Image Leafing Through Lewis White Beck’s Career and Mind Lewis White Beck (1913-1997) was Professor Emeritus of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy at UR. Image Juneteenth Juneteenth is being celebrated by UR as an official holiday for the first time this year. Image Entering the Space of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservations RBSCP Reading Room Graduate Student Assistant Vincent Tanzil reflects on his first month in the department Image New Ephemera Exhibit highlights the “Minor Transient Documents of Everyday Life” RBSCP’s new exhibit examines ephemera, offering insights into what has been kept, and how it can be used today. Image Poetry with Ukrainian Roots RBSCP student assistant Veronica Cisneros discusses Ukrainian poets with ties to RBSCP's special collections. Image Poet, Professor, and International Spy: Joan V. Bondurant (1918-2006) RBSCP student assistant Veronica Cisneros discusses the fascinating life and work of Joan Bondurant. Image Sarah Wyman Whitman: An Artist's Touch We share a few of these recently acquired Sarah Wyman Whitman designs, with a focus on lesser-known covers. Image Jazz Rochester: Rochester’s Mid-Century Jazz Scene through the Lens of Paul Hoeffler An exhibit that celebrates Rochester’s rich Jazz history through the camera lens of photographer, Paul Hoeffler. Image Thomas E. Dewey: Politician and Crimefighter The Thomas E. Dewey papers at the University of Rochester consist of over 1,500 boxes and nearly 500 scrapbooks, audiovisual items, and objects. Image Native American Heritage month During Native American Heritage month, RBSCP highlights a historical yet conflicting figure in the Native American sphere Image "While We Were Out: Building Special Collections while Working from Home!" An exhibit which highlights some of the items that we acquired during the pandemic Image Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow New acquisition of letter by a Confederate spy Image ExhiBits Series #6: A Single Item Tells a Story: Creating a Stir with Suffrage Cookbooks RBSCP staff Autumn Haag and Jessica Lacher-Feldman discuss history of Suffrage cookbooks Image Invisible Fires: LGBTQIA+ in the archives **Content Warning** contains descriptions of violence and discrimination against women and LGBTQIA+ people, and reclaimed homophobic slurs. Image ExhiBits Series #5: “Organize, Agitate, Participate: Meet Ruth Scott through her Papers,” with special guest Ruth Scott An interview with teacher, author, politician, and activist Ruth Scott Image Ruth Watanabe, Head of Sibley Library and Japanese-American Rochesterian (1916-2005) "A pivotal person in American music librarianship..." Image ExhiBits Series #4: “Voices for Today and Tomorrow: The Murals of Brittany Williams” An interview with Rochester artist Brittany Williams commissioned to paint three murals for the RBSCP exhibit, "We Want More and We Will Have It" Image A Brief Exploration of the Rochester Poetry Society and its Members Rochester is the home of the OLDEST poetry society in the upstate New York region. Image Mollie Moon: A Real Voice RBSCP Processing archivist Lev Earle discusses activist Mollie Moon for Women's History Month Image ExhiBit Series #2: Three Generations of Giving: The Sibley and Watson Families Marjorie Searl, Retired Chief Curator at the Memorial Art Gallery, reflects on the Sibley Watson families' philanthropy Image ExhiBit Series #1: Here’s Some More New virtual series, “ExhiBits,” which has allowed us opportunities to take short but informative dives into aspects of our newest digital exhibit Image "How Do I......" How to Navigate the RBSCP Website and How to Access and Use a RBSCP Finding Aid Image The Beecher-Tilton Scandal A shocking allegation of adultery between prominent supporters of the suffrage movement Image Poet Lucille Clifton Clifton includes political undercurrents in her poetry. Image The Margaret “Midge” Costanza Papers RBSCP student assistant Katelyn Gibson discusses processing the manuscript collection of Midge Costanza Image Investigating the Porter Family Collection: Detective Work, the Abolitionist Movement in Rochester, and Strong Family Ties RBSCP student assistant Eleanor Lenoe reflects on her archival work with the collection of a Rochester family Image Technicolor Victorians Behold. The Victorians’ love of technicolor. Image On Ghosts Every archive is full of them. Image