Matt’s Map Madness

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Here I was surrounded by nearly three-score maps spanning an entire continent and three centuries, and I was lost down a rabbit hole. I was digging in every direction and only getting deeper. The end of the semester was approaching and the overwhelm was real. To save my sanity, I put it all down and walked away.

At the end of 2023, we received a donation of 55 maps of Europe, from Ireland to Illyricum, ranging in dates from 1573 to 1845. I didn’t know a thing about cartography other than how to spell the word. So, I used the appraisal document that accompanied the donation as my starting point for processing this collection. And that’s when things started going off the rails.

The appraisal featured a photo of each map with its title, author, date, dimensions and other information. As I read through it, with the maps in front of me, it became clear that the appraisal document had a few errors. One title seemed to be derived from a poor reading of the caligraphic script used to identify Scotland. Another had the title, etc., copy-pasted from another map. And yet another had a picture of a map that was not even part of this donation! How was I supposed to trust anything from this professional (?) document? Were the stated authors actually the authors? And wouldn’t they be “cartographers?“ And how come these various map seller & collector websites seem to have the same map but with different names and dates? Wait, this map has a cartographer, an engraver, a printer AND a publisher?!

Around Summer, 2024, I pulled my head out of that rabbit hole (for now) and decided to start at what I thought was square one. Since I now knew even less about cartography than when I started, I researched the history of cartography. That didn’t help much because the History of Cartography, the actual field studying the study of cartography, really began to formalize in the 1960s. Cartography, the making of maps, is thousands of years old. I went back to Paleolithic rock drawings, portolans, mappa mundi, maps from the early Arab and Muslim empires, and still got lost.

I took a break. Then UR went on winter break. I eventually found my way back to the maps, literally and figuratively. Since I couldn’t rely on the appraisal document, I figured I could rely on the maps themselves. Many of them had their publishers and/or creators printed in the cartouche or along the margins. For those that did not, plenty of online databases, either map sellers or other libraries & archives, had similar maps by the same creators so that I could switch between various sites to narrow down which map I had. I tried to be as accurate as possible while also remembering my frantic trips down those rabbit holes. As the saying goes, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. As my boss reminded me, we are not a map repository, so for a few maps, close enough had to be good enough.

The majority of these maps are folio maps. They were originally part of an atlas, but some enterprising book sellers centuries ago realized that while they could make some money selling one atlas, they could make a lot more money selling the maps individually. The separation of map from atlas increases the difficulty of properly identifying the map, especially because atlas publishers had a tendency of inserting newly printed maps into the mix with previous editions of the atlas, or excluding a map if one wasn’t available at time of binding and selling. Or, two maps could have been printed from the same copper plate, but decades apart by different publishers employing their own colorists.

Somehow, the pieces all started clicking together. I was able to build my inventory list, and wrangle some intellectual control over this collection. The only real challenge in writing the finding aid was figuring out the modern place names for various locations, some of which had been latinized or featured kingdoms or bishoprics that no longer politically exist. Where is Sarmatia?

These maps will be on display all semester (Spring 2026) in the case just outside the Book Arts, Archives & Rare Books office suite on the newly opened ground floor. I’ll be swapping them out every two weeks or so. And if you want to use them for your research, go to archives.richmond.edu and search for collection MS-77.

December Reflections from the Collection

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December has long inspired writers to reflect on place, weather, memory, and the quieter human moments that unfold at year’s end. In the Galvin Rare Book Room collections, the season often reveals itself not through grand declarations, but through modest books, local observations, and works that reward close attention. This month, three items offer thoughtful entry points into how earlier readers and writers experienced winter, Christmas, and daily life.

Title page of a book "The Small One A Story for Those Who Like Christmas and Small Donkeys." by Charles Tazewell. Designed by Donald E. Cooke Illustrated by Marian Ebert Franklin Printing Company Primos, Pennsylvania Since the Spring of 1728

The Small One: A Story for Those Who Like Christmas and Small Donkeys is, at first glance, an unassuming book. First published in the mid-twentieth century, The Small One tells the story of an aging donkey and the child who must part with him, set against the backdrop of the Nativity journey. The book’s enduring appeal lies in its restraint. Rather than focusing on spectacle, it centers on themes of kindness, loss, and dignity, and particularly the idea that small, overlooked lives still have meaning and purpose. Its illustrations and simple prose reflect a mid-century sensibility that values gentleness and moral clarity without sentimentality, focusing instead on kindness, loss, and the quiet dignity of a creature no longer considered useful. The story resonates in December precisely because it is modest, reminding readers that the season’s meaning is often found in small, easily overlooked moments.

A very different perspective appears in the short essay A Christmas Ode Descriptive of Richmond and Its Inhabitants. Printed in 1968 by the Attic Press, a local Richmond press owned and operated by Willis and Eleanor Shell, the piece originally appeared in The Richmond Enquirer on December 28, 1811. Rooted firmly in place, the piece captures the city of Richmond during the holiday season, offering both description and commentary. Streets, buildings, and winter weather share space with observations about the people who move through them. Read today, it functions as both a literary artifact and a historical document, preserving how one writer perceived community, class, and local character during the holidays. Such works remind us that Christmas has always been shaped as much by geography and civic identity as by shared traditions.

