ABCs of Special Collections: Y is for…

We have traveled a long way from “A” to “X” and have landed at the letter:

"Y" is for Columna Versalien, which is included in Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering by Jan Tschichold, 1992. (Z250 .T883 1992. Image by Petrina Jackson)

“Y” is for Columna Versalien, which appears in Treasury of Alphabets and Lettering by Jan Tschichold, 1992. (Z250 .T883 1992. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Y is for Yaddo

Yaddo is a retreat for artists in Saratoga Springs, New York, founded in 1900 by Spencer Trask and his wife, Katrina Nichols Trask (1853-1922), an author in her own right. The first residents came to Yaddo to work in 1926, and current artists continue to visit today. Although we do not have the Yaddo archives, which is housed at the New York Public Library, Special Collections has correspondence related to the retreat and its founder.  These letters appear in the papers of U.Va. President Edwin Alderman and U.Va. English Professor James Southall Wilson among others.

Contributed by Sharon Defibaugh, Manuscripts and Archives Processor

About 1912, Katrina Trask, wrote several letters of sympathy and encouragement to Edwin A. Alderman, the first University of Virginia President, during his enforced stay at Saranac Lake, New York, for treatment of tuberculosis (MSS 1001, Box 5).

About 1912, Katrina Trask, wrote several letters of sympathy and encouragement to Edwin A. Alderman, the first University of Virginia President, during his stay at Saranac Lake, New York, for treatment of tuberculosis. (MSS 1001. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

The Clifton Waller Barrett Library contains two of her books, Under King Constantine, published anonymously in 1892 and Lessons in Love.

The Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature contains her books, Under King Constantine, published anonymously, and Lessons in Love. (PS586.Z94.T738 U59 1893 and PS646.F54.T73 L4 1900, respectively. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Trask’s pacifism is represented by a broadside “The Conquering Army” (1915) distributed through the Clearing House for Limitation of Armament.

Trask’s pacifism is represented by her broadside “The Conquering Army,” distributed through the Clearing House for Limitation of Armament, 1915. (Broadside 414. Photograph by Donna Stapley.)

The arrangement of a literary conference by Professor James Southall Wilson with Elizabeth Ames, the director at Yaddo for many years, June 28, 1930, reveals another University of Virginia connection (MSS 12708-a, Box 1) to Yaddo.

The arrangement of a literary conference by Professor James Southall Wilson with Elizabeth Ames, the director at Yaddo for many years, reveals another University of Virginia connection to Yaddo, June 28, 1930. (MSS 12708-a. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

Y is for Richard Yates

Novelist and short story writer, Richard Yates, is widely considered one of the premier post WWII writers of American fiction. His 1960 novel, Revolutionary Road was lauded by critics and writers alike, but none of his work sold especially well during his lifetime. Yates found work as a writing instructor at many universities, including Columbia, the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and the New School for Social Research. A search of our online catalog shows four entries of Richard Yates.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

(PS3575 .83 R4 1961. Bradley H. Gunter Fund, 2011/2012. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Shown here is a first printing of Revolutionary Road. (PS3575 .83 R4 1961. Bradley H. Gunter Fund, 2011/2012. Image by Petrina Jackson)

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Dust jacket photo of Mr. Yates by Bob Isear. (PS3575 .83 R4 1961. Bradley H. Gunter Fund, 2011/2012. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Y is for Yearbook

From societies and clubs, to high schools and colleges, Special Collections has many yearbooks.  U.Va.’s student yearbook, Corks and Curls, came into the world in 1888 and sadly ceased to be after its 2008 issue.  Corks and Curls gives readers a glimpse into the antics, biases, rebellion, sacrifices, amusement, accomplishments, and achievements of U.Va.’s student body over 100 years of social and academic change.

Contributed by Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

Cover of Corks and Curls, 1920. (Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Cover of Corks and Curls, 1920. (LD 5687 .C7 1920. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

1888 Football Team (Champions '88  ):                     LD 5687 .C7 v.1 1888

1888 Football Team, “Champions ’88, ” from the 1888 Corks and Curls. (LD 5687 .C7 v.1 1888. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

U.Va. Basketball Team from the 1934 Corks and Curls ()

U.Va. Varsity Basketball Team from the 1934 Corks and Curls (LD 5687 .C7 1934. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

U.Va. Men's and Women's Track and Field, 2008.

U.Va. Men’s and Women’s Track and Field, 2008. (LD 5687 .C7 v. 120 2008. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

It is hard to believe, but there is only one more letter to go!  Please join us two weeks from today for our final letter and the conclusion of our alphabet series.

 

ABCs of Special Collections: X is for…

Welcome back to the ABCs of Special Collections!  We are excited to bring to you, the letter

X made from two small blades from the tools ()

“X” made from two small blades from the studio of the Warren Chappell Studio. (MSS 10204-bc. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

X is for X-Rated

X is for Henry Miller’s banned book Tropic of Cancer, published in 1934 by the Obelisk Press in Paris. The book was deemed illegal for sale in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada upon publication and remained so for almost thirty years. In 1961, Barney Rosset, publisher of The Grove Press, convinced Miller to let him publish Tropic of Cancer, promising to fight censorship laws all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1964 the U.S. Supreme Court overruled earlier state court findings that Tropic of Cancer was obscene. This case was a landmark case concerning censorship, and opened the doors for a much wider acceptance of previously censored art.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

First edition of Tropic of Cancer, 1934. (PS3525 .I5454 T7 1934. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

 X is for Xylographica

Very rare books indeed!  Dating from approximately 1450, xylographica are block books made by carving text and illustrations into wooden blocks.  Usually the books are not more than 50 leaves, and are considered incunabula, (as they date before 1501) and the content is almost exclusively religious in nature.

Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

(Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Facsimile of Das puch von dem Entkrist/Blockbucher. The original was made in 1450, and the facsimile was created in 1925. (Typ 1450 .A57 1925. Stone Typography Collection. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

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Facsimile of Ars moriendi. The original was made 1470, and the facsimile was created in 1910. (Typ 1470 .A77. Stone Typography Collection. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

(Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Of course, wood block printing has remained popular long after moveable type superceded the labor intensive process of producing xylographica.  For example, shown here are some wood carving tools from the 20th-century studio of Warren Chappell. Shown are a wood block and an engraving cushion, burnisher, and two small blades. (MSS 10204-bc. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

X is for the XYZ Affair

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry were sent to France by President John Adams in July 1797 with instructions to renegotiate the 1788 treaty between the two nations, ensure French acceptance of the Jay Treaty, and resolve issues concerning the seizure of American merchant ships by the French navy. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French foreign minister, approached the American commissioners through agents who demanded bribes before formal negotiations could begin. Although such demands were not uncommon in European diplomacy of the time, the Americans were outraged and left France without undertaking formal negotiations. The publication of the commission’s dispatches (the letters X, Y, and Z, substituting for the names of the French diplomats) created a political firestorm in the United States that resulted in several years of undeclared naval warfare against France.

