From the Archives: The Naval Flight School

The Naval Flight School Collection was added to the Monmouth College Digital Collections and contains photographs and materials related to the US Naval Flight Preparatory School and the US Navy Academic Refresher Unit.

Student Karrah Kuykendall worked under the direction of Lynn Daw, Technical Services Librarian and Archivist, to complete her HIST 390 course preserving and digitizing the Naval Flight School Collection.

During WWII, Monmouth College served as one of seventeen institutions selected by the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Preparatory School. In 1944, the NFPS transitioned to a Naval Academic Refresher Unit. This collection reflects on the important role of MC in the war effort and is a unique glimpse into life on the Monmouth College campus during the war.

A large portion of the collection is the Wing Tips Newsletter, which was written by the cadets and features information on WWII, maintaining grades, and social events on Monmouth College's campus.

Treasures of the Collection: Cha-no-yu; Tea Cult of Japan

Treasures of the Collection:  Cha-no-yu; tea cult of Japan

In the 1930s Dr. Howard Martin returned from Japan with a large number of Japanese books which he then donated to Monmouth College.  Many of these books are exquisite examples of the Japanese bookbinder’s art, which is famous worldwide.  For instance, this title is not only found inside a slipcover with pictures on the front and back, but the striped fabric cover of the book itself is a beautiful example of Japanese detailing.

The book itself presents an English language version of the art of drinking tea, a subject taken very seriously by many nations in the Far East, especially Japan and China.  In Japanese culture, one is not just invited over for a microwaved mug of hot water with a teabag in it, but one can be treated to a centuries’ old ritual involving a number of special implements, towels, cups, saucers and tea pots. 
This book goes into detail not only on the tea ceremony itself, but describes the proper setting for such a ceremony. 

In the past, it was customary for wealthy people to have a tea house on their property, where the tea ceremony could be performed properly for the family and guests.  There are numerous “schools” of the tea ceremony, with each ones rituals being slightly different.  A short history of the tea ceremony is given at the beginning of the book and some of the schools are mentioned.  However this book was printed for the traveler to Japan to learn something about the tea ceremony, so it just gives a general overview of the ceremony. 

The Special Collections title referred to above is not the only example of tea ceremony titles held by Hewes Library.  There is a book from the 1960’s on the tea ceremony found in the regular collection and one found in the oversize collection.  Monmouth College is also one of the few places with copies of a magazine devoted to the culture of tea, Chanyou Quarterly, Tea and the Arts of Japan.  This title, published by the Urasenke school of tea ceremonies can be found in the basement periodicals section. 

The tea ceremony is not dead, but alive and well with many practitioners found in America.  There are several videos on YouTube of the tea ceremony; here is a link to a short one (8 minutes) which demonstrates the simplest form of tea ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebQ384WZ5Po
For those with more interest, here is a link to a long video demonstrating the Urasenke tea ceremony in full (nearly 30 minutes in length) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCM6l1r1SqQ

The tea ceremony encourages relaxation and refreshment, so during exams, take a little time to have your own tea ceremony.  Have a cup of tea and take a short breather before hitting the books again. 

Treasures of the Collection: Official War Records Part III (post-Civil War)

Official War Records Part III (post-Civil War)

After the Civil war the U.S. military engaged in a number of conflicts, among them; the Spanish-American War, various Caribbean military interventions in the early 20th century, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq/Afghanistan conflicts.  Most, but not all, of these conflicts were the subject of official government histories.    For the Spanish American War and the Caribbean interventions, no “official” government histories were written.  However after World War I the Historical Section of the Army War College wrote a 17 volume official history of the conflict and the Army’s participation in it.   Published in 1948 and republished in 1988 by the Center for Military History (CMH), these 17 volumes comprise the official record of the Army Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Europe in 1917-1918.   Hewes library has the 1988 republication found at D114.8:

In the middle of World War II, the Army created the General Staff historical branch in July 1943 which is now known as CMH.  This organization composed of historians, translators, editors, and cartographers began the publication of the Army’s official history of World War II.  Now comprising 79 volumes, the Green Books as they are called are a detailed accounting of all aspects of the Army’s participation in that war.   Go downstairs to the Ds and look for the green backed books.  These will all be volumes in the Army’s official history (but some of the titles are tan, not green).  There are also official Marine Corps histories of the conflict found in the same section. 

