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Last semester Jessica FitzPatrick’s class, Introduction to Critical Reading, visited Special Collections. The class took a closer look at serialized novels, fine press and private press books, and variances in editions published over time. Students had the opportunity to submit blog posts about their findings to Special Collections for extra credit:

These two versions of Cinderella provide hints as to the time in which the story was written or published.  The first edition, by George Cruikshank, is a very small edition that is falling apart, as seen in Fig. 1.  The second version is written by Charles Evans and that book is larger and in better condition, depicted in Fig 2.  There are three factors in each edition that are telling of the time the books were written: the way the book was published, the language, and the nickname given to Cinderella.

Figure 1. George Cruickshank’s book, example illustration, pencil used to show relative size

Figure 2. Charles Evans’ book, example illustration, pencil used for relative size

Cruikshank’s book did not have a binding, the paper was only folded in the middle.  In 1814, the printing press was used, but the machinery did not bind paper together, it simply printed words on the paper. The method used to put pictures on the paper was called “woodcutting.”  It was a technique where a piece of wood acts as a stamp for paper in woodcutting.  Knowing that the illustrations were not printed directly onto the page tells that it is an old copy, but the text coming from a printing press tells that it cannot be too old.

The illustrations in Evans’ book were done by Arthur Rackham, a renowned artist in the early 20th century.  The technique for publishing in this case involved Rackham drawing a picture with pencil or ink, taking a photograph of the image, and having the photograph mechanically reproduced. This method portrayed how Evans’ book is a newer copy because of the improvements to photography.  One can tell that this process was used because of the way the images are attached to the paper.  The photos being reproduced required thick paper; they could not be printed on the same paper that the text was printed on.  Instead, the images were printed on a thick paper and then pasted onto the pages with the text.  In addition, the binding is strong and the book is still in good condition.  The paper, illustrations, and condition of Evans’ book are indications of the book being published in more recent times.

Next I will discuss how the language in the books is a sign of the era it was written in.  Cruikshank’s book uses words such as “thee” “thou” and “nay.” Reading these words, it is obvious that the book was not written in recent times because they are not used in modern language.  These types of words were used in the Shakespearean era. The book was not published until 1814, but it could have been written years earlier when those words were still used. However, this type of language adds to the legacy of “Cinderella.”  By reading the story in old fashioned words, I gained a deeper understanding of how much of a classic the story truly is.  I knew that the story had been retold for hundreds of years, but reading this form emphasized just how long the story has been told.  Of course, language has evolved and these words have disappeared from modern language. Evans’ book shows that evolution because the language in his book is more contemporary.  It is the same language used today, so readers would know that it must have been written relatively recently.  The language used in both editions hints at a time period in which it was written. 

The last aspect of the story that relates to history is the nickname given to Cinderella.  Her stepsisters always gave her a nickname that was supposed to be offensive.  In Cruickshank’s edition, her stepsisters called Cinderella “Cinderbreech.”  The oxford dictionary online gives an “archaic” definition that means “buttocks.”  The name has lost its offensiveness because nobody today refers to a butt as a “breech.”  The definition being defined as “archaic” provides even more evidence to how the nickname implies that it is an old version of the story.  In Evans’ version, Cinderella was called “Cinder-slut.” At first, I was taken aback by the word choice considering it is a children’s book. However, then I hypothesized that Evans used slut to warn young girls of what not to do.  Being promiscuous in the early 1900s was frowned upon and not socially acceptable for women.  Then, women were more conservative than they are now and there were more expectations of a woman to be lady-like.  Evans adding phrase “Cinder-slut” represents the societal norms in the early twentieth century, and how being conservative and “pure” was valued.

-Abby Markey, Freshman, University of Pittsburgh

Works Cited

Cruikshank, George. The Interesting Story of Cinderella and Her Glass Slipper. N.p.: Banbury, 1814. Print.

David Miles Books, The Interesting Story of Cinderella and Her Glass Slipper 2017. Web. 24 March 2017.

Evans, Charles. Cinderella. Norwood, London: Complete, 1919. Print.

