Twelve rare Russian maps from the Special Collections are exhibited in the colonnade area. The
earliest map, published in 1595, is the work of a famous Flemish cartographer, mathematician, and
geographer Gerhard Mercator, who invented the projection that bears his name and coined the word
“atlas” to refer to a book of maps. The latest among the exhibited maps is the map of The Whole
Russian Empire published by Robert Sayer on March 2, 1772. It was reproduced from the earlier
original crafted by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville (1697 –1782), perhaps the greatest
French cartographer and geographical author of the eighteenth century.

In 1904 the city of St. Louis hosted the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, which became popularly known as the St. Louis World’s       Fair. The Exposition, which was held to celebrate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, hosted an estimated 20 million visitors. The Fair and the progress it highlighted thrust St. Louis into the global spotlight and became a source of tremendous regional and national pride. The University of Missouri Libraries are now providing searchable online access to the text and illustration of its collection of materials from the Louisiana Purchase Exposition.

The materials in the collection range from single-sheet broadsides to multi-volume book sets and lithographic views of the Exposition to the actual photographic view books submitted by the University of Missouri for its exhibit in the Palace of Education and Social Economy. An important item for the history of the Exposition is the World’s Fair Bulletin, a monthly publication running from 1900 through 1904 that provided insight into the planning, construction, management and the activities of the Fair. Another highlight of the collection is James Buel’s eleven-volume Louisiana and the Fair: An Exposition of the World, Its People and Their Achievements, which was published in limited edition in 1905 and which gives a detailed history of the fair.

The digitization in 2010 of the resources in this collection was supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State. The collection is available online and free of charge to the public through the University of Missouri Digital Library at: http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?page=home;c=lex.  It will become available through the Missouri State Library in 2011.

I would like to express my gratitude to Amy Lana: her sharp eye and a good command of Greek enabled her to spot among the books donated to the library by the Estate of the late Professor Albert Lord, a book signed by Heinrich Schliemann. This is the first edition (and the first book he published) of his famous Ithaka der Peloponnes und Troja: Archäologische forschungen, 1869.

Here is the title page with the inscription, which could be translated as:

“To the lover of the arts Mr. Erik Barren (or Henry Warren?) as a memorial. 1874. Schliemann.”

Schliemann was one of the most famous archaeologists, an amateur whose dogged effort and strong belief led to the sensational discovery of Troy in the 19 c.

—Alla Barabtarlo

A travelling exhibit featuring unique items from the MU Libraries (SCARaB Division) opened at UMSL in July and is now traveling to The University of the West of England and The University of Southampton in the UK.  The traveling exhibit contains facsimiles of unique materials held by the MU Special Collections & Rare Books Department.  The exhibit has an accompanying exhibit catalog by the same title with items from the Fragmenta Manuscripta collection reproduced and described by Alla Barabtarlo, Michael Holland, and Karen Witt.  The Curator of the exhibit and editor of the catalog is Marian Amies, Associate Professor in the Department of Art and Art  History at UMSL.

This is a link to the general exhibit announcement:  http://www.bookarts.uwe.ac.uk/artofbook10.htm

The Special Collections & Rare Books Department has discontinued weekend hours, Saturdays 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM, for the present time due to staff shortages and the lack of patron demand.  Any librarian or staff member contacted by a potential patron should let them know that all Rare Books and Special Collections are available M-F 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Microfilm collections and microfilm readers/printers/scanners are available anytime that Ellis Library is open.

This is the digital version of the exhibit originally mounted in the Ellis Library Colonnade from May 4th-28th, 2010. Part of the 6th annual MU Life Sciences and Society Symposium, this exhibit features books and other artifacts from the MU Libraries collections which illustrate the history of anatomical illustration, the study of anatomy at MU, and the phenomenon of phrenology.

The Rare Books and Special Collections Department would like to invite any interested MU Libraries staff members to attend a seminar on book history and conservation. On Wednesday, February 3rd, from 10 a.m. to noon in Ellis 4F51A, James Downey will present a seminar on the construction and repair of books for Professor Anne Stanton’s graduate seminar on medieval manuscripts. Due to general interest, the Rare Books and Special Collections Department requested that Professor Stanton allow this seminar to be open to the MU Libraries’ staff.

Columbia resident James Downey has operated Legacy Bookbindery since 1992, offering book and document conservation services to private collectors and institutions, including the University of Missouri’s Rare Books and Special Collections department. He trained at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, one of the premier book-arts programs in the United States, where he studied letterpress printing, paper making, and paper decoration, but was primarily focused on book structures and conservation.

“Children’s Literature: Selections from the Special Collections Department of Ellis Library” was originally an exhibit mounted in the Ellis Library Colonnade from October 1st-31st, 2009. This digital exhibit reflects the items displayed as well as additional volumes that were not included in the physical exhibit.

Special Collections holds a variety of collections ranging from Rare to Comic and although there is not a separate “Children’s Literature” collection, there are many fine examples contained within the department’s holdings. The exhibit attempts to highlight some of these interesting volumes.

The exhibit in the Ellis Library Colonnade was curated by Karen Witt with assistance from Erin Zellers, Dan Jimenez, and Brittany Aton. The digital exhibit was curated by Erin Zellers and Karen Witt with assistance from Brittany Aton and Dan Jimenez.

The Special Collections Department in Ellis Library is seeking a detail-oriented Graduate student for a 20 hour a week position ($12.57 per hour). This appointment includes a tuition waver. The GLA will be required to work a weekend shift, and will involve some scheduling flexibility to cover the department as needed. The appointment will begin the 1st or 2nd week of January 2010.

The position involves (but is not limited to) the following duties:

1. Answer patron reference questions in person, by phone and via e-mail.
2. Assist patrons with the use of digital microform scanners.
3. Confirm Serials check-in MERLIN.
4. Page Special Collections materials for patrons.
5. Prepare lists of Special Collections materials.
6. Prepare exhibits, both digital and physical.
7. Make digital scans from books and microforms.
8. Assist in maintaining department website.
9. Special Projects as assigned.

The candidate must have experience with HTML and photo editing software, Dreamweaver and Photoshop experience a plus.

If you are interested in the position, please e-mail your resume, references, and a cover letter to Karen Witt wittk@missouri.edu. No phone calls, please. All resumes must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. on December 8, 2009.

For more information about Special Collections, please visit our website at: http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/index.htm.

Special Collections
(573) 882-0076
401 Ellis Library
University of Missouri-Columbia

The holidays are near and it’s a perfect time to send notes to family and friends. Special Collections has beautiful note cards highlighting treasures from the collection available for sale in 401 Ellis Library. More information about the cards can be found at the following website: http://mulibraries.missouri.edu/specialcollections/publications.htm.