Subsequently, CMH wrote a series of books on the Army’s participation in the Korean and Vietnam Wars and is currently writing a history of the Cold War.  The Navy and Air Force historians have also written histories of those services’ participation in various conflicts.  

All of the more recent military histories, regardless of service are found in the D section of the basement.  Here is a breakdown of the areas to check for more these histories.
Air Force Histories: D 301
Army Histories: D 114.7
Marine Corps: D 214.13
Navy Histories:  D 207.10 and D 221.2

Treasures of the Collection: Official War Records, Part 2

This is Part II of the Treasures of the Collection Feature: Official War Records.   Part 1 is also available to read. 


Photograph of a US Passport from the time period of the Barbary Wars

Official War Records-Part II  (pre-Civil War Navy)
The old saying goes, “history is written by the victors” But sometimes, whether a history is written at all depends upon the branch of service of the person ordering the history to be written.  Hewes library contains three examples of official military histories that were written because of the military service related positions held by presidents of the United States.



Title Page of Book

In the 1934 Congress passed an authorization for the expenditure of $10,000 to begin printing historical and naval documents.  The first set of naval documents printed under this law was a set entitled “Naval documents related to the Quasi-War between the United States and France”.  Consisting of 7 volumes the collection of documents was assembled by Dudley Knox, the officer in charge of the Office of Naval Records and Library in the Department of the Navy.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt who had served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1913 – 1920 wrote the preface to the set, which indicates that his interest in naval matters was responsible for the publication of this work.



Title Page of Book

The Quasi-War with France was one of the first engagements with a foreign power undertaken by the United States after the establishment of the country.  Running from 1798-1800, the war occurred because of the signing of a favorable trade treaty with Britain in 1794.  This angered France which believed that the United States was giving more favorable treatment to the British than to them.  In retaliation, the French began seizing U.S. trading ships bound for Britain. The XYZ affair, in which American diplomats were refused access to the French Prime Minister Talleyrand without payment of a bribe, caused the U.S. to sever relations with France in 1798 and U.S. ships began to seize French ships.  The Quasi-War was ended in September 1800 by the signing of the Treaty of Mortefontaine.



Sample document written by the Commander of the USS Constellation

Publication of early naval documents continued under the Roosevelt administration in 1939 with the publication of the 6 volume set Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers.  The wars with the Barbary Powers referred to were a series of conflicts that took place between North African pirates and the U.S. Navy between 1801 -1805 and 1814-1815.  Shortly after the publication of this set, the U.S. Navy was attacked at Pearl Harbor and World War II began, stopping all publications of an historical nature. 



Title page of Book

Publication of historical naval documents languished until the 1960’s when, apparently not to be outdone by President Roosevelt, President John F. Kennedy a former officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II wrote the preface for the 11 volume set “Naval Documents of the American Revolution”.  Now there was no official American navy until after the war was over and United States came into being, but there were engagements between ships of the British navy and the American rebels throughout the revolution.

Both sets contain many documents and illustrations relating to our early navy.  The sets can be found in the Hewes Library government documents collection, the Quasi-war with France at N.16.2:Q2, the Barbary Wars set at N16.2:B23 and the Naval documents of the American Revolution at D 207.12.  These titles cannot be found in the online catalog, but in the card catalog in the government documents section.



Drawing of Naval Cannon and Carriage, plus bar and round shot

The next section of this article will discuss histories of more recent conflicts.  Check back soon!

Treasures of the Collection: Official War Records - Part I

Treasures of the Collection: Official War Records- PART I

 In 1864, about a year before the end of the Civil War, the United States government began to collect records with a view to publishing an official record of the war when it was over.  After the war’s conclusion in 1865, the collection of Confederate records began.  Compilation and publication of the records began shortly thereafter.

There were some delays in making the material available to the American people, but in 1877 Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Scott took over the task and developed the basic organizational plan that was eventually used for publishing the 130 volume set which is officially titled The War of the Rebellion: a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies but is known to most people researching the Civil War as the Official Records of the Civil War (or OR for short).  The set was published between 1880 and 1901.

