Treasures of a Kind: The Shaping of the Library's Collections

Exhibition curated by Vivian Walker, Ph.D. Candidate in English Literature.

An exhibition of the University of Chicago treasures revealing the development of the collections from their foundation to the present. More than fifty key books and manuscripts have been selected to highlight the many forces which have affected the growth and character of the Library, including such works as the first editions of Spencer's Faerie Queen and Lessing's Laokoon; letters of John Donne and T.S. Elliot; Blake's rendering of the Book of Job; and Matisse's Jazz. The exhibition considers the ways in which curatorial interests and philanthropic contributions have been instrumental in shaping this development, and especially the influence of University research on the cultivation of Library resources, and vice versa. This exhibition serves also as an introduction to the nature and breadth of the Library's book and manuscript collections as seen in broader, more general terms.