This Just In: New McGregor Library Acquisitions

The opening last week of Collecting American Histories: the Tracy W. McGregor Library at 75—the major new exhibition of highlights from our world renowned McGregor Library of American History—prompts us to describe a few of the many acquisitions made for the McGregor Library in recent months.

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Noticia certa, e manifesto publico da grande batalha, que tiveraõ os francezes, e inglezes, junto ás ribeiras do Obio em 9 de julho de 1755. Com a noticia individual de todas as acçoens obradas nesta expediçaõ. Morte do celebre General Braddock, e de outros officiaes, e soldados, ficando muitos prisioneiros … Lisbon: Domingos Rodrigues, 1755.     (A 1755 .N67)

The French and Indian War began badly for Britain. Sent to rout the French from western Pennsylvania, General Edward Braddock’s forces suffered a disastrous defeat on July 9, 1755, at the Battle of Monongahela near present-day Pittsburgh.  Braddock was among the hundreds of British casualties before a young junior officer—George Washington—was able to lead an orderly retreat.  The McGregor Library contains some important primary sources concerning the battle—two are included in the 75th anniversary exhibition now on view—and this very rare, ephemeral pamphlet is the latest addition. News of Braddock’s defeat spread quickly by letter, word of mouth, newspapers and other printed accounts. This newsletter conveyed the news to a Portuguese audience. Following a brief description of the battle (no mention is made of Washington, however) and the diplomatic aftermath, it lists the names of British officers who were killed or wounded.

M1[Thomas Cooper, 1759-1839?] Extract of a letter from a gentleman in America to a friend in England, on the subject of emigration. [London?, 1794?]     (A 1792 .G45)

Likely the first edition (of two published in England ca. 1794) of this concise description of the United States. Written from the perspective of an Englishman contemplating emigration, it offers carefully reasoned arguments for and against settling in specific states. Particular consideration is given to the frontier regions of New York and Kentucky, though the anonymous author concludes that Pennsylvania is the better option. Indeed, that is precisely where the probable author, Thomas Cooper, settled later in 1794 after touring the United States; the letter was likely addressed to, and published at the behest of, Joseph Priestley, who also emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1794. An economist and liberal political thinker, Cooper soon developed a thriving Philadelphia law practice which helped to earn him the esteem of Thomas Jefferson. In 1819 Cooper was the first professor appointed to the faculty of the as-yet-unopened University of Virginia, but he resigned in 1820 following controversy over his religious views. Later he served as president of the University of South Carolina.

M5Christian Gottlieb Glauber, 1755-1804.  Peter Hasenclever.  Landeshut, 1794.     (A 1794 .G53)

Privately printed in a small number of copies, this is a biography of Peter Hasenclever, a German entrepreneur who, by establishing several business enterprises in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York between 1764 and 1769, became Colonial America’s leading industrialist. With the coming of peace following the Seven Years’ War, Hasenclever raised over £50,000 from English backers to open a network of iron mines and ironworks and a potash manufactory, and to raise hemp and harvest timber. His enterprises were staffed by the over 500 German workers who heeded his invitation to emigrate. Hasenclever spent lavishly on his businesses, only to be plunged into bankruptcy in 1769 when his English partners withdrew financial support. After returning to Germany, Hasenclever was able to rebuild his fortune in the textile trade. The biography concludes with a lengthy appendix of letters written by Hasenclever during his American sojourn.

M3Hole in the wall; or A peep at the creed-worshippers. [Philadelphia], 1828.     (A 1828 .H65)

This rare and unusual tract was an important salvo in the bitter schism, or “Great Separation,” between orthodox Quakers and their Hicksite adversaries. By the 1820s significant tensions had arisen between Philadelphia’s wealthy Quaker merchants and the Quaker farmers of southeastern Pennsylvania, who were attracted to the teachings of Elias Hicks—tensions comparable to those between New England Congregationalists and Unitarians. Unable to settle their differences at the 1827 Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, the two camps set up competing Meetings, with the orthodox Quakers adopting and enforcing a doctrinal creed. This pamphlet, which vigorously promotes the Hicksite view, is “embellished” with three accomplished satirical engravings by the anonymous author.

