History of Medicine at Seidman House

August 1, 2019December 14, 2020 Rebecca Doran Books History of Medicine, History of Science, Illustrations, Medicine, Rare books

by Rebecca Doran

As a Library Summer Scholar, I had the opportunity to explore the field of library sciences. Inspired by my unique fields of study – a history major and biology minor – I was interested in studying the medical texts included within Seidman House’s Rare Book Collection. The following treatises cover a large period of time, and multiple aspects of medicine, to demonstrate the diversity of the field.

Andreas Vesalius

Vesalius performing dissection with large audience.

Prior to Vesalius, Aristotle’s theories on the four humors, and Galen’s knowledge of anatomy based on vivisections of animals, was treated as law. As Vesalius studied Galenic medicine and began performing his own dissections on human specimens in Paris and Padua, he noticed a number of inaccuracies.

Seeking to correct these errors, Vesalius performed more dissections and produced multiple detailed illustrations of various human anatomical structures and systems. Jan Stephan van Calcar transferred these drawings into woodblock prints. Together, the images and Vesalius’ detailed descriptions became De Humani Corporis Fabrica. Indeed, Vesalius’ work was so accurate, it is still referenced today.

Seidman House has both a facsimile of the 1555 edition, as well as a modern English translation. For more information about Vesalius and his work, please visit Vesalius at 500 or Transforming Vesalius.

Jacobus Rueff

Woman with torso cut open to reveal female anatomy.

Among the various fields of medicine, gynecology and obstetrics are some of the most sensitive. Indeed, women’s health concerns were often left to midwives, as a man’s entrance into the woman’s world was considered taboo. Jacobus Rueff sought to change this dynamic, however.

As a surgeon and physician trained in midwifery, Rueff encouraged other physicians to learn obstetrical skills so they could help women in need. Rueff’s De Conceptu et Generatione Hominis explores aspects of midwifery, such as pregnancy complications and cures, and theories on conception.

De Conceptu was published in Europe in the late sixteenth century. Since there was little to no access to female cadavers at this time, the information and woodcut illustrations presented in De Conceptu are largely inaccurate. Nevertheless, Rueff set precedence for advances in women’s health.

For more information about Rueff, please visit the article, “Jacob Rueff (1500-1558) of Zurich and The expert midwife.” The article, “The start of life: a history of obstetrics” can provide more information about obstetrics.

John Parkinson

Plants and tools associated with botany.

Long before there were pharmacies around every corner, there were apothecaries that promoted herbal remedies for medical ailments. As an apothecary and botanist to historic figures such as King James I and Charles I, John Parkinson was a respected figure in his field.

In the late 17th century, in particular, Parkinson’s Theatrum Botanicum was one of the leading treatises on herbal remedies. This tome is known as the last of the herbals – a book concerning the medicinal properties of plants – as florals grew in popularity shortly afterwards.

The title, which translates to The Theater of Plants, is a play-on-words: plants are the actors in a garden’s theater.

John E. Erichsen

Silvester’s Method of artificial respiration.

As the American Civil War ravaged the United States, advances in medicine and surgery were being made exponentially. When it came to training the surgical and medical staff of the Civil War, John Erichsen’s The Science and Art of Surgery was the most popular text at the time.

The treatise went through over 10 editions, routinely being updated with new information, such as Pasteur and Koch’s germ theory. Other information included: various surgical procedures, gunshot wounds, amputations, and other treatments.

Seidman House has a large collection of medical texts about and/or from the Civil War.

Emil Grunmach

Industrial pivoting table to keep individual still for x-ray.

When we think of x-rays, it is easy to get lost in the chemistry and physics involved, thus the history of this medical tool is often forgotten. Emil Grunmach’s Die Diagnostik Mittels der Röntgenstrahlen in der Inneren Medizin, however, can provide such information.

Published in 1914 in Berlin, Germany, Grunmach’s text describes the use of x-rays (röntegenstrahlen) as a method of diagnosis in internal medicine, and includes a number of plates (above) as evidence.

X-rays, or Röntgen radiation, were discovered by German scientist Wilhelm Röntgen on November 8, 1895. Röntgen received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for this discovery.

More information about Röntgen can be found here.

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For more information about these treatises, or any of the rare medical texts, please visit Special Collections & University Archives on Allendale Campus at Grand Valley State University.

A Century of Whimsy

July 15, 2019December 14, 2020 Kyle Holcomb Books alice in wonderland, Peter Pan, Rare books, the wonderful wizard of oz

by Kyle Holcomb

When we think of “rare books” our first thought might be ancient religious texts or old anatomy tomes, and while those kinds of books are on the shelves here, we also have a sizable collection of classic children’s literature. The majority of these classics were published in the century between 1850-1950.

Before big publishing firms became established, books were considered too expensive to create for children. Inexpensive books were not readily available to most consumers until the mid-19^th century. The rising middle class, higher literacy rates, and cheap production costs allowed for the industry to experiment with a new demographic.

In the century that followed, many of the most iconic children’s literature were published. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is credited as one of the first big blockbuster successes of the genre. The novel, originally published in 1865, established motifs that inspired other up-and-coming authors. A child’s journey through a colorful nonsense world full of whimsical characters became a key component to the genre; many of the characters that inhabit these worlds are talking animals or inanimate objects.

