Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives

Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives, Connecticut College

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROME! These coins show two foundational Roman myths.

On the first, Aeneas, alleged ancestor of Julius Caesar and founder of Rome, carries his father, Anchises, out of a burning Troy. The front shows the head of the goddess Venus, Aeneas's mother.

The second portrays the shepherd Faustulus with the twin brothers Romulus and Remus being nursed by the she-wolf. The front portrays Roma, the deity and personification of Rome.

All coins from the Elizabeth C. Evans Coin Collection at Connecticut College.

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Introducing some famous and infamous faces from antiquity...

Tetradrachma of Alexander the Great (256-323 B.C.E.). The premier coinage of the late fourth century. This piece was probably minted at Tarsus, Cicilia.

As, struck during the reign of Nero (54-68 C.E.), the last emperor of the family of Julius Caesar.

A bronze as minted during the reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 C.E.)

Tetradrachma (323-284 B.C.E.), from the time of Ptolemy I. Its condition suggests it may have been used in a device to dispense water.

All coins come from the Elizabeth C. Evans Coin Collection at the Linda Lear Center.

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Woah! Almost didn't see you there!

This 5th century B.C.E. Athenian obol is less than a centimeter long. An obol was equivalent to one-sixth of a drachma, and was half the price of admission to the theater. 

All coins come from the Elizabeth C. Evans Coin Collection at the Linda Lear Center.

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OTD in 1300, the Italian poet Dante Alighieri found himself lost in a dark forest, his path blocked by three beasts. And you won’t believe what happened next. 

This initial and opening tercet is from the beautiful 1921 Bremer Presse edition of the Divine Comedy. It is set in Subiaco type, an early 20th century revival by the Ashendene Press of the first typeface used in Italy, which skillfully blended rounded Gothic and distinct upright Roman letterforms. The Bremer Presse, founded in 1911 was inspired by the English Arts and Crafts movement’s transformation of the book into an art form. Unlike some of their English counterparts, the Bremer Presse avoided illustration, marginal flourishes, and other ornamentation to focus on quality type, paper, and binding. 

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The Smart Set: Exhibition Featuring The American Women’s History Collection at Connecticut College

In honor of Women’s History Month, the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives presents an Exhibition of The American Women’s History Collection at Connecticut College on the main level of the Shain library and in the exhibit cases adjacent to the Lear Center on the second floor.  The American Women’s History Collection began in the early 1940s under the direction of librarian, Hazel Johnson, and professor of history, Chester Destler, with the support of the then President of Connecticut College, Dorothy Schaffter. Their efforts resulted in obtaining original materials of notable American women of science, the arts, government, and environmental and social movements. 

A virtual exhibition was created to complement the physical one and can be found at https://lc-digital.conncoll.edu/exhibits/show/the-american-women-s-history-c/the-american-women-s-history-c.

The exhibition will run throughout the month of March. For more information on these collections, go to:  http://bit.ly/3dYWBiJ and http://bit.ly/2OdUcFV, or contact Jenifer Ishee at [email protected].

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For five years, from 1935-1940, the World Center for Women’s Archives (WCWA) collected materials focused on the historical accomplishments of the modern woman. The organization was founded by Mary Ritter Beard (feminist, historian) and Rosika Schwimmer (Hungarian feminist, author), with the goal, according to Beard to, “see this Center established and the finest possible collection of records assembled - records of individual struggle, aspiration and social achievement (or failure if such there be) and records of organised struggle, aspiration and achievement (or failure if such be)."

The membership of the WCWA included notable women such as Mrs. Vincent Astor, Alice Stone Blackwell, Fannie Hurst, Alice Paul, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Eleanor Roosevelt.  The working members created exhaustive lists of information about professional women, their accomplishments, and professional organizations with whom they were affiliated.  Due to lack of funding, the WCWA was disbanded in 1940, and the materials the organization compiled disseminated to various organizations and universities, including Connecticut College.

