Sixth Floor Finds: WCU Archives & Special Collections Blog

Celebrate the Holidays with a new exhibit!

There is a new exhibit on the 6th floor of F.H.G. Library that celebrates the season! 

The exhibit showcases materials from one of our most unique library collections, the Barbara Loftus Perrone Night Before Christmas Collection given in memory of Charles C. Perrone.  This collection includes rare and unique versions of Clement C. Moores famous poem, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas."  THis exhibit showcases just a few of these beautiful pieces but other fun titles from the collection include: Teacher's Night Before Christmas, Garfield's Night Before Christmas, De Night in de Front  from Chreemas, Soldiers' Night Before Christmas, to name a few.  To see the titles in the Perrone collection head over to PILOT and do a keyword search for "Perrone."  Remember books in Special Collections do not circulate, you will need to make an appointment to see the materials.

The exhibit also features our very own Serpentine Christmas Tree, made mostly from WCU's Serpentine Yearbooks found in Special Collections. Remember to check out our digitized collection of Serpentines online!

You can visit the exhibit on the 6th floor of the library during normal library hours.  It will remain up through January.  Stop on by for some Holiday cheer! 

Here's also wishing WCU students good luck with finals and a safe and happy break!  See you in the New Year!

A Civil War at West Chester?

Nope.  Just a celebration to honor the Sesquicentennial (that's 150 years!) Anniversary of the American Civil War. 

2011 marked the beginning of the five-year sesquicentennial celebration and West Chester University is getting in on the action.  On Friday, April 27th, 2012 WCU presents, The American Civil War: The First Year in Review, 1861-1862: 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.  Events occur throughout the day from 10am to 7pm and include guest speakers on important aspects of the Civil War in Philips Autograph Library, a reenactment of camp life in the Civil War in the Quad, and a living history exhibit also on the Quad.  A full schedule of events and their locations can be found in the link above. Questions about the event?  Contact Dr. Robert Kodosky of the history department (rkodosky@wcupa.edu).

Francis Harvey Green Library is also getting in on the action.  An exhibit, "West Chester: A Small Town in a Big War, 1861-1865" on the 6th floor of the library, outside of Special Collections (room 615) highlights important Civil War finds and materials in the library's Special Collections.  Materials include letters, receipts, and invoices of Dr. William Goodell, a Philadelphia Gynecologist and acting surgeon in the Civil War camp in West Chester, that housed paroled soldiers from the Battle of Gettysburg.  Other materials include selected Civil War regimental histories and memoirs as well as information on West Chester's role in the war.  The exhibit is available for viewing during normal library hours for the remainder of the semester and throughout the summer.

The image to the right is a scanned document from the William Goodell Collection in WCU's Special Collections.  The document is a petition signed by West Chester Citizens pledging funds to answer President Abraham Lincoln's call for 500,000 soldiers.  Instead of "donating men" to the cause these individuals donated money, which was common practice for wealthier individuals.

Questions about the library exhibit or the image?  Contact Special Collections Librarian, Tara Wink (twink@wcupa.edu).

 

Happy New Year!!

...School year that is! 

Yup it's that time of year again, the days are getting shorter, weather getting (slightly) cooler, and thousands of students have made their way back to West Chester University.  And with all that begins a new year of Sixth Floor Finds!

Things to keep an eye on this year include: events celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Civil War; new digital collections; and as always new, interesting and unique finds on the 6^th floor of WCU’s Francis Harvey Green Library. 

This year I'd also like to turn the table a bit and found out what kind of things you would like to hear more about?  What can't you get enough of?  Exhibits?  Digital Collections?  Photographs?  Feel free to contact me on items of curiosity or simply to comment on this blog.  I'd love to know what you are interested in and enjoy reading.

Happy New School Year everyone!  Best wishes for a successful academic year! 

Sharples Separator Works -- a new Exhibit!

Stop by the sixth floor of FH Green Library to see a new exhibit featuring materials from the Sharples Separator Works Company. 

Established in 1881 by Philip M. (P.M.) Sharples, a West Chester machinist, the company created centrifugal cream separators and other farm and manufacturing equipment in West Chester for nearly 50 years.  By 1900 the company included plants in Elgin, Illinois and San Francisco, California and eventually took the world by storm by establishing plants in Toronto, Canada and Harburg, Germany.  At its height, the company was the largest industrial company in West Chester (then and now), employing 600 workers, covering five acres, and making an average of 3,700 separators a year.