M4Frances Wright (1795-1852). Course of popular lectures, historical and political, Vol. II.  As delivered by Frances Wright Darusmont, in various cities, towns and counties of the United States. Philadelphia: Published by the author, 1836.     (A 1836 .W75)

During the 1820s and 1830s, Fanny Wright was perhaps the most notorious woman in the United States. Born in Scotland, Wright visited the United States from 1818-1820, recording her observations in the bestselling Views of society and manners in America (1821). Having befriended Lafayette, Wright accompanied him on much of his 1824-1825 tour of America. She then launched a career as a radical political and social reformer. An ardent feminist, freethinker, and friend of labor, Wright visited Robert Owen’s utopian community at New Harmony, Ind., before setting up her own settlement, Nashoba, near Memphis. The objective of this multi-racial community was to promote the abolition of slavery by preparing slaves for freedom. By 1830 it had failed, and Wright henceforth promoted her views through journalism and a career as America’s first prominent female public speaker. This very rare pamphlet in its original wrappers prints the text of three lectures from Wright’s 1836 lecture tour: two praise Jefferson’s vision of an agrarian republic and condemn the contrasting Hamiltonian vision, and a third outlines her abolitionist views.

M2Robert Hubbard (1782-1840).  Historical sketches of Roswell Franklin and family: drawn up at the request of Stephen Franklin. Dansville, N.Y.: A. Stevens for Stephen Franklin, 1839.     (A 1839 .H85)

A rare and very early work of American local history, published in a small town some 40 miles south of Rochester, N.Y.  Written by the local minister at the behest of the Franklin family, most of the book is a biography of the family patriarch, Roswell Franklin (d. 1791 or 1792), drawn primarily from family oral tradition. Born in Woodbury, Conn., Franklin fought for the British in the West Indies and Cuba before moving his family to northeastern Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley in 1770. With the outbreak of revolution, Franklin and his fellow patriots found themselves in a frontier war zone, besieged by British forces and their Iroquois allies. Included here is a vivid account of the 1778 Battle of Wyoming, in which Franklin was one of few patriots to survive. Subsequent chapters describe the family’s role as pioneers, following the expanding frontier northwestward into west central New York, and the tremendous contrasts between Roswell Franklin’s time and America in 1839.

McGregor Library 75th Anniversary Exhibition Opens

Entering the exhibition, Collecting American Histories: The Tracy W. McGregor Library at 75.

Entering the exhibition, Collecting American Histories: The Tracy W. McGregor Library at 75.

Seventy five years ago, on June 13, 1938, the University of Virginia Library announced its greatest single gift up to that time: the magnificent 12,500-volume library formed by Detroit philanthropist Tracy W. McGregor. Presented by the McGregor Fund, the Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History instantly elevated the U. Va. Library to the top rank of the nation’s great research libraries. The McGregor Fund generously financed construction of the elegant McGregor Room on the second floor of Alderman Library to serve as the collection’s new home. On what would have been Tracy McGregor’s 70th birthday—April 14, 1939—the McGregor Room was formally dedicated.

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In celebration of the McGregor gift, and to mark its successful 75-year partnership with the McGregor Fund to care for and enlarge the collection, the U. Va. Library has opened a major new exhibition, Collecting American Histories: The Tracy W. McGregor Library at 75. On display until July 2014 in the main floor gallery of the Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library, Collecting American Histories features over 125 rare books, broadsides, manuscripts, maps, and prints from the McGregor Library.

"Expanding Westward," one of the stories explicated in Collecting American Histories.

“Expanding Westward,” one of the stories explicated in Collecting American Histories.

Tracy McGregor built a comprehensive and broad-based collection of primary sources relating to American history, with emphases on the exploration of the New World, British North America, and the early American Republic. Over the past 75 years, with unswervingly generous support from the McGregor Fund, Library curators have more than tripled the collection’s size, adding a major new strength in the early history of the American South. Today the McGregor Library is world renowned for the rarity, quality, and significance of its holdings.

Puritan ministers Richard, Increase, and Cotton Mather profoundly influenced the history of colonial New England. Their stories are told here through books, broadsides, manuscripts--even a bookbinding from the family library--from the McGregor Library's superlative holdings.

