Category Archives: Archives

Information regarding our archive and manuscript collections

The Books Behind ‘Barbenheimer’

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This summer gave way to the cultural phenomenon that was ‘Barbenheimer,’ which can be best described as the seemingly bizarre comparison between two feature films, Barbie and Oppenheimer. Both of these films were released on the same day in July, and many expected them to be the two best films of 2023. On the surface, Barbie and Oppenheimer could not be more different from one another, Barbie being a comedic film about children’s toys finding a way to enter the real world and Oppenheimer being a drama about the man behind the creation of the atomic bomb. When creating this exhibit, we wanted to find common ground between these two films through textual evidence within our collection here in the University of Richmond’s Galvin Rare Books Room and show that perhaps within the American experience, ‘Barbenheimer’ is not such a bizarre concept. 

When selecting books for the Barbie portion of the exhibit, we aimed to have a blend of Mattel produced items as well as philosophical discussions on how Barbie has affected society and where exactly the toy originated from. Our 1964 edition of Barbie’s Easy as Pie Cookbook published by Mattel is without a doubt a gem of this exhibit. In addition to the cookbook and a Barbie doll herself, we’ve featured two more modern books that go further into detail on not only who created Barbie, in Barbie and Ruth, but also how the concept of Barbie as an ideal woman with the power to pursue anything she dreamed might have consequences on our society, in The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie. These three books offer a glimpse into the philosophy behind Barbie directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. The film is very introspective despite being a comedy, and it shows how Mattel has constructed a seemingly perfect image of Barbie that might unintentionally strike questions of living a purposeful life and dealing with the consequences of having human flaws. Mattel’s Barbie’s Easy as Pie Cookbook falls in line with this image of easy-going perfection, and our other two book selections begin to peel back the curtain in many of the same ways that Gerwig’s film does.

The Galvin Rare Books room did have quite a few illuminating works when we began to put together the Oppenheimer portion of the exhibit. The film, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy, highlights the life of Dr. Robert J. Oppenheimer and his work on the Manhattan Project, which produced the uranium and plutonium atomic bombs. It also showcases the aftermath of the project and how Dr. Oppenheimer went on to push against the production of the hydrogen bombs, expressing concern for the morality of killing hundreds of thousands of people once again. We wanted to not only feature Dr. Oppenheimer’s work, but to showcase the lasting effects of the Manhattan Project and American perspectives on nuclear warfare. The two books that are particularly fascinating are Nobody Wants A Nuclear War and Hearings Regarding Communist Infiltration of Radiation Laboratory and Atomic Bomb Project at UC Berkley. Nobody Wants A Nuclear War is a children’s picture book written in 1986 describing how frightened children were that because of the constant threats between the United States and the USSR, another atomic bomb would be dropped. Instead of the war being on foreign ground, the children were scared it would be where they lived. This book is particularly striking in relation to the mental consequences that nuclear warfare had on generations to come, even forty years after the atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and it shows how the effects of war become more real when they threaten you instead of your enemy. The second work is the transcript of hearings in which a government appointed investigation interviews many important figures who worked on the atomic bomb projects throughout World War II, including General Groves who spearheaded the military portion of the project as well as Dr. Frank Oppenheimer, Dr. Robert J. Oppenheimer’s brother. The interviews were conducted in order to investigate who leaked top-secret information to the USSR or to communist parties within the United States. These two rare items in our collection highlight the long-lasting effects of nuclear warfare in the mind of Americans, and they express a feeling of mistrust and doubt over the decisions that the government had made in the past.

The Barbenheimer exhibit aims to foster thorough questioning of the American experience in many of the same ways that Barbie and Oppenheimer aim to do as well. As you peruse the exhibit, consider whether or not these films and books of the cultural phenomenon of ‘Barbenheimer’ seem all that different. In both of our Barbie and Oppenheimer themes, it is clear that an existential doubt emerges: what is the purpose of consumption and creation? What consequences do my actions and my life bring? If I aim to bring good to the world, will good come after me? 