*Dorothy, The Scarecrow, The Tin-man, The Lion and Toto illustrated by William Wallace Denslow.*

Following in Carroll’s footsteps, other authors took their readers on a journey through a fictional world much like Wonderland. L. Frank Baum published his smash hit, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in 1900, this was the first in a series of stories set in the charming Land of Oz. Baum followed the tropes laid out by Carroll which helped to fill his fictional world with color. The first few years of the 1900’s saw a lot of other famous stories published such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

*Peter and Wendy cover page illustrated by F. D. Bedford.*

In 1906, J.M. Barrie published Peter Pan in Kensington Garden. This children’s story was originally published as chapters within an earlier adult novel by Barrie called The Little White Bird. The chapters featuring Peter Pan as a flying infant were popular enough to be printed as its own standalone children’s book. In the interim between these two publications Barrie went on to write a play called “Peter and Wendy” in 1904, which was published as a book in 1911. The island of Neverland was not originally a part of Peter Pan’s story, but was the setting for the play. Neverland also had many similar characteristics to Wonderland and Oz.

The story of a child who explores a new, whimsical world often mirrors the process of growing up and what trying to make sense of the seemingly nonsensical adult world can feel like.

Slave Narratives

February 14, 2019 Leigh Rupinski Books slave narrative, slavery

Slave narratives are a specific literary genre featuring an account of the life, or a portion of the life, of a fugitive or former slave. While some former slaves could write their own accounts of their lives, those who were not literate often worked with abolitionists to relate their stories. Narratives were meant to educate the American public about the realities of slavery.

Many former slaves who escaped to freedom, including Harriet Tubman, Harriet Jacobs, and Frederick Douglass, later published accounts of their enslavement and escape. The typical format follows the narrator’s journey from slavery in the South to freedom in the North.

Special Collections has a number of slave narratives in our Civil War & Slavery Collection including the following:

Title page of "Aunt Sally; or, the Cross the Way of Freedom." (1859) — Williams, Isaac. *Aunt Sally; or, The Cross the Way of Freedom. A Narrative of the Slave-Life and Purchase of the Mother of Rev. Isaac Williams, of Detroit, Michigan*. Cincinnati: American Reform Tract and Book Society, 1859.

Probably written by the son of Sally Williams (b. 1796), this anti-slavery tract details the dehumanizing practices of slavery in North Carolina that includes the separating of families. Sally Williams was sold to an Alabama plantation owner while her mother and son were left behind, and later her husband and children were sold to other owners. Her son escaped slavery and was eventually able to purchase his mother’s freedom. Written for young people, the author hopes “that this little story may be the means of leading those who read it to think and feel deeply upon the truths which it involves…so that the young may grow up imbued with spirit of liberty….”

Title page of "Father Henson's Story" (1858). — Eliot Samuel L. and John Lobb. *Truth Stranger Than Fiction: Father Henson’s Story of His Own Life*. Boston: John P. Jewett and Co., 1858.

The narrative of the life of Josiah Henson first appeared in 1849 under the title The Life of Josiah Henson, Formerly a Slave, Now an Inhabitant of Canada. Narrated by Himself and was ghost-written by Samuel Eliot. It tells of Henson’s life from his birth as a slave in Maryland, his life there and later in Kentucky, his being sold in New Orleans, and finally his escape north via the Underground Railroad to find refuge in Canada.

By the time the second (and revised) edition appeared, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin had appeared and Stowe, to answer Southern critics, intimated that her story was based on that of Henson and his adventures. This was not true in the strictest sense, but this edition of Henson’s autobiography conveniently was altered by John Lobb to conform to the statements of Stowe. In his old age Josiah Henson came to believe that he indeed was the model for Uncle Tom. Our edition has this additional note from the book’s previous owner alongside Henson’s signature:

Sylvia DuBois’ biography is written entirely in phonetic orthography. The author, C.W. Larison, wished to write her story “just as she spoke it”. Larison explains that “giving her own words in the order and style in which she spoke them, portrays more of the character, intelligence, and force of the heroine than can possibly be given in any other way” (3).

Title page of "Henry Box Brown who escaped from slavery enclosed in a box 3 feet long and 2 wide" (1849). — Stearns, Charles.
*Narrative of Henry Box Brown, Who Escaped from Slavery Enclosed in a Box 3 Feet Long and 2 Wide. Written from a Statement of Facts Made by Himself…*. 1849.

In 1848, Henry “Box” Brown had the original idea of mailing himself out of slavery with the help of a friend. He made a box, climbed in, had the box nailed shut, and then was sent via a shipping company from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

February is Black History Month. To view more items related to slavery and African-American history, visit Seidman House on the Allendale Campus or view our Civil War & Slavery digital collection.

Cooking in GVSU Archives

November 19, 2018December 14, 2020 Tracy Cook Books cooking, Michigan, recipe, thanksgiving, world's fair

by Tracy Cook

With Thanksgiving taking place this month, the hunt for scrumptious new recipes is on our minds — who doesn’t want the best food possible for their feast? We decided to search our Special Collections to find some of our most interesting recipe books.

Good Thyme Cooking with Karin Orr (1996) is a recipe collection compiled by Karin Orr of WGVU-TV 35 & WGVK-TV 52, Grand Valley State University’s TV stations. The book includes recipes from chefs who appeared on the show, as well as contributions from the staff members and Karin herself. This collection is broken down into thirteen chapters so that the recipes are easy to find. Each recipe has the ingredients broken down and a detailed description on how to complete the dish. On the ones that Karin provided, she adds a comment about where the recipe came from or how she has modified it.

