Kenneth Spencer Research Library

I’ve recently hit 40 and so birthdays have been on my mind, and what is New Year’s other than another sort of birthday celebration? Birthdays have been a cause for partying and remembrance for a long, long time. They’ve been a way families can reinforce bonds, a way to celebrate public figures, and certainly a way to mark the time. As such, we’ve gathered a number of birthday related materials in our collections and in celebrating my own birthday, I’ll share a few with all of you! 

I can’t help but hope that the “Mr Jack” in question is the chicken in the center of the photo, but I suppose we’ll never know.

We also have some heavy hitters, literarily speaking: An invitation sent to William Allen White, at the behest of George Harvey, to attend the 70th birthday celebration of Mark Twain!

Continuing a trend of journalistic birthday items, we have a lovely collection of letters from Albert T. Reid, known for political cartoons among other things, to his grandson Leonard. This letter shows the sharing of gifts and building of birthday memories, even with those not able to be present. 

Strengthening the family aspect, we have a poem from the poet William Sotheby (1757-1833) on how gifts (flowers) are lovely, but that “Duty, Gratitude, and Love” are even more precious offerings for a parent’s birthday given that they grew from the parent’s own influence.

I love the physical detail of the document as well as the reflection present in the poem itself. Here’s a transcript I put together as I know the script is none too clear.

The Birthday Offering

Lov’d Parent! While these flowr’s we wreathe
To grace thy natal day,
And oer their transient blossoms breathe
Pure nature’s simple lay;
Oh view, unlike frail bloom of flow’r
The heart that greets this blissful hour!

The blossom fades, the flowret falls.
There cherished duties grow,
Fond memore there the past recalls,
And thoughts that grateful glow:
And kind affections planted there
Spring up beneath a mother’s care.

These purer offerings deign approve
Lo! Duty, Gratitude, and Love.

– W.L. Sotheby

We have many more things as well: cake photos, party programs, letters, and more. We would absolutely love to be the inspiration for your next celebration! And Happy Birthday to me. 🎉

Shelby Schellenger
Reference Coordinator

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.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

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.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

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.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services

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.

Tiffany McIntosh
Public Services