Special Collections

Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey and many other famous and influential works of speculative fiction, died yesterday at his home in Sri Lanka. Before he was well-known as a writer, he was active in the British science fiction fan community. He appears in our collections in fanzines produced during the 1940s now held in the M. Horvat Collection of Science Fiction Fanzines. One example is provided below in tribute.

The images are hard to read, as the ink used in the printing of the zine has faded to almost imperceptible levels - so light, in fact, that it fools our scanner and results in washed out images. The images are the cover and first page of the zine Gargoyle from March, 1940. War had already come to Britain by this date, and this first issue of Gargoyle features a news update reporting that a house shared by fans including Arthur C. Clarke, had been destroyed by Nazi bombing:

“War is responsible for some funny things, and I don’t necessarily mean the goings on in the blackouts. The most famous establishment in British fandom the flat at 88 Grey’s Inn Road is finally smashed and Bill Temple is settling down (we hope) to a tranquil existence with his wife. Arthur Clarke we hear is somewhere in Enfield living on top of a hill - or is it two hills? The other hill must be for his famous Ego.”

Clarke had many friends in fandom and was well known in its circles. He went on to a long and highly successful writing career, one that will continue to exert influence even after his death.

In need of some relief from winter? This month’s Item of the Month provides a break from snow and ice in the form of…fruit!

Download PDF of Item of the Month - March 2008.

Special Collections has developed The Atlas of Early Printing, an interactive map depicting the early years of printing in the fifteenth century and the spread of the new technology across Europe. Using historical data and Flash technology, the website depicts information about printing’s spread along with cultural and historical information that provides context for the late fifteenth century. Visit the site at http://atlas.lib.uiowa.edu.

Learn about pre-ROTC military training programs on the UI campus during World War I in this month’s item, from University Archivist David McCartney.

Download PDF of Item of the Month - February 2008

On display in Special Collections through March is a new exhibition on street literature. For over 400 years, news was disseminated to the poor and uneducated masses in England, Ireland, and other European countries through street literature. Many forms eventually reached America and other parts of the world. Street literature was a mirror of society, with its half-truths, lies, folk poetry, romances, and all manner of other foibles. Every imaginable subject was covered: politics, church propaganda, birth, death, love, marriage, adultery, murders, executions (often including what was claimed to be a final letter/confession by the accused), other crimes, sea adventures, and wars. 

This exhibit concentrates on types of street literature in England in the 16th through 19th centuries: how it was produced; the subjects it embraced; two of the chief publishers of the 1800s; and samples and copies housed in the University of Iowa Libraries.

University Archives has received 45 slides depicting an arctic expedition undertaken by Prof. James Van Allen to conduct research using “rockoons.” The slides were donated by Jim Kasper. His father, Joseph Kasper, was a graduate student in physics who accompanied Prof. Van Allen on one of his expeditions made in the 1950s to launch instrumentation on balloons. The 45 slides have been digitized in their entirety and can be viewed online:

 Arctic Rockoon Expedition

Recently added to the considerable culinary collections here in Special Collections are three alehouse licenses. They were all granted in the county of Kent, England, allowing their owners the right to “Keep a common alehouse or victualling-house.” Of course they also require the owners to “suffer no disorder to be committed, or unlawful games used,” something even modern-day alehouse patrons can relate to. These legal documents, like many at the time,  are printed on vellum (more durable than eighteenth century paper) and can be viewed at the links below:

Robert Allen at the Sign of the Bull, September 4, 1756

William Tupp at the Sign of the Wheatsheaf, September 3, 1763

John Mannering at the Sign of the Bell, September 3, 1763

They are also available to view or for classroom use in the Special Collections reading room.

Take a journey into the fantastic imagination and remarkable engineering skills of a Renaissance builder, in this month’s item - The Various and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli, published in 1588.

Download PDF of Item of the Month, January 2008

December’s Item of the Month looks at the origins of the teddy bear. Printed copies are available in Special Collections and at the Main Library’s north circulation desk. A pdf download is available below, and high-resolution versions of the images used this month are accessible through the Iowa Digital Library.

Download PDF of Item of the Month, December 2007

November’s Item of the Month features one of our many books detailing 19th century expeditions to discover the Northwest Passage through the arctic. A pdf version can be downloaded here, and printed copies are available in Special Collections and at the north circulation desk of the Main Library.

Download PDF copy of Item of the Month, November 2007