Special Collections Blog Topics
Students and Volunteers
Founders: The People Behind William & Mary
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<html><body><p>This year's Charter Day marked the 325th anniversary of the founding of William & Mary by William III and Mary II, the first and (to date) only joint-m
The Dark Side of College Life
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<html><body><p>In my everlasting search for materials relating to African Americans in Special Collections, I was pointed to the 1921 edition of the Colonial Echo. Within its worn
"His Soul is Marching On": Artifacts from the Raid on Harpers Ferry
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<html><body><p>On the night of Sunday October 16, 1859, twenty-three men emerged from the woods surrounding the town of Harpers Ferry, which sits at the confluence of the Potomac
Christmas Behind the Scenes
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<html><body><drupal-media data-align="right" data-caption="My favorite illustration I came across.
Basque in the Archives
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<html><body><p>Down in the belly of Special Collections sits a mysterious blue velvet box.
Processing Reveals Trading Cards of Decades Past
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<html><body><p>As a child of the 90's, I'm pretty familiar with trading cards.
Mosaic Intern's Work Offers Glimpse of Artistic Text
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<html><body><p>What do Indiana Jones and the Content Services Mosaic Intern have in common?
Work at SCRC Involves More than Books: An Intern's Perspective
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<html><body><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"You work at the library? So, do you put books away and stuff?"</span></p>
An Intern's Experience in Special Collections
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<html><body><p>From the warm and welcoming reading room to the frigid ground floor stacks, the Special Collections Research Center offers a wealth of historical resources, right a
"[T]o be published in the usual places": The proclamation of William & Mary as King and Queen
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<html><body><p>What is the difference between printing and publishing? This is perhaps something many of us don't think about, but there is a difference.
Bingo Finds his Way to Belarus: Yiddish Dog Books in the Interwar Period
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<html><body><p>Many of the treasures in Special Collections don't actually live in the stacks downstairs but are instead housed in Swem Library's Offsite Stacks (SOSS).
"From my hand": A letter written by King William III enters Swem Library Special Collections
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Printing Anti-Spanish Propaganda for European Purposes
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<html><body><p>It may seem like Spanish empire in the Americas would have little to do with European politics, but we should not assume that the Atlantic world of the sixteenth an
Williamsburg before Williamsburg
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<html><body><p>William & Mary was founded before the City of Williamsburg, the former in 1693, the latter in 1699.
The ties that bind: How the decay of a binding shows its construction
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<html><body><p>Swem Library has a great many books in very bad bindings. Most modern books, for instance, are held together only by glue at the spine.
The World Before QWERTY
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<html><body><p>Can you type without looking at the keyboard? This used to be a skill taught to people who wanted secretarial or clerical jobs.
Believable Lies
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<html><body><p>The island of Taiwan, once commonly known in the West by the Portuguese name of Formosa, has recently resurfaced in the news in connection with the One China policy
Propaganda and the Beginnings and End of Spanish America
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<html><body><p>The arrival of Europeans in the Americas was an event of global importance, and its effect on the people already living here was devastating.
"'Twas the Night Before Christmas"
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<html><body><p>Everyone knows these famous lines even if the rest of the poems escapes them. "A Visit from St.
Lasting Impressions: Printing from the Fifteenth Century to Today
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<html><body><p>In the basement of Swem Library is a room used mostly for storage. Along two walls are machines and wooden cases full of drawers.