ILLINOI SUNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

PRODUCTION NOTE

University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign Library

Large-scale Digitization Project, 2007.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY FRIENDS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

vol. 3, no. 4Winter 1981-82ISSN 0192-5539

Motley Collection AcquiredCostume Designs Span Fifty Years of Theater History

The Friends, through their generosity,have been instrumental in theacquisition of an impressive collectionof theater history-that of costumedesigns by the British company Motley.

The Motley Collection, which spans50 years of theater history, containsmore than 3,000 original costumesketches, story boards and fabricsamples from over 160 productions.Some of the designs are fromproductions at the ShakespeareMemorial Theatre atStratford-upon-Avon, the Old Vic,Royal Court Theatre, operas presentedby the English National Opera, andnumerous commercial productions. Inthe United States, Motley designedcostuming for such Broadwayproductions as "South Pacific,""Can-Can," "Paint Your Wagon," "TheMost Happy Fella," and "Peter Pan."The group also designed costumes forthe movie "Oklahoma!" and theBroadway production of Eugene

The Motley company designed this set forthe English National Opera production ofVerdi's "II Trovatore."

The recent acquisition ot the Motleycompany's design collection includes thisdrawing for the character Tybalt in a 1932London production of "Romeo and Juliet."

O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey intoNight."

The Motley company is named afterthe bright, colorful costumes worn bycourt jesters in Shakespeare's time, andis the corporation name of Sophia andMargaret Harris (sisters) and their friendElizabeth Montgomery Wilmot. MissMargaret Harris, who is 70 and one oftwo surviving members of theorganization, still operates a renownedinternational design school.

Miss Harris decided to sell thecollection after Michael Mullin,associate professor of English and aShakespeare scholar, suggested thatMiss Harris have the collectionappraised. Miss Harris had initiallyplanned to sell some of the sketchespiece by piece to support her schoolwhose funds had been cut by theThatcher administration. Prof. Mullin'ssuggestion made it possible for MissHarris to support her school and alsofurnish the Library with a valuableresearch archive.

Since Motley designed costumes formany Shakespearean productions, thecostume collection will be a valuablecomplement to the Library's alreadyextensive Shakespeare collectiondonated over the last 25 years by thegenerous Library benefactor, ErnestIngold. The collection will also bevaluable to those interested in costumedesign and generally for thoseinterested in theater history.

According to Dr. Mullin, thecollection, "documents the changingtrends in theatrical taste, conceptualapproach and visual interpretationthrough costumes and scenery. Usingthese sketches and designs, togetherwith the Library's other resources,scholars can reconstruct individualproductions and trace the evolution oftheater style over several decades."Prof. Mullin added that the collectionwas extremely unusual because of itsextensiveness. He said, "Not only wasthe collection valuable in itself, but it isextremely rare in the ephemeral worldof the theater, where designers oftendiscard or give away their work after aproduction closes."

Motley has designed costumes for,and in conjunction with, such theatricalnames as Sir Laurence Olivier, DamePeggy Ashcroft, and Sir John Gielgud,to name a few. -(continued inside)

A few of the costumes designs by theMotley company for the Broadwayproduction of "Paint Your Wagon" by JayLerner and Frederick Loewe.

Motley Collection-(from page 1)

Executive Committee Notes

Ms. Harriett Jump, niece of the Harris sisters,examines a sketch in the Motley collectionwith Director of Technical Services MichaelGorman.

The acquisition of the collection waspraised by James Berton Harris, head ofcostume design at the Krannert Centerfor the Performing Arts. Prof. Harris,who has himself designed costumes forBroadway productions, said, "With theMotley collection, these resourcesmake Illinois one of the most importantresearch centers for drama and theaterhistory in the country."

The Motley collection arrived in twotrunks and was accompanied byHarriett Jump, niece of the Harris sistersand one of the sellers. The collection iscurrently being cataloged in the RareBook Room of the University Libraryand should be available for research inlate November. There are plans toexhibit some of the collection duringApril as part of the Library'scommemoration of Shakespeare'sbirthday.