Puritan ministers Richard, Increase, and Cotton Mather profoundly influenced the history of colonial New England. Their stories are told here through books, broadsides, manuscripts–even a bookbinding from the family library–from the McGregor Library’s superlative holdings.

The genius of the McGregor Library is that it documents a multiplicity of histories and not simply a single national narrative. McGregor and the Library’s curators endeavored to build a collection that is neither too broad and lacking in focus, nor too narrow and distorted in viewpoint. Primary sources have been acquired not only for their rarity and significance, but also for their utility in revealing new facets of the American experience.

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Collecting American Histories features a range of items selected for the diversity of stories they tell about our nation’s past. Some are famous rarities, while others are less well known and have yet to receive the attention they deserve. Some form part of the original library formed by Tracy McGregor, while others have been acquired as recently as this year. Some offer welcome insights into the past, while others are uncomfortable reminders of more challenging aspects of our nation’s history. The stories told range from the early settlement of Virginia to the Mather family of Puritan ministers; to the clash of Britain, France, and Spain over the North American continent; to the diaspora of Native Americans from their ancestral lands; to the servants and slaves on whose backs the American economy depended; to the boundaries of social order and disorder; and to the impressions of America recorded by visitors from abroad.

Tracy W. McGregor inspecting a book from his library.

Tracy W. McGregor inspecting a book from his library.

Collecting American Histories also relates the fascinating story of Tracy McGregor and his wife Katherine Whitney McGregor. Born in 1869 in Sandusky, Ohio, McGregor left college in 1891 in order to run his late father’s pioneering homeless missions in Toledo and Detroit. Tracy married Katherine, one of Detroit’s wealthiest heiresses, in 1901. Together they devoted most of their fortune to significantly improving the lives of residents in the rapidly growing and industrializing “Motor City.” In 1925, following a tour of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, McGregor resolved to form a collection of rare books and manuscripts pertaining to America’s early history. He built his extraordinary library over a single decade, with the express intention of donating it to a deserving institution. Today the McGregor Fund remains a mainstay of Michigan philanthropy, dispersing over $7 million a year in grants.

The story of how Tracy McGregor formed his magnificent library in little more than a decade is told in this case.

The story of how Tracy McGregor formed his magnificent library in little more than a decade is told in this case.

It has been my privilege to curate the exhibition, and I invite you to come view Collecting American Histories. Those who cannot visit in person will soon be able to browse the exhibition virtually—watch this blog for a link to the online exhibition.

Preserving Fraternity and Sorority Records: The Legacy of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Recently, I had the pleasure of facilitating a workshop on preserving historical records at the 2013 Fall State Meeting of Virginia – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc (DST).  The sorority, which was founded at Howard University, celebrates its centenary this year.

Each chapter is charged with collecting and maintaining its historical records: its charter, photographs, programs, news clippings, etc.  The purpose of my presentation was to give them direction in doing just that, but moreover to share with them the importance of working with local libraries or archives who specialize in keeping such rich historical materials secure, safe, and accessible for the long run.

Preserving the Legacy workshop attendees, October 2013.  The workshop was held at the Jefferson School City Center in Charlottesville. (Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Some of the attendees at the Preserving the Legacy workshop, October 2013. The workshop was held at the Jefferson School City Center in Charlottesville. (Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

At the University of Virginia, we are committed to collecting personal and organizational records of African Americans.  We do not have a DST collection, but we do have materials in other collections that feature the sorority.  For instance, the Records of the Office of the Dean of Students document the relationship among fraternities, sororities, and the University.  It is in these records that you find correspondence from sorority presidents, event documentation, disciplinary records and more.  Sometimes, you find real treasures.

(RG-Image by Petrina Jackson)

Letter from Linwood Jacobs to Sheila Hardy, congratulating her on the founding of Kappa Rho Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta at the University of Virginia, 19 October 1973. (RG-18/2. Image by Petrina Jackson)

The U.Va. yearbook, Corks and Curls, which ran from 1888 to 2008, also provides a window into fraternity and sorority life.

