Our series profiling the next generation of special collections librarians continues today with Jordan Goffin, Special Collections Librarian with Providence Public Library in Providence, Rhode Island.

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How did you get started in rare books?

For a long time I thought I wanted to pursue a PhD in medieval literature. Then one day I realized that even though I liked medieval literature, I liked a lot of other stuff just as much. I ended up at Indiana University, and after about one class at the Lilly Library I came to the conclusion that rare books librarianship was the perfect solution. I'd get to jump from medieval manuscripts to World War II posters to eighteenth-century nautical manuals in the space of a single day.

What is your role at your institution?

As the Special Collections Librarian, I oversee the collection (~40,000 books plus manuscripts, ephemera, etc.) and perform pretty much the full range of rare book librarian duties: I buy new materials for the collections, catalog books and process manuscript collections now and then, put together exhibitions and teach classes, work on digital projects, post to our blog, and work with researchers.

Tell us about your mapping project of the Rhode Island book trade:

When I first arrived in Rhode Island and started working at the RI Historical Society I knew I wanted to work on a project that would give me the chance to become more familiar with the state's book trade. I had originally intended to just put together a map or timeline for my own personal use, but one thing led to another and I decided to turn it into an online resource for anyone else interested in where and when people were producing and selling books in Rhode Island. As it stands now, the site tries to locate as many people and institutions involved in the state's eighteenth-century book trade as possible. It's been really gratifying to see people's interest in the topic, and there are some great new projects out there mapping the book trade around the world.

Have you worked at other institutions as well?

In addition to Providence Public Library and the RI Historical Society, I worked for about two years in Missoula as the Special Collections Librarian at the University of Montana. I've really enjoyed working at all three institutions.

Favorite rare book / ephemera that you've handled?

I'll start with the obligatory disclaimer that it's just not possible to pick one favorite (or ten, or twenty...). Here at PPL we have a pretty fantastic medieval mnemonic bible (previously belonging to Henry, Prince of Wales), so that's an immediate favorite. But I'm just as much drawn to the humbler items that probably say more about their times. Awhile back I came across a brief little pamphlet from the 1830s on the topic of bathing; it's a fun little tract, and a couple students have already made use of it. My favorite book this month is from our extensive collection of manuscript whaling logbooks. I was pulling together some items for a library tour scheduled for later in the morning. I decided to include a whaling logbook, so I took one off the shelf at random, opened it up and found, in addition to a record of the 1844 voyage, pages of encrypted text, a poem, and about forty pressed plant specimens, including still-fragrant spices.

What do you personally collect?

To be honest, I wouldn't really consider myself much of a collector. There are a couple authors whose books I try to keep up with, and some topics I collect sporadically (mostly relating to the history of the book), but I think I get most of my collecting compulsion sorted out during the workday.

What excites you about rare book librarianship?

My selfish answer to that question is that rare book librarianship is endlessly intellectually stimulating. If I pull a random book from a shelf, I don't know what it will be, but I know it'll be interesting. Then, when I'm feeling a little more altruistic, I remember that there are other people out there who might benefit from our materials as well, so there's the additional pleasure of seeing people do really creative things with the stuff in our collections. Right now, for instance, I know of at least half a dozen artists who are working on projects that make use of our collections. They're interacting with these historic objects in ways that are vibrant and new. And working in a public library means that we have people who come in just to see rare books for the fun of it, which I particularly enjoy seeing.

Thoughts on the future of special collections librarianship?

This seems like a great time to be involved with special collections librarianship. I think there's a widespread interest in physical, historic objects. Special collections libraries have always been the places people go to find answers to the questions nobody else has asked yet. And with the (potentially) extended reach we have thanks to the internet we can bring in new audiences to use our resources and ask those questions.

Any unusual or interesting collection at your library you'd like to draw our attention to?