It can be said that acquisition of theMotley Collection is another reasonwhy the Library values the Friends andtheir support. The Friends, inconjunction with the Library and thecolleges of Liberal Arts and Sciencesand Fine and Applied Arts, can be trulyproud of making it possible for theLibrary to acquire such a prestigiousand valuable research collection.

The Library Friends of the University ofIllinois has become one of the mostsuccessful university friendsorganizations in the country. Thissuccess, as with most success stories, isin large measure the result of theefforts and support of a very few keypeople as well as the contributions andhelp of the rest of us. In our case,much of the impetus, the growth, andthe early financial support was providedby the Stewart Howe Foundation underthe direction of Carlyle Anderson.Among its many contributions anddeeds was its $10,000 gift that hasunderwritten Friendscript the last threeyears. Friendscript has been ourprimary means of communication withour membership and has, we feel,become indispensable in our reachingout for greater support and newfriends.

Sadly, this money will run out aftertwo more issues of Friendscript. We willnot allow Friendscript to die, but weare faced with the reality that unless wecan obtain one or more grants or giftslarge enough to underwrite anotheryear or more of our newsletter, we willhave to use money from our budget. Asmost of you know, the beneficiary ofour budget is the library collection. Lastyear our gifts for books was $45,000. Wewant that amount to grow every year,not decrease.

The most satisfactory factor of myown involvement with the LibraryFriends has been the organization'smission of helping the Library. Somesupport organizations occasionally seemto exist for the sake of their ownexistence. They become more of aparasite than a help. You can beassured that this Friends organization isdirecting all of its efforts and resourcestoward helping and supporting ourLibrary.

If any of you is able to make asubstantial gift or if you know someonewho can make a substantial gift forunderwriting Friendscript, ourorganization can continue ournewsletter while maintaining our everincreasing support to the Library. Pleaselet us know if you can be of help.

I do want to take this opportunity toexpress our continued appreciation toCarlyle Anderson and the StewartHowe Foundation. Its purpose has beento help us grow in numbers and infinancial support. It has succeeded.Now we need to find a comparablefriend. We also hope that the StewartHowe Foundation will continue itsinterest in us. The impetus provided bythe Foundation occurred in our crucialearly years as we set out to establish asubstantial base of private support forour Library.

-Robert Watts, President

Classical Bookmaking Behind Friends LogoThe detailed logo which appears ineach issue of Friendscript has aninteresting history behind it-a historyof craftsmanship and quality bookprinting.

The illustration comes from one ofseveral Badius editions in the UILibrary. The printer is a Parisian namedJodocus Badius Ascensius. Badiuslearned his craft in Italy, moved toLyon, and finally set up his shop in Parisin 1499. Badius is one of the firstprinters of scholarly books following inthe footsteps of his mentor HenriEstienne, famous French bookdealerand printer. Many of Badius's editionsare Latin classics.

The illustration itself is of Badius'spress room. On the left there is aworkman preparing the leather inkballs. In the center of the room is theheavy press with its frame bracedagainst the ceiling by stout beams. Onthe right of the illustration is acompositor setting type. There is somequestion on whether this workman isconcentrating on the text or lookingout the window and daydreaming.

The logo seems fitting forFriendscript in that it was designed by aquality printer of the 15th century andnow represents a quality organizationof bibliophiles-the Friends of theLibrary.

From the Librarian's View

One of the concerns of librarians, andthe community of library users, iswhether or not the book as we know itwill continue in its present form. Oneshould remember that libraries havecollected books in various forms, andthat they have, in fact, developed fromclay tablets to papyrus rolls to vellumhandwritten codices to printed papercodices. And along the way librarieshave collected items which sometimescome out in parts, like the Victoriannovel, sometimes in regular issues, suchas the journal, and they have alwaysincluded items in a scroll-like form,such as microfilm reels even though thedominant pattern for the last fourhundred years or so has been theprinted-paper codex bound with stiffcovers.