Adventurous Eating in Michigan by Marjorie and Duke Winters (1987) is both a restaurant guide and a cookbook which explores some of the best places to eat in Michigan with chefs who are “young and enthusiastic” as well as talented. Their “fair” way of determining a great restaurant was whether the restaurant was “successfully meeting its own objectives”, which ended up including 147 restaurants. With each restaurant listed comes a description of the restaurant, typically at least one recipe from the chef, and a number which corresponds with the numbering on the map so the readers can know where each restaurant is located.

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The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book (1954) is one of the bestselling cookbooks of all time, even though the book is as much an autobiography of her life with Gertrude Stein as it is a cookbook. As the introduction to the Folio Society’s edition of this book states, Alice “mixes recipes, anecdotes, and reminiscences, and her guileless art is to move from instructive recipe to its original mise-en-scène”. The recipes were influenced by Alice’s upbringing in America and her many years of living in France, where most of her cooking was done, as well as some recipes given to her by her friends. This cookbook is especially famous for one recipe in particular, a cold dessert called “Haschich Fudge”.

Favorite Dishes (1893) is a celebrity cookbook that includes over 300 autographed “prized” recipes and 23 portraits of the Board of Lady Managers from the Woman’s building in Chicago. The idea for this cookbook was for it to be charitable; this book would be offered to women of “limited means” who could sell the books in order to afford a visit to Chicago’s world’s fair. As the University of Illinois Press describes, this cookbook provides “an unusual and interesting look into the way early women’s movements used conventional means to manipulate their way into a man’s worlds, and provides insight into how food, women, and American attitudes were changing at the end of the century” (2018).

Our Michigan Ethnic Tales and Recipes (1979) was put together by Carole Eberly who was inspired by her Czech grandma to love food and to think about the cultural connections that appear in food. Cooking is one way that people have always come together, which is one of Carole’s goals with this recipe book. This book provides glimpses into 20 different ethnic groups with both a story — gathered from either interviews, first person accounts, or historical pieces — and some recipes that relate to that culture.

Sherlock Holmes Cookbook (1976) is introduced as a way for “Sherlockians…to recapture the charm of Sherlock Holmes’ London” by exploring the food that Sherlock and Watson would have been eating. This cookbook is also advertised as being “mostly” for pleasure and as a way to “escape…to that place where it is always 1895”. Within each section of the book, the recipes are laid out with ingredients —although not always the exact measurement of each ingredient— and instructions on how to make each dish. Some prior knowledge in cooking seems to be expected. With recipes for every type of meal, including tea time, the reader can truly get a glimpse into the eating aspect of Sherlock’s and Watson’s lives.

To view more items related to all things cooking in our Special Collections and University Archives, visit Seidman House located on the Allendale Campus near the Lake Halls.

Spring Fever

May 1, 2018December 14, 2020 Tracy Cook Books

by Tracy Cook

Here at Special Collections and University Archives, spring fever has sprung! This is the first warm week in Michigan this season (averaging over 60 degrees F) and considering that very recently there was accumulation of almost an inch of ice, this weather feels marvelous. So we felt inspired to look through our collections to see what interesting spring-related books we could discover.

The Tales of Beatrix Potter

This lovely collection from the Folio Society includes several of Beatrix Potter’s tales, including the well-known The Tale of Peter Rabbit. They all feature Potter’s original drawings. These tales are timeless and the adorable drawings make them perfect reading material for a sunny spring day.

Beatrix Potter_all new — Potter, Beatrix. *The Tales of Beatrix Potter*. London, Frederick Warne, 2007, 12 vols.

The Fables of Aesop

Also published by the Folio Society, this book piqued my interest personally because as a Classics major, almost everything relating to Ancient Greece and Rome is exciting, especially if it still influences the modern world. These fables are accredited to Aesop, a slave from Ancient Greece, and are mostly short stories that end with a moral. Spring is considered a time for renewal and birth so this is a perfect time to read these. Some of our modern proverbs and popular tales derive from these fables including: “birds of a feather flock together”, the “boy who cried wolf”, and The Tortoise and the Hare.

Aesop used the story The Pomegranate, Apple-Tree, and Bramble as a clever allusion to both spring and the Judgement of Paris.

The Fables of Aesop_pg 45 — Aesop.The Fables of Aesop. London, Folio Society, 1998.

Pomegranates are associated with Persephone, the goddess of spring growth. During a trip to the Underworld, she ate a handful of pomegranate seeds, which meant she had to spend at least part of the year there (the winter months). Her return to Earth in springtime is marked with warmer weather, flowers and trees, including apple trees, blossoming, as well as grain beginning to grow. Bramble fruit, however, is harvested at the end of summer, early fall — when Persephone returns to the Underworld. The “apple-tree” refers to the Judgement of Paris when he was given a golden apple and had to decide whether Athena, Aphrodite, or Hera was the fairest.

The Garden & Other Poems

If poetry is more your style, this would be a perfect read. The Garden was one of the most famous English poems from the 17^th century and is a romantic poem that utilizes nature as a way to express emotions. This collection of poems, also published by the Folio Society, is about the size of my hand so if a quick yet enjoyable read is what you desire, this is a wonderful option. With woodblock illustrations adding to the beautiful poems, whoever reads this will feel the joy of spring.

The Garden_pg 7 — Marvell, Andrew. *The Garden & Other Poems*. London, Folio Society, 1993.

The Secret Garden

Continuing with the idea of gardens, this is also a fitting book for spring. Another Folio Society publication, this book is filled with beautiful drawings that enhance the reading experience. Also, with the theme being rejuvenation, this book shows that when something is neglected it withers, but when it is cared for it blooms. This is demonstrated in the characters Mary and Colin. (If you are curious as to why, you will have to read the book!)

