The Newberry is a library and a portal to more than six centuries of human history. Visit our website for exhibition and bookstore hours.
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Founded in 1887, the Newberry Library is one of Chicago's most iconic cultural institutions. Our collections, programs, and exhibitions are a portal to more than six centuries of human history, from the Middle Ages to the present. This history lives on at the Newberry, where you can access some 1.6 million books, 600,000 maps, and 5 million manuscript pages documenting life in Europe and the Ameri
cas. A small fraction of these treasures appear in the Newberry's exhibition galleries. We can help you discover the rest in our reading rooms.
**No tickets or reservations are required to visit the galleries or reading rooms.
**Hours listed are reading room hours.
The Newberry will be closed Monday, August 19 through Thursday, August 22. You can explore our online collections at https://collections.newberry.org/ or find more information about the library at https://www.newberry.org/
We apologize for any inconvenience.
In January 2024, Alvin Patrick, book collector, Executive Producer at CBS News in New York, and trustee of Marist College, was seeking information on first editions of W.E.B. Du Bois’ “The Souls of Black Folk.” Alvin owns an early edition of the volume but didn’t know how many were ever printed. Stumped, he turned to the Newberry Library for help and found then Library Assistant Kinsey Major ready to assist him.
“Within hours, Kinsey responded and said she would look into it,” Alvin later said during a presentation with The Grolier Club. Kinsey’s superb efforts helped Alvin learn more about his book, but also uncovered insights into Du Bois’ life that may have otherwise gone untold.
This past week, Alvin visited the Newberry in person for the first time since his initial inquiry. During his visit, he made a point to reconnect with Kinsey, now a Reference Librarian. “It was amazing getting to meet with him!” Kinsey said. “Alvin was so excited to see our collection and we had some really great conversation.”
Artist Jim Terry (Ho-Chunk) visited yesterday to deliver his graphic novel, "Paper Cuts," that will appear in the Indigenous Chicago exhibition (opening September 12). Joining Jim were Haku Blaisdell of the Newberry's McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies and Analú Maria Lopez, co-curator of the exhibition and the Newberry's Ayer Librarian and Assistant Curator of American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Jim's memoir "Come Home, Indio" was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize and the Ignatz. Thank you, Jim, for your contribution to the exhibition!
Our latest exhibition, "Indigenous Chicago," comes to life in just ONE month. Examining more than five centuries of history on the land now known as Chicago, this exhibition centers Indigenous voices, explores the impacts of settler colonialism, and envisions Indigenous futures.
Exhibition motif by Anjeni Del Real (Ojibwe, Santee Sioux, and Blackfeet). https://www.newberry.org/calendar/indigenous-chicago
This week, citizens of the Cherokee Nation visited from Talequah, Oklahoma to study the Thomas Lee Ballenger Papers. This manuscript collection includes writings, genealogical charts, archaeological artifacts, and photographs and negatives pertaining to Cherokee history from 1730 to 1968.
Gear up for the 2024 with this vintage postcard from our collection commemorating the last time Paris hosted the "Jeux Olympiques" - exactly 100 years ago!
[Modern MS Monroe Sports]
A few photos from our first-ever NewberryFest! The Newberry has always been free and open to all, but today was tailored specifically to those who haven't had a chance to visit previously (though we welcomed familiar faces, too). Tours, collection presentations, talks, and performances were among the highlights on a busy schedule. Thanks to all who made this day a success.
We mourn the loss of Bob Newhart, a celebrated Chicago native who left an indelible mark on comedy. From his groundbreaking performances at Mister Kelly's -- where Newhart felt he had finally 'made it' in show business -- to his iconic album "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," which topped the Billboard charts, his contributions to comedy and entertainment are unforgettable. Explore his legacy in our exhibition "A Night at Mister Kelly's," where you can see snippets of Newhart's interviews and explore more relics of mid-century Chicago nightlife. “A Night at Mister Kelly’s” closes tomorrow evening. Be sure to visit between 10am and 4pm to catch the final day.
Alison Hinderliter, curator of A Night at Mister Kelly's, narrates a look back at our video series accompanying the exhibition that closes on Saturday. We feature the Rush Street nightlife scene and stars like Barbra Streisand, Lenny Bruce, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, and Robert Guillaume. The memories of Mister Kelly’s and its legacy in entertainment history will live on forever.
Animation by Katya Balakina
Music by Joe Alterman
Mister Kelly's Chicago
Leap into learning this summer at the Newberry! Our Adult Education courses offer a refreshing dive into history, literature, performance art, writing, and more.😎☀️ Explore our online and in-person course offerings at: https://www.newberry.org/learn/adult-education-classes
[Midwest MS Lende]
We've had a great start to a busy week here at the Newberry! Yesterday marked the start of the month-long NCAIS Summer Institute on Native American Historiography. The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library began their two-week Summer Institute in French Paleography led by Professor Elizabeth Hebbard from the University of Indiana. Not to mention our two ongoing exhibitions: "Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism," in its third week, and "A Night at Mister Kelly's," now entering its final weeks! Our summer Adult Education term is in full swing, with several classes ending this week and even more beginning.
