Last month, we hosted a “What’s In Your Attic?” open house-style events where members of our community brought their own paper treasures (letters, journals, photographs, prints, books, and maps) for discussion with Clements Curators and guest Americana collectors. A handful of our guests generously chose to donate materials to the Clements Library at this event, here are a few of those newly donated acquisitions!
As always, the Manuscripts Division has been diligently processing unique collections to make them available for research. All are welcome to research at the Clements Library, so request an appointment if any of these collections are calling your name!
Additional and related resources for “Up, Up, and Away: A History of Ballooning in America.”
This highly dangerous business was accompanied by an increase in accidents and fatalities among aeronauts.
This exhibit examines the history of balloon flight in the United States from Blanchard’s first ascension to the early twentieth century.
There are some things the written word just will not tell us, which is why we’ve always been so drawn to the material objects that get saved alongside them. The exquisite, oversized quilt that came to the Clements Library as part of an addition to the Weld-Grimké Family Papers from donor descendant Charlotte Mason in 2007 demonstrates this particularly well.
This past month, 19 new manuscript finding aids were made available online. Seven of those were written by our wonderful student interns! These collections offer glimpses into the everyday lives of a farmer and a sheriff, reflections on experiences as a prisoner of war, business records, and more.
