Rubenstein Library

Posting favorites and fun finds from the collections of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University

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This engraving sure makes us feel a little closer to Halloween! It comes from the 1725 edition of "Todten-Tantz," or Dance of Death. A common allegory in Christian Europe, the Dance of Death was meant to serve as a reminder that death comes for all people, no matter their social rank, age, or devoutness. The engravings in this book were originally made by Matthaeus Merian in the early 1600s, and each one depicts death leading off a different type of person, including a pope, a king, a merchant, a heathen, and a painter. Death with the Abbess is shown here. [N7720 .M47 1725] #SpineTingling #rubensteinlib #iglibraries #librariesofinstagram #rarebooks #danceofdeath https://www.instagram.com/p/BpUnwSzFVQL/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17tqwu598g9qb

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The Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance (ALFA) Archives and Periodicals Collection provide rich insight into feminist and lesbian activism from the 1970s to the early 1990s, particularly in the American Southeast. The Rubenstein Library holds ALFA’s organizational records as well as the hundreds of grassroots newsletters and journals they collected from other lesbian, feminist, and activist groups. Shown here is Atalanta, ALFA’s own self-produced monthly newsletter. #lgbtqhistorymonth #lgbthistorymonth #lgbthistory #lgbtqhistory #rubensteinlib #iglibraries #librariesofinstagram (at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpInUp6AVM0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rw6vg9kl0yon

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From the Lightning Brown Papers, a polaroid of Joe Herzenberg, who became the first openly-gay elected official in the South when he was elected to the Chapel Hill City Council in 1987. Both Brown and Herzenberg dedicated their political careers to advancing LGBTQ+ rights and representation in the South. #lgbtqhistorymonth #lgbthistory #rubensteinlib #iglibraries #librariesofinstagram (at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo2AqAIgxiy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15ykhzvnu6nt7

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Peek-A-Boo! Celebrating a month of spooky with Dutch-German anatomist Bernhard Siegfried Albinus' book "Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani." First published in 1747, the book was Albinus' attempt to create the most scientifically-accurate anatomical illustrations for the time. [QP88.2 .A435 1753] #SpineTingling #rubensteinlib #iglibraries #rarebooks #historyofmedicine (at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoeoXOCljeb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2pm681x7hzeg

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In celebration of #DurhamPride2018, here are couple of photos from recent acquisitions. The one on the left is from Front Page records and the one on the right is from a photo album of gay marches that doesn't have a title yet (coming soon). Happy Pride y'all! #queerarchives #iglibraries https://www.instagram.com/p/BoKTN6TAirr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1wxwnp8tqo35a

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Whether you (and your stuff) arrived by train, station wagon, or U-Haul, we're glad you're here, #Duke2022! 

The photos show first-year student arrivals in 1937, 1967, and 1980 and are from the Duke University Archives’ collections.

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Love, love, love all the tiny details in this 1939 map of Duke!

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It's coming, the event so monstrous we're too scared to have it more than once a year . . . SCREAMFEST.

This Halloween from 1:30-3:30 PM, join the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library as we dive into the creepiest, the spookiest, the most coulrophobia-inducing collections we have to offer, including: amputation saws perfect for cannibal clowns; paranormal tools for communicating with your missing siblings; and other materials destined to haunt your deepest slumbers. 

Free and open to the public in the Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room at the Rubenstein Library (West Campus).

Come for the free candy, stay for more free candy. But remember, whatever you do, don't take one of the red balloons . . . .

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Opening the 1960 Chanticleer has always been a bit of a page fright....

(Browse the 1960 Chanticleer online!)

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Consider the Consequences by Doris Webster and Mary Alden Hopkins: a romantic choose your own adventure! New York; London: The Century Co, [c1930].

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Shakespeare in Harlem by Langston Hughes: an author’s copy

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OK, you COULD go w/ this look for the Duke Homecoming game, but we recommend an ensemble that's a little more comfy.

Front cover of Baylor vs. Duke football game program, October 11, 1958.

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Breaking Every Taboo: a Remembrance of Kate Millett

We were saddened to learn of Kate Millett’s passing on September 6, 2017. As many people have been writing and speaking about her legacy, we realized we are not alone in trying to grapple with the significance of her contributions to the feminist movement, to the creation of feminist theory, to the art world, to writing, to LGBTQ activism, to advocacy for mental health reform, and to many, many other realms. Here at the Rubenstein Library, her papers have been at the heart of the Bingham Center’s collections since 2000, and have inspired much scholarship, enhancing our understanding of the world. Read more.

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🎂 Born on this day in 1860: Charlotte Perkins Gilman, author, reformer, and social scientist. Pictured here is her most famous work "The Yellow Wall Paper." Originally published in The New England Magazine in 1892, the short story was republished on its own in 1899, with a decorative cover styled after Gilman's description of the wallpaper in the story. [PS1744.G57 Y4 1899 12mo] (at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

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Are you ready for the summer heat? Parishioners at St. Joseph's A.M.E. Church in Durham used these hand fans to stay cool during hot summer services in the early 20th century. The fans were illustrated with scenes from the Bible and images of African American life. The backs featured advertisements for the Black-owned businesses that were an integral part of Durham's Hayti District. #durham #durhamhistory #hayti #localhistory #summer (at David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

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A sketch of a studying student, ca. 1930-1933. (Yes, it’s summer and no one wants to think about studying, but it’s too cute not to share!)

From the Kay Brownlee scrapbook.

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For this week's #historicalhappyhour we are going WAY back.  This is Neo-Sumerian cuneiform clay tablet from the 21st c. B.C.E.  It utilizes the Umma calendar, a city in modern day Iraq.  This tablet is actually serves to document the receipt of a delivery of beer.  Can you imagine your happy hour receipt this evening lasting another four thousand years?  #iglibraries #librariesofinstagram #cuneiform #beer #happyhour