New exhibits in Fondren Library, RMC

The Exhibits Committee recently changed out the exhibits in Fondren and the RMC. Original images from https://woodsononline.wordpress.com/2015/02/04/parties-owls-and-an-alligator-on-exhibit/ Here’s a glimpse:

College Parties Exhibit in the Rice Memorial Center

Houston’s Bayous: One hundred years ago, located on 1st floor

Selections from African American Collections, located on 3rd floor

Cheerleading at Rice, located on 6th floor

 

 

 

 

New exhibits on display

The Exhibits Committee have created several new exhibits now on display in Fondren Library and the RMC:

In the Woodson Research Center, memorabilia from the Rice Hotel Collection including china, door plates, sheet music for the “Rice Hotel Blues,” and photographs are showcased.

On the first floor of Fondren Library, “Rice in the Classroom” displays photographs of students, faculty, and staff in the classroom. Also included are various instruments that have been used at Rice over the years.

On the third floor outside Kyle Morrow Room the exhibit, “Through a British Lens: The Photography and Captions of Julian and Juliette Huxley” focuses on Julian Huxley’s travel photography. As part of his research and work for UNESCO, Huxley took photographs of the people, animals, and land they visited during the 1940s-1960s.

On the sixth floor the focus is on Freshmen at Rice. From the late 1930s up until 1960s first year students were “welcomed” into Rice by wearing a variety of outfits such as beanies, red suspenders, and green dresses and white pinafore for the women. The exhibit includes photographs, beanies, and a green dress with pinafore.

Powderpuff at Rice is exhibited in the RMC Trophy Case featuring photographs and memorabilia from University archives collections. The Committee hopes you will take an opportunity to visit and explore these new exhibits!

Woodson online exhibit highlights history of science collection

Newton's comet

Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727). Philosophia Naturalis Principia Mathematica, 1687.

Fondren Library intern Susan Kirby created an online exhibit featuring books from the Woodson Research Center’s History of Science book collection. Susan selected works from the collection, scanned pages, created metadata, researched the works and created the layout of the exhibit. The exhibit also includes an introduction by Dr. Albert Van Helden, Rice professor emeritus of history, who was instrumental in the acquisition of many of the books in the History of Science collection. The exhibit can be found online: http://exhibits.library.rice.edu/exhibits/show/historyscience

The History of Science collection includes important volumes of physics, mathematics, and astronomy tracing the history of science. The collection includes four rare astronomy books: Nicolaus Copernicus’ masterpiece, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (1566), which marks the dawn of modern science; Alessandro Piccolomini’s La Sfera del Mondo (1579), considered the first handbook for stargazers; Cornelius Gemma’s De Naturae Divinis Characterismis (1575) relating to the nova of 1572 and a comet in 1556; and Johannes Kepler’s Tabulae Rudolpinae (1675), the first English text of Kepler’s tables based on the laws of planetary motion.

Susan received her master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University in December 2013.

Woodson Research Center acquires new illuminated manuscript leaves

The Woodson Research Center recently added 2 illuminated manuscript leaves to its collections. The “Beatus” leaf from a Latin psalter has a beautiful historiated initial B showing scenes from the life of King David and with a decorative border including a hunting scene. The text is from Psalm 1:1-2:8. The upper compartment of the initial contains of miniature of King David harping in his palace and the lower compartment shows the young David about to behead the giant Goliath.

The second leaf is also from a Latin Bible with an illuminated initial showing King Ahasuerus, Esther, and Mordecai all connected by a hangman’s rope. The text is from the opening through the first three chapters of Esther. Both leaves are dated around the late-13th century.