Houghton Library is pleased to announce that the following collections now have descriptive finding aids and are available for research in the library’s reading room. Claudia Goreva and Ivan Kireef Photographs and Other Papers, circa 1902-1993 (MS Thr 1693) – processed by Magdaline Lawhorn Hubert François Gravelot Drawings, 1738-1764 (MS Typ 404-MS Typ 404.2) –…
Aspects of Edward Lear (Part I)
Houghton Library at Harvard has an incomparable set of materials relating to Edward Lear—the largest, most diverse collection in the world: his natural history illustrations, thousands of landscape paintings, travel journals, diaries, letters, nonsense books and manuscripts, and personal documents including musical scores. This is the first of four blogs by Matthew Bevis, Professor of English Literature…
On “On Pornography”
Here at Harvard we recently concluded Sex Week, an annual week of events focused on issues of sex, sexual health, sexuality, gender, gender identity, relationships, and more. In my capacity as 75th Anniversary Fellow here at Houghton, I brought a Sex Week focus into my work with Houghton and examined the collection for materials related…
Collections Now Available for Research: November 2017
Houghton Library is pleased to announce that the following collections now have descriptive finding aids and are available for research in the library’s reading room. Eily Beadell Papers circa 1896-1971 (MS Thr 1683) – processed by Melanie Wisner José María Castañé Collection of War-related Photograph Albums, circa 1920-1950 (MS Span 183) – processed by Michael…
A Long Whip with a Snapper
As a cataloger at Houghton, I am frequently tasked with correcting minor errors or otherwise improving particular catalog records in response to suggestions from readers or fellow staff. Edits as simple as fixing a typo nonetheless have an immediate and positive effect, and so I always take satisfaction in these easy victories. As an added…
Collections Now Available for Research: October 2017
Houghton Library is pleased to announce that the following collections now have descriptive finding aids and are available for research in the library’s reading room. Harvard Theatre Collection of Playbills and Programs Concerning Male “Stars” (TCS 71) – processed by Elizabeth Amos Irene Mikus Photographs and Ephemera, circa 1910-1943 (MS Thr 1690) – processed by…
“Outrageous Attention to Detail”: The School-to-Work Program at Houghton
For the fifth consecutive year, we have had the opportunity to hire a paid intern from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School (CRLS) to learn about our work by helping end-process our collections. Through the School-to-Work program, (STW), the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers (HUCTW) coordinates with the Cambridge Office of Workforce…
Collections Now Available for Research: August 2017
Houghton Library is pleased to announce that the following collections now have descriptive finding aids and are available for research in the library’s reading room. Vera Allen papers, circa 1942-1986 (MS Thr 1670) – processed by Melanie Wisner Harvard Theatre Collection of New York Yiddish Theater Playbills, circa 1880s-1890s (MS Thr 1655) – processed by…
In Memoriam: John Ashbery
John Ashbery is gone. A pivotal figure in 20th– and 21st-century literature, few poets have been as honored as he: recipient of the Bollingen Prize, the National Humanities Medal, a MacArthur “genius” grant, and numerous other awards. His 1975 collection, Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror, won the American book world’s triple crown: the Pulitzer Prize,…
Proto-Maus
This post is part of an ongoing series complementing the upcoming exhibition Altered States: Sex, Drugs, and Transcendence in the Ludlow-Santo Domingo Library on display in the Edison and Newman Room from September 5 – December 16, 2017. Art Spiegelman is best known for Maus, his graphic novel based on interviews with his father, a…