Special Collections

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Posted on April 28, 2023

This post is written by one of our 2020-2021 Special Collections Research Travel Grant Recipients, Kevin James (University of Guelph).

 

Jul 2019

  • The title page of The Mythology, by the abbé Banier. Volume 2. A small flower bouquet is printed below the title and author's name. There's a signature on this page: "James Thomson," with the two names separated between the "And" in the book's title.
    July 25, 2019
    L'abbé Antoine Banier and his Mythology are unique in the position they take on the historical nature of myth and legend. Banier was a proponent of euhemerism, a school of thought that claims myths, legends, and folklore all have real historical basis.
  • The northwest coast of France as illustrated on the Senex map. The newly drawn coast line is considerably different than the previous map projection. The previous coastline is outlined in black. The updated boundaries of France are colored in blue-green.
    July 18, 2019
    Joe Catanzaro explains a pivotal moment in cartography captured in our collections.
  • A close-up of Arthur Lee's pseudonym signature: "I am, Sir, your humble Servant, Philanthropos." From his 1767 "Address to Virginia General Assembly"
    July 11, 2019
    Abolition was not a radical nineteenth century idea that miraculously emerged from the political ideologies of the Age of Revolution. A 1767 address from Arthur Lee of Virginia serves as a reminder that the abolitionist movement did not have a linear trajectory, and that individuals protested slavery throughout its existence.
  • Typed letter from a Frank R. Adams, dated May 1, 1955, addressed to Mr. Dolmetsch. Adams, a contributor to Smart Set, writes about Nathan and Mencken, who he calls "the most amusing characters to work with that I have ever met" and "highly respected and
    July 3, 2019
    Before Jon Stewart ’84 and Trevor Noah, before Stephen Colbert and John Oliver and Saturday Night Live, before Tina Fey and Samantha Bee and Andrea Gibson, there was George Jean Nathan and H.L. Mencken. A slice of the Nathan/Mencken story lives in the Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library.

Jun 2019

May 2019

  • Edmund Mitchell daguerreotype
    May 28, 2019
    A daguerreotype of a young Baltimore merchant, the first victim of a bitter, homicidal political era, resides in the Special Collections Research Center in Swem Library—a ghostly message from the past.
  • May 14, 2019
    The Reverend Curtis W. Harris is best known for his role in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the Civil Rights organization founded by Martin Luther King, Jr., though he has not been studied closely by historians.