Request Special Collections Material in WorldCat!

You can now search for and request materials held in Special Collections and University Archives directly from Worldcat! This includes books and periodicals from our Rare Book, National Trust Library, Mass Media and Culture, and State of Maryland collections.

When you come across an interesting title in Worldcat and the location is is located as the Maryland Room in Hornbake Library (HBK), use the ‘Request from Special Collections’ link to request the item. You will be prompted to register for a special collections research account (don’t worry, it’s a quick process you only have to do once). Then select your date of visit, submit your request, and our staff will place it on hold for you in the reading room.

Here’s something you’ll find in Worldcat if you search for Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling tale, The Raven:

Increasing our capacity

Last year, we began a major shifting project. The new shelves are ridiculously tall and very deep. Material can be “dense packed” meaning that there is a whole lot of stuff every shelf.

In January, library staff got a sneak peak and saw our books’ new home. The environment is highly controlled and the humidity and temperature are just right for keeping our material safe.

The best part of this is that we now have the capacity to collect and purchase even more material for you! This allows us to grow and adapt to better suit your, the researchers, needs.

Check out these photos from my visit.

Special Collections Opens Their Doors

This semester we hosted an Open House for University staff and displayed some of the interesting material found within our collection.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Three of these items came from our literary collection and included an early edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an inscribed copy of Mark Twain’s Sketches, New and Old, and a 1794 edition of A Vindication of the Rights of Women. These early editions provided insights into the times in which they were produced through their format, inscriptions or by the significance of their ownership. Much can be learned by looking at original copies of common works.

If you would like to talk to us about using our collections for your own research or to support your instruction, please let us know. We often work with faculty and look forward to the opportunity to get to know you and your students.

Research queries to askhornbake@umd.edu
Instruction support queries to lcleary@umd.edu

A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Mark Twain’s Sketches, New and Old

Versions of a book from manuscript through various publications

 

It’s a Clue! Girls Series Books in Special Collections

You may know about teen sleuth Nancy Drew, but have you head of Beverley Gray, Sue Barton, Cherry Ames, Judy Bolton, Penny Parker, or Vicki Barr?

Special Collections and University Archives is home to many wonderful book collections dating from the 16th century to the present day. One of our favorite, and perhaps most fun, is the Rose and Joseph Pagnani Collection Girls Series collection, available in Hornbake Library.

These books were targeted to young readers in the 1930s and beyond. They featured independent, fearless, and clever women who solved mysteries and foiled crimes in their everyday lives. The heroines in these novels were often young students or career women. Nancy Drew and Judy Bolton were a teen detectives, Cherry Ames was a nurse, Vicki Barr was a flight attendant, Penny Parker was a newspaper reporter, and Beverly Gray was a college student. And since many of these series spanned several years/decades, it is fascinating to see how these literary women evolved over time, growing older (sometimes) and adapting to cultural changes. 

For images from our Girls Series Books, check out the gallery below or visit our Flickr album. Stop by the Maryland Room in Hornbake Library to explore our collections.

 

 

 

Literary Special Collections

Special Collections and University Archives in Hornbake Library is home to a wide array rare and unique literary collections. From personal papers of authors and poets to early printed works, our collections cross a variety of subjects and time periods in the literary world.

Archival Collections

Below are some highlights from our archival literary collections in Hornbake Library:

• Katherine Anne Porter papers
  • Personal papers of American author Katheriane Anne Porter (1890-1980), best known for her short stories and novel Ship of Fools (1962).
• Djuna Barnes papers
  • Personal papers of avant-garde American writer and artist Djuna Barnes (1892-1982), best known for her novel Nightwood (1936).
• Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven papers
  • Personal papers of avant-garde artist and poet Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874-1927). She is associated with Djuna Barnes and the Dada movement.
• Ernest Hemingway collection
  • A large portion of the collection consists of serials that include stories and nonfiction written by and about Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961). It also includes some original correspondence to and from Hemingway. In addition, there are manuscripts and proofs of Hemingway’s work and biographies of Hemingway.
• Literary First Appearances
  • Periodicals containing the “first appearance,” or first public dissemination, of many noteworthy 20th century literary works.
• French Pamphlet Collection
  • Approximately 12,000 pieces dating from 1620 to 1966, covering many key episodes in the history of France. The largest part of the collection is made up of 7000 pamphlets from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, 1788-1815.
• African American Pamphlet Collection
  • 20th century materials on African, African-American, and Caribbean culture and literature. The collection spans the years 1905-1979, although the majority of the pamphlets date from the 1960s and 1970s.

