Frontiers of Expression

The American crisis : Number V : addressed to General Sir William Howe

Thomas Paine, The American crisis : Number V : addressed to General Sir William Howe ([Hartford]: Lancaster, printed. Hartford: re-printed and sold, by Watson & Goodwin ..., MDCCLXXVIII [1778]). AC7 P1657 778ab

After her printer-husband Ebenezer died of smallpox in September 1777, Hannah Bunce Watson (1749-1807) entered a business partnership with George Goodwin, a newspaper printer.  The partners published the Connecticut Courant, which was considered a vehicle of popular support for the American Revolution throughout New England. The newspaper ran articles about colonial politics and criticism of the British Parliament, in addition to local news. The newspaper was considered enough of a threat that the Tories burned down their paper supplier; but the Connecticut Assembly established a state lottery to rebuild the paper mill.  This copy of a revolutionary book was printed by Watson and Goodwin.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (New York: T. Nelson and Sons, 1896), from the Caroline F. Schimmel Fiction Collection of Women in the American Wilderness. 2017 Schimmel gift

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) was an abolitionist and the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which was responsible for alerting Northerners to the horrors of slavery. Published in 1851, the book was instantly successful and enormously controversial, both in the United States and abroad, particularly in England.  According to Jared Brock, 3,000 copies were sold on the first day, the entire first print run (5,000 copies) were purchased within four days, and more than 300,000 copies were sold in the United States in its first year in print.

Frankenstein, or, The modern Prometheus

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, or, The modern Prometheus (London : Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831). Singer-Mendenhall PR5397.F7 1831

Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was an English author who finished writing Frankenstein when she was 19 years old.  So, a teenage girl wrote one the most uniquely imaginative and enduring novels of our history.  Born to audacious parents (Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and William Godwin,  the political philosopher and novelist), Shelley published the first edition anonymously, and readers apparently assumed that the author was male.

Sarah Bernhardt photograph, as Hamlet

Sarah Bernhardt photograph, as Hamlet, from the Philip Ward collection of theatrical images, 1856-1910. Ms. Coll. 331

Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) is considered one of the best actresses of the 19th century, acting both on stage and on film. After earning accolades at the Odéon Theatre, Bernhardt traveled through Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States with her own company of actors.  She is known for playing the male character, Hamlet, on the stage and, in 1900, in a film version.

Sketch and booklet

Sketch and booklet, circa 1930s, from the Wanda Gág papers, 1892-1968. Ms. Coll. 310

Wanda Gág (1893-1946) was an artist, author, and illustrator best known for her work on children’s books, especially Millions of Cats. Here, however, she shows us her more audacious side, drawing scenes that your typical young lady probably would not have dared to draw.

Photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt presenting Marian Anderson the Springarn Medal in Richmond Virginia

Photograph of Eleanor Roosevelt presenting Marian Anderson the Springarn Medal in Richmond Virginia, 1939, from the Marian Anderson photographs, 1898-1992. Ms. Coll. 198

Marian Anderson (1897-1993) was an American contralto and one of the most celebrated singers of the twentieth century.  Her relationship with Eleanor Roosevelt began in 1939, when Anderson was barred from singing in the concert hall of the Daughters of the American Revolution because of her race.  First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, herself a member of the D.A.R., publicly resigned from the organization in protest and arranged for Marian Anderson to perform at a much larger venue. This photograph shows Eleanor Roosevelt presenting Anderson the Springarn Medal, awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American, on July 2, 1939.

Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and other stars of the Modern dance : paper dolls in full color Martha Graham Isadora Duncan; twenty-four studies

Tom Tierney, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and other stars of the Modern dance : paper dolls in full color (Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1983). GV1783 .T54x 1983

Merle Armitage, Martha Graham (New York: Dance Horizons, 1966). GV1785.G7 A7 1966

Arnold Genthe, Isadora Duncan; twenty-four studies (New York, London: M. Kennerley, 1929). GV1785.D8 G4

Isadora Duncan (circa 1887-1927) and Martha Graham (1894-1991) were two women who shaped modern dance.  Isadora Duncan is known as the “Mother of Dance,” and according to the June 8, 1998 issue of Time, Margaret Graham’s “methods are routinely taught today in studios the world over, but you need not have studied them or even have seen any of her dances to be influenced by them. They are part of the air every contemporary dancer breathes.”

Celebrate people's history: 100 posters

Celebrate people's history: 100 posters, organized and curated by Josh MacPhee. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, 2016). Portfolio NC1849.S54 C46 2016

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) was an American author, feminist, librarian (yay) and civil rights activist. According to the Poetry Foundations, she described herself as a “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” and dedicated both her life and her creative talent to confronting and addressing injustices of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia. This is one poster in a cloth-bound box set of 100 posters documenting the first 18 years in the Celebrate People’s History Poster series. This diverse set of posters brings to life critical moments in the history of the struggle for social justice. To that end, MacPhee asked artists and designers to illustrate events, groups, and people who have advanced the collective struggle of humanity and attempted to create a more equitable and just world. The posters tell stories from the subjective position of the artists, and are often the stories of underdogs, those written out of history.