Kenneth Spencer Research Library

As an elder millennial who loved history as a child and grew up with American Girl, I’ve been excited about the company’s 40th anniversary this year. As a result, I will be sharing a series of posts highlighting Spencer collection materials that connect to AG’s six original historical characters, in chronological order of when they “lived”: Felicity Merriman, Josefina Montoya, Kirsten Larson, Addy Walker, Samantha Parkington, and Molly McIntyre. Each post will focus on a different character and explore a selection of items that relate to the time and place in which she “lived” and topics or themes explored in her stories.

Nine-year-old Kirsten Larson is described as a girl of “strength and spirit.” When readers first meet Kirsten, she is on board a ship with her family and other Swedish immigrants in 1854. (Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act that same year, although it is not mentioned in Kirsten’s books.) After landing in New York City, the Larsons travel by rail to Chicago, then by wagon to the Mississippi River, and then by riverboat to the territory of Minnesota, their final destination. Tragically – and memorably for young readers – Kirsten’s best friend Marta dies of cholera during the journey. Another iconic moment in Kirsten’s books occurs when she wears a wreath with lit candles to celebrate the feast day of St. Lucy (Saint Lucia) on December 13th. Additional plot points include Kirsten’s struggles to feel at home in America and learn English at school, her friendship with a Dakota girl named Singing Bird, her new baby sister, and dangerous encounters with bees and raccoons.

Left: A view of the scenic valley carved by the Minnesota River, which was previously named the St. Peter River. Middle: A “map showing the present boundaries of the Ojibwa [sic], Menomonee [sic], Winnebago, and Dacotah [sic] tribes.” Right: A “Dakotah [sic] encampment.” All images are from Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States by Henry R. Schoolcraft and illustrated by Seth Eastman, volume 2, 1853. Containing six volumes of data “collected and prepared under the direction of the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” this work is considered the most comprehensive study of Native American cultures. Call Number: RH E175. Click images to enlarge.

The front cover and selected early lessons from McGuffey’s New Eclectic First Reader by William H. McGuffey, 1853. According to Miami University Libraries, McGuffey Readers were an immediate success upon their initial publication in 1836. They “became standard texts in nearly all states, eclipsing all rival textbook publications for half a century and reaching a reputed total sale of over 150 million copies.” The textbook Kirsten used in school is listed below. Call Number: RH A94. Click images to enlarge.

Selected pages from Karen B. Spicher’s “term paper and folklore collection relating to the Lindsborg, Kansas, area and Swedish-American culture,” English 104, University of Kansas, 1971. Swedish immigrants have been settling in Kansas since the 1850s, and Lindsborg (located roughly 160 miles west of Lawrence) is known as “Little Sweden USA.” Culture and Folklore Studies Collection. Call Number: RH MS 966. Click images to enlarge.

Selected Additional Collection Items

Sweden

• A Compendious History of the Goths, Swedes, & Vandals and Other Northern Nations by Olaus Magnus, London: 1658. This is the first English publication of Magnus’s Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (described above), although it was an abridged version and not a full translation. Call Number: D86.
• Konungariket sveriges industriella tillstand år 1847 [The Industrial State of the Kingdom of Sweden in the Year 1847] by Ole Jørgen Rawert, Stockholm: 1849. Call Number: Howey C1755.
• Yule-tide Stories: A Collection of Scandinavian and North German Popular Tales and Traditions, From the Swedish, Danish, and German edited by Benjamin Thorpe, London: 1853. Call Number: B12266.

Immigration, the West, and Minnesota (Including Maps)

• Several of the sources listed here also document the early history of Kansas. Spencer’s Kansas Collection includes many additional works about the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act and the often violent territorial period that followed.
• Historical Collections of the Great West by Henry Howe, Cincinnati: 1851. Call Number: RH C4344.
• Western Portraiture, and Emigrants’ Guide: A Description of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa; With Remarks on Minnesota, and Other Territories by Daniel S. Curtiss, New York: 1852. Call Number: RH B829.
• Guide Through Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin & Iowa by J. Calvin Smith, New York: 1853. This map also includes Minnesota. It was frequently published with The Western Tourist and Emigrant’s Guide, listed below. Call Number: RH Map R244.
• Disturnell’s New Map of the United States and Canada: Showing All the Canals, Rail Roads, Telegraph Lines and Principal Stage Routes by Henry A. Burr, New York: 1853. Call Number: Orbis Maps 2:211.
• The Western Tourist and Emigrant’s Guide Through the States of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin, and the Territories of Minesota [sic], Missouri, and Nebraska by J. H. Colton, New York: 1854. Call Number: RH B1018.
• The States and Territories of the Great West by Jacob Ferris, New York and Buffalo: 1856. Call Number: RH B153.

