In 2003 the Chapin Library mounted an exhibition in honor of Jay M. Pasachoff, Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy at Williams, based largely upon his superb personal collection of rare astronomy books which are kept in the Chapin for use in teaching along with the Library’s own important holdings in the History of Science. A […]
The talented Pauline Baynes (1922–2008), the original illustrator of the seven “Narnia” books by C.S. Lewis and of writings by J.R.R. Tolkien, also produced thousands of images for books by other authors, and for magazines, advertisements, and ephemera such as bookplates and greeting cards. Many examples of her work, including some of the finest graphic […]
Artist Herman Rosse (1887–1965) studied in his native Netherlands, at the Royal College of Art in London, and at Stanford. In 1913 he and his wife moved to the United States, where Rosse was a prolific architect, designer, and teacher. He first made set and costume designs for theatre while living in California. Later, in […]
As we conclude the month of Ramadan and celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Chapin Library is pleased to announce the acquisition of an Ottoman manuscript Qur’an from the mid-19th century, written and decorated in a style which some consider to be the brightest flowering of Arabic calligraphy, and comprising 302 leaves of supreme reverence of the […]
The Chapin Library’s recent acquisition of Physiologie du goût, ou Méditations de gastronomie transcendante by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1825, dated 1826) is celebrated in the March 2010 Williams Alumni Review, available here. This first edition of one of the foundation works of culinary history and gastronomy, one of only two known copies inscribed by the […]
Although today he is overshadowed by contemporaries such as Charles Dana Gibson and James Montgomery Flagg, Charles Buckles Falls (1874–1960) was widely esteemed among American graphic artists in the early 20th century. His 1917 poster Books Wanted for Our Men in Camp and “Over There” was the most reproduced of the First World War, and […]
While the Chapin Library is in temporary quarters at the Southworth Schoolhouse, a few of its important holdings are on display at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA). The Founding Documents of the United States were lent to WCMA in early 2008, so that they could remain on public view pending the renovation of […]
In the course of a long and successful career, John DePol (1913–2004) produced thousands of wood-engravings, etchings, and lithographs to illustrate books, pamphlets, broadsides, ephemera, and advertisements. He worked with commercial firms and with many distinguished American private printers such as the Allen Press, the Stone House Press, and the Yellow Barn Press. In 1963 […]
The importance of the bee to life on earth has long been recognized. Nearly 19,500 bee species have been counted worldwide, most of which do not produce honey but are crucial nonetheless as pollinators of flowering plants, including many food crops. Much attention is now being focused on bees, as entire colonies have disappeared and […]
