Newberry Library

Virtual Travel via "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum"

Jim Akerman, the Newberry's Curator of Maps + Director of Virtual Travel, is your tour guide for this trip around the world via Abraham Ortelius's "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum"––widely considered the first modern world atlas. Stop 1: Antarctica (1:05) Stop 2: Iceland (3:54) Stop 3: Ireland (7:04) Stop 4: Ottoman Empire (9:00) Stop 5: Florida (11:07)

What We're Doing, How You Can Help

Our community of learning transcends the boundaries of any physical location; it is blossoming virtually during COVID-19. Learn how the Newberry is fulfilling its mission and how you can help. Give today, and your gift will be doubled. https://www.newberry.org/give

"An Aspect of Love, Alive in the Ice and Fire"

"This poem is about time and the various kinds of time we can experience––which is very palpable to us right now." NL Director of Chicago Studies Liesl Olson reads and discusses "An Aspect of Love, Alive in the Ice and Fire" by Gwendolyn Brooks. #GlobalGwen

WWI Posters & COVID-19 Memes

In the absence of strong national messaging regarding COVID-19, individuals have taken it upon themselves to call Americans to collective action through memes and other social media-friendly PSAs. The video production company hsc.tv, for example, reimagined WWI propaganda like the iconic Uncle Sam/US Army recruitment poster to convey the importance of social distancing, not hoarding, and stopping the spread of misinformation. In this video, Paul Durica, the Newberry's Director of Exhibitions, speaks with Rosie Nakamura, Autumn Nakamura Neal, and Daron Nealis of hsc.tv about how they translated historic images into modern memes. hsc.tv is an Emmy-award winning independent video production company based in New York City with over 20 years experience providing end to end creative solutions for global brands, networks, startups, filmmakers, and nonprofits. Historical non-fiction is an area of particular interest, having collaborated on many projects over the years with HISTORY, BIO, and various museums around the country.

Semifinals: Pop Culture Library Bracket

It's time for the semis of the Pop Culture Library Bracket. Visit our website to decide who moves on to the final: https://www.newberry.org/semifinals-pop-culture-library-bracket #NationalLibraryWeek

Quarterfinals: Pop Culture Library Bracket

We’re now in the quarterfinals of the Pop Culture Library Bracket. Visit our website to decide the fate of the remaining 8 fictional libraries and librarians: https://www.newberry.org/quarterfinals-pop-culture-library-bracket

Round 1 of the Pop Culture Library Bracket has officially started! Visit our website to decide the fate of 16 fictional libraries and librarians: https://www.newberry.org/round-1-pop-culture-library-bracket #NationalLibraryWeek

What the Hellmouth

It’s not enough for the damned to be swallowed by a giant maw from Hell. They need to be bitten, flayed, and body-slammed on their way in, too. In a 15th-century French translation of The Mirror of Human Salvation, this vision of a hellmouth in action appears alongside other images of divine retribution sourced from the Bible. Karen Christianson, the Newberry’s Director of Public Engagement, tells us about this hellmouth and how it would have been interpreted by medieval Europeans. [Le Miroir de Humain Salvation. ca 1455. Vault Folio Case MS 40]

Foreedge paintings will never eeevvveeerrr get old. . Naples is a fitting subject for the foreedge illustration of this 1830 copy of Samuel Rogers's long poem "Italy." Largely forgotten now, Rogers was among the preeminent English poets of the Romantic era, and "Italy" one of his better known poems. . [Italy: a poem. Samuel Rogers. London. 1830. Case PR5234 .I8 1830] #foreedgefriday #foreedges #paintings #illustrations #romanticism #poetry #italy #naples #napoli

They don’t make valentines like they used to. 🚢💘 Part Hallmark/part Rube Goldberg, this vintage valentine isn’t so much a card as a beautifully elaborate, sculptural contraption. . . [Late 19th/early 20th century valentine from the Andrew McNally III collection. Case Wing oversize NC1866.V3 M6] #valentines #valentinesday #vintage #archives

You have to take our word for it: this was Charles Dickens’s inkwell and ink stand. Happy birthday, CD. . . In 1967, the Newberry received a collection of Dickens memorabilia as a gift. In addition to the aforementioned inkwell, the collection contains an eclectic array of the writer’s personal effects, including a change purse, a flask, and a pickle fork. . . #charlesdickens #archives #hbd #otd #writing #literature #artifacts #speccolls

