Friends of the UNCG Libraries

A new exhibit in Jackson Library's Hodges Reading Room,  Portable Likeness: Selected Portrait Miniatures and their Literary Context, explores the role played by portrait miniatures both in and out of the book arts. The art of miniature portraits has several early forms: Roman coins, Renaissance commemorative medals, and images within medieval manuscripts. It is this last form that is the connection in this exhibit. Medieval religious texts, such as a Book of Hours, offered an opportunity to record a patron and a patron’s family members in the portraiture found in the illustrations. By 1460, the hand-written books were competing with the printed books. The ability to include personalized portraits within the book added to both the desirability and value of the manuscript works. However, during the sixteenth century fashion shifted to the less expensive and more accessible printed works. Portrait artists shifted also, offering their services to wealthy patrons. Most portraits were ...

In 1996, 83-year-old Rosa Parks came to Atlanta for a meeting of the NAACP.   So great was the respect shown her, a special unscheduled book signing was arranged at a local bookstore, and 500 copies of a book of letters written to her were sold and signed over a period of several hours, as Mrs. Parks carefully inscribed each copy. One copy was purchased by Michael Crumpton, then working in the store and now Assistant Dean of the University Libraries.  His copy is now on display in the Reading Room of Jackson Library for Black History Month, sponsored by the Diversity Committee of the University Libraries.   The display may be viewed in cases next to the Reference Desk. Other autographed items in the exhibit include books by novelist Alice Walker; baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron; mystery writer Walter Mosley, author of the Easy Rawlins series; cookie mogul and Famous Amos founder Wally Amos; activist/comedian Dick Gregory; and actors Levar Burton and C...

When the anonymous author of Commercial Bookbindings , a historical sketch and description of an exhibition at the Grolier Club, New York, wrote in 1894, “Nobody thought of expecting the publisher to throw in a fine suit of clothes with the book,” he was commenting on the early years of what was to be the golden age of American book cover design.  The period from 1880-1920 saw the rise and decline in the use of artist/designers, and the astonishing results they could achieve with colored cloth, a few colors of ink, gold and silver, and a canvas the size of a book cover.  The Charles Adams American Trade Binding Collection at the University Libraries has a large selection of bindings concentrating on this period and particularly its zenith, from 1890-1910. To celebrate its collection and to accompany the new exhibit entitled "A Fine Suit of Clothes: American Publishers' Bindings, 1880-1920: A Progressive Exhibition,"   the University Libraries are sponsoring a pre...

The following post was prepared by Dr. William K. Finley, Special Collections Librarian. The Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections & University Archives in Jackson Library is currently mounting a visiting exhibit of vibrant illustrations from late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century French books.   “French History Illustrated: The Action Images of Job” represents the breathtakingly colorful book and magazine images of Jacques Onfroy de Breville (1858-1931), who was known by the pseudonym of “Job.”   Included in the exhibit are numerous illustrations from French books and magazines, as well as toys (soldiers and farmyard scenes), commemorative plates and other artifacts designed by Job.   While Job’s illustrations were basically drawn for children, his images (especially those done in pochoir) will fascinate adults and children alike. The exhibit will be open for viewing between February 4 and March 14 during Special Collections’ opening hours of ...

As we close in on the 2012 elections, the University Libraries are making every effort to engage the campus in this exercise in civic engagement. There’s a voter registration table on the first floor of Jackson Library where potential voters may register or change their voter registration. Reference Librarian Lynda Kellam has prepared a  LibGuide to help voters educate themselves about the candidates and their positions on the issues.  Archivist Sean Mulligan has prepared an exhibit entitled Campaigns and Elections: the Race for Political Office now on display in the Hodges Reading Room on the 2 nd floor of Jackson Library. The Friends of the UNCG Libraries book discussion on October 29 features Dr. David Olson of the Political Science Department leading a discussion of Theodore White's classic,  The Making of the President 1960 at 7 pm in the Hodges Reading Room, Jackson Library. Register on our website. Even French television took an interest in the opinio...