Orphaned Manuscript Volumes and NHPRC Processing Grant Update
Many if not all of us have seen orphaned tomes and incomplete sets of multi-volume works in used book stores, in library sales, and on private bookshelves. Similarly, manuscript collections are rarely complete, as letters, diaries, and documents are often divided, discarded, or selectively preserved by their owners.In 2011, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) awarded the Manuscripts Division a basic processing grant to create finding aids for over 1,600...
Current Exhibit: “Making Their Own Way: African Americans in the Culinary World”
Now on display in the center cases of the Main Room:Making Their Own Way: African Americans in the Culinary World With a selection of the Longone Archive’s African American–authored works from the early 19th to the late 20th century, this exhibit presents the voices of household employees, restaurateurs, chefs, caterers, teachers, ministers, and other unsung heroes who shared their expertise in print. These stand in for the countless cooks and other accomplished individuals whose...
Today in History: Constitution Victorious Again
Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsFor many years now, two oil paintings have looked down on the supervisor’s desk in the Clements Library reading room. They depict two phases of a battle at sea between a pair of warships, one British the other American. In one scene the fully functioning American vessel pounds the partially dismasted Britisher. In the second, the US ship sails away while her defeated adversary slips beneath the waves as her...
Today in History: A Christmas Carol
Guest post by Sarah Fitzgerald, Book Division volunteer *** Many of our Christmas traditions come from the Victorian Era, including the decoration of Christmas trees and Charles Dickens' story, A Christmas Carol. The Clements has several versions of A Christmas Carol, including an original 1843 printing illustrated by John Leech. John Leech's colored etchings are very expressive. In the illustration of Mr. Fezziwig's ball, which serves as the frontispiece, Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig look well fed...
From the Stacks: “Britain to America” Satiric Puzzle
A rebus is a puzzle in which pictures are used to represent words or parts of words, sometimes used as a form of political satire. One such example from the Book Division of the Clements Library is Britain to America, published by Matthew Darly in 1778. It is a mock letter written from a mother to her daughter, in which Britain asks America to put aside her recent French alliance: "So be a good girl, discharge your soldiers and ships of war and do not rebel against your mother. Rely upon me...
Recent Acquisition: Rare Detroit Plan of 1836-37
The Clements Library has just acquired a very rare and possibly unique plan of Detroit from the last years of the Michigan Territory. All that is known about Part of the City of Detroit, Michigan is that it was lithographed and published in New York at 22 Nassau Street by George Endicott (1802-48). Endicott is known to have had a shop at that address in 1837 and perhaps a few years before. Details in the plan suggest that it was likely produced ca. 1836-37.The Endicott plan...
From the Stacks: Love, Sex, and Women’s Rights
Guest post by Sarah Fitzgerald, Book Division volunteerEzra Heywood was a feminist and abolitionist who edited an individualist anarchist magazine, The Word. He was convicted of violating the 1873 Comstock Act in 1878 for mailing 'obscene material,' which consisted of literature attacking traditional notions of marriage, and went in and out of prison until his death in 1893. Heywood's 1877 essay, Cupid's yokes: or, The binding forces of conjugal life. An essay to consider some moral...
Today in History: Thanksgiving
Guest post by Sarah Fitzgerald, Book Division volunteerThanksgiving celebrations have often been marked by hymns of thanks in appreciation of the joys of life and plentiful food. Songs of thanksgiving pre-date the first national recognition by President Lincoln of the day we now call Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving: a Collection of Music for the Choir, the Home Circle, and the Singing School from 1857 provides songs of thanks with the hope that "many a...
Today in History: Heroine of Fort Niagara
Post by Brian Dunnigan, Associate Director and Curator of MapsThe name “Molly Pitcher” and her actions helping to “man” a cannon at the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 might strike a chord of recognition among those familiar with the American Revolution. Much less known is a heroine of the War of 1812, who also helped serve a gun two hundred years ago on November 22. Betsy Doyle, wife of a US artilleryman at Fort Niagara, New York, stood by the soldiers stationed on a gun platform...
In the News: “Gift to Clements Library Renews American History Landmark”
This article by Ann Rock, Director of Development at the Clements Library, appeared today in the University Record: "Gift to Clements Library renews American history landmark." On Thursday, the Board of Regents approved a major renovations project for Clements Library. This renovation project will improve the historic building's infrastructure and expand collections space. Construction will begin in early 2014 and will be completed in about 18 months. During that time, staff and collections...