Just in time for Halloween, Special Collections has gone Goth! A new exhibit, Deep Into That Darkness Peering: Gothic Literature from the ZSR Rare Books Collection, opened this week in the Special Collections & Archives Reading Room (ZSR room 625). Many items from ZSR’s collection of 18th and 19th century gothic literature are on view,... Continue reading “Tales of Terror! Gothic fiction on exhibit in Special Collections” ›
If you were a holiday shopper in the 1830s, one item on your list might well have been an annual gift book—an anthology of illustrations, poems, stories, and essays, in an affordable but decorative binding. Several examples of 19th century holiday gift books are now on exhibit in the ZSR Library Special Collections & Archives... Continue reading “A Token of My Affection: 19th Century Christmas Annuals” ›
Two hundred years ago this month, the War of 1812 began. This three-year conflict with Britain was, as one recent commentator observed, “the Jan Brady of American conflicts for good reason: not only was it book-ended by two vastly more significant wars, but its causes weren’t sexy, its conclusions were muddy, and its most famous... Continue reading “The American Star, 1817” ›