Photograph of U.Va.'s Deltas from the 1975 Corks and Curls (LD. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

U.Va.’s Deltas from the 1975 Corks and Curls (LD5687 .C7. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Another place to look for sorority information is in the personal papers of its members, such as Alice Jackson Stuart.  Jackson Stuart was a Delta from Richmond who was initiated in 1934 at Virginia State College (now University), the oldest Delta chapter in the state.  She was a student at Virginia Union University, which did not yet have a Delta chapter.

Alice Jackson Stuart has the distinction of being the first known African American to apply to the University of Virginia or any white Virginia college for a professional or graduate degree, which she did in 1935.  U.Va. denied her entry, and she questioned this judgement.  The University’s response was that they denied her because of her race and “other good and sufficient reasons.” After her rejection, the state of Virginia passed laws that funded the tuition for African American students to study outside of the state instead of having them desegregate colleges and universities within Virginia.  Jackson Stuart graduated from Columbia University with a Master of Arts degree in 1939.  Almost seventy years after her rejection by the University of Virginia, her son, Judge Julian Towns Houston of Brookline, Massachusetts, gave her papers to the Special Collections Library in 2003.  She finally “entered” the University.

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Alice Jackson Stuart’s Delta Sigma Theta Sorority certificate, 1934. (MSS 12512. Gift of Julian T. Houston. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Alice Jackson Stuart’s sorority memory book, ca. 1934. (MSS12512. Gift of Julian T. Houston. Image by Petrina Jackson).

Although there is a lot to learn from items across our collections related to Delta Sigma Theta and other African American fraternal organizations, we hope to acquire records of  local chapters and individual alumni, ensuring the preservation of their legacy for generations to come.

I would like to give a special thanks to Schwanzetta Aikens, Heritage & Archives Committee Chair of the South Atlantic Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and Charnette Singleton, South Carolina Chair of the South Atlantic Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., who were such warm and outstanding hostesses.  I had a wonderful time!

ABCs of Special Collections: N is for…

We are back again, and this time with the letter:

First letter

The letter “N,” taken from the signature of Anais Nin. ((PS3527 .I865W5 1942. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey))

N is for Nature

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s influential essay “Nature,” published in 1836, is the foundational document for the Transcendentalist Movement. In “Nature,” Emerson set forth his belief that God can be found in all aspects of nature, and that only by studying nature can man understand his relationship to the universe. The essay greatly influenced Henry David Thoreau, Branson Alcott, Margaret Fuller, Walt Whitman and many others.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant.

Autographed engraving of Ralph Waldo Emerson (MSS 6248. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Autographed engraving of Ralph Waldo Emerson (MSS 6248. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Emerson's book Nature, 1836. (PS1613 .A1 1836. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Emerson’s Nature, 1836. (PS1613 .A1 1836. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Detail of the inscription from Emerson to his mother on the endpapers of Nature. (Image by Petrina Jackson)

The inscription from Emerson to his mother on the endpapers of Nature. (PS1613 .A1 1836. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

N is for Natural Bridge

In 1774, a 31-year-old Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres of property in Rockbridge County, Virginia from King George III for 20 shillings (approximately $40 today).  The natural rock formation became as popular as Niagara Falls to visitors from around the world as they stood marveling at the “bridge” twenty stories above them and peering into the caves, thirty-four stories below them.  Jefferson built a log cabin on the property, declaring Natural Bridge to be “the most Sublime of nature’s works.”

Contributed by Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

Table of contents of Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785.  This copy belonged to the Marquis de Lafayette. (F230 .J4 1785. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

Table of contents of Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785.  Natural Bridge falls under the topic, “Mountains.” This copy belonged to the Marquis de Lafayette. (F230 .J4 1785. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

 The description of the Natural Bridge in Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia starts on page ()


The first two pages of the description of Natural Bridge in Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. (F230 .J4 1785. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Page , of Notes on the State of Virginia, which ends the description of the Natural Bridge.

