Special Collections Research Center

Homer in Print - and Image

In May 2007, the University of Chicago Library received a remarkable gift. The Bibliotheca Homerica Langiana is a collection of 187 separate items formed by Michael C. Lang of New York as a comprehensive history of the printed transmission of the texts of the Iliad and Odyssey.

[Homer. Omērou Ilias = Homeri Ilias. Venice : Aldus, 1504. Call number PA4018.A2 1504]

The Bibliotheca Homerica Langiana focuses on editions in Greek, translations into English, and classic translations into languages other than English. It also includes works of scholarship. Mr. Lang’s collection provides a microcosm of the history of printing, classical scholarship, translation theory, and the literary use of the English language since the 16th century.

The collection is a perfect fit with the vibrant classics program and interests in translation at the University of Chicago, and strengths of the Special Collections Research Center, in particular the collections of printed editions of the Greek New Testament and the Grant English Bible Collection.

[Homer. The Iliad of Homer / translated by Mr. Pope. London: Printed by W. Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott, 1715-1720. PA4025.A2P73 1715]

Work has begun on a scholarly catalog of the collection and an exhibition. All titles have been cataloged and are available by searching “Bibliotheca Homerica Langiana” in the Library catalog.

A recent acquisition links the Library’s commitment to develop the Bibliotheca Homerica Langiana with one of the most influential titles published by University of Chicago Press.  Richard Lattimore’s now-classic translation, The Iliad of Homer, was first published by the Press in 1951. A decade later, the Press invited the artist, sculptor and printmaker Leonard Baskin to produce drawings for a lavish, illustrated edition, which came out in 1962. That same year a deluxe portfolio edition of 150 copies was published by Delphic Arts in New York. The Library has acquired one of the copies that include three original etchings by Baskin. The University of Chicago Press Archive contains correspondence and other materials relating to the production of the Lattimore translation and the illustrated edition.

[Apollo the Sun God. Baskin, Leonard, 1922-. Drawings for the Iliad. New York: Delphic Arts, 1962. PA4033.B37 1962]

"New" Book of the Month - Plocacosmos!

July's "new" book of the month is....

James Stewart. Plocacosmos, or, The whole art of hair dressing; wherein is contained, ample rules for the young artizan, more particularly for ladies women, valets, &c. &c. as well as directions for persons to dress their own hair. London: Printed for the author, 1782.

This volume covers a myriad of topics in addition to hair dressing:

“The Plan of this Work requiring it, there are also complete Rules for the Management of Children and Education of Youth; and excellent Rules for the Preservation of the Health and Happiness of Age; being a Guide through the Seven Ages of Man: The whole interspersed with Moral Thoughts, being necessary for all Families.”

This book is located in the Rare Books Collection (call number TT956.S8 1782). You can find similar books by searching in the library catalog or Lens on the subject heading "Hairdressing" or "Hairdressing - Early works to 1800."

Researching the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893

[CLICK TO ENLARGE: Ticket to "Chicago Day," October 9th, 1893]

The Special Collections Research Center supports research on Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, better known as the World's Columbian Exposition. Researchers - both casual and professional - come from around campus, around the city, and around the world to consult our collections.

[CLICK TO ENLARGE: Looking east from 57th Street [at the] visitor's entrance of the World's Columbian Exposition, from the Archival Photo Files]

To search for books and other printed matter published during the World's Columbian Exposition, visit the University of Chicago Library's catalog. Do a "Subject" search using the phrase "World's Columbian Exposition." If you want to limit your search to materials that are in Special Collections, use the "Advanced Keyword" search screen, where you can find limits for locations, languages, formats, and dates.

That search will also show results for a number of letters to Edward B. Butler, Chairman of the Bureau of Admissions and Collections of the World's Columbian Exposition.

If you search the same terms in our finding aid database, a number of collections will pop up, including the papers of Harriet Monroe and her "Untitled article on the Swedish rooms of the Exposition," C.D. Arnold's photographs of the fair, and the papers of anthropologist Frederick Starr, including his notebook on the fair and correspondence with Franz Boas.

Explore our collections! You're welcome to visit us anytime!

Chicago Jazz Archive Paper Collections Now Located in SCRC!

In 2007-2008, the collections of the Chicago Jazz Archive were transferred to the Special Collections Research Center. Researchers can now consult Chicago Jazz Archive paper-based materials in the SCRC reading room. Audio material is available by contacting the curator.

Chicago Jazz Archive manuscript and archival collections are currently being processed as part of the Uncovering New Chicago Archives Project (UNCAP), a three-year initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. These changes will enable the Library to provide expanded access to the Chicago Jazz Archive, utilizing the facilities, services, and staff of the Special Collections Research Center.

You can find a list of collections and other information online through the SCRC website. As collections are processed, finding aids will be available online.