It was originally published in 4 series as follows:
Set 1 Military Operations
Set 2 Prisoners
Set 3 Union Authorities
Set 4 Confederate Authorities

This large set is a unique compilation of material and has been consulted by nearly everyone who has written a history of the Civil War.   It can be found at W45.5:10 in the basement government documents section.

After the initial publication, indexes for each volume were added along with an Atlas of maps relating to the war’s battlegrounds.  The Atlases were published between the years 1891-95 and contain drawings of the various battle locations.  These are found at W 45.7 in the oversize are of government documents. 

There is also another set for the navy, the Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. This is found in under the number N16.6 in Hewes government documents section.

Monmouth College became a repository for federal documents in 1860 and thus received each of the volumes contained in our collection shortly after originally published.  The OR can be very hard to use and Hewes reference section contains a guide to using the OR .  However, it can be most easily searched in its electronic version. But there is something unique about being able to look at records that are over 100 years old.  So if you want to look at the documents as originally published go to call number W45.5:10 in the government documents section and take down a volume.  Most of them have been rebound, but the contents are original. 

The Civil War is not the only American conflict that was memorialized after the fact by a set of official government publications. The next article will discuss some of the other official war publications found in Hewes Library.

Treasures of the Collection: Calls, Sounds and Merchandise of the Peking Street Peddler

Treasures of the Collection: Calls, Sounds and Merchandise of the Peking Street Peddler

A most unusual book found in the Monmouth College Special Collections is the book “Calls, sounds and merchandise of the Peking street peddler.” This is an amazing little book in its form, contents and author’s history.  Published in 1936 as part of an M.A. thesis, the book is bound in decorated fabric and paper and contains both colored drawings and tipped-in photographs.   The author begins the book with a discussion of the Chinese language and attempts to depict the sounds made by Chinese street vendors in words, since at the time the book was written incorporating videos and sound on CD’s or DVD’s was not possible. 

The book discusses the different types of street vendors found in Peking (Beijing) and describes not only the distinctive calls and sounds used by the vendors but also what type of items they sell, with full page illustrations of the vendor and the instrument he used to announce his presence in an area.  The Chinese characters used to describe the type of ware sold by each are incorporated into the text.  (See the top of the description of the toy peddler for an example).  In addition, there are photos of actual vendors and their wares found in the book.  The book is a wonderful snapshot in time of a culture and way of life long past, as street vendors of the type described in the book are not found in modern Beijing.  

The author of this work, Samuel Victor Constant also had an interesting life and was neither an artist, anthropologist, nor cultural traveller, but was a career Army Officer.  Born in New York in 1894, he attended Colombia University and then joined the military in 1917 probably when the United States entered World War I.  His frequent passport applications show that he travelled most often to the Far East, going to China and Japan in 1920 and to China in 1923.  He seems to have returned to the U.S. around 1936. He continued to serve through World War II and retired as a colonel.  He died at the age of 95 in 1989 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

In addition to pursuing his M.A. while in China, he also wrote a dictionary of Chinese military terms in 1927.  This was probably with the real reason he went to China.  He served as part of America’s engagement with the young Chinese Republic which was established in 1920.  His time in China coincides with one of the prequels to World War II, the Japanese takeover of Manchuria in 1932.   His departure in 1936 probably had to do with the growing tensions in the Far East as war broke out between China and Japan in 1937.

This version of the book is only held by 26 other libraries in the world and Monmouth College is the smallest academic library to have a copy of the first edition.  So, if you want to hold part of an intriguing history in your hands, ask a librarian to obtain the book for you from Special Collections.

Treasures of the Collection: Oldest Book

Treasures of the collection: Oldest book in the collection

 

Monmouth College library staff is often asked “What is the oldest book in the collection?” The answer is: Incipit legenda sanctoru[m] que Lombardica nominatur historia. Better known as Legenda Sanctorum (Sacred Legends) or Legenda Aurea (Golden Legends), this book was the medieval equivalent to a best-seller, containing tales of the lives of the Saints. Originally written around 1260 by Jacobus de Voragine, a member of the Dominican order who later became an Archbishop, the work was recopied many times and widely distributed throughout the middle ages. Hewes volume was copied around 1450. There are over 900 known exemplars of this book, copied at various dates, still in existence. 

