Earth Day, 1648

Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2012 marked the 42nd celebration of Earth Day.  The first celebration was a grass roots event focusing on education and legislative responses to pollution and ecological concerns.

titlepg_lgEarth Day gives us a chance to appreciate our planet.  In 2012, amazing photos are available from every corner of the globe (and beyond).  But what if you lived over 500 years ago?  The Americas were full of flora and fauna unknown to Western eyes.  Special Collections is home to many volumes that recorded these new discoveries.

Published in 1648, Historia naturalis Brasiliae records the botany and zoology of Brazil.  With sections on animals, plants, fish, insects, and tropical medicine, the book introduced a wealth of information about the natural world.

Willem Piso was sent by the West India Company as physician  to the governor of the Dutch colony in Brazil.  While there, he learned about herbal medicines used by the indigenous people. His knowledge of medicinal plants, local poisons and tropical illnesses is recorded in Historia naturalis Brasiliae.

In addition to Piso’s contributions, the Historia contains information gathered by Georg Markgraf on plants, fish, birds, animals, snakes, and insects.  Markgraf died before the book’s publication.  Johannes de Laet edited his notes and illustrations for final publication.

The Historia naturalis Brasiliae is full of illustrations, and many of these were the first representation of animals and plants from the new world seen in the Old World.  While some of the volumes were hand colored, Special Collections copy is not.

See the full text of a hand colored copy.  This volume is from the collection of the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Click on an image below to see a gallery of selected pages from Historia naturalis Brasiliae.

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home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Preservation Week April 22-28, 2012

Preservation Week April 22-28, 2012

Preservation Week Logo

Today begins Preservation Week in libraries across the country.  One of our primary jobs at the Special Collections Department is to identify materials that need certain preservation measures.  One of the most basic measures is producing phase boxes for books with aged bindings.  A simple phase box, which can take as little as five minutes to produce, can protect books from all sorts of harm including:

  • Wear and tear – Rather than grasping the book when pulling it off the shelf, the box is grasped.
  • Fire damage – Books have been saved because they were preserved in a phase box, plus the box saves the book from soot damage.
  • Humidity damage – Phase boxes insulate the book.
  • Water damage – In cases of flooding or the sprinkler system going off, books have a better chance of staying dry in phase boxes.
Damaged Books
Damaged Books

The first step in the process is to select books that are in the most need of phase boxes.  The spine of the book might be split or tearing off, or the book has become too brittle, or one of the covers might be completely torn off at the hinge (near the spine).

Once a book has been selected, accurate measurements of the length, width, and depth of the book must be taken.  We use the metric system in the Special Collections Department.

After a group of twenty-eight books have been measured, we send those measurements to the Preservation Department at Ellis Library.  Librarians and student assistants then work together to produce the boxes, making sure to follow the old saying “measure twice and cut once”.  Once finished, the new boxes are sent back up to the Special Collections Department where we perform the final step of placing the rare books into their new enclosures.  The entire process for each batch of books takes about two to three weeks.

A row of Phase Boxes
A row of Phase Boxes

home Cycle of Success, Special Collections and Archives Student Spotlight: Lauren Young

Student Spotlight: Lauren Young

lauren_youngLauren Young is a senior majoring in art history and magazine journalism and minoring in music. She will graduate from the University of Missouri in May.  During the fall 2011 semester Lauren researched and studied Ellis Library’s copy of the Liber Chronicarum for her class on Renaissance figural arts at MU. She is currently working on a research project on fourth and fifth century manuscripts.  She comments on her project and provides an excerpt from her paper below.

The goal of my research project was to study the portraits of cities in the world chronicle, also known at the Nuremberg Chronicle. I discovered that the woodblock images of the cities as well as the content of the chronicle were, in fact, out of date when the book was printed in 1493. However, these images, which the Nuremberg Chronicle is well known for, exposed readers to far away lands allowing them to become armchair travelers.

The World According to the Liber Chronicarum: Selected Excerpts

Origins of the World Chronicle

nuremberg_lgThe concept of a world chronicle was not a new one when the Nuremburg Chronicle was printed in 1493. In fact, the biographer of Emperor Constantine, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, developed the idea. His chronicle, Chronicorum Canones, included a list of dates from Assyrian, Hebrew, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman times up to 325 C.E. Saint Jerome translated and completed Eusebius’ chronicle in 378 C.E. This chronicle became the model for later medieval historiography.