The Englishman’s Flora

This is the next great nature example which goes through all of plants in England, specifically the British Isle, while providing the names, botanical names, locations, as well as ancient lore and uses for each and 44 illustrations. We are featuring three illustrations below:

The first plant is the Rowan tree / Mountain Ash, Sorbus aucuparia which is a prime tree for protection; the berries are even red, which is one of the best colors for warding off evil. Plant some Rowan trees around your house for protection against the supernatural. On May Day when fairies and witches are abroad, the Irish would nail pieces of Rowan over their doors and tied around their milk churns to prevent their butter and milk from being stolen. In Ireland, rowan was also thought to keep the dead from rising so it was planted in graveyards as well as sometimes being built into coffins. A fun fact about the Rowan tree is that it was also held sacred to Ukko, the Finnish god of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder.

The next plant is the Elecampane, Inula helenium, which is part of the sunflower family. Elecampane is good against coughs, asthma, stomach problems, protection against the Plague, and to heal the bites from poisonous animals. This plant was present in Anglo-Saxon recipes, half medical and half magical, to prevent elf-sickness.

Englishman's Flora_pg 325 edited — Grigson, Geoffrey. *The Englishman’s Flora*. London, Folio Society, 1987.

The third plant is Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum multiflorum, named after Josephus’ Solomon, a conjurer, enchanter, and philosopher, because Solomon set his praise upon its roots. This plant is used for gluing back together broken bones and could also be used to help bruises heal quicker, particularly black eyes.

The Victorian Wood-block Illustrators

Another example of a nature filled book, this features many woodblock illustrations completed by various artists as well as providing a lot of wonderful information about each artist. Nature — with a focus on plants and animals — seems to be a popular subject of woodblock illustrations making this another great example of a spring book.

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Book Art: The Beauty of Marbled Paper

April 3, 2018December 14, 2020 Tracy Cook Books Art

by Tracy Cook

Paper marbling can be summed up as the “method for producing colored designs on paper or on the edges of books in which liquid colors are first suspended upon a liquid surface” (Wolfe, 2[i]). The liquid bath is typically thickened with Tragacanth, a natural gum, before ink or paint is dropped into it. To create the patterns, one may use a variety of instruments such as brushes, styluses, or combs to manipulate the paint or ink. The paint is then transferred by absorption onto the paper by placing the desired portion into the liquid bath.

If you would like to view an example of paper marbling by The Folio Society, click here.

Paper marbling was mainly used in book binding and calligraphy in Europe after the 17^th century, with its peak popularity for book binding and wallpaper falling in the 18^th century. Today, paper marbling is still used for book binding, among various other things, but are printed more often than created. Paper marbling was not just used for looks though, it also ensured authenticity because creating an exact duplicate is basically impossible. Creating the patterns is extremely difficult and mistakes cannot be undone.

With a steady hand, various sized brushes, styluses, and combs, and numerous colors of paint or ink, a variety of patterns can be created. Since there are so many patterns of paper marbling, we are going to focus on some of our favorites that are held here in the Special Collections and University Archives.

Turkish (Stone)

This is possibly the oldest known paper marbling pattern, dating back as early as the 15^th century. This is one of the basic patterns created when multiple colors are dropped onto the surface using a marbling brush. The colors will continue to constrict as more colors are added leading to the beginning colors appearing as veins and the later colors appearing as “stones”, or large spots. This pattern can be utilized as a base for other patterns.

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1. Investigation of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Vol. 10-12, United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Assassinations. Washington : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978-1979, 12 vols.

2. Byron, George G, Baron. Works of Lord Byron. Vol. 3, London, Murray, 1833, 9 vols.

3. Carlyle, Thomas. Thomas Carlyle’s Collected works. Library ed., vol. 13, London, Chapman, 1871, 34 vols.

Gold Vein

This pattern follows the same process as Turkish, except bronze must be the first color dropped in to create the effect of the gold veins running between the stones, which gives this pattern its name.

Addison 5 — Addison, Joseph. *The works of the Right* *Honourable Joseph Addison*. Vol.
1, London, Vernor and Hood, 1804, 6 vols.

Serpentine

Argued to have been created in the mid-19^th century, this style begins with a Turkish base before a brush or stylus is drawn twice vertically through the bath with the second pass halving the first. Repeat this step horizontally. Then, draw vertically in wavy lines that emulate the way a snake moves.

Bridges, Thomas. A burlesque translation of Homer. 4th ed., vol. 1, London, G.G. and J. Robinson, 1797, 2 vols.

Nonpareil

One of the other basic marbling patterns, named for the French word meaning “matchless” or “unrivaled”. The desired colors are dropped in regulated sizes before a comb is drawn through the bath horizontally twice. Then, a smaller comb is drawn across vertically, although it can also be done horizontally. Multiple, contrasting colors can be used to make this pattern really pop. This pattern can also be utilized as a base for other patterns.

Byron 1 cover — Byron, George G, Baron. *Works of Lord* *Byron*. Vol. 3, London, Murray, 1833, 9 vols.

36 Sexagenarian — Beloe, William. *The sexagenarian*. Vol. 1, London, F.C. and J. Rivington, 1917, 2 vols.

Double Comb

After creating a nonpareil pattern, a wider comb is drawn once more through the bath which causes the arched lines to become separated into arched columns. The new columns can either be straight or manipulated further into waves.

Phillips, Richard. Addisoniana. Vol. 2, 1803, 2 vols.

