Phil’s Favorites

Rauner Library's longtime head reveals what he finds so special about Special Collections.

WHEN THE EDITOR OF THIS MAGA- zine invited me to draw up a list of my favorite pieces held in Special Collections, I jumped at the chance. Having served as the head of Special Collections for 17 years, I wanted to wax eloquent about each and every one of them. Then, reality struck. I would have to select only a small number of the library's 150,000 books, 500,000 photographs and 7 million manuscripts. Needless to say, this is not a list of everything in Special Collections, nor is it a list of the important things or the rare things or the visually exciting things. This list contains a very personal selection of a handful of the materials in Rauner, some of which I helped acquire. Most were acquired by my colleagues, present and past, who have worked to build collections that are used in the curriculum and in student and faculty research.

Inscription, by Lipit-Ishtar ca. 1934-1924 B.C.

This terra cotta manuscript is the oldest document owned by the Dartmouth College Library. Written in cuneiformearly,'wedge-shaped characters—it relates a code of law compiled by Lipitlshtar, king of Isin in ancient Babylonia. I like this piece for several reasons. First, it makes a connection to a much earlier age in which documents were incised with sticks on clay scooped from the river bank. Second, it reminds me of the spectacular work of Harold Goddard Rugg, class of 1906, a former associate librarian of the College who acquired this piece for the library's collection on the history of the book and literacy. Third, it is a sheer delight to watch the amazement of patrons, from ages 8 to 80, when handed the piece and told of its age and importance.

Mamusse wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God naneeswe Nukkone Testament kah wonk Wusku Testament

translated by John Eliot, 1661-1663

This is the first edition of the first Bible printed in North America and the first translation of the entire Bible into a previously unwritten Native American language for the purpose of evangelism. To produce it John Eliot, a colonial missionary and scholar, matched the sounds of the spoken Massachuset language to the English alphabet. The obstacles to success were astounding, but Eliot's edition— 1,000 copies were printed—was a spectacular accomplishment.

Homilary ca. 1375

This particular homilary contains two cycles of sermons written by at least five differentiscribes and clearly meant to be read during meals in a cloistered community. Evidence of this can be found in one sermon that is crossed out, with notation in the margin indicating that it is no longer appropriate for reading in the refectory. A semi-circular grease mark stains the lower margin of another page. After much discussion with colleagues, it became clear that the mark is that of the forehead of a lector who had fainted from hunger while reading to his peers. A final bit of evidence is that slash marks crisscross the leather binding. Apparently the volume was also used as a cutting board!

My Early Life by Samson Occom, 1785

A student, colleague and co-worker of Eleazar Wheelock, Samson Occom (1723- 1792) was a member of the Mohegan peoples. He joined forces with Wheelock and acted as a fundraiser for the fledgling Col- lege both in the colonies and in England. As a perennial student, Occom learned English, Latin, Greek and Hebrew and wrote in several of these languages. His autobiographical My Early Life describes his youth, conversion to Christianity and education. As one who is barely literate in one language, I am always entranced by the work of a multilingual author.

President's Jewel1785

Known as the Flude Medal, this silver and gold medallion is a part of the College president's' official regalia, worn at Convocation, Commencement and other ceremonies. One side of the medallion, which is about the size of our current president s fist, bears a relief of Aesop's fable "The Old Man and His Sons." The reverse is inscribed: "The gift of Iohn Flude, broker, Gracechurch Street, London, 5th April 1785, to the President of Dartmouth College for the time being at Hanover, in the State of New Hampshire." Little is known of the donor other than that he was a London metalsmith and pawnbroker. Having carried the medallion to the president for him to wear, I can attest to the beauty and majesty of this badge of office.

A Vindication a manuscript by Samuel Kirkland, 1794

Samuel Kirkland was a young colleague and sometime student of Eleazar Wheelock. Kirkland was engaged by the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge to work with the Oneida of upstate New York. He is credited with preventing several wars between the Native peoples and the encroaching colonists. Late in Kirkland's career, the Oneida charged him with crimes against the tribe, and he successfully countered the charges with this Vindication. The Kirkland papers were long on deposit at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Several years ago, when the owners reclaimed the deposit and placed the papers on the open market, we were fortunate to be able to acquire them for our collection.