Looking for an excuse to check out the Newberry? Join us Thursday at 6pm for a conversation between the Director of the Newberry - McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Rose Miron, and Northwestern University's Kelly Wisecup about Miron's new book "Indigenous Archival Activism."
Historians Rose Miron and Kelly Wisecup discuss Miron’s work exploring one example of Native history being actively repatriated back to control of tribes…
Our country! The whole country! Nothing but our whole country! Join "Commander in Chief, Gigadier Brindle Nos-Pos-Ros Rocqraphious! Assisted by his aid-de-camp, Fitz-Mulroggins" for a lesser-known aspect of Fourth of July celebrations: the "Horribles Parade," a carnivalesque parody of stuffy, official, and often military-focused parades and processions. These parades, originating in the early 19th century, were seen as a humorous counterpart to official Fourth of July celebrations in the United States.
Call number: VAULT oversize Ruggles 646
Calling all Chicagoland teachers! Our 2024-25 calendar for Professional Development Programs is now live. Registration will open Monday, August 19. Browse our offerings below: https://www.newberry.org/learn/teacher-programs/professional-development
We still have plenty of openings in our Summer term Adult Education classes! Jesse Jackson, performance art, Benjamin Franklin and more...! Browse our offerings and register below:
Led by experts in a variety of fields, our adult education classes can help you jumpstart or elevate your next learning endeavor.
the Newberry has a digital postcard sender? Browse our collection of antique Fourth of July postcards and send one to a friend! (Bonus points if you can track down baby George Washington.) https://digital.newberry.org/postcard-sender/2KXJ8ZSUQ97PO/
Introducing ~NewberryFest,~ our new summer fest designed to help you learn more about the Newberry. NewberryFest will take over the first floor of the library, providing unique opportunities for engagement, education, and enjoyment! Take a tour, attend a program, view our exhibitions and more! Join us July 20, 10am - 4pm for all the Newberry fun. https://www.newberry.org/calendar/newberry-fest
Thanks to for today’s story about our exhibition, “Chicago Style: Mike Royko and Windy City Journalism,” which chronicles the famed columnist when Chicago was a city of newsprint, long before the days of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. The exhibit features photos, news clips, selected writings, and ephemera drawn from the Mike Royko Papers at the Newberry. Visit the show in our Hanson Gallery between now and September 28.
In collaboration with our current exhibition, "A Night at Mister Kelly's," Alison Hinderliter, exhibition curator, discusses the famed nightclub from its previous location--at the corner of Rush and Bellevue in Chicago. Come check out "A Night at Mister Kelly's" as it approaches its final weeks! Open through July 20.
Animation by Katya Balakina
Music by Joe Alterman
Genealogist and Newberry partner Tony Burroughs highlighted ways African American families can trace their ancestry in a piece by Christian Farr of NBC Chicago on Juneteenth. "Genealogy is very important in the Black community," Tony said, "because our history has been cut off from us." Tony has helped many Black celebrities including singer Smokey Robinson reconstruct their family trees. Tony suggests starting by writing down all of your living relatives and then interviewing them, prioritizing by age and speaking with the oldest relatives first. View the whole story at the link.
Ahead of Juneteenth, NBC Chicago's Christian Farr spoke with a genealogist who specializes in helping African American families trace their familial roots.
The Newberry Library and The Pattis Family Foundation are pleased to announce the winner of the third annual $25,000 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award. Thomas Leslie, author of "Chicago Skyscrapers 1934-1986: How Technology, Politics, Finance, & Race Reshaped the City," will receive the award, which celebrates works that transform public understanding of Chicago, its history, and its people.
The Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award is open to writers working in a variety of genres, including history, biography, social sciences, poetry, drama, graphic novels, and fiction—all relating to Chicago. Toya Wolfe received the 2023 Pattis Award for "Last Summer on State Street," and Dawn Turner received the inaugural award in 2022 for "Three Girls from Bronzeville."
Leslie spent seven years as an architect with Norman Foster and Partners in London. He is now a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Leslie is the author of "Louis I. Kahn: Building Art, Building Science; Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934" and "Beauty’s Rigor: Patterns of Production in the Work of Pier Luigi Nervi."
Leslie will receive the award at an event at the Newberry on September 14.