Rounding out this group is Weather Sayings, a compilation of traditional proverbs and folk wisdom related to seasonal change. While not a Christmas book in the usual sense, it fits naturally into December reading. For generations, weather sayings helped people interpret the world around them by sharing knowledge to help predict storms, anticipate harvests, and just marking time in an era before modern forecasting. Many of these sayings are closely tied to winter, referencing frost, snowfall, and shortening days. In December especially, the book highlights how deeply weather shaped daily routines and collective expectations, reinforcing the sense of attentiveness to nature that defined earlier seasonal rhythms. The first edition of this book was printed in 1951 by Marvin Neel, a friend of J.J. Lankes who asked him to do the wood engravings used for each month. This second edition was completed in 2005, using Lankes’ engravings.

Taken together, these three items illustrate the range of ways December appears in the written record. One tells a small, timeless story of compassion; another anchors the holiday firmly in a specific city and moment, and the third connects the season to longstanding patterns of observation and belief. None are extravagant works, but each offers insight into how people have historically made meaning of winter and the closing of the year.

As the calendar turns and the days grow shorter, such materials invite slower reading and closer looking. They remind us that December has always been a time not only for celebration, but also for reflection: on place, on weather, and on the quiet stories that endure long after the season has passed.

New Exhibits – September 2025

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As part of the renovations to the Ground Floor, my department requested the addition of new exhibit cases, ones that would have a vertical orientation to complement our already existing table cases. The architects certainly delivered, building in 14 new cases around the floor. We’re excited to be able to not only share materials from the collections again, but to do so across the floor to showcase a variety of materials and topics.

Our current exhibits on display during the month of September:

The Alchemy of the Kitchen: Food, Science, and History (cafe area, 6 cases): This exhibit explores the rich story of how cooking and science have always been intertwined and features historic cookbooks and early food science texts. 

Coffee near information desk, 1 case): This exhibit celebrates the reopening of the 8:15 cafe by displaying an 1881 work on the history of coffee. 

Data Storage & Transfer Methods of Yesteryear (near office suite, 1 case): Explore the history of data transmission from cuneiform to computer!

Artists’ Books (near Book Arts Studio, 1 case): This exhibit showcases some of the beautiful artists’ books from the Book Arts collection. 

Walker Collection (near office suite, 2 cases): Celebrate back to school with materials from the Walker collection highlighting both the return to classes and exploring older forms of media transmission. 

Yearbooks (near Information Desk, 1 case): The first and last yearbooks, along with a couple of mid-century artifacts, are on display; you can also explore all UR yearbooks online through the UR Scholarship Repository. 

J.J. Lankes (next to press, 1 case): Celebrate the homecoming of the ca. 1845 Lankes Washington Hoe Press by exploring this exhibit on Lankes and his friendship with Robert Frost. 

Civil War Sheet Music: (just outside the Galvin Rare Book Room, 2 cases) In partnership with University Museums, explore a sampling of Civil War sheet music from the collections. These and other examples are also available online in the digital collections area. 

Les Misérables: (next to the booth seating, 1 case) Did you know there’s a Richmond connection to Les Misérables? Explore 2 different editions and learn about the “Richmond translation,” an edition held in the Galvin Rare Book Room collection. 

We hope you enjoy our exhibits, and we’d love to hear your suggestions and ideas for upcoming exhibits.

We’re Open Again!

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Wall outside a glass room with text Galvin Rare Book Room, spiderweb design leading to door into glass room with tables and chairs visible.

The Fall 2025 academic year at the University of Richmond begins today, and the staff of Boatwright Memorial Library are excited about the opening of the newly renovated Ground Floor spaces. Check out the updated menu at the expanded 8:15 cafe, a lively new mural exploring the campus and Richmond vicinity (including Triceragoose), and a plethora of new exhibit cases full of materials from the Book Arts, Archives, and Rare Book collections.

After two years of limited access, we are pleased to announce the reopening of our archives reading room following a major renovation project across the entire floor of the library. We are excited to share a refreshed and thoughtfully designed space that better serves researchers, students, and community members alike.

The updated reading room offers improved lighting, expanded seating, and research support. Behind the scenes, we’ve strengthened preservation and security measures to ensure our rare books, archives, and book arts collections remain safeguarded for generations to come. The new spaces enhance visibility and ensure improved access to the collections.

Most importantly, the space is once again ready for exploration and discovery. Whether you are beginning a new project, revisiting familiar sources, or simply curious about the treasures in our care, we look forward to welcoming you back.

Our doors are open—we invite you to come see the new reading room and join us in celebrating this new chapter. Plan a visit during our open hours or feel free to make an appointment by emailing archives@richmond.edu. Open hours for Fall 2025 begin September 2 and run through December 16.

Fall 2025 Reading Room Open Hours

  • Sunday 12-4 
  • Monday 12-4 
  • Tuesday 2-6 
  • Wednesday 2-6 

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