🌟😎✌️ . This glittering initial appears in an early printed postil, or Biblical commentary, by Hugh of St. Cher. At the center of the page is a Latin translation of the Bible; surrounding it is Hugh's commentary. Like many incunables (books printed in the 15th century), this work's pages are meant to look like manuscript leaves—hence the addition of the initial in gold leaf. . [Biblia latina cm postillis Hugonis de Sancto Charo]. Basel. Johann Amerbach for Anton Koberger. 1498. Folio Inc. 7613] #bible #incunables #illuminations #initials #medieval

How to use a medieval bookmark: 1.) Read. 2.) Spin the volvelle to mark where on the page you stopped reading (I-IV correspond to different sections of the page). 3.)Close book. 4.) Repeat as necessary . . [Orationarium in vita domini nostri Jhesu Christi, ca. 1400. Case MS 37.5] #bookmark #bookmarks #reading #manuscript #medieval

Keep your eyes peeled. . Designed for pedagogical purposes, this 19th-century anatomical depiction of the eye was created from superimposed layers of paper that students could peel back to reveal different optical structures. The work was one of a series of anatomical atlases published between 1874 and 1888. . [Anatomie iconoclastique: atlas complémentaire de tous les ouvrages traitant de l'anatomie et de la physiologie humaines. G. J. Witkowski. Paris. 1876. Case folio QM511 .W58 1876] #medicine #eyes #anatomy #textbooks #france

How many Newberrians does it take to assemble an 1854 puzzle of the U.S.? Answer: Three. . . Known as "dissected maps," these kinds of puzzles gamified geography in order to teach the subject to students. This one--"Mitchell's Dissected Map of the United States"--did so while helping to normalize the country's westward expansion and obscure the violence that made it possible. . . [Map4C .G3701.A9 1854 .M5] #maps #puzzles #geography #games #ushistory #history

Wicoie wowapi wowapi pehanpi kin. . Designed for Dakotah-speaking elementary school students, this 24-page wall scroll uses images as well as letters, words, and phrases in the Dakotah language to teach reading and math. Produced by the missionary and educator Alfred L. Riggs in the 1880s, the scroll is an example of the type of pedagogical material used in the training schools established by the federal government during the 19th-century to forcibly assimilate Indigenous students. . [Wicoie wowapi wowapi pehanpi kin (The word book wall roll). A.L. Riggs. Published for the Dakota mission by the American Tract Society. New York. 1880s. Ayer oversize PM1023 .R53 1880z] #Indigenous #IndigenousLanguages #NativeAmerican #AmericanIndian #Dakotah

A Book of Magical Charms

We're not responsible for any spirits that may be summoned as a result of this video. Featuring handwritten incantations for speaking with the dead and instructions for curing stomach aches, a 17th-century "Book of Magical Charms" from our collection illustrates the close connection between the physical and spiritual worlds in early modern England. Chris Fletcher, Program Manager for the Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies, discusses the book and recites its spells and recipes. [Case MS 5017]

Sono Osato

Sono Osato was a Japanese-American ballerina from Chicago who achieved early success before government policies targeting people of Japanese ancestry during World War II interrupted her career and broke apart her family. . Grace Dummelle, Genealogy and Local History Library Assistant at the Newberry, discusses Sono's life and her experience during World War II. . #japaneseamerican #ballet #dance #ballerina #chicago

When pulling back the curtain is literally illuminating. . The red silk curtains shown here were meant to protect the illuminations in this late-18th-century heraldic manuscript. Created in Madrid, the manuscript records the heraldic histories of a number of Spanish families, documenting biographical details and providing beautiful illuminations of their various coats of arms. . [Certification delos linages y armas de Eguja, Arancivia, Galdona, Perez, del Puerto, Proenca, Espinosa y Yssasi. Juan de Mendoza. Madrid. 1781. Case MS F 0740 .158] #heraldry #spain #vellum #illuminations #manuscripts

If you actually fly over "flyover country," it looks a lot like this. The checkerboard pattern was conceived in the 1780s as a system for organizing land and facilitating the westward expansion of the United States. By the 1850s, when this map was produced, you can see the grid spreading west. And while the map notes the presence of Indigenous peoples (marginally), it ultimately served to write over earlier geographies of Indigenous land. Jim Akerman, the Newberry's curator of maps and co-curator of our "What Is the Midwest?" exhibit, analyzes this map.