List of items displayed:

  • Barbie’s Easy as Pie Cookbook PZ10.L39 Ba 1964
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie NK4894.3.B37 S76 2010
  • Barbie and Ruth NK4894.2.H324 G47 2009
  • Robert Oppenheimer QC16 .O62 M66 2013
  • Hearings Regarding Shipment of Atomic Material to the Soviet Union during World War II E743.5 .U4 1950 
  • Nobody Wants a Nuclear War PZ7.V67 No 1986 p. “Sometimes i’m scared”
  • Three Poems for Now PS3523.I648 T4 1972 
  • Hearings Regarding Communist Infiltration of Radiation Laboratory and Atomic Bomb Project at UC Berkeley E743.5 .U64 1949 
  • Three Lectures on Atomic Physics QC173 .S53 1926
Overstuffed file folder containing discolored pages.

Walk You Through The Process

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When I tell people my job title, Processing & Reference Archivist, there is always a little pause as they try to figure out what that means. I usually quickly follow up with, “What does that mean?” and give a quick explanation of Reference Archivist and Processing Archivist. The Reference part most people get; it’s the Processing part that most people don’t.

Processing a collection basically means making it usable and discoverable by researchers. There are a variety of actions a collection may or may not require, depending on what state it’s in when we acquire it. One of the basic preservation tasks I undertake is called re-housing. I remove documents from their original folder and place them in a new, archival folder. I transcribe any original information recorded on the old folder onto the new folder, in addition to any information required to identify the folder in our collection.

So, yes, I get paid to move papers from one folder to another. The photo I’ve included helps illustrate why I do that. This badly over-stuffed folder had been sitting in its records carton for about 60 years. It was the first folder in line so had been pressed up against the inside of the box. The “tan lines” on the visible pages demonstrate why archival folders and boxes are different from regular everyday folders and boxes. The folder had protected part of the pages from the surface of the box. Archival folders and boxes are engineered to be free of the acids and lignins that naturally occur in most paper products. You can also see where a rubber band had valiantly tried to hold it together before degrading. Pro tip: do not use a rubber band to hold your documents together. If the rubber band doesn’t tear the edges of the papers, it will inevitably degrade and either stick to whatever surface it’s touching, or come apart just as you’re removing the folder from the box, thereby spilling the papers onto the table, the floor and just all over the place.

I re-housed this beast into five archival folders. As part of that work, I smoothed out any wrinkles and creases, unfolded folded-up documents, removed paperclips (they rust and tear paper), and placed barriers between newspaper or telegrams and adjoining documents. Newspaper, telegrams and similar materials were not intended to last long. They’re cheap, mass-produced materials which quickly degrade and will stain, and weaken, whatever papers they’re filed against because they are not, you guessed it, acid-free or lignin-free.

If you have newspaper clippings stored somewhere at home, don’t expect them to last forever unless you put in a little preservation effort. If it’s just the information you want to keep, consider making a photocopy or digital scan. If the clipping or newspaper itself has intrinsic value, there are polypropylene sleeves of various sizes available from reputable archival supply companies. It’s best to store the newspaper as flat and unfolded as possible. The paper becomes brittle as it degrades, so if you have a clipping folded up in an envelope, be prepared for that envelope to eventually contain newspaper confetti.

If I didn’t take any of these actions, the researchers would be left digging through all the boxes (and for this collection, that’s around 300 records cartons). More likely, I would be the one doing the digging. But taking these actions means I can quickly provide the researcher the information they are looking for. Being a Processing Archivist makes my job as a Reference Archivist much easier.

Collection Spotlight: MS-41 The Earl & Jewell Ratliff Collection

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Note: This post was written by Savannah Etzler as part of her internship through Simmons University with Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books in Boatwright Library. Savannah also processed the Ratliff collection and curated an exhibit about the collection’s football ephemera.

