Autumn Exhibit 2024: Alchemy, Spiritualism, and Witchcraft

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woodblock image of two older women in dresses stirring a cauldron as a third figure flies in on a broom and a cat jumps towards them while rats and a snake scurry in front.
“Soul-Killing Witches” image from the frontispiece of the 1928 edition of Robert Calef’s _The Wonders of the Invisible World Displayed_

When our university’s mascot is a spider, it’s not surprising that the return of autumn has us excited for all things fall – football, leaves changing color, and all the spooky things the season brings with it.  In previous blog posts, we have explored some of the materials that we have in the collections, including items related to tales of folklore, witchcraft and spiritualism.

A new exhibit on display in Boatwright Memorial Library through mid-November focuses on similar themes as it highlights some of the Galvin Rare Book Room holdings on alchemy, spiritualism, and witchcraft.  Included are some new additions during the past couple of years that add to the depth of the materials available for research on this topic.  

Many of our witchcraft-related materials were highlighted in an earlier post from 2021, including the newly acquired Del Congresso Notturnao… and the artist book by Raeleen Kao, The Witch is Inside of Me, as well as our 1746 first edition of Augustin Calmet’s Dissertations sur les apparitions… with his thoughts on sorcery, demons, and vampires. Similarly, some of our works on spiritualism also had their moment on the blog as well that same fall.

The exhibit also showcases 3 works on alchemy, which have not been highlighted as of yet. These items point to a particularly fascinating time in history during which the science of alchemy – for it was considered a science based on the transformation of matter – as well as offering researchers an opportunity to explore its philosophies.  Let’s look at these 3 items in a bit more detail.

Thomas Norton, The Ordinall of Alchemy, 1929 (Galvin Rare Book Room QD25 .N6 1652)

Norton was a noted 15th-century alchemist and served as a member of King Edward IV’s Privy Council. He believed the knowledge of alchemy could only be learned by working with a master alchemist, and his Ordinall, a long poem, he provides an account of his own initiation into the art and science of alchemy. Originally written in 1477, the Ordinall was one of the earliest works on alchemy in Middle English and became one of the most influential as it sought to educate English readers on this “new science.” Its first appearance in print in 1652, and the copy in the collection is a 1929 facsimile of that 1652 edition.

Martin Ruland, Lexicon Alchemiæ, 1661 (Galvin Rare Book Room QD25 .R9 1661)

Martin Ruland the Elder (1532-1602) was a German scientist and alchemist who practiced the beliefs put forward by fellow scientist Paracelsus, who pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine.  Born in 1569, Martin Ruland the Younger followed in his father’s path to become a noted physician and alchemist in his own right. For a time, Ruland the Younger served at the Hapsburg court under Emperor Rudolf II.  The combined knowledge of father and son allowed them to develop a foundational and exhaustive dictionary of alchemical symbols, concepts, and terms, first published in 1612.

Johann Rudolh Glauber, Tractus de Natura Salium, 1658 (Galvin Rare Book Room QD27 .C58 1658)

Born in Germany in 1604, Johann Rudolf Glauber worked in both Amsterdam and the German states as a self-described chemical philosopher. Known for his invention and refinements of scientific equipment such as his distillatory furnaces, he also worked in the wine industry and as a dispenser of medicines.  One account of Glauber’s practical work was in his book, Furni novi philosophici, in which he described materials and processes for constructing and using his chemical furnaces. Other published works included a collection of medial preparations (Pharmacopoea spagyrica)and his Teutschlands-Wohlfahrt. In 1658, he published the small book Tractus de natura salium, in which he discussed the importance of sal mirabile (“miraculous salt,” which became known as Glauber’s salt) for its medicinal properties.