Sonnets by William Wordsworth, 1838

This is an interesting edition of William Wordsworth's sonnets. The subtitle, "Collected in one volume, with a few additional ones, now first published," is a bit of an understatement. Our copy, the gift of John W. Little '40, contains two additional sonnets on the rear flyleaf written in Wordsworth's hand. Further, there are changes to at least three of the sonnets. Watching a poet at work, even from a distance of nearly 200 years, is exciting. For example, in one untitled verse he crossed out "Air sleeps, from strife or stir the clouds are free" and wrote above it "It is a beauteous evening, calm and free." The former line is pedestrian, the latter is one of the great lines of English poetry.

History of the White Mountains by Lucy Crawford, 1845

Lucy Crawford was the first local historian in northern New England. A native of the White Mountains, she ran an inn for most of her life. She also took notes on events occuring in the region and compiled a history. She created several drafts of her history of the mountains, and after its first publication, added notes and changes. Later editions contain wood engravings by artist Marshall Tidd. The library's collection contains the woodblocks for the prints as well as Crawford's notes, records, ledgers, letters and manuscripts of the history. The Crawford material provides a wealth of detail on the evolution and history of this standard work.

Diaryby George Rice, 1881-1883

Rice was the photographer on the illfated Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881-1884 from the United States to Ellesmere Island and Greenland. His diary describes the bad luck, poor planning and lack of leadership that proved deadly to all but eight members of the expedition. Rice was among those who perished. When the diary came on the market a few years ago, we purchased it for the Colleges Stefansson Collection on Polar Exploration. My fascination with polar exploration extends particularly to this expedition because of the problems it encountered.

Willoughby Spit a print by J.J. Lankes, 1930

Lankes was a well-known woodcut artist anil illustrator. Among the authors whose works she illustrated was Robert Frost, class of 1896, hence Dartmouth's interest in the artist and his work. Over the years we have acquired many of Lankes' engravings, letters, documents, woodblocks, sketches, drawings and proofs. One of his finest works is Willoughby Spit, at least in my estimation. For that reason, this print is framed and hangs in my office.

Patent Model for a Binary Relay by George Stibitz, 1937

Stibitz was a pioneer in the development of the computer. In the 1930s he worked for Bell Labs on a decimal digital adder. He patented a byproduct of this work—a binary relay, a fairly simple mechanism, but one that was critical to the development of computer hardware. Without this relay, the modern computer could not function. Stibitz later became a member of Dartmouth Medical School's physiology department and gave the library his patent model, as well as other models and papers relating to the history of computation.

Center of Campus in Winter by Adrian Bouchard, 1950s

This image was taken from Baker Library tower looking over the Green by Bouchard, the College photographer from 1938 to 1976. He was the first per- son to hold that title, having earned it through the many wonderful images he took. When not on special assignment taking photos of events on campus, "Bouch" would wander around in every season taking photographs of the campus, its buildings and its life. I am fascinated by both the sensitivity of the work and the insight that Bouch gives us in his images. I would be willing to bet that no other college campus is as well documented in that era.

Notebook by Robert Frost, 1961

This notebook contains the drafts of the poem 'Tor John F. Kennedy, his inauguration," which Frost struggled to write the night before the January 20,1961, ceremony. Because of failing eyesight the 87- year-old Frost memorized any poem he recited in public. But since he was still working on the poem only hours before the inauguration, he did not have time to commit it to memory. I watched the inauguration on television and saw Frost trying to read the poem in the bright sun. Failing this, he simply said the poem "The Gift Outright," changing a few words and lines to make it fit the occasion. The poem he had drafted in the notebook was published the following day in newspapers as "Dedication." This notebook, and many of the other Frost notebooks, letters, photographs and manuscripts, were the gift of Kathleen Johnston Morrison, Frosts longtime secretary and manager.

What's the value of my favorite items? Folks in rare book and manuscript libraries tend to be coy about such information, so I am disinclined to reveal individual price tags. I am willing, however, to provide a total figure for the value of the materials on the list: $429,800, slightly rounded off. Their research value—their intellectual value—is incalculable.

Treasure Hunter Cronenwett gravitates to an eclectic mixture of rare books and objects, including the first Bible published in a Native Amer- ican language, which he holds here, and (right, from top) a medieval homilary and a diary from the Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, The Sonnets of WilliamWordsworth, the President's Jewel, and Samuel Kirkland's Vindication.

PHIL CRONENWETT started working atDartmouth in 1979 as curator of manuscripts.In 1986 he became Special Collections librarian. As this issue went to press he moved intothe development office as associate director ofthe office of leadership giving.