I think the type of people who read this blog would really enjoy visiting and using our Daniel Berkeley Updike Collection on the History of Printing. It's a treasure trove of materials on the history of printing, particularly typography. As far as unusual is concerned, we have one of the only collections (as far as I know) of materials on the card game whist. It used to be immensely popular, so if anyone wants to find out how it worked, we're the place to visit.

Any upcoming exhibitions at your library?

We have one of the best collections on the typographer Giambattista Bodoni in the US, and I'm putting together an exhibition that will open in February. We'll also be launching a new annual prize for student type design and an online collection of book trade portraits, so it should be a fun event.

Patricia Lyons Simon Newman, a well-loved Chicago native, received a very public farewell this past July when her son, National Public Radio's Scott Simon, tweeted about his experiences in the hospital with her. Simon, host of Morning Edition Saturday, deeply touched his 1.3 million Twitter followers with his poetic bedside reports of his mom's final hours. A working single mother in the 1960s, twice widowed, and thrice married, Newman, 84, had enjoyed a full life.

With part of her estate slated for auction next week, Simon had the opportunity to recall one of his mother's hobbies: collecting rare lottery tickets. "My mother, who had a keen design sense, also thought that many of the lottery ticket designs were quite striking, especially compared to today's flimsy computer-generated slips. For decades, lottery tickets were designed to look as respectable as currency, and included many of the same features," Simon wrote via email. "She enjoyed thumbing through the various tickets and finding out about their stories. She said that people shouldn't buy a lottery ticket because they expected to become millionaires: that (almost) never happens. They should buy one to help build something worthwhile. As she said, 'That way you always win.'"

Lot51-10211937.jpgOn November 6, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will offer several lots of historical Americana from Newman's collection, notably several lots of those antique lottery tickets. The oldest of the offerings are three exceptionally rare colonial lottery tickets signed by S. Watts from America's first lottery, a drawing held at Boston's Faneuil Hall in 1745. As a lot, it is expected to sell for $1,000-2,000. A grouping of later eighteenth-century tickets, including a 1762 New-York City-Hall lottery tickets, is likewise expected to realize $1,000-2,000. Another collection features eighteenth- and nineteenth-century tickets for lotteries relating to public works projects, for example eight 1781 Simsbury Bridge lottery tickets and an 1825 Providence and Worcester Road lottery ticket. Another lot features twenty-nine tickets related to the establishment of academic institutions (e.g., Rutgers, Dartmouth, William & Mary, and Harvard). The colorful tickets seen above are highlights of a selection of over 100 pieces of lottery ephemera, including two 1826 lottery tickets to raise funds for Thomas Jefferson, offered together for an estimated $1,000-2000.  

Newman shared an interest in collecting historic Americana with her second husband, Ralph G. Newman, an author, editor, book dealer, board president of the Chicago Public Library, and friend to poets and presidents. He also founded Chicago's Abraham Lincoln Book Shop. They began acquiring their first tickets in the 1980s, said Simon. "Many states were debating the question of lotteries, and Ralph and my mother were delighted to discover that some of these debates were as old--in fact older--than the Constitution, and that many noted and worthy enterprises were built in part with proceeds from lotteries." Ralph Newman died in 1998.

Also featured in the sale are several other historic documents from Newman's collection, including a 1777 Journals of Congress, covering Sept. 5 1774 to Jan 1. 1776; an autographed note from James Monroe, and autograph signed letters by Horace Greeley, Andrew Carnegie, and Julia Grant (wife of Ulysses S.).

Images via Leslie Hindman.

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Germaine Greer, pioneering feminist academic and author of The Female Eunuch, announced on Sunday that she sold her lifetime archive to the University of Melbourne. Greer sold the archive for $3m, but some of the cost was for the transportation, storage, indexing, and digitization of the collection. The remaining amount - as yet undisclosed - will be given to Greer's charity Friends of Gondwana Rainforest. The charity seeks to conserve and restore the Australian rainforest.

