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.
For one final installment of spooky October, I am sharing an item from the library’s science fiction holdings within Special Collections. This week I am highlighting select covers of Famous Monsters of Filmland. Published from 1958 to 1983, the magazine “offered brief articles, well-illustrated with publicity stills and graphic artwork, on horror movies from the silent era to the current date of publication, their stars and filmmakers.” Editor Forest J. Ackerman was a leading figure in science fiction and horror fandom as well as a science fiction writer and editor. The back of issue #158 of the magazine includes “home movies so ghastly you will be astonished,” “deluxe latex rubber whole head masks,” and lists of books and other magazines being printed at the time. One article is titled “You Scream as They Leap from the Screen Horror from the Third Dimension,” and it covers the use of 3-D in films and television. Per Wikipedia, the success of Famous Monsters of Filmland “inspired the creation of many other similar publications, including Castle of Frankenstein, Cinefantastique, Fangoria, The Monster Times, and Video Watchdog.” Some full issues of the magazine can be found on the Famous Monsters of Filmland website.
The covers shown today highlight films such as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, King Kong, Mr. Sardonicus, and Superman. I’m pretty sure I stumbled upon this collection by literally searching for “monsters” in the KU Libraries online catalog when looking for items to highlight in October. When the students brought the issues to me, there was quite a selection to choose from, which always makes my decision harder. Generally, in cases like that, I choose at random what to show.
It is always sad for me to see October come to a close. With the end of spooky season, I hope the items I have chosen to highlight this year have helped share more insights to the collections Spencer houses.
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Front covers of Famous Monsters of Filmland from (top to bottom) May 1976, July 1976, September 1978, and March 1979. Call Number: ASF CURR D82. 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.
Continuing on with our spooky theme for the month of October, this week on That’s Distinctive! I am sharing select pages from Demons, Imps & Fiends: Drawings by Leonard Baskin. If you were around last year, you might recall that I shared Imps, Demons, Hobgoblins, Witches, Fairies & Elves– another work authored by Baskin.
The work shared today consists of 21 unnumbered leaves bearing drawings of various creatures. It was published by the Gehenna Press. Established by Baskin in 1942 while he was a student at Yale, Gehenna was one of the first fine arts presses in the U.S. Only 450 copies of Demons, Imps & Fiends: Drawings were printed, with Spencer holding the 116th copy. I was excited to pull this item because Baskin’s book that I highlighted last year was one of my favorites. There is something about his illustrations that pulls the viewer in yet leaves something to the imagination. Each illustration has its own quirks and character which I really think brings them to life. This volume is one of over 150 Baskin-related items donated to Spencer Research Library by the collector John C. English.
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Selected pages from Demons, Imps & Fiends: Drawings by Leonard Baskin, 1976. Call Number: D7425. 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! we continue on our journey of spooky items. Today I am sharing yet another item from the Herd family papers. With the collection spanning the time frame of 1817 to 2013, there is just about anything a person could be looking for. The item shown today is a dance card from KU’s third annual all-university Halloween party. It took place in 1917, six months after the U.S. entered World War I. The card shows that it was held in Robinson Gymnasium, which was located where Wescoe Hall now stands. The current Robinson Center is just east of Allen Fieldhouse.
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Pages from an All-University Halloween Party dance card, 1917. Herd Family Papers. Call Number: RH MS 1374. Click images to enlarge.
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Two articles about the party in the University Daily Kansan, October 29, 1917. Florence (Mrs. Eustace) Brown was the “advisor of women” at KU (and sometimes cited as the school’s first Dean of Women), 1914-1918. Courtesy Newspapers.com. 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 “spooky” book from the Kansas Collection: Trespassing Time: Ghost Stories from the Prairie by Barbara J. Baldwin, Jerri Garretson, Linda Madl, and Sheri L. McGathy. Published in 2005 by Ravenstone Press in Manhattan, Kansas, the book compiles sixteen “scary stories of love, legends, and evil [that] will challenge your sense of reality.” Stories in the book include “The Graveyard Dance,” “What Do Ghosts Do?” and “Halloween at the Gates of Hell.”
Interested in seeing the book? You can visit the Reading Room anytime during normal operating hours. The Internet Archive also has a digitized copy of the book.
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The front cover of – and the table of contents and selected pages from – Trespassing Time: Ghost Stories from the Prairie, 2005. Call Number: RH C11220. Click image to enlarges.
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.