The Birthplace of the Nuremberg Chronicle

The security provided by the stable and growing economy in Nuremberg allowed two local men, Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kamermaister, the ability to finance the printing of a new world chronicle. Hartman Schedel, the city physician, was hired to write the text and artists Michael Wolgemut and Hans Pleydenwurff were contracted to produce the woodcut images. In total there are 1,809 illustrations in the chronicle. Forty-four woodcuts of kings are used for 270 different rulers and 28 woodblocks are used for 226 popes. The reuse of images through out the chronicle may have helped decrease the time and cost of labor during the creation of the world chronicle because woodblock illustrations were one of the least expensive ways to illustrate a book.  This practice also extended to the 101 places pictured in the Nuremberg Chronicle using 53 blocks.

Anton Koberger printed the Nuremberg Chronicle in both a Latin version and a German version. Koberger established his press in Nuremberg in 1470. It was the second press to open in the city and he published his first book in 1471, the same year he became godfather to Albrecht Dürer the younger.  He later purchased the building his press was housed in and added four houses over the years. Koberger’s press had space for 100 workers, 24 presses and living space for his large family. The press even had its own water system used for dampening paper during the printing process. The permit for the pipes from a well at the city wall remained in effect until 1881 when the city bought the water system. This water system helped supplement Koberger’s income because any leftover water he sold to the city.

The Ellis Library Liber Chronicarum

Ellis Library on the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus has in its special collection a nearly complete, uncolored, Latin copy of the Liber Chronicarum. The book was trimmed and rebound at some point before the university acquired it. However, whoever trimmed the book was careful enough to leave many of the notes in the margins intact by creating a series of flaps. This, in a way, increased the interactive nature of the book similarly veiled illuminations in manuscripts did. The reader now has to physically manipulate the book in order to look at the notes. The previous owner of the book who wrote the notes in brown ink was clearly literate and knowledgeable. There are places in the chronicle where this owner has corrected information and page numbers as well as added in their own thoughts. Clearly, they had a strong connection to Prague and may have even lived there because there are extensive notes in Latin below the two-page woodcut of the city.

During the time spent researching this paper, it was discovered that one of the maps in the Chronicle had been cut out of the book some time in the past. Even after consulting with the librarians in the Special Collections department of the library it is still not clear when folios 12 and 13 where removed. However, the other pages containing 26 two-page city portraits, 69 single page portraits and one world map are still intact.

Know an outstanding student you’d like to nominate for the Spotlight?  Email SpecialCollections@missouri.edu.

Confederate Currency

The Special Collections Department holds many treasures; most items are books and microforms. However, we do have some miscellanea specimens one would not expect to find in our collection. One such holding is our set of Confederate currency. These monetary notes of the Confederate States of America were given to the MU Libraries in 1912 by the U.S. Treasury department as a teaching tool. In all, there are 135 specimens.

Confederate currency was first issued at the beginning of the Civil War and used widely in the South as a legitimate means to purchase goods and services. Some currency was printed by the Confederate States of America as a whole, some by individual states, and some by private banks. The bills in our collection were all issued by the Confederate States of America. Due to various printers, confederate currency tended to vary from printing to printing and state to state. Bills issued by the C.S.A. were hand signed and individually numbered by the Treasurer and Register, however, the duty became taxing with the number of bills produced, so secretaries were hired to sign the bills in later printings. It was not uncommon for notes to be printed on a single side or cut unevenly. Ultimately, by the end of the war, Confederate currency was nearly worthless, in part due to forgery as well as the loss of confidence in the Confederacy.

The following image file numbers correspond to the reference book "Criswell's Currency Series Vol. 1", RARE-R HG526 .C7 1957

Criswell 402-7 large

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Criswell 75 front large

Blog criswell back large 75Criswell-376-large

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Adopt a Book Program News

Featured below are a couple of the most recent Adopt a Book transformations, courtesy of donors to the Friends of the MU Libraries Adopt a Book Program and conservator Jim Downey.  And of course, there are new books available for adoption as well!

History of the Westminster election : containing every material occurrence, from its commecement [sic.] on the first of April, to the final close of the poll, on the 17th of May - before

       History of the Westminster election : containing every material occurrence, from its commecement [sic.] on the first of April, to the final close of the poll, on the 17th of May - after

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Le Czar Demetrius : histoire moscovite - before  Le Czar Demetrius : histoire moscovite - after

Newly available for adoption

Secrets worth knowing : a comedy, in five acts.Vida de Seraphica madre Santa Teresa de Jesus   Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. : during the last twenty years of his life    Breve instrucçam de ordinandos : compendio das cousas, que devem gruadar, e saber em suas Ordens… com hum appendis do exame dos confessores, e pregadores.        