The strangest item in an NL archival collection? This item—by a hair—according to Manuscripts and Archives Librarian Catherine Grandgeorge. #AskAnArchivist . . This “family album,” compiled by one Lucina Skiff Utley around 1845, includes a lock of hair for each member of Lucina’s family. . . [Skiff family hair book. Midwest MS Jannotta: Box 8, Folder 245] #archives #hair #heirloom #hairloom #family #memory #archival

Mightier Than the Sword

In this 17th-century copy book, James Oldham Jr. flexed his mastery of different styles of handwriting. He also flaunted his ability to draw centaurs and cherubs. The writing master had two audiences in mind: students learning to write and potential clients in need of a scribe. . . Jill Gage, the Newberry's Curator of Printing History, leafs through the copy book and assess Oldham's skills as a calligrapher. . . ["The young man’s delight and his accomplishment: A copy booke, containing sundry examples of all sorts of hands..." ca. 1677. Wing MS folio ZW 645 .0643] #NLDocumentCam #calligraphy #handwriting #scribe #cherubs #centaurs #drawing #art #penmanship

Learning to spell used to look like this. #backtoschool . . So-called “hornbooks” persisted into the early 19th century in some parts of England as a tool for teaching students to read and write. This one, made of brass, dates back to 1729. . . [Collection of hornbooks, Case oversize Z1033 .H8] #education #students #earlymodern #pedagogy #learning #reading #spelling #classroom

This is PAPER 📜🐚🤯 . . Amy Richard’s sculptural artist book “The Mollusk” references “Atrina rigida, an elusive species of pen shell found in Florida’s shallow coastal waters.” According to Richard, the piece is “intended to be held and read as a celebration of nature and a humble reminder of our own fragile connection with one another.” #bookarts #nature #mollusk #paperart #artistbooks #speccolls

In 1929, Lincoln’s famous tweets—wait, speeches—were collected into this tiny compilation by Kingsport Press of Tennessee. . . [Case Z 8166 .51] #tinytuesday #abrahamlincoln #tinybooks #miniaturebooks #specialcollections #speccolls

Ah, the soft glow of a globe. For centuries, maps have been used to decorate and accessorize the home (or research library reading room). This globe-lamp is a relatively recent example, produced by Rand McNally in 1985. . . [Globe G3170 1985 .R3] #globe #homedecor #maps #interiordesign #lamp #lighting

A Typo in the Declaration of Independence

This rare copy of the Declaration of Independence includes one of the most famous typos in American printing history. . . After the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, copies were printed and posted publicly throughout the newly established United States. This rare copy was printed by patriot printer Solomon Southwick on July 13. However, the broadside lists the date of printing as June 13—three weeks BEFORE the Declaration was approved! Will Hansen, Curator of Americana, discusses this item, which is currently on display at the Newberry.

Hidden fore-edge paintings will never get old. Never. . . This image--of mounted soldiery at the gate of Raworth Castle in Cumberland--appears on the fore-edge of an 1816 ed. of Walter Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel. . . [The lay of the last minstrel. Walter Scott. London. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown. 1816. Case 4A 2274] #foreedgefriday #romanticism #bookbindings #bookhistory #speccolls

This is what #TinyTuesday heaven looks like. Only the best miniature books get in.

Migration and Housing: A Century of Color Lines

In the wake of the 1919 Chicago race riots, segregation in the city became more entrenched as white homeowners, real estate associations, and the federal government reinforced color lines in the housing market. "Migration and Housing: A Century of Color Lines" was held at DRW College Prep on Saturday, May 4, 2019. The program was part of a city-wide conversation series, coordinated by the Newberry, called "Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots." Speakers: Brad Hunt, historian of housing and Vice President of Research and Academic Programs at the Newberry Lee Bey, architectural critic, photographer, and writer Tanesha D. House, speaker, educator, consultant, and activist