February 23, 2015 is the centennial of Joseph Battell’s (Class of 1860) death. Bread Loaf land baron (in his day the largest private landowner in Vermont), environmentalist, crusading newspaperman, Middlebury College trustee, philanthropist, unreadable novelist, eccentric Joseph Battell left his stamp on his homeland. David Haward Bain presents an illustrated “magic lantern” talk on Joseph Battell’s life […] Continue reading →…Continue Reading “Joseph Battell: A Centennial Appreciation,” a talk by David Haward Bain, Monday, February 23rd
Tag: Special Collections
Historic NYC Post Card Exhibit at Davis Family Library
Who would guess that an artist born and bred on a Vermont farm would create some of the most iconic postcards of New York City? Rachael Robinson Elmer’s ground-breaking “Art-Lovers New York” postcard series is currently on exhibit at the Middlebury College Davis Family Library, on the upper level, through April 17th, 2015. The exhibition, […]…Continue Reading Historic NYC Post Card Exhibit at Davis Family Library
Middlebury women take a snowy ride up to Ripton, ca. 1940s
In this clip, members of the Women’s Forum of Middlebury College load up holiday gifts into a truck parked behind Forrest Hall, en route to the Meeting House in Ripton, VT. Upon their arrival in Ripton, local children run (and slide, trudge, and sled) to meet them. The Middlebury women, joined by a costumed Santa, […]…Continue Reading Middlebury women take a snowy ride up to Ripton, ca. 1940s
Vermont flood of 1927, or 1938? You be the judge.
In our ongoing effort to digitize historical, fragile films, we discovered this unlabeled and undated film clip depicting a flood in East Middlebury: Though we were confident that we got the location right because some of the buildings are still standing in East Middlebury, we weren’t sure about the date. Based in part on the vintage of the cars, […]…Continue Reading Vermont flood of 1927, or 1938? You be the judge.
A phonograph record on a post card? A professor throws a curveball at Special Collections.
Recently Paul Sommers, Paige-Wright Professor of Economics, stopped by the archives with an unusual item: he had purchased a “melody card” online, a paper phonograph record first manufactured in the 1930s, most notably on cereal boxes or as inserts in magazines. His postcard reads: Play this record on the PHONOGRAPH, 78rpm speed manual. Prof. Sommers doesn’t have a record player that […] Continue reading →…Continue Reading A phonograph record on a post card? A professor throws a curveball at Special Collections.
We were greatly shocked with the news…
During a recent visit to the archives by Professor Ellie Gebarowski-Shafer’s Religion 130 class, The Christian Tradition, students plowed through 214 years of Middlebury College missionary history with College Archivist Danielle Rougeau. Amid the pages of 19th century cursive was this diary entry by Mary Martin, wife of a missionary to China and grandmother of Mabel Martin (later […] Continue reading →…Continue Reading We were greatly shocked with the news…
Students learn the craft of medieval papermaking
Well, to be specific, medieval paper was actually parchment, made from animal hides, rather than trees and literally all of our knowledge of the Middle Ages was preserved on skins made from calves, sheep, or goats. To better understand the chemistry, art, and labor of parchment, Middlebury College’s Special Collections & Archives, together with Professor Eliza Garrison’s Medieval […]…Continue Reading Students learn the craft of medieval papermaking