Indigenous Peoples

• The Book of Genesis and a Part of the Psalms … the Gospels of Luke and John … the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Paul, with the Revelation of John, in the Dakota Language, translated by Stephen R. Riggs and others, Cincinnati: 1842. Call Number: RH B838.
• Stories About Indians, Concord, New Hampshire: 1850. Call Number: Children B13.
• The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first edition, Boston: 1855. Call Number: B2858.

Science and Medicine

• Spencer has an “impressive collection of over two thousand volumes of works” by and related to Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), who developed the system of binomial nomenclature that still used to name species of living organisms.
• The Theory and Treatment of Fevers by Dr. John Sappington, Arrow Rock, Missouri: 1844. Call Number: B7574.
• A Compendious System of Midwifery, Chiefly Designed to Facilitate the Inquiries of Those Who May be Pursuing This Branch of Study by William P. Dewees, Philadelphia: 1847. Call Number: C23432.
• The Married Woman’s Private Medical Companion by Dr. A. M. Mauriceau, New York: 1850. Call Number: B18315.
• Entomology, volume 7: Bees, by William Jardine, Edinburgh and London: 1853. Call Number: Ellis Omnia B239.

Children’s Books and Education

• The Child’s First Reader by Salem Town, Portland, Maine: 1848. This is the textbook that Kirsten uses in school. Call Number: Monaghan B1040.
• Thoughts on the Education of Girls by Mrs. Anna C. Lowell, Boston: 1853. Call Number: Children 1212B.
• The Flower of the Family: A Book for Girls by Elizabeth Prentiss, New York: 1854. Call Number: Children 1104B.
• Frank and the Farmer by Maria Edgeworth, Troy, New York: possibly 1854. Call Number: Children 6026.

Caitlin Klepper
Public Engagement Librarian

This week, on October 15 & 16, KU’s Gunn Center for the Study of Science Fiction hosts their annual Sturgeon Symposium, showcasing work in the speculative fiction field from around the world. This year their theme is “Changing Words, Changing Worlds: SF as a Literature of Resistance”, and in honor of that, we’re highlighting an author from our Science Fiction Collections who challenged the genre’s ideas of gender. 

In 1977, the science fiction community was turned upside down when award-winning author James Tiptree Jr. was revealed to be a woman, Alice Bradley Sheldon, known to her friends as Alli.  

Alli led a fascinating and complicated life – much of which she drew from when creating the background for Tiptree. She was the only child of two high society, globetrotting adventurers from Chicago. Alli began her career as a professional painter & art critic, before joining the US Army during World War II and going into air force intelligence. After the war, she was with the CIA for several years until leaving to pursue a PhD in experimental psychology.  

Only in 1967 did she begin her pen-name journey as science fiction author James Tiptree Jr., publishing her first short story in Analog magazine in 1968. She went on to become a prolific and renowned author until her death in 1987, where she took her husband’s life and then her own, in alleged suicide pact.  

Here at Spencer Research Library, we hold the original letters from Tiptree/Sheldon to her agent, Robert Mills, as well as a wide collection of her work as published in magazines, anthologies, and standalone volumes. Visit our North Gallery exhibit space throughout the month of October to learn more about Tiptree/Sheldon, see some of her original letters with her iconic blue-ribbon typewriter ink, and read her work. And join us in participating in the 2026 Sturgeon Symposium! 

Centi Newby 
Public Services Associate

October is American Archives Month, a nationwide effort spearheaded by the Society of American Archivists to raise public awareness about the importance of historic documents and records and the importance of archivists. Spencer Research Library has a robust schedule of special events happening this October to celebrate Archives Month. All events are free and open to the public. We hope to see you at one, or even more!

