Spooky Suggestions – 2013

gargoyles spooky

Halloween is just one week away. Are you prepared to get your creep on? Here’s our newly updated list of suggestions for spine-tingling books and hair-raising dvds!

TO READ

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

House_of_leaves

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Woman in White

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Dracula

Dracula by Bram Stoker, illustrated by Felix Hoffmann

Green Tea

Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories by J.S. Le Fanu

Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Favorite Ghost Stories chosen by Aidan Chambers

Favorite Ghost Stories chosen by Aidan Chambers

E A Poe

The Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

Gorey

Amphigorey by Edward Gorey

The Road

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Frankenstein

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (2012 annotated edition)

Salem's Lot

‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Monk

The Monk by Matthew Lewis

Enduring Love

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan

Lovecraft

Tales by H. P. Lovecraft

TO WATCH

Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson

Shining

The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick

Halloween

Halloween, directed by John Carpenter

Birds

The Birds, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

exorcist

The Exorcist, directed by William Friedkin

cure

Cure, directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

antichrist

Antichrist, directed by Lars Von Trier

Nosferatu

Nosferatu, directed by F.W. Murnau

Seven

Seven, directed by David Fincher

Psycho

Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow, directed by Tim Burton

aliens

Aliens, directed by James Cameron

buffy

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon

Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Poltergeist 2

Poltergeist, directed by Tobe Hooper

Others

The Others, directed by Alejondro Amenábar

The Mark of the Renaissance Printer

Posted on behalf of Katherine Durr, 2013 Vassar Ford Scholar

The marks of Wechel, Albrecht, Cavellatt and Worde.

The marks of Wechel, Albrecht, Cavellatt and Worde.

Over the summer, I worked as a Ford Scholar on a project entitled The Mark of the Renaissance Printer: Developing a Digital Humanities Project on Printers’ Marks in the Windows of the Vassar College Library with Professor Ronald Patkus, Director of Archives and Special Collections. The focus of this project began with the arched windows in the north and south wings of the Thompson Memorial Library, as well as the large, central window in the Class of 1951 Reading Room. Each of these windows contains one or many printer’s marks – symbols and monograms developed by European printers, publishers, and booksellers during the 15th and 16th centuries. Eighty-two of these marks were installed in the original library, however, due to renovations, only sixty-six remain today.  They represent printers from nine geographical regions throughout Europe. Prior to beginning my research, the only available information regarding these windows was contained in a now outdated pamphlet published by Vassar librarians in 1917. This document featured the names of the printers, their years of activity, and images of their marks, but did not include biographical information, historical context, and explanations of the marks themselves, information that library visitors often are curious about.

Thierry Martens, 1473

Mark of Thierry Martens, 1473.

My central goal was to compile biographies for each printer, charting their innovations in the art of printing, as well as taking into account their cultural involvements – both religious and political. I also compiled descriptions of the printers’ marks.  Because many of these printers were active during the years of the Protestant Reformation, much of my research revealed significant developments and lines of influence among those involved with the publication of both sacred and secular texts. For example, printers who generally published Christian works – usually Bibles, the literary works of saints, and papal documents – often included elements of Christian symbolism in their marks and printing devices. Whereas those involved in the publication of popular humanist texts adopted more personal emblems, frequently including Classical and commercial motifs. In addition to demonstrating greater historical involvements, the marks and monograms of printers indicate patterns of stylistic influence, clear within circles of printing presses, publishing houses, and very often, families. Most marks underwent several stages of evolution and variation throughout decades – even centuries – of activity.  Accordingly, my initial focus opened up from a study of Vassar’s own history into a tracing of both the development of printing and its lines of visual and cultural transmission.

Jacques Bouchet, 1522-1545

Mark of Jacques Bouchet, 1522-1545

After writing these biographies and visual analyses of the marks themselves and compiling corresponding bibliography, I published my entries to a website within Vassar’s Digital Library. In my efforts to enhance Vassar’s digital archives and to preserve our own visual and historical artifacts, I also hope to contribute to a larger area of research and scholarship, known as the digital humanities. This growing field explores the benefits of transferring materials and resources into more organized, widely available domains.

Mitchell Kennerley and Vassar College

Posted on behalf of Ron Patkus, Director of Archives and Special Collections

Mitchell Kennerley in his library

Mitchell Kennerley in his library

Mitchell Kennerley (1878-1950), whose birthday is August 14, was one of the greatest figures in the worlds of publishing, book collecting, and art in the early twentieth century.

Born in England, as a young man he worked for the London office of the publisher John Lane.  He came to New York to establish offices here, but did not stay with the company for long.  He briefly held other positions before starting his own publishing firm in 1906, still in his twenties.  He made many contacts and over his lifetime published the work of key authors, among them Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence, and Edna St. Vincent Millay.  He was called “the first modern publisher,” and was known for holding high standards in book production.  From 1910 to 1916 he published in New York and London The Forum, a literary periodical which often featured his books.

Kennerley’s interest in books as objects led him to the world of book collecting.  He joined the Book Collectors Club of America and started the Lexington Avenue Bookshop.  From 1916-1929 and 1937-1939 he was also president of Andersen Galleries, overseeing many important auctions of books, manuscripts, and works of art.  In the late 1930s he co-founded Parke-Bernet Galleries, which would eventually become the largest auctioneer of fine art in the United States.

Kennerley’s personality was larger than life.  Matthew Bruccoli, in The Fortunes of Mitchell Kennerley, Bookman described it as a combination of “cool egotism, arrogance, audacity, ruthlessness, relentlessness and charm.” He thus faced many problems, including financial difficulties, and eventually committed suicide (the exact cause is unknown).

Kennerley printers mark

Kennerley printers mark

Vassar’s Special Collections Library holds significant collections relating to Kennerley.  Of special note is a complete run of his imprint, dating from 1906 to 1929.  Given to the library in 1930, this archive reveals both the range of Kennerley as publisher, and the care with which individual books and periodicals were made.  For those interested in these books, Daniel Boice’s The Mitchell Kennerley Imprint: A Descriptive Bibliography will be of great interest.

Over the course of many years Kennerley generously donated a number of interesting and rare books to the Vassar library.  He had become friends with the librarian, Fanny Borden, and often corresponded with her and sent Vassar interesting titles for its collection.  These include, for example, a collection of first editions of Edna St. Vincent Millay, as well as a complete collection of publications of Frederic Goudy’s Village Press.

In addition, Vassar holds a collection of Kennerley’s personal papers, which date from 1898 to 1934.  Among the papers is correspondence with people like Bliss Carmen, D.H. Lawrence, and Joseph Hergesheimer, as well as photographs, publications by and about Kennerley, and other miscellaneous items.  There are also Kennerley letters in other Vassar collections, such as the Frederic Goudy Papers.

Other collections of Kennerley papers are held by a variety of institutions, including the New York Public Library, the Archives of American Art, the University of Virginia, and the University of Pennsylvania.  The NYPL collection in particular holds a significant number of letters written to Kennerley by various writers, artists, and others.