 

 

   

 

 

Historia da fundaçaõ do real convento do S. Christo das religiosas capuchinhas francezas Qvattro comedie del divino Pietro Aretino

 

 

 

 

And many more

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Friday Food: Eliza Leslie’s Recipe for Green Corn Pudding, 1837

Friday Food: Eliza Leslie’s Recipe for Green Corn Pudding, 1837

leslie001_lgDon't miss the Food Sense symposium this weekend! This is our last Friday Food post.  Eliza Leslie (1787–1858) aspired to be a poet or novelist, but she is best remembered today for her cookbooks.  In 1828, Leslie published her first book, Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes and Sweetmeats, a collection of recipes she had developed as a cooking school student. Encouraged by its popularity, she went on to publish at least six more titles and established a reputation as the most popular and influential food writer in America.  Directions for Cookery (1837) is considered her most important work.

Leslie was famous for popularizing distinctly American foods, as the following recipe from Directions for Cookery shows.  Her Indian Meal Book (1846) was the first cookbook devoted entirely to corn.

 

 

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From Directions for Cookery

Take twelve ears of green corn, as it is called, (that is, Indian corn when full grown, but before it begins to harden and turn yellow,) and grate it. Have ready a quart of rich milk, and stir into it by degrees a quarter of a pound of fresh butter, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Beat four eggs till quite light; and then stir them into the milk, &c. alternately with the grated corn, a little of each at a time. Put the mixture into a large buttered dish, and bake it four hours. It may be eaten either warm or cold, for sauce, beat together butter and white sugar in equal proportions, mixed with grated nutmeg.

To make this pudding,—you may, if more convenient, boil the corn and cut it from the cob; but let it get quite cold before you stir it into the milk. If the corn has been previously boiled, the pudding will require but two hours to bake.

See the full text at the Hathi Trust

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Friday Food: Maria Eliza Rundell’s Recipe for Chicken Curry, 1806

Friday Food: Maria Eliza Rundell’s Recipe for Chicken Curry, 1806

rundell001_lgMaria Eliza Rundell (1745–1828) didn’t set out to be a domestic goddess. The widow of a surgeon, she collected recipes and household hints for her three married daughters.  John Murray, a prominent publisher, happened to be a family friend, and Rundell gave him her recipe collection as a favor, expecting no financial reimbursement.

Murray published Rundell’s work in 1806 as A New System of Domestic Cookery, and Rundell became a housekeeping superstar, supplanted only by Mrs. Beeton in the 1860s.  The book was an immediate success, especially in the United States, and went through over 65 editions in the next thirty years.  Rundell focused on budget cooking and household management.  Her recipes included dishes such as eel pie and calves’ foot broth, as well as more standard fare.  This week’s recipe is an early example of Anglo-Indian cuisine, fostered by British contact with India through colonization and trade.

Chicken Curry

From A New System of Domestic Cookery

Cut up the chickens before they are dressed, and fry them in butter, with sliced onions, till of a fine colour : or if you use those that have been dressed, do not fry them : lay the joints, cut in two or three pieces each into a stewpan, with veal or mutton gravy, a clove or two of garlick, four large spoonfuls of cream, and some Cayenne : rub smooth one or two spoonfuls of curry powder, with a little flour, and a bit of butter, and add twenty minutes before you serve ; stewing it on till ready. A little juice of lemon should be squeezed in when serving.

Slices of rare done veal, rabbit or turkey, make a good curry.

A dish of rice boiled plain, as hereafter directed, must be always served to eat with curry.

See the full text at the Hathi Trust

Don’t miss Food Sense, the 2012 Life Sciences and Society Symposium, March 16-18.  SCARaB is participating with an exhibition of books on science and nutrition, now open in the Ellis Library Colonnade.

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives New Exhibit! Food Revolutions: Science and Nutrition, 1700-1920

New Exhibit! Food Revolutions: Science and Nutrition, 1700-1920

Food RevolutionsFood Revolutions is now on view in the Ellis Library Colonnade.  From the four humors to the discovery of vitamins, this exhibition examines our changing notions of healthy eating over two centuries. Food Revolutions brings together medical books, cookbooks, scientific publications, and dieting texts to illustrate our ongoing quest for health, and our changing relationships with food.