Greer has been a natural archivist, keeping meticulous records since her days as an undergraduate at the University of Melbourne. The archive primarily consists of manuscripts of her books, diaries, and correspondence with prominent intellectuals and politicians, but also includes such rarities as her college essay papers, her Ph.D. draft, copies of letters sent to admiring fans, love letters, and correspondence with her father.

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Greer was born in 1939 in a Melbourne suburb.  Educated at the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, and Cambridge University, Greer went on to teach at several prominent Universities - including Cambridge.  The author of many books, she published her most famous work, The Female Eunuch, in 1970. (Its iconic cover was designed by John Holmes, a collectable name in his own right). The Female Eunuch quickly became a bestseller and made Greer a household name.  The book inspired both adulation and condemnation from its many readers and advanced a global conversation about feminism and women's liberation.

Greer currently lives on a 3 acre property in Essex.  She also owns a home near the rainforest in southeast Queensland.

"Archives are the paydirt of history," said Greer at an archive event earlier this year at the University of Melbourne. "Everything else is opinion. At a certain point you actually need documents."

Greer's archive is anticipated to arrive in Melbourne in July, 2014.

For your viewing pleasure, a look at the official trailer for The Book Thief, based on Markus Zusak's 2006 novel, out in theaters on November 8. The buzz for this film, set in World War II Germany and starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, is getting louder by the day, due in part by last week's advertisement in the New York Times which almost looked like a printing error -- the pages were blank. Well, blank except for the newspaper's logo, the date and page number, and, at the bottom of the second page, the film's website, wordsarelife.com.


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© 2013 Thomas Docherty. Published in The Snatchabook by Sourcebooks. All Rights Reserved.


"The Snatchabook," by Helen Docherty, illustrated by Thomas Docherty; Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, $16.99, ages 3-6.

            "In every house,

                        in every bed,            

                                    a bedtime book

                                                 was being read."


The story starts innocently enough; all the critters in the arboreal hamlet of Burrow Down complete their days with a delightful bedtime tale. All is well until an unwelcome stranger flies into town one night and steals the books quicker than a bolt of lightening. Who is the book thief? (Readers can rule out Stephen Blumberg.) After all the books disappear, a brave bunny named Eliza Brown is determined to catch the crook.  Once collared, the aptly-named Snatchabook confesses his crimes, and Eliza decides to help the creature find redemption in a most appropriate and caring manner.  Helen Docherty's jaunty rhymes keep pace with husband Thomas Docherty's loveable renditions of badgers, bunnies and porcupines. Children will love acting this book out - sometimes as the sneaky Snatchabook, other times as the wise Eliza Brown. While fun to read, The Snatchabook also teaches an important lesson about the power of reading to stir young minds.

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© 2013 Thomas Docherty. Published in The Snatchabook by Sourcebooks. All Rights Reserved.

Our series profiling the next generation of special collections librarians continues today with Anne Bahde, History of Science Librarian in the Special Collections and Archives Research Center at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

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How did you get started in rare books?

The summer before my last year in college, I got a job paging materials in the Newberry Library's Department of Special Collections. At the time I had no idea how lucky I was, I just knew I needed a job and that it would be nice to work with books. On my first day during a tour, they took me into the vault and showed me a First Folio. As I thought about how many hands had touched that book, how significant it was as an artifact--it took my breath away, and that moment changed everything. I walked into work that day thinking I wanted to be an English professor, and I walked out wondering how I could spend every day around things like that. 
 
Where did you earn your MLS?

I went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and tried to concentrate in rare books and special collections librarianship. This was way before UIUC had a certificate in special collections--I sort of had to make it all up as I went along, and I was lucky to have professors that were willing to support that. I think I had something like five independent studies in rare book topics. I'm so glad that students there now have such a great program to get them started in the profession.

Have you worked at other institutions as well?

