New Addition to Rare Books

Over the past few months, the USF library has been conducting an inventory project of all the general collection holdings. The librarians are in the process of fixing catalog records, changing labels, and general maintenance of the thousands of books, CDs, and DVDs. From this process a few treasures have been discovered, which is where the archives steps in.

This week a book was brought to my attention and after some research I made the decision to move it to our Rare Books collection. The 1889 edition of American Artists and Their Works: A Series of Etchings, Photo-Etchings, Photogravures, and Engravings, After Designs and Paintings by the Most Celebrated Artists, Volume II is a collection of fully illustrated drawings, original sketches, and etchings of original paintings or sculptures.

Volume II highlights the work of nineteen well-known American artists of the 19th century, including:

Maud Humphrey
Frederick Stuart Church
F. O. C. Darley
James Carroll Beckwith
Moses Jacob Ezekiel
Charles Stanley Reinhart
Alfred Waud
Charles Henry Miller

The book was published by Boston firm Estes & Lauriat and contains over 100 plates with etchings, photo-etchings, and woodcut illustrations. Each artist page has an accompanying biography, as well.  As I was flipping through the pages I found three images which I really enjoyed. Two are from illustrator Frederick Stuart Church (1842-1924) and the third is from painter F.O.C. Darley (1822-1888).

Idyl by Frederick Stuart Church, original etching
News From the Front by F.O.C. Darley, photo-etching from an original painting

The Mermaid by F.S. Church, original etching

Currently, I am on the lookout for the first volume of American Artists and Their Works, which is a treasure waiting to be found in the library's general collection. For now, the second addition can be viewed in the Archives reading room during our regular hours. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 2, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    Good choices to showcase some of the treasures of the library.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

St. Joseph School of Nursing

Image
In 1997 the St. Joseph College of Nursing joined the College of St. Francis and on January 1, 1998 became the College of Nursing and Allied Health at the newly renamed University of St. Francis. But before this storied nursing school joined USF they had been training nurses in Joliet for almost eight decades. Here's an abbreviated timeline about the history of St. Joseph School of Nursing. 1866 - 4 women form the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Seelback, Germany 1876 - Those 4 Sisters arrive in Avilla, Indiana 1881 - The Sisters traveled to Joliet to care for those affected by an epidemic of typhoid fever 1882 - Joliet donates $600 towards the creation of a hospital to be run by the Sisters 1882 - The Sisters of the Sacred Heart purchase the Motherhouse on Broadway from the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate to use as the St. Joseph Hospital *** So begins the relationship between the two congregations. The Sisters of St. Francis provided education for the Si...
Read more

DISASTER PLANNING: Mold and Water Salvage

Image
Growth Cycle of Mold Last week I attended a workshop in Springfield, Illinois at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library to learn about salvaging mold and water damaged library materials. It was hosted by Jennifer Hain Teper, Preservation Librarian and Head of Preservation Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Bonnie Parr, Historical Documents Conservator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The workshop included an overview of mold and library materials including: sources of mold, a brief introduction to health risks when dealing with mold, and options for remediation/removal. I did not know much about mold going into this workshop, so I was interested to learn some basic facts. For example, mold grows best at high temperatures and high humidity, which is why cold storage is best for archival materials. I also learned too new terms. Example of foxing, taken from The Private Library Foxing and efflorescence are two types of...
Read more

Sisters of Saint Francis Special Exhibit

Image
The Joliet Area Historical Museum is hosting a special exhibit: Sisters of Saint Francis of Mary Immaculate - 145 Years Serving God, Serving Community . "The Sisters of Saint Francis of Mary Immaculate transformed the landscape of Joliet through their ministry and the Congregation's building of a Motherhouse, an academy, a college, an orphanage, and a retirement home. This exhibit features facts pulled from their rich history, continuing the journey that Mother Alfred Moes began 145 years ago." Visit the Museum from June 6 through October 10, 2010 to view this amazing collection of photographs, information, artifacts, artwork and more about the Sisters' century and a half in Joliet. The Motherhouse of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Mary Immaculate - ca. 1912
Read more