The advent of new microtechnologies which produce siliconechips and bubble memories will nodoubt have an impact on the book. It isquite likely that for many "books" onewill plug in a small hand-held device,very similar to the new alpha/numerichand calculator, and fill up some five orsix extraordinarily small but very densestorage devices (perhaps micro chips orbubble memory) with a needed book.One would then read it at one's leisurefrom the display on the small device.When finished with the "book", itwould simply be erased.

For other items the format we nowknow will probably continue. Mostlikely the general purpose magazineand the book of poetry will continuein their present format. However, thepresent format for the specializedjournal may not continue except as anindex or an abstract. The articlesthemselves may be available upondemand only.

The problems for libraries, scholarsand other users will remain the sameno matter what format books appear in.

The item must be indexed andaccessible whether that access is from acomputer terminal or by plugging in ablank cassette. The item has to beusable and in some form able to beshared with other patrons of the library.We will still have to buy the books,catalog them, lend them, and storethem. Only the forms of such activity,the displays of the products ofauthorship will change and then onlyvery slowly. Most probably we willcontinue to have a mixed-mediumlibrary. It seems most likely that themachine-based storage will beespecially applicable to the kinds ofdata which need to be manipulated fortheir most efficient use, while the othermedia will be used for belle-lettres andthe products of scholarly analysesrather than for books which are acompilation of data themselves. Oneonly has to look at some of theexperiments that modern poets havebeen engaging in the effort to producetheir poetry in a format and in amedium applicable to the poemsthemselves to note that even the mosttraditional form of literary art may bechanging over the next half century. Inany case, the library's function ofbringing the book and the readertogether will probably change but little.

-Hugh C. Atkinson, University Librarian

The Ul Library volunteer program isexplained by David Cobb, associateprofessor and map and geography librarian,at a recent committee meeting.

Prof. Cobb discussed the volunteersprogram which includes the preservationand restoration of rare books, the search forrare books, updating of aprinter/publisher/bookseller file, and thetraining of Library tour guides.

We Need Your HelpYou can ensure the UI Library'scontinued excellence by:

* telling others about the LibraryFriends and encouraging themto join

* sending us lists of potentialmembers and contributors

* helping the Library solicitgrants from foundations

* obtaining your company's ororganization's participation in amatching gift program

* passing the information aboutLibrary Friends membership onin your newsletter orpublications.

The Benefits of Membership

As a Friend of the University of IllinoisLibrary, you receive:* Special circulation and stack privileges for

Library materials* Friendscript, the quarterly newsletter* Non Solus, the annual bulletin* Invitations to exhibits, lectures and

receptions* A 30% discount on University of Illinois

Press publicationsThe Friends welcome everyone interested inthe continued excellence of the Universityof Illinois Library. There are now over 1000members of Library Friends.

YES, I/We wish to becomemembers of the U of I LIBRARYFRIENDSo University Librarian's Council at UIUC:

$5000 0 Sponsor: $100o Life: $1500 0 Subscriber: $50O Benefactor: $1000 0 Contributor: $25o Patron: $500 0 Student: $5

Please make your check payable toUniversity of Illinois Foundation/LibraryFriends, 224 Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St.,Urbana, Illinois 61801. All contributions aretax-deductible.

Name

Address

State & Zip

friendscriptAppears quarterly in April, July,October, and January. Editor: LindaHoffman. Office of Publication:University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 249 Armory Bldg., 505 E.Armory St., Champaign, IL 61820.Application to mail at second-classpostage rates pending at Urbana, III.POSTMASTER: send Form 3579 toFriendscript, University of Illinois, 249Armory Bldg., 505 E. Armory St.,Champaign, Illinois 61820.

The Library is Looking...