The WCWA collection housed in the Lear Center contains a substantial part of the women of science accessions compiled by the WCWA, and includes extensive research records as well as 1500+ notecards with meticulous details about women of science and scientific organizations.  Also present in the collection are numerous correspondence to and from Mary Ritter Beard, correspondence and reprints of Florence Sabin’s publications; and correspondence and reprints of the publications of approximately 50 other notable women of science who donated their collections to the WCWA.

The WCWA also collaborated on two radio broadcasts sponsored by the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theater Radio Division: "Women in the Making of America" and "Gallant American Women" which ran from 1939-1940. The Lear Center collection contains 30 scripts from these programs which sought to highlight women's work and achievements, "toward establishing and preserving the American way of life, and their contributions to the arts, sciences and the economic progress of the nation."  

Researchers can view the finding aid and more information about the collection at: http://archivesspace.conncoll.edu:8081/repositories/2/resources/77

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We are putting up an exhibition of 20th century Japanese prints, including these striking examples from Hide Kawanishi. A self-taught print artist, Kawanishi was captivated by the new creative print movement, which broke off from the more conservative 18th and 19th century traditions still dominant at the time.  

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We are not sure exactly what prompted the elaborate flight suit costumes for this 1932 photo of the Connecticut College glee club. It didn’t have anything to do with their major production that year, which was Iolanthe, the fourth consecutive year that the glee club performed a Gilbert and Sullivan opera.

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Digital Collections and Exhibitions in the Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives, Connecticut College

We found a small but interesting collection of materials connected to the writer Grace Gallatin Seton-Thompson’s activity in the suffrage movement in Connecticut and put together a little exhibit in celebration of the centenary of the 19th Amendment this fall. But Covid being Covid, nobody could come to our library to see it, so we digitized it and put it up in Omeka. Enjoy!

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Connecticut College opened its doors a year after the onset of World War I and two years before the U.S. entry into the war, but the fledgling institution did make a significant contribution to the American war effort. Five members of the faculty, including three of the first eighteen professors hired, served in military or civilian roles. They included Hazel Woodhull (Physical Education) and Harold Crandall (History), both pictured above in details from a group photo on the College’s opening day. Woodhull was a canteen worker in France, while Crandall led a platoon until being wounded, upon which he was reassigned as a liaison officer in Paris until the Armistice. Additionally, Frank Morris (Philosophy) volunteered for duty, although it is not clear that he went to Europe, Frederick Weld (Music) was a music instructor in an army training camp, and Florence Snevely (Physical Education) and Ruth Reicheldorfer (assistant physical director) aided in reconstruction efforts. Ier Jay Manwaring, the College physician, was a trailblazing doctor in the Army Medical Corps (her story is detailed in this article from the New London Day). 

As a women’s college, there were limited opportunities for students to volunteer, although some did. Olive Stark withdrew from school and enlisted as a Yeoman (F) (or Yeomanette), performing office duties for the Navy. Lillian Shadd, Esther Pedrick, and Ann Hastings enrolled in nursing training with the intention of aiding the war effort, but the war ended before their services were needed. 

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It’s about to be Thanksgiving Weekend (North of the Border), so we thought we would return to the adventures of our plucky rabbit friends, Bob and Bill. When last we saw them, Bob and Bill were trekking across Canada on a mission to “let the whole world know that this is not a land of snow”. Well, 16 years later they have returned, having settled down somewhere in the East on a 100 acre farm. This time they have come to teach Canadian children about the rhythms of country life from harvesting carrots to butchering hogs. 

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Mapping the History of Urban Renewal in New London, CT

Connecticut College is among 25 Council for Independent Colleges member institutions selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of Humanities Research for the Public Good, an initiative to promote student research at private colleges and universities, address issues of public significance, and showcase the rich archival, library, and museum collections held by participating institutions. Each college will partner with a community-based organization to engage members of the public on a topic of local importance. Our team is made up of Rose Oliveira, Linda Lear Special Collections Librarian, Anna Vallye, Assistant Professor of Art History and Architectural Studies, Kim Sanchez, Director of Community Partnerships, and Patrick Associate Director of Community Partnerships. Our community partner is New London Landmarks, a local historic preservation non-profit.  