The Earl and Jewell Ratliff Collection contains University of Richmond memorabilia, service awards, ephemera, photographs, and postcards representing the life of Earl and Jewell Ratliff and their support of the University of Richmond, volunteer organizations, and their passion for travel. On April 10, 1926, Earl was born in McComb, Mississippi, and in 1944 he received his high school diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth, Virginia. Following his service in the Army, Earl and Jewell were married in Newport News, Virginia on March 24, 1951, the same spring that Earl graduated from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Jewell was born on September 7, 1929 in Jacksonville, Florida and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1946 before beginning work at the C&P Telephone Company, where she would work for over 36 years.

Earl was a guard for the University of Richmond football team in 1949 and was known as one of the ‘Portsmouth Boys,’ a group of students hailing from the nearby city. His participation in Spider athletics is documented in event programs, newspaper clippings, and football rosters that provide valuable insight into the university’s history. Between the 1960’s and the 1990’s, Earl and Jewell continued to support the university’s athletic program, attending many sporting events and amassing a substantial collection of tickets and sideline passes. The couple were also involved in the Spider Club and participated in the Homecoming Action Committee as documented in their collection of university ephemera. These materials are evidence of the legacy of alumnae support that continues to shape the university.

The couple were avid travelers and preserved their memories in the pages of several scrapbooks, which detail their trips across the United States, Mexico, and Canada during the 1990’s. Peppering these pages are labels that identify sites, note travel arrangements, and preserve special memories, and it is here that Earl and Jewell’s personalities and sense of humor shine through the passage of time. The following images reveal the charm of this collection, that of a unique couple who enthusiastically pursued their passions and found joy not only in the natural wonders of the world, but also the whimsy of the mundane. These annotations, whether documenting exceptional meals, amusing signs, or the beauty of the U.S. National Parks, provide an intriguing peek into the experiences of travel enthusiasts during the 90s. Together, Earl and Jewell explored the continent and documented their adventures, leaving behind a valuable collection which allows us to see world through their eyes.

This collection was acquired as part of an estate donation upon Jewell’s passing in 2016. This collection represents the couple’s posthumous support of the University of Richmond and its students.

photo of scrapbook page showing Jewell Ratliff eating a lobster. Her captions read "jewell at the lobster pond, pick one, cook one, crack one, eat" and "total cost $5.80, pick $.20".
One of Jewell Ratliff’s travel scrapbook pages.

Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection Update

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Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.

Welcome back to another #wyattwalkerwednesday! I know it has been a while since I posted any updates about the collection, but I have some big updates today to make up for it. In fact, I have what may be the most significant announcement to date: we are opening a portion of the physical collection for research! But first, some earlier updates about work we have done recently.

Just before and during the pandemic, we have opened up a number of digital portions of the collection. These started with what we call the Birmingham Tapes, recordings of ten mass meetings held during the Birmingham Campaign in 1963. Because these were thought to be the oldest audiovisual material in the collection, they were deemed top priority for digitization, since that process not only allows for easier access via the Internet but also preserves the material in a new, digital format. Magnetic media such as audio cassettes or VHS tapes have an estimated “shelf life” of approximately 40 years, so you can understand the concern we had for recordings that were nearly 60 years old.

After the Birmingham Tapes were digitized, preserved, and accessible online, we turned our attention to the nearly 700 recordings of Dr. Walker’s church services, most of which were held at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem. While the digitization portion of this project is complete, the work to make them accessible is still ongoing – although we have made good strides in that since the last progress report I posted. We now have up to tape #275 available online along with the master inventory that lists the title and date of each recording (where that information is available). I will go into detail about this project in a future update, but progress continues.

