Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries

Congrats to Tyler undergraduate Raphael Swingley for a wonderful BFA thesis exhibition! His show, entitled Arterial Waters, is focused on the contrast between the industrial and natural landscape of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia and features historical images from the Special Collections Research Center alongside his new photography. Love to see undergraduate students incorporating our collections in their creative work. Check out the exhibition on the lower floor of Tyler through October 25th!

Welcome to spooky season! If you have a chance this month, stop by the SCRC reading room to see our October exhibit: Monsters in the SCRC.

A little late for Labor Day, but if you’re looking for something to sing this week this publication of labor songs was just cataloged!

We received an exciting new collection in SCRC recently – a small collection of letters from E. E. Cummings and his wife, Marion Morehouse Cummings, to Norman Friedman, author, professor of English, and one of the founders of the E. E. Cummings Society, and Norman’s wife, Zelda. Cummings’ letter-writing style is not unlike his style of poetry! This collection is cataloged and ready to be requested for viewing in the SCRC reading room. (Norman and Zelda Friedman Correspondence with E. E. Cummings, 1947-1968, SCRC 845)

Today in the SCRC we welcomed a class from Moore College of Art & Design

Busy morning in the reading room!

You just never know what you’ll find in the university archives!

Tune in this Wednesday January 22nd at 1:30 PM for the first episode of A Look at a Book of the spring semester, our recurring virtual program featuring Art History faculty and students presenting book objects from the SCRC. This week Professor Joe Kopta turns the pages of our Pore Caitif, a 15th century manuscript with a fascinating history of female ownership. Register here: https://temple.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApceCvrTouEtwXpiDvAFJ3PVPDvaVjBokW #/registration

Reminder about tomorrow's Event!: Book Talk - Building Ghosts: Past Lives and Lost Places in a Changing City.

Author Molly Lester and photographer Michael Bixler will discuss their new book, Building Ghosts: Past Lives and Lost Places in a Changing City (Temple University Press, November 2024) and the ghosts that reveal new truths and provocations about the changing city.

Date: Thursday, February 13, 2025
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Special Collections Reading Room in the Temple's Charles Library.
Temple University Libraries
Temple Temple University Press

Register here: https://charlesstudy.temple.edu/event/13741878

Fun archival item of the day: sketches of a horse on the back of an envelope by artist Violet Oakley (1874-1961).

Violet Oakley Correspondence, SCRC 825.

Students in George Alley’s Tyler class Punk’s DIY Rebellion enjoying a visit to the SCRC to see our extensive collection of punk fliers and music zines (and some spooky-themed rare books, too!). Always love hosting this class and the enthusiasm and fun vibe of this group was especially perfect for Halloween! 🎃 💀