Putt Among the Pages Mini Golf Event

KU Family Weekend
North Gallery
Friday, October 2

Beyond the Reading Room Behind-the-Scenes Tour

Digital Lab
Thursday, October 8, 1-1:30pm
Registration required

Cáuigù Gù:t Exhibit Opening

Exhibit Space
Saturday, October 10, 10-11:30am

Kansas City Archives Bazaar

Kansas City (Missouri) Public Library, Central Library
Saturday, October 10, 1-4pm
Sponsored by Kansas City Area Archivists

Beyond the Reading Room Behind-the-Scenes Tour

Stacks Flashlight Tour
Thursday, October 15, 1-1:30pm

Stories That Connect Us: An American Girl Conversation with Angela Cervantes

North Gallery
Saturday, October 17, 10am-noon
Registration encouraged

Spencer Research Library Discovery Day

“Bodies & Bones: The Evolution of Medicine”
Johnson Room
Wednesday, October 21, 11am-noon

Beyond the Reading Room Behind-the-Scenes Tour

Conservation Lab
Thursday, October 22, 1-1:30pm
Registration required

Behind the Reading Room Behind-the-Scenes Tour

Manuscripts Processing
Thursday, October 29, 1-1:30pm
Registration required

Caitlin Klepper
Public Engagement Librarian

This coming Tuesday, October 6th, will see the return of Day on the Hill, KU’s storied music festival that was sponsored by Student Union Activities (SUA) from 1989 to 2007. With the newly digitized University Daily Kansas (UDK) and some artifacts and photos from University Archives, we can piece together a history of “one of the best college music festivals in the nation,” as the manager of the band Soul Coughing described Day on the Hill in 1998. 

Starting in 1978, many outdoor day-long music events in spring and summer were held at KU near Allen Fieldhouse or on Campanile Hill under various names such as Day on the Green, Day on the Green Hill, Wheatstock (in homage to Woodstock), Summer on the Hill, and Jayhawk Jamboree. These events featured local or regional bands, which kept costs low and made the event free for both students and locals. By the 1980s, the Jayhawk Jamboree’s title had officially changed to its nickname to Jayhawk Jam, but it was cancelled in 1987 and 1988 because SUA did not have enough money to host it.

In 1989, SUA decided to use the budget it had left over at the end of the year and teamed up with the Student Senate, the Association of University Residence Halls, and radio station KJHK to host a new all-day concert event called Day on the Hill. It was part of the Student Senate’s Celebrate Diversity program and it included cultural performances, local bands, Love Tractor from Athens, Georgia, and Too Much Joy from New York. Forty-seven local bands had sent in cassette tapes of their music to be considered by a committee from SUA and KJHK. Students were hired to work the event for $20, and 1,500 people attended. 

The next year, 3,000 people attended to watch more local bands, Buffalo Tom, and Toad the Wet Sprocket with reportedly beautiful weather and buckets of fried chicken. In 1991, complaints about the lack of diversity and the selection process for local bands resulted in a bigger committee and the inclusion of hip-hop groups in the lineup for the first time. 

Left: A University Daily Kansan ad for the first Day on the Hill, April 1989. Right: A UDK photo from the 1991 Day on the Hill concert. University Archives. Call Number: UA Ser 69/2/1. Click images to enlarge.

The year 1992 changed everything for Day on the Hill. In February, SUA offered the little-known band Pearl Jam $3,000 to be the headliner for the event that year on May 2nd. Their album Ten had been released the summer before, but it wasn’t until their second single “Even Flow” was released in March 1992 that the band’s popularity and album sales began to rise quickly.  

When word got out that Pearl Jam was playing a free outdoor concert at KU, high school and college students from around the region drove to Lawrence to join KU students and locals at the show. Crowd estimates range from 18,000 to 30,000; the latter number would have been Pearl Jam’s biggest show to date. A mosh pit formed in the crowd, and during an extended version of the song “Porch” singer Eddie Vedder climbed up the scaffolding of the stage, swung across the rafters, hung upside down while grabbing the mike, and finished singing the song while sitting on top of the roof, a stunt Vedder would repeat many times at outdoor shows. 

