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.
Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!
Strong Hall with holiday lights, 1952. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 0/22/87 1952 Prints: Campus: Buildings: Strong Hall (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!
Good luck to KU students as they wrap up the Fall 2019 semester today and take final exams next week!
KU students working in the Undergraduate Reading Room at Watson Library, 1962. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 32/0 1962 Prints: University of Kansas Libraries (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
The credit for the success of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States seems to always go to women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other well-known women who fill the history books. While they most certainly deserve all of the accolades given to them, much of the groundwork for equal suffrage was done at the local level. These well-organized suffrage leagues and associations were part of a national network of volunteers, all working for one common purpose. The women, and often men, in these types of small, grass-roots groups were no less passionate about suffrage for women as their more famous counterparts.
The College Equal Suffrage League was a national organization begun in 1900. The mission of the League was to get college students involved in the women’s suffrage movement. The League fostered branches on college campuses around the country. The University of Kansas chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League was organized in January 1909.
Information about KU’s chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League in the Jayhawker yearbook, 1909. University Archives. Call Number: LD 2697 .J3 1929. Click image to enlarge.
Membership consisted of students, faculty, and staff. The first administrative sponsors of the KU league were Dr. William H. Carruth, Professor of Germanic Languages and Literature; Dr. Arvin S. Olin, Professor of Education; and Carrie Watson, Librarian. Student leaders were chosen from among the members. The women shown here were the officers of the KU chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League for 1909. Also shown is the often patronizing write-up that accompanied their senior class pictures in the yearbooks.
Senior photograph of Jessie Baldridge in the Jayhawker yearbook, 1909. University Archives. Call Number: LD 2697 .J3 1929. Click image to enlarge.
Jessie Baldridge, A. B. La Junta, Colo.
Kappa Alpha Theta, Sophomore Prom Committee, Junior Prom Committee, Junior Farce, President of College Equal Suffrage League, Senior Play.
Susan B. the Second, princess of the Suffragettes, and yet has as many friends among the boys as the next one. Last year it was feared that she would join the army but we notice this year that she has laid her “arms by” and joined the Suffragettes instead. She would have voted for Carruth in the spring election if she hadn’t forgot to register. Colorado had an evil effect upon her.
Senior photograph of Laurenia Mervine Shaw in the Jayhawker yearbook, 1910. University Archives. Call Number: LD 2697 .J3 1929. Click image to enlarge.
Laurenia Mervine Shaw, A.B. Lawrence.
Decorating Committee for Chancellor’s Inaugural, Vice-President K.U. Branch of College League of National Equal Suffrage Association.
Laurenia has Miss Corbin and the Woman’s Collegiate Suffragettes Association backed clear off the boards when it comes to the strenuous upholding of the rights of downtrodden woman. She is chief suffragette and general agitator, and she has a falling for tall, good-looking men for escorts to dances. Is thinking of going to England as soon as school is out, to kidnap the prime minister. Born in the shadow of the capital, and is still old fashioned enough to have faith in the practical application of the motto: “Honesty is the best policy.”
Senior photograph of Mary Elizabeth Parker in the Jayhawker yearbook, 1909. University Archives. Call Number: LD 2697 .J3 1929. Click image to enlarge.
Mary Elizabeth Parker, A.B. Lawrence. “Maybeth”
Y.W.C.A., Chairman of Student Government Committee.
Her one great sorrow is that she could not persuade “Lummie” to join the Woman’s Suffrage movement. In addition to many other duties, social and intellectual, Maybeth cheerfully espoused the cause of the suffragettes. Owing to her ardent support, that band of martyrs has made a stir in feminine circles this year.
Senior photograph of Florence Hackbusch in the Jayhawker yearbook, 1910. University Archives. Call Number: LD 2697 .J3 1929. Click image to enlarge.
Florence Hackbusch, A.B. Leavenworth.
Phi Beta Kappa, Y.W.C.A., W.S.G.A. [Women’s Student Government Association]
Florentine never hesitates to demonstrate with a flourish the ascendancy of noble woman. She possesses a great strength of her own convictions, and has even had the temerity to take a crack at Professor Boynton’s courses. As a suffragette Florentine is a winner, and bids fair to languish in bastiles [sic] right along with the rest of them.
