WMU Research Guides: Special Collections and Rare Book Department: 19th and 20th Century Collections

Images from the Collections

Frontispiece of Through Masai Land... by Joseph Thomson, 1885. From the Alan H. Jacobs East Africa Collection

Cover of limited edition book, 1981. From the Seamus Cooney Black Sparrow Press Collection

German aviators plotting their course for a bombing run over Great Britain. Loose plate from WWII Propaganda and Print Collection

Major 19th & 20th Century Collections

WMU Special Collections holds many materials which were produced during the 19th and 20th centuries, including collections of personal and scholarly papers, books published in limited editions or with annotations and inscriptions and specialized collections donated by individuals. The collections particularly pertain to the histories and literatures of Europe and the United States, although significant collections relating to aspects of nineteenth and twentieth Africa are found in the Alan Jacobs and Edward Callan collections. most of these items are cataloged individually in the WMU Libraries online catalogs.

World War II Propaganda and Print Collection, 1904-1964
World War II Propaganda and Print Collection is the cumulative title for several donations that have been combined to form a single collection of Nazi German and Allies publications, photographs, and ephemera. The Howard Mowen N.S.D.A.P. (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) Collection consists of over 50 newspaper titles, photographs, books, and contemporary currency for the period of 1933-1945 in Germany and forms the core of the collection. Dr. Mowen taught in the Western Michigan University History Department until 1982. Edwin W. Polk, whose experiences on a PT boat in the South Pacific prompted his interest in collecting, donated many of these items. Mr. Polk was an alumnus of Western State Teachers College (1937), now Western Michigan University. Additional donors include Tyler Baker, Robert C. Anderson and Maira Bundza.
Seamus Cooney Black Sparrow Press Collection, 1966-2006
The Black Sparrow Press was a small, distinguished Californian fine press started by John Martin in 1966 which was shut down in 2003. Seamus Cooney, Professor of English at Western Michigan University, was an editor for the Black Sparrow Press from 1969 until 2003 and sold the collection to Western Michigan University. This collection includes of a variety of materials: manuscripts from the works Professor Cooney edited, proofs, corrections, and of course the final printed version of the book. Due to Cooney's long-standing relationship with the press, Special Collections has an almost complete archive of the press's published works from 1966 to 2003.
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Every title from the Black Sparrow Press was issued in four different states: a paper bound trade edition, a hard bound trade edition, a limited edition signed by the author and/or illustrator, and an edition hand bound with an original piece of artwork or poem in the hand of the author.
Katharine M. Briggs Collection, 1806-1980
Katharine M. Briggs (1898-1980) was a folklorist who contributed greatly to the field of British fairies and folk narratives. The collection contains typescript and manuscript copies of some of her later works: Nine Lives: Cats in Folklore (1980); The Vanishing People (1978); Folklore of the Cotswolds (1974); Abbey Lubbers, Banshees & Boggarts (1979); A Dictionary of Fairies (1976) and A Dictionary of British Folk-Tales (1970-1971). We also hold manuscript and typescript copies of articles: "Folk-Tale Story Tellers"; "Tradition and Invention in Ghost Stories" ; "Fairy Themes in Folktales and in Modern Children's Literature"; "Some Unpleasant Characters Among British Fairies"; "Fairies, Hobgoblins and Other Strange Creatures" (1978); "Historical Traditions in English Folklore" (1965); and a biographical notice for Edward Clodd (1979).
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The collection also includes plays she and her sisters Winifred and Elspeth performed and wrote for an amateur touring company (The Summer Players), family letters from the early nineteenth century, books and plays written by her sister and other family members.
Comics Collections
WMU Libraries Comics collections are comprised of DC, Marvel and other comics that were donated by Eric Lean, a physician employed by Western Michigan University, at the Sindecuse Health Center. This collection is known as the A & M Lean Collection, named in honor of the donor's two daughters. Prominently featured among the DC and Marvel comics are Avengers, Batman, Captain America, Catwoman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Incredible Hulk, Justice League of America, Superman and X-Men. The second collection is comprised of Dutch-language Donald Duck comics donated by Western Michigan University alumnus, Jeff Reid.
Alan H. Jacobs East Africa Collection
Alan H. Jacobs (1930 -2010) was a professor of anthropology at Western Michigan University. Jacobs was an undergraduate at WMU, then went on to complete a masters degree at University of Chicago and a doctorate at Oxford University in 1966. He was one of the world's foremost experts on the semi-nomadic Maasai people. He retired from WMU in 1996. This collection was acquired by a combination of donation and purchase via the Jacobs family of Kalamazoo, in 2012. It includes primarily books, but also serials, relating to the cultural, historical, political and geographic study of East Africa. Several books relate to other regions of Africa. The dates of the publications range from the early nineteenth through late twentieth centuries and are primarily in English, but others are in Dutch, German or French. Titles associated with this collection are searchable in WMU Libaries online catalog.
Ben Tibbs Collection
Ben Tibbs (1907-1995) was a Kalamazoo-area poet who was also known for his work in graphic arts. He designed the covers of his own books as well as the covers of other poets' works. His family donated his extensive poetry collection to Special Collections, the majority of which are signed or inscribed by the authors. These include books by Diane Wakoski, Denise Levertov, Muriel Rukeyser, Anne Sexton, Galway Kinnell, David Meltzer, Charles Reznikoff, Diane DiPrima, Robert Bly, W.S. Merwin, Gary Snyder and many others. Tibbs' own poetry, book design and other graphic art is represented in the collection as well.

Small 19th & 20th Century Archival Collections

Many of the 19th & 20th century collections are small and specialized. In addition, there are collections in American women's poetry, children's books or Cistercian Studies, associated with this period, which appear in other sections of this guide. Listed below are a few of these smaller collections.

Edward Callan Papers and Miscellaneous Authors, 1903-2000
Edward Callan Collection: Alan Paton Archive, 1920-1994
Edward Callan Collection: W.H. Auden Archive, 1928-1993
John Woods Papers, 1948-1996
Donald Hall Collection
Ben Tibbs Archive 1958-1977
(supplements the Ben Tibbs Collection of books)
Fred Hartenstein Collection of Autographs, 1898-1911
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The collection contains over 80 autographs of famous people from the first few decades of the twentieth century. Western Michigan University management professor, Fred Hartenstein in 1983 saved this collection as a student working at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was given this collection by the Carnegie Library, after inquiring when he found out that it was going to be discarded after years of storage. Ms. Sophie Levin, a Reference Librarian at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, originally gathered the autographs between 1900 and 1910. She sent requests to famous people for their autographs.
Auction Catalog Collections, 1815-1997
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This collection of auction catalogs is divided into two portions: 1) Jeremy Griffiths Manuscript Auction Catalog Collection (517 items) - Sotheby's, Christie's and miscellaneous manuscript and book auction catalogs and 2) Sotheby's and Christie's jewelry auction catalogues (103 items)
The Shadow Archive, 1932-1994

Subject and Course Guides

Special Collections and Rare Book Department: 19th and 20th Century Collections

Images from the Collections

Major 19th & 20th Century Collections

Small 19th & 20th Century Archival Collections