Oxford Living Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017. 

"Style, Subjects, Technique, and Technology." Central Michigan University. Clarke Historical Library, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Special Collections welcomed Will Rhodes’ ENGLIT1125 Masterpieces of Renaissance Literature on Wednesday, March 15th. Students had the opportunity to examine facsimiles of Renaissance literature and poetry; fine press and private press editions of literature and poetry; and historical texts dating back to the Renaissance. Students worked closely with these materials and completed an in-class assignment to create a short essay.  Professor Rhodes selected a handful of these essays for us to feature on the Special Collections Tumblr.  We hope that you enjoy!

What is the purpose of a book? Well, to be read of course! But is that always true? While the contents of a book may never change, even down to the style of font it is published in in various editions, the purpose of the book may change. Special Collections houses many facsimiles, or exact copies, and modern editions of older books. I will compare one facsimile and one Renaissance book in order to show how a book is transformed from an object with a practical function to an object meant to be collected.

Purchas His Pilgrimage, or Relations of the World, Samuel Purchas, 1614

This book is an encyclopedic work, which describes various religions, their practices, and briefly about the nation from which they originate. Samuel Purchas was a well-educated Anglican priest, who, despite the extent of his works, never left England. In fact, he collected this knowledge from the stories of sailors and the manuscripts of past travelers. One might wonder why 17th century Christians would be interested in the traditions of other cultures. This is clearly answered on the title page.

Under the author’s name is the phrase “Unus Deus, Una Veritas,” meaning “One God, One Truth.” Therefore, these descriptions of other cultures represent what is false in the world. In an era where Europe is exploring and missioning to these places it would make sense to try and understand the culture of the native people. Purchas calls this his “pilgrimage.” This book therefore has a religious function. It is not a literal journey but a metaphoric journey around the world. The knowledge gained on this journey could allow others to better conduct their mission work in these countries.

But the book also functions to justify the growing authority of Christianity in these places. In one description of religious practice in China, the author writes that when people “obtain not their requests [to the Gods], they will whip and beat these Gods.” It is clear that these people do not understand the reverence and proper worship that Europeans do. This likely pleased, the Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbot, to whom the dedicatory epistle is written.

Another indication of its intended use by the clergy is the numerous printed notes in the margin. These often give evidence for what has been written or more avenues for research. The notes may be in Latin, Greek, or English, which implies the reader must have had the education to understand these annotations. The clergy would have learned Greek to read some of the oldest versions of the Bible and Latin for most church documents up until the reformation.

Essayes- Religious Meditations- Places of Perswasion and Disswasion, Francis Bacon, Originally Published 1597, Haslewood Edition: 1924

This collection of writings from philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon covers a wide variety of topics from a “regiment of health” to “atheism.” I am most interested in the middle text of the three works included in this book. It is called the “Meditationes Sacrae” or “Sacred Meditations.” This work is completely in Latin despite the other texts of this book being in English. Bacon must have had a sense that for anyone to take you seriously when writing about religious matters you had to write in Latin. In these short meditations he discusses common religious concerns such as the nature of Christ’s miracles and controversies between Church and scripture. This was likely regarded as a useful and edifying book in its time.

While one could make some interesting points about how Bacon’s logical scientific method influenced his religious beliefs, the fact that a facsimile was published more than three hundred years after it was originally published raises equally interesting ideas. While the book says it is an exact copy, “page for page and line for line,” of the first edition octavo this is not quite true. The note in the front of the book reveals that the outdated “f” has been replaced with the modern “s.” The frontispiece, shown above, is also redrawn from a different work of Bacon’s. It is also interesting that the editor’s note points out that this version is not the most well known, because Bacon continued to add to and edit these essays for many years.

This book is neither the text that made it famous nor a totally accurate copy of the original so perhaps the purpose is not for it to be read but to be collected. Part of the challenge and fun of collecting is the rarity of the object. For instance, you could go to a comic book store and buy any new comic and there’s no challenge there. But if you want issue #134 of Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen to complete your collection of Jack Kirby comics it’s a lot harder. So the publisher has created this sort of challenge by limiting the number of copies printed. This book had a run of only 975 books. 