Galvin Rare Book Room Works on Exhibit

  • Charles Beecher, Spiritual Manifestations (1879)
  • August Calmet, Dissertations sur les apparitions des anges, des demons et des esprits: et sur les revenans et vampires de Hongrie…. (1746)
  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The New Revelation (1918)
  • Samuel Fowler, Salem Witchcraft: Comprising More Wonders of the Invisible World by Robert Calef & Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather (1865)
  • Johann Rudolf Glauber, Tractatus de Natura Salium (1658)
  • Raeleen Kao, The Witch is Inside Me, (2018)
  • Jeinrich Kramer & Jacob Sprenger, Malleus Maleficarum (1958)
  • Thomas Norton, The Ordinall of Alchemy (1929)
  • Martin Ruland, Lexicon Alchemiæ (1661)
  • Sir Walter Scott, Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft (1841)
  • Girolamo Tartarotti, Del Congresso notturno delle lammie… (1749)

4,000 Years and Counting

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Did you know that we have a cuneiform messenger tablet in our Rare Book collection? Do you know what a “cuneiform messenger tablet” is? Back in 2350 BCE, a scribe at a temple in Umma, Sumer (present-day Iraq) repeatedly pressed his wedge-shaped stylus into a 3cm x 3cm clay tablet, recording a “list of provisions supplied to the temple, including oil, meat, dates, and grain. On the edge in fine characters is the date.” Picture a frosted mini-wheat, minus the frosting, and that’s kind of what our tablet looks like. It’s basically a 4,000-year old inventory or accounting document, small enough to be easily transported by a messenger who would then deliver it to be read by another scribe.

Can I read cuneiform? No, no I cannot. Can you read it? Well, you can make a research appointment to study it, but you can’t touch it. So how can you study it? Spring semester of 2024 gave us the opportunity to figure that out.

Professor Elizabeth Baughan, Department of Classical Studies, accompanied one of her students on his research visit to study the tablet. They wore gloves while examining the tablet, but their cell phone photos couldn’t quite capture the detail they needed to further study the tablet on their own time. We enlisted the help of our colleague, Warner, in the Digital Scholarship Lab and the DSL’s high-resolution camera. Those photos turned out much better. One of them will even be used for the thumbnail in the tablet’s catalog entry. But high-res photos still don’t solve the problem of getting your hands on history.

We reached out to Nathan Hilliard-Hansen, the Studio Art Lab Manager, to see if he had the tools to scan the tablet and render a 3D model. He did! Natalie & I met up with Prof. Baughan at Nathan’s lab. Even though his equipment has been able to scan many different objects, including coins, with high-fidelity, the texture of our tablet proved too much of a challenge for the scanning software.

Undaunted, Prof. Baughan reached out to her colleague at VCU, Bernard Means of the Virtual Curation Lab. Natalie escorted the tablet to Prof. Baughan’s lab where Bernard had his equipment set up. A few weeks later, he produced digital files and two 3D-printed models! One life-sized, and one jumbo-sized. The 3D prints don’t quite capture the full detail of the cuneiform, but it’s a tablet you can hold without giving us in the Rare Book Room a heart attack!

Fall 2024 Exhibit: Come Sail Away!

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As the new semester begins, the Book Arts, Archives, & Rare Books division at Boatwright Memorial Library is pleased to announce a specialized exhibit that highlights a distinctive component of its rare book and archival collections: maritime-related materials. Many of these items, which reside in the Galvin Rare Book Room & Archives, have been acquired largely through the generous endowment of the Beverly Lyle Britton Fund. Beverly Lyle Britton, an esteemed alumnus of Richmond College (Class of 1935), devoted much of his professional life to service in the United States Navy, where he held notable positions including Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and Press Liaison. Established following Britton’s passing in 1995, the fund is dedicated to procuring materials that pertain specifically to the United States Navy, maritime history, and the sea. This ongoing financial support has enabled the library to continuously enhance its collection with annual acquisitions.