I worked in the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Chicago as an undergraduate and a graduate student, working as a page, exhibit and preservation support, and rare books assistant. It was an incredible place to begin- I loved the energy of working in such a vibrant, busy department, and I draw on the lessons of my early experiences there nearly every day. I managed a small used and antiquarian bookstore in Chicago for a while after graduate school, then went back to SCRC as reader services assistant and assistant to the Director. After a brief stop in Washington for a second master's degree, I started my first professional position in Special Collections and University Archives at San Diego State University. The collections there were fantastic, and I worked on instruction, outreach, exhibits, public services, collection development, preservation, and more as part of a small team there. It was exhausting but terrific.

What is your role at your institution?

I curate the rare books collections and the history of science collections, and do acquisitions, instruction, outreach, exhibits, and reference for those areas. I work with a small team of curators who work on other significant collecting areas, in a department of talented and dedicated professionals. I've only been at Oregon State for about a year and half, and it has been tremendous fun to learn the collections over that time--every day is a new surprise in the stacks. 
 
Favorite rare book / ephemera that you've handled?

It's impossible to choose. In one day I can handle early printed books, mid-twentieth century pulps, modern artists' books, and more--each one of those can be a new favorite . I'm as excited by a World War II poster as by an incunable. Generally, I'm partial to 19th and early 20th century ephemera, the Wiener Werkstatte, 18th century science, anything with historiated initials, and the book arts work of Julie Chen.

What do you personally collect?

Publishers' bindings have long been a favorite of mine, and they're affordable, which helps. I love to collect them because they can be hiding anywhere, and most of the time it is easy to find them in great condition. I love the art and design of the Arts and Crafts period, and I have a growing collection of periodicals from the Roycrofters and others from the period. I am enchanted by an early 20th century children's periodical called John Martin's Book, and am trying to complete that collection. I also have a little "medium rare" collection going that I add to whenever I see something odd or unusual from the period of about 1850 to 1930.

What excites you about rare book librarianship?

The joy of discovery is addictive, and something I love to share with others. Finding some wonderful detail-in a book or illustration or letter or diary-is the magic of this profession; I try to teach students the art of looking closer to enable them to have that joy too. Teaching gives me great delight, and I am constantly learning too.  The never-ending variety of both the collections and the work also fuels my energy. Sometimes I keep track of everything I do in one day--last winter there was a day when I deciphered a paragraph of 16th century handwriting, taught a class on natural history and illustration, held two Nobel prizes, answered a reference question using correspondence between two famous scientists, marveled over an artists' book with an undergraduate, selected rare books for an upcoming display, worked with a donor, and made a big exciting purchase for the history of science rare book collection. I still can't believe I get paid to have such fun.

Thoughts on the future of special collections librarianship?

I hope to see an age of radical access soon, where we pour energy into making our collections as discoverable and usable as possible. We've worked hard to digitize and to inform others of our collections. But researchers often find it difficult to locate our materials, and discovery tools that make that process as easy and rewarding as possible are really needed. There is such inspiring potential at the intersection of rare materials, linked data, digital humanities, and beyond, and I feel lucky to be part of this profession at such a transformative time. 

Any unusual or interesting collection at your library you'd like to draw our attention to?

One area we've been paying a lot of attention to developing is the broad history of alternative health and nutritional medicine. To my knowledge, very few institutions are concentrating on alternative health, and our collections already had significant strength in this area to build upon. The cornerstone of our history of science collections, the Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers, have a significant concentration on natural health and alternative approaches to healing stemming from Pauling's interest in vitamin and mineral therapy and orthomolecular medicine. In other rare book collections, we already had early modern herbals, almanacs, books of folk and botanic medicine, domestic medicine manuals, formularies, and city and national pharmacopoeia. We're currently trying to fill in the gaps from the 16th through the early 20th centuries, and paying special attention to "vernacular science" in the 16th and 17th centuries, late 19th century patent medicines, and the use of vitamins in the early 20th century.

Any upcoming exhibitions at your library?

