Happy (belated) birthday to Jane Austen! Jane Austen’s novels have remained in print almost non-stop since they first began appearing in 1811, and her fame and popularity have grown to iconic status, incorporating numerous adaptations of her novels in other mediums. During her lifetime her name was much less well known. She anonymously published her […]
Non Solus Blog
Happy Birthday Jane Austen!
December 19, 2018
Happy Birthday Emily Dickinson!
December 10, 2018
Born on December 10th, 1830, Emily Dickinson was a prolific and reclusive poet whose writing ranged from descriptive and observational to introspective and theoretical and touched on themes of flowers, death, and religion. Though very few of her works circulated during her life, over 1,800 poems hand-bound into “fascicles” were discovered in her room after […]
Women Authors: Louisa May Alcott and Gertrude Jekyll
November 29, 2018
This week, we will be highlighting four women authors from our collection in honor of their birthdays. These authors wrote on a range of subjects, from gardening to slavery, and show the many different areas in which the Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds important histories. Born on this day in 1832, Louisa May Alcott […]
Women Authors: Fanny Kemble and Katherine Milhous
November 27, 2018
This week, we will be highlighting four women authors from our collection in honor of their birthdays. These authors wrote on a range of subjects, from gardening to slavery, and show the many different areas in which the Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds important histories. Fanny Kemble was born on this day in 1809 […]
On the Origin of Turkeys
November 21, 2018
Turkeys are a staple of the western holiday dinner table, especially associated with Thanksgiving in the United States. First domesticated in Mexico, the turkey was a central food of Mexican cuisine since 800 BC or earlier, and has appeared in the diet of Native North Americans since around 1100 AD. There is no clear answer […]
Elijah P. Lovejoy, “Liberty’s Martyr”
November 7, 2018
Elijah Lovejoy was a reverend and printer in Alton, Illinois, in the 1830s. He was the editor for the Alton Observer, a religious newspaper with a pro-abolition stance. His journey to Alton was not a smooth one. He had three printing presses destroyed before he settled in Alton—all three times the vandalism was in response […]
The Menace Behind the Magick: A Halloween Pop-Up Exhibit at the RBML
October 25, 2018
25 October – 07 November 2018 Curated by Taylor Fisk Henning & Kellie Clinton Twenty years ago, J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was first published in the United States. The book, followed by six more volumes in the Harry Potter series, soon became a cultural phenomenon which led to eight films, numerous […]
First Appearances: Jane Eyre, Moby-Dick, and Winnie-the-Pooh
October 18, 2018
by Katie Funderberg, Xena Becker, and Kellie Clinton Jane Eyre Significantly impacting the genre of prose fiction, Jane Eyre, originally subtitled An Autobiography, was first appeared on October 16th, 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell. Speculation over the author’s identity and the novelty of a book commenting on issues such as religion, class, and […]
This Just In: Happy Birthday H.G. Wells!
September 21, 2018
Herbert George Wells was born on this day in 1866 and we want to take the occasion to celebrate his life and work. The Rare Book and Manuscript Library is proud to serve as the steward for the author’s papers and correspondence, as well as a large collection of manuscripts and print editions of Wells’ […]
Ballad of Birmingham: 55 Years Later
September 19, 2018
55 years ago, on September 15th, 1963 , white supremacists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls and injuring 23 other children. It was Youth Day at the church and the children were gathered in the basement when the bomb went off. The church was a hub of activity […]