December 28, 2004
Purdue Libraries to showcase special collection related to historic document display
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University Libraries has scheduled a special display of items from its collection to coincide with an exhibit of rare historical documents being presented by the Remnant Trust from Jan. 10 through Feb. 20.
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Voices That Changed the World: Selections from the Purdue University Libraries Special Collections will be in the Archives & Special Collections unit of Purdue Libraries in Stewart Center, Room 279. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Parking is available in the garage on Grant Street.
"The exhibit consists of books selected by our librarians to complement the Remnant Trust exhibit," said Cheryl Kern-Simirenko, associate dean of libraries. "These rare and fine editions represent key contributions to our cultural heritage over five centuries."
Selections have been gathered from major rare book collections throughout Purdue's libraries. The collection consists of 33 rare volumes by authors including John James Audubon, Marie Curie, Charles Darwin, Euclid, Homer, Karl Marx, Sir Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Booker T. Washington.
The Remnant Trust, a not-for-profit organization based in Hagerstown, Ind., is sponsoring an exhibit of three dozen artifacts in Purdue's Stewart Center Gallery, also on Jan. 10 through Feb. 20. The exhibit, Individuals & Society: Many Voices, Many Views, features rare or early edition works of documents and books such as the "Emancipation Proclamation" and Machiavelli's "The Prince."
Unlike those of Remnant Trust, materials in the Libraries exhibit won't be available for visitors to handle. However, materials in all the Purdue Libraries Special Collections, when not on exhibit, are accessible to researchers, students and professors on a regular basis, Kern-Simirenko said.
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"I think people will be surprised to see the depth of this collection," said Katherine Markee, associate professor and special collections librarian. "Many of the illustrations and titles will be familiar to them."
Among the items on display in the Purdue Libraries will be the original "Plain Truth" pamphlets, published in 1775 and 1776. The pamphlets were written as a response to Thomas Paine's popular pamphlet "Common Sense."
"These extraordinary pieces address and define the very foundation of our country," Kern-Simirenko said.
The oldest book in the Purdue exhibit will be Euclid's "Opera," first published in 1509.
One of the most heavily illustrated books on display will be Ovid's "Metamorphosis." This rare text, with engraved titled page and intricately designed plates, was first issued in 1619 and influenced subsequent authors and poets, said Sammie Morris, assistant professor and archivist.
Also highly elaborate is a three-volume set of John James Audubon's "The Quadrupeds of North America." First issued in 1846 under a different title, this set is the rare first octavo edition, which is a printer's term for pages folded into eight leaves.
"This is an unequaled record of American wildlife and probably my favorite of this collection," Markee said. "The quadrupeds are wonderfully animated, superbly rendered and beautifully printed."
A 1970 limited edition of Booker T. Washington's "Up From Slavery," originally written in 1901, features fine-art illustrations by Denver Gillen. The book, signed by Gillen, is considered to be a major contribution to African-American society, Morris said.
Among the most rare books on display is a first edition of Adam Smith's "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations." In it, Smith presented his ideas of free trade, division of labor and the assertion that the state should refrain from interfering with the economic life of a nation except in a limited capacity. It has been called the most influential and important economic work.
The librarians responsible for these books are Morris and Markee from Archives and Special Collections; Michael Fosmire, associate professor and head, physical sciences, engineering and technology division; and Judith Nixon, professor and head of management and economics.
Twelve reproduction prints by John J. Audubon originally issued from 1828-1835 will be displayed to accompany the book exhibition. Drawn from nature, the images include color illustrations of great-footed hawks, the American snipe, pileated woodpecker and Carolina parrots.
The materials in Purdue Libraries' exhibit will be open to the public during regular hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, with extended times to coincide with the Remnant Trust exhibit, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 1-5 p.m. on Sundays.
Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu
Sources: Cheryl Kern-Simirenko, (765) 494-2900, cks@purdue.edu
Sammie L. Morris, (765) 494-2905, morris18@purdue.edu
Katherine Markee, (765) 494- 2904, kmarkee@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Related release:
Public can touch history at Purdue exhibit
PHOTO CAPTION:
Katherine "Katie" Markee, at left, an associate professor of library science, discusses the differences in volumes of John James Audubon's "The Quadrupeds of North America" with Sammie Morris, assistant professor and archivist from Purdue Libraries. The books are part of Voices That Changed the World: Selections from the Purdue University Special Collections, a display to complement the Remnant Trust exhibit in Purdue Galleries from Jan. 10 to Feb. 20. The books will be displayed in the Archives & Special Collections unit of Purdue Libraries in Stewart Center, Room 279. (Purdue News Service photo/Dave Umberger)
A publication-quality photograph is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2004/morris-markee.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
"La Komunista Manifesto" signed by Karl Marx is shown with a photo of the author. The book is among those on display at Voices That Changed the World: Selections from the Purdue University Special Collections. (Purdue News Service photo/Dave Umberger)
A publication-quality photograph is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2004/librarycollections-marx.jpg
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