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| at the Marlene & Nathan Addlestone Library of the College of Charleston |
|
Mailing Address: Phone: Hours: Contact:
Special Collections |
Below are listed some of our more prominent collections with
links giving
more detail. It is possible to search the catalog records of all
of our books and manuscripts using the College
of
Charleston Library catalog. The materials in Special Collections
are
non-circulating. Researchers are welcome to use our resources
during
regularly scheduled hours.
Appointments can
be made if these times prove inconvenient. Use of certain rare or
fragile
material may be restricted. Tours can also be arranged. Some Collection Descriptions: COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON ARCHIVES The Archives of the College of Charleston is divided into three parts: (1) a historical series of records covering the period from 1785-1970, (2) current records from 1970 to the present and (3) the College of Charleston publications. This historical series includes records of the creation of the College primarily as an academy in 1785, of its reorganization and of the adoption of a comprehensive college curriculum in 1824 and 1825, of its existence as a municipal college from 1837 to 1949; and of its separate existence as a private institution from 1949 until it became a state institution in 1970. The Jewish Heritage Collection documents the Jewish experience in South Carolina from colonial times to the present day. The archives grows out of an active program of collection, field work, and public education that was inaugurated in January 1995 by the Jewish Historical Society of South Carolina, the College of Charleston's Jewish Studies Program, and McKissick Museum at the University of South Carolina. JOHN HENRY DICK ORNITHOLOGY COLLECTION This is an incredible collection of eighteenth and nineteenth
century
ornithological illustrators gathered by John Henry Dick.
The collection contains the complete four volume double elephant folio
set of
John James Audubon's Birds of America as well as the double folio and
octavo
editions of his Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, all of John
Gould's
major titles, lacking only the very scarce Synopsis of the Birds
of
Australia and Gould's incomplete final work, Monograph of the
Pittidai
(Ant-Thrushes), Richard Sharpe's Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or
Birds of
Paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, or bower-birds, Daniel Giraud
Elliot's A
Monograph of the Tetraoninae, or Family of the Grouse, and much more,
including
the works of Manetti, Buffon, Edwards, Knip, and others. JOHN HENRY DICK PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION In addition to being a illustrator and collector of eighteenth
and
nineteenth century ornithological illustrations, John Henry Dick
was also
an amazing photographer. Dick'sPhotographs, taken on his
many trips
around the world, consists of thousands of slides and photographs,
mostly
images of birds, but also showing other plant and wildlife and scenery.
WENDELL MITCHELL LEVI COLLECTION This collection
of
books and manuscripts
was amassed by Wendell Levi. It deals mostly with the pigeon, but
also
covers ornithology, poultry science, genetics, parasitology, and
camellias as well.
In addition to his invaluable collection of books and pamphlets, Levi
presented
the College his personal papers, correspondence with fellow fanciers
and
scientists the world over, and manuscripts of all his writing. Gian Carlo Menotti, an Italian-American composer of opera,
created several
separate, but interrelated organizations which are represented in this
archives: the Festival of Two Worlds (Festival dei Due Mondi),
was
created in 1956 and was first held in Spoleto, Italy, in 1958;
the
Festival Foundation, Inc., was created in 1957 in New York City
primarily to
select American performers and to raise funds to send them to Italy;
and the
Spoleto Festival USA was created in 1976 to provide a similarly
comprehensive
festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Although all three of the
principal organizations are well represented in this archives, the best
represented records are for the Spoleto Festival USA from
1976-1989.
Current records have been retained by the Festival USA, but will be
transferred
to the College of Charleston when no longer needed to plan future
festivals. The Derrydale Press was a private publishing company devoted
to publishing
books and prints on American hunting and fishing. Of the 169
books
printed in the company's 15 year history, Special Collections maintains
89
titles. WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II PROPAGANDA POSTER COLLECTION The World War I and II Poster Collection consists of 101
posters, some of
which are duplicates, and a few non-poster items. The World War I
posters include
war bond posters, posters from various civic groups advertising the
United War
Work Campaign, and posters from the Committee on Public Information,
the
Department of Labor, and the United States Food Administration.
There are
also a few British produced, American distributed posters. The
span of
this portion of the collection is 1917-1919, with the bulk dating from
1918. The World War II collection is slightly larger and the
posters
originate from a larger variety of sources, several more government
offices
became active in poster distribution in the Second World War and, in
addition
to civic groups, large businesses also distributed war posters.
The span
covered in these posters is 1940-1945. JULIETTE STAATS BOOK ARTS COLLECTION Juliette Staats was a dedicated bookbinder, papermaker, and
paper marbler.
Her book arts library was given to Special Collections over a period of
ten
years starting in 1979 and is continuing to be expanded by Special
Collections
purchases. It contains works by Dard Hunter, John Mason, Isaiah
Thomas,
and Edith Diehl. There are several books on the history of
bookbinding
and papermaking and watermarks, including a complete set of Collection
of
Works and Documents Illustrating the History of Papermaking, as
well as sample
books of paper, vellum, miniature books, and unusual bindings. A complete colonial library once owned by one of the most
influential
families in South Carolina. Richard Beale Davis, in his Colonial
Southern
Bookshelf, suggested that a study of the books owned and read by
colonial
Southerners might reveal a number of things about "the nature or
character
of early southern thinking." Miles was an Episcopal priest and a linguist as well as the
first librarian
at the College of Charleston. His library is a true scholars
library
containing philosophy, religion, and science texts in many languages as
well as
grammar books and dictionaries of such obscurities as Cuneiform,
Aramaic, and
Flemish. The collection consists of measured drawings, ink sketches,
pencil drawings,
and watercolors and is largely architectural drawings attributed to John Izard
Middleton.
Six sets of measured drawings are signed J.I.M. and are dated
1811-1813. Three
other sets have similar formats (some with watermarks dated 1808-1809).
The
work of several generations of the Middleton family of South Carolina
is
represented. A portion of the collection relates to the family seat of
Middleton Place, located along the Ashley River near Charleston, South
Carolina. JOEL HANDSHU COLLECTION OF ANTIQUARIAN COINS A well-rounded collection of Roman, Greek, and other
antiquarian coins
spanning from B.C. 550 to 1200 A.D. Lucius Mendel Rivers served as the representative for South Carolina's First Congressional District from 1941 until his death in 1970. The L. Mendel Rivers Collection at the College of Charleston consists of correspondence, photographs, and various mementos that have been donated by the Rivers family. Currently, several scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and photographs are available for public access. BURNET R. MAYBANK SENATORIAL PAPERS (1941-1954) Burnet R. Maybank served as South Carolina's Senator from 1941 until his death in 1954. Previously, Maybank was a City Councilman and Mayor of Charleston. The Maybank Senatorial Papers consists of correspondence, government documents, photographs, and other materials from Burnet R. Maybank's tenure as a Senator from South Carolina. The collection is currently being processed by the College of Charleston. Professor of English at the College of Charleston. He received
a B.A. from
Miami University in 1921 and a M.A. from Harvard University in 1922. He
was a
graduate student at Ohio State University from 1939-1940. He taught at
Miami
University from 1920-1923 and at the College of Charleston from
1923-1961. He died
July 27, 1961. NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS The College has comprehensive collections of hand-colored books on ornithology (including John James Audubon and John Gould) and publications relating to natural history in Charleston (including publications online by John Bachman, the College's first Professor of Natural History). |