We're in the early planning stages for an exhibit featuring our History of Atomic Energy collection. It's one of my favorite collections at OSU--it holds thousands of items covering all aspects of nuclear history and the atomic age: scientific, political, economic, technological, cultural, and social elements. Among other strengths, the collection has a section of fiction, poetry, drama, and music that contains some particular rarities, including comics, unpublished plays, and sheet music that I'm excited about having on display. Materials in this collection are always attractive to students, both visually for their content, so I can't wait to feature it in our gallery.  

FoldingCalendar.pngCarried along by medieval readers like a purse on a string, this vade mecum was created in Paris c. 1290-1300. It is a rare survivor from the medieval period, particularly in such good condition--it has its original twenty-seven leaves, textile cover, and leather case--and was likely carried by a merchant during his daily travels. (You can see it from all angles on Yale's Flickr page.) The little folding calendar noting local fair dates in Champagne is one of the fifty treasures featured in a new book about the Beinecke Library's collection.

To celebrate the library's 50th anniversary this month, Yale University Press has published An Inspiration to All Who Enter: Fifty Works from Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (paperback, $25). Edited by Kathryn James, curator of early modern books and manuscripts at the Beinecke, the book also contains contributions by Raymond Clemens, Nancy Kuhl, George Miles, Kevin Repp, Edwin C. Schroeder, and Timothy Young. With full-color photography of these fifty incredible objects--the young John Hancock's penmanship workbook, Siegfried Sassoon's annotated first edition of Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That, and drafts and typescript of Langston Hughes' "Montage of a Dream Deferred," to name a few--this slim volume is eye candy for bibliophiles. There are brief notes for each entry, and one of the most enjoyable relates how the eminent bookseller William Reese sold one of the oldest maps of Mexico City to the library while still an undergraduate at Yale.
 

Voynich_Manuscript_(170).jpgThe Voynich Manuscript (seen above) is another one of the featured items -- in this book it is called one of the Beinecke's "most famous, even notorious" manuscripts. The indecipherable manuscript was presented to the library in 1969 by H.P. Kraus, and while it does have a long paper trail, it remains a mystery.


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A rare book is helping a forest restoration project in Oxfordshire understand how the forest changed throughout time. The Wychwood Project, centered in Oxford, seeks to conserve and restore the Wychwood Forest, which in earlier times covered most of west Oxfordshire. Aiding in this endeavor is the book Cornbury and the Forest of Wychwood, privately printed in 1910 and estimated to be worth about £500 today. The book was donated to the Wychwood Project by a supporter.

The project managers for the Wychwood Project have found the book's guidance on the former boundaries of the Wychwood Forest to be particularly helpful as they seek key areas to reforest. The book contains a wealth of information on the extent of the Forest in the 19th century as it was in the process of being cleared for farming. The book also investigates a further 1,000 years of Wychwood history, tracing its development back to the Domesday period.

Using the book as a guide post, the Wychwood Project recently planted 20,000 new trees in an area near Witney called Foxburrow Wood. The area was part of the former Wychwood Forest and was depicted in one of the book's maps.

As the Wychwood Project continues, the rare book will continue to play an instrumental role in reforestation planning.
I had the good fortune to see Terror of the Soul, the new Edgar Allan Poe exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum, last week. The array of books, artifacts, images, and manuscripts is nothing short of stunning. When else will you see three copies of the first edition of Tamerlane, when only twelve are known to exist in the world? One of them belongs to Susan Jaffe Tane, a private collector who loaned many items to this show.  

Ultima Thule daguerreotype_Masury and Hartshorn.jpgThere are several images of Poe on exhibit -- an 1860s carte-de-visite long attributed (incorrectly) to Mathew Brady, a linocut portrait by Eduard Prüssen, and this "Ultima Thule" daguerreotype. If he looks more haggard and bereft than usual it is because he tried to commit suicide only four days prior. Another portrait, called the "Whitman" daguerrotype, is thought to have been taken a week after the "Ultima Thule," once Poe had a chance to recover.

