This post is part of an ongoing series featuring items from the exhibition Open House 75: Houghton Staff Select on display in the Edison and Newman Room from May 8 – August 19, 2017. In 1746, a consortium of London publishers approached Samuel Johnson, a rising star in the literary world, with a proposal: write…
Collections Now Available for Research: June 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. American Repertory Theatre Records, 1979-2012 (MS Thr 1605) – processed by Adrien Hilton, Jennifer Lyons, and Dale Stinchcomb Fredric Woodbridge Wilson Collection of Costume Designs for Theater, Musical Comedy, Pantomime…
Most Creative: John Lithgow’s Harvard Years
It’s been a year of milestones for actor and Harvard alum John Lithgow, who this week celebrates his 50th class reunion. Last April, he was fêted with the 2017 Harvard Arts Medal at the kick-off of Arts First, the annual festival of student creativity he helped launch 25 years ago. Self-portrait as Winston Churchill in…
Open House 75: Houghton Library Staff Select
The 75th anniversary of Houghton Library has provided an occasion to reflect on the library’s founding and history, to connect with friends and supporters old and new, and to consider the challenges and opportunities that will shape our future. Throughout our 75th year, we have carried out a series of events, publications, and other…
Julian I. Edison in Memoriam
Houghton Library is saddened to learn that Julian I. Edison (AB ’51, MBA ’53) of St. Louis, Missouri, passed away on Monday, May 8, 2017. With Mr. Edison’s death, both Houghton and Harvard University have lost one of their most distinguished and generous supporters. Julian was the former CEO and chairman of Edison Brothers Stores,…
New on OASIS in May
Four finding aids for newly cataloged collections have been added to the OASIS database this month: Processed by Michael Austin: José María Castañé Collection of Photographs by Agustí Centelles, circa 1936-1939 (MS Span 181) Minimally Processed by Adrien Hilton: George Antheil Papers, circa 1950-1953 (MS Thr 1601) Processed by Irina Klyagin: Elena Bonner…
Houghton Library, Now in Convenient Book Form
Houghton Library turned 75 this year, and as part of the anniversary celebrations we’ve just published a collection of some of our rarest, most beautiful, and most significant books, manuscripts, and objects, entitled Houghton Library at 75: A Celebration of Its Collections. “We are proud to release this publication as part of a series of…
The Houghton Gradual and the Choir Books in Malta
Dr Theresa Zammit Lupi, Katharine F. Pantzer Jr Fellowship in Descriptive Bibliography 2016-2017, Houghton Library MS Lat 186 at the Houghton Library is one of a set of four surviving French graduals that were illuminated by Jean Pichore (d. 1521) and his workshop in the first quarter of the 16th century. The manuscript was recently…
John Lithgow: Actor as Artist
Exhibit opens showcasing ‘Trial & Error’ star’s talent for drawing as well as drama. Halfway through his freshman year, John Lithgow set his sights on a summer residency at the artist colony in Skowhegan, Maine. Hoping to give his son’s application an edge, John’s father arranged a private interview with the painter Ben Shahn, a formidable…
Pipe, top hat, and tails???
This post is part of an ongoing series featuring recently cataloged items from the Ludlow-Santo Domingo Library. Size matters! was the motto that Wilhelm Moser and David Culby took quite seriously when creating The Manipulator in Dusseldorf in the 1980s. This art magazine is an impressive 70 cm long by 50 cm wide and marks the…