Vintage Points

Among recent additions to the Chapin Library are these three books:

An Oak Spring Herbaria: Herbs and Herbals from the Fourteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries: A Selection of the Rare Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art in the Collection of Rachel Lambert Mellon by Lucia Tongiorgi Tomasi and Tony Willis, edited with a description of the American herbals by Mark Argetsinger (Upperville, Va.: Oak Spring Garden Library, 2009). A new standard reference book about historic herbals, of which the Chapin Library has many important examples (including a Hortus Sanitatis of 1491, earlier than any in the Oak Spring collection).

The Graphic Work of Edward Wadsworth by Jeremy Greenwood, with an introduction by Richard Cork (Woodbridge, Suffolk: Wood Lea Press, 2002). Wadsworth (1889–1949) is remembered chiefly for his connections with the Vorticists and for his remarkable depictions of World War One camouflaged “dazzle ships”. This catalogue of his woodcuts, lithographs, and illustrations is a work of fine printing in its own right.

Matrix 28: A Review for Printers and Bibliophiles, Summer 2009. The latest number of this annual journal of the history of printing and illustration, produced in a limited edition by the Whittington Press of Herefordshire. – WGH

In one of our favorite photographs a cow has somehow found its way to the front of Griffin Hall. This is one of the entrancing images of Williamstown and Williams College shot by Warren in 1865.

Beyond the mascot-related cuteness the photograph also reflects a fascinating period in the town’s development. When housing lots were set out in 1751, a space 250′ wide was left for the road running east-west through town (today’s Main Street). Although residents owned meadowland outside of town on which to run livestock, they also grazed cattle, geese, etc. in this central area. Use of the wide street as a commons forced Main Street home owners to erect fences to protect gardens and trees from straying animals.

By about 1876, however, after years of haggling in town meetings, pasturage on the town common was forbidden. And the fences started to come down (some said with help from students keen on making bonfires).

Look down Williamstown’s Main Street today and you’ll see vestiges of the area that was once used as a town common. – SKB

Processing has begun of the superb Pauline Baynes archive and book collection, received at the Chapin Library this past February. A long-term project, eventually these materials, comprising several thousand items, will be fully cataloged in FRANCIS and documented on the Chapin website. In the meantime, a selection of Baynes art and books is available in our Southworth Schoolhouse rooms (the remainder is stored at the College’s off-site shelving facility).

On August 6th at 2:00 p.m., Joann Harnden, Coordinator of Education Programs for the Williams College Museum of Art, will present “The Art of Illustration: Pauline Baynes and The Chronicles of Narnia” in WCMA’s Rose Study Gallery, as part of the Museum’s series “Behind the Scenes”. Space is limited, so do arrive early if you plan to attend.

“The Culinary Art of Pauline Baynes”, an article by Wayne Hammond, Assistant Chapin Librarian, will appear in a forthcoming issue of Gastronomica, the esteemed journal of food and culture edited by Darra Goldstein, Professor of Russian at Williams College. Baynes was often commissioned to produce pictures of holiday feasts and festivities for Christmas numbers of magazines, and she illustrated three books about food and drink: Recipes from an Old Farmhouse by Allison Uttley (1966); Kitchen Essays by Lady Jekyll (1968); and The Times Cookery Book by Katie Stewart (1972). – WGH

Shown above are one of Pauline Baynes’s illustrations for C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, HarperCollins, 1991; and one of her pictures for Lady Jekyll, Kitchen Essays, Collins, 1968. The original art is in the Chapin Library.

Welcome to the weblog of the Chapin Library and Williams College Archives. The Chapin Library is an internationally-renowned collection of rare books, manuscripts, prints, and ephemera. Williams College Archives is devoted to the history of Williams, and administers special collections for the Williams College Library. Although administratively separate, these departments have a common mission – to support education at Williams College through primary sources and related reference materials – as well as a common point of service. Currently, College Archives and the Chapin Library are located in the historic Southworth Schoolhouse at 96 School Street in Williamstown, only a short walk from the center of campus. Our opening times can be found at this link.

Future posts to Vintage Points will provide news of the Chapin Library and College Archives – about new acquisitions, exhibitions, resources, and services – as well as occasional comment by staff on issues pertaining to special collections. – WGH

Shown above, at left, is the seal of the Williamstown Free School (later Williams College; see further on the Archives web site), and at right, one version of the bookplate designed for the Chapin Library by Fridolf Johnson (1905-1988).