Browse Exhibits (25 total)

To mark the Semiquincentennial, or 250^th anniversary of American independence, the DeGolyer Library has chosen to focus on the Fourth of July oration, a time-honored genre that began in the 18^th century and has continued, in one form or another, up until the present.  Especially popular in New England, Fourth of July orations were given (and printed) in all parts of the country, North, South, East, and West. While often formulaic—the rising glory of America is a perennial theme—they can also be pointed and critical, especially at times of national division, such as during the years leading up to the Civil War.  As Frederick Douglass memorably put it in an address given July 5, 1852, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”  Even so, no less a figure than John Adams recognized in the Fourth of July oration “remarkable uniformity of principles and sentiments,” pointing us ever closer to that “more perfect Union.”  At the same time, we must acknowledge a parallel current of commercialism in our commemorations, especially in the 20^th century, as parades, fireworks, and shopping opportunities beckon. These too are part of the American experience, as seen in the examples in our four exhibit cases. At the DeGolyer, we invite you to celebrate “these truths.”

For their essential work in creating an online exhibit, thanks go to John Milazzo and Abby May.

This exhibit is paired with the SMU Libraries blog post, Paws, Prints and Primary Sources. Head over to the blog post to learn tips on searching for primary sources. Otherwise, dive into a mix of photographs and illustrations depicting cats on the 'Show me...cats' page

The DeGolyer Library’s new exhibit covers several centuries of English and American poetry, with an emphasis on literary biography based upon the poets. Over 100 volumes are on display, featuring both the well-known (Shakespeare, Wordsworth) and the more obscure (Janet Little, Ann Yearsley).

The Joy of Cooking: Two Centuries of Cookbooks at the DeGolyer Library highlights the vast collection of cookbooks preserved in our library. These cookbooks are a storehouse of recipes, as well as a sign of technological, sociological, cultural, and economic change over time. From handwritten recipe collections and household guides of the 19^th century, to ‘reducing’ cookbooks of the 1920s and the rationing cookbooks of World War II, this exhibit charts changing attitudes and approaches to homecooked meals. The Joy of Cooking exhibit will also examine food communities in America, including Jewish cuisine, African American foodways, and church and community cookbooks. If we are what we eat, cookbooks can tell us much about our character in the past.

 October 6th-December 22nd

Open Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:00

Open Saturday-Sunday, 10:00-6:00

(excluding November 5th, 24th-26th, and December 17th)

“Black Lives, Black Letters: Primary Sources in African American History and Literature,” highlights the range of DeGolyer Library’s holdings in this area, featuring rare books, pamphlets, broadsides, sheet music, prints, photographs, manuscripts, and ephemera documenting aspects of the Black experience in America, from the colonial period to the present. Well known figures, from Phillis Wheatley to Toni Morrison, from Frederick Douglass to Barack Obama, are represented. But more often than not, our sources are drawn from much less familiar, sometimes anonymous, figures from the past, in literature, education, politics, religion, business, sports, the performing arts, domestic life, and popular culture.

Our exhibition is designed to complement a lecture at SMU on March 24 by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed, whose recent book, On Juneteenth, is both a personal memoir of growing up in segregated Texas and a profound mediation on the meaning of our shared past. “All the major currents of American history flow through Texas,” she writes. We agree, and attempt to illustrate that fact through this exhibition, bringing attention to important, previously overlooked voices.