Page 40 of Notes on the State of Virginia, which ends the description of Natural Bridge. (F230 .J4 1785. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Fanny Lecky Paxton's painting of the Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1893. (MSS 8251. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

Fanny Lecky Paxton’s painting of Natural Bridge, Virginia, 1893. (MSS 8251. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

N is for Nick of the Woods

Although educated as a physician, Robert Montgomery Bird pursued a literary career. In the 1830s, Bird wrote for the theatre, creating many of his plays expressly as vehicles for the actor Edwin Forrest. After a dispute with Forrest, Bird turned from playwriting to fiction; ironically, this move ensure his work a lasting place in the American theatrical tradition. In the novel Nick of the Woods; or, The Jibbenainosay, Bird conceived of an eighteenth-century Kentucky frontiersman who avenges the death of his family at the hands of the Indians. It was successfully adapted as a melodrama for the stage by Louisa H. Medina in 1838, and was produced widely for many decades. Other adaptations of this novel appeared on stage, such as one by George Washington Harley that survives in our collection in manuscript form.
Contributed by Margaret Hrabe, Reference Coordinator

(Taylor 1837 .B57 N5 v.1. Lillian G. Taylor American Bestsellers  Image by Petrina Jackson)

Nick of the Woods, or, The Jibbenainosay: a tale of Kentucky by  the author of “Calavar,” “The infidel,” 1837. (Taylor 1837 .B57 N5 v.1. Lillian G. Taylor Collection of American Bestsellers. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Title page of the corrected manuscript of George Washington Harley’s adaptation of Nick of the Woods; or, Kentucky in ’82., ca. 1838.  (MSS 7459-a. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

First page of Act 1, Scene 1 of

First page of Act 1, Scene 1 of George Washington Harley’s adaptation of Nick of the Woods; or, Kentucky in ’82., ca. 1838.  (MSS 7459-a. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Nick of the Woods, a Drama in Three Acts by Miss . H. Medina.  New York: Samuel French, 1856.  (PS 1099 .B5 N5 1856. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

N is for Anais Nin (1903-1977)

Anais Nin is best known for her extensive life-long diaries  and her erotica (Delta of Venus, Little Birds). The daughter of two musicians, she lived a quintessentially Bohemian life in Paris and San Francisco. Married to two men at one time, she did not divorce the first husband until the IRS discovered her two identities.Nin materials appear in our extensive Henry Miller collections; the two had a well-known affair. In a 1958 letter held here, she asks famous Beat photographer Harry Redl to retake her picture because he’s not captured her “luminosity.” When publishers refused her book Winter of Artifice, she bought her own press and printed 500 copies in 1942.

Contribution by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

Photograph of Anais Nin on the cover of Realism and Reality (PS3527 .I865R3 1946. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey)

Photograph of Anais Nin on the cover of Realism and Reality, 1946. (PS3527 .I865R3 1946. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey)

Cover of the Diary of Anais Nin, vol. 6, 1966 (PS3527 .I865 Z5 1966. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey)

Cover of the Diary of Anais Nin, vol. 6, 1966 (PS3527 .I865 Z5 1966. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey)

Anais Nin's incription to Edward in her book The House of Incest. (PS3527 .I865H6 1936. Image by Anne Causey)

Anais Nin’s incription to novelist Edward Dahlberg in her book The House of Incest, 1936. (PS3527 .I865H6 1936. Image by Anne Causey)

Nin's self-published Winter of Artifice (PS3527 .I865W5 1942. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey)

Nin’s self-published volume, Winter of Artifice (PS3527 .I865W5 1942. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Anne Causey)

We look forward to seeing you again in couple weeks when we feature the letter “O.”  Bye for now!

This Just In: Scarlet Letters from the Backlog

Every Special Collections library has a number of mysterious boxes that for some reason or another have never been dealt with–gifts with mysterious provenances, duplicate copies, a collection that someone was working on but for some reason never finished, and so on. U.Va. is no exception, though we do pride ourselves on how small that backlog is, and how well-described our cataloged materials are.

Soon after starting this job, I was tasked, with my co-hire David Whitesell, to dig into the backlog. For many months now, we have each enjoyed tackling a box or two on a quiet afternoon at the reference desk, or whenever the temptation is too strong and more pressing work is set aside.

Much of the pleasure of curatorial work comes from the element of surprise–unexpected gifts, unexpected acquisitions opportunities, unexpected discoveries in the stacks, unexpected researcher projects, and so on. So I was thrilled to find one day recently, mixed with various unremarkable volumes in a box, two early copies of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. I was even more thrilled to discover that neither came near to duplicating the numerous early copies already in our collection.

