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Inside Spencer: The KSRL Blog

Books on a shelf

Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.

That’s Distinctive!: New Year’s Eve Poetry

December 29th, 2023

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

In honor of the upcoming new year, this week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing An Ode to the Sun, For the New Year by Elijah Fenton, published in 1707. The poem comes from Spencer’s Horn Collection, a collection of poems and pamphlets (satirical and panegyrical) concerning John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722). A transcription of the poem can be found via the All Poetry website, and a digitized copy of the entire document can be found via the Internet Archive.

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The front cover and first three pages of An Ode to the Sun, For the New Year by Elijah Fenton, 1707. Call Number: Horn E44. Click images to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens

December 22nd, 2023

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

In honor of the upcoming Christmas holiday, this week on That’s Distinctive! I share the book Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens (1812-1870), with illustrations by A. E. Abbey. Published in 1876, this particular printing was a part of a posthumous series, The Works of Charles Dickens: Household Edition. The volume includes 14 stories.

The first story in the book, A Christmas Carol, was first published 180 years ago in 1843. It’s a story of an elderly miser (Ebenezer Scrooge) transformed into a kinder man after he is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. Beloved by many, the story has had many adaptations including theatrical productions, movies, animations, and operas. The book is available online through the Library of Congress. Spencer Research Library also houses a first edition copy of the book.

Other stories in the book include The Cricket on the Hearth, The Holly-tree, and The Haunted Man. Published in 1848, The Haunted Man is similar to A Christmas Carol. As described by the Charles Dickens Museum, it is “a story of ghosts and redemption. The protagonist and chemist, Professor Redlaw, is a haunted man. He is followed by a spectre who looks exactly like him. But what if he could get rid of all his sadness and despair? Redlaw strikes a ghostly bargain and suffers the consequences; is living without sorrow really worth it?” A copy of the book can be read via Gutenberg.org.

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This image has text. The facing page has a black-and-white sketch of Scrooge sitting in front of a fireplace and talking with the ghost of Jacob Marley.
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The front cover (top), title page (middle), and table of contents (bottom) of Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens, 1876. Call Number: D7635. Click images to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Tom Sawyer

December 1st, 2023

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a book that many of you might know: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. The book, also known simply as Tom Sawyer, was published in 1876. The book follows a young boy, Tom Sawyer, through mischievous adventures in the small fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, along the Mississippi River. Involved with Tom’s shenanigans is his pal Huckleberry Finn (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). Writing for Encyclopedia Britannica, Amy Tikkanen notes that “together with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer changed the course of children’s literature in the United States as well as of American literature generally, presenting the first deeply felt portrayal of boyhood.” According to Wikipedia, the book has also been followed by a slew of adaptations including films, theatricals, ballets, comic books, video games, and more.

Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American author who grew up in Hannibal, Missouri (the town St. Petersburg is modeled after). A biography of Twain on the Goodreads website notes that he “achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.”

The book housed at the library is a first edition, second printing published in 1876. A copy of the book can be accessed at the library or online through HathiTrust.

This image has text. Book title in gold against a blue background with black designs and four gold stars.
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This image has text. Facing the title page is a black-and-white illustration of a young boy sitting on a riverbank, fishing.
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This image has text: a list of illustrations and the first page of the first chapter. The latter is accompanied by a black-and-white illustration of a boy standing on a dirt road in front of a house.
The front cover (top), title page (middle), and first page (bottom) of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, 1876. Call Number: C613. Click images to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Moby-Dick

November 17th, 2023

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

Did you know that Spencer Research Library houses an extensive collection of Moby-Dick editions and adaptations? The more than 100 books in the collection range in type and size, so today I am sharing just a few with you.

Published in 1851, Moby-Dick; or, the Whale was written by American writer Herman Melville. The book “recounts the adventures of the narrator Ishmael as he sails on the whaling ship, Pequod, under the command of the monomaniacal Captain Ahab.” Though it is now considered a great American classic, Moby-Dick did not gain traction until the early 1900s. According to Wikipedia, “the novel has been adapted or represented in art, film, books, cartoons, television, and more than a dozen versions in comic-book format. The first adaptation was the 1926 silent movie The Sea Beast, starring John Barrymore.”

