular skeleton of the Primates. This work on animals in the canine family is filled with woodcuts and 45 hand-colored plates drawn from nature by J.G. Keulemans.  Mivart examines the anatomy of canids from the Mexican lap dog to the common wolf, and just about every variety in between.  

This book recently received conservation treatment through the Adopt a Book Program.  Before conservation, the book and plates were so fragile that they could not be scanned without risking further deterioration.  Thanks to conservator Jim Downey and donor Robin Wenneker, the book is now available to all in our reading room.  I'll be updating the Adopt a Book record to reflect the conservation work in a day or two, but in the meantime, I couldn't wait to share this sampling of the book's beautiful plates.

Mivart, St. George Jackson, 1827-1900. Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes : a monograph of the Canidæ by St. George Mivart ; with woodcuts, and 45 coloured plates drawn from nature by J.G. Keulemans and hand-coloured. London : R.H. Porter : Dulau, 1890. MERLIN catalog record

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home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Amazing Engraved Plates of a Huge Party in Strasbourg, 1744

Amazing Engraved Plates of a Huge Party in Strasbourg, 1744

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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Louis XV may not have been the most popular king, but when he fell ill and was near death in 1744, his subjects across France prayed dutifully for his recovery.  In October 1744, once he was well enough, the king visited Strasbourg, and the town threw what looks to have been a huge party to celebrate his visit and convalescence. There were processions through the streets, races, dances, and even fireworks.  These events were all faithfully chronicled by J. M. Weis, "graveur de la ville de Strasbourg," and produced in the nearly monumental format of a large folio with two-page spreads. This is a fete book – a royal souvenir for a royal celebration.

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The MU Libraries copy is still in the original binding, and if you follow our Adopt a Book program, you may recognize it.  William Heyde III recently donated funds to support conservation work, and Jim Downey at Legacy Bookbindery made the repairs the volume needed.  Once the book was in stable condition, we were able to send it to the MU Libraries Digital Services unit. So, thanks to a generous donor, a conservator, a couple of rare book librarians, and several digital imaging and metadata experts, this book is now available to the world.  We think that in itself is cause for celebration!  

Get a closer look at the plates or page through the text in the University of Missouri Digital Library.  Be sure to use the zoom feature to take in the details – the variety of tiny figures that populate these prints is really amazing.

Weis, Johann Martin, d. ca. 1795. Représentation des fêtes données par la ville de Strasbourg pour la convalescence du Roi; à l'arrivée et pendant le séjour de Sa Majesté en cette ville. Inventé, dessiné et dirigé par J. M. Weiss, graveur de la ville de Strasbourg. Paris: imprimë par Laurent Aubert [1745]. MERLIN catalog record

home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Napoleon, the War of 1812, and July 4, 1814

Napoleon, the War of 1812, and July 4, 1814

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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00000001Have you ever wondered what Independence Day celebrations were like 200 years ago?  For many people, the main event at Fourth of July festivities wasn't a fireworks display or even a concert; it was a sermon. The Fourth of July Orations Collection offers a glimpse into these commemorations and provides important documentation of American politics and identity from 1791 to 1925.

On July 4, 1814, the United States was still embroiled in the War of 1812.  As we saw last year, the American military was poorly trained and equipped compared to the British forces, but by the middle of 1814, its outlook was beginning to improve.  The American navy controlled part of the Great Lakes, plagued British shipping, and captured British warships.  American army troops repelled attacks from the British and allied Native American tribes.  

Throughout early 1814, many Americans were also paying close attention to the situation in Europe. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and exiled to Elba in April of that year – an event that many Americans celebrated, even though it was a victory for their enemy.

00000002Daniel Dana noted the problematic nature of the European peace in an 1814 Fourth of July speech.  Dana was a minister in Newburyport, MA, a member of the influential Dana family, and, for a short time, president of Dartmouth College.  In his speech, he celebrates the "deliverance of suffering Europe" from "France, the scourge of other nations" (8).  However, he acknowledges the awkward position this created for the United States:

Do any object, that to rejoice in the recent triumphs of the allied powers, is to rejoice at the success of our enemies?  Let me ask: Suppose it were a known, or a highly probable fact, that these successes would terminate in our injury; still, are we on that account wholly excused from rejoicing?  Am I permitted to grieve that a great good has come to my neighbor, or to the community, because thereby some degree of inconvenience accrues to myself?  No; the great law of love calls me to rejoice. (15)

Dana goes on to note that it is impossible to tell how the defeat of Napoleon would affect the conflict between Great Britiain and the United States, but remarks, "If peace is the blessing for which above all others, our country pants, the late Revolution in Europe is calculated rather to hasten, than to retard it" (16).  Dana ends his speech with a call for the world to embrace Christianity rather than warfare, hopeful that the nations would "imitat[e] not the Prince of darkness, but the Prince of peace" (18).  Little did he know that the Burning of Washington, a humiliating and traumatic event for the young republic, was less than two months away.

Read the entirety of Dana's speech online.  The entire Fourth of July Orations Collection is available at the University of Missouri Digital Library, and also in traditional format in the Special Collections Reading Room. 

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home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives Manuscript Monday has moved!

Manuscript Monday has moved!

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
Posted on

Manuscript Monday has moved to our Tumblr! We'll be sharing manuscripts available through the Digital Scriptorium database all summer.  Go follow us there, and check out the beautful materials from Special Collections and Archives at Mizzou  – and also from other libraries around the world.  

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Kelli Hansen

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

home Resources and Services, Special Collections and Archives What’s Blooming this Week: Red Valerian

What’s Blooming this Week: Red Valerian

By Kelli Hansen   Posted in Resources and Services Special Collections and Archives
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Not far from the false indigo we featured last week, just outside the west entrance to Ellis Library, there's a beautiful red valerian in full bloom. The scientific name for this plant is Centranthus ruber.  It's also called Jupiter's Beard or spur valerian. 

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While red valerian is a member of the family Valerianaceae, it's not really a valerian. True valerian is known scientifically today as Valeriana officinalis.  Its roots were used medicinally and were thought to have a sedative effect.  Centranthus ruber has no known medicinal uses, although some sources claim it's edible. I didn't try it, and I don't advise you to, either!

In the past, Centranthus ruber and a few other members of its genus were thought to be closer relatives of true valerian than scientists believe they are today.  In 1816, the plant was published in Curtis's Botanical Magazine with a list of various other Valeriana species.  The plant pictured here, identified as Valeriana montana rotundifolia, is now known as Centranthus calcitrapa.  It is a hardy perennial, native to southern Europe. 

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This post wraps up our weekly series celebrating the connections between our collections and the Mizzou Botanic Garden – for now, at least.  I'll continue to use Special Collections to research the plants around us periodically over the summer and fall.  Have you seen a plant on campus or elsewhere that you'd like us to feature?  If so, let me know!