Author Archives: Jeffrey Makala

About Jeffrey Makala

The Irvin Department of Rare Books & Special Collections is located in the Ernest F. Hollings Special Collections Library at the University of South Carolina. The department preserves and makes accessible rare materials and special research collections supporting teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines.

“Can we explain the appearance of life upon this planet in terms of science, or only, as in the past, in terms of theology?”

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Jeffrey Makala

A John Burroughs Manuscript John Burroughs (1837-1921), the naturalist, environmental writer, and first biographer of Walt Whitman, continues to play an important role in American writing on nature. Over the course of his long life, he wrote intimately and expansively … Continue reading →

Posted in American literature, Archival collections, John Burroughs, Photos | Leave a comment

A New Exhibition, with Audio

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Jeffrey Makala

We’ve just installed “Beyond Domesticity: U.S. Women Writers, 1770-1915,” our first major show in our new gallery. It was curated by Katherine Adams and Cynthia Davis, two English department faculty members, and is a broad – and deep – survey … Continue reading →

Posted in American literature, Book collections, Exhibitions, Women authors | Leave a comment

A New Acquisition: William Blake’s Illustrations to Robert Blair’s The Grave

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Jeffrey Makala

William Blake, 1757-1827. William Blake’s Watercolour Inventions in Illustration of The Grave by Robert Blair. Edited with Essays and Commentary by Martin Butlin and an Essay on the Poem by Morton D. Paley. Lavenham, Suffolk: The William Blake Trust, 2009. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book collections, Robert Blair, William Blake | Leave a comment

A Collection of E.D.E.N. Southworth

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Jeffrey Makala

We’ve recently acquired a collection of the works of American author E.D.E.N. Southworth (1819-1899). Active in the latter half of the nineteenth century, “Mrs. Southworth” was the author of some 60 popular novels that were as widely read as the … Continue reading →

Posted in American literature, Book collections, Women authors | Leave a comment

Some New & Notable Bookplates

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Jeffrey Makala

There are numerous examples of interesting (and historically notable) bookplates attached to books in our collection. Examples include books with bookplates from the libraries of Carlyle, Shane Leslie, John Evelyn, Graham Pollard, John Sparrow, Edmund Gosse, David Garrick, Richard Congreve, … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival collections, bookplates, Eric Gill, Mitchell Kennerley | Leave a comment

Hello, World!

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Jeffrey Makala

Welcome to the Rare Books and Special Collections blog. We’ve chosen the title Curiositas, which can translate as (at least according to the Oxford Latin Dictionary) “excessive eagerness for knowledge, inquisitiveness, curiosity.” The main purpose of this blog is to … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival collections, Jean Kennerley, Mitchell Kennerley, Photos, T. S. Eliot | Comments Off