Bright Gallery
The second of a series of library exhibits of W&M faculty publications opened in Swem Library in the fall of 2008. The exhibit features over fifty books written by the faculty of the Department of History as well as related letters, reviews, and awards. The volumes in the exhibit are on loan from the University Archives and second copies are available in the circulating collection.
The exhibit is located in the Bright Gallery in the second floor rotunda of the east wing of the library and will run through May, 2008. Visitors will be impressed by the many hours of research and scholarship represented.
Curator: Hope Yelich, Reference Librarian; Exhibit design and installation: Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant; Graphics: Karen McCluney, Swem Graphic Artist.
Third floor Rotunda Gallery
Little Magazines opened in the Third Floor Rotunda Gallery in September 2007. Little magazines come in all sizes and shapes but have limited print runs. The exhibit features an eclectic collection of little magazines, many with non-mainstream viewpoints. Some of the magazines are from the SCRC; others, from the regular stacks. This exhibit will be open indefinitely.
Curator: Merle Kimball, Serials Librarian; Exhibit design and installation: Merle Kimball, Serials Librarian.
Marshall Gallery and Read-and-Relax on Swem's first floor
Curator’s Statement
Throughout the past three decades, and with increasing frequency in recent years, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) citizens have asserted their right to be treated equally under the law. The phrase out of the closet has become such a topic for public discussion that it has entered the common parlance to describe any situation in which a secret is revealed publicly. Out at Swem Library is an apt name for this exhibit, since libraries have been in the forefront of collecting and preserving the cultural heritage of the GLBT community. The James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center at the San Francisco Public Library was one of the first collections of its kind in a public library. Named for the philanthropist, ambassador, and community leader, this Center recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with an exhibit. The traveling panels displayed here were created in conjunction with that exhibit and represent one city’s attempt to preserve the history of a valuable segment of its community.
To accompany the traveling exhibit’s panels, Swem Library gathered items from its own collections that reflect the increasing awareness of GLBT issues in contemporary America, and as reflected in a research library’s holdings. All items in the exhibit were from the collections of Swem Library, unless otherwise noted.
The two adjacent display cases in the Read-and-Relax area contained materials that mirror the collections of the San Francisco Public Library. The similarities reflect the common points of interest that can exist between two widely divergent collections and geographic regions.
The four display cases in the Nancy H. Marshall Gallery adjacent to the Special Collections Research Center showed the variety of materials that Swem Library holds relating to GLBT connections within the greater William and Mary community. One case contained documentary evidence of “out” life on campus. A second case contained records from the archives of W&M GALA, showing the involvement of “out” alumni in the life of William and Mary after campus. A third case revealed materials of GLBT interest that have been donated to enhance Swem’s collections. The final case documented the Richard Cornish Endowment that was established by W&M GALA to support the purchase of materials for GLBT studies at the College. It contained examples of the kinds of material added through this endowment. The Cornish Endowment was established under the administration of former Dean Nancy Marshall, so the display in her gallery was a fitting tribute to her leadership.
Steve Murden, ’74, curated this exhibit, with extensive assistance from the staff of the Special Collections Research Center. He thanks them for their generous help.
Out at Swem Library and Out at the Library: Celebrating the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center opened on November 8 and was on display in Swem Library's Read-and-Relax area and the Nancy Marshall Gallery adjacent to the Special Collections Research Center through December 15, 2007. Curator: Steve Murden '74;Exhibit design and installation: Amy Schindler, University Archivist, Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant; Graphics: Karen McCluney, Swem Graphic Artist.
Marshall Gallery, September-November 2007
An online version of this exhibit created in 2008-2009 is available.
To honor the bicentennial of the end of the U.S. slave trade and to contribute to the ongoing dialogue about race relations in Virginia, Swem Library at the College of William and Mary presented the exhibit, “Slavery in Virginia." In 1807, William and Mary alumnus Thomas Jefferson, then serving as president of the United States, signed into law a bill to end American participation in the international slave trade. Some two hundred years later, the Virginia General Assembly expressed “profound regret” for the state’s role in slavery. Lawmakers hoped the apology would encourage a dialogue about the history of race relations in Virginia.