Celebrating International Archives Week with Chicago Dzviti Highlighting photographic works of Chicago Dzviti, who documented Zimbabwean life and culture in the 1990s Image Victoria: A Ruling Image RBSCP Exhibit celebrating 200th birthday of Queen Victoria Image The Curious Case of the Rochester Sherlockians RBSCP student assistant Katelyn Gibson discusses processing the Ruth R. Missal Collection of Sherlockiana & the Lewis Neisner Sherlockiana Collection Image Lola Haskins’s Take on the Pastoral: How the Female Voice Both Disassembles and Constructs Fantasy RBSCP student assistant Emilee Brecht discusses poet Lola Haskins for National Poetry Month. Image Embedded in the Archives: The Rochester Immigrant Perspective History Lecturer Molly Ball discusses University of Rochester's HIS252: Immigration in the Americas Image “Bully rebles in sight”: A Rochesterian in the Civil War RBSCP received a donation of materials that shines a light on one Rochester man’s experiences fighting in the American Civil War. Image What do philately and duels have to do with the RBSCP reading room? Early federal postage stamp on a 19th century letter about dueling Image World AIDS Day 30th anniversary of World AIDS day Image History meets Art in New RBSCP Acquisition: Frederick Douglass and Meleko Mokgosi RBSCP acquires four pieces of contemporary by the internationally renowned artist Meleko Mokgosi Image Douglass and Burns in New Bedford Frederick Douglass’ personal copy of The Works of Robert Burns undertook a historic trip back to the town where it may have been purchased. Image A Look into the City of Rochester's Past A summation of major themes from the papers and personal experiences with Civil Rights leaders Dr. Walter Cooper and Constance Mitchell. Image The Political Gymnasium William Henry Seward Project Archivist Alison Reynolds discusses a recent lithograph addition to our collections. Image "Poetry as a Homeland:" A Willing Book Collection A condensed version of the winning essay and annotated bibliography submitted to the Book Collecting Contest by U of R student Erin O'Malley Image Elizabeth Hollister Frost (1887-1958) One in a series of five blog posts where you will learn a bit more about women in Rochester Image A Look into Virginia Moscrip’s Life One in a series of five blog posts where you will learn a bit more about women in Rochester Image Happy Birthday, Edward Gorey! Librarian Liz Call reflects on illustrator Edward Gorey (1925-2000) Image Valentine's Day Storytime Science, Sex and Society in Victorian Britain class "speed-dates" contemporary books about love. Image Popping Questions Love and Ephemera in Special Collections Image Collection Highlight: Votes for Women! A Citizen's right to vote: United States vs. Susan B. Anthony Image Collection Highlight: G.W. Baker's Pictorial Alphabet During the 1700s, Charles M. de Lepee of France sought to provide a means of communication for those who were mute or deaf. Image Collection Highlight: Bellavalle's Opusculum repertorii prognosticon Firminus de Bellavalle, also known as Firmin de Beauval, was born in Picard (France) and flourished as an astrologer Image Collection Highlight: Der Stachel der Liebe This illustration is one of the earliest European woodcuts in an American library Image Collection Highlight: The Wonderful Leaps of Sam Patch Look before you leap! Image Collection Highlight: Robinson's Robin Hood Like the earliest Robin Hood plays, the Rochester Robin Hood is a local and amateur production, community-driven and community-producing. Image Collection Highlight: Ritson's Robin Hood Illustrated by the famous engraver Thomas Bewick (1753-1828), Ritson's Robin Hood sought to gather the materials of the tradition. Image Collection Highlight: Pyle's Merry Adventures of Robin Hood This is no ordinary children’s book. Image Collection Highlight: Francis Bacon's History of the Reigns of... The History of Reading is a relatively new field that has generated an increasing number of followers, especially among those interested in reception. Image Collection Highlight: Leonardo's Traitté de la Peintvre Leonardo's Trattato was intended for an audience of young painters, as he himself states: "Quello che debbe imparar il giovanne." Image Collection Highlight: Rosselli's Thesavrus Artificiosae Memoriae During the Middle Ages the techniques described in mnemonic treatises were very popular, becoming