Pre-Exhibit Resources

Relevant Vocabulary

Bookplate - an ownership label placed on the front pastedown of a book, usually containing artwork, the phrase "ex libris," and a person's name; "ex libris" is the Latin term that signifies "from the library of"

Inscription - personal notes or words generally written in the frontmatter of a book; these notes are usually written by a previous owner or the book's author

Marbled/marbling - a process of decorating paper or fabric with the result of resembling the veins of stone marble; colors are floated on water, or another medium, and transferred to an absorbent surface by contact

Pastedown - half of the endpaper which lines the inside cover of the book

Provenance - a book's previous ownership

Vellum - especially treated calf skin which is not tanned, but degreased, used for binding, printing, and writing material

Watermark - a faint identifying design found in quality handmade paper that was made on a wire mold

Definitions from ABC for Book Collectors (9th edition) by John Carter.

Harmful Content Statement

Sometimes, the content we encounter in historical artifacts can be offensive, oppressive, or uncomfortable for modern audiences.  Our solution is transparency; we believe strongly that censoring harmful content can in-turn rewrite or omit important history and context, but we also strive to provide an experience modern readers will enjoy.  Any content of a violent, sexual, religious, prejudiced, or biased nature will be identified as such.  Here contains the potentially harmful content in the following exhibit:

The section "A Doctor's Musings" contains a potentially triggering violent image: a hand-drawn depiction of a man (soldier?) carrying two severed heads on the top of a sword.  

The section "An Engineer at War" contains non-violent human remains, specifically several strands of hair.  The Civil War, an incredibly bloody U.S. conflict of the 1860s, is analyzed in this section, with mentions of violent wartime deaths.

The section "A Developing Mind" contains a doodle of a teen girl, who is objectified through the written notes around the image ("what a waistline," "kiss proof lips," etc.).  The sub-section in "A Developing Mind" presents a coloring book that contains racist imagery and cultural stereotyping.

The section "A Mother's Legacy" contains potentially offensive statements relating to sexual activity.  It also contains vague political opinions on Marxism and the USSR.  The section also contains content related to Christianity.