Ghosts in the Library? Spirit Photography at the Clements

  Photograph by Mrs. H.F. Stuart, ca. 1865 One of the tools of the ghost-hunting trade is spirit photography, the attempt to capture images of ghosts. Early spirit photographs were usually portraits of living people with faint, ghostly images floating behind...

Happy Thanksgiving: Postcards from the Clements Ephemera Collections

These Thanksgiving-themed postcards provide illustrations of early 20th century celebrations of this American holiday. The Clements Library ephemera collection contains many examples of printed materials like these, including programs, tickets, brochures, handbills,...

From the Stacks: Gone Fishin’

“The whole purpose of summer fishing, the Old Man said, is not to worry about catching fish, but just to get out of the house and set and think a little.”    –Robert C. Ruark, The Old Man and the Boy Fishing, a popular American pastime, is...

Black History Month at the Clements

The Clements Library has a wealth of materials on African American history, documenting many aspects of slavery, the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, and beyond. Much research remains to be done with these materials, to more fully explore the African American...

Recent Acquisition: Audubon Wolverine Print

The Clements Library has recently acquired a hand-colored lithograph of a wolverine from John James Audubon’s The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (New York: 1845-48). It is now on display inside the back entrance of the building. Appropriately, as the...

Recent Acquisitions: Iconic Images of Custer’s Last Stand

The Clements Library has acquired two prints depicting Custer’s last stand: John Mulvany’s “Custer’s Last Rally” (1881) and Cassily Adams’ “Custer’s Last Fight” (1885). These two iconic images provide the best...