For Sadtler Standard Spectra, vol. 1-10for the Chemistry Library. The set, whichcosts $2,685.00, contains information foranalytical chemists. The volumescontain evaluative spectra in the fieldof chemistry. For more information,please call Lucille Wert, ChemistryLibrarian, at 217/333-3737.For funds to purchase a copy of thelimited edition (1,500 copies) Pythagorasat the Forge: An Annotated Catalogueof the Rosenbaum Collection ofWestern European Musical Instrumentsfor the Music Library. This one-volumework costs $150.00. In addition to beinga valuable source for collectors,students, teachers, performers, andinstrument makers, the catalog isdesigned by the Philidor Press, Boston,noted for its expertise in classicaldesign and historical printing types. Formore information, please contactWilliam McClellan, Music Librarian, at217/333-6161.For funds to purchase the five-volumeset of the Principal Works of SimonStevin for the Engineering Library. Theset is a valuable reference source onengineering history, and its acquisitionwould do much to strengthen Libraryholdings in this area of engineeringresearch. Each volume of the set nowcosts $95. A gift for one of the volumeshas been received, but funding isneeded for the other four volumes. Formore information, please call JiniBalachandran, Assistant EngineeringLibrarian, at 217/333-3576 or the Friendsoffice, 217/333-7480.

Prof. Richard Burkhardt, chairperson of the History Department, (left) and Mr. Nigel Blackwellof the B.H. Blackwell book firm in London, examine one of the books in the DarwinCollection. Mr. Blackwell presented to the Library a facsimile copy of a Darwin edition inanticipation of the acquisition of the six millionth volume.

Math Correction

In the fall issue of Friendscript it wasmistakenly reported that the NationalEndowment for the Humanitiesawarded the Library a Title II-C grantbeginning October of 1982. The storyshould have read that the grant camefrom the United States Department ofEducation with the project beginningOctober 1981. Friendscript regrets theerror.

Friends Gifts Enhance Library CollectionsFriends continue to give their supportto the Library whenever possible.Special thanks should go to severalmore Friends who have made generouscontributions from their owncollections.

Mr. and Mrs. John Robertson ofPhoenix, Arizona, have presented tothe Library Hubridas, 1732 and ADissertation on Reading the Classics, byHenry Felton, D.D., 1730.

A collection of World War I literaturehas been given to the Library by Mrs.Edmund R. Purves of Washington, D.C.and Professor Alan C. Purves ofChampaign. The collection includessuch works as The School of BatteryCommander, translated from French forthe American soldier. Also included inthe donation were French novels ofwar. These additions to the Library'scollection will give greater depth to thealready impressive collection on WorldWar I.

To enrich the Library's information inthe field of photography, Mr. Robert K.O'Daniell of Urbana has donatedseventeen volumes of the Life Libraryof Photography, 1970-72 and Petersen's1974 Masters of ContemporaryPhotography series covering thesubjects of photojournalism, photoessay and photo illustration.

Mrs. Edward Kay of Grosse PointePark, Michigan, has presented to theLibrary Collectanea, Thomas Carlyle1821-1855, edited by her grandfather,Dr. Samuel Arthur Jones. Alsopresented to the Library was SomeUnpublished Letters of Henry D. andSophia E. Thoreau. These will be addedto the Samuel Arthur Jones Collection.

The Friendscript staff would like tojoin with the Library in expressing oursincerest thanks and appreciation forthese gifts and all those special Friendswho have made the Library the impres-sive research collection it is today.

Blackwell Gift ComplementsDarwin Exhibit and Lecture

The Rare Book Room is currentlyfeaturing an exhibit entitled, "TheIntellectual Voyage of Charles Darwin."The exhibit was created by Fred Nash,Rare Book Room Librarian, incooperation with Prof. RichardBurkhardt, chairperson of the HistoryDepartment.

Dr. Burkhardt gave a lecture by thesame title on November 19 outliningDarwin's ideas on evolution and theirdevelopment following a sea voyage.

Prior to Prof. Burkhardt's speech, acontribution was made to the Darwincollection by Mr. Nigel Blackwell of theB.H. Blackwell, Ltd. book firm ofLondon. The presentation of the 3volume set of The Zoology of theVoyage of H.M.S. Beagle, edited byCharles Darwin, was made in the RareBook Room on October 16 inanticipation of the addition of thesix-millionth volume to the Library. Thefacsimile reproduction is bound ingenuine leather and linen and containsblack and white as well as color plates.

