Early printers often faced the problem of what to do with a page that only had a few lines of type on it–ideally you want a flat, even surface to print from. Oftentimes, they would use “bearer type,” type chosen more or less at random to fill out the page, perhaps lines of type from Read More

Finding aids for six newly cataloged collections, and a preliminary box list for one recent acquisition, have been added to the OASIS database this month, including a volume of the Virginia Woolf Monk’s House photos, letters of Samuel Beckett, and 19th century photos of Gilbert & Sullivan productions. Processed by Ashley M. Nary: Theatrical Photographs Read More

Here are the complete works and collections we’ve digitized in the last three months. Highlights include one of our most spectacular medieval manuscripts, the Emerson-White Hours, a 17th century manuscript on magic tricks, a sonata by Handel, and a 19th century book of paper dolls. Account of Miss Pastrana, the Nondescript; and the Double-bodied Boy, Read More

Finding aids for eight newly cataloged collections have been added to the OASIS database this month, including a collection of rebuses created by Dorothea Dix, and a bit of Houghton history which marks our 2500th online finding aid.

On March 25, 2014, winners of the Philip Hofer Prize for Collecting Books or Art were announced in a ceremony at Houghton Library. The Hofer Prize is awarded each year to a student or students whose collections of books or works of art best reflect the traditions of breadth, coherence, and imagination exemplified in the Read More