Special Collections Sharing Warehouse

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

He sang of life, serenely sweet,
With, now and then, a deeper note.
From some high peak, nigh yet remote,
He voiced the world's absorbing beat.

He sang of love when earth was young,
And Love, itself, was in his lays.
But, ah, the world, it turned to praise
A jingle in a broken tongue.

Online. Made available by University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes;
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes,
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals--
I know what the caged bird feels! ...

Online. Made available by University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

W'EN de colo'ed ban' comes ma'chin' down de street,
Don't you people stan' daih starin'; lif' yo' feet!
Ain't dey playin'? Hip, hooray!
Stir yo' stumps an' cleah de way,
Fu' de music dat dey mekin' can't be beat. ...

Online. Made available by University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

2 volumes. Prepared for the members of the Limited Editions Club by W.S. Cowell (1954)

The editors declare these volumes to be the definitive and all-inclusive Burton edition, “because the text is one in which Sir Richard Burton himself desired to own.” Burton (1821-1890) was a explorer with an extensive knowledge of languages and cultures. This edition is described as containing a “better account of the customs, manners and religion of the eastern nations than is to be met with in any edition hitherto published.” Embellished with sixty paintings by Arthur Szyk.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Geoffrey Chaucer
Facsimile of a 15th Century manuscript in the Huntington Library known as the Ellesmere Chaucer (1911)

Featured here: The Physician.

You can also see special editions of the Canterbury Tales illustrated by Arthur Szyk and Rockwell Kent.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Charles Dickens
Illustrated by Arthur Rackham (1915)

"Spirit!" he cried, tight clutching at its robe, "hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am past all hope?"-Ebenezer Scrooge, stave 4, The Last of the Spirits.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Allen Ginsburg (1968)

Autographed by the author.
This was Ginsberg’s fourth book of poetry published in City Lights Bookstore’s famous Pocket Poet series. Ginsburg wrote the series' first big hit, Howl and Other Poems, in 1956, which led to obscenity charges for the publishers.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Paul Verlaine; translated by Francois Pirou.
Illustrations by Mahlon Blaine (1929)

This limited edition of Paul Verlaine’s rebellious poetry takes the reader into the artist’s life in the Parisian literary world. Here his poems are accompanied by the art of American Mahlon Blaine, known for his illustrations of weird-fantastic fiction.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
1605 Facsimile

It was this self-proclaimed knight who brought the word quixotic into our vocabulary ("exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical"). The unusual adventures of the man from la Mancha and his "squire" are the subject of what is known as the first modern novel in Western literature. It is also known as one of the best. This is a facsimile of the first edition, published more than 400 years ago in Madrid.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

by George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) (1868)

This dramatic poem tells the story of a couple's love, struggling amid the cultural mix of "gypsies," Moors, and Catholics in fifteenth century Spain. It was received well at publication, but is not often read today.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Charles Dickens ( -1870)

Are you anxiously awaiting the next episode of your favorite show? Victorian readers would anxiously await the next chapter of Charles Dickens' newest novel. This set of serials, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, is complete, so you can have a good binge.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Charles Dickens
Illustrated by H. K. Browne (1848)

This is a first edition, published shortly after serialization of the novel was finished.

Illustrations were an important feature in this format. Illustrator Hablot Knight Browne, known as "Phiz," was the illustrator for this and nine other of Dickens' and others' serializations-turned-novels, earning him a lifelong stream of income.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Charles Dickens
Illustrated by H. K. Browne (1850)

This is the first edition published containing the complete serialization. It is said to be autobiographical and was Dickens' favorite novel.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By J.M. Barrie (1928)

Peter Pan's debut was in Barrie's 1902 novel The Little White Bird. In 1904 Barrie published the play "Peter Pan," centered on this charming character. It was a huge hit. In 1928 the play was transformed into a novel.

Available in the Victor and Irene Special Collection in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.

By Edward FitzGerald, based on Khayyam's poetry (1935)

This limited edition of well loved poems is illustrated with linocut prints by Italian artist Valenti Angelo. A millennia ago Omar Khayyam, the original poet, was primarily known as an astronomer and mathematician in Persia.

Available in University Archives and Special Collections, Albert Emanuel Hall, by appointment.