 

 

Technically, it is not a book, but an illuminated manuscript, hand written and decorated in the late Middle Ages by monks. An interesting fact about this book is that despite its age, it is more safely handled than many newer items in the collection. The thickness of the paper, made from calf-skins and known as vellum and the sturdiness of the binding make it much less fragile than say an old newspaper from the 1963 Kennedy assassination or a late 19th century book which was printed at a time when highly acidic paper was used in the printing process. It is not a complete copy as portions of the beginning and ending are missing, but it is a fairly complete copy. 

This item does not circulate but can be viewed anytime the library is open by asking a staff member. 

Treasures of the Collection - Manga

Stressed out studying for finals, need some light entertainment? Take a break this during the busy end-of-semester time and de-stress with some manga.  For the few of you who might not know, manga is a Japanese style of illustrated story or film containing characters with “.. distinctive large, staring eyes, and typically having a science-fiction or fantasy theme.”  (definition from OED).  

The origin of manga in its current form is the subject of much debate with some people claiming that the roots of the art form can be traced back to the 12^th century, with others arguing that it was influenced by the American comic strips of the late 19^thand early 20^th centuries and still others arguing for a blending of the two.   Whatever its origins, it has become a very popular form of story-telling in both Japan and America.  Hewes library’s collection of Manga is all a result of donations by the Anime club at Monmouth College. 

These books are a growing collection first established in 2009 when the Anime club at Monmouth College donated a collection of manga to the library.  They have added to the collection over time and it currently consists of over 30 paperback titles by such author/illustrators as Koge-Donbo, Rumiko Takahashi and others.  Monmouth’s collection consists of English translations of Japanese books.  A few of the titles were originally written in English by non-Japanese authors.

However, the majority of the library’s manga collection is not in book format, but is visual.  The club donated over 100 DVD’s to the library that are all available to be charged out to people holding a MC or I-Share library card.  Included are films made of famous comics by Takahashi (Ranma 1/2) and animated TV series such as Desert Punk, Steam Detectives and others

So if you need some light reading or viewing during the upcoming exam season, check out either the book collection found on the second floor of the library at call number PN6790 or our DVD collection at call number PN1992.8 for some light entertainment.

Treasures of the Collection: Railroad books.

Treasures of the Collection: Railroad books.

Last time this column talked about one of the more unusual items found in Hewes library, the Canopus stone.  This time the column will talk about one of the large book donations received by the college, a collection of over 300 books about railroads and trains.

In 2005 an anonymous alumni donated a collection of railroad books to Monmouth College.  Because the city of Monmouth, although not a rail hub (that is the nearby town of Galesburg), has many trains passing through the city every day on one of the main routes belonging to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and there was a faculty member who was active in researching the history of American railroads, the collection was gladly accepted.

Railroads and railroading is an area of great interest to many people, with many clubs, societies and groups dedicated to collecting and sharing information about trains.  Many of the books in Hewes are unusual, detailed accounts of trains, their engines and railroad companies.  The books also contain memories of people who worked or travelled on the railroads.  Large percentages of them are labors of love, prepared in great detail by people absorbed in the topic of trains and railroads.  Nearly all of the books include large amounts of photographs and drawings, for example, the book American Locomotives consists almost entirely of schematic drawings and photographs of American locomotives made between the years 1830-1880.  There are numerous books that focus on individual types of train such as steam, superliners and electric and even more specialized titles that give great detail about some of the many rail lines that once operated in the United States such as B & O Power a history of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between the years 1829-64 and Pennsy Power, a description of the steam and electric locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad 1900-1957.

Among the more interesting titles is The Collector’s book of the locomotive, which talks about the many forms of collectible involving locomotives such as photographs, post cards, glass and china, advertising and toys.  The toys covered by this book include trackless, clockwork, steam, electric and small and large scale models. 

Another unusual title is Fifty years on the tracks, a book written to commemorate 50 years of the Caterpillar Tractor Company of Peoria, Illinois which originally was the Best and Holt companies that made steam engines for farm use in the late 19^{th and} early 20^th centuries.  Some of the books are quite rare.  The book A long look at steam, a collection of the author’s photographs of steam engines, is one of only two copies available in Illinois.  The titles Lines East is the only copy of this book in Illinois and one of only 9 copies available in libraries nation-wide.  The collection can be searched in the library catalog.  For those interested in browsing the collection, many of the books can be found in the first floor OVERSIZE collection at call numbers TF23 and TJ 603 and others can be found by browsing the call number TF23 in the main collection.  All of the railroading books are available for loan.