Evidence suggests that the KU League only existed until 1912, and disbanded after women in Kansas had been granted the right to vote in national elections. An article in the December 12, 1912, issue of the University Daily Kansan reports that the League met to “decide whether or not to disband, now that suffrage has carried in Kansas.” There is no mention of the KU League in the university yearbook or newspaper after this date, and, unfortunately, there are no known archival records for the student organization.
Each week we’ll be posting a photograph from University Archives that shows a scene from KU’s past. We’ve also scanned more than 34,800 images from KU’s University Archives and made them available online; be sure to check them out!
Holiday Vespers in Hoch Auditorium, 1940s. The KU a cappella choir (Donald M. Swarthout, Director) is on the stage; the KU Symphony Orchestra (Russell L. Wiley, Director) is on the floor. The 95th Annual Holiday Vespers will be held this Sunday, December 8. University Archives Photos. Call Number: RG 71/7 1940s Prints: Student Activities: Holiday Vespers (Photos). Click image to enlarge.
The Kenneth Spencer Research Library is home to the collection of papers and original artwork by Kansas artist and art therapist, Mary Huntoon (1896-1970). As part of a collaborative initiative between KU Libraries and the Spencer Museum of Art, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, many of the prints, drawings, and watercolors by Huntoon are being treated over the next two years.
Huntoon was born in Topeka, Kansas. After graduating from Washburn University in 1920, she studied at the Art Students League in New York City for six years under Joseph Pennell and Robert Henri, and was a good friend and colleague of William Stanley Hayter, founder of Atelier 17. She later became director of the Kansas Federal Art Project and made significant contributions to the early development of art therapy.
Artist Mary Huntoon draws with a stylus on a copper printing plate. Mary Huntoon Papers. Call Number: RH MS 209. Click image to enlarge.
Artist Mary Huntoon stands before an easel, at work on a painting. Mary Huntoon Papers. Call Number: RH MS 209. Click image to enlarge.
Kansas City, Kansas Grain Elevators, is an artist’s proof print (a print made prior to the final edition), an etching in black printing ink on cream, laid, machine-made paper. The primary condition issue involves two large brown stains along the top edge that interrupt the image area and cause distortions in the sheet. An overall washing treatment was proposed in order to reduce the appearance of the stains.
The Mary Huntoon print, “Kansas City, Kansas Grain Elevators,” prior to treatment. Mary Huntoon Papers. Call Number: RH MS 209. Click image to enlarge.
The Mary Huntoon print, “Kansas City, Kansas Grain Elevators,” in raking light, prior to treatment. Mary Huntoon Papers. Call Number: RH MS 209. Click image to enlarge.
In preparation for the treatment, the printing inks were tested to ensure they would be stable during the wet treatment. The outer margins and back of the print were selectively surface-cleaned with a soft sponge, avoiding all printed areas, as well as the graphite pencil inscription. Surface-cleaning ensures that loose and embedded dirt and grime are not driven deeper into the paper support during the wet treatment.
A soft sponge is used to remove embedded surface dirt and grime from the Mary Huntoon print, “Kansas City, Kansas Grain Elevators.” Mary Huntoon Papers. Call Number: RH MS 209. Click image to enlarge.
Brown paper tape attachments on the top edge of the front and back of the print were removed with a methylcellulose poultice. The attachments had been partially removed at some point, and the top layer of the paper was slightly skinned. The poultice delivers moisture in a controlled way, softening the adhesive, and allowing safe removal of the attachment.
At left, brown paper attachments had been partially detached at some point, skinning some of the paper fibers. At center, a methylcellulose poultice was applied to the attachment to deliver controlled moisture to the area. At right, the poultice softened the adhesive and paper. It was gently removed at an acute angle with tweezers and dried flat. Mary Huntoon Papers. Call Number: RH MS 209. Click image to enlarge.
The print is
now ready to be washed. Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn how the stains were
reduced.
Jacinta Johnson Associate Conservator, Mellon Initiative