French Curl

This pattern can be created using any base, but bases with multiple colors will work the best. Once the base is completed, a stylus or brush is dipped into the bath and swirled, creating the curls that this pattern is named for.

Auvigny, M. d’. L’Histoire de France. Paris, Chez Theodore Le Gras, 1749.

[i] Wolfe, Richard J. Marbled Paper : Its History, Techniques, and Patterns: With Special Reference to the Relationship of Marbling to Bookbinding in Europe and the Western World. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990. A Publication of the A.S.W. Rosenbach Fellowship in Bibliography. EBSCOhost.

Michigan Mysteries

April 11, 2017 Annie Books book covers, Michigan in the Novel, Mysteries

Our Michigan in the Novel collection contains books from nearly every genre of fiction. Some of our favorites are the mysteries. These tales are all set in Michigan locales, from the back woods to the big cities. Here we’ve listed just a few, but our collection contains hundreds of thrillers, chillers, and whodunits.

The Spiritualists and Detectives (1877)

Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American immigrant who gained recognition and notoriety as a detective and spy. During the Civil War, he organized the Union’s Secret Service to protect President Lincoln. Pinkerton published a series of detective books, ostensibly based on his real-life cases. The Spiritualists and Detectives contains a number of different crime stories, some of them set in Michigan locales like Kalamazoo and Detroit.

The Case of Doctor Horace (1907)

John Harcourt Prentis published this mystery drama, set in Detroit and Ann Arbor, about two men who fake a murder to test a theory that a criminal can be caught through the operation of his own guilty conscience.

The Phantom Violin (1934)

Roy J. Snell wrote over 80 novels, including mystery series for boys and girls. The Phantom Violin, set on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, involves three girls who spend a summer living on a shipwreck and hunting for treasure.

Exit Screaming (1942)

Christopher Hale was the pseudonym of Frances Moyer Ross Stevens (1895-1948), who worked as an advertising copywriter in Cincinnati and Detroit. Her mystery series featured the recurring character Lieutenant Bill French of the Michigan State Police. In Exit Screaming, Lt. French is called in to investigate the murder of an eccentric woman in the small town of “Avondale.”

Anatomy of a Murder (1958)

John D. Voelker, an attorney and eventual Michigan Supreme Court Justice, drew on his vast experience with and love of the law to achieve success as an author, writing under the pen name Robert Traver. His best-selling courtroom drama and mystery Anatomy of a Murder was based on a real-life murder case in Big Bay, Michigan. The book was adapted into a movie in 1959 produced by Columbia Pictures, and starred Jimmy Stewart, Lee Remick, and George C. Scott.

*Anatomy of a Murder*, Robert Traver. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1958

The Make-Believe Man (1963)

Elizabeth Fenwick wrote over a dozen novels from the 1940s to the 1970s. In The Make-Believe Man, a thriller set in Detroit and Dearborn, a woman and her eleven year old son are terrorized while staying at her mother’s house.

The Glass Highway (1983)

Loren Estleman crafted a popular mystery series featuring the character Amos Walker, a Detroit private investigator. In The Glass Highway, Walker is hired to find the missing son of a local television anchor and finds himself embroiled in a case involving drug dealers, corrupt cops, and hit men.

Estelman_crop — *The Glass Highway,* Loren D. Estleman. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1983

The Dead of Winter (1995)

Like Christopher Hale (Frances M. R. Stevens), Paula Gosling also worked as an advertising copywriter before finding success as a crime novelist. The Dead of Winter is set in Blackwater Bay, Michigan during a local ice festival, and unravels the mystery linking a dead high school student, a missing chemistry teacher, and a drug dealer.

Sources

Beasecker, Robert, “Michigan in the Novel 1816 – 2006: An Annotated Bibliography, Second Edition, Revised and Corrected” (2013). Books and Contributions to Books. 6. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/library_books/6

“Biographical Notes.” Accessed April 4, 2017. http://www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/z/z133.htm.

“Gadetection / Hale, Christopher.” Accessed April 4, 2017. http://gadetection.pbworks.com/w/page/7930713/Hale,%20Christopher.

“John D(onaldson) Voelker.” In Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resource Center (accessed April 4, 2017). http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=lom_gvalleysu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CH1000102096&asid=da91859b407fbef86e17dff622f74a4e.

“Loren D. Estleman.” In Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2016. Literature Resource Center (accessed April 4, 2017). http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=lom_gvalleysu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CH1000029853&asid=34115c8ddb3e3e17e1d79fab337ec6e5.

“Paula Gosling.” In Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center (accessed April 4, 2017). http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=lom_gvalleysu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CH1000038331&asid=510a694c73518dfaa789d42bf8e8558d.

Perkins, George B., Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger. “Pinkerton, Allan (1819-1884).” In Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia of American Literature, 848. Vol. 1. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. Literature Resource Center (accessed April 4, 2017). http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=lom_gvalleysu&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA16854291&asid=1d0edd848286fbd0b9edec1c9429aa17.

Birds and Fish of Japan

March 14, 2016March 3, 2016 Annie Books Birds, Fish, Japan, U.S. Serial Set

In March of 1852, Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry received orders to command a diplomatic mission to Japan. Some 18 previous expeditions, 4 of them from America, had failed to breach the Japanese wall of isolation. And while the Perry expedition is famous as a diplomatic coup, less well known are the expedition’s contributions to the sciences of astronomy, hydrography, ethnology, botany, geology, medicine, ornithology, ichthyology, and conchology.