In artifacts, a handwritten label fragment once affixed to Poe's coffin gave me the willies, for lack of a better phrase. The label was removed when his remains were transferred to a different graveyard.

But, to my mind, the manuscripts stole the show. Not only did Poe have beautiful handwriting, as evidenced in his June 9, 1849 letter to his editor asking for $10, he had an unusual way of collating them: he pasted individual sheets together to form long scrolls. One example, on exhibit for the first time in its original state, is the manuscript of "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fetner." Poe used sealing wax to affix the narrow sheets end to end. Though it got divided up later on, the scroll was reassembled in 2013. There are several scrolls on exhibit, and another from September 1849, just weeks before his death, is a cool example. On blue paper, Poe made a copy of his poem, "Ulalume," for Miss Susan Ingram. She wrote that he "made quite a scroll and [it] must have taken him a long time to write out. The ten stanzas were written on five large sheets of paper pasted together in the neatest possible way, end to end." Still another scroll, for "The Bells" (July 1849), has mysterious fire damage along one side.

Also, in terms of handwriting, you can see Poe using his natural hand for letters and a minuscule, roman script for fair copies of his literary works. This is most evident on his manuscript "Epimanes" from 1833, where he is writing out the text of the story and then writing a letter to Joseph T. and Edwin Buckingham on the same page.

His correspondence with Dickens and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, as well as the manuscripts, books, and ephemera by those he influenced, such as Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Stephen King, effectively brings Poe out of the shadows. If you are in New York City before the exhibit closes on January 26, 2014, you must check it out.  
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Image: Studio of Samuel Masury and S. W. Hartshorn; Edwin Manchester, photographer; "Ultima Thule" daguerreotype portrait (contemporary copy) of Edgar Allan Poe, November 9, 1848; The Morgan Library &  Museum, New York, MA 8658; Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909. Credit: Graham S. Haber, Courtesy of the Morgan Library.

Halloween is still two weeks away, yet goblins, witches and faux headstones already claim valuable lawn space across the country. While the kids celebrate with silly tricks and sticky treats, why not indulge grown-ups this season with work by the marvelously gloomy Edward Gorey.


Located in the Flatiron neighborhood in Manhattan, B&B Rare Books is featuring three Gorey first editions; The Doubtful Guest, ($275) The Blue Aspic ($150) and The Loathsome Couple($100).  All three are in fine to very good condition and none will break the bank. 

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Although these books aren't for the faint of heart - unwelcome visitors, death and destruction feature prominently throughout - perhaps the most ghoulish tale is The Loathsome Couple.  It is considered a cult classic among Gorey collectors and tells such a shocking story that even the author acknowledged it as his most appalling. The murderous husband and wife couple is based on a real duo that perpetrated the chilling Moors Murders in England in the 1960's.  Unlike in most Gorey tales, the characters in this book are caught and suitably punished. 


Another way to celebrate Halloween would be to visit the Gorey House in Yarmouth Port on Cape Cod. Since the author's death in 2000, the home has been converted into a delightfully unique museum that chronicles the life, work and charitable endeavors of the master of macabre. 

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The Gorey House hasn't planned anything special for Halloween this year. (The House co-hosted a Dracula Blood Drive with the Cape Cod Hospital in 2006, but hasn't since then.) It is currently exhibiting original artwork from The Vinegar Works, Three Volumes of Moral Instruction.


Currently featured in the gift shop is a toy theater based on Gorey's drawings and sets for his award-winning Broadway production of Dracula. It retails at a reasonable $25.00.


Sadly, Ombledroom, the twenty-eight pound white cat who ruled the House and delighted visitors for twelve years, passed away last summer at the age of twelve. Visitors can pay tribute at to the feline's final resting place, which is situated under a Southern magnolia tree on a patch of lawn by the house.   Happy Haunting!

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