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.
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.
Hello October! If you were around last year, you might remember that for the whole month of October I shared “spooky” items from our collections. This week we are going to ease into it by sharing an item from the Herd family papers. Also, if you’ve been following That’s Distinctive! for a while, you know I just love using the Herd family papers. The collection offers a wealth of items that cover a wide range of dates and topics, so I can almost always find something relevant to what I am looking for. The item shared today is a Halloween party invitation. It’s not just any regular invitation though; it’s in the form of a poem.
I promise to be all treats and no tricks this October. However, finding items to share sent me on quite the adventure. Having FIVE weeks to cover is a lot of material. Not wanting to overlap with last year or step on any toes of other items that have been shared in various blog posts, I went on a hunt for these items. Hence, I’m going to my trusty collection for this first item. No matter how you choose to celebrate (or not), I hope this spooky season is good to you.
A Halloween party invitation poem, undated. Herd Family Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1374. Click image to enlarge.
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 a book from our Kansas Collection. The book, titled Poems of the Plains, and Songs of the Solitudes, Together With “The Rhyme of the Border War,” was written by Thomas Brower Peacock and published in 1888. The book is a compilation of older revised poems as well as poems Peacock had never published before. The copy of the book housed at the library is signed and dated by the author.
The library houses many other books by Peacock including The Vendetta, and Other Poems (1876), The Rhyme of the Border War (1880), and a later addition of Poems of the Plains, and Songs of the Solitudes, Together With “The Rhyme of the Border War” (1889). As one can see, The Rhyme of the Border War is included in the book shown today and was originally published as a stand-alone book in 1880.
This is one of those books I found while walking through the stacks. It just seemed to jump out to me on one particular day and I took note of the call number to pull it for the blog. It can be frustrating sometimes when I pull a book and cannot find much information on it or the author, but I suppose that should be expected especially the older the books are. Nevertheless, I do still get to enjoy the smell of old books while fumbling through the pages.
KU’s second copy of the book is available to check out from Watson Library, or it can be viewed online through the Library of Congress. The Internet Archive also has an online copy of Peacock’s 1872 work Poems. Finally, Washburn University offers a nice overview of early poems about Kansas that includes a mention of Peacock’s work.
|
|
|
The front cover, author inscription, and selected poems from Poems of the Plains, and Songs of the Solitudes, Together With “The Rhyme of the Border War by Thomas Brower Peacock, 1888. Call Number: RH B112. 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.
This week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing a book from Special Collections. The book, titled Flowers in Concrete, was written by Mary Ellen Solt and published in 1966. According to the Poetry Foundation, “Solt began writing concrete poetry in the 1960s and became a leader of the concrete poetry movement.” A post on the Getty’s Iris blog describes concrete poetry as a form of poetry where the poems are “composed of words, letters, colors, and typefaces, in which graphic space plays a central role in both design and meaning.” The Poets.org website describes concrete poetry as more than just poems; they are pieces of visual art. Concrete poems are meant to be viewed rather than read aloud.
While there is more to be seen than said when it comes to concrete poetry, I chose to highlight this item because I had never heard of a concrete poem before. Often, then one thinks of a poem, they think of the typical lines that tend to rhyme and tell a story. Concrete poems still tell a story but in a different way. I came across this book when Special Collections Curator Elspeth Healey was using it for a class. She took a moment to show the book to me and some students since we were intrigued. The book the library houses is copy 60 out of 100 printed. Solt signed and dated the title page of Spencer’s copy in February 1970. The library also holds a later limited-edition poster-sized portfolio version of Flowers in Concrete printed by lithography in 1969 (Call Number: R72). Below I am sharing just three examples of concrete poems from the book (zinnia, forsythia, and dogwood). The Poetry4Kids website has a great lesson on how to write a concrete poem.
|
|
|
|
Selected pages from Flowers in Concrete by Mary Ellen Solt, 1966. Call Number: B12714. Click images to enlarge.
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 a book titled Random Rhymes by Ed Blair. The book was published in Spring Hill, Kansas, in 1939. It contains 213 pages of poems.
Not much about Random Rhymes can be found on the internet. It is another item that I stumbled upon while walking through the stacks. Sometimes I go wander around to see what titles pop out at me. I had no background knowledge on what the book held until I had it paged to the Reading Room. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was delighted to find the poems. A couple of poems from the book are included below.
|
|
|
|
The front cover, the first page of the table of contents, and selected poems from Random Rhymes by Ed Blair, 1939. Call Number: RH C6635. Click image to enlarge.
Any red-blooded Kansan holds these truths to be self-evident: the state flower is the sunflower, the state bird is the meadowlark, the state tree is the cottonwood, and Kansas Day is January 29. We celebrate this day as the anniversary of the entrance of the state to the Union in 1861. This year (2024) the state turns 163 years old (though she doesn’t look a day over 130). But as our comrades across the state and beyond observe Kansas Day, some may wonder how to properly celebrate.
The front cover of the Patriotic Manual and Guide for Classroom Observance of Special Days. This guide was published by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in 1954, though several editions have been published over the years. Call Number: RH C6170. Click image to enlarge.
Unsure of how to appropriately commemorate the anniversary of statehood, we can look to the Patriotic Manual published by the state in 1954. Under the section on Kansas Day, it is said that Kansas Day was born in Paola in 1877, when schoolchildren became so awakened to patriotism that they searched encyclopedias and called upon their parents and community to furnish local history and interesting facts about Kansas. When Kansas Day came, the school blackboard was covered with careful drawings of the state seal and maps, along with songs and poems, with the state motto “Ad astra per aspera” written in crimson and blue chalk.
Along with the fabled history of Kansas Day, the Patriotic Manual contains state laws describing the Great Seal of Kansas and the Capitol building in Topeka as well as a selection of songs and poems that embody the fine and glorious spirit of the state. These poems are reprinted below.
|
|
|
Kansas poems from the Patriotic Manual and Guide for Classroom Observance of Special Days, 1954. Call Number: RH C6170. Click image to enlarge.
This patriotic manual from 1954 and an updated edition from 1973 are housed at Spencer Research Library. For digital access, the guide has been digitized by the Kansas State Library.