Pearl Jam’s appearance at KU became a legendary story for those lucky enough to have attended. It also, in many ways, set students’ expectations very high when it came to future Day on the Hill shows. As voiced in the UDK later in the 1990s, many students asked why SUA could not bring in bigger bands or questioned SUA’s choices when they were usually working with a budget of $20,000 to $30,000. Members of SUA had to repeatedly explain that the Pearl Jam show had been a great stroke of luck. The 1992 concert remained Day on the Hill’s highest attendance for its entire run. 

In 1993, SUA decided to host a battle of the bands to choose local performers for Day on the Hill, adding another hurdle after cassette tape submissions. The concert was called the Farmers’ Ball, and it continued throughout the 1990s. Heavy rain led to a very muddy show with headliners the Gin Blossoms and Reverend Horton Heat in 1993, and the mud came again in 1994 with Urge Overkill. 

Posters from the 1993 (left) and 1994 (right) Day on the Hill shows. University Archives Records, Student Activities: Student Union Activities. Call Number: RG 71/23. Click images to enlarge.

Leading up the 1995 show, someone started a hoax that the band Phish was going to be the headliner and posted fake flyers around campus, leading to disappointment when Matthew Sweet was announced as the real headliner. Also that year, a few students decided to load a couch into a truck and bring it to the hill to sit on during the event. For many years later, students brought couches and other furniture, hauling them up the hill to enjoy a comfortable view. 

The late ’90s brought new changes including games and carnival-like activities, and the show ended at 6pm rather than at 9pm or later. Despite its budget struggles, SUA was able to book Urge Overkill, They Might Be Giants, Soul Coughing, the Urge, and HUM. 

Scenes from Day on the Hill concerts, 1990s. University Archives Photographs, Student Activities: Student Union Activities. Click on images to enlarge.

In 2002, SUA decided to return to Day on the Hill’s roots as an event for local bands only. The show was also rescheduled a week later because of rain and moved to a parking lot near the football stadium. The low turnout that year prompted SUA to cancel Day on the Hill for the next three years. 

With a new student activity fee in 2006, Day on the Hill returned with headliners Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings and Spoon. In 2007, it was moved to the Leid Center’s lawn with G. Love & Special Sauce and the Faint. In the UDK, there are no reports about that last show or why SUA stopped it entirely. 

Enjoy these lineups (compiled from the UDK) and links to some videos on YouTube. Many thanks to those who digitized their recordings and preserved these glimpses of what was possible on KU’s campus when determined, resourceful students were able to pull off ground-breaking, free shows that celebrated the very important role that music plays in young people’s lives. 

• 1989: Pathetic Excuse, The Mahoots, The Works, The Moving Van Goghs, Love Tractor, Too Much Joy 
• 1990: The Witch Doctors, 2-Mile Death Plunge, Chris Beneke, Joe Worker, The Fluid, Sin City Disciples, Buffalo Tom, DJ Sir Light, Toad the Wet Sprocket 
• 1991: Now See Hear, Two Guitars and a Short Guy, Zoom, Mutt Finicky, Az-One, DOPE (Disciples of Peace and Equality), Paris 
• 1992: Big B, Cicada Rhythm Band, Zoom, Trademark, Tribe After Tribe, Let’s Go Bowling, Pearl Jam (full set and another view) 
• 1993: Rise, Kill Creek, MU330, Crash Vegas, Gin Blossoms, Reverend Horton Heat 
• 1994: Bubble Boyz, Pegboy, Vitreous Humor, Urge Overkill 
• 1995: Lou’s Revenge, Bastard Squad, Tenderloin, Matthew Sweet 
• 1996: Champion Guts to Glory Obstacle course, Justin Case, Sick, Poster Children, The Floyds 
• 1997: Chebella!, Arthur Dodge and the Horsefeathers, The Glitterkicks, Norman 360, The Gravel Pit, They Might Be Giants  
• 1998: 2 Player Option, Fear & Whiskey, The Believe It Or Nots!, The Creature Comforts, Soul Coughing  
• 1999: Sarsky, Frogpond, Son Venezuela, Panel Donor, Poster Children, HUM 
• 2000: Proudentall , The Jesse Jackson 5, Rex Hobart and the Misery Boys, The Co-op, The Urge 
• 2001: Preferred Villain, Brent Barry and the Secondhands, The Youngblood Brass Band, Pomeroy, The Daybirds, Fastball 
• 2002: Hardaway, Thulium, No Lessons, Hotsauce, Emilia Dahlin, The Anniversary 
• 2006: Ghosty, Kelpie, The Belles, Superargo, DJ’s Hot Lunch Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Spoon 
• 2007: The Roseline, Pomeroy, G. Love & Special Sauce, The Faint 

