Desiderata
In building its various collections, the Archives & Rare Books Library seeks specific donations that will support teaching and research in primary sources.
German-American Cookbooks - ARB holds one of the strongest German-Americana collections in the world. While we have excellent holdings in monographs, journals, and newspapers, we need to increase our documentation of everyday life. One of the best ways to do this is through cookbooks, often compiled by social and religious organizations, which provide a look into the maintenance of traditions as well as assimilation into the American mainstream. Along with these, we are also looking for donations of the archival and historical records of German-American organizations.
University of Cincinnati Student Organization Records - As part of the University Archives, we are always seeking to document student life and heritage at UC. Any student organization is welcome to send their records to ARB for permanent preservation, access, and research.
Books Illustrated by Arthur Rackham - The Archives & Rare Books Library holds many books illustrated by Rackham (1867-1939) one of the foremost book artists of the 20th century. He illustrated a great many classics, and his books are important in the study of art history, childhood education, the printing and publishing industry, and global reading habits and customs. We are looking for Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb, 1899-1909; Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, 1900-1909; Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, 1932; Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens, 1920; and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, 1926.
Books Illustrated by Harry Clarke - Clarke (1889-1931) was a key figure in book illustration for the Arts & Crafts Movement. Our holdings are strong for individuals such as William Morris, so we seek to strengthen this genre through the works of Clarke, an Irishman who also designed stained glass. Titles that are desired are Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, 1916; and Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination 1923.
Cincinnati Shakespeare-Related Playbills - One of our historic library collections is the Enoch Carson Shakespeariana Collection, purchased by William A. Procter and presented to the University of Cincinnati in 1900. The Carson collection, from a Cincinnati businessman and collector, formed the basis of excellent holdings on Shakespeare, incorporating famously edited complete works in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as 19th and 20th centuries illustrated volumes. We desire to augment this by documenting more of the love Cincinnatians had for Shakespeare through playbills of productions in the Queen City from the mid-1800s to the present â Shakespeare plays, parodies, and derived works from professional touring and local companies to amateur productions and even high school performances.