Existing holdings in early printings of the novel accompanied by the two books that will soon join them on our shelves.The dull brown covers were, in their day, a mark of great prestige, since they were the signature of the highly regarded publishers  Ticknor and Fields.

Seven existing Scarlet Letters accompanied by two volumes that will soon join them on our shelves. The dull brown covers were a mark of literary prestige, since they were the signature of the highly regarded Boston publishing house of Ticknor, Reed and Fields.

The Second Edition Advertisements

The Scarlet Letter was a huge success from the moment it was published. Released on March 16, 1850, the first edition of 2,500 copies sold quickly. On April 22nd, the second edition was released. It also comprised 2,500 copies, and is easily identified because it includes an additional preface by Hawthorne, in which he responds to criticisms of the famous essay that prefaces the novel, “The Custom House.”

Our three cataloged copies of the second edition vary dramatically in condition and paratexts. All but one have bookplates, and all three have advertisements. The publishers added to each copy a multi-page advertising insert variously titled “New Books and New Editions” or “A List of Books Recently Published,” all beginning with the publisher’s Longfellow list.  The three copies have inserts dated March 1850 and May 1850 (in two copies).

Notably, the newly unearthed copy has an advertising insert dated October 1849, which is the earliest insert of any copy of this novel in our collection. Presumably, the insert was lifted from a stack of old leftovers, since the book could not have been bound before the spring of 1850.

The images below show a variety of advertisements from the first three editions of the novel, all published in 1850.

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Detail of the advertisement in one of our copies of the first edition. (PS 1868 .A1 1850. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Catlin. Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

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Detail of the advertisement in the soon-to-be-added copy of the second edition. (Uncataloged. Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

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Detail of the advertisement in one of our copies of the third edition, the first to be printed from stereotyped plates, and which appeared in September, 1850 (A 1850 .H39 S3a. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

An 1854 impression

The other volume found in the backlog is unquestionably unique to our collection, as the only standalone copy of the novel we own with an imprint date of 1854 (a collected works edition we hold is also dated that year). It is printed from the stereotyped plates produced in late 1850 for the third edition. The only 1854 printing, it totaled 500 copies, and brought the total number of copies of the novel’s American standalone editions alone to 10,300.

So, Hawthorne fans and bibliographers, we encourage you to come by in a few weeks when these new additions have been cataloged, snugly housed, and added to the shelves alongside their brethren!

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Our new second edition, on the left, and third edition, 1854 printing, on the right. The yellowed slips in the book show how long these have waited for their moment in the sun (and in Virgo, our online catalog). The origins of these volumes are lost to the sands of time.

 

 

 

ABCs of Special Collections: M is for…

And now for your reading and viewing pleasure, the letter

M is for the first letter in Masonry as it appears on Meriwhether Lewis's Mason certificate.(Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

M is for the word “Mason” in the final entry in this blog post (MSS 3837. Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

M is for Robert McAlmon

An accomplished writer in his own right, Robert McAlmon’s greatest contribution to literary culture may have been his publishing enterprises. First printing avant-garde prose and poetry in the Contact Review in New York, he moved to Paris in 1921 to immerse himself in the burgeoning artist scene there. He started Contact Publishing Company, and published many of the writers and poets who came to define their generation, including Ernest Hemingway’s first book, Three Stories & Ten Poems in 1923. He also typed and edited James Joyce’s manuscript of Ulysses before it was sent to the typesetter. A search of our online catalog shows 29 entries related to Robert McAlmon.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

A sketch by Emil Becat of Robert McAlmon and James Joyce on the back cover of McAlmon and the Lost Generation (PS3525 .A1143 Z53 1962. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

A sketch by Emil Becat of Robert McAlmon and James Joyce, which appears on the back cover of the book McAlmon and the Lost Generation (PS3525 .A1143 Z53 1962. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

A Hasty Bunch (PS3525 .A1143H3 1922. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

A Hasty Bunch by Robert McAlmon, 1922. (PS3525 .A1143H3 1922. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

M is for Medieval Manuscript

The medieval manuscripts in our collections date as far back as the ninth century and well into the fifteenth. Holdings include Bibles, prayer books, and secular works, such as poems, philosophy, and law texts, as well as a variety of documents; many are fragments. Some are highly decorated with pigments made from natural substances, including parsley, vermillion, saffron, lapis lazuli and gold, and are written on vellum or parchment (animal skin).