Kate Stewart
Curator of the Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements

Classic children’s books continue to connect generations through stories that inspire imagination, adventure, and wonder. In this fifth post in a series highlighting titles from Spencer Research Library’s vast children’s book collection, I’ll explore the classic series: Little Golden Books.

Children’s books offer more than stories. As physical objects, they preserve evidence of how young readers learned, collected, shared, and experienced books across generations. Few books reveal the history of childhood as vividly as Little Golden Books. Long before they entered library collections, they served as affordable companions in childhood, passing through the hands of generations of young readers.

Among the countless treasures preserved at Spencer Research Library, Little Golden Books stand out because they were never intended to be rare or exclusive. They were affordable, mass-produced books created for everyday childhood reading. Unlike finely bound volumes designed for collectors, these books were meant to be handled by small hands, carried from room to room, and read over and over again.

Particularly notable among Spencer’s holdings are four of the twelve original Little Golden Books released in 1942: The Little Red Hen, Nursery Songs, The Poky Little Puppy, and The First Little Golden Book of Fairy Tales.

Little Golden Books are one of the oldest and likely the longest running continuously published children’s book series, still releasing new titles today. For more than eight decades, generations of children have recognized the distinctive gold spine on books ranging from classic stories to contemporary favorites. The series grew from a small collection of affordable children’s books into a publishing phenomenon that shaped generations of young readers.

When Little Golden Books first appeared in the early 1940s, they represented a significant shift in children’s publishing. Their creators sought to produce books that families could afford and children could enjoy independently. The result was a compact, durable format accompanied by engaging illustrations and a price point that made ownership possible for many families. They sold for just twenty-five cents, a fraction of the cost of most children’s books of the era. Their creators aimed to make books accessible to a much wider audience than traditional children’s publishing had previously reached. For most children, a Little Golden Book was one of the first books they could truly call their own. Their low cost placed ownership within reach of families who might not otherwise been able to purchase children’s books, allowing children to build personal collections one volume at a time.

The books themselves were designed with young readers in mind. Large type, uncluttered layouts, and abundant illustrations made them appealing to children who were just beginning to develop literacy skills. Even before a child could read independently, illustrations offered a way to engage with stories and follow their narratives. Illustrations played a significant role in the success of Little Golden Books. For many children, the pictures were as memorable as the stories themselves.

Full-color printing increased production costs, publishers often combined color and black-and-white illustrations within the same volume. This approach helped keep books affordable while maintaining visual appeal. A particularly striking example appears in The Taxi That Hurried, where a panoramic illustration stretches across facing pages printed in both color and black and white. The spread illustrates how publishers balanced engaging artwork with economical production methods.

Affordability alone, however, did not guarantee success. Publishers also expanded where children’s books could be found, placing Little Golden Books in department stores (like Filene’s), drug stores, supermarkets, and other everyday retail spaces rather than only in bookstores. The shiny gold spine made each book feel special like a treasure to cherish. The recognizable gold spines, bright covers, and low price worked together to make reading approachable and accessible.

Little Golden Books were marketed not simply as individual books, but as part of a larger series. Publishers encouraged readers to discover additional titles through lists printed on back covers. These lists transformed each book into a child’s wishlist.

Books preserved in Spencer’s collection reveal the remarkable growth of the series over time. An edition of The Poky Little Puppy advertises only a few dozen titles available, while later books list well over one hundred titles. The books themselves document the expansion of the publishing program and the increasing variety available to young readers.