Many of the copies and versions of Moby-Dick at Spencer Research Library, including those shown below, were donated to the library by Elizabeth A. Schultz. Schultz, an emerita professor from KU’s Department of English and a former Fulbright Lecturer, advocates “for both the arts and the environment in Douglas County.” As a scholar and avid enthusiast of Herman Melville, Schultz published Unpainted to the Last: Moby-Dick and Twentieth-Century American Art (1995), which examines artistic interpretations and illustrated editions of the novel. “Deftly interweaving words with images,” notes the University Press of Kansas, “Elizabeth Schultz radically reframes our most famous literary symbol and provides a profoundly new way of “reading” one of the key texts in American literature.” Along with the donated books, Spencer houses a copy of Schultz’s book.

Color illustration of a huge white whale with a man on his back and harpoons sticking from his body.
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This page contains text. Color illustration of sailors standing at the edge of a ship deck, looking at Moby-Dick in the water.
The front cover of and selected pages from Moby-Dick, adapted by Joanne Fink and illustrated by Hieronimus Fromm, 1985. Call Number: Children C144. Click image to enlarge.
Color illustration of a black silhouette of a whale in the ocean with a ship above it.
The front cover of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick: The Graphic Novel adapted by Lance Stahlberg and illustrated by Lalit Kumar Singh, 2013. Call Number: Children D200. Click image to enlarge.
Black background with text. On the right is a partial silhouette of a whale with sections in different colors and patterns.
The front cover of Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page by Matt Kish, 2011. Call Number: CK174. Click image to enlarge.
Color illustration of men rowing a small boat surrounded by whales in the ocean.
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This page has text. One page has a muted color illustration of a young man sitting in a chair and holding a hat.
The front cover and first page of Moby Dick: The Illustrated Novel, illustrated by Anton Lomaev, 2018. Call Number: D7812. Click image to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

That’s Distinctive!: Grimm’s Fairy Tales

November 3rd, 2023

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created the series because I genuinely believe there is something in our collections for everyone, whether you’re writing a paper or just want to have a look. “That’s Distinctive!” will provide a more lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique materials at Spencer – including items that many people may not realize the library holds. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

While it is technically no longer October, Halloween was earlier this week on Tuesday, so it only feels right to share one last “spooky” item. This week I have chosen to highlight a timeless classic: Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, better known as the Brothers Grimm. Born in the 1780s, the Grimm Brothers published the first edition of their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales) in 1812. As scholar Jack Zipes explains, “between 1812 and 1857, seven editions of their tales appeared, each one different from the last, until the final, best-known version barely resembled the first.” Spencer Research Library holds many different editions, translations, and adaptations of the Grimm Brothers’ tales, including this edition from 1917 that contains illustrations and decorations by Louis Rhead. With their “stories and tales of elves, goblins, and fairies,” the brothers have captivated the minds of readers for centuries.

To learn more about how the Grimm Brothers collected, recorded, and popularized folk tales, read Jack Zipes’ article “How the Grimm Brothers Saved the Fairy Tale” in Humanities, the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities, or explore his book Grimm Legacies: The Magic Spell of the Grimms’ Folk and Fairy Tales (2015).

Color illustration of a man kneeling by water. He is with two geese, one of which has a key in its mouth.
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This image has text surrounded by a decorative border. The facing page is the cover illustration.
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This page has text in a bordered area in front of a black-and-white illustration of a fox wedding.
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This image has text and two black-and-white illustrations: a woman at a dinner table noticing a flog on a serving plate, and the same woman in a wooded area kneeling by a small pond and looking at a frog.
The front cover, title page, and selected pages from Grimm’s Fairy Tales: Stories and Tales of Elves, Goblins and Fairies, 1917. Call Number: Children C248. Click images to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services