Mr. Blackwell, for his generosity, wasgiven a membership in Library Friends.He remarked that he was lookingforward to a long association with theLibrary.

Quotables(Editor's note: John Cribbett, Chancellor ofthe University of Illinois, has been a strongproponent of the Library for a number ofyears. The following quote is taken from anaddress made in January 1980.)

' 'There are no great anddistinguished universities without largeand sophisticated libraries. The librarylies at the core of the University. Itcontains the record of civilization fromthe dim reaches of the past to thepresent. The Library of theUrbana-Champaign campus of theUniversity of Illinois is the third largestuniversity library in the nation,exceeded only by Harvard and Yale,and is the fifth largest library of anykind. The Library of Congress and theNew York Public Library arerespectively first and second in the sizeof their collections. The Library is onesource of our great strength as aneducational institution, and we all takeconsiderable pride in the richness anddepth of its collections. The Library isthe principal asset in attracting andretaining our distinguished faculty. Weintend to exert every effort to maintainand strengthen this critical asset of theUniversity of Illinois. ) ,

Writer W.S. Merwin autographs one of hisbooks while Melissa Cain, associateprofessorof library administration, looks on.Mr. Merwin was at the Library October 13 toautograph his books in the Rare Book Roomand English Library.

Friends Funds Help toObtain Special WorksFunds from contributions of over$45,000 to Library Friends have enabledthe Library to make notable purchasesfor its research collections over the pastyear. Listed below are some of theimportant items which have beenacquired recently:

An Analysis of the Galic Language(Rogers collection)

Anti-Pamela (Rogers collection)John Arbuthnot, An Account of the

State of Learning in the Empire ofLilliput (Rogers collection)

John Arbuthnot, Critical Remarks onCaptain Gulliver's Travels (Rogerscollection)

Ashendene Press bibliographyJoseph Ben-David, The Leipnik

HaggadahTrajano Boccalini, Advertisements from

ParnassusJames Boswell, Life of Samuel Johnson

(Rogers collection)Alexander M. Broadley, Dr. Johnsonand Mrs. Thrale (Rogers collection)

Sir Thomas Burnet, Some furtherproofs... (Rogers collection)

Carte des Possessions Angloises etFrancoises du Continent deI'Amerique Septentrionale, 1755

Carte deu Canada et de la LouisianeQui Forment la Nouvelle France etdes Colonies Angloises on sontrepresentez les Pays Contestez, 1756

Pierre Coustau, Pegmes, Lyons 1555Daniel Defoe, The King of Pirates

(Rogers collection)Artus Desire, Les Grans AbusGraphic Illustrations of the Life and

Times of Samuel Johnson LLD (Rogerscollection)

Elizabeth Haywood, Adventures ofEovaii, Princess of Ijaveo (Rogerscollection)

Claude-Adrien Helvetius, De I'espritHortus sanitatis de herbis et plantis(incunabulum)

Charles Marriott, New Royal EnglishDictionary

Mathematical ModellingMolecular PhysiologyGiambattista Morandi, HistoriaBotanica Practica

Motley Collection of costume and stagedesigns

On the lives of the poets (Rogerscollection)

Giovanni Francesco Pico dellaMirandola, Examen vanitatis doctrinaegentium

Marcel Proust, letterJoseph Roques, Plantes usuellesindigenes et exotiques

Additions to the Sandburg Collection:Typed letter signed to Vella Martin;autographed manuscripts of 14 earlyand apparently unpublished poems1903-1907; and three volumes byPhilip Green Wright, A Baker's Dozenfor a Few Score Friends, and TheDreamer, foreword by Sandburg

Daniel Stolicius, ChymischesLustgartlein

The Vatican Frescoes of MichelangeloFrancois Marie Arouet de Voltaire, LeTaureau blanc (Rogers collection)

Volumes for the American poetry andliterature collection

Henry Francis Du Pont WinterthurMuseum Library, catalog

Richard J. Wolfe, Jacob Bigelow'sAmerican Medical Botany, 1817-1821

Arte Johnson, actor, comedian andentertainer, visited the UI Library October 23for the first time since his graduation in1949. Mr. Johnson was a guest of the UIduring last year's Homecoming activities.

