Rufus Jones...in his own words
So much has been written and recorded about Rufus Jones (1863-1948) as author, educator, leader and Friend, but it is not as often from his own hand. Here, then, is what Jones reports about himself on Haverford's personnel register in 1946 in his large, clear hand. The original can be found in the collection of his papers, 1130, box 90.
Posted by Diana Franzusoff Peterson at December 19, 2008 02:42 PM
"Spink's Spunk"
Occasionally, we stop to take note of a new acquisition. This time, it's a manuscript musical score donated by Michael Clive of Connecticut entitled “Spinks Spunk: a Pyramidal Biologue" for orchestra, piano and other individual instruments written in 1908 by members of Haverford's class of 1909, especially composer M.C. Spiers and lyricist Alfred Lowry Jr. Individual sections have such titles as "Class Song, 1909," "Faculty Life," and "Army March," allowing a glimpse of a different time at Haverford. Another manuscript collection here in Special Collections, the Bacon Family papers, gave us insight into who "Spink" was: Alfred Lowry.
Alfred Lowry Jr. (1888-1935), was the son of William C. Lowry and Elizabeth Webster and husband of Grace Bacon Lowry, and received his B.A. and M.A. from Haverford College in 1909 and 1910 respectively. He was a teacher of German and later French, was Secretary General of Alliance Universelle des Union Chretiennes de Jeunes Gens, a section of the YMCA, 1916-1920, then performed religious work in Central Europe, 1920. He was a recorded minister in the Society of Friends.
Mark Herbert Carver Spiers (1886- ), son of Isadore Spiers and Jane Williams and husband of Faith Randall, was a "Spoon Man" at Haverford, an award given to the best all-around student. He was also president of his class, manager of the football team and a leader of the Glee Club while at Haverford. He went on to be Headmaster at Spiers Junior School, then a salesman and insurance agent.
Our expectations on the potential interest among today's Haverfordians for this unique item are high.
Posted by Diana Franzusoff Peterson at December 7, 2007 09:58 AM
Keen-eyed student spots O. Winston Link negatives
Students who work in Special Collections are extremely important to the work we do -- sine qua non, you might say. They help us in a myriad of ways; one of them is the conservation of Haverford's historical photographs. This year, Kaitlin Franks, a sophomore, is working on this project. We were discussing the placement in the collection of a positive print from the 1950s depicting a person by the skating shed at the Duck Pond, apparently talking to visitors. On the back was the familiar stamp of the well-known photographer O. Winston Link who was on Haverford's campus in the 1950s, taking a number of pictures. Later, when Kaitlin started working on a group of negatives, she found the same image and many more and quickly realized the connection. It was a treasure trove of OWL images.
Posted by Diana Franzusoff Peterson at December 14, 2006 11:45 AM
Photographs of Philippine peoples
Among the countless objects of interest in Special Collections is a set of some 80 photographs of Philippine peoples taken in the early 20th century by a professional photographer. Though unstated, the photographer may have been Charles Martin, a prominent government photographer of that period. The photographs form part of the large manuscript collection of Howard and Anna Brinton (Coll. no. 1189, box 50), and were most likely brought to the U.S. by Anna Brinton's uncle, Alvin J. Cox who traveled to the Philippines in 1917 as Director in the Bureau of Science in the Department of Agriculture. The photographs are of people in the mountainous region of northern Luzon, Philippines, as well of Muslim people from the Lanao region in Mindanao in the southern Philippines. Anyone interested in seeing these photographs is welcome to do so in Special Collections.
Posted by Diana Franzusoff Peterson at December 14, 2006 10:54 AM
Try ArchiveGrid through November 20
The Tri-College Libraries are currently evaluating electronic resources including RLG's ArchiveGrid, a database of archival records from libraries, museums, and archives around the world. Members of the Tri-College community are invited to try this resources and give us your feedback.
Posted by John Anderies at October 24, 2006 09:06 AM
Rare Book of the Month - May 2006
The Monograph of the Felidae or Family of Cats (1878) was created by Daniel Giraud Elliot (1835-1915), an American zoologist and one of the founders of the American Museum of Natural History. He used his wealth to publish a series of sumptuous color-plate books on birds and animals. For this work he wrote the text himself and commissioned painter Joseph Wolf (1820-1899) to provide the 43 illustrations. Wolf was the finest natural history artist of his time and created these images from information and sketches provided by Elliot, his own observations at the London Zoo, and from skeletons, skins and specimens in museums.
Monograph of the Felidae or Family of Cats is part of the Rare Book Collection at Haverford College and is accessible from the reading room of Special Collections.
John Anderies, Coordinator for Special and Digital Collections, poses here with a page from Monograph of the Felidae or Family of Cats (1878).
Posted by Ann Upton at May 1, 2006 01:00 PM
Artwork Tells the Story of the Friends Training Home in Brumana, Lebanon
The culmination of some lengthy negotiations resulted in what might be considered a coup for Special Collections. It is the acquisition of an exquisitely-rendered watercolor and gouache sketchbook with annotations created in 1875-76 depicting and describing events and people at the Friends Training Home in Brumana, Lebanon. Among the depictions is one of Eli Jones sitting next to Maalin Malik. Eli and Sybil Jones who were both Ministers and missionaries in the Society of Friends established a mission, including the Friends Training Home, in Brumana. The home had separate schools for local boys and girls. Other depictions are of Theophilus Waldemeier, a teacher and perhaps director of the school, Im Joseph, the "Bible Woman," native peoples and the school as location of an ancient site. Brumana is a village in the Metn region of Mt. Lebanon which has at various times been part of Lebanon and Syria.
