Special Collections Research Center

Announcing New Acquisitions!

Special Collections has acquired two unique items of great interest for the study of manuscript production and illumination and the transition from handwritten manuscripts to printed books in the first century after the invention of printing. One of the new acquisitions is a Prayerbook in Latin and French, c. 1500-1520; the other is a printed Book of Hours, c. 1515-1530.

 
Left: Unfinished Prayerbook, f.36v, Two Angels Holding Scrolls

Right: Printed book of Hours, f.12v, Four Cardinal Virtues

 

The Prayerbook has several distinct features: there are decorations inspired by the Gőttingen Model Book, produced in Mainz in the mid-15^th century and used in manuscripts and early incunabula in the Lower Rhine; the text and illustrations are incomplete, enabling study of the work patterns in a medieval scriptorium; there is an initial of St.-Trond (infrequently depicted), suggesting an original provenance in the diocese of Liege; and linguistic evidence in the vernacular portions suggests that the Prayerbook or this part of it was made for a woman.

 
Unfinished Prayerbook, f.13, Historiated initial O (43x43mm) of St. Trond the Abbot, who holds a cross.
A scroll identifies the Saint: Sancte Trudo ora pro me.

Unfinished Prayerbook, f.24v, Crucifixion

The woodcuts in the Book of Hours (printed in Paris by Gillet Hardouyn, ca. 1515) are heavily painted by hand and are accompanied by added gold architectonic frames. The volume is so lavishly illuminated that is was most likely done by an artist active in the production of illuminated manuscripts, rather than a “colorist” employed by printers to create something that looked like an illuminated manuscript.

Printed Book of Hours, f.26, Nativity

      
The style resembles artists active in the workshop of Jean Pichore, who contributed designs for the large miniatures, which come from several different series of prints over different years.
Most of the smaller woodcuts are adaptations by the Master of the Très petites Heures of Anne of Brittany.

  
Printed Book of Hours, f.36, Fight Into Egypt

The Souls of Black Folk

Among our acquisitions this past year is a first edition of W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, a classic of American literature and perhaps the most important book by one of the most important African Americans. Our copy is significant not only for the work’s literary importance but also for the presence of a postcard photographic portrait of Du Bois dated 1904, taken by a Boston photographer named Purdy, that appears opposite the title page.

Additionally, this copy was originally owned by Horace Bumstead, was a white Bostonian whom Du Bois referred to as the "Apostle of Higher Education of the Negro." Bumstead was born in 1841 and was educated at the Boston Latin School and Yale College (Class of 1863). He was commissioned as a Major for the 43rd Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops in 1864. After the war he joined the faculty of Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) as an instructor in Natural Science, and went on to become the second President of the University from 1886-1907. During his tenure, he brought Du Bois to Atlanta University, where Du Bois founded the Department of Sociology, and did some of his most significant scholarly work. The historically black university had a great deal of trouble getting appropriations from the state, and subsequently Bumstead almost single-handedly raised the funds necessary to keep the university functioning.

Ron Offen, 1930-2010

The Special Collections Research Center is saddened by the loss of Ron Offen, poet and editor of the poetry magazine Free Lunch, who passed away on Monday, August 9, 2010.

Ron Offen was born to Charles, a sales engineer, and Ellen Offen on October 12, 1930 in Chicago, IL. In 1950 he married Sharon Nealy; from 1966-2000 he was married to Rosine Breuckner (aka Kristine Cameron). In 2003, he married Beverly K. Drick.

Offen received an AA degree from Wright Junior College in 1950 and a MA degree from the University of Chicago in 1967. He worked in the insurance industry from 1953-1967. Offen then pursued a literary career as a poet, writer, and editor.

Offen served as editor for Chicagoland (1967-1969) and Automotive Fleet (1969-1971). In 1994, he edited The Starving Poets’ Cookbook, Free Lunch Arts Alliance. He was the author of several biographies and books of poetry, including Dillinger: Dead or Alive? (with Jay Robert Nash, 1970), Brando (1973), Instead of Gifts: Poems for Poets (1995), Answer Questions (1996), and God’s Haircut, and other Remembered Dreams (1999). God's Haircut was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

In 1989, after a bout with cancer, Offen founded the poetry journal Free Lunch: A Poetry Miscellany. He stated, “I thought about how important poetry had been to me my whole life and how much it had given to me. So, I thought, I want to give something back to poetry and poets.”

The Chicago Sun Times obituary appeared on August 11.

The papers of Ron Offen are located at the Special Collections Research Center and are open for research.

Maroon Photograph Collection: Weddstock/Mock Weddings

Picture of Ceremony, BGLAD’s Weddstock ‘95, Ida Noyes Library, Alan Amberg Presides. Photo Credit: Chris Dahlen, 5/18/1995

The SCRC recently acquired the photo archives from the Chicago Maroon, an independent student newspaper at the University of Chicago that has been published since 1892.

The collection consists of photographs dating as far back as the 1960s and includes pictures of members of the University community, campus activities, and social events. There is also a vivid record of student and community activism, documenting demonstrations for causes as diverse as support for the Chicago Seven (1967-1970), solidarity after the Kent State shootings (1970), anti-nuclear research on campus (1977-1994), sexual harassment awareness and education (1991), and animal rights (1993).

