The surrender by General Robert E. Lee of his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant following the Battle of Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865 – one hundred fifty years ago this month – is often celebrated as the end of the American Civil War. In fact, other Confederate forces […]
Scholarship and Statesmanship: James Abram Garfield The Williams College Archives and Special Collections is hosting an exhibit April-August 2015 that details the life and legacy of Williams Alum, James Abram Garfield (Class of 1856). The exhibit will feature highlights from his time as a student at Williams, service in the military during the Civil War, […]
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of the great humanist printer Aldus Manutius, the Chapin Library, in conjunction with Williams Classics professor Edan Dekel, has mounted the exhibition Aldus Manutius: Scholar, Printer, Publisher: A Quincentenary Celebration. This will be on view in the Chapin Gallery (Sawyer Room 406) and the adjacent Archives/Chapin Instruction […]
In support of the Book Unbound initiative, Professor Edan Dekel and College Archives co-curated an exhibit highlighting the first library collection of Williams, now known as the 1794 Collection. Purchased by the first Williams President, Ebenezer Fitch, the catalogue lists a diverse assortment of over 360 volumes, divided into such categories as: arts and sciences, voyages and travels, […]
In conjunction with First Days and its theme of Adventure, the Chapin Library is displaying for the first week of September, in the new Archives/Chapin Instruction Gallery, a selection of original art by Pauline Baynes for the 1991 deluxe edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. These gouache drawings are […]
The new Sawyer Library complex is open. And, this means Archives and Special Collections and The Chapin Library’s shared reading room and gallery spaces are available for research by appointment and perusing. On display in Archives/Chapin Schow connector gallery is the Archives’ exhibit “A is for Archival Artifacts.” Showcasing everything from 19th century barbells, black […]
Selections from the Heritage Collection formed by Paul Breman (1931–2008) are on view on the first floor of Sawyer Library through February 3rd. Dutch-born and educated, Paul Breman was known among black poets as “that crazy white boy who takes us seriously”. Breman’s collection encompasses in depth the poetry of black Africa and of the […]
Throughout her career, Pauline Baynes (1922–2008) was known for pictures of fantastic beasts, from dragons and mermaids to ghouls and goblins. For the Chapin Library’s contribution to Halloween Screamings, we present three original gouache paintings by Baynes for an unpublished series, Mythical Creatures: St. George and the dragon, Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwock, and the giant spider […]
As noted before on this site, items from the Chapin Library are frequently lent to the Williams College Museum of Art in support of exhibitions. This is the case also with the re-installation opened in April 2011, entitled Reflections on a Museum. WCMA staff have helpfully created a series of video tours of its component […]
Archives and Special Collections and the Chapin Library will be open special hours for both Commencement and Alumni Reunion weekends. Seniors, alumni, family, and friends are welcome to visit us in our temporary quarters at the Southworth Schoolhouse, corner of Southworth and School streets. For Williams College Commencement, we will be open from 10:00 a.m. […]
