from Paradise Lost, John Milton, 1688 “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..” We miss our books, we miss holding our books, we miss our classroom, we miss our students, we miss putting our books...

21 July, 2020 /

SHHHHHH! is a digital exhibition based on a physical exhibition in the Special Collections Gallery on display between September 9, 2015 and November 1, 2015. The exhibition marked Banned Books Week. Rare Books presented books, pamphlets, newspapers, and magazines that were banned, forbidden, censored, redacted, expurgated,...

23 March, 2020 /

The Katherine W. Dumke Fine Arts & Architecture Library maintains a one-of-a-kind collection serving to deepen understanding and inspire those interested in the arts and creativity. Our collection is a blend of unique objects and rare materials, purchased over many years in support of academic...

17 July, 2019 /

“The history of the printed word reveals our capacity for brilliance, but it also reveals our capacity for blunder. The printing press is a stage upon which the entire drama of human thought and morality is acted out.” — Rebecca Romney, from Printer’s Error: Irreverent...

23 January, 2018 /

“See how ye Pharisee in the Temple stands And justifies himself with lifted hands Whilst ye poor publican with downcast eyes Conscious of guilt to God for mercy cries.” A Discourse upon the Pharisee and the Publicane… John Bunyan (1628-1688) London: Printed for Jo. Harris, at the Harrow, over against the...

02 October, 2017 /

“Get rid of that row of bottles & secret dopes at the back of your press. Synchronize your temperature, humidity, ink supply & speed of running, then your prints will be uniform, plentiful, clean & juicy.” — from Collotype Collotype: Being a History-Practium-Bibliography Steven Chayt and Meryl...

28 August, 2017 /

HE KAINE DIATHEKE, NOVUM TESTAMENTUM Wigorniae, Massachusettensi: excudebat Isaias Thomas, Jun, 1800 Editio Prima Americana This is the first American printing of the Greek New Testament, considered a milestone in American printing history. Isaiah Thomas’ printing shop was dubbed “the sedition factory,” during the American Revolution. Thomas moved his...

22 December, 2016 /