University of St. Francis Library Archives

Part six of This Week in History will be diving into Scribner’s Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People , specifically the March edition from 1877. Scribner’s Monthly was a pictorial publication focusing on bringing art, science, and literature to the American people. Unfortunately, this publication was short-lived, only lasting from 1870-1881. Scribner’s Monthly was renamed to The Century Magazine following the sale of the company. Founder Charles Scribner came back and created Scribner’s Magazine in 1887 to compete with the highly successful Harper’s Weekly (which is discussed in Part Four of this series). Interior of New York Aquarium Fortunately, the March volume of Scribner’s Monthly is full of interesting articles, poetry, literature installments, advice, and a few other oddities. The headliner for March was the New York Aquarium, which opened December 10, 1876. The article has no author but the illustrations were provided by a local artist who documented...

The latest installment of This Week in History takes us back to the American Civil War, specifically July 27, 1861. Harper’s Weekly, A Journal of Civilization was an American political magazine which was the most widely read publications of the 19 th century. Famous for their illustrations, Harper’s Weekly featured foreign and domestic news, works of fiction, and political essays. The USF Archives holds volumes five, six, and seven (1861-1863), but today I’ll be focusing on volume 5, issue 239. It was the beginning of the war, with the Battle of Bull Run – the first major land battle of the Civil War – fought the previous week on July 21 st . However, details of battles usually came out a couple weeks later. The editors of Harper’s fully supported President Lincoln and the Union once the war began, but because of their wide readership in the southern states they took a moderate stance on slavery. Readers of issue 239 were presented with news and illustrations from earl...

Nature Magazine cover, March 1924 With spring fast approaching, it was a good opportunity to highlight one of USF’s rare book journals . Nature Magazine , which focused on the great outdoors, began publication in 1923 by the American Nature Association’s president, Charles Pack, and his son Arthur. They heralded themselves as, “…the answer to a long-felt want—a monthly magazine where the child and the grown-up alike may revel in pictures and stories of birds, beasts, fish, tress, plants and other living, breathing evidence of the Creator’s handiwork” (1). This sentiment made its way into each issue of the magazine, until its run ended in 1959. Articles typically focused on plant development, animal evolution and biology, travel excursions from members of the American Nature Association, and advertisements for campgrounds, outdoor wear, and national parks. Celebrities were featured occasionally, as well; for example, Florenz Ziegfeld – the American Broadway producer of the Zieg...

America: A Catholic Review of the Week Vol. 13 No. 13 (1915) Now and again it’s fun to look back on history and wonder what the hot topics of the day were. For the first installment of This Week in History we’ll be focusing on the week of July 10 th , 1915; specifically, what was mentioned in volume 13, number 13 of America: A Catholic Review of the Week .  As a weekly Catholic journal of opinion, topics included: social justice, liturgy, music, world news, editorial reviews, education, sociology, and much more. The USF Archives holds the first forty-five volumes of this journal, which has been continuously published since 1909. As you might imagine, the issue focused on the circumstances and events of World War I. In news bulletin style, the issue highlights the movements of German troops in France as they make their way to Verdun. It reads: “The Crown Prince according to reports is in command, and large bodies of troops are said to be gathering for an new assau...

What would a room full of amazing books be without bookends. Luckily for the USF Library Archives there have been several pairs of decorative bookends donated over the past few decades. They can be seen on display with the John L. Raymond Special Collection and the Rare Books Collection. The two sets of bookends above were donated by John L. Raymond. Come and see these helpful pieces of art in the USF Library Archives on the second floor of the USF Library.

George Bull was a theologian and a defender of the doctrine of the Trinity who lived from 1634 to 1710. He was born in Wells, Somerset, UK and educated at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon and then at Oxford University. He was ordained in 1655 and rose successfully to become the Bishop of St. David's in 1705. After his death, his writings were published in the book The Works of the Right Reverend George Bull, D.D., Late Bishop of St. David's: translated into English by F. Holland, M.A. It was a multi-volume work published in London in 1730. The USF Library Archives has a copy of Volume II on display in our Rare Books Collection. If you would like to view the Rare Book Displays or other historical materials in the USF Library Archives, please visit us on the 2nd floor of the USF Library.