Finally, we have also digitized and made available online the five film reels that were included with the collection. Although these are silent films, we worked with a prominent scholar in the field to transcribe these films, describing each scene for the visually impaired as well as providing a brief analysis of each. Dr. LeRhonda S. Manigault-Bryant, the scholar who provided the transcription and analysis, has our eternal gratitude for her illuminating work on this project that enabled us to make this material accessible online.

The nature of the pandemic and the University of Richmond’s response to it moved us into a purely digital work mode, but as we have returned to working in person, I have been able to return to processing the physical materials of the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection as well. After sorting through all of the physical material, I have focused my work on the earliest material first, and specifically on manuscript (unpublished, paper) material. I am happy to announce that I have now worked through all manuscript material dated up to Dr. Walker’s departure from SCLC in 1964!

Six grey, legal size, archival boxes sitting in a row on a wooden desk. Each box bears a white label reading "Boatwright Memorial Library Book Arts, Archives, and Rare Books, MS-24 Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection" followed by a box number.
The first six boxes of the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection.

Since Dr. and Mrs. Walker were already incredibly busy by 1964, this material is arranged into a number of series and subseries. Please note that these series and subseries may end up holding material from later (or much later) in Dr. and Mrs. Walkers’ lives, and that material is not yet available, meaning the series and subseries may not be fully open to research. You can view the finding aid, including a folder-level inventory of the material now open for research, in our online collection inventories.

If you have any questions or would like to request access to material, please email archives@richmond.edu and let us know what boxes or folders you would like to access. As we announced last week, we now have open hours four times a week and are happy to accommodate researchers who need to come in outside those hours by appointment.

New Archival Collection: Willis A. Shell

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(Note: This post was authored by Mikaela Roach, Graduate Student Intern from Simmons College who processed the collection as part of her coursework.)

hand drawn and colored image of santa clause text reads Dear Eleanor and Willis Warmly Lydia and WC
Holiday card from Lydia & Warren Chappel to Willis and Eleanor Shell

The Willis A. Shell Collection holds booklets, pamphlets, print proofs and other items relating to the illustrator and printer, Willis A. Shell. Willis Andrew Shell, Junior was born in Lenoror, North Carolina on 1 Jun 1905 to Willis Andrew Shell and Bertha Weathersbee Shell, who was a noted Tidewater artist from Norfolk, VA. He was a student at the University of Richmond, graduating in 1928. In 1938, Willis A. Shell married Eleanor Roberts, with whom he would start the Attic Press from their home on W. Franklin St. in Richmond, VA. While it is unclear how he managed to get his 2000-pound press, a Christmas present from his wife, into the attic of his home, it stayed there until they moved to Hanover Ave in Richmond VA.  Beside’s co-owning and operating the Attic Press with Eleanor, Willis A. Shell also worked at the William Byrd Press from 1933-1977. Willis and Eleanor worked together and separately on projects, with one of their first books being An Allegorical ABC Book About Father Junipero Serra. Willis printed the book, and Eleanor provided the illustrations for this book that received national attention due to its quality. A printing proof from this book is included in the collection.

Another interesting proof that is in this collection is a book created in nine days for Colonial Williamsburg. The quick timeline was to ensure that the Queen Mother, Elizabeth, would have an appropriate gift for her grandchildren, Prince Charles and Princess Ann. Due to the quality of his work, Willis A. Shell quickly became a respected printer and illustrator. In 1952 he produced three of the five entries from Richmond, VA for a 1952 Southeastern Library Association competition. These five entries were part of the total of 16 volumes designated as the best in Southern book production.

Due to his ties to the print and illustration community, the collection of Mr. Shell also holds a variety of materials created by friends, including Christmas cards from both David Clinger and Warren Chappell, both noted figures in their own fields and donors to the Galvin Rare Book Room collections. An article from May 2, 1941 further illustrates the company that Mr. and Mrs. Shell kept, as it talks about how Mrs. Shell was knocked down by a door that was either accidently or purposely pushed by Salvador Dali. After a noted and remarkable life, Willis A. Shell, Jr. passed away on March 13, 1989. The collection was donated to the University of Richmond by family member Margaret Thomas, niece of Eleanor Thomas Shell.