Artist and architect Frederick Etchells founded Haslewood Press, the publisher of this book. This explains why this book is an object of aesthetic value. It was printed on all cotton paper with a deckled edge that gives the appearance of the paper being handmade. The top edge is gilt. It is these small details that make the book more beautiful almost to the point that it does not matter which classic work of literature it is. The back of this book is an advertisement for other books from this publisher. To promote the collecting of this series it announces that their copies of the first book have been “exhausted” and that only “some copies remain” of the second. Also interesting, is a review of one book, which describes the contents as “charming” but the printing to be “excellent” on “good rag paper.” A list of the upcoming books with their unique features is also included. These details further convey that in the case of these reprints, it seems more important to have a beautiful library of famous books than to be particularly invested in the contents of the book.

Special Collections recently welcomed Courtney Weikle-Mills’ ENGLIT 1635: Children in Pittsburgh. Students had an opportunity to learn about collections that focus on contemporary Pittsburgh cultural organizations and Pittsburgh-based authors.  Curators and Librarians highlighted the Fred E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection, the Nietz Old Textbook Collection, and the Elizabeth Nesbitt Children’s Literature Collection and students were asked to submit a Tumblr post about the materials.

If you grew up anywhere between the 1970s and 1990s, odds are you probably have seen Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Filmed in and featuring Pittsburgh often, the show and its host Fred Rogers have a special place in the collective hearts of Pittsburghers. Saved in the University of Pittsburgh’s Special Collections, the interactive book­­­ The Neighborhood of Make-Believe Playtime Puppet Theater (1974) features the kind of imagination that the show encouraged in its child viewers. 

The book features paper puppets of many of the recognizable characters from the TV series, ­­­like King Friday XIII and Henrietta Pussycat, which children are able to punch out and play with. The book also gives much larger paper replicas of the familiar sets from the Neighborhood of Make-Believe so the characters are able to play in their familiar habitat. The inside of the book gives instructions on how cut and press out the characters, and how to prop open the sets for kids to play in their “own ‘Neighborhood of Make-Believe.’” With it’s bright blue castle of King Friday’s, or Daniel Tiger’s clock, the Playtime Puppet Theater book brings the magic of Mister Rogers’ show into the homes of the children who would have bought this, and encouraged them to play and act out imaginative scenarios with these familiar characters. Mister Rogers was able to bring the Neighborhood of Pittsburgh into the homes of children across the nation, and then through this interact book, was able to bring the sort of imagination and play that occurs in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

Special Collections recently welcomed Courtney Weikle-Mills’ ENGLIT 1635: Children in Pittsburgh. Students had an opportunity to learn about collections that focus on contemporary Pittsburgh cultural organizations and Pittsburgh-based authors.  Curators and Librarians highlighted the Fred E. and Harriet R. Curtis Theatre Collection, the Nietz Old Textbook Collection, and the Elizabeth Nesbitt Children’s Literature Collection and students were asked to submit a Tumblr post about the materials.

Everyone’s heard of Charlotte’s Web—that classic children’s tale about a little girl and her pig named Wilbur and a very clever spider. It has become so entrenched in our culture, adapted into movies and plays, that most of us take it for granted. Maybe that’s why my eye stopped on the Special Collections copy of Charlotte’s Web—it was something familiar, seen in a new way. Instead of a tattered elementary school classroom copy of E.B. White’s novel, I held in my hands a 1952 edition, and I could see the novel through the eyes of a little girl in the Carnegie Library, picking up this new story of love and friendship for the first time. 

Of course, no copy of Charlotte’s Web could be complete without the 47 drawings by Garth Williams, with “all the wonderful detail and warm-hearted appeal that children love.” With a book so rich with beautiful illustrations it’s easy to see why even the youngest of children were drawn to this book. At a time when literature for families and children was becoming a mainstay in Pittsburgh culture, this archived book gleans light on why Charlotte’s Web was such a popular read, and why it continues to be part of the culture today.