57th Street Art Fair & Vi Fogle Uretz Papers

[Photo of 57th Street Art Fair, 1953, from the Archival Photo Files]

The Special Collections Research Center has strong collections in the history of Hyde Park, including community events like the 57th Street Art Fair. Historical photos of the fair can be found in our Archival Photo Files collection, some of which can be browsed online.

Other archival collections include posters, clippings, and ephemera. The 57th Street Art Fair Records contain the planning and promotional materials for the 57th Street Art Fair, including meeting minutes, reports, posters, textiles, banners and buttons.

A University of Chicago alumna and active member of the Hyde Park community, Vi Uretz was involved in organizations such as the 57th Street Art Fair, the Hyde Park Historical Society, and International House.

Through her paintings, sketches and photographs, Uretz documented the changes that urban renewal efforts brought to the streets of Hyde Park and Kenwood. Her papers include material from the 57th Street Art Fair and other community organizations, as well as a collection of her artworks (mostly reproductions). Visit the finding aid for the Vi Fogle Uretz collection for more information!

Samuel Beckett's Whoroscope & The Hours Press

In 1928, poet, publisher, and political activist Nancy Cunard (1896-1965) purchased a well-used hand press and founded The Hours Press.

A terrific example of the small scale publishing practices of the modernist avant garde, The Hours Press published work by now canonical poets such as Laura Riding, Robert Graves, Ezra Pound, and others. "The smell of printer's ink pleased me greatly," remembered Cunard in her memoir These Were the Hours, "as did the beautiful freshness of the glistening pigment."

Among Cunard's discoveries was a young, unknown poet named Samuel Beckett. Cunard and the poet Richard Aldington advertised a competition for the best poem (up to 100 lines) about Time, to be judged by them, for which the winner would earn £10 and a pamphlet from The Hours Press.

Aldington and Cunard were initially dismayed at the entries, finding all of them "frankly bad," until - at the very last minute - a manuscript entitled "Whoroscope" was slipped under the door. This was Beckett's poem, written in haste to make the deadline, and the clear winner.

This first edition of Beckett's Whoroscope was printed by hand and published in an edition of only 300 copies in 1930. It consists of only 4 pages of text and 2 pages of notes. The University of Chicago's copy is numbered 227 and is signed by the author. The book is part of SCRC's Modern Poetry Collection.

Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations

[Unidentified committee members, 1961]

The Committee for the Comparative Study of New Nations was formally established in 1960 by faculty from several University of Chicago social sciences departments, all of whom had an interest in the problems of developing countries.

Founding faculty members included Lloyd A. Fallers, Morris Janowitz, Manning Nash,  Max Rheinstein, and Edward Shils and Clifford Geertz (whose papers the SCRC also holds). While the membership was originally intended to be kept relatively small, the committee more than doubled in size over the next ten years, and included many of the university's leading faculty in anthropology, history, law, and education.

The committee's records contain meeting minutes, correspondence, reports, publications, research papers, and other material documenting the committee's activities. The collection should continue to be a resource for those interested in developing nations and post-colonial studies.

Visit the finding aid for the collection to learn more!

Moving?

To move your books, use boxes that are clean, sturdy, and relatively shallow (remember, if the box is too large, it will weigh a ton when loaded up!)

•    Place books flat inside in short stacks, larger items on the bottom
•    If possible, it is fine to stack books upright inside the box as if they were on a shelf
•    Although not best for long-term storage, it is generally fine for short moves to pack books spine down
•    Packing books fore-edge down can be problematic because the weight of the pages may pull the text block away from the covers. Remember to draw a “this way up” arrow on the outside of the box.
•    As much as possible, try to fill up the box to immobilize the materials inside
•    Tuck crumpled newspaper (or even your socks) in open spaces to keep smaller books from shifting around
•    Write HEAVY on the outside to save your back

Do you have any delicate books or books with decorative covers? Such as photo albums or scrap books? If so, you might do best to pack those separately in smaller boxes.

Do you have damaged books with loose or detached covers? You can immobilize the breaks by tying string around the book to hold the cover in place.

Image borrowed from:

http://www.powells.com/images/blog/rbr/20070802/nicebox.gif

 

TOMÁŠ GARRIGUE MASARYK AND CHICAGO

June Pachuta Farris, Bibliographer for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies at Regenstein Library, has curated an exhibition highlighting the connections between Tomáš Masaryk and the University of Chicago.  Featuring items from Special Collections as well as the University Library's general book stacks, the exhibit is currently on view on the Second Floor Reading Room of Regenstein Library. A display case at the entrance to the second floor contains items to view, as does a wall case  with additional Masaryk material.