Above, Mr. Johnson browses through thecard catalog in the Rare Book Room withAssistant Rare Book Librarian Mary Ceibert.

Mr. Johnson has been a long-time sup-porter of Friends and the Library. He statedin the Winter 1979-90 "Quotables" columnthat, "in supporting the Library, I hope togive someone else an opportunity to havethe same pleasures I have had there."

Please remember:Friendscript is produced and distributed with funds from a3-year grant of the Stewart Howe Foundation. These fundswere donated in recognition of the late Mr. Howe's strongsupport of the University of Illinois Library as benefactor andcharter member of Library Friends. The UI Libraryappreciates this support, and must rely on the continuedgenerosity of those who recognize the importance of theLibrary's ability to meet the challenges of today and thefuture with success.

Calendar

Exhibits

January 1-February 28"The Intellectual Voyage of CharlesDarwin." Rare Book Room.

February 1-28"Information Transfer-Illinois InternationalEducation Programs." University Archives.

March 1-31"LITA and ACRL-Constituent Associationsof ALA." University Archives.

March 1"Background of Anglo-American Law." RareBook Room.

Events

February 17Dedication of the Library's Lincoln Room inhonor of the Horner Endowment. "After theBig Five: The Past and Present of LincolnCollecting," Dr. Mark E. Neely, Jr., Director,Louis A. Warren Lincoln Library andMuseum, Ft. Wayne, Ind., speaker. Lecture8:00 p.m. in 112 Gregory Hall, with receptionimmediately following in the Rare BookRoom.

Indian Writer HonoredA plaque honoring Indian poet,novelist, composer, artist, and NobelPrize winner, Rabindranath Tagore wasdedicated November 9 outside theAsian Library. Participants in theceremony included Indian ambassadorto the United States, K.R. Narayanan.

Tagore, whose son graduated fromthe UI in 1909, lived in Urbana severalmonths before winning the Nobel Prizefor Literature in 1913. He won the prizefor his English version of the collectionentitled Gitanjali. His genius as a writer

is displayed in the numerous collectionsof poems, songs and novels. Inaddition, he was one of India'sforemost painters. He also founded anddeveloped the Visva-Bharati Universityat Santiniketan where he encouragedthe blending of the best of Indian andWestern traditions.

The Tagore plaque is located outsidethe Asian Library, Main Library. Fundsfor the plaque were contributed byfaculty members of the Center forAsian Studies.

Indian ambassador to the United States, K.R.Narayanan, is pictured here during thededication of the Tagore plaque at the AsianLibrary to honor Indian writer andhumanitarian, Rabindranath Tagore.

The Oath of Vincennes:A Historical Survey TreasureThe Vincennes oath is history comealive. In 1778 George Rogers Clark setout to take control of America'sMidwest from the British. In the courseof his expedition, he occupied

Kaskaskia on the night of 4-5 July 1778,sent a detachment to Cahokia the nextday, and then backtracked toVincennes, an important British outpostcontrolling the route to Detroit, the siteof the British military's main force.Upon his successful unopposed entry toVincennes, he had the inhabitantsswear allegiance to the United States ofAmerica "on the Holy Evangel ofAlmighty God." By signature-or muchmore commonly by making amark-185 French males agreed toaccept American control.

The oath, brought to the HistoricalSurvey in 1905 by the first director,Clarence W. Alvord, is an interestingand important artifact for researchersand scholars of Midwest history. Theoath is in three sheets of heavy paperand shows red sealing wax imprints offormer joining. Scholars havedeciphered the names on thedocument as well as the background ofeach, thereby providing a nominalcensus of 18th-century Vincennes.

The Oath of Vincennes is just anotherunique facet of the UI Library thatmakes it one of the foremost researchcenters in the world.

.... ..... 7 . . -

The first of three sections of the "Oath ofVincennes" housed in the Illinois HistoricalSurvey of the UI Library.

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