#stack stories

“Alumni Hall, old library” 1899 Knox College Harold E. Way 10.4 x 7.6 cm

Did you know that Alumni Hall is where you could find some of Knox’s books in 1899? With Henry M. Seymour library being such a staple on our campus it is hard to imagine the campus before the building was built in 1928. Before our beautiful library was constructed, there wasn’t any one specific location on campus for the books that Knox had. Alumni Hall was just one of the various places the college’s small book collection was located. “Alumni Hall, old library” was originally taken in 1899, and you can see how different our books were stored on campus then. Bookshelves are scattered around the room in every place that they would fit, and the collection was small compared to our library now. This photo also highlights some art that the college had adorning the library, with the biggest being a replica of the famous statue Winged Victory. Our collection of art has grown since then, and you can now find various paintings throughout Henry M. Seymour Library.

The photo comes from the Harold Way Photograph Collection (Knox College), which has thousands of photographs that showcase how life was at Knox between 1890-1940s. Harold E. Way was a Knox College graduate and ended up teaching Physics at the college. You can check out more photos from the collection in the link below, and see how different Knox was in the earlier days of the college. Also take a look at this article by Jeffery A. Douglas (the current library director) that gives the history of Knox’s libraries!

-Jasmine Lamb 2023

References

https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/knx_harold

Stack Stories!

One of the hidden treasures of the Special Collections and Archives department is our wonderful, wonderful Oversize collections. Here you'll find items that are a bit larger or more oddly sized than your standard book. One of my personal favorites from this collection is the Histoire du Costume Masculin Français by Paul-Louis de Giafferri. You could call this a lookbook of French fashion across the ages-- it has complete color illustrations of men’s wear from the Byzantine Age to the Renaissance. Each and every outfit is hand painted! The fancy capes from the Renaissance are especially fun to look at!

Special Collections  391.1 G429

Stack Stories

The Knox College Special Collections and Archives has started a new social media series called “Stack Stories,” which can be found on this new Tumblr page and through Seymour Library’s social media platforms. Every two weeks, we will post a new story about an interesting item from the stacks. Student worker, Dianell Vega, wrote this week’s story!  She is a Psych and Anthropology/Sociology major from Chicago, IL. 

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While walking past the Special Collections shelves, the watercolor spine of this book jumped out to me. The book was inside a cardboard slip covering, and it was not until I took the book out of the covering that I felt it. The cover features illustrated linen. The bright yellow sun and blue ocean told me nothing of the contents inside. This oversized book of poetry by Derek Walcott contains poems selected by Romare Bearden. Bearden also added some of his own work into the book. Walcott describes the landscape in a highly stylized manner and embeds deep meaning in his metaphors. The abstract watercolor art by Bearden occasionally aids Walcott’s poems.

This limited edition book is 1110 of 2,000 and signed by the illustrator and author. Walcott has won awards for his work and died March 17, 2017. Walcott’s recalling of the Caribbean reminds me to continue to recall my ancestry and all the political unrest our country has with our neighbors from below.

-Dianell

Special Collections Oversize PR 6045 .A26 C28

Catalog record

More about Derek Walcott

More about Romare Bearden

Stack Stories!

For this week's Stack Stories we are celebrating Hanukkah! Happy second day of Hanukkah!

Hanukkah translates to “dedication” in Hebrew. This year Hanukkah starts on Thursday, December 10th, and ends on Friday, December 18th. This holiday is often referred to as the “festival of lights” and celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish individuals who took part in the rededication witnessed a miracle. They lit the candle, which only contained enough oil for one night, but it had lasted eight nights, giving them time to find more oil for the menorah candles. 

The Stone Lamp: Eight Stories of Hanukkah Through History, written by Karen Hesse and illustrated by Brian Pinkney, is a children’s book that commemorates different moments throughout Jewish history. The story has eight different poems that highlight a different moment of crisis that the Jewish people have been faced with. With each poem, there is a historical explanation that is paired with it. There are eight poems to commemorate each night of Hanukkah, and they are all theorized to be from a child’s perspective. While the story isn’t a traditionally cheery holiday story, it is informative and also quite beautiful. 