The current exhibit, titled Come Sail Away, offers a curated selection of the library’s maritime-themed holdings, providing a window into the breadth and depth of the collection. This exhibit serves not only as a sampling of the diversity of the library’s resources but also as an invitation to students, faculty, staff, and the broader academic community to engage with and explore these valuable materials for research and scholarship. The exhibit is located on level 2 of Boatwright Library, just outside the administrative offices.

Below is a list of the exhibit’s categories and some of the corresponding materials on display that are available for use through the Galvin Rare Book Room & Archives. For a more comprehensive exploration of the library’s rare book holdings, we encourage the use of the online catalog—pro tip: select the “Rare Books” tab to focus your search on materials housed in the Galvin Rare Book Room. Additionally, searching for “Britton” will yield results for items procured through the Britton Fund. Archival materials are accessible through the ArchivesSpace database, where new and updated content is continually integrated as it becomes available.

Ships & Ship Life

  • David M. Clinger, Romantick & Whimsical Words of the Sea and of Sailing-ships Stingray Point, VA: 2004.  MS-35 David M. Clinger Collection, Box 26 This miniature book was hand-set in well-work Garamond foundry type and printed on the antique press of Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Sandy Bottom News at Stingray Point Farm, Stingray Point, Virginia. This first edition was limited to 20 copies.
  • Herman Melville, Moby Dick: or, The Whale New York: Norton, 1976 Illustrated by Warren Chappell, Richmond College Class of 1926 — 50th Anniversary Class Gift from the Class of 1926
  • Frank Shay, ed. Iron Men & Wooden Ships: Deep Sea Chanties Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page, & Co., 1924 In 1920, Shay opened a tiny bookshop where he both sold and published books. The initial volume of this work was published by Shay in 1921, then this expanded edition was picked up and published by Doubleday in 1924. (Note: This book is a newly acquired work that is in the process of being cataloged into the collection.)

Latitude & Longitude

  • Matthew Fontaine Maury, A New Theoretical and Practical Treatise on Navigation: in which the auxiliary branches of mathematics and astronomy, comprised of algebra, geometry,…. variation of the compass, etc., are treated of. Also the theory and most simple methods of finding time, latitude, and longitude…..  Philadelphia: Key & Biddle, 1836 Inscribed by the author. Maury was a naval officer and oceanographer and considered one of the founding pioneers of modern oceanography. This work was his first published book, completed at the age of 30 after participating in three extended voyages, including the first circumnavigation of the globe by a U.S. Navy vessel. Maury served as the head of the United States Naval Observatory from 1844-1861.
  • William Whiston, The Longitude discovered by the eclipses, occultations, and conjunctions of Jupiter’s planets: with descriptions of those refracting and reflecting telescopes… that are useful for the discovery of longitude both at land and sea… London: Printed for John Whiston at Boyle’s Head, Fleet Street, 1738  Instrumental in helping pass the British Longitude Act of 1714, Whiston spent a considerable amount of time working on the problem of longitude. This first-edition work explains the various instruments and experiments Whiston explored in his attempts.

Sea-faring Adventures

  • Hamilton M. Baskerville, My Cruise Diary: North Cape & Russia Cruise, 1931  Richmond: Whittet & Shepperson, 1932. Privately printed for the author for distribution among his friends, #62/200. This work is inscribed by the author: “For the library of the University of Richmond, presented by the author, alumnus, 1899-1900.”
  • Frank I. Wilson, Sketches of Nassau… Raleigh, NC, 1864 Teacher, reporter, and writer, Frank Wilson of North Carolina published this work documenting his travels to Nassau in 1864 aboard a blockade-runner.