Weddstock ‘92, Center: Katie Crawford (facing) kisses Beth Freeman; Dancing: Left, Kate Hamerton; Right, Elisa Camiscioli. Photo Credit: Adam Lisbery, 5/21/1992

Among this collection of University demonstrations and protests are pictures from Weddstock, an event advocating gay marriage held annually from 1992 to 1995. During Weddstock, gay and lesbian students - as well as straight students supporting the cause - participated in mock marriage ceremonies conducted in the Ida Noyes Library on campus and celebrated their vows on the University quad.

Weddstock ‘92, Christoph Vogtherr Serves Cake. Photo Credit: Adam Lisberg, 5/21/1992.

Chicagoist Highlights Library's Web Exhibits

[Pictured: De Sectione mensaria. n.p., c. 1600s.From the exhibit, Book Use, Book Theory]

The Chicagoist, a website magazine, recently featured the University of Chicago Library's web exhibits. The Chicagoist describes itself as "the most popular local blog in the Windy City. It is dedicated to documenting the Second City and all its quirks."

The article, Get Lit at your Desk: University of Chicago Web Exhibits was published on August 3.

The article calls particular attention to two exhibits from the Special Collections Research Center, Book Use, Book Theory: 1500-1700 and Printing for the Modern Age: Commerce, Craft, and Culture in the RR Donnelley Archive.

C: A Journal of Poetry

Through a recent acquisition the Special Collections Research Center now has issues 1-11 and 13 of C: A Journal of Poetry (12 was never issued), as well as C Comics 1 and 2, the only issues ever published. [Visit the catalog record now!]

Ted Berrigan and Lorenzo Gude published the first issue of C: A Journal of Poetry in New York in May 1963. The magazine was mimeographed on legal-sized paper and side-stapled.

C: A Journal of Poetry was an important early outlet for poetry by the so-called Second Generation New York School, poets like Berrigan, Joe Brainard, and Ron Padgett. But Berrigan also published the previous New York generation – John Ashbery, Barbara Guest, Frank O’Hara – and non-New York writers like William S. Burroughs.

Gift of African American and Children's Literature

 

Barbara and Bill Yoffee, AB'52, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, have donated nearly 1,000 titles in African American and children's literature to the University of Chicago Library. Included are many editions and versions of Helen Bannerman's Little Black Sambo; and collections of Kate Greenaway, Beatrix Potter, and the Rev. W. Awdry, author of the Thomas the Tank Engine books. See the Fall 2009 issue of Libra for more information.

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B. Heller & Co. Collection

Selections from the newly acquired B. Heller & Co. Collection will be on view in the Special Collections Research Center from March 30-June 26, 2009.

Founded by Benjamin Heller, whose family practiced sausage-making for generations, Chicago-based B. Heller & Co.  began in 1893 as a wholesale manufacturer of dry powders used in the preparation of meat products. Eager to take advantage of new developments in food science and chemistry as well as his skills as a salesman, Benjamin Heller was the quintessential American entrepreneur. Over the years, the company expanded into the manufacture of a variety of food ingredients, as well as insecticides, cleaning agents, and a broad range of kitchen and office supplies. The company continues today as Heller Seasonings & Ingredients, a wholesale supplier based in Chicago.

The B. Heller & Co. Collection was assembled by Americana collectors Sally and Herb Loeb; Benjamin Heller was Sally Loeb’s grandfather. The Loebs presented a collection of sample labels, publicity material, business records and photographs  to the University of Chicago, which also acquired a selection of packaging materials. This exhibition features a  sampling from the B. Heller & Co. Collection, which is a marvelous resource for students of advances in food technology, as well as developments in product marketing and design in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

"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."

Special Collections Acquires The Plan of Chicago

Thanks to the generosity of the University of Chicago Library Society, Special Collections has acquired the first edition of Daniel H. Burnham and Edward H. Bennett’s The Plan of Chicago (Chicago: Commercial Club, 1909). The volume, which is in very good condition, is copy #273 of 1,650 copies printed.

The Plan of Chicago is a fundamental document of Chicago history as well as in the history of city planning. It continues to be a vital resource for understanding our city’s past and a living document inspiring and guiding its future. In an “Interpretive Digital Essay: The Plan of Chicago” by Carl Smith in the Encyclopedia of Chicago History (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10537.html), it is described as follows:

"The Plan of Chicago of 1909, better known as the Burnham Plan, (after its principal author, Daniel H. Burnham), is one of the most noted documents in the history of city planning.  It has influenced not only how Chicagoans have shaped their city, but also how they have envisioned urban life."

The Burnham Plan Centennial, which is organizing events to celebrate the centennial of the 1909 publication, recognizes the importance of the plan in charting the city’s future (http://ecuip.lib.uchicago.edu/burnhamplan100/).

Daniel Burnham and members of the Commercial Club invested substantial resources in the physical production of The Plan as a way to heighten its stature and impact. The printing (by Commercial Club member Thomas Donnelley’s Lakeside Press), illustrations (by noted artist Jules Guerin and others), and distribution of the work as a “deluxe, limited edition” was central to its success and influence. Thus, although two complete facsimiles have been produced of The Plan of Chicago; and the entire work is available in electronic form on the Internet through The Encyclopedia of Chicago: (http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/10417.html), the original publication is essential for students of the plan’s production, distribution, reception and influence; and to historians of Chicago, urban renewal, and city planning.