Subject Guides

• American Literature
• British Literature
• International Literature

Rare Book Collections

Our rare book collections contain books printed from the 16th century to modern times. Most are searchable in the online catalog. Below are some highlights from the collection:

• German Expressionism collection
  • Contains serials and books that reflect German Expressionism, a culural, literary, and artistic movement that began in Germany prior to the First World War.
• William Morris collection
  • Works by 19th century British author, socialist, designer and founder of the Kelmscott Press, William Morris (1834-1896).
• Eikon Basilike
  • Guide to the Eikon Basilike and related materials held by Special Collections and University Archives

Want to learn more? Explore our literary special collections online or visit the Maryland Room to speak to a librarian. You can also contact us via email.

Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates and images from our collections.

Alice’s Adventures in Hornbake Library are Coming to an End

If you haven’t made it to Hornbake Library to experience our exhibit Alice 150 Years and Counting…The Legacy of Lewis Carroll, now is the time! The final day it is open will be Friday, July 29th.

Over the past two years, we feel like we have become friends with Alice and her Wonderland friends as we have worked to bring her story to life by displaying the collection of two very devoted Lewis Carroll collectors, August and Clare Imholtz.

Spotlight on Wonderland: The Caterpillar

Whooooo are you? The Caterpillar confronts Alice with this question over and over in Lewis Carroll’s timeless tale,  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Perched on a mushroom and smoking his hookah, the Caterpillar is known for his abrupt, impolite, overly inquisitive, and frustratingly contradictory conversation.

Spotlight on Wonderland: The Mouse

Have you ever listened to someone talk endlessly on a boring topic, only to have them storm off when they caught you daydreaming? Then you have an idea of what was in store for Alice when she encountered the Mouse in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Reflections on the Meaning of Thanksgiving, Then and Now

Today, the AFL-CIO’s commentary on Thanksgiving revolves around the discussion over whether retailers should open on the holiday, which Thanksgiving treats are union-made, and how working Americans give back to others during the holiday season. You can read the AFL-CIO’s most-recent Thanksgiving posts online on their blog.

In the 1960s and 1970s, editorial cartoonist John Stampone delivered a different message in the Thanksgiving cartoons that he drew for the AFL-CIO News, the AFL-CIO’s main news publication. Stampone portrays Thanksgiving and its tasty bounties as both symbolic of and the result of American democracy. In a cartoon that Stampone drew to commemorate the holiday in 1966, a family says grace over a turkey that represents the “benefits of democracy.”

“Thanksgiving 1966” by John Stampone. It appeared in the AFL-CIO News on November 19, 1966.

In a similar cartoon that Stampone drew in 1974, rays of light bearing the label “Freedom and Democracy” shine down on a family who are also gathered around their Thanksgiving table in prayer.

John Stampone’s cartoon for Thanksgiving 1974. It appeared in the AFL-CIO News on November 23, 1974.

The cartoons’ overt patriotic message is open for interpretation and leave us with many questions. What did freedom and democracy mean to people in the 1960s and 1970s? What’s the relationship between the benefits of democracy and America’s labor movement? Why don’t Americans today color Thanksgiving with such strong shades of red, white, and blue?

Even though Stampone’s patriotic message seems so different from our modern discussions of the Thanksgiving holiday, the AFL-CIO News cartoons and the AFL-CIO’s more-recent discussions convey a similar and important message: Thanksgiving remains a beloved and cherished family holiday today.

UMD’s Special Collections and University Archives has the original cartoons drawn for the AFL-CIO News by LeBaron Coakley “Coak”, John Stampone “Stam”, Bernard Seaman, and Ben Yomen. Contact Us for more information about this collection and other items in the AFL-CIO archive.

Curator Pick: Favorite Item from the Alice 150 Exhibit

Okama’s Alice in Wonderland manga brings back fond memories of sitting cross-legged in the Borders stacks with a pile of Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura books by my side. I would have been instantly captured by the cover, counting my money, and fretting over which book to put back so I could add Okama’s to my bookshelf.

Looking through this manga version of Alice is like receiving a double shot of nostalgia. Two fond parts of my childhood make up every panel from wishing to see the wonders of Wonderland to wishing to be as fashionable and cute as the manga characters I adored.

Okama draws his characters with exaggerated features. Their clothing is highly detailed as are the scene settings with their patterns and striped elements. The most impressive garb, as is befitting their station, belong to the King and Queen of Hearts. Their stylized appearance is based on the traditional card deck royalty and their fashions.

My only wish is that I knew how to read Kanji so that I could further enjoy Okama’s work!

Visit the Alice 150 and Counting exhibit in Hornbake Library to view more international editions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, or explore our online exhibit.

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Sabrina Reed is an intern for Hornbake Library-Special Collection’s ‘Alice 150 Years and Counting…The Legacy of Lewis Carroll’ exhibit. As a graduate student in the University of Maryland’s iSchool, her areas of focus are youth media, diversity, and digital literacy. Sabrina is also an alumna of the university’s undergraduate English program. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and a minor in Creative Writing.