Tuesday, Sept. 11 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of American writer William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), best known by his pen name O. Henry. Porter is famous for witty short stories like “The Ransom of Red Chief” and “The Gift of the Magi,” which often feature surprise twists at the end. Porter was a …
The library’s new exhibit,Voices of the Civil War, features a number of famous literary works from the Rare Book Collections to tell the story of the American Civil War — from Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. One significant item on exhibit is a first …
L. Tom Perry Special Collections contains many early publications by the Transcendentalists, from works by major figures of the movement like Ralph Waldo Emerson (including his seminal essay, Nature), Henry David Thoreau (a first edition of Walden is pictured here), and Theodore Parker; to lectures given at the Concord School of Philosophy. These works are …
Children learning to read are often given ABC picture books to introduce them to the alphabet — perhaps you had a favorite when you were young. The standard form for today’s alphabet book originates in the 19th century. Early in the century, children often learned their letters using short primers, which listed the alphabet, common …
Two of the newest acquisitions in the Rare American Literature collection are memoirs by Civil War-era nurses. These books complement the memoirs of more famous Civil War nurses in Special Collections, including Louisa May Alcott and Walt Whitman. Notes of Hospital Life is an anonymous work which relates the experience of a Union nurse working …
The United States Civil War period has inspired many writers of fiction, and has provided a rich setting for novels as diverse as Little Women, Gone With the Wind, Rifles for Watie, and The Killer Angels. Special Collections contains an array of important Civil War-related fiction, including literature by those who experienced the war firsthand …
2011 is an excellent year for literary anniversaries. One to mark in the month of June is the 200th birthday of American novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe, best known for “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” on 14 June. Stowe was the daughter of a minister and her family was very active in education and social and religious causes. …
Speaking of Civil War-related literature, fans of Margaret Mitchell’s epic novel “Gone With the Wind” celebrated the 75th anniversary of its publication earlier this month. Special Collections owns two copies of the first edition of this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, though both lack the highly collectible dust jacket. “Gone With the Wind” was made into a …
2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the American Civil War. Special Collections has a variety of archival and rare book collections related to the war, including original letters and photographs, print histories, pamphlets, and other documents and print sources created during the Civil War (1861-1865). The Rare Literature Collections contain many examples …
Mark Twain’s life and works have received renewed attention in recent months because of the recent publication of volume 1 of his autobiography (University of California Press, 2010) and one publisher’s decision to censor the language of a planned edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Special Collections owns over 150 early and fine press …