"Parts and Wholes" Exhibit Ends on Friday, March 29

The Special Collections exhibit "Parts and Wholes" ends next Friday, March 29. We hope you will take the opportunity during spring break to see it. 

As we have noted in earlier posts, the exhibit features works of science and natural history, revealing examples of print culture, and specimens from campus museums. For example, it pairs (in separate but adjacent cases!) a so-called wet preparation of medusae from the University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum  with striking color illustrations from publications of the prolific and controversial life scientist Ernest Haeckel (1834-1919):  

The term medusae (plural of medusa) refers to the head of Medusa in Greek mythology. Carl von Linnaeus is credited with coining the term; Haeckel's color illustrations helped to popularize medusae.

Special Collections is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The exhibit area is located on the 9th floor of Memorial Library.

The next exhibit in Special Collections, entitled "Text Support: A Library Exhibit about Paper," opens on April 15.

Little Magazines and the Grolier Club

The Libraries' own Susan Barribeau was one of the speakers at the Grolier Club symposium about little magazines on March 13, in conjunction with the Grolier's exhibition entitled “American Little Magazines of the 1890s: A Revolution in Print.” Susan's witty presentation highlighted the history (long), extent (big), and strengths (many) of the Little Magazine Collection in Special Collections at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her examples ranged from early little magazines acquired by Marvin Sukov

to recent publications like Esopus and Forklift, Ohio: A journal of poetry, cooking, & light industrial safety. 

Susan also generously noted the collection development work of her predecessors, including Yvonne Schofer and Felix Pollak; called attention to related collections and programs at UW-Madison, including the

• Dobbertin Collection of Campus Humor Magazines in Special Collections 
• Library of Amateur Journalism, also in Special Collections 
• Silver Buckle Press
• artists' book collection at Kohler Art Library
• Center for the History of Print & Digital Culture 
• Tandem Press;  

and pointed to the distinguished (and diverse) history of print culture in Wisconsin, as demonstrated by such institutions as the

• Philosopher Press at the sign of the green pine tree in Wausau, Wisconsin, 
• Walter Hamady's Perishable Press Limited in Mt. Horeb
• Woodland Pattern Book Center in Milwaukee
• Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum in Two Rivers.

Compliments to Susan!

For more information, see the new blog Little Magazine Collection at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (collection manager Susan Barribeau, web editor Oliver Wendorf).