Treasures of the Collection: Monmouthania for Homecoming 2012

Treasures of the Collection: Monmouthania

October is a time of nostalgia.  The falling leaves and cooler weather remind one that the end of another year is coming.  Colleges use this time of year to hold homecomings and invite alumni to return to their alma maters giving them an opportunity to catch up with old friends, find out what’s new and to participate in a variety of events, including a football game.  To help get in the mood for the return of the alumni, this column will take a look at the large collection of Monmouthania held by the library. 

 

 

What is Monmouthania?  It is the name used to describe all sorts of memorabilia directly related to the college.  Included are such items as the book, “How to study at Monmouth College” from 1957, a Wee Scots guide 1955-56, explaining for new students, “…the traditions and rules of Monmouth College…”, dance cards and favors used by young women at formals given by various campus groups such as the TKE Orchid formal of 1958, the student council Spring formal 1936, and the unaffiliated women of Monmouth College’s “Evening in Jade”.  All of this material can be seen in the display cases found in the Special Collections room on the second floor of the library. 

 

 

But that is not the only material available there. Another case contains books written by current and former Monmouth College faculty.  Included in these is “The Theology of New England” by D.H Wallace, the first president of Monmouth College (1857-1876) and “Charlotte’s Web” (Tela Charlottae) translated into Latin by Bernice Fox, a professor of Classics at Monmouth College from 1947-81.  Books by current faculty members William Urban and Thomas Sienkewicz are also included in the display.  Still other cases contain sports memorabilia and one shelf memorializes former music faculty member Gracie Peterson with photos and proclamations.

On the ground floor, behind the Reference disk you can find a collection of old yearbooks, alumni directories, catalogs and books about Monmouth College, Monmouth and Warren County. 

Can’t make to homecoming this year, but still want to relive old memories?  Then take a look at the MC on-line archives, consisting of two sites where you can find searchable versions of the student newspapers, catalogs and yearbooks.

Feature: Treasures of the Collection

Treasures of the Collection          

This blog will take a look at some of the more unusual items and collections found in Hewes Library.  When Monmouth College was founded in 1853, many colleges and universities had a room known as a “cabinet” to display items that could be used in the study of various subjects.   Monmouth College’s cabinet was formed in 1863 when a collection of geological specimens was obtained from the state of Illinois, followed by a collection of various materials gathered in Egypt, Syria and Palestine by James Barnett in the course of his work as a missionary.  This collection was added to over the years with material from the local area and foreign regions.  Much of the material was contributed by former students who became Presbyterian missionaries in places like China, India and the Middle East, but it disappeared by the early 20^th century.  While Monmouth College no longer has a Cabinet of unusual objects on display for the purposes of study, we still have many interesting and unusual objects and collections ranging from archaeological treasures to some rare and unusual books about Japan.  This blog will take a look at some of these unusual items and collections that are found in the library.

Today the item of interest is the cast of the Canopus (or Tanis) Stone found on the second floor of the library next to the archives.  This stone was found in Egypt in 1866.  It is similar to its more famous cousin the Rosetta Stone in that the inscriptions found on it were in three languages, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, demotic (a shorthand form of ancient Egyptian) and ancient Greek.  Because Greek could be read but ancient Egyptian could not, the Rosetta and Canopus stones were keys used in deciphering the language.  But how did a cast of this stone come to be at Monmouth College?  Well, in 1871 Dr. Gulian Lansing, a Presbyterian minister based in Egypt who had been with the German expedition that found it, went to the ruler of Egypt and requested a copy of the stone.  The Pasha gave permission for three copies to be made, two for museums in Berlin and London and one for Monmouth College, from which Dr. Lansing had received an honorary degree.  This interesting curiosity was lost for a number of years until it was recognized by a professor in the1950’s when pieces of it were shown to him by a college custodian.  In 1997 it was put on display in the library where it can be seen today.  You can read more about the stone’s interesting history on the signs accompanying the display or in the book “A thousand hearts devotion, a history of Monmouth College”.

Next time, we’ll take a look at one of the more recent donations to the collection.