Exploring the South Pacific

  • Alexander Dalrymple, An Historical Collection of Several Voyages & Discoveries in the South Pacific Ocean London: Printed for the author and sold by J. Nourse, bookseller in ordinary to his majesty, 1770-1771 This important collection, published in two volumes in 1770-1771, contains accounts of notable Iberian and Dutch voyages in the southern hemisphere, translated and edited by Alexander Dalrymple (1737-1808). Hydrographer to the Admiralty from 1795, Dalrymple produced this work as part of his research into the belief at the time that there existed an undiscovered continent in the South Pacific. These volumes were intended to demonstrate the knowledge of the region to date. The first volume covers sixteenth-century Spanish and Portuguese voyages, beginning with Ferdinand Magellan and including those of Juan Fernández, Álvaro de Mendaña y Neira, and Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. The second volume contains the seventeenth- and eighteenth- century Dutch voyages of Jacob le Maire and William Schouten, and Abel Tasman.
  • Rockwell Kent, Voyaging Southward from the Strait of Magellan New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1924 Graphic artist and avid traveler Rockwell Kent takes readers on an illustrated adventure of his sailing the southern tip of South America, dramatically illustrated with the author’s woodcuts.

Artist Book

  • Jessica Spring, Fathoming  Tacoma, WA: Springtide Press, 2015 Book Arts Collection #37 From the colophon: “”[L]etterpress printed with handset Latin Condensed and Bernhar Gothic with vintage maritime cuts. The edition includes a varied copy for each of the seven seas, featuring collectible tobacco cards sold with packages of cigarettes from 1924-37. Printed by Jessica Spring and bound in an adaptation of Hedi Kyle’s flag book structure with Japanese maritime maps from 1945 [on exterior of concertina spine]. [Drop-spine] boxes bound and portholes scuttled by Gabby Cooksey. Removable flags are held in place with sewing rather than attached to concertina spine (as in the traditional flag book binding by Hedi Kyle). Concertina attached at either end to blue cloth over boards with three circular cut-outs in each, displaying illustrations and the title. Spine is letterpress printed with various nautical terms and their definitions on recto, with historic maritime maps on verso.”

Manuscript Material

  • SC-1: Ship’s Log of Whaling Journeys (1850s) This manuscript documents at least four different voyages during the 1850s, although the entries record varying levels of detail. Many are dated and often include the longitude and latitude of the vessel as well as information about the weather. The intent of the various sailings was clear, no matter the ship: they were hunting whales. On September 4, 1858, for example, the author documented that the crew “saw a very large school of sperm whale which is something uncommon in this latitude and longitude. Sketches and drawings of whales highlight some pages, especially when their hunt was successful.  In fact, the main image on our blog is from this manuscript! 

From Curiosity to Codex: A Voyage Through Natural History Illustration

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In collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Natural History, Boatwright Memorial Library’s Science Librarian, Heather Ervin, and Rare Books and Special Collections have put together a new exhibit case on the second floor of the library themed around visual science communication. Visual science communication is used in order to teach scientific ideas in a visual manner. This often means that scientists and artists must work together in order to create an educational piece of scientific visualization. Common representations of visual science communication are textbook depictions of nature, photographs, and videos.

            Scientific visualization has changed greatly over the years. Even 30,000 years ago, human beings made cave paintings of animals that they came into contact with. Although art historians and scientists alike are unsure what the intent was behind these scientific artworks from the Paleolithic period, we are able to conclude that by rendering human forms, plant life, and animals in a scientific manner with pinpoint accuracy became important to the teaching and learning of not only art, but science as well. These two areas of study revolved around each other, and it would be difficult in many regards to separate the two.

            With the invention of the printing press, scientists were able to share and spread knowledge of animals and plants much more easily, and with the ability to print drawings of the animals and plants discussed in the texts, anyone who possessed the book could now have an image of the specimen in their minds. This trend of visual science communication continues to this day.

            The exhibit in collaboration with the VMNH honors this culture of visualizing science by incorporating preserved specimens from their collection, including a snapping turtle, box turtle, viper, cowfish, fence lizard, spotted salamander, rattlesnake rattles, and seahorses. In addition to the physical specimens provided by the museum, the Rare Books Room has provided several books with drawings of similar specimens in text. 