Read the full announcement: https://www.newberry.org/news/the-pattis-family-foundation-and-the-newberry-library-announce-2024-chicago-book-award-recipient
Thanks very much to CBS 2, anchor Joe Donlon, and producer Edie Kasten for the wonderful piece on our exhibition, A Night at Mister Kelly's! https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/mister-kellys-chicago-exhibit/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h Mister Kelly's Chicago
Mister Kelly's served as a springboard for young entertainers who went on to become not just household names, but big stars.
The Newberry has recently acquired a scrapbook featuring an intimate chronicle of a married in*******al gay couple during the height of the AIDS epidemic. The scrapbook of Chicago residents Kenneth Martin and John Dooley includes 300 photos as well as dozens of pieces of ephemera related to theater and travel. The scrapbook, purchased from a book dealer, fits into the Newberry’s collection strength around Chicago and local history and will further the study of local history, LGBTQ history, and alternate families. Read more about Martin and Dooley's scrapbook: https://www.newberry.org/news/new-acquisition-documents-gay-couple-during-aids-epidemic
The scrapbook fits into the Newberry’s collection strength around Chicago and local history while documenting theater history and the LGBTQ community.
"For Art or Money?"
In the early modern period, the divisive line between "real" and "fake" wasn't as solidified in the way we think of it now. Learn more from scholar Katherine Calvin about how we assess the value of art, art forgery, and why/if authenticity matters.
In the early modern period, the divisive line between "real" and "fake" wasn't as solidified in the way we think of it now.
This chart, created by Indigenous activist Zitkala-Ša and housed in the archive of May Walden at the Newberry, reveals many factors important to the debates surrounding the Snyder Act, also known as the Indian Citizenship Act, which marked its 100th anniversary yesterday. Zitkala-Ša presents her vision of a future for Native American communities while criticizing the bureaucratic governance of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and imagining a true democratic governance, by and for Native people.
The Snyder Act granted dual citizenship to all members of Native American tribal nations and has a vast and complex history. Though Zitkala-Ša and many Native American communities were critical of forced assimilation, other Native activists viewed assimilation more positively and, in some cases, necessary to escape the "supervisory guardianship" imposed by the U.S. government. Aside from assimilation, the process of American naturalization itself is fraught. For some Native communities, American citizenship undermined independent tribal sovereignty, as most paths to American naturalization require individuals to revoke allegiance to other national or state leaders and avow loyalty to the United States. However, the Snyder Act provided a path to citizenship that bypassed this difficult and often painful requirement.
What can be learned from Zitkala-Ša's chart and the debates surrounding the Snyder Act is that there is no monolithic Native opinion or experience. Rather, the diversity of experiences of Native American communities informs the many sides to this debate.
Who remembers the Newberry Lyceum? Known today as our Adult Education program, the Newberry has always fostered lifelong learning. In fact, registration for our Summer 2024 Adult Education term is open NOW!! Head to newberry.org/learn/adult-education-classes to browse our offerings!
Check out this Spring's Colonial History Lecture, as well as other past Public Programs, on our YouTube channel! https://youtube.com/?si=kapRQ4pjYj3ektSm
Why Chicago Matters to Early American History: Indigenous Canoe Networks and the Contest for a ContinentThe geography around Chicago portages, a nexus of anc...
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Alison Hinderliter, curator of A Night at Mister Kelly's, narrates a look back at our video series accompanying the exhibition that closes on Saturday. We feature the Rush Street nightlife scene and stars like Barbra Streisand, Lenny Bruce, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, and Robert Guillaume. The memories of Mister Kelly’s and its legacy in entertainment history will live on forever. Animation by Katya Balakina Music by Joe Alterman Mister Kelly's Chicago
In collaboration with our current exhibition, "A Night at Mister Kelly's," Alison Hinderliter, exhibition curator, discusses the famed nightclub from its previous location--at the corner of Rush and Bellevue in Chicago. Come check out "A Night at Mister Kelly's" as it approaches its final weeks! Open through July 20. #MisterKellys #Nightlife #Chicago #Exhibits Animation by Katya Balakina Music by Joe Alterman
Watch what happens when coloring in a 1910 "Hallow-E'en" postcard.🐈⬛It's an appearance by Casper the Cat! Check out all of our Very Newberry Halloween #ColorOurCollections items here: https://digital.newberry.org/collection-stories/halloween/ #Halloween2023
Looking back on the wonderful event we had earlier this month with esteemed Director Gregory Doran, as part of a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio. Doran told Barbara Gaines of Chicago Shakespeare Theater why "The Names of the Principal Actors" is his favorite page in the folio, noting performers like Richard Burbadge, the original Hamlet.
New acquisition alert! 🚨 Last week we received a 1638 first edition of Margherita Costa's Guitar (La Chittara), a collection of love poems, featuring gilt-stamped border and fillets and marbled end papers. Margherita Costa was one of the most prolific female authors and performing artists of seventeenth-century Europe, including during a period marked by a decline in secular women's writing in Italy. This work includes a fine portrait etching of the author by Stefano della Bella (1610-1664).