Contributed by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

Page of the Roman de la Rose, 14th-Century (MSS 6765. Jeffress Collection. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Page of the Roman de la Rose, 14th-Century (MSS 6765. Jeffress Collection. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Psalter from England, 15th-Century. (Medieval MSS I. Edward L. Stone Collection. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Book of Hours, featuring the hour of the crucifixion (Medieval MSS P. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Image by Petrina Jackson)

French Book of Hours, featuring the hour of the crucifixion (Medieval MSS P. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Image by Petrina Jackson)

M is for Meriwether Lewis, Superexcellent Mason

Special Collections holds a number of rare and unique materials relating to the life and career of Meriwether Lewis, but none quite like this document of his Masonic membership. A native of Albemarle County, Lewis (1774-1909) joined the Door to Virtue Lodge 44 in 1797. The document shown here documents his attaining the elevated status of Royal Arch Superexcellent Mason two years later in nearby Staunton. Lewis remained involved in the Masons throughout his life, and led the successful effort to establish a Masonic Lodge in St. Louis, Missouri in 1808.

More about Lewis’s involvement in Freemasonry, and wonderful images of one of his Masonic aprons, may be seen at the “Discovering Lewis & Clark” website, under the heading “Meriwether Lewis, Master Mason.”

Contributed by Molly Schwartzburg, Curator

(Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

Meriwether Lewis’s certificate for attaining the status of Royal Arch Superexcellent Mason, Staunton [Virginia] Lodge 13, October  31, 1799.  The certificate shows Lewis’s signature on the left. A deep red ribbon is woven through the paper, and the entire document is backed with cloth.(MSS 3837. Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

 See you next time with an installment of the letter “N.”  For now, bye-bye!

Patron’s Choice: The United States Camel Cavalry…yes, you read that right!

This week, we are pleased to feature a guest post from researcher Maria A. Windell, Assistant Professor of English at Ball State University. Dr. Windell visited Special Collections a few months ago to work on an article entitled  “Military, Diplomatic, and Novel Imperial Imaginaries: Literary History and the Writings of David Dixon Porter,” about Civil War hero Admiral David Dixon Porter.  It is drawn from a larger project on the Porter family and nineteenth-century literary history. While she was here, Maria found one particularly intriguing artifact that she generously agreed to share with us.

In March of 1855, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the purchase of…camels. The Army was hoping to find a more reliable and cost-effective way of navigating the American Southwest, as the broad swaths of territory gained just seven years before in the U.S.-Mexican War had proven difficult for horses to travel. Looking for a creative solution to these issues, the Army and Congress began to consider how camels might be adapted for transportation and perhaps even combat purposes in the United States.

A camel as illustrated in the 1857 "Report of the Secretary of War..."(UC 350 . U5 1857. Bequest of Paul Mellon. Image by University of Virginia Library Digitization Services.)

A camel as illustrated in the “Report of the Secretary of War…respecting the Purchase of Camels for the Purposes of Military Transportation” (Washington: A.O.P.Nelson, 1857). (UC 350 . U5 1857. Bequest of Paul Mellon. Image by University of Virginia Library Digitization Services.)

Secretary of War Jefferson Davis (yes, future president of the Confederacy) tapped Major Henry Wayne of the Army to head an expedition to purchase camels for use in the U.S.; Wayne had long been interested in incorporating camels into the Army’s supply chain. Davis and Wayne then chose Lieutenant David Dixon Porter of the Navy to captain the Supply, the ship that would sail the camels from the Middle East to Indianola, Texas. Porter’s brother-in-law, Gwinn Harris Heap, who had lived in Tunis for many years, accompanied the expedition as, among other things, its resident illustrator.

The expedition set out in 1855, and returned to Texas with thirty-four camels (including two calves born at sea) eleven months later. While the expedition was thus successful, the camel experiment ultimately failed. While the camels adapted quite nicely to the southwestern climate and landscape, Americans—and their horses—were unable to accept the aroma and mannerisms of their new four-legged companions. More importantly, the Civil War arrived, drawing interest and funding from the experiment. Some of the camels were sold to circuses and zoos, some were sold to private individuals, and some escaped into the desert (Texans reported encountering feral camels even into the twentieth century).