The three-volume report of the expedition to the U.S. House of Representatives, Narrative of the expedition of an American squadron to the China seas and Japan, performed in the years 1852, 1853 and 1854 under the command of Commodore M.C. Perry, United States Navy by order of the government of the United States, was printed in Washington, D.C. by A.O.P. Nicholson in 1856. In addition to the narrative report, the set includes a multitude of charts, fold-out maps, and illustrations.

Volume II of the set contains a myriad of reports on the agriculture, geology, medicine, biology, and botany of Japan. It includes these beautifully engraved color illustrations of birds, fish, and shellfish, as well as other engravings and illustrations.

Birds

Plate 2 _ Ornithology. Phasianus Scemmering II _ Temminck. Lith of Wm E Hitchcock Phila.

Plate 5 _ Ornithology. Heterornis Sericea (Gmelin). On Stone by Wm E Hitchcock.

Plate 6 _ Ornithology. Ixos Haemorrhous _ Gmelin. Lith of Wm E Hitchcock, Phila.

Fish

Nat. Hist. Pl. III. No. 1 - Serranus Tsirimenara. No. 2 - Serranus Marginalis. Bayard Taylor del. — Nat. Hist. Pl. III. No. 1 – Serranus Tsirimenara. No. 2 – Serranus Marginalis. Bayard Taylor del.

Page013_L_crop — Nat. Hist. Pl. IV. No. 1 – Sebastes Marmoratus. No. 2 – Sebastes Marmoratus. H. Patterson del.

Page015_L_crop — Nat. Hist. Pl. V. No 1. Pelor Japonicum – Life Size. No. 2 – Sebastes Inermis – Life Size. No. 3 – Trigla Burgei. H. Patterson del.

Nat. Hist. Pl. VIII. 1. Serranus Urodelus. 2. Iulis Quadricolor. 3 & 4 - Iulis Lutesens. — Nat. Hist. Pl. VIII. 1. Serranus Urodelus. 2. Iulis Quadricolor. 3 & 4 – Iulis Lutesens.

Shellfish

Conchology Plate II. H. Lawrence, Lith. 88 John St. New York

Conchology Plate V. H. Lawrence, Lith. 88 John St. New York

Narrative of the expedition of an American squadron to the China seas and Japan… is a part of the U.S. Serial Set, which is a series of over 14,000 volumes containing hundreds of thousands of numbered congressional reports and documents which have been published since 1817. Grand Valley State University houses this set in Special Collections & University Archives in agreement with the Grand Rapids Public Library.

Books Go To War

January 13, 2016 Annie Books Rare books, World War II

Armed Services Editions, 1943-1947

During the Second World War the paperback series known as the Armed Services Editions were distributed free to American soldiers, sailors, and airmen overseas.

The idea for the program came from two Army officers and was further developed by the Council on Books in Wartime, an association of publishers, booksellers, and librarians. This group was able to convince the armed forces, publishers, and printing firms of the positive impact that this initiative would have on the American men in uniform.

Not sold or available in the United States, these paperback books introduced thousands of servicemen to the pleasures of reading. Between 1943 and 1947, almost 123 million copies of 1,322 titles were printed. All types of literature were available: classics, best-sellers, non-fiction, mysteries, and westerns, among others.

The books displayed here are from the Grand Valley State University Libraries’ collections and loaned by J. Randall Bergers.

Chained Books

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 Annie Books Incunabula, Rare books

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, books were valuable goods in that they were expensive to purchase. One source mentions that one book was worth as much as a farm. Being portable, books were easily subject to theft. To prevent such occurrences, churches and schools developed a system of chaining books to tables, desks and lecterns in such a way that they could be read, but not taken away.

This book still has its sixteenth-century chain of eight links that is connected to a hasp, itself attached to the rear wooden cover. The book appears to have been owned privately before it ended up as part of the collection of the English parochial library in Ecclesfield, Yorkshire, which probably added the chain. Grand Valley State University Libraries purchased the volume in 2011, and it can be viewed and studied at Special Collections & University Archives.

Suetonius Tranquillus, Gaius. Vitae XII Caesarum. With commentary by Marcus Antonius Sabellicus.
Added texts: Marcus Antonius Sabellicus, Epistola Augus-tino Barbadico and Vita Suetonii. Ausonius, Versus. Sicco Polentonus, De Suetonio.
Milan: Uldericus Scinzenzaler, 19 November 1491.
Folio. Collation: a-f⁸ g-h¹⁰i-m⁸ n-r⁶ s⁸ (-s8 [blank])

Suetonius, a Roman historian, was born ca. AD 70 and died sometime after 130. He was a contemporary of Tacitus, another Roman historian, and friends with Pliny the Younger. Suetonius was a prolific writer, but his most famous work is Lives of the Twelve Caesars. It has always been a popular work, although it concentrates on personalities and ignores the generalities of the times and society, and perhaps relies too much on gossip, scandal, and amusing anecdotes. No fewer than thirteen editions were printed in the fifteenth century.

Dell Map Backs

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 Nancy Richard Books Dell Publishing, Map Back Novels

Dell Publishing was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte. In the 1920s and 1930s it published a variety of magazines, including the so-called “pulps,” as well as comic books. Beginning in 1943 the company began its foray into paperback publishing, which consisted mostly of reprints of hardcover mystery novels, but later included westerns and romances.

