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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.

That’s Distinctive!: Lawrence Watercolors

September 27th, 2024

Check the blog each Friday for a new “That’s Distinctive!” post. I created this series to provide a lighthearted glimpse into the diverse and unique items at Spencer. “That’s Distinctive!” is meant to show that the library has something for everyone regardless of interest. If you have suggested topics for a future item feature or questions about the collections, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this page. All collections, including those highlighted on the blog, are available for members of the public to explore in the Reading Room during regular hours.

This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing some watercolor paintings from the Lawrence, Kansas, Photographs Collection. Spanning the early 1800s through the twentieth century, the collection is an artificial collection comprising of “wide variety of photographic media, including prints, stereographs, ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, glass plate negatives, glass plate positives, nitrate negatives, and other flexible negative types.” When a collection at Spencer Research Library is deemed “artificial,” it just means that not everything in the collection came to the library together. Artificial collections are often put together based on topic, in this case Lawrence, Kansas. The collection, which covers a wide array of subjects, spans 32 document cases, one slide box, two card file boxes, eleven oversize boxes, and ten oversize folders.

The watercolors shared this week were done by Orlando E. Wilson. I could not find any information about Wilson online. The paintings shared today show the Union Pacific Railroad depot, the Lawrence National Bank, and the Eldridge Hotel as it was before and rebuilt after Quantrill’s Raid. I stumbled upon these paintings while working on an exhibit I am currently putting together. They weren’t of use to me for the exhibit, but I found them fascinating enough to share. There are a few more within the collection that I am not including today.

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Orlando E. Wilson’s watercolors of (from top to bottom) the Union Pacific Railroad depot, Lawrence National Bank, First Eldridge House, and Second Eldridge House. Lawrence, Kansas, Photographs Collection. Call Number: RH PH 18. Click images to enlarge.

Tiffany McIntosh
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