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

(Image by Edward Gaynor)

Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, May 6, 1798. Jefferson describes the “ferment excited here [Philadelphia] by publication of the dispatches” and discusses the possibility of war. (MSS 501. Gift of Mrs. F.B. Stoneman. Image by Edward Gaynor)

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Verso of letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Wayles Eppes, May 6, 1798. (MSS 501. Gift of Mrs. F.B. Stoneman. Image by Edward Gaynor)

(Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Image by Edward Gaynor. )

Title page of Instructions to the Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary from the United States of America, to the French Republic. (A 1798 .U54. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Image by Edward Gaynor. )

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Page of dispatch describing request for bribes. (A 1798 .U54. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Image by Edward Gaynor. )

Guess what we have in store for you with the remaining two letters of the alphabet? You will have to wait until next month when we feature the letters “Y” and “Z.”

 

 

ABCs of Special Collections: W is for…

Well, Well, Well, what have we here? But the letter W, of course!

(Image by Anne Causey)

W from the cover of Louisa Venable Kyle’s The Witch of Pungo. Virginia Beach, Va: Four O’Clock Farms Publishing Co., 1988. (PZ7 .K983 Wi 1988. Gift of Edward Gaynor. Image by Anne Causey)

W is for Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward

One of the first American feminist writers, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward gained wide-spread popularity in her day. Her novel The Gates Ajar, published four years after the Civil War, was a best seller, depicting heaven as a place where loved ones reconnect after death. Through her writings, she challenged many of the mores of her day, especially those concerning Calvinist traditions. In her forties, she married a man nineteen years her junior, and famously urged women to burn their corsets.   

A search of our online records show over 100 entries for Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. (MSS 6997-e. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. (MSS 6997-e. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Title page of the first printing of The Gates Ajar by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. (PS3142 .G3 1869. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Title page of the first printing of The Gates Ajar by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward. (PS3142 .G3 1869. Image by Petrina Jackson)

W is for George Washington

George Washington.  Legendary General.  First President of the United States.  Namesake of the nation’s Capital.  His iconic image is with us every day, from the quarters in our change purses to the dollars in our wallets.

Contributed by Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

On display in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is the famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart and a bronze bust by Jean Antoine Houdon.

Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. (Gift of Mrs. F. Bayard Rives and George L. Rives. Photograph by Donna Stapley.)

Portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. (Gift of Mrs. F. Bayard Rives and George L. Rives. Photograph by Donna Stapley.)

Bust of Washington by Jean Antoine Houdon. (Gift of the Class of 1909. Photograph by Donna Stapley.)

Bust of Washington by Jean Antoine Houdon. (Gift of the Class of 1909. Photograph by Donna Stapley.)

Viewing our manuscript and ephemera collection helps change the legend into a man, providing a glimpse into the daily life of George Washington.

Washington's bookplate

Bookplate belonging to George Washington. Copperplate engraving, 1771. (MSS 13483. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

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Page from a pocket account book containing an entry for purchase of a periwig for George Washington for a night of “entertainment,” April 1780. (MSS 8136-a. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

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Facsimile of letter from dated June 23, 1775, from George Washington to Martha Washington, regarding his departure from Philadelphia and his affection for her:  “I retain an unalterable affection for you which neither time or distance can change..” (MSS 38-532. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

W is for Witches!

While Virginia did not experience the witch uproar of Salem, Mass, there was one notable case. In 1706 Grace Sherwood of Princess Anne County (now Virginia Beach) was accused of practicing witchcraft. Among her “sins” was bewitching hogs and escaping through a keyhole as a black cat. She was summoned to court and on July 5, “it was Ordrd  . . . by her own Consent to be tried in the water by Ducking.” On July 10, she was tied and tossed in a river. She swam – thus guilty. “Five ancient women” searched her and declared she was “not like them nor noe other woman they knew of” because of two marks on her body.  The court kept her in custody for a future trial, but records thereafter are unclear.

Contributed by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

One story of Grace Sherwood, a highly embellished children’s story, is found in Louisa Venable Kyle’s The Witch of Pungo, (Virginia Beach, Va: Four O’Clock Farms Publishing Co.), 1988.  (PZ7 .K983 Wi 1988. Image by Anne Causey)

One story of Grace Sherwood, a highly embellished children’s story, is found in Louisa Venable Kyle’s The Witch of Pungo. Virginia Beach, Va: Four O’Clock Farms Publishing Co., 1988. (PZ7 .K983 Wi 1988. Gift of Edward Gaynor. Image by Anne Causey)

The earliest printed record of Grace Sherwood’s story is in the Collections of the Virginia Historical & Philosophical Society, Richmond, 1833, presented by Jonathan Cushing (F221 v.95 no. 1. Image by Anne Causey)

The earliest printed record of Grace Sherwood’s story is in the Collections of the Virginia Historical & Philosophical Society, Richmond, 1833, presented by Jonathan Cushing (F221 v.95 no. 1. Image by Anne Causey)

(F221 v.95 no. 1. Image by Anne Causey)

From the Collections of the Virginia Historical & Philosophical Society, Richmond, 1833, presented by Jonathan Cushing (F221 v.95 no. 1. Image by Anne Causey).

W is for W.P.A.

The Works Progress Administration (later named the Work Projects Administration) is perhaps the best known of the New Deal agencies created to pull the United States out of the Great Depression. The W.P.A. focused primarily on public works, such as roads, dams, and public buildings but also funded smaller programs for writers, artists, musicians, and actors. Among the W.P.A. materials in Special Collections are original drawings (several unpublished) for Virginia the Old Dominion in Pictures; interviews with former slaves; and an extensive collection of folklore and folk songs from Virginia.

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

"Laundress" drawn by Ralph W. Lermond for (Photograph by Donna Stapley)

“Laundress” by Ralph W. Lermond for Drawings for Virginia: the Old Dominion in Pictures. (MSS 15372. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

"Forger"

“Forger,” an unpublished work by Ralph W. Lermond for Drawings for Virginia: the Old Dominion in Pictures. (MSS 15372. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

(Image by Edward Gaynor)

Virginia: the Old Dominion in Pictures. (F231 .W89 1941. Image by Edward Gaynor)

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Drawings by Ralph W. Lermond, featured in Virginia: the Old Dominion in Pictures. (F231 .W89 1941. Image by Edward Gaynor)

Now that “W” is complete, we have only three more letters to go.  Visit us in a couple of weeks as we explore “X.”