Camels being loaded for transport, as illustrated in the report. (Image by University of Virginia Digitization Services)

Camels being loaded for transport, as illustrated in the report. (Image by University of Virginia Digitization Services)

While the expedition failed to yield a permanent “Camel Corps,” it did yield a fairly comprehensive governmental report. At the request of Congress, Davis published a volume on the experiment with the rather utilitarian title Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating, In Compliance with a Resolution of the Senate of February 2, 1857, Information Respecting the Purchase of Camels for the Purposes of Military Transportation. The report is mostly a series of dispatches from Major Wayne and Lieutenant Porter; a number of Heap’s illustrations are included, as are the entries into the Supply’s log for the trip back to the U.S. Wayne also submitted lengthy excerpts and translations from various tomes on the camel, and Davis incorporated these into the report as well. There are certainly some entertaining events and illustrations to be found in the approximately 240-page report, but much of the volume is filled with mundane dispatches and camel arcana.

Title page of the report. (UC 350 .U5 1857. Bequest of Paul Mellon. Image by University of Virginia Library Digitization Services.)

Title page of the report. (UC 350 .U5 1857. Bequest of Paul Mellon. Image by University of Virginia Library Digitization Services.)

In some ways, the publication of this 1857 report might be seen as the end of the expedition (the experiment took several years to peter out). Yet the report is in some ways also the beginning of the story of the camel event—it demonstrates how the experiment became a narrative of national interest before becoming a forgotten element of the national past. And the particular copy of the report held in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia demonstrates this in a particularly vivid way: it bears an inscription showing the volume to have been gifted. While it was quite common for novels, poetry, and story collections to be gifted during the nineteenth century, the gifting of a War Department report published for congressional use was certainly not the norm.

The inscription in UVa's copy of the report. (Image by University of Virginia Library Digitization Services.)

The inscription in UVa’s copy of the report. (Image by University of Virginia Library Digitization Services.)

The inscription in UVa’s copy of Davis’s Report reveals that such was the unusual fate of this particular volume. At the time of the report’s publication, John P. Hale was a United States Senator from New Hampshire. Sarah J. Christie was the daughter of an attorney Hale had practiced law with in Dover, NH, years before. At the time he gifted the volume to Christie in 1857, Hale had likely long been married to Lucy Lambert (the Hales’ daughter, Lucy Lambert Hale, was engaged to John Wilkes Booth at the time of Lincoln’s assassination in 1865). While the inscription does not then necessarily imply a romantic gift, it does reveal that Hale believed Christie would be intrigued by the report.

Hale’s gifting of the report on the camel expedition to Christie demonstrates the appeal of the expedition for Americans further removed from political and military duties. As the volume is clean of Christie’s—or any other—marginalia, there is no way to judge of her reaction to the report. Nevertheless, Hale clearly assumed it had enough interesting content to offset its overall tedium: accounts of Tuscany, Tunis, and the Crimea; of slight diplomatic rows with Turkey and Egypt over substandard gifted camels (the insult!); and of the birthing of calves while at sea. The possibility of baby camels certainly captured the imagination of the staff at Harper’s Weekly, which (prematurely) declared the camel experiment a success before noting, “The Secretary of War, Mr. Jefferson Davis, has not yet had the pleasure of presenting to the people a native camel.[. . .] It is, perhaps, indiscreet to attempt to be precise in promising the advent of little humpbacked strangers; but we can assure the public that the hopes of the Department are very high and confident.”

Baby camels, as illustrated in the report. (Image by University of Virginia Digitization Services.)

Baby camels, as illustrated in the report. (Image by University of Virginia Digitization Services.)

While the camel expedition and experiment may have captivated nineteenth-century Americans, it faded into a largely forgotten event—overshadowed in national memory, as it was at the time, by the enormity of the Civil War. The volume held in Special Collections, however, attests not only to the strange and interesting event’s occurrence, but also to the remarkable interest it generated—even inspiring the gifting of a governmental report initially published for congressional use.