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.
Happy Halloween all you screechers, screamers, and hollerers! We’ve also been celebrating over here at Kenneth Spencer Research Library in the best we know how: combing the KU Libraries online catalog and finding what cursed history we can find. We asked our student workers to recommend their picks for items that best represent the spirit of Halloween. They went beyond the safety of the Reading Room and braved the stacks to bring us these unsettling tomes and relics, but not everything is what it seems. Here are a few of our favorites!
Our very first recommendation comes from the Centron Corporation, a film production company founded right here in Lawrence, Kansas. Perhaps best known for their work in educational films, the company also had a hand in the cult classic horror film Carnival of Souls. Elly Masteller found this lovely portrait in the Centron Corporation records collection. This cheerful gentleman was used in a film to help encourage literacy and creative writing among children. Remember kids, he can’t get you if your nose is in a book!
Production still of a clown from Reaching Your Reader, undated [circa 1985]. Centron Corporation Records. Call Number: RH MS Q514. Click image to enlarge.
Kathryn Sauder sent in our next recommendation, another artifact, but this time from the Thomas Woodson Poor papers. Poor was an Olympic high jumper who competed for the University of Kansas from 1921 to 1925 and placed fourth in the high jump at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Poor is also known for his lifelong crusade in helping children receive the polio vaccine after the tragic death of his daughter, Melinda Sue, from polio. One of the toys he used to do so was this monkey puppet, and while the puppet may look demonic, it helped save lives! Absolutely heartwarming, not chilling, but perhaps maybe do not look into its eyes for too long.
Monkey puppet, undated [circa 1955-1956]. Thomas Woodson Poor Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1568. Click image to enlarge.
Literary giant Samuel Taylor Coleridge brings us our next spooky item, recommended by Nile Russo: a copy of The Devil’s Walk, or alternatively titled The Devil’s Thoughts. The Devil cuts a dapper shape as he gets himself dressed in his Sunday’s best for a walk around the town. In this poem, the Devil offers commentary about passersby, questioning perhaps if mankind might be the scariest creature of all.
The illustration accompanying the title page of The Devil’s Walk: A Poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, 1830. Call Number: B4254. Click image to enlarge.
Molly Leonard recommended perhaps the most soul-wrenching item among our recommendations this year: a copy of Historie des diables de Loudun. This is a book about the Loudun possessions, a piece of history about an Ursuline convent being taken over by unusual behavior and visions attributed to demonic possession. In the end, through the intervention of Cardinal Richelieu, a local priest and decrier of Richelieu’s policies named Urbain Grandier was tried and executed for witchcraft in connection with the possessions. Again, and we can’t reiterate this enough, mankind might just be the scariest monster of all.
Title page of Histoire des diables de Loudun, 1716. Call Number: B12841. Click image to enlarge.
And finally, Ian Strasma reminds us that Halloween isn’t only about creepy clowns, puppets and possessions, and dashingly dressed demons with this recommendation: a black cat found lurking in the Ronald Johnson collection (literary estate papers). The cat may be cute, but be careful that you do not cross him!
“Cat photos,” undated [but timeless]. Ronald Johnson Collection (Literary Estate Papers). Call Number: MS 336. Click image to enlarge.
Best of luck out there as you begin finishing up semester and don’t be afraid to check out the many – completely safe, we promise – collections here at Kenneth Spencer Research Library!
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.
To continue our spooky journey through Spencer’s collections, this week I share Samhain or “All Hallowe’en.”: A Romantic Irish Cantata. As noted in the Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature, “Samhain had an important place in Celtic mythology as a time when the normal order is suspended to allow free passage between the natural and supernatural worlds.” As defined by Merriam-Webster, a cantata is “a composition for one or more voices usually comprising solos, duets, recitatives, and choruses and sung to an instrumental accompaniment.” This particular cantata was written and composed in 1902 expressly for the Dublin Musical Festival, or Feis Ceoil. Established in 1897, “Feis Ceoil Association promotes excellence in the learning and performance of music across all ages, levels and disciplines…Today, Feis Ceoil is an event of major significance in the development of musical talent in Ireland.” The festival now comprises 180 competitions with a diverse range of ages from seven years old and up.
Dr. Annie Patterson (1868-1934), who wrote the cantata, “composed sacred and secular cantatas, orchestral works and songs based on Irish themes. She also wrote poetry, essays, short stories as well as professional articles and books on music.” Working with Rev. Houston Collisson – the cantata’s composer – and others, Patterson co-founded the Feis Ceoil in 1897 as part of the broader Gaelic revival in Ireland.