an integral part of the training of theologians. Image Collection Highlight: Cortés's Historia de Nueva-España... Historians and the participants themselves agree that the conquest of Mexico took place in two well-defined stages. Image Collection Highlight: Albumasar's Introductorium in astronomiam The astrologer Abū Ma‘shar (Albumasar) was born in Balkh (now northern Afghanistan), a city with a long history of cultural diversity... Image Collection Highlight: Celestinus III, Papal Bull This papal bull, issued by Celestinus III on the 29th of March 1197, was written in Latin on parchment. Image Collection Highlight: Huxley's Evidence as to Man's Place... Our copy of Huxley's Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature was previously owned by the American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan (1818-1881). Image Collection Highlight: Varro's De Lingua Latina Marcus Terentius Varro was born at Reate, a small town located north-east of Rome. Image Collection Highlight: Virgil's L'opere... The volume is richly illustrated with woodcuts placed at the beginning of each book within the Eclogues, Georgics and Aeneid. Image Collection Highlight: Darwin's On the Origin of Species Our copy of this first edition is part of a comprehensive collection of books by and about Charles Darwin. Image Collection Highlight: Arthur Tracy Lee The Arthur Tracy Lee Papers include seventy images of Texas and other locations painted and drawn by Arthur Tracy Lee. Image Collection Highlight: Wright's Raggvaglio della Solenne... The Scottish portrait-painter, John Michael Wright, was appointed as steward to Castlemaine, probably because of his knowledge of Rome and Italian. Image Collection Highlight: Chatterton's Poems, Supposed to Have Been Written at Bristol For more than 2,500 years literary forgeries have been a common feature in the western intellectual tradition. Image Collection Highlight: Sacchini's Leben...Patris Petri Canisij... Our featured book is the first German translation of Francesco Sacchini's biography of the Jesuit father and theologian Peter Canisius (1521-1597). Image Collection Highlight: Dryden's The Hind and the Panther This volume was presented to the library by alumnus, bibliographer, and appraiser of rare books, Robert F. Metzdorf (1912-1975). Image Collection Highlight: Francis Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum Bacon's Sylva Sylvarum, belongs to a group of philosophical tracts that were published posthumously. Image Collection Highlight: Dryden's Three Poems upon the Death of his Late Highness Oliver Lord Protector of England. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland, died on 3 September and was buried on 23 November 1658. Image Collection Highlight: Evelyn's De rerum natura The frontispiece that opens Evelyn's translation of the first book of De rerum natura anticipates and summarizes the overall tone of Lucretius' poem. Image Collection Highlight: Dryden's Amphitryon Our copy was a gift by Augusta Laney Hoeing (1883-1972), in memory of her late husband Charles Hoeing, Dean of the College for Men Men (1914-1929) Image Collection Highlight: Dryden's Ode, on the Death of ... Purcell In the last five years of his life, Purcell composed music for a number of Dryden's plays, including Amphitryon (1690) and King Arthur (1691). Image Collection Highlight: Dryden's Annus Mirabilis Here are three issues of the first edition of Annus Mirabilis, of which our copy is the third. Image Collection Highlight: Dryden's Works of Virgil "We hope that Mr. Dryden will undertake to give us a Translation of Virgil; 'tis indeed a most difficult work..." Image Collection Highlight: Phaedri's Fabularum Aesopiarum The Dutch scholar Pieter Burman (1668-1741) published an edition of Phaedrus' Fables in an octavo format in Amsterdam in 1698. Image Collection Highlight: Aelianus, Variae historiae libri, XIIII Our copy belonged to Colonel Thomas Wildman (1787-1859), an officer during the Napoleonic Wars and a close friend of the poet Lord Byron (1788-1824). Image Collection Highlight: Jackson's Caxton William Caxton (ca. 1420-1491) was the first Englishman to be involved in the art of printing, which he introduced in England in 1476. Image Collection Highlight: Baskerville's Sallust and Florus The purchase of this book was made possible by the generosity of friends and family who contributed to create a