Do you think the ferris wheel is the best ride? That's fair (and we agree).🎡 This 20th-century postcard display rack is featured prominently in our newest exhibition "Wheels," which runs through September 23. Learn more and plan your visit: https://www.newberry.org/calendar/wheels
Registration for our summer season of Adult Education classes opens May 24! ☀️ Read classic novels like The Great Gatsby & Adam Bede, make + taste historical recipes from the medieval spice trade, pick up some Polish, & more. View the full calendar: https://www.newberry.org/learn/adult-education-classes?category=all&start=&end=
Happy National Library Week! To celebrate, we are giving you 10% off at the Newberry Bookshop. Shop online and use the code TOME10. Or stop in between now and Saturday to treat yourself in person. 🤩📕📗📘📙🤩 https://bookshop.newberry.org/
Artist Hannah Batsel and paper engineer Shawn Sheehy joined forces to create a pop-up version of the Newberry Library. Made in honor of our current exhibition, Pop-Up Books through the Ages, the three-dimensional paper sculpture is brimming with detail and imagination. Copies of the Newberry pop-up were produced as DIY assembly kits. Visitors to Pop-Up Books through the Ages are invited to take a kit home with them as a keepsake and build their very own Newberry pop-up! Read more about the creativity and engineering behind the Newberry pop-up on our blog: https://www.newberry.org/blog/the-making-of-the-newberry-pop-up Watch the full interview with Hannah and Shawn on our YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6TN8_recZk
History jumps off the page *literally* in our upcoming exhibition, POP-UP BOOKS THROUGH THE AGES. Opening March 21. Learn more: https://www.newberry.org/calendar/pop-up-books-through-the-ages
OMG: Oh my Gradual (Gradual = a chant or hymn in the Mass). Enjoy these highly decorated floral initials from this 14th-century liturgical book. [Camaldolese Gradual, ca. 1390-1395. VAULT oversize Case MS 74] #MedievalManuscript #IlluminatedManuscript
We present to you... HER (another fabulous example of recycled manuscript binding). [Diuine plane expositiões, 1526. Case C 376 .672] #RecycledManuscripts #bookbinding #archives #SpecialCollections
Which recycled manuscript tab are you? ♨️✍️📝❓ [De civitate dei. 1479. oversize Inc. 7489] #MedievalManuscripts #fragments #fragmentology #ManuscriptWaste #SpecialCollections
Illuminated manuscripts are just. that. good. [Book of hours, use of Rome, ca. 1490. VAULT Case MS 47] #SpecialCollections #manuscripts #archives #libraries
A few of our favorite library views. 😍
Just a few ways to describe this bejeweled copy of Paradise Lost. ✨ [Binding of Paradise Lost, Sangorski & Sutcliffe, 1920s. VAULT case folio Y 185 .M6376a v.1] #SpecialCollections #BookBinding #JeweledBinding #archives #libraries #ParadiseLost
Treat a friend (or two) to one of the thousands of postcards from our collection. Our Digital Postcard Sender is now stocked for Halloween: https://publications.newberry.org/postcard-sender/
"We're really conscious of making sure that we have primary source material created by Native people." Ayer Indigenous Studies Librarian Analú María López discusses the Newberry's efforts to expand our collection to reflect Native voices, perspectives, and knowledge systems. #IndigenousPeoplesDay
Look who has a new website ✨ We teamed up with Firebelly to reimagine and redesign our website. Built for intuitive navigation, the new newberry.org more seamlessly connects you with our collections and services. The organization of the site and the design of individual pages serve the full range of Newberry users, from scholars, artists, and genealogists to teachers, students, and lifelong learners. We believe our website is as open, accessible, and inviting as the Newberry itself. We hope you agree! Visit: https://www.newberry.org
Look familiar? Chicago businessman and philanthropist Charles H. Wacker took this video in 1929, looking east on Wacker Drive from Franklin Street. This clip (along with about 25 more minutes of 8mm footage) shows the buildings, roads, and parks developed under the Chicago Plan Commission. Wacker was appointed Chairman of the Chicago Plan Commission in 1909. In this role, he championed and promoted Daniel Burnham’s plan for improving Chicago’s infrastructure. He served until 1926, when Wacker Drive was named after him. [Chicago street scenes, reel 1. Midwest MS Wacker Box 10] #ThrowbackThursday #TBT #ChicagoHistory #archives #collections #libraries
Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures
E 58th Street
Chicago Women's History Center
The Fine Arts
National Public Housing Museum
N Kingsbury Street
Museum of Contemporary Photography
S Michigan Avenue
Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA)
N Michigan Avenue