            As our world becomes increasingly digital, it is still important to preserve physical objects that communicate visual science. The digital world does, however, continue this tradition of visual science communication in an accessible manner, which not only helps those who are trying to learn about a particular science, but also preserves the trend of visualizing science for generations to come.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Virginia Museum of Natural History, with special thanks to Marshall and Arianna.

Books displayed: 

The animal kingdom, arranged according to its organization… by P. A. Latreille and Georges Cuvier. QL45 .C944 v.2

Brehm’s illustriertes Thierleben fur Volk und Schule; bearbeitet von Fredrick Schodler by Alfred Edmund Brehm and Friedrich Schoedler. QL 605.4 .S22 1897 v.3

Animate creation; popular edition of “Our living world”… by J. G. Wood and Joseph B. Holder. QL 50 .W882 1885

Popular zoology by Joel Dorman Steele and J. W. P. Jenks. QL 48 .S8 1887

The Riverside natural history… by J. S. Kingsley and Friedrich von Hellwald. QL 45 .K56 1888 v.3

For further reading, check out the libguide made by Heather Ervin at  https://libguides.richmond.edu/bio_display_SP24, and consider reading Visual Science Communication: Learn About It. (n.d.). Guild of Natural Science Illustrators at https://www.gnsi.org/visual-scicomm. 

The Book on the Richmond Theater Fire of 1811

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On December 26th, 1811, several hundred Richmonders gathered together at the Richmond Theater to enjoy a night of drama, but the drama that unfolded was not a part of the play’s script. As the oil lamp chandelier was raised into the rafters for the show to begin, it caught the pine wood ceiling, the thick, heavy curtains, and the painted set pieces on fire. The building was consumed by flames, and those inside were desperate to get out. The individuals sitting in the galley and the pit of the building, where the seats were the cheapest, were the first to escape. The entrances and exits were close to these seats, unlike those in the boxes on the second floor. The box seats were expensive, and many of the most influential people in Richmond at the time were seated here. The box seats were reached by long, narrow passageways. Unfortunately, these seats were difficult to escape from in an emergency situation. The fire became so severe that people on the second floor were jumping from windows in order to survive the fire at any cost. The chaos of the evening made it incredibly difficult to figure out who was still inside the theater and how to get them out. Once the embers subsided, a panicked inquiry regarding the causes and casualties of the fire began in Richmond. 

The burning of the theatre in Richmond, Virginia, on the night of the 26th. December. , . [No Date Recorded on Shelflist Card] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003689321/

The Galvin Rare Books Room here at Boatwright has recently acquired a short book that is a collection of news articles, letters, and other miscellaneous documents related to the Richmond Theater fire. This book was published only two weeks after the fire had occurred in order to update the American public (particularly those living in Richmond) about the tragedy. The fire was the most deadly urban accident in the history of the United States at the time, with the death count totaling 72 individuals. Many notable figures within the political and economic atmosphere of the influential city of Richmond passed away or were greatly affected by the incident. The new governor of Virginia, George William Smith, who succeeded James Monroe, was tragically killed in the fire alongside “the President of the bank” and former U. S. Senator Abraham B. Venable. The book lists the names of those who died according to the Richmond neighborhood they lived in, and although many important male figures within the community passed, the majority of those lives lost were women. 

The overall consensus (to current scholars and 19th century Richmonders alike) is that women were particularly susceptible to getting stuck in the building due to their heavy, frilled garments. The book recalls, however, many instances of those who attempted to save women and children who were caught in the fire. Two such gentlemen, Gilbert Hunt, a freedman who was not in attendance that evening, but witnessed the fire from a nearby shop, and Dr. James McCaw, a notable figure within Richmond’s medical community, aided women jumping from the second story by helping them jump onto a mattress on the ground floor. Hunt and McCaw saved over a dozen lives that night, and they are regarded after the fact as heroes of such a tragic event. 

