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Inside Spencer: The KSRL Blog

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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.

Color Our Collections: St. Patrick’s Day Edition

We hope that you are all at home and safe and practicing good social distancing this St. Patrick’s Day. To help, we’re sharing four images from our Irish Collections for you to print out and color in shades of green (or really any color of the rainbow). Click here for the printable PDF file. The first two images are from the Supplement to The Irish Fireside from July of 1885, and feature “Heroines from Irish History.”

Picture of "Aideen Rescuing the Body of Oscar at the Battle of Gabhra" (Aideen on horseback with shield and Spear), converted to black and white drawing
“Heroines of Irish History–I: Aideen Rescuing the Body of Oscar at the Battle of Gabhra.” Supplement to The Irish Fireside (July 8, 1885). Call #: DK17:5b, Item 1. Click image to enlarge, click here to see what the original color version of the illustration looks like, and click here to download a printable PDF of all four images.
Illustration of from "Heroines of Irish History--III: The Rescue of Connor O'Byrne by Emmeline Talbot," showing Emmeline Talbot holding a torch pointing the way out to O'Byrne, converted to black and white.
“Heroines of Irish History–III: The Rescue of Connor O’Byrne by Emmeline Talbot.” Supplement to The Irish Fireside (July 22, 1885). Call #: DK17:5b, Item 3. Click image to enlarge, click here to see what the original color version of the illustration looks like, and click here to download a printable PDF of all four images.

The next two images are from Young Ireland: An Irish Magazine of Entertainment and Instruction, founded by the Irish Nationalist Alexander Martin Sullivan, and continued by his brother, T. D. Sullivan.

Cover of 1877 St. Patrick's Day issue of Young Ireland, featuring four men holding up clovers to "Erin" with her harp and Irish Wolf Hound, with St. Patrick above in the sky
Cover of St. Patrick’s Day issue of Young Ireland. Vol. III, No. 11 (March 17, 1877). Call #: O’Hegarty E144. Click image to enlarge, and click here to download a printable PDF of all four images.
Illustration for "Castle Daly" on the cover of the 28 July, 1877 issue of Young Ireland
Cover of the 28 July, 1877 issue of Young Ireland. Vol. III, No. 30 (28 July 1877). Call #: O’Hegarty E144. Click image to enlarge, and click here to download a printable PDF of all four images.

Looking for other things to do at home this St. Patrick’s Day? Browse some of our past St. Patrick’s day blog posts and posts featuring our Irish Collections. Want more coloring? Look at our recent blog post on Spencer Research Library’s contributions to this year’s #ColorOurCollections (hosted by the New York Academy of Medicine).

Elspeth Healey
Special Collections Librarian

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