-Lizzie

Information re: Hanukkah provided by this source.

Hesse, Karen., and J. Brian Pinkney. The Stone Lamp : Eight Stories of Hanukkah through History  New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2003.

Stack Stories

Inez Webster, a graduate of Lombard College, 1904 (a local college that was incorporated into Knox College in the wake of the Great Depression) was responsible for the direction of the Polygon orphanage in Leninaken/Alexandrova, Armenia during World War I. She became involved with the Knox County Free Kindergarten and the American Red Cross and did canteen work with the Y.M.C.A. in France during the 1st World War. She was ultimately posted in Armenia with the Near East Relief Organization at the Polygon orphanage, in the shadow of Mt. Ararat, where 6,000 waifs whose parents were massacred by the Turks, deported by the Russians, or imprisoned or starved to death in war were under her direction.

Later, she became the director of an orphanage in Russia where she experienced the earthquake of the 1931.In a letter to Max Goodsill, director of the Knox College Fifty Year Club she states, “the children are living and sleeping outside in below zero weather after the earthquake. There is only enough food to stay off starvation but not enough to satisfy their appetite.

Above is a telegram she sent to her friend, Robert Bender, Knox College class of 1911 and Vice President for the United Press Association

-Mary

Stack Stories!

Well, it’s the start of a very new term at Knox! Though things are different in Special Collections, we still love sharing interesting finds and stories with all of you. This week, for example, Mary (the greatest archives assistant there ever was), processed the collection of Robert Bender. Read below to find out more about his connection to the 28th President of the U.S., Woodrow Wilson! 

“I have been working on a wonderful manuscript collection at home since the lockdown. Robert Bender, Knox grad 1911, was with the United Press Association from 1917 to 1936. The collection includes letters, articles, news clippings and photos. Here are two photographs: the first shows Bender with Woodrow Wilson. Bender traveled with Wilson to Paris for the Peace Conference (1918-1919). The second is a photograph of Wilson in his coat made out of kangaroo fur with a collar made of wombat.” 

We can’t wait for others to utilize this collection in the future -- especially those interested in the history of WWI or new media. Speaking of media, make sure to stay connected to our collections by following the Seymour Library social media accounts. Soon, we will be posting more content about how you can access and learn about our collections from the comfort of your home.

Best wishes that you all stay safe and healthy! 

Instagram: seymourlibrary1928

Twitter: @knoxseymourlib

Stack Stories!

Devised theater, a process where a group of people come together to collaboratively create a theater production, was a popular tradition at Knox for a few years. Devised can almost be considered the place where Improv meets screen writing: in it, a group of people come together to create (or devise) a play or a script, and it becomes a collection of all of their voices.

In the Archives, we have various records of several devised shows that played at Knox—posters, programs, news articles, and even a whole script for one of them. These were all mainly student-run (and therefore written, directed, and acted) endeavors, but in 2009 Lyndsey Snyder, former dramatics teacher, actually ran a course on the topic resulting in a production called “Beyond the Fourth Wall.”

All these items are examples taken from our Dramatics Series in the Archives.

Audition Call for Devised Theatre, 2003-2004

“Grundle” Script, 2010-2011

“Your Place in the Gene Pool” Program, 2005-2006

Stack Stories

Pumphandle is Monday! Ever wonder where the tradition started? It evolved from something called “get acquainted” socials, which were held by Christian associations as early as 1886. By 1921, the tradition had acquired the name “Pumphandle.”

When it first started, Pumphandle was a formal event, and everyone was expected to dress in their best clothes. It used to be held in the late evening, typically 8:30 pm until 11:00pm, and until 1977, a dance was held afterwards!

-Ashley

General, Pumphandle, History 1921 – X, Miscellaneous Campus Events Series, Knox College Special Collections & Archives.