Month: June 2014
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The marvelousness in Mauchly’s papers
I am still processing John Mauchly’s amazing papers (see previous posts on this collection) and keep discovering items that make me love Mr. Mauchly just a bit more. As I sift through the many boxes of material that document his work with early computers, I am always most drawn to the material that documents Mr.…
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Telegraph Books collection
Telegraph Books (circa 1970-1972) is a shining example of an early 1