Tag: Academic libraries

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New IDHH Collections Share the History of ISU

The IDHH has continued to grow, with new collections added each quarterly harvest!

This month we’re featuring two new collections from Illinois State University (ISU), both of which explore the history of ISU: the Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers collection and the Illinois State University Historical Photos collection. Charles Edward Hovey (1827–1897) was the first President of ISU, then known as Illinois State Normal University, a state teacher’s college and the first public university in Illinois; this collection features letters written by and about Hovey, as well as other foundational documents to the University and family photographs. The Historical Photos collection features digitized photographs that document the history of ISU, from its founding in 1857 to its modern activities in the 2020s.

Here are a few of our favorite items from these two new collections:

Black and white photograph of eleven people, half standing and half sitting in chairs.
Class of 1860, Illinois State Normal University. 1860. Created by Staford Engraving Company. Illinois State University. Illinois State University Historical Photos. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
Black and white image of women using a card catalog in the library
Library card catalog, North Hall, Illinois State Normal University. c. 1914-1920. Illinois State University. Illinois State University Historical Photos. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
Black and white photograph of outside of campus building in gothic architecture style.
Gymnasium (Cook Hall), Illinois State Normal University. Created by Illinois State University Photographic Services. Illinois State University. Illinois State University Historical Photos. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
black and white handwritten letter
Photograph of Letter to Edwin C. Hewett, 1858. 1858. Created by Charles E. Hovey. Illinois State University. Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers. Courtesy of Illinois State University.
color image of handwritten letter
E.W. Bakewell, Esq, 1883-04-09 [page 1]. April 9, 1883. Created by Charles E. Hovey. Illinois State University. Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers. Courtesy of Illinois State University.

Want to see more?

Visit the IDHH to view more collections and items from Illinois State University, or to view more items from the Charles E. Hovey Presidential Papers and the Illinois State University Historical collections.

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Welcome DePaul University

This month we welcomed DePaul University into the IDHH. DePaul University has shared the Deborah Bright Photographs collection, which includes 96 black and white photographs taken by the photographer, Deborah Bright, in 1985.

The  images in the collection capture an eerily quiet side of Chicago in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, sparsely populated by people. Bright took these photographs as part of the Lincoln Park Study Group, which was a project directed by Dr. Charles Suchar, and involved many DePaul faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As part of this, a group was formed to conduct a historical and cultural study of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, where DePaul is located. Bright’s photographs document the neighborhood as it was at the time, in a process of gentrification.

The collection was donated to DePaul by Bright in 2015 as thirty-seven strips of negatives, with ninety-six exposures, and thirteen 8″x10″ contact sheets containing ninety-eight photos in total.

Here is a sneak peek from the collection.

Two children are walking down the sidewalk between two new buildings.
Deborah Bright, Courtyard of apartment building in Lincoln Park, Chicago, 1985. Deborah Bright Photographs, Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.
An alley with a telephone pole that is surrounded by a metal garbage bin, and pieces of wood on the ground.
Deborah Bright. Alley in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 1985. Deborah Bright Photographs, Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.
Three buildings side-by-side on a sunny day, one buildings has a Coca-Cola sign out front, two buildings appear to be residential buildings.
Deborah Bright. Residential and commercial buildings along W. Webster Ave., Chicago. 1985. Deborah Bright Photographs, Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.
A fence separates two urban gardens. There are residential buildings in the background.
Deborah Bright. Garden in a residential lot in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 1985. Deborah Bright Photographs, Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.
Newer homes are surrounded by chain-link fence. There is a boat on a trailer in the middle ground.
Deborah Bright. House exterior in Lincoln Park, Chicago. 1985. Deborah Bright Photographs, Special Collections and Archives, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois.

Permission to display here is granted by DePaul University Special Collections and Archives.

To see the full collection, please visit the collection here.

There are other many great collections in Illinois that document various aspects of the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, check them out in the IDHH!