W&M Libraries Blog

rare books

  • April 25, 2018
    Posted in: Special Collections
    This month's "Must Love Dogs" blog series again focuses on an illustrator.
  • Donuts for Doughboys
    April 11, 2018
    Posted in: Special Collections
    As an Exhibit Apprentice in Swem’s Special Collections, I had the opportunity to curate a World War I centennial exhibit.
  • Merry and Bright
    March 28, 2018
    Posted in: Special Collections
    Cecil Aldin (1870-1935) was a British artist and illustrator, famous for his portrayal of dogs.
  • March 16, 2018
    Posted in: Special Collections
    Our collection of artists’ books is ever-growing and teeming with innovative ways to redefine the traditional codex; the Old Stile Press is only a small introduction to the craftsmanship found hidden among our Special Collections.
  • February 14, 2018
    Posted in: Special Collections
    This year’s Charter Day marked the 325th anniversary of the founding of The College of William & Mary by William III and Mary II, the first and (to date) only joint-monarchs in British history. An exhibition in the lobby at Swem Library brings the focus to William and Mary – the people, not the university.
  • December 6, 2017
    Posted in: Special Collections
    In this month's dog series post, we decided to focus on dog books related to the December holidays. In doing so, it became quickly apparent that while we have a small number of titles related to dogs and Christmas, we do not have titles related to Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Our awareness of this deficiently will inform future collecting decisions. If there are specific titles you would like to suggest, please hit us up in the comments section.
  • November 8, 2017
    Posted in: Special Collections
    In 1918, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, an armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany, effectively ending World War I. This Saturday marks the anniversary of this event, commemorated as Veteran's Day in the United States, Armistice Day in France, and Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom.
  • October 11, 2017
    Posted in: Special Collections
    You may recall from our first series blog post that the Special Collections Research Center holds the second largest collection of books on dogs in the United States. Today’s blog post highlights one of our many titles, Journal of a Neglected Bulldog by Barbara Blair, published in 1911 by George W. Jacobs & Co. of Philadelphia.  
  • September 13, 2017
    Posted in: Special Collections
    If you’ve ever visited the Special Collections Research Center, you may have learned that we hold the second largest collection of books about dogs in the United States, second only to the American Kennel Club. I love dogs and thought it would be fun to write a series of blog posts highlighting the dog book collection. This brief introduction to the collection will be the first.
  • August 16, 2017
    Posted in: Special Collections
    Institutional knowledge is an awesome thing and something that is often taken for granted and/or overlooked. I recently learned a cool story surrounding one of the rare books housed in Special Collections, thanks to former Dean of W&M Libraries, Nancy Marshall.