Special Collections Sharing Warehouse

Experimenting in the art nouveau style, Ohio native Alice Cordelia Morse (1863–1961) created ornate designs for covers of three of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry books: Poems of Cabin and Field, Lyrics of the Hearthside, and Lyrics of Lowly Life.
Morse was a prominent designer in New York in the late 19th century, a time of increasing opportunities for women to work in the decorative arts. After studying at one of the few art schools in Manhattan that enrolled women, she began working at the famous Louis Comfort Tiffany studio, where she designed approximately 70 stained-glass windows. Publishers sought her out for book design, especially when they were producing special editions with fine binding. Her work was exhibited at such prestigious venues as the Grolier Club, the country’s oldest society of rare book enthusiasts; the New York Architectural League; and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1923, Morse donated her portfolio of 58 book covers to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The Wife of Bath from the Canterbury Tales illustrated by artist Rockwell Kent.

University Archives and Special Collections owns several works illustrated by Kent.

"Around 1920 Kent took up wood engraving and quickly established himself as one of the preeminent graphic artists of his time. His striking illustrations for two editions of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick—simultaneously precise and abstract images that drew on his architect’s eye for spatial relations and his years of maritime adventures—proved extremely popular and remain some of his best-known works." - The National Gallery