Using unique documents, rare books, and uncommon images from Swem’s Special Collections Research Center, the exhibit provided a general history of slavery in the Old Dominion, then focused on particular aspects of the institution. One section examined how the slave trade, the control masters exerted over slaves, and daily living conditions affected black family life. The letterbook of a planter details the sale of seventy-two slaves, breaking up many families. In another document on exhibit, an enslaved man named London asks “Master James” to let a relative care for him as he lay sick and dying.
A second section investigated two ways people of color resisted enslavement: escape and violent rebellion. Among the items on display were letters revealing several foiled rebellions among the slaves of the Jerdone family of Yorktown and Hanover County as well as a letter by a former slave, Quashy, detailing his successful escape from bondage.
A third section explored slavery at William and Mary, beginning with the first purchase of slaves for the College and the awarding of scholarships using the funds the slaves generated. Another topic was the role of College-related people, including President Thomas Dew and Professor John Millington, in defending slavery. An original 1854 edition of The Owl, a student newspaper, demonstrates the attitudes of students.
The final section presented arguments from the North and South concerning slavery and showed how these arguments divided many families, including the Tuckers of Williamsburg. St. George Tucker, who was a William and Mary law professor, proposed a gradual end to slavery, but his son Nathaniel Beverly Tucker, also a law professor at the College, was a strong supporter of slavery.
“Slavery in Virginia” was on display in the Nancy Marshall Gallery and the adjoining Special Collections Research Center at Swem Library from early September through November 2, 2007.
Sarah Erb, a senior at William and Mary, created this exhibit as a summer intern, with funding from the Roy R. Charles Center and the Earl Gregg Swem Library. Swem Library staff assisted in the research, design, and installation of the exhibit. Exhibit design and installation: Chandi Singer, Burger Archives Assistant; Graphics: Karen McCluney, Swem Graphic Artist.
”Carry Me Back to Old Virginny: Jamestown Revisited” was open in Swem Library’s Special Collections Research Center and the adjoining Nancy H. Marshall Gallery from Friday, March 30th, to mid-August. In honor of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown, Swem Library developed this three-part exhibit on Jamestown.
The first section was a brief discussion of the background to the establishment of Virginia, particularly the transformation of medieval Europe and the early European exploration and colonization of the Americas. Some of Swem’s most precious rare books, including five dating from before 1600, helped illustrate this background. Another section examined the vastly different ways in which scholars have interpreted the early years of Jamestown, frequently using the same sources. Many of these scholars have been affiliated at one time or another with the College of William and Mary, whether as students, faculty, or fellows.
The final and largest part of the exhibit, in the Nancy H. Marshall Gallery, examined past Jamestown anniversary commemorations from 1807 to 1957. The focus was two-fold: placing the anniversaries in
their appropriate historical contexts and depicting William and Mary’s participation in the events. On display were invitations, letters, programs, photographs, and other memorabilia. Items of special interest included a letter from a woman weary of the 1807 jubilee; an 1857 article in Harper’s Weekly featuring that year’s commemoration, complete with graphics; some of the earliest photographs of archaeology at Jamestown; a stunning enlargement of an original postcard in Swem’s collection of the “Great White Fleet” that sailed from the 1907 Jamestown Exposition; racist postcards from the 1907 Exposition; and assorted material relating to Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1957.
All material in this exhibit was from Swem Library, except the pages from Harper’s Weekly in 1857. We thank Will Molineux for their loan and also for his advice and enthusiasm regarding the 1957 anniversary. Curator: Beatriz Hardy, Special Collections Research Center Director; Exhibit Design and Installation: Chandi Singer, Warren E. Burger Archives Specialist; Graphics: Karen McCluney, Swem Graphic Artist.
This exhibit included publications leading up to the 2007 commemoration and a copy of the 1909 House of Representatives report on a proposed monument to Pocahontas. This was in the flat cases in the Read-and-Relax area.
An exhibit of books about Jamestown, the settlers, and the Indians was on display in the third floor gallery. This exhibit was in conjunction with the Special Collections exhibit for the Jamestown four hundredth anniversary in May. Earl Gregg Swem Library has many books about the founding of Jamestown from fiction to juvenile, history, archaeology, and theses. Genealogies and histories of a few of the early settlers whose descendants are members of the Jamestowne Society were on display.