Our project focuses on the impacts of urban renewal on the New London Community. New London experienced profound ruptures in its social and physical fabric following a series of urban renewal campaigns during the 1960s and 1970s. We propose to reveal the impact of urban renewal in New London through a digital mapping project. This project, tentatively titled Mapping the History of Urban Renewal in New London, CT, will build upon and extend the current programming of New London Landmarks. Over two semesters, students will explore the New London collections held at the Lear Center as well as the rich collection of archival documents and oral history interviews held at New London Landmarks.  Using this as a base they will build a website and digital map that captures the changes in this East New London neighborhood and its impact on the community. Watch here for developments and the results of this project throughout the year. 

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Seven centuries ago Dante made an epic journey over three days from one corner of the known universe to the other. Today, in a little over 30 minutes he completed a somewhat less impressive trip from the depths of Fanning Hall to the third floor of Blaustein. Renovations in Fanning forced his departure, so he was moved to the top floor of the former library building where he will keep company with faculty from the departments of English, French, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. 

The plaster bust was donated to the College in 1960 by Frank T. Fasullo. It was created by the Connecticut-based Italian sculptor Paolo Salvatore Abbate. Dante’s original home was in the old Palmer Library. When the library was converted to Blaustein Hall humanities building in the 1970s, Dante under went a four-decade long itinerant existence. We are glad that he has now returned to his eternal home.

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We are preparing to install our last exhibit of the academic year, which will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Connecticut College’s first graduating class. These remarkable women, most of them from southeast Connecticut, arrived in 1915 on a campus consisting of just three buildings (some still under construction), fewer than 20 professors, and no history or traditions. The 68 who persevered through to graduation included doctors (a total of four), journalists, teachers, and leaders in the fields of nutrition, social work, and progressive education. 

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We recently added a lovely book of paper cuts from China paired with Chinese proverbs. The collection of eleven proverbs and papercuts was published in a limited edition set in 1986 by Edward Burrett at the Penmiel Press in Surrey, England. The Chinese art of paper cutting may be two millennia old, even predating paper. The original materials would have been leaves, foil, or silk. It has been a popular folk art, used to decorate the home and celebrate festivals. Despite Connecticut College’s extensive collections of Chinese art, this is our first collection of paper cuts to our knowledge.

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Happy International Women’s Day!

"We are too experienced and too well educated to lead our lives as puppets. We cannot afford to listen silently then nod our heads and move on. We must not squander our education. We dare not squander our integrity. We must be brave to think critically. We must be free to believe in ourselves."

--Anita DeFrantz '74, 86th Commencement Address, Connecticut College

 Happy International Women's Day and Women's History Month! We will be posting throughout the day and weeks to come some of the many powerful women from Conn's history and represented in our collections at the Lear Center.

This includes some of our wonderful alumnae like Anita DeFrantz '74, Olympic athlete, attorney, and nonprofit executive.  She was the first woman and first African American to represent the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the United States when she was elected in 1986. In 1997 she became the first woman in the history of the IOC to be elected as vice president, a position she held for four years. A member of the rowing squad at Connecticut College, Ms. DeFrantz went on to compete with the 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic rowing teams, winning a bronze medal in the 1976 Olympic Games. She was a member of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees from 1974 to 1988 and from 1990 to 2000, and is a charter member of the College’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

 You can read more of her commencement speech at our Digital Commons Collection of Commencement Addresses.

#IWD2019 #WomensHistoryMonth #black leaders

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We’ve been working on the campus photo collection recently and have been struck by the awkwardness of dedication day photos. The 1950s and 1960s in particular often featured standard photos of donors or their representatives looking at plaques or inscriptions commemorating the gift. It was all too reminiscent of the (in)famous series, Kim Jong Un Looking at Things. Anyway, here are some of the best, including the Lazrus House dedication where the inscription is all but invisible.