The company, like many others in its day, succumbed to financial difficulties during the Great Depression.  On November 12, 1929 the milking machine subsidiary filed for bankruptcy and by March 29, 1933 Philip M. Sharples asked a judge to place his company into bank receivership, claiming he was owed $495,000.  Thus Sharples Separator Works Company was closed. 

The Sharples Family, even prior to this company, was an influential family in West Chester and Chester County generally.  John Sharples (1624-1685) was born in Cheshire, England.  In 1682, John Sharples purchased land in Pennsylvania from William Penn; records of this purchase along with receipt of payment were recorded in the deed book for Chester County in 1688.  The Sharples family arrived in Pennsylvania in June of 1682 on the Friendship.  The family lived on 330 acres on the bank of the Ridley Creek. After arriving in Pennsylvania the family quickly became an influential Quaker family in Chester County politics and business.  In fact William Sharples (1752-1817), a fourth-generation Pennsylvanian, became the first Chief Burgess (mayor) of West Chester when the city was founded in 1799.  He was also the first president of the First West Chester Fire Company established at the same time and a general store owner at 13 North High Street and the great, great, great grandfather of P.M. Sharples.

The Exhibit will remain up througout the summer and can be viewed during normal library hours. More information on Sharples Separator Works Company and the Sharples Family can be found in Special  Collections in the following books:

• Anderson, Bart ed. The Sharples—Sharpless Family. West Chester, PA: s.n., 1966-1971.
• Jones, Jim. Made in West Chester: the History of Industry in West Chester, Pennsylvania 1867-1945. West Chester, PA: s.n., 2003.
• Paul Rodebaugh, Jeffrey Rollison, Eric Chandlee Wilson, eds. West Chester: the First 200 Years: 1799-1999: a Bicentennial Souvenir. West Chester, PA: West Chester Bicentennial History Committee, 1999. 

Please also visit our Sharples Digital Collection to see more Sharples Images.

Happy National Library Week!!

April 10 - 16 is  National Library Week!  To celebrate this event, we have created an exhibit of nostalgic Library Read Posters and special edition children's books.  The exhibit can be viewed during normal library hours on the 6th floor of Francis Harvey Green Library outside of Special Collections (room 615). 

Also Remember our upcoming event, this Wednesday, April 13th:

Howard Pyle and the Red Rose Girls 

A presentation featuring Cathering Quillman, author of the recently published 100 Artists of the Brandywine Valley.  Quillman will explore the importance of this impressive triumvirate of local artists.  Trained by Howard Pyle, the Red Rose Girls (Elizabeth Shippen Green, Violet Oakley, and Jessie Willcox Smith) dominated America's "golden age" of illustration (1880-1911).

 

Event Details: 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011; 2:00-4:00 PM

Francis Harvey Green Library, Special Collections, Room 615

Following the presentation the author will be on hand to sign books and light refreshments will be served.

To RSVP call: 610-436-2747 

The Serpentine: -- Celebrating 100 Years (1911-2011)

A new exhibit on the second floor of F.H. Green Library, near QVC Information Commons, celebrates the 100^th anniversary of West Chester University’s yearbook, The Serpentine.  The exhibit takes the viewer through the last ten decades of the University’s history through yearbook spreads and artifacts found in the library’s Special Collections and Archives.  The exhibit will run through the end of the semester and can be viewed during normal library hours.  

Can’t get enough of The Serpentines?  Looking for a specific individual or event?  Check out F.H.G.’s digital archives online to look through specific years of The Serpentine: http://subjectguides.wcupa.edu/content.php?pid=84315&sid=626334.  

For more information about the exhibit or questions concerning the digital collection please contact Tara Wink at 610-436-3456 or twink@wcupa.edu.

So you thought Pop-Ups only occurred on your web browser...

A new exhibit at F.H. Green Library showcases a selection of welcomed pop-ups from Special Collection's Uel W. Combs Children’s Literature Collection.  The exhibit, titled "Pop-ups can be…The Imaginative and Creative World of Pop-Up Books," covers the gambit from "traditional" children’s pop-up books to sassy adult-themed volumes. 

Stop by and see the colorful 3-D display on the second floor of F.H. Green Library during normal hours through January 2011 and be reminded of how much fun and beautiful books can be.  Check back as some cases may change with the season or holiday!

Interested in libraries and books?  Curious as to how the digital world is changing the nature of the book and the library?  Be sure to check out the Friends of the Library and English Department's speaker Mark Dimunation on Monday, November 1, 2010 in Philips Library from 4-5pm.  The presentation is titled "Living with the Real Thing: from the Original to the Digital."  For more information see this announcement: http://ramble.wcupa.edu/fol.