Image from Archival Photographic Files, Series II, Buildings and Grounds, apf2-07287

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was born in Hodonín, Moravia, in 1850, studied philosophy in Leipzig and
Vienna, becoming an illustrious and controversial professor at Charles University in Prague. The years leading up to World War I were filled with intense activity as he simultaneously pursued both a political and scholarly career, engaged in writing, editing and publishing, lecturing at home and abroad, as well serving in parliament and being actively involved in many time-consuming social controversies. This melding of the academic, social, cultural, religious and political was to continue throughout Masaryk's life, so that even the briefest summary of his achievements takes on mythic proportions, followed by an endless list of descriptors needed to reflect his many interests and concerns--he was a philosopher, thinker and critic, an educator and statesman and even "a cultural force". As well as being called an academic iconoclast, he has been described as a champion of democracy, a political dissenter, a friend of the Slovaks, a foe of anti-Semitism, a religious heretic, a defender of women's rights, an arch-critic of Austro-Hungarian foreign policy, and an advocate of Czech independence. Certainly, as the first president of the new country of Czechoslovakia (1918-1935), the title of President-Liberator [President-Osvoboditel] will always be at the top of any such list.

Among his many trips abroad, visits to Chicago in 1902, 1907 and 1918 were important in cementing the very strong and affectionate ties between Chicago's large Czech-American and Slovak-American population with Czechoslovakia and all that it would face in the 90 years since its creation as an independent state. Among those bonds are those that link Professor Masaryk to the University of Chicago, where, in the summer of 1902, he presented a series of 13 lectures on Czech Literature, History and Culture. Included in this exhibit are several letters of Masaryk housed in Special Collections, the University's first President, William Rainey Harper, and Charles Crane, a guiding force in bringing Masaryk to campus. The University's Masaryk Club, founded in 1947, continued to honor Masaryk in name and deed, by promulgating that combination of cultural, social and political activity which so distinguished his life.

Throughout the years, the wider Chicago community, admirers from every imaginable background, have also participated in events that have honored Masaryk's life and ideas, including the commissioning of the Masaryk Memorial, sculpted by Albin Polasek and dedicated in 1955, which stands at the far east end of the Midway Plaisance, in the midst of the University of Chicago campus (pictured above). 

The exhibit will run through August 2008. Additional events commemorating Masaryk's connection with the University include a ceremony to be held at 4:30 on May 13 at the Masaryk statue on the Midway Plaisance, followed by the Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Lecture on Democracy, to be given by Madeleine Albright at Rockefeller Chapel at 5:00pm.

T. Kimball Brooker Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting Winners Announced

Aaron Vanides and Elizabeth Litchfield are the winners of the 18^th annual T. Kimball Brooker Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting. Vanides, winner of the second-year prize, was awarded $500 for his collection, “Into the Mists of the North: A Comparative collection of the Medieval Germanic Tradition and Its Modern Manifestations.” Litchfield received the $1,000 fourth-year prize for “A Library of Love: Challenging the Social Order One Couple (Or Threesome?) At a Time.” Fourth-year student Elizabeth Davidson received Honorable Mention for “Religion in Late Antique Egypt.”

Above: a selection of books from Elizabeth Litchfield’s collection

This year’s prize committee included Bradin Cormack, Associate Professor, Department of English and Director of the Nicholson Center for British Studies, University of Chicago; Brad Jonas, Powell’s Books Hyde Park and member of the University of Chicago Library Society Steering Committee; Alice Schreyer, Director, Special Collections Research Center; Sem Sutter, Assistant Library Director for Collections; and Erin Wonder, winner of the 2007 fourth-year prize for her collection, “Cultured Insolence: Wit in British Literature.”

In his application essay, Vanides explains that his collection began when he purchased a book as a 10^th-grade student in Menlo Park, California, that led to his learning Norwegian and a fascination with Germanic languages and culture. He also describes his trip to the Faroe Islands – to date “the height of my experience as a book-collector,” – where he acquired very hard-to-obtain books in this challenging language.

 

Above: books from the collection of Aaron Vanides

Elizabeth Litchfield started out as an avid reader of romance novels and discovered ,after she came to the University of Chicago and served as a reviewer for a romance community website, that she wanted to focus on “the very best of the genre.” Her collection is organized according to standard “sub-genres” such as African-American, Classics, Gothic, Graphic Novels, and Inspirational. Litchfield remains an enthusiastic fan of romance novels, but she also values their scholarly potential: “These books are windows into how communities of women are struggling with questions of identity and power under the cover of pink typeface and floral covers.” For Elizabeth Davidson, an early fascination with Gnosticism led her to study Coptic at Chicago; her collecting interests have expanded to include magic and early monastic life. On a visit to campus she purchased Bentley Layton’s The Gnostic Scriptures, and in the fall she will attend Yale, where Layton teaches, to study Ancient Christianity.

As diverse as these collections are in their subject focus, each one reflects the passion, resourcefulness and creativity of the collector who shaped it – and demonstrates that book collecting can be done on any budget! Congratulations to our winners.