A place for news and information about rare books, manuscripts and university archives.
I was looking through pictures of College Row during the 1960s in response to a research inquiry and came across this print. It’s from the University Photographers Collection and was shot in October 1966—two years before Wesleyan returned to coeducation. The individuals in the photo are not identified. I don’t know what this photo was … Read more
It’s been just over a year since the Occupy Wall Street protest movement began. In honor of the anniversary of the movement’s beginning (on September 17, 2011), here are some images from a new addition to our collection, just cataloged this week: an artist’s book consisting of 24 plastic cards, made to look like credit … Read more
Page one of Wilmer Herr’s WWI Service Record. The remaining three pages are below. The pick of this week is the World War I Service Record of Wilmer Edgar Herr, Class of 1915. “Bennie” Herr (as he was known to his classmates) was the first Wesleyan man to be killed in the war. His brother, … Read more
We’re inaugurating a new feature on our blog: Pick of the Week. In the course of our of everyday work, we come across a lot of really interesting items, and we thought it would be fun to select one a week to give a sense of these things. Our first pick of the week comes … Read more
New Student Arrival Day was today and I joined fellow SC&A staff members Rebecca McCallum (shown above) and Linda Hurteau to help out as part of the 12th annual WesHAUL. As Suzy Taraba points out, it shows that the requirement in my job description that I’m able lift 40-pound boxes doesn’t only apply to archival … Read more
Charles Francis Rice, Class of 1872, kept a diary as an undergraduate at Wesleyan. We can gain a good understanding of Rice’s actions and values by reading his entries. He faithfully records the high points of his day to give us a picture of his life on campus and at home in the early 1870s. … Read more
SC&A is on a roll. We have another collection ready for your use: Cased Images Collection, 1849-1860. What are cased images? Those are the nineteenth century photographs presented in protective, often decorative, enclosures. The cases were often small—about 3.25” by 3.75”—and could be larger. This collection includes daguerreotypes and an ambrotype. Not everyone is familiar … Read more
SC&A likes to give you a heads up when there’s a collection that’s ready for use. We have a good one for you—a collection of 19th century photographs. The Joseph W. Reed and George Creeger Collection of Human Likenesses, 1840-1900, is just about ready for you to use. English Department faculty members Joe Reed and … Read more
With continuing interest in the “first experiment in coeducation” at Wesleyan, it seems timely to point out some of the resources available. Wait, didn’t you know Wesleyan was coed for forty years between 1872 and 1912? You may want to look into this yourself. Special Collections & Archives, and Olin Library at large, have some … Read more
To our student workers, without whom the library could not function: You never know how much of an impact you may make on us! Special Collections & Archives recently received a gift of a 1577 English legal book, presented to Wesleyan University “in honor of Kent Olson, Wesleyan Class of 1977, whose intelligence, energy and … Read more