Although Little Golden Books were mass-produced, no two surviving copies necessarily share the same history. Gift inscriptions, ownership markings, and names written on endpapers transform standardized commercial products into individualized artifacts. These handwritten traces document the children and families who owned the books and remind us that Little Golden Books were frequently given as gifts for birthdays, holidays, book themed baby showers, and other special occasions.

Gift inscriptions and ownership marks document how Little Golden Books circulated among families and became part of everyday childhood experiences. Left: Chip Chip, 1947. Call Number: Children C947. Right: The First Little Golden Book of Fairy Tales, 1946. Call Number: Children 3681. Click images to enlarge.

After the stories themselves faded from memory, other things remained: the shine of a gold spine catching the light on a bedroom shelf, pages worn soft at the corners, a carefully written name inside the cover, a favorite and read again and again. The books were taken on long car rides, tucked beneath a pillow, buried in a toy box, or kicked across the living room floor before being gathered up with sticky fingers and read again.  Others disappeared beneath couch cushions, were packed into Going to Grandma’s bags, or sat in a stack beside the bed waiting for bedtime.  Covers became creased. Spines lost their shine. Yet those signs of wear are reminders that these books were doing exactly what they were meant to do: being loved.

Many Little Golden Books still survive in family collections, tucked away in boxes, resting on bookshelves, or passed from one generation to the next. Years later, they become reminders of a time when a child could still snuggle beside you for a story, when the day’s worries paused for a few pages, and when an inexpensive little book could feel like treasure.

Their gold spines made them feel important. Not because they were rare or valuable, but because they belonged to someone. They were the books children reached for at bedtime and lined up on shelves as a small collection grew one title at a time.

One day there are only a few books on the shelf. Then there are ten. Then twenty. Before long, a small row of shiny gold spines becomes a child’s first library, growing quietly alongside the child who treasures it. Without realizing it, parents measure the passing years in bedtime stories, favorite characters, and books that become worn through use and affection.

Long after the gold spine has faded and the corners have softened, the memory remains: the sound of pages turning, a familiar voice reading aloud, and the quiet realization that the little library built one story at a time was never just a collection of books. It was a record of a childhood that passed far too quickly. The stories come to an end, the bookshelf fills up, and the years slip by. But what remains are the memories and the quiet magic of sharing a story together.

Copies of Little Golden Books (published by Simon and Schuster, New York) in Spencer’s holdings:

• Little Red Hen, illustrated by Rudolf Freund, 1942 (Call Number: Children 3680).
• Nursery Songs, arranged by Leah Gale and illustrated by Corinne Malvern, 1942 (Call Number: Children 3675).
• Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren, 1946 (Call Number: Children B2889).
• The First Little Golden Book of Fairy Tales, illustrated by Gertrude Elliott, 1946 (Call Number: Children 3681).
• A Day in the Jungle by Janette Sebring Lowrey, illustrated by Tibor Gergely, 1943 (Call Number: Children B2888).
• The Lively Little Rabbit by Ariane [Georges Duplaix], illustrated by Gustaf Teggren, 1943 (Call Number: Children B2701).
• Nursery Tales, illustrated by Masha [Maria Simchow Stern], 1943 (Call Number: Children: C866).
• Fairy Tales, illustrated by Gertrude Elliott, 1946 (Call Number: Children 3681).
• The Taxi That Hurried by Lucy Sprague Mitchell, Irma Simonton Black, and Jessie Stanton; pictures by Tibor Gergely, 1946 (Call Number: Children C863).
• The Seven Sneezes by Olga Cabral; pictures by Tibor Gergely, 1948 (Call Number: Children C862).
• Chip Chip by Norman Wright; pictures by Nino Carbe, 1947 (Call Number: Children C947).
• Walt Disney’s Bambi, adapted by Bob Grant; illustrations from Walt Disney’s Studio, 1948 (Call Number: Children C861).
• Walt Disney’s Cinderella, adapted by Campbell Grant; illustrations from Walt Disney’s Studio, 1950 (Call Number: Children C873).
• Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland: Finds the Garden of Live Flowers, told by Jane Werner; pictures by the Walt Disney Studio, 1951 (Call Number: Children 4479).

Meredith Phares
Operations Manager