To commemorate the heroic work of those who saved lives and to honor those whose lives were lost, the Richmond community built a church upon the site of the theater, which was completed in 1814. This building, originally an Episcopal church, is still standing on East Broad Street as a historic landmark of the city. The church houses a crypt underground for those who passed in the fire. On the front steps of the church, there is a monument in the shape of a funerary urn. This monument is inscribed with the names of the 72 individuals who died. The white men who passed are listed on the front, facing Broad Street, and the white women and children are on the remaining three sides, while any enslaved persons are listed at the bottom of the urn. 

The severity of the Richmond Theater fire was compared within the book to several other theater or fire related disasters throughout history. This comparison was made at the very end of the book, perhaps to remind the audience that these disasters, although horrific and tragic, were not isolated. This rare and unique book describing tragedy that came upon the city of Richmond that December night ends in such a way to remind the readers that Richmonders were by no means alone in their grief and that the lives of those who perished in the fire would be remembered. 

For further reading on the Richmond Theater Fire, please consider The Richmond Theater Fire: Early America’s First Great Disaster by Meredith Henne Baker. Additionally, Historic Richmond’s website offers more information on Monumental Church. Rachel Beanland has recently produced a historical fiction retelling of the event and its consequences in The House Is on Fire. 

Freaky Folklore: Witchy Origins

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For centuries, folktales have been used to guide (or spook) children into being good little boys and girls. There are countless stories of ghouls, goblins, trolls, and witches eating, stealing, or maiming children throughout many different cultures. The subject matter is the most simple and classic trope one could have throughout literature: good versus evil. The children often represent a pure and curious innocence, and the monstrous creatures within the stories represent the corruption of souls. Throughout these tales, the children often leave the comfort of their homes, knowing that they were not supposed to do so or at least being aware of the dangers that lurk on the outskirts of their community. After they have left, they are hunted by or stumble upon these creatures. The children have to find a clever way out of becoming victims to the evil ways of the creature they are up against, as many children have before them. These stories are prevalent in communities across the globe to read to children as they grow up, hoping to imbue them with concepts of goodness, obedience, and hope while warning them of the nature of evil.

The stories of the Brothers Grimm are likely the most recognizable of these folktales, but there are varieties of stories from Japanese, Norse, Russian, and many more cultures that fall into this category. When selecting books for the children’s folklore aspect of this exhibit, it became clear that the genre was incredibly varied. Stories weren’t just about one type of creature, and often, the creatures changed from region to region. Regardless of which creature was most prevalent within the culture, they all represented negative characteristics. Greed, laziness, hatred of others, self-isolation, trickery, and violence are by and large the most repeated traits from the stories we have in our collection. These vices may seem simple, and perhaps they are. We are all warned when we are children to be good, to be kind. The simplification of evil was deliberate. Some stories (like the Brothers Grimm) have more intense elements that we today might not deem suitable for children, but the origins of these stories are much more sinister than what the stories portray to children.

The theme of guiding others away from moral depravity was not just limited to children’s fiction literature and folktales, but indeed have origins in the treatises on the very serious crimes of witchcraft. Dark magic is hinted at within children’s literature, but the intense hold that the fear of witchcraft and devil-worship had on not only Americans, but communities across the oceans as well, was far from written about in these children’s texts. During the 17th and 18th centuries, it was believed that those who practiced witchcraft had powers to transform into other creatures, or that they transformed as a result of their sinister devotion to the devil, a consequence of evil within their hearts. The infamous witch trials of these centuries were at the forefront of the minds of the author’s who would end up writing stories of witches for children in later centuries. Even after the popularity of witch trials waned, the stories of the things that go bump in the night continued to be told. The Galvin Rare Books Room has in its collection a 1928 copy of the 1489 translation of the Malleus Maleficarum, which serves as a great example of the origins of witchcraft literature and stories of devil-worship under patronage of the church (in fact, written by a man of the cloth himself). This text, as well as Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft (from 1841) and The Discoverie of Witchcraft (from 1930), all describe women as being the primary users of dark magic. These witches were to blame for the moral depravity in the community, and the church would show people how to avoid such sinful behavior. 