No matter what you believe or how you celebrate, I wish everyone a safe and very happy Halloween! Next week we will share one last item in the spirit of October before returning to regular postings.
|
|
The front cover and first two pages of Samhain or “All Hallowe’en.”: A Romantic Irish Cantata, 1902. Call Number: O’Hegarty D613. Click images to enlarge.
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.
Rolling on with our spooky theme for October, this week I share Imps, Demons, Hobgoblins, Witches, Fairies & Elves by Leonard Baskin. Baskin (1922-2000) is best known for his illustrations, graphic arts, and sculptures. The website of Seattle’s Davidson Galleries notes that he was “committed to figurative art in a time when the art world focused on abstract expressionism. His work emphasized portraiture and the human condition, often malformed, exaggerated, and animal-like.” A biography on the website of the Smithsonian American Art Museum states that “Baskin’s work is represented in the collections of major museums in the United States and Europe, including the National Gallery of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. His graphic art and sculpture have been shown in exhibitions in the United States, England, France, and Austria. He is also the recipient of numerous graphic-design awards, including the Special Medal of Merit from the American Institute of Graphic Arts.” Other works illustrated by Baskin include Hosie’s Alphabet, Gods and Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus, and Under the North Star. More on Leonard Baskin can be found on Wikipedia.
The book highlighted in today’s post was published in 1984 and shares illustrations portraying various creatures from other works and Baskin’s own imagination. This volume was one of over 150 Leonard Baskin-related items donated by collector John C. English, Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at Baker University. Prof. English’s gift of his Baskin Collection included twenty-two volumes published by Baskin’s Gehenna Press, as well as fine press and commercial books containing work by Baskin, exhibition catalogues, and ephemera. Below we share images of a Gremlin, Bloody Bones, and the Imp of the Perverse.
The front cover of Imps, Demons, Hobgoblins, Witches, Fairies & Elves by Leonard Baskin, 1984. The inside cover asks “have you ever seen a Gremlin or an Imp? Do you wonder that the Tooth Fairy really looks like?…Leonard Baskin intrigues, scares, tickles, edifies, and delights in the pages of this spirited book.” Call Number: Children C802. Click image to enlarge.
|
|
Illustrations and descriptions of a Gremlin (top), Bloody Bones (middle), and the Imp of the Perverse (bottom) in Imps, Demons, Hobgoblins, Witches, Fairies & Elves. Call Number: Children C802. Click images to enlarge.
Stoker-ed about Halloween? Count get enough spooky stories? Excited to sink your teeth into this year’s Booktoberfest Community Read at Lawrence Public Library?
But of corpse!
Stop by and check out Spencer’s current short-term exhibit (ahem, exhi-bite) featuring a selection of materials by Bram Stoker, special editions of his novel Dracula, and copies of other early vampire stories. Highlights include:
the first installment of The Primrose Path, Stoker’s first novel that was initially published as a serial in 1875;
a handwritten draft of an unpublished article written and signed by Bram Stoker in 1887;
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.
For the entire month of October on That’s Distinctive! I am going to switch things up a little bit. For those of you who don’t know me, my favorite holiday of all-time is Halloween. Things like apple cider, falling leaves, the chill in the air, and the pumpkin patch bring me so much excitement. So, for this whole month (with the exception of next week) and the first post in November, I will be featuring items from our collections that remind me of spooky season.
This week we are going to ease into it with some Halloween party invitations from the Alvin Terry Papers. The invitations, which appear to be handmade, are stored in the collection with their original mailing envelopes. The party Mr. Terry was invited to seemed to have happened annually. One invitation is undated, with the other being from 1967.
From movies, to schools, to universities, and more, Halloween parties have been a staple across the United States for decades. I would have to say my personal favorite fictional Halloween party is from the 1993 film Hocus Pocus. A clip of the famed Sanderson Sisters crashing the town’s party can be found on YouTube. Even if you don’t have a party invite this year, go out and celebrate the return of spooky season and the fresh fall breeze!
|
The cover (top) and inside (bottom) of an undated Halloween invitation. Alvin Terry Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1333. Click images to enlarge.
|
The front cover (top) and inside (bottom) of a 1967 Halloween invitation. Alvin Terry Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1333. Click images to enlarge.