With its fifth book in 1943, George Harmon Coxe’s Four Frightened Women, the company initiated its ten-year program of putting a map on the back cover of these books. These “scene of the crime” maps could show streets of a town or city, the plan of a country house or apartment, or a bird’s-eye-view drawing of the locale where the story takes place. Some are not maps at all, but merely drawings that illustrate scenes from the novel. This successful marketing strategy gradually ended by 1953; by that time more than 600 Dell map backs had been issued. They are now highly esteemed by collectors.

A few examples from the University Libraries collection are featured here. The wide range of front cover art should be noted; some are very well designed, while others are more typical of lurid and sensational pulp fiction.

Mysteries

Spring Harrowing by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Romance

Westerns

Art by an Unknown Medieval Craftsman

March 3, 2015June 1, 2015 Annie Books Incunabula

Eusebius Caesariensis (ca. 263-ca. 339) was an early historian of the Christian Church who lived in Caesarea Maritima, located on the eastern Mediterranean coast in what is now Israel. He became Bishop of Caesarea around 313 and was a prolific writer on many religious topics. One of his many works that has survived is his De Evangelica Praeparatione (translated as Preparation for the Gospel) in which he attempts to prove the superiority of Christianity in comparison with all other ancient religions.

There were six editions of De Evangelica Praeparatione printed in the fifteenth century. Grand Valley State University Libraries’ Special Collections has the edition from 1497 printed in Venice by Bernardinus Benalius. While not particularly rare, this copy has remarkable illustrated initials at the beginning of each of the book’s fifteen chapters and preface, all different and all executed with supreme skill. These large blue initials contain fanciful birds, reptiles, amphibians, snakes, monkeys, and other creatures; the background of intricately interlaced red penwork also demonstrates the artistic ingenuity. The final initial also carries the Christogram, the symbol used as the abbreviation of Jesus Christ; it combines the first two Greek letters in the name Christ (Χριστος), chi (Χ) and rho (Ρ).

Astronomische Beschreibung und Nachricht von dem Cometen 1746

February 24, 2015May 27, 2015 Nancy Richard Books Astronomy, History of Science, Rare books

Kindermann, Eberhard Christian (fl. 1740)

Astronomische Beschreibung und Nachricht von dem Cometen 1746. Und denen Noch Kommenden, Welche in denen Innen Besagten Jahren Erscheinen Werden

Dresden: Gottlob Christian Hilscher, 1746

[4], 14 p. Engraved frontispiece

This rare publication describes in some detail a spectacular comet (allegedly one of the five brightest ever seen) that appeared in the year 1746. It was first discovered by the Swiss astronomer Phillippe Loys De Chéseaux, and is designated by modern astronomers as C/1746:P1. Kindermann’s pamphlet, the title of which can be translated as “Astronomical Description and Information Concerning the Comet of 1746,” besides commenting on that celestial body, attempts to show that it is the same comet that appeared earlier in 1682. In addition, details are given about other periodic comets along with the dates of their expected return. Kindermann either was unaware of, or chose to ignore, Edmond Halley’s published computations (in 1708) that in reality the comet of 1682 would not appear again until 1758.

Not a great deal is known about Kindermann. In the 1740s he was the royal astronomer and mathematician to the Elector of Saxony, Friedrich Christian Leopold Johann Georg Franz Xaver von Sachsen. He was the author of at least two other astronomical books, one of which was a lengthy treatise, Complete Astronomy (1744). He is probably better known, at least among science fiction aficionados, as the author of Reise in Gedancken durch die Eröffneten Allgemeinen Himmels-Kugeln (1739) that uses an imaginary voyage through space to popularize astronomy, with creative speculations on the inhabitants of other planets.

A Martian Discovery?

In the attractive copperplate engraving that Kindermann uses as his frontispiece, he shows a portion of the solar system that includes the orbits of the Earth and its moon, as well as that of Mars and three comets. What is remarkable—and perhaps an astronomical mystery—is that Kindermann shows Mars with its own single satellite, with the legend, “Path of the Martian moon discovered by the author [Kindermann] on 10 July 1744.”

It is quite remarkable because the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, were not officially discovered until 1877. A telescope powerful enough to detect these two small bodies orbiting close to the planet did not exist in 1744. This claim of Kindermann was not mentioned in the scientific literature until 1892 when Ralph Copeland’s “On a Pretended Early Discovery of a Satellite of Mars” appeared in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Interestingly, Jonathan Swift in his Gulliver’s Travels (1726) posits the existence of two Martian moons in the chapter, “Voyage to Laputa,” and his speculations about them are astonishingly close to their actual specifications.

Michigan in the Novel

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 Annie Books Michigan in the Novel

Comprising over 2,600 titles with additional copies in different formats, editions, and bindings, Michigan in the Novel is the most comprehensive collection of novels with Michigan settings existing in any institution. All genres of fiction are represented, including juvenile literature, mysteries, romances, literary fiction, and science fiction. The earliest title in the collection dates from 1816 and the collection spans to the present day. This online exhibit features a small selection from this wonderful collection.

Michigan in the Novel 1816 – 2006: An Annotated Bibliography, Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged

Braun, Lilian Jackson (1913-2011)

The Cat Who Went Bananas. NY: Putnam, 2004.
The Cat Who Talked Turkey. NY: Putnam, 2004.
The Cat Who Brought Down the House. NY: Putnam, 2003.

Lilian Jackson Braun began her long-lived “The Cat Who” series in 1966 with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards. Each book feature a pair of very clever Siamese felines who assist a reporter in solving a variety of puzzling mysteries. The first four books were set in Detroit, and those that follow have taken place in the Upper Peninsula town of “Pickax City” which the author describes as “four hundred miles north of everywhere.” Braun’s 29th book in this series was published in January 2007.