fund in memory of Eugene Richner. Image Collection Highlight: Rolewinck's Fasciculus Temporum The Fasciculus Temporum is a compendium of both ecclesiastical and secular world history, from the biblical genesis to the 15th century. Image Collection Highlight: Ptolemy's Geographia Universalis The German cosmographer and scholar of Hebrew Sebastian Münster (1489-1552) published four editions of Ptolemy's Geography during his lifetime. Image Collection Highlight: St Jerome's Omnivm opervm... Johann Amerbach (c. 1443-1513) was Basle's leading editor, printer, and bookseller at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Image Collection Highlight: Pope's Iliad of Homer The production of the first edition of Pope’s translation of the Iliad was commercially pioneering. Image Collection Highlight: Thucydides Henri II Estienne was one of the most accomplished of a dynasty of learned publishers whose beginnings can be traced to the early 16th century. Image Collection Highlight: Ovid's Metamorphosis Our Collection Highlight is the 1632 folio edition of Sandys' translation, which would become the model for subsequent 17th century editions Image Collection Highlight: Borges' Otras inquisiciones (1952) Borges' Otras inquisiciones is a mature and ambitious book containing thirty-nine essays. Image Collection Highlight: Juvenal Our copy of D. Junii Juvenalis Satyrae et Auli Persii Flacci Satyrae, published by John Baskerville in 1761, is heavily annotated in Latin. Image Collection Highlight: Papworth's Select Views of London Papworth benefited from the commercial and industrial boom during the period following the end of the Napoleonic wars (1793-1815). Image Collection Highlight: Chambers's Plans, Elevations...at Kew Our collection highlight is a record of Chambers's designs of more than 20 building structures built at Kew Gardens between 1757 and 1762. Image Collection Highlight: The workes of...Geoffrey Chaucer This seventh edition of Chaucer’s complete works to a great extent reproduces the one that the scholar Thomas Speght (d.1621) had originally published Image Collection Highlight: Homer. His Iliads Translated The translator and publisher of this luxurious folio edition of the Iliad was the Scotsman John Ogilby (1600-1676). Image Collection Highlight: Suetonius's Sexti Aurelij Victoris Our volume opens with its editor Giovanni Battista Egnazio's dedicatory preface to Jean Grolier, the French bibliophile and diplomat. Image Collection Highlight: The Works of Sir Joshua Reynolds The editor of this work, Edmond Malone (1741-1812), is best known as a Shakespearean scholar and an accomplished biographer. Image Collection Highlight: Pope Urban VIII's Poemata This is only one out of thousands of bindings commissioned for the library of French historian, lawyer, and diplomat, Jacques-Auguste de Thou. Image Collection Highlight: Langley's Principles of Gardening New Principles of Gardening (1728) contains meticulous descriptions of how the principles of geometry can be applied to the design of gardens Image Collection Highlight: Dante's La Comedia Francesco Marcolini's courageous decision to print a heavily illustrated edition of La Commedia must be analyzed in the context of other editions. Image Collection Highlight: Brunel's Zeichnungen...unter der Themse Our collection highlight is a small guidebook describing the work-in-progress on the tunnel under the River Thames Image Collection Highlight: Copernicus's De revolutionibus Copernicus wrote De revolutionibus at the cathedral in Frauenburg (now Frombork) in the northernmost diocese in Poland. Image Collection Highlight: Webber's The Hunter-Naturalist This book should be seen as part of a wider ideological trend to mythologize the West: the newly explored land is portrayed in Eden-like scenes. Image Collection Highlight: Cervantes' Don Quixote de la Mancha This title represents a significant landmark in the printing history of Cervantes' Don Quixote: the first deluxe edition of the novel Image Elizabeth G. Holahan Gift The Holahan gift to the Department of Rare Books, Special Collections and Preservation Image Collection Highlight: Robert Burns and Frederick Douglass "This book was the first bought by me after my escape from slavery..." Image Collection Highlight: Redouté's Choix des plus belles fleurs Redouté (1759-1840) was the most celebrated painter of flowers of his age, and perhaps of any age.