Walker Symposium this week

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(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) Hi all, and welcome to another #WyattWalkerWednesday. This week I wanted to give a quick sneak peek of the exhibit we’re putting together for the Walker symposium – which starts this afternoon at the University of Virginia! Please check out the video below, which discusses the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection, its importance at large, and its importance to the University of Richmond.


Wyatt Tee Walker and the Politics of Black Religion from University of Richmond on Vimeo.


The symposium’s website can be found here, which includes a full schedule of the talks from this afternoon through Friday afternoon. The symposium will wrap up with a short reception Friday evening.

Throughout the Thursday and Friday events here at the University of Richmond, the Rare Books and Special Collections staff will be holding a small exhibit of materials from the collection. The items chosen will align with the symposium’s theme, and should add an extra depth to the experience for attendees.

Items that will be on exhibit include a selection of Dr. Walker’s published works that focus on the Black religious experience and its role in politics, including the role of music in the Civil Rights Movement. Some manuscript material will be available to view as well.

Due to the symposium and exhibit, the Rare Book Room will be closed to appointments Thursday afternoon and all of Friday. Regular open hours will be observed this week and next, however, and we are always reachable via email or phone. As a reminder, the portions of the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection that are available online can be found through our Preservica website. This includes the inventory of Dr. Walker’s sermons, which are themselves only available on-site.

We hope to see you at the symposium!

Wyatt Tee Walker and the Politics of Black Religion Symposium

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(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.)  Hi all, and welcome back to #WyattWalkerWednesday! I know it’s been awhile since we posted last, and I promise we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, processing the collection and answering questions. I’ll have an update later next month about that, but I wanted to take this week’s post to discuss an upcoming symposium happening in about three weeks.

In a similar vein to the previous symposium, held in the fall of 2018, the Wyatt Tee Walker and the Politics of Black Religion symposium will use Dr. Walker’s life, work, and legacy as a starting point. This symposium, as the name suggests, focuses on the interconnected worlds of black religion and politics, especially through the lens of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s through today. One such thread that may be of particular interest to long-time blog readers is the role of music in both arenas, a topic that was deeply significant to Dr. Walker and his work.

Scholars will be coming from as far afield as Reed College in Portland, Oregon, and will be held across three days. The first day is hosted at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, while the second and third days are hosted here on campus. And of course, the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection will be there: there will be an exhibit of pieces from the collection throughout the third day.

The symposium will be held February 19-21 and is free to attend with no advanced registration required. For more information on the speakers, schedule, and other details, please visit the symposium’s website.

Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker Sermons Inventory

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(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) Hi all, I know it’s been a while since the blog’s last #WyattWalkerWednesday post, so I thought I’d take a minute to give a quick update on the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection! This may not be as groundbreaking an update as some of our springtime posts, but I hope you’ll enjoy reading it anyway.

First and foremost, manuscript processing continues. Due to a few unforeseen circumstances, I can’t give an update on the current timeline for research access to the manuscript portion of the collection, but rest assured that we’re doing everything we can to move that forward.

On a more immediately useful note, we have just published a full listing of the collection’s recordings of sermons Dr. Walker gave during his time at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem. There are 680 such recordings, starting in 1977 and ending in 2003, with the bulk sitting between 1980 and 2002. Many of them include the full church service, providing an in-depth glimpse of Black Baptist church services in the late 20th century. This is especially significant at Canaan Baptist, where Dr. Walker placed a strong emphasis on the music of services. We hope that these recordings will be of particular interest to musicologists, theologians, and others interested in the history of music for enjoyment or research purposes.

