Category: Exhibits

Encyclopedias: The Art of Organizing Knowledge

September 30–December 31, 2014
Flat Library Cases

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Encyclopedias and dictionaries trace their history back to the ancient Greeks at the least. Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia is accepted as the first true encyclopedia—in 37 volumes, and dictionaries date to the same period. Reed is fortunate in owning a remarkable collection of representative compilations, from Pliny in a 1600 German blackletter edition through Diderot’s Encyclopédie and a 1798 American version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Taken from the library’s special collections, the exhibit fills the library’s four flat cases and the wall case behind the reference desk.

Russia and Reed

November 1, 2013 – January 31, 2014
Library flat cases and wall case

From the first class in Russian grammar in 1939 to the Russian Language House to students’ Russian travels, Reed has long been interested in things Russian. On display is a selection of Russian materials from the library’s special collections: maps, photographs, rare books, propaganda posters, and materials related to Russian faculty and student travels.

A. E. Doyle at Reed

August 23 – November 2013
Library Flat Cases

A. E. Doyle (1877-1928), perhaps the most important Portland architect, designed the iconic first buildings at Reed–Eliot Hall and the Old Dorm Block. Anna Mann, Prexy, the Student Union, and the Woodstock Houses followed soon after. Appointed to the Reed Board of Regents in 1919, he was integral to campus history until his death. Reed acquired his architectural library in the 1990s.

William Dickey ’51 – Everyday Poet

March 15 – July 31, 2013
Library flat cases

William Dickey is another excellent poet to come out of Reed College. Graduating the same year as Gary Snyder and Phil Whalen who became the Beat Poets, Dickey had a very different voice, focusing on love and change and experience, both serious and humorous. Widely published and winner of poetry prizes, Dickey taught creative writing and poetry all his life, for the final thirty years at San Francisco State University. His papers are now at Reed. Shown are his published books, the progress of one title through publication, and various aspects of his life and experience.

Christmas Mass: Victorian Illuminated Manuscript

Reed recently acquired an illuminated Christmas Mass, calligraphed and illustrated by Marie Granville and perhaps others, dated 1854.

This lovely manuscript has been digitized and is now part of the Digital Collection.

This work is illuminated with many initials in colors and burnished gold, with full borders on every page in a variety of styles based on Medieval prayer books, most with floral decoration in bright colors. Several borders contain miniatures in rondels that show great detail; one page contains views of the Great Exhibition of 1851 London including the Crystal Palace. The binding is an excellent example of the amazing leather work of Leon Gruel, a well-known French binder.

Gov Docs: Old School Treasures

November 10, 2012 — January 31, 2013

2012 marks another Reed centennial as a government documents depository.The library was designated a senatorial depository under President Foster and first librarian Maida Rossiter in 1912; it has received about 38% of governmental publications since then. A selection showing the breadth and variety of those publications is on display including topics such as the Roswell Incident, the Kennedy Assassination, early explorations in the West, and findings on marijuana in 1962.

Beatus vir, a late Medieval Illuminated Manuscript

One of Reed’s three illuminated manuscripts, the Beatus vir, created around 1510 in France, has now been digitized and may be perused online at http://cdm.reed.edu/cdm4/beatusvir/ as one of Reed’s newer digital collections. The Beatus vir is a psalter and prayerbook containing 40 painted miniatures, ten of them full-page. Particularly appealing are the many images showing genesis and the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, birds, insects, and fish, man, and trees and flowers.

Secret Books!

Secret Books! Exhibit

August 28 – November 7, 2012

Many surprises lurk in the Reed library collections: books that have unexpected contents, hidden accessories or decoration, or are just downright unreadable. The long history of cyphers and steganography (concealed writing) attests to the appeal, and sometimes the necessity, of hiding meaning in communications and texts. A broader look at books— including artists’ books—containing secret surprises of any sort is currently on display in the flat library cases just beyond the entrance.

Calligraphy at Reed

May 22 – August 2012

This exhibit sheds some light on the history of calligraphy at Reed and the impact of Lloyd Reynolds’ teaching, showing a selection of his letterforms, correspondence, and student work.  The calligraphy that Reynolds taught at Reed from the late 1930s through 1969 remains a strong presence in college life.  Robert Palladino continued teaching that course through 1984, and since then there have been Paideia classes, Reunion themes, major exhibits, catalogs, and classes taught through the Cooley Gallery to school children, Reed students, and others.

Flat cases and the wall case behind the reference desk in the Hauser Library