In previous blog posts, I have written about items that, in the process of cataloging, I discovered to be rare or unique to the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. This week, I have devoted my time to cataloging items exclusively from the library’s rare book and ephemera collections.
The first issue of the journal Lorelei: a journal of arts & letters, dated August 1924, provides a glimpse into the lives of artists living and working in Provincetown in the early 20th century. I have been unable to locate any other copies of Lorelei or any reference to how many issues of the journal were published. The copy of Lorelei in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is a unique resource to scholars.
A sales catalog for the Dunbar Glass Corporation, located in Dunbar, West Virginia, 1913-1953. Based upon the styles of glass for sale, I was able to date the catalog to the late 1930s or early 1940s.
Most stunning of all, however, is a leather-bound book containing 75 original Chinese drawings. A handwritten note in the front of the volume explains that the drawings were “brought from China by Dr. Fleming, physician to the Princess Charlotte of Wales” and later sold in London. The drawings portray figures, flowers, and birds, and are vibrantly colored. Among the leaves of illustrated plates, I found a page of sketches by an unknown artist, influenced by the Chinese drawings.-Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow
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