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Working in a Special Collections Departments has its perks. One such perk is being able to browse the closed stacks and treasure hunt for unique items. I ran across this little gem a few weeks ago.
A Stereoscopic Atlas of the Chick by Joseph Long
Published 1937
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.
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.
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.
In honor of Shark Week, we thought you would enjoy a few colored plates from A History of the Fishes of the British Isles by Jonathan Couch, 1877.
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
Presented by the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library
August 1-29, 2014
Ellis Library Colonnade
University of Missouri
“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage though time”
-Carl Sagan
The books on display, from the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library, all carry traces of their former owners. Some contain notes in the margins; others hold mementos between their pages. In either case, these traces tell stories not only about the books’ reception but about the lives of those who read them.
At Special Collections, we believe a part of our job to be informing patrons on subject matters they may be unfamiliar with. Whether those subjects are found in books from the Middle Ages, newspapers dating back to the American Revolution, or underground comics, we’re always here to give you the scoop on things you didn’t know you didn’t know. But chances are an upcoming summer blockbuster might have you wondering, “Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy and why should I see the movie?” Special Collections is here for you, dear reader!
Opening in theaters this weekend is Marvel’s newest superhero flick, “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Staring Chris Pratt of “Parks and Recreation” fame, along with a handful of other well-known actors (Glenn Close, John C. Reilly and Bradley Cooper, just to name a few), “Guardians” promises to be a comic book movie unlike any we’ve seen before. And just like any good superhero movie, it never hurts to have a little backstory. Though Special Collections doesn’t have any stand-alone Guardians comics, we do have several Marvel Comics encyclopedias and compendiums, along with several issues of “Avengers” comics (like the ones you see in this post), which take place in the same universe as the Guardians. If you want the full, detailed history of the Guardians of the Galaxy, stop on by and request a book. If you just want the Cliffs Notes version, read on!
The original incarnation of the space-travelling team debuted in January, 1969. This group of Guardians never found much of a fan following, and the team was relegated to appearing alongside other heroes, like Thor and the Fantastic Four. This team shouldn’t factor in all that much with the “Guardians” film.
However, in 2008, an entirely new team of Guardians was introduced. Made up of a human named Peter Quill, two aliens – Drax and Gamora – and two personified creatures – Rocket, a talking raccoon and Groot, a living tree – these Guardians found instant commercial success. A feature film set within Marvel’s Cinematic Universe was fast-tracked into production.
This weekend, that movie is released. It will tie in with events that happened in “The Avengers”, and set up future events for “The Avengers: Age of Ultron”, Avengers 3 and beyond. Either before or after you check out the movie, stop on by and see us too!
Inventory of the General Library-Jesse Hall-University of Missouri, 1897
Before online catalogs and barcodes, librarians had to manage library collections and inventory by hand. This 1897 inventory of the General University of Missouri Library contains records of the books, magazines, and journals that belonged to the University. And, as many would suspect, librarians in the 19th century were just as detail oriented as those in the 21st century. The inventory even includes the contents of the “Dark Room” which, among many other things, contained one hatchet, a spittoon, and 40 old Savitars.
This volume also holds a letter written by Walter K. Stone, the University Librarian, which was tucked inside the text block. This letter, written in 1899 to the Executive Board of Curators, notes some library issues and the need for a “competent person” to be employed to help manage the collection.
This week's post is by Shelby Wolfe, a Special Collections undergraduate assistant.
While Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson might not be the first person who comes to mind when pondering the classical humanities, his portrayal of Hercules in the most recent film version about the mythological demi-god might spark your desire to delve far back into classical mythology. If so, check out these Hercules-related materials at Special Collections.
Hercules has entertained generations of adventure-loving readers and listeners for centuries. From pottery and poetry to compendium and comic book, illustrated depictions of the mythological hero are typically easy to identify – a large, muscular man often wielding a bulky club and donning a characteristic lionskin.
This plate in Andrew Tooke’s 1806 edition of The Pantheon details the hero’s attributes. Covered in a lionskin, the main image features Hercules resting his club on the ground. Two roundels above provide a closer inspection of the club and lionskin.
Likewise, this illustration from Tooke’s 1844 Pantheon shows Hercules outfitted with his attributes. In addition, two roundel inserts depict Hercules in the midst of his Twelve Labors – slaying the Nemean Lion (the source of his lionskin attire) on the far left and his battle with the Lernaean Hydra on the far right.
For a more modern depiction of the famed hero, take a closer look at this comic book from 1984. Hercules: Prince of Power features a monstrously muscular title character intent on saving the Marvel universe from rebel military forces in the year 2385.
Whether it’s the 8th century BCE or 2385 CE, Hercules is sure to be flexing his muscles somewhere.
Homer Croy
Our Will Rogers, c. 1953
Homer Croy, the author of “Our Will Rogers”, was an MU student from 1903-1907, where he was heavily involved in the publication of the school yearbook, the Savitar. Although Croy did not graduate from the University, he achieved great success as a playwright and novelist. In 1956, Elmer Ellis, the University of Missouri President, bestowed Croy with an honorary degree. Elmer Ellis donated this copy of “Our Will Rogers” to the University library. This volume gives us a wonderful peek into the friendship between Croy and Ellis. Throughout the book there are many notes and clippings from Croy to Ellis, which seem to be a gathering of inside jokes and friendly jabs. One can imagine what witty response Croy received in return.