Church authority dominated the role of moral guide, but as the centuries passed, so did the authority of religion. Who, then, would guide the children into doing rightly? It may be argued that this role passed to the authors of children’s literature. Parents could read these simplified stories to their children, simultaneously entertaining them and reminding them of what to do and what not to do. This transition of power might provoke a few questions to think about. What authority has guided you to do rightly? Is it religion? Family? Perhaps, it is much less simple. Perhaps, we are guided by and away from our greatest fears, whether it be creatures that lurk within the dark, misty woods or the very darkness that lurks within our own souls. 

For further reading on the subject of folklore and fairy tale origins, consider reading Werewolves, Witches, and Wandering Spirits: Traditional Belief and Folklore in Early Modern Europe by Kathryn A. Edwards.

Edwards, Kathryn A., ed. Werewolves, Witches, and Wandering Spirits: Traditional Belief and Folklore in Early Modern Europe. Vol. 62. Penn State University Press, 2002. https://doi.org/10.5325/j.ctv1c9hp4x.

For more information on how folklore affects children and their educational development in the early 20th century, read Gudren Thomsen-Thorne’s “The Educational Value of Fairy-Stories and Myths.” 

Thorne-Thomsen, Gudrun. “The Educational Value of Fairy-Stories and Myths.” The Elementary School Teacher 4, no. 3 (1903): 161–67. http://www.jstor.org/stable/993304.

For more information on moral lessons within dark fairy tales and folklore, consider reading “Peasants Tell Tales: The Meaning of Mother Goose” in The Great Cat Massacre and Other Episodes in French Cultural History by Robert Darnton published in 1984. 


List of Items Displayed:

  • The Goblin Spider PZ8.1 .G63 1899
  • Fairy Tales from Grimm / edited and with an introduction by Hamilton W. Mabie. Pictures and decorations by Ethel Franklin Betts. PZ8.G882 Fl
  • Fairy Tales of the Grimm Brothers / Decorated by Aldren Watson for the Peter Pamper press. PZ8.G882 F
  • Fifteen Norse Tales / by Sir George Dasent ; selected by E. E. Reynolds ; illustrated by Doris Pailthorpe. PZ8 .A89 Fi 1931
  • Russian Fairy Tales: illustrations by A. Alexeieff. PZ8 .A26 Ru
  • The Princess and the Goblin / by George Macdonald ; illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. PZ8 .M1754 P
  • Malleus Maleficarum / translated with an introduction, bibliography and notes by the Rev. Montague Summers. BF1569 .A2 I5 1928
  • The Discoverie of Witchcraft / by Reginald Scot; with an introduction by the Rev. Montague Summers. BF1565 .S4 1930
  • Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft / Addressed to J. G. Lockhart, Esq., by Sir Walter Scott, Bart. BF1531 .S5 1841
  • Pierio Valeriano’s Hieroglyphica PJ1093 .V3 1594

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.

Please Pardon Our Dust…..

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Photo of the front of Boatwright Library under construction with dirt hill and machinery.
Construction in front of Boatwright Library Summer 2023 (Photo credit: Travis Smith)

If you have driven by Boatwright Library recently, you will have seen the large construction areas surrounding parts of the library. This summer, work started on an 18-month project that will bring beautiful new spaces and exciting things to this campus landmark.

During this time, the library is open and available to students, faculty, staff and community members as usual. Our department — Book Arts, Archives, and Rare Books — is right in the middle of the construction zone, so it requires some changes to our availability. While under construction, we will be able to continue to assist researchers by appointment only. Our resources are available for your research or class assignments, and our staff is available to assist you with book arts, rare book, or archival projects.

The best way to contact us during this time is via email: archives@richmond.edu for rare books and archival assistance and bookarts@richmond.edu for assistance with book arts projects or instruction.

We appreciate your patience during the project and look forward to enjoying these new spaces in the future!

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.