Posted by Diana Franzusoff Peterson at April 3, 2006 02:23 PM
Indices to Five Volumes of Friendly Association Records Digitized
In 1756, members of the Society of Friends formed the Friendly Association, precursor to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Indian Committee. Through this agency, they advised Native Americans to make peace treaties and represented Indians' interests abroad and at treaty councils. Five volumes containing precious records not to be found elsewhere were the result of these efforts. The documents are often fragile, though most of the volumes are also recorded on microfilm. Now, with the excellent aid of two Special Collections students, Lucy Saxon and Doug Pickard, the indices to all five volumes have been digitized. While we plan on making these web accessible, they are currently available to all who inquire in Special Collections.
Posted by Diana Franzusoff Peterson at April 3, 2006 02:01 PM
Rare Book of the Month - April 2006
April is National Poetry Month - the largest literary celebration in the world. To join the observation of this event our featured book of the month is the first edition of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, 1667.
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Bob Kieft, Librarian of the College admires Haverford’s copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost, 1667 |
This epic poem is presented in ten books and details the story of the fall of mankind. Adam and Eve are caught between Satan and God as they battle for dominion of the Earth. After the pair have disobeyed God’s words by eating from the Tree of Knowledge Satan is celebrated in Hell. Distraught, Adam and Eve realize that although they must leave Eden they can take revenge on Satan by remaining obedient to God on the other side of Paradise.
Paradise Lost is part of the William Pyle Phillips Collection, a collection of original editions given by Philips to inform students and enrich the intellectual life of Haverford College. This extraordinary book is available for review in the reading room of Special Collections.
Posted by John Anderies at March 31, 2006 09:08 PM
Rare Book of the Month - March 2006
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Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955, Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie, Leipzig : J.A. Barth, 1916.
This brief text of 64 pages transformed the whole of scientific outlook as it explained inconsistencies in Newtonian thought. Einstein’s two conclusions were that it is not possible to determine uniform motion and that energy and mass are the same. In recognition of this “theory of relativity” Einstein was awarded a fellowship of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin and it was part of the rationale for his winning the Nobel Prize in 1921.
Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie is part of the Rare Book Collection at Haverford College and is available for review in the reading room of Special Collections.
Posted by Ann Upton at March 1, 2006 09:18 AM
Rare Book of the Month - February 2006
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Dora Wong, new Science Librarian at Haverford, and Newton's Principia |
Newton, Isaac, Sir, 1642-1727, Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, [Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy], Londini : Jussu Societatis Regiae ac Typis Josephi Streater, Anno 1687
The Principia is generally described as the greatest work in the history of science. Where other scientists published observations, Newton mathematically explained the underlying universal laws that created those phenomena. He demonstrated that the gravitational laws that accounted for the motion of objects on earth were the same as those that explained the motion of heavenly bodies. The Principia began an age of rationalism and scientific determinism, breaking from an understanding based on spiritual order.
The Principia is part of the Rare Book Collection at Haverford College and is available for review in the reading room of Special Collections.
Posted by Ann Upton at February 3, 2006 09:00 AM | Comments (0)
New Ben Franklin Web Portal
Vivisimo, Inc., with the assistance of the State Library of Pennsylvania and Access PA, have created a Ben Franklin Portal as a public service educational resource. For the first time, the public can search and view all of Benjamin Franklin's writings that are available on the web--his autobiography, essays, correspondence, and proverbs--at a one-stop web portal that includes a hand-curated collection of the many thousands of websites and pages related solely to Franklin. Search results are clustered in folders by topics.
Posted by John Anderies at January 13, 2006 04:39 PM
Rare Book of the Month - January 2006
Cook, James, 1728-1779, A voyage towards the South Pole, and round the world : Performed in His Majesty's ships the Resolution and Adventure, in the years, 1772, 1773, 1774, and 1775 / Written by James Cook, commander of the Resolution. In which is included, Captain Furneaux's narrative of his proceedings in the Adventure during the separation of the ships ... Illustrated with maps and charts, and a variety of portraits ... and views ... drawn during the voyage by Mr. Hodges, London : Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1777 (2nd edition).
Cook provided the world with a complete knowledge of the Pacific Ocean and Australia by his travels from 1772 to 1780. This is the official account of his second and most important voyage when he cruised as far south as possible around the edge of the Antarctic ice and numerous Pacific islands including New Caledonia, Easter Island, the Marguesas, and Tonga. Based on observations made during this voyage he suggested the existence of Antarctic land at the South Pole, which was not proven until the next century.
James Cook was the first sea captain to understand and make the health of his crew a priority. He insisted on the cleanliness of his ship and overcame scurvy by always providing fresh fruits and vegetables. During this second voyage the ship Resolution was manned by 112 sailors and only one was lost by disease.
A voyage towards the South Pole, and round the world is part of the Rare Book Collection at Haverford College and is available for review in the reading room of Special Collections.
Please contact Ann Upton with questions or comments.
Posted by Ann Upton at January 1, 2006 12:10 AM | Comments (0)