Southwestern University
Special Collections is proud to announce the acquisition of the library of Llerena B. Friend. Her library, consisting of over 700 titles, contains some of the most important books and printed material about Texas in the 20th century and is a significant addition to Special Collections. Continue reading “Llerena B. Friend Collection”
Special Collections is currently preparing for an inventory of our holdings produced by Texan printer Carl Hertzog. Hertzog designed and printed a variety of beautiful volumes throughout the twentieth century. Between my personal fondness for miniature books and our recent departmental focus on Hertzog, The Captive Boy seemed a natural choice to share on our blog. Continue reading “The Captive Boy”
Today I want to talk about an object that crosses two of our major collecting areas – the musket you see above. Firearms, and realia in general, are not really actively collected by Special Collections, as we lack the facilities to care for more than just a few pieces. The significance of this musket requires an exception to this rule, as it combines two of our collecting areas – Texana/Texas history and the life of Senator Tower. Continue reading “Tower Musket”
Emily Higgs, Special Collections Intern
The first exhibit on display in Special Collections for the Fall 2017 semester is entitled For God and Texas: Southwestern and the Methodist Mission for Higher Education. Inspired by a question I had about why Southwestern and so many other Texas schools are affiliated with the Methodist Church, I curated this exhibit to increase my own familiarity with the history of this institution and to situate Southwestern as a Methodist university. Continue reading “For God and Texas”
One of the joys of my job has been developing an unabashed love for the work of Carl Hertzog. We have a wide array of his work, and are currently processing a gift that will significantly enhance our holdings of Hertzog’s work.
I want to focus here on what has been described as Hertzog’s Gutenberg Bible: The King Ranch. This book is arguably the magnum opus of Hertzog’s career, and is certainly among the best Texas books of the 20th century.
Special Collections has a large collection of materials associated with J. Frank Dobie, a 1910 graduate of Southwestern. These materials include holograph manuscripts, typescripts, and an almost exhaustive collection of his printed works. These all are expected in a collection of Dobie – but the piece you see above is not. My recent work with my colleague, Joan Parks, on her art and art history lib guide led me to revisit this work, and explore why we have this piece.
The piece above – and the focus of this essay – is Tom Lea’s original pen and ink illustration titled Nat Straw’s Poem. The drawing came to Special Collections amongst the donations of the papers and possessions of Dobie.
Special Collections at Southwestern University is a special place, filled with stories about our forebears in Texas and at Southwestern. This blog is aimed at telling those stories from the past, and our stories as we work with the materials in our collections. Continue reading “Welcome”