The full inventory of Dr. Walker’s sermons, which includes nearly every weekly and holiday sermon for the final two decades of the 20th century, can be found on our digital collections page here. Please note that the recordings themselves are not available online, but can be listened to on-site at the Rare Book Room here in Boatwright Library. If you’d like to come in and listen, please fill out our Rare Books Materials Request form and include the file identifier of all recordings you’d like to hear.

As always, questions can be directed to me via email or phone. My information is available on the library’s Rare Books and Special Collections webpage. Future updates will of course be posted here on the blog, and you can also keep updated on what the library is doing on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

New Open Hours – Fall 2019

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Door to Galvin Rare Book Reading RoomFall semester 2019 brings some new things to Rare Book & Special Collections.  We are trying out different open hours for research this fall as well as having new ways to schedule materials and appointments and to schedule instruction sessions.

When classes are in session, our Fall 2019 open hours are:

Sundays & Mondays: 2-6pm

Tuesdays & Wednesdays: 11am – 3pm

If you would like to set an appointment outside of those hours or have specific materials you would like us to have ready for your visit, please submit your request through this form.  If you would like to schedule an instruction session or class visit, please submit the request via this form.  Finally, if you are interested in learning more about our Books Arts program or scheduling a consultation or instruction session with our Book Arts Studio director, Jen Thomas, check out the Book Arts page or send a request through this form.

We look forward to working with you this fall!

90th Birthday of Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker

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A black and white photograph of Dr. Walker leaning over a pulpit and pointing out while speaking.

Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, August 16, 1929 – January 23, 2018.

(Note: This post was authored by Taylor McNeilly, Processing & Reference Archivist.) Today, August 16th, 2019, would have been Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker’s 90th birthday. It seems an appropriate moment to pause in our work and reflect on Dr. Walker’s life and legacy.

How do we honor the life of Dr. Walker? How are great men generally honored? These are questions I think of whenever I am working with the collection of such a momentous figure. Dr. Walker has had a long lasting impact on America and the world. His work with SCLC deeply affected the political and cultural life of this country, and his continued civil rights work affected the world at large. His work as a Baptist minister impacted not only those communities he served but the many places he traveled to in his ministry. His work on gospel music and the roots of American musical traditions stemming from the music of enslaved peoples has changed the way we think about our music, its history, and its place in our culture and worship.

How, then, can we honor such an important life and its deep legacy? Dr. Walker was certainly honored during his life; the Dr. and Mrs. Wyatt Tee Walker Collection includes hundreds of awards, citations, and other official forms of recognition highlighting the work he did. Maintaining this collection and making it accessible for future generations to learn and continue his legacy is perhaps the most direct way for the University of Richmond to honor that life, preserving as much of who he was and what he did as possible.

For historians, scholars, and other researchers looking at American history, religious life, music, international civil rights, or a thousand other topics Dr. Walker touched on in his life, using the collection and writing about Dr. Walker is a wonderful way to keep his memory alive. Students, community members, and those with an interest in his life can come learn about his life and honor him by remembering his life and his work. In these ways, many great men are remembered. And in these ways, we should always remember Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker.

But these actions are in some way passive. While they remember the man, they do not apply his teachings or continue his legacy. Throughout his life, Dr. Walker stood up for what he believed in, often risking serious injury or death to fight for what he believed was right. While the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. swayed Dr. Walker to his approach of nonviolent, direct action, Dr. Walker never stepped down. Even in his oral history recorded less than three years before his death, Dr. Walker passionately spoke on contemporary topics, wielding a keen mind and impressive insight. These are his true legacy: the ability to discern what is right and to defend it at all costs.

I believe that the greatest way to honor Dr. Walker is to continue his legacy. Rather than just reading about the man, remembering him in literature, and memorializing his impact on America and the world, we should strive to follow in his footsteps and continue that impact. Do not let the work of Dr. Walker pass into history, but rather keep it alive in the present and moving forward into the future. Remember the man, hold him in your heart, and do as he did: stand up for what you believe, fight for it with everything you have, and never stop trying to change the world.