Reardon, Lisa (b. 1962)

Billy Dead. NY: Viking, 1998.
Blameless. NY: Random House, 2000.
The Mercy Killers. NY: Counterpoint, 2004.

Lisa Reardon, born Lisa Ann Hicks in Ann Arbor, began her writing career as a playwright. Her novels show a distinct gift for characterization, and all fearlessly explore the seamy, anguished, and mostly hidden sides of family relationships: child abuse, drug and alcohol dependency, incest, and murder. Two of her books are set in southeastern Michigan (Lenawee County and Ypsilanti) and the third in the Grand Traverse area.

Baxter, Charles (b. 1947)

Saul and Patsy. NY: Pantheon, 2003.
The Feast of Love. NY: Pantheon, 2000.

Winner of the Michigan Author Award in 1993, Charles Baxter has taught at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan before moving on to the University of Minnesota. Although he has said that he prefers writing short stories, his novels have all received critical acclaim. In these two novels, the first set in Ann Arbor and the second near Midland, he continues his favorite theme of his characters’ hopes, dreams, and tragedies.

Strickland, Brad (b. 1947)

The Beast Under the Wizard’s Bridge. NY: Dial, 2000.
The Tower at the End of the World. NY: Dial, 2001.

Beginning in 1973, John Bellairs (1938-1991) wrote a number of children’s books that featured Lewis Barnavelt, his magician uncle, and friend Rose Rita Pottinger in a variety of occult mysteries. Brad Strickland has continued the series, which is set in Marshall, Michigan—in the books called “New Zebedee”—in the 1950s.

Cleage, Pearl (b. 1948)

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day… NY: Avon, 1997.
I Wish I Had a Red Dress. NY: William Morrow, 2001.

Born in Massachusetts and now living in Atlanta, Georgia, Cleage spent her childhood and high school years in Detroit. Her first novel received national attention when it was selected for Oprah Winfrey’s book club. Both of the books here deal with African-American women and the consequences of life choices. Set in the African-American resort community of Idlewild near Baldwin in Lake County.

Estleman, Loren D. (b. 1952)

Motor City Blue. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980.
Sinister Heights. NY: Mysterious Press, 2002.

Estleman’s first book featuring Amos Walker, the cynical, hard-drinking, and wise-cracking private investigator, appeared in 1980. Since then the series has been going strong and has a wide following. Some critics have claimed that the more important character in the novels is the city of Detroit itself, deftly drawn by the author with a combination of love and loathing.

Whelan, Gloria Ann (b. 1923)

Welcome to Starvation Lake. NY: Golden Books, 2000.
Rich and Famous in Starvation Lake. NY: Golden Books, 2001.
Are There Bears in Starvation Lake? NY: Golden Books, 2002.

Noted young-adult novelist Gloria Whelan has been the recipient of the Michigan Author Award and the prestigious National Book Award. In these books she has created three connected chapter books for fourth-grade readers. “Starvation Lake” is loosely based on Whelan’s northern Michigan hometown of Mancelona.

Driscoll, Jack (b. 1946)

Stardog. NY: Dorling Kindersley, 2000.
How Like an Angel. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005.

Jack Driscoll, writer in residence at Interlochen Center for the Arts south of Traverse City, has written novels, poetry, and short fiction. In these two recent novels his male characters struggle with mid-life crises and troubled relationships with women. The settings are Sault Ste. Marie and a Benzie County cabin, respectively.

Hellenga, Robert (b. 1941)

Blues Lessons. NY: Scribner, 2002.

Blues music and the daughter of the African-American foreman of his family’s apple orchards are twin loves a high school junior. Both will greatly affect the rest of his life. The novel is set in “Appleton” in Berrien County, and is probably based on Three Oaks, the town where Hellenga grew up.

Eugenides, Jeffrey (b. 1960)

Middlesex. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2002.

When published in 2002, Detroit native Jeffrey Eugenides’ second novel received both critical acclaim and some notoriety for its subject matter. Set mostly in Detroit in the 1970s, the book concerns a Greek-American girl who, while attending a private school, becomes attracted to a female classmate and discovers that her family carries a genetic mutation that causes a predisposition to hermaphroditism.

Heywood, Joseph

Ice Hunter. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2001.
Blue Wolf in Green Fire. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2002.
Chasing a Blond Moon. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2003.
Running Dark. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2005.

Former Marine and Vietnam veteran Grady Service is the protagonist in Heywood’s “Woods Cop” series of mysteries. Service is a Michigan Department of Conservation officer who operates in the “Mosquito Wilderness Tract” in the Upper Peninsula and becomes involved in a variety of adventures, from poachers and animal rights advocates to illegal fishing. Heywood, an avid sportsman himself, lives in Portage.

Kasischke, Laura Kay (b. 1961)

Boy Heaven. New York: HarperTempest, 2006.
The Life Before Her Eyes. New York: Harcourt, 2002.
Suspicious River. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

Since the publication of her first book of poetry, Wild Brides (1992), Laura Kasischke has been recognized as a writer of great talent in both poetry and prose. She received her MFA from the University of Michigan where she now teaches creative writing in the Department of English. She has been the recipient of many national awards, besides the numerous Hopwood Awards from Michigan when she was a student: the Bobst Award for Emerging Writers (NYU Press), Beatrice Hawley Award, Juniper Award (Univ. of Massachusetts Press), Alice Fay DiCastagnola Award (Poetry Society of America).