Ingolf Gruen, associate professor in the Department of Food Science, will open the exhibit with a talk entitled “Food Revolutions: How Science Changed the Way We Eat,” on March 6 at 2:30 in the Ellis Library Colonnade.

Food Revolutions will be on display in the Ellis Library Colonnade March 2-29, 2012.

home Cycle of Success, Special Collections and Archives Teaching Spotlight: Lena Sheets, Smithton Middle School

Teaching Spotlight: Lena Sheets, Smithton Middle School

Graduate student Amy Jones shows ancient Asian artifacts to Smithton Middle School studentsLena Sheets has a master's degree in education and teaches world cultures at Smithton Middle School in Columbia.  In December 2011, she brought 150 sixth-grade students to tour various collections on the MU campus, including Special Collections and Rare Books.  This month, we'll hear from her and her students about their experiences with rare books and artifacts.

SC: How did you incorporate Special Collections into your teaching this semester?
Prior to going to special collections, students had been learning about the Early River Civilizations, such as  Mesopotamia, and Egypt. Students then went to Special Collections and learned various ways that early civilizations communicated.  Students wrote observations about the items they saw such as scrolls, papyrus, parchment and seals. Students then came back to school and wrote a brief story that incorporated the information they had learned about a particular piece.

What outcomes resulted from your class visits? What were the effects on your students?tablet9-1_sm
Students could make the connection between history and real people and objects that they have studied.Students are much more engaged in what they are learning and are more inquisitive.  They would like to return again next year.

What advice would you give to faculty or instructors interested in using Special Collections in their courses?
If you are working with middle school students, it is important for them to have an activity to do while they visit.  The presenters were very engaging and answered a ton of questions, but it just middle school nature for students minds to wander.  With the outstanding presentation and a place to write down what they were learning, students were engaged the entire time and had great discussions when they returned.

IMG_6319_smAny additional comments or suggestions?
I think a visit to Special Collections is a great authentic experience that could fit any place in a unit, at the beginning to generate excitement or at the end to help students make real world connections outside the classroom, or even in the middle to do a little of both.

The staff  at Special Collections were so patient and accommodating. In addition, they were full of knowledge about each artifact and kept the students thinking.   I also appreciated that they took the time to let me preview the items my students would see. I couldn't contain my enthusiasm for the trip and I only hope, I can get funding to return again next year.

 

 

Browse stories by young writers from Lena Sheets' class below.
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Know an inspiring educator or outstanding student you'd like to nominate for the Spotlight?  Email us at SpecialCollections@missouri.edu.

home Events and Exhibits, Special Collections and Archives Friday Food: William Kitchiner’s Recipe for Wow Wow Sauce, 1817

Friday Food: William Kitchiner’s Recipe for Wow Wow Sauce, 1817

William Kitchiner claimed to have a medical degree, but there is no evidence of his ever actually attending university.  His eccentric, epicurean dinner parties are his primary claim to fame.  He also invented a condiment he called Wow Wow Sauce, which became popular in the nineteenth century.

Kitchiner takes scientist’s approach to cooking in The Cook’s Oracle.  He published specific instructions for cooking techniques, an explanation of the chemical processes of cooking, and a table of weights and measures.

Wow Wow Sauce for Stewed or Bouilli Beef

From The Cook’s Oracle

Chop some Parsley leaves very finely, quarter two or three pickled Cucumbers, or Walnuts, and divide them into small squares, and set them by ready; — put into a saucepan a bit of Butter as big as an egg; when it is melted, stir to it a tablespoonful of fine Flour, and about half a pint of the Broth in which the Beef was boiled ; add a tablespoonful of Vinegar, the like quantity of Mushroom Catsup, or Port Wine, or both, and a teaspoonful of made Mustard; let it simmer together till it is as thick as you wish it, put in the Parsley and Pickles to get warm, and pour it over the Beef, — or rather send it up in a Sauce-tureen.

Obs.—If you think the above not sufficiently piquante, add to it some Capers, or a minced Shallot, or one or two teaspoonsful of Shallot Wine (No. 402), — or Essence of Anchovy, — or Basil (No 397), — Elder, or Tarragon (No. 396), or Horseradish (No. 399), or Burnet Vinegar ; or strew over the meat, Carrots and Turnips cut into dice, — minced Capers, — Walnuts, — Red Cabbage, — pickled Cucumbers, — or French Beans, &c.

See the full text at the Hathi Trust

Don’t miss Food Sense, the 2012 Life Sciences and Society Symposium, March 16-18.  SCARaB will be participating with an exhibition of books on science and nutrition.