This past Friday, the Rose Scholars got an inside look at the Rare Manuscripts found in Kroch Library. It was pretty cool, to say the least, to learn about how the books were kept and exactly what rare things we had in possession here at Cornell.

We saw some old documents signed by Abraham Lincoln that were important to the nation’s history as well as an engraving of the men all walking to sign this document. After that, we walked into the teaching room where Lance, our guide, walked us through the history of books.

We took a look at some interesting books, like one full of hymns and ceremonial proceedings that had a chain for protection. This book was fascinating because half of it was written by hand and the other half was typed. We also saw the way Charles Dickens first published his books, and they weren’t exactly books, but rather a series in which he just released chapters. This was for two reasons, one to keep readings hooked and increase sales and two, he never really finished his books before releasing bits of it out.

We also got to look at things specific to Cornell history. AD White actually gave his collection of books to Cornell but requested it to be in a fireproof building. We saw the original blueprints to what is now Uris Library. We also saw handwritten letters from the first resident and even Mark Twain discussing admissions to the University.

We also learned cool facts such as the fact that EB White was called Andy and most of his original drafts were left as a note by Andy. He was a writer in the daily sun, who also have copies of his works, which were also drafted out by “Andy.”

If you ever get a chance to visit the Rare Collections, I would definitely recommend that you do. They have new displays every so often; such as the Hip Hop exhibition last year to the new secular religions exhibit right now. You might also get to see a book of Shakespeare’s Plays that is worth over 5 million dollars, so crazy! Check it out!