ABCs of Special Collections: S is for

Happy New Year!  We are glad to return with the newest installment of our alphabetical series.  As promised, we are starting 2014 with the letter

Flowered Letters--8 lines Pica from The Roman Italic & Black Letter Bequeathed the University of Oxford by Dr. John Fell, 1951. (Z116 .T95 V.26 1951. Image by Petrina Jackson).

“S” from Flowered Letters–8 lines Pica face from The Roman Italic & Black Letter Bequeathed the University of Oxford by Dr. John Fell, 1951. (Z116 .T95 V.26 1951. Image by Petrina Jackson).

S for Senape, Antonio

Very little is known of Antonio Senape, a prolific pen and ink artist, except that he was likely born in Rome in 1788.  A rare bound sketchbook, housed in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections, was owned by Senape and contains sixty of his original drawings. The drawings take the viewer on a tour of Italian markets, ancient ruins, and sailing ships, many with the active volcano, Mt. Vesuvius, looming in the background.

Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

Antonio Senape's pen and Ink drawing from  from (MSS 15135. Gift of Mrs. Joseph Wood. Image by Donna Stapley).

Pen and Ink drawing from Antonio Senape’s sketchbook, n.d. (MSS 15135. Gift of Mrs. Joseph Wood. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

(Photograph by Donna Stapley).

Pen and Ink drawing from Antonio Senape’s sketchbook, n.d. (MSS 15135. Gift of Mrs. Joseph Wood. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

(Photograph by Donna Stapley).

Pen and Ink drawing from Antonio Senape’s sketchbook, n.d. (MSS 15135. Gift of Mrs. Joseph Wood. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

(Photograph by Donna Stapley).

Pen and Ink drawing from Antonio Senape’s sketchbook, n.d. (MSS 15135. Gift of Mrs. Joseph Wood. Photograph by Donna Stapley).

S is for Snead & Company

Snead & Company was established in Louisville, Ky. in 1849 as a supplier of decorative and architectural cast iron. By the turn of the 20th century, the company’s focus turned to providing large research libraries—including the Library of Congress, Widener Library, and the British Museum—with structural elements to construct and equip book stacks. Angus Snead MacDonald, the long time president, was responsible for moving the company to the forefront of library design and was himself one of the major contributors to the open, modular plans that dominated research library architecture in the post World War II years.

Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

(Image by Petrina Jackson).

Cover of a Snead & Company Pamphlet, n.d. (MSS 9325. Image by Petrina Jackson).

(Image by Petrina Jackson).

“Sending books from delivery desk station” University of Cincinnati Library, Cincinnati, Ohio, n.d. (MSS 9325. Image by Petrina Jackson).

(Image by Petrina Jackson).

“Snead book conveyor–delivery room station with unloading carrier.” University of Virginia, n.d. (Image by Petrina Jackson).

(Image by Petrina Jackson).

“Snead standard stacks. Reference room of the Vatican Library.” Vatican City, Italy, n.d. (MSS 9325. Image by Petrina Jackson).

S is for Gary Snyder

American poet Gary Snyder met Allen Ginsberg when they both read at the Six Gallery event in San Francisco in October 7, 1955, thus cementing his identity with the Beat poets and writers. He was an influential member of the San Francisco Renaissance before moving to Japan to study Zen Buddhism in 1955. He won a Pulitzer Prize for Turtle Island in 1974, and is also well known as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist.
A search of our online catalog shows 61 entries for Mr. Snyder dating from 1946.
Shown here is a first printing of Riprap and a broadside titled “Siberian Outpost” that he made on the occasion of a visit to Brown College at the University of Virginia in 2010. The broadside was printed by Josef Beery.

George Riser, Collection and Instruction Assistant

(PS3569 .N88T8 1974. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson).

Back cover of Gary Snyder’s Turtle Island. Photograph by Frederic Brunke. (PS3569 .N88T8 1974. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson).

Cover of Gary Snyder's Riprap, 1959. (PS3569 .N88R49 1959. Image by Petrina Jackson).

Cover of Gary Snyder’s Riprap, 1959. (PS3569 .N88R49 1959. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson).

Snyder_Siberian Outpost

“Siberian Outpost,” written by Gary Snyder. Woodcut by Josef Beery, 2010. (Broadside 2010.S58. Courtesy of Gary Snyder. Image by Petrina Jackson).

We hope you enjoyed the “S” selections. See you in two weeks when we feature the letter “T.”

ABCs of Special Collections: P is for

For your alphabetical pleasure, we present the letter:

P is for Poster Block #2 from (Not yet cataloged. Image by Petrina Jackson)

P is for Poster Block #2 which is one of 75 alphabets represented in Frank H. Atkinson’s Atkinson Sign Painting up to Now: A Complete Manual of Sign Painting. Chicago: Frederick J. Drake & Co., 1915 (not yet cataloged. Gift of Nicholas Curtis. Image by Petrina Jackson)

P is for Ron Padgett

As a high school student in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ron Pagett co-founded the low budget journal, The White Dove Review, boldly soliciting poems from many of the avant-garde poets of his day. The first issue came out in 1959, featuring Jack Kerouac’s poem, “The Thrashing Doves.” Other contributors included LeRoi Jones, Allen Ginsberg, Ted Berrigan, and e.e. cummings. After graduating high school, Padgett went to New York where he became an influential member of the New York School of poets. An author search of our online catalog shows 27 hits related to Ron Padgett.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Shown here is the first issue of The White Dove Review. (PS501 .W47 no.1 1959. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

 

P is for Peede’s Poe Postage

We can’t cover the letter P without mentioning U.Va.’s favorite dropout, Edgar Allan Poe. Along with significant early editions, manuscripts, and other Poe rarities, we sometimes receive wonderful, unexpected gifts that extend our strengths in new directions. John Peede, publisher of the Virginia Quarterly Review, recently donated this group of postal ephemera marking the first day of issue for a 42-cent Edgar Allan Poe postage stamp on the poet’s 200th birthday, January 16, 2009.

Contributed by Molly Schwartzburg, Curator

(Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

Edgar Allan Poe postal ephemera (Gift of John Peede. Photograph by Molly Schwartzburg)

P is for Pen-and-Ink Drawings

Ellen Graham Anderson (1885-1970), a native of Lexington, Virginia, studied art in Richmond, New York, and Paris.  She was known as a painter, caricaturist, and illustrator.  Her “modern” pen-and-ink drawings illustrated many early twentieth-century periodicals including the Post Magazine, The International, The New York Tribune, and The New York Times Book Review and Magazine. Her drawings treat the viewer’s eye to a sense of fluidity and motion in her subjects. Ms. Anderson gave her papers, primarily pen-and-ink drawings, to the University of Virginia Library in 1963.

Contributed by Margaret Hrabe, Reference Coordinator

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Pen-and-Ink drawing of Tallulah Bankhead in “Dark Victor,”  n.d. (MSS 38-96-f. Gift of Ellen Graham Anderson. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Pen-and-Ink drawing of Ira and Edward Millette, Circus. New York, n.d. (Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Three Pen-and-Ink Scenes, n.d. (MSS 38-96-g. Gift of Ellen Graham Anderson. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Newspaper clipping, New York Tribune, July 15, 1917, “An impression of Irene Bordoni, in ‘Hitchy-Koo.” (MSS 38-96-g. Gift of Ellen Graham Anderson. Image by Petrina Jackson)

P is for Picture Album

This is no ordinary scrapbook album; this is an album of vibrant illustrations, hues as if they were applied yesterday!  It is The Fairy Book Picture Album, page after page of chromolithographs (a picture printed in a wide range of colors from a series of lithographic stones or plates).  These were stories so loved and well-known the author didn’t add the written word. All that was required from even the littlest child was their imagination.
Contributed by Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

(Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Page from the Fairy Picture Album, published by T. Nelson and Sons, ca. 1850s. (Not yet cataloged. Gift of Martha Orr Davenport. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

(Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Page from the Fairy Picture Album, published by T. Nelson and Sons, ca. 1850s. (Not yet cataloged. Gift of Martha Orr Davenport. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

P is for Pop-Up Books

The art of folding paper to create a book with “movable,” “springing,” and “mechanical” pages has been popular with adults and little ones for over 700 years. Harold Lentz was the first publisher in the United States who coined the term “pop-up.” Leading the resurgence of interest in pop-up books today are paper engineers Robert Sabuda and Michael Reinhart.  Many Pop-up books have evolved into intricate, complicated designs and have become favorite advertising tools of architects, engineers, and artists.

Contributed by Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

(Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Botticelli’s Bed and Breakfast by Jan Pienkowski, 1996. (PZ92. F6S65 1996. Brenda Forman Collection of Pop-up and Movable Books. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Mickey Mouse in King Arthur’s Court with “Pop-Up” Illustrations. (PZ92. F6 M526 1933. Brenda Forman Collection of Pop-up and Movable Books. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

P is for Psalter or Psalterium

A psalter (Psalterium in Latin) is the biblical Book of Psalms and was created especially for liturgical use. Psalters developed in the early 8th century and became widespread in the 11th century. Psalms were recited by the clergy in the liturgy, so Psalters were important in the church.

Various schemes existed for the arrangement of the Psalms. Besides the 150 Psalms, medieval psalters often included a calendar, a litany of saints, canticles from the Old and New Testaments, and other devotional texts. The selection of saints in the calendar and litany varied and can provide clues about original ownership.

There are several Psalters in Special Collections – some handwritten from the Medieval Manuscripts era and other later printed texts.

Contributed by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

(Image by Anne Causey)

Psalterium. Written in England, 15th Century. Psalters were popular books in the Medieval Ages, primarily written in Latin, often lavishly decorated. (MSS 382 [M.Ms. I]. Gift of Edward L. Stone. Image by Anne Causey)

Psalterium, Hebreum, Grecum, Arabicum, & Chaldeum: cum tribus Latinus The text of this Psalter is in five languages - Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Aramaic.(Image by Anne Causey)

Psalterium, Hebreum, Grecum, Arabicum, & Chaldeum: cum tribus Latinus
The text of this Psalter is in five languages – Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Aramaic. (Image by Anne Causey)

Examples of initials from the Vespasian Psalter (Image by Anne Causey)

This is a selection of initials from a facsimile of the Vespasian Psalter which is housed in the British Museum. The Vespasian Psalter was produced in England in the 8th century and is the oldest surviving book in the world with historiated initials. Written in Latin, an English gloss was added to it in the 9th Century. (Z115 .E5 E2 1967 v. 14. Image by Anne Causey)

P is for Punishment

The American system of slavery relied heavily on instilling fear in an attempt to cow the enslaved and render them docile. Slave owners disciplined their slaves for reasons such as theft and attempts at flight. The varieties of punishment meted out short of death included whipping, branding, and dismemberment, as shown in a letter dated October 10, 1727, from Robert “King” Carter to his overseer, Mr. Robert Jones:

Ballazore is an incorrigeable rogue nothing less than dismembring will reclaim him. I would have you outlaw him and get an order of the court for taking off his toes I have cured many a negro of running away by this means ….

On occasion, corporal punishment had horrific and unexpected consequences. Thomas Mann Randolph, writing from Monticello on November 22, 1818, describes such an event at a nearby Albemarle County plantation when a trusted slave

… received a few lashes on his bare back for some trifling misdemeanour; leaving his tools in the field, it is said. He hung himself, 30 feet from the ground, in a tree near his Masters door, the same night ….

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

Detail from Robert "King" Carter's Letterbook, regarding the escaped slave Ballazore. (Image by Petrina Jackson)

Detail from Robert “King” Carter’s Letterbook, regarding the escaped slave Ballazore, 1727. (MSS 3807. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Detail of letter from Randolph to , regarding the beating and consequent suicide of an enslaved man. (Image by Petrina Jackson)

Detail of a Thomas Mann Randolph letter, regarding the beating and consequent suicide of an enslaved man, 1818. (MSS 10487. Jefferson Trust 1982/1983. Image by Petrina Jackson)

See you in a couple of weeks, when we feature the “Q’s!”

ABCs of Special Collections: O is for…

With more letters behind us than left to go, we now come down to the surprisingly subversive  letter…

The letter "O" from T.C. Williams Co., Virginia, USA Tobacco Manufacturers (Broadside 1900z .W6. Image by Petrina Jackson)

The letter “O” from T.C. Williams Co., Virginia, USA Tobacco Manufacturers (Broadside 1900z .W6. Image by Petrina Jackson)

O is for Octoroon

During the European colonial period and throughout chattel slavery in the Americas, a new terminology sprung up to define race. “Octoroon” was the term for a person with one-eighth African ancestry.  This and similar terms, such as “mulatto” and “quadroon,” flourished in the American literary–and commercial–imagination alike. Today, similar racial signifiers are still used in marketing:  “Uncle Ben” to sell rice and “Aunt Jemima” to sell pancakes.

Contributed by Petrina Jackson, Head of Instruction and Outreach

Title page of Adela, the Octoroon by Hezekiah Lord Hosmer, 1860. (PS646 .F53 .H682 A4 1860. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

The title page of Adela, the Octoroon by Hezekiah Lord Hosmer, 1860. (PS646 .F53 .H682 A4 1860. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Maxwell's Broadway Theatre!...this evening will be presented the great drama of the Octoroom! or Way Down South (Broadside 65. Image by Petrina Jackson)

A broadside advertisement for Maxwell’s Broadway Theatre, undated (Broadside 65. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Tobacco Advertisement. Octoroon, manufactured by T. C. Williams Co., Virginia, 1900. ()

Advertisement for Octoroon tobacco manufactured by T. C. Williams Co., Virginia, 1900. (Broadside 1900z .W6. Image by Petrina Jackson)

O is for Charles Olson

American poet Charles Olson considered himself an “archeologist of morning.” His poems and essays bridged the gap between modernist poets like Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams and poets of the sixties and seventies, including Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley, and Denise Levertov. He was associated with several major poetry communities, including the New York School, the Black Mountain poets, the Beats, and the San Francisco Renaissance. A search of our online catalog shows 77 entries related to Charles Olson.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

First printing of Olson's celebrated The Maximus Poems

The front cover of the first printing of Olson’s celebrated The Maximus Poems/1-10,’ published by Jonathan Williams in 1953. (PS3529 .L655M32 1953. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

 

O is for Opium

Opium was introduced to western society from Asia during the Middle Ages. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw the development of tinctures and derivative drugs such as laudanum, morphine, and codeine. Medicinal use of the drug was widespread in both England and the United States as a cure-all for everything from coughs to psychosis. With the influx of Chinese immigrant labor to the United States and other countries in the mid-nineteenth century, recreational use of opium began to be more widespread, especially in major cities where “opium dens” became prolific.  Although global regulation and prohibition of the drug began in the early twentieth century, control of the opium trade still remains an issue today.

Contributed by Margaret Hrabe, Reference Coordinator

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

The first edition of Confessions of an English opium-eater by Thomas De Quincey.  London: Printed for Taylor and Hessey, 1822.   In an 1824 letter, John Randolph of Roanoke wrote, “Have you ever read ‘The Confessions of an English Opium Eater’?  I can vouch for the correctness of the picture there drawn of the pleasures & pain of opium.” (E 1822 .D46. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Sylvanus Cobb, Jr. writes to a friend in great detail about his opium addiction, 1867 October 30. (MSS 7507. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

“Opium-Smoking in New York” in  Harper’s Weekly 25.1292 (September 24, 1881) 645.   (AP 2 .H32. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Image by Petrina Jackson

An advertisement for “Compound Syrup of Opium, or, Henkel’s Diarrhoea Cordial.”  [New Market, Va. :Drs. S.P.C. & C.C. Henkel, ca. 1864-1882]. (RM671 .H45 no. 32. Image by Petrina Jackson)


O is for Osawatomie

Osawatomie, Kansas was the site of bloody conflict between abolitionist forces and pro-slavery “Border Ruffians” from neighboring Missouri on August 30, 1856. Although the anti-slavery forces were defeated, the battle brought national attention to their leader, John Brown. This notoriety enabled Brown to raise funds for his plan to incite an uprising and arm slaves across the South. Brown and his forces attacked and seized the Federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia on October 16, 1859. The raid was ultimately a failure and Brown was captured, tried, and finally hanged on December 2, 1859. The raid sent waves of panic throughout the South, where Brown was reviled as a treasonous lunatic,
and electrified anti-slavery forces in the North where Brown was proclaimed a martyr. Brown’s legacy in the 150 years since his death is still debated and the name “Osawatomie” has been used by groups espousing both peaceful and violent social action.

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives 

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

“Record of the trial of John Brown and his associates,” undated. For November 2, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Richard Parker notes “Verdict guilty of treason as charged in 1st count of indict. – also of advising & conspiring with slaves & others to rebel as charged in 2d count of the indict. & of murder in 1st degree as charged in 3rd and 4th counts–John Brown, led in & it being demanded of him…if any thing for himself he has or knows to say why the court should not proceed to judgment, & execution –but had nothing but what he had before said.  Therefore it is considered that he be hanged by the neck until he is dead.” (MSS 11634. Paul Mellon Bequest. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

The Mock Auction: Ossawatomie Sold, a Mock Heroic Poem by Mann Satterwhite Valentine, 1860.  (PS586 .Z93 .V355 M6 1860. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Petrina Jackson)

(Image by Petrina Jackson)

Osawatomie, a quarterly magazine published by the Weather Underground Organization, 1975. (HX 1 .O8. Image by Petrina Jackson)

Table of Contents of The Weather Underground Organization's magazine Osawatomie, no. 1, 1975.

Table of Contents of The Weather Underground’s magazine Osawatomie, no. 1, 1975. (HX 1 .O8. Image by Petrina Jackson)

That concludes our edition of the letter “O.”  Don’t miss our next installation, featuring “P!”

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!

ABCs of Special Collections: L is for…

And we are back with the letter:

Jack London's signature, highlighting the letter "L" in his last name. Letter to Max Feckler from Jack London, October 26, 1914

Jack London’s signature, highlighting the letter “L” in his last name. The signature is from his letter to Max Feckler, October 26, 1914 (MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

L is for James Laughlin
While studying poetry with Ezra Pound in Italy, the poet told him, “You’re never going to be any good as a poet. Why don’t you take up something useful?” Laughlin returned to Harvard in 1936, and founded New Directions, a publishing enterprise he started in his dorm room with help from his family’s fortune. New Directions evolved into a highly prestigious avant-garde press, publishing works by Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Elizabeth Bishop, and many others. Laughlin did manage to publish a number of books of his own poetry, as well. An author search of our online catalog shows 35 hits related to Mr. Laughlin, and over 500 for New Directions publications. The press is still in operation today.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

James Laughlin Selected Poems, 1935–1985.’ City Light Books, 1986. (PS3523. A8245A6 1986. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

James Laughlin Selected Poems, 1935–1985.’ City Light Books, 1986. (PS3523. A8245A6 1986. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

Henry Miller’s The Cosmological Eye. New Directions, 1939. The eye in the cloud is James Laughlin’s left eye. (PS3525 I5454 C6. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

Henry Miller’s The Cosmological Eye. New Directions, 1939. The eye in the cloud is James Laughlin’s left eye. (PS3525 I5454 C6. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

L is for Little Red Riding Hood
In 2007, Special Collections received as a gift from Martha Orr Davenport her marvelous collection of books and artifacts related to the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.  There are approximately  480 books, 100 pieces of print ephemera, 50 works of art, ten magic lantern slides, and  more than a hundred objects, including tableware, figurines, vases, pottery, tiles, crystal, glass, cloth, dolls, puppets, tinware, prints, and recordings.

Contributed by Molly Schwartzburg, Curator

Clockwise from top left, these Reds Riding Hoods appear in the following books, which are not yet cataloged: "Little Red Riding Hood, (London: Tuck, [1890]); "Les Contes de Perrault" (Paris: Librairie de Theodore Lefevre, n.d.); "Walter Crane's Toy Books: Little Red Riding Hood" ([London]: George Routledge, n.d.); "Rotkappchen" (n.p: n.p., n.d.). [xx(6134166.1). Photograph collage by Molly Schwartzburg]

Clockwise from top left, these Reds Riding Hoods appear in the following books, which are not yet cataloged: “Little Red Riding Hood, (London: Tuck, [1890]); “Les Contes de Perrault” (Paris: Librairie de Theodore Lefevre, n.d.); “Walter Crane’s Toy Books: Little Red Riding Hood” ([London]: George Routledge, n.d.); “Rotkappchen” (n.p: n.p., n.d.). [xx(6134166.1). Photograph collage by Molly Schwartzburg]

Clockwise from top left, these wolves appear in the following books, which are not yet cataloged: "Rotkappchen" (n.p: n.p., n.d.); "Tales of Passed Times Written for Children by Mr. Perrault and Newly Decorated by John Austen" (London: Selwyn and Bount, 1922);  "Little Red Riding Hood, (London: Tuck, [1890]); "Walter Crane's Toy Books: Little Red Riding Hood" ([London]: George Routledge, n.d.).

Clockwise from top left, these wolves appear in the following books, which are not yet cataloged: “Rotkappchen” (n.p: n.p., n.d.); “Tales of Passed Times Written for Children by Mr. Perrault and Newly Decorated by John Austen” (London: Selwyn and Bount, 1922);  “Little Red Riding Hood, (London: Tuck, [1890]); “Walter Crane’s Toy Books: Little Red Riding Hood” ([London]: George Routledge, n.d.). [xx(6134166.1). Photograph collage by Molly Schwartzburg]

L is for Jack London
In our collections are some notable items of the American author Jack London (1876-1916), who is best known for his book, The Call of the Wild and the short story, “To Build A Fire.” Among our materials are the typescript of his novel, The Sea Wolf, with his handwritten corrections, and two boxes of lively letters, illustrating the nature of his life as an adventurer and writer. This letter to a young man who has sent London a copy of his story is harsh but humorous, but in the end, offers good advice for a burgeoning writer. He ends with an invitation to visit him in California, “on the ranch.”

Contributed by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

Signed photograph of Jack London, ca.1907-1908, , box 2, folder 39 Photo taken on board the Snark, the sailboat upon which he cruised the South Pacific for 27 months with his wife Charmian. (MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

Signed photograph of Jack London, ca.1907-1908. Photo taken on board the Snark, the sailboat upon which he cruised the South Pacific for 27 months with his wife Charmian. (MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

Typescript of Jack London's The Sea Wolf with autograph corrections, page

Typescript of Jack London’s The Sea Wolf with autograph corrections, page 136. (MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

Letter to Max Feckler, October 26, 1914, MSS 6240, box 2, folder23 This letter shows the lively tone of many of London's letters, although this one is much longer, more detailed and more impassioned. Here, he is advising a young writer to improve his skill and learn the market before he sends out a story.

Letter to Max Feckler from Jack London, October 26, 1914. This letter shows the lively tone of many of London’s letters, although this one is much longer, more detailed and more impassioned. Here, he is advising a young writer to improve his skill and learn the market before he sends out a story. (MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

(MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

Page 2 of letter to Max Feckler from Jack London, October 26, 1914. (MSS 6240. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Image by Caroline Newcomb)

From “L” to “M,” see what our next letter selections will be in a couple of weeks when the ABCs of Special Collections continues.

ABCs of Special Collections: K is for…

We are almost at the half-way mark with today’s letter:

K is for "1908" Classic "Plug," which is one of 75 alphabets represented in Frank H. Atkinson’s Atkinson Sign Painting up to Now: A Complete Manual of Sign Painting. Chicago: Frederick J. Drake & Co., 1915 (not yet catalogued. Gift of Nicholas Curtis. (Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

K is for “1908” Classic “Plug,” which is one of 75 alphabets represented in Frank H. Atkinson’s Atkinson Sign Painting up to Now: A Complete Manual of Sign Painting. Chicago: Frederick J. Drake & Co., 1915 (not yet catalogued. Gift of Nicholas Curtis. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

K is for Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

Best known for The Metamorphosis (1915), Franz Kafka is arguably one of the most influential writers of the 20th-century. In 1908, his first eight stories were published in Hyperion, a bi-monthly magazine.  During his lifetime, his works Meditation (1913), The Country Doctor (1916), and Letters to His Father (1919) were published.  However, many of Kafka’s novels were published posthumously and include A Hunger Artist (1924), The Trial (1925); The Castle (1926), and Amerika (1927).

We have Paul E. Rieger, U.Va. Class of 1955, to thank for our Kafka collection.   In 1980, the Ohio native donated his collection of 300 books by and about Franz Kafka to the Library. The gift includes German, British, and American first editions, first appearances in periodicals, opera scores, and criticisms.

Contributed by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

Cover of Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis) by Franz Kafka, 1948. (PT2621 .A26 V4 1948. Gift of Paul E. Rieger. Photograph by Anne Causey)

Cover of Die Verwandlung (The Metamorphosis) by Franz Kafka, 1948. (PT2621 .A26 V4 1948. Gift of Paul E. Rieger. Photograph by Anne Causey)

 

Cover of The Castle by Franz Kafka, translated from German into English by Edwin and Willa Muir, 1930. (PT2621 .A26 S313 1930b. Gift of Paul E. Rieger. Photograph by Anne Causey.)

Cover of The Castle by Franz Kafka, translated from German into English by Edwin and Willa Muir, 1930. (PT2621 .A26 S313 1930b. Gift of Paul E. Rieger. Photograph by Anne Causey.)

Paul E. Rieger's bookplate from Kafka's Castle by Ronald Gray (PT2621 .A26 S42. Gift of Paul E. Rieger. Photograph by Anne Causey)

Paul E. Rieger’s (U.Va. Class of ’55) bookplate from Kafka’s Castle by Ronald Gray (PT2621 .A26 S42. Gift of Paul E. Rieger. Photograph by Anne Causey)

K is for Kanawha

On October 24, 1861, citizens of 39 western Virginia counties approved a resolution to form a new pro-Union state, to be called Kanawha. A convention met in Wheeling late in 1861 to draft a constitution for the new state. Many of the delegates did not like the name “Kanawha” and after lengthy debate, the name “West Virginia” was selected for the assemblage of 50 former Virginia counties. Once the contentious issue of the new state’s name was decided, slavery was the remaining controversial issue. West Virginia was not conceived as a free state. Instead of an outright ban, the new constitution stated: “No slave shall be brought, or free person of color be permitted to come into this State for permanent residence.”

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

Journal of the Constitutional Convention of West Virginia Assembled at Wheeling on Tuesday, November Twenty-Sixth, Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One (A 1861 .W478. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Journal of the Constitutional Convention of West Virginia Assembled at Wheeling on Tuesday, November Twenty-Sixth, Eighteen Hundred and Sixty-One (A 1861 .W478. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

W. T. Willey [Washington, DC] letter to J. W. Paxton [Wheeling, W. Va.], announcing the "agony is over" and President Lincoln has signed the bill admitting West Virginia, January 1863. Willey was the first United States Senator from West Virginia; delegate to the Virginia Convention, 1861, voting against secession; and author of the Willey Amendment, a compromise on the question of freedom for West Virginia slaves that assured West Virginia's acceptance into the Union. (MSS 15234. Purchased by Associates Endowment Fund 2011/2012. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

W. T. Willey [Washington, DC] letter to J. W. Paxton [Wheeling, W. Va.], announcing the “agony is over” and President Lincoln has signed the bill admitting West Virginia, January 1863. Willey was the first United States Senator from West Virginia; delegate to the Virginia Convention, 1861, voting against secession; and author of the Willey Amendment, a compromise on the question of freedom for West Virginia slaves that assured West Virginia’s acceptance into the Union. (MSS 15234. Purchased by Associates Endowment Fund 2011/2012. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Map of W.Va. copy

Map of West Virginia, 1863. The base map is J.H. Colton’s “Virginia” map (version of the map including McDowell, but not Webster counties), with 1855 copyright date and the identification of “Richmond” as State Capital blacked out with printer’s ink. Virginia is still included on the sheet, but is not colored. There are two insets: Section of West Virginia Oil Region and West Virginia Geological Sections. (G3890 1863 .C6. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

K is for Bob Kaufman

Bob Kaufman was a leading figure in the San Francisco poetry scene during the Beat and Psychedelic eras. Kaufman, a poet in the oral tradition, was often seen reciting his poems on the street, in coffee houses, and at musical events. Only at the insistence of his wife did he put some of his verse to paper. A Buddhist and a jazz aficionado, Kaufman was one of the founders of the influential poetry magazine, Beatitude.

Contributed by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

Bob Kaufman on the cover of his book of poetry, Golden Sardine from the Pocket Poets Series, 1967. (PS3521 .A7265G6 1967. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Bob Kaufman on the cover of his book of poetry, Golden Sardine from the Pocket Poets Series, 1967. (PS3521 .A7265G6 1967. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

(Abomunist Manifesto by Bob Kaufman. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

First printing of Kaufman’s first published work, Abomunist Manifesto, 1959. (PS3521 .A7265A2 1959. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Issue of Beatitude, no. 15, 17 June 1960. (PS580 .B36. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Issue of Beatitude, no. 15, 17 June 1960. (PS580 .B36. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

K is for Kennedy

1958 was a memorable year for the University.  John, Jackie, Edward and Robert Kennedy visited U.Va. to attend a celebration, the first Law Day.  The highlight of the day was a speech by then Senator John F. Kennedy to a large crowd gathered at Alumni Hall.  At this time Ted was a second-year law student, following in the footsteps of his brother Robert, who graduated from U.Va.’s Law school in 1951.

Contributed by Donna Stapley, Assistant to the Director

Robert Kennedy and Ralph Bunche at Student Legal Forum, held at U.Va. on 26 March 1951. (Prints File. Photograph of print by Donna Stapley)

Robert Kennedy and Ralph Bunche at Student Legal Forum, held at U.Va. on 26 March 1951. (Prints File. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Edward, Jackie, John and Robert Kennedy at U.Va (from left to right). When Edward Kennedy was a second-year law student, the Law School held its first Law Day. John F. Kennedy (then senator of Massachusetts) spoke on "The Unknown Challenge," discussing foreign and domestic policy. His brother Robert attended as an alumnus. (Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Edward, Jackie, John and Robert Kennedy at U.Va (from left to right). When Edward Kennedy was a second-year law student, the Law School held its first Law Day. John F. Kennedy (then senator of Massachusetts) spoke on “The Unknown Challenge,” discussing foreign and domestic policy. His brother Robert attended as an alumnus. (Prints File: U.Va. News Service Photo. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

Photograph of John Kennedy and Mrs. Colgate Darden (seated) by U.Va. photographer Ralph Thompson (Prints File. Photograph of print by Donna Stapley)

Photograph of John Kennedy and Mrs. Colgate Darden (seated) by U.Va. photographer Ralph Thompson (Prints File. Photograph by Donna Stapley)

K is for Frances Parkinson Keyes

Best-selling novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes (pronounced “Kize”) was born in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1885, to UVA professor and chairman of the Greek Department, John Henry Wheeler, and his wife Louise Fuller Johnson Wheeler.  Keyes went on to become the wife of a US senator and a prolific author.  Her over fifty novels, many set in the South, sold millions of copies during the mid-twentieth century.  The Papers of Frances Parkinson Keyes, MSS 3923, etc., in the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library were a gift from the author to the Library in the 1960s.

Contributed by Margaret Hrabe, Reference Coordinator

Letter from Frances Parkinson Keyes to University Librarian John Cook Wyllie, regarding her birth at U.Va., 10 January 1959. (MSS 5983. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Letter from Frances Parkinson Keyes to University Librarian John Cook Wyllie, regarding her birth at U.Va., 10 January 1959. (MSS 5983. Gift of John Cook Wyllie. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Photograph of Frances Parkinson Keyes inscribed to U.Va. Library.  (MSS 3923. Gift of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Photograph of Frances Parkinson Keyes inscribed to U.Va. Library. (MSS 3923. Gift of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Cover of dinner program given by Keyes, related to the writing of Steamboat Gothic.  (MSS 3932. Gift of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Cover of dinner program given by Keyes, related to the writing of Steamboat Gothic. (MSS 3932. Gift of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Musical program and dinner menu given by Keyes, related to the  writing of Steamboat Gothic. (MSS 3932. Gift of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Photograph by Petrina Jackson).

Musical program and dinner menu given by Keyes, related to the writing of Steamboat Gothic. (MSS 3932. Gift of Frances Parkinson Keyes. Photograph by Petrina Jackson).

That concludes the “Ks” of Special Collections.  Catch us in two weeks when we explore “Ls.”

ABCs of Special Collections: J is for…

Of course, we had to begin the letter “J” with the most famous “J” of all at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library!

J is for the handwritten first letter of Thomas Jefferson's signature. This detail of his signature is from his famous "firebell in the night" letter to John Holmes, senator from Maine, 22 April 1820. (MSS 11619. Paul Mellon Bequest. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

J is for the handwritten first letter of Thomas Jefferson’s last name. This detail of his signature is from his famous “firebell in the night” letter to John Holmes, senator from Maine, 22 April 1820. (MSS 11619. Paul Mellon Bequest. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

J is for Jamestown

The Virginia Company of London received a charter from James I for land in Virginia in April 1606. Three ships departed London on December 20, 1606 and on May 13, 1607 the settlers selected an island on the James River as the site of James Fort, soon to be Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Two of the most dramatic American firsts to which Jamestown can lay claim both occurred in August 1619: the first representative assembly, and the arrival of the first enslaved Africans.

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

“A Pattent Graunted by His Majesty (James I, King of England) for the Plantation of Two Colonies in Virginia.” 10 April 1606. (MSS 11625. Paul Mellon Bequest. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

“A Pattent Graunted by His Majesty [James I, King of England] for the Plantation of Two Colonies in Virginia.” 10 April 1606. (MSS 11625. Paul Mellon Bequest. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Title page of The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, 1624. (A 1624 .S55. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Title page of The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, 1624. (A 1624 .S55. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Creation of the Virginia General Assembly and the importation of enslaved Africans are featured here on page 126 in this last paragraph of a Generall Historie of Virginia..., 1624 (A 1624. S55. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

The creation of the Virginia General Assembly and the importation of enslaved Africans are featured here on page 126 in this last paragraph of a Generall Historie of Virginia…, 1624 (A 1624. S55. Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

J is for Jefferson––Joseph Jefferson

Washington Irving’s beloved character Rip Van Winkle was translated to the stage by the 19th-century actor Joseph Jefferson (1829-1905).  The son of an established American theatrical family, Jefferson, who had debuted on the stage at the early age of four, sought to create his own adaptation of Irving’s story but found his 1859 rendition wanting. Five years later, Jefferson contracted with playwright Dion Boucicault to write a version of Rip Van Winkle specifically for Jefferson to perform on the London stage. His performance proved a success both in London and later in New York, and the role of Rip became synonymous with Joseph Jefferson. For nearly forty years, until his retirement in 1904, Jefferson portrayed Rip Van Winkle in his repertoire of theatrical roles.

Contributed by Margaret Hrabe, Reference Coordinator

Cover of Rip Van Winkle as Played by Joseph Jefferson.  This edition contains proof impressions of all the illustrations, and portrait signed by Mr. Jefferson. One hundred copies were printed. (PS2068 .A33 1895a. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jacksobn)

Cover of Rip Van Winkle as Played by Joseph Jefferson. One hundred copies were printed. This copy contains proof impressions of all the illustrations, and portrait signed by Mr. Jefferson.(PS2068 .A33 1895a. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Front cover endpaper of Rip Van Winkle as Played by Joseph Jefferson. ()

Front cover endpaper of Rip Van Winkle as Played by Joseph Jefferson. (PS2068 .A33 1895a. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Signed frontispiece of

Signed frontispiece of Rip Van Winkle as Played by Joseph Jefferson. (PS2068 .A33 1895a. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Autographed carte de visite of Joseph Jefferson as "old" Rip Van Winkle. Barrett Print Files. Clifton

Autographed carte de visite of Joseph Jefferson as “old” Rip Van Winkle. (Barrett Print Files. Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

J is for Curtiss “Jenny”

The JN-4 “Jenny” was one of a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, N.Y. Although the “Jenny” never saw combat duty, it was used chiefly as a training airplane in World War I and as many as 95% of all U.S. pilots learned to fly in a “Jenny.” At the conclusion of the war hundreds of well-trained pilots familiar with the “Jenny” returned to the U.S. The “Jenny” was the airplane of choice for many and became the workhorse of American post-war civil and commercial aviation.

Contributed by Edward Gaynor, Head of Description and Specialist for Virginiana and University Archives

Blueprint of the front elevation for the model J-N-4-D airplane, built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, N.Y., later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, 1917-1918. (MSS 10875-bv. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Blueprint of the front elevation for the model J-N-4-D airplane, built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, N.Y., later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, 1917-1918. (MSS 10875-bv. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Blueprint of the side elevation for the model J-N-4-D airplane, built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, N.Y., later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, 1917-1918. (MSS 10875-bv. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Blueprint of the side elevation for the model J-N-4-D airplane, built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, N.Y., later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, 1917-1918. (MSS 10875-bv. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

J is for Jerusalem by William Blake

The visionary English Romantic poet William Blake (1757-1827) is perhaps as famous for his work as an artist as for his poetry. Considered eccentric, he was not well respected as a creative figure until later in life.  While Blake was an established engraver, he also received commissions for watercolors, and painted scenes from the works of Milton, Dante, Shakespeare and the Bible.
Jerusalem, the last of Blake’s great epic poems, was begun about 1804 and not completed before 1818. This first published facsimile of the book is made from the only known illuminated original. Blake printed his etchings in orange ink and illuminated them in watercolors and gold. These facsimiles are hand colored, and required 44 applications on average.

Contributed by Anne Causey, Public Services Assistant

Title page of Jerusalem: A Facsimile of the Illuminated Book by William Blake, 1951. (PR4144 .J4 1951. Gift of Sandra Elizabeth Olivier and Raymond Danowski. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Title page of Jerusalem: A Facsimile of the Illuminated Book by William Blake, 1951. (PR4144 .J4 1951. Gift of Sandra Elizabeth Olivier and Raymond Danowski. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

Illustration from Jerusalem

Illustration from Jerusalem by William Blake (PR4144 .J4 1951. Gift of Sandra Elizabeth Olivier and Raymond Danowski. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

"End of Jerusalem" illustration

“End of the Song of Jerusalem” illustration (PR4144 .J4 1951. Gift of Sandra Elizabeth Olivier and Raymond Danowski. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

J is for Junkie

Published under the pseudonym William Lee, Junkie, Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict was William Burroughs’s first published work. Encouraged by Allen Ginsberg to write about his experiences as a heroin addict, Junkie is a semi-autobiographical account of Burroughs’s life on the streets in the early 50’s. Junkie was roundly rejected by mainstream publishers, but eventually found a home with Ace Books, purveyors of cheap paperbacks. Junkie came out in 1953 as an ‘Ace Double,’ published along with Narcotic Agent by Maurice Helbrant.

Contribution by George Riser, Collections and Instruction Assistant

Cover of Junkie, published by ACE Double Books, 1953. (PS3552 .U75 J8 1953. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson )

Cover of Junkie, published by ACE Double Books, 1953. (PS3552 .U75 J8 1953. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

The other cover or flip side

Narcotic Agent by Maurice Helbrant, which is the other book (on the reverse), published by ACE Double Books with Junkie, 1953. (PS3552 .U75 J8 1953. Marvin Tatum Collection of Contemporary Literature. Photograph by Petrina Jackson)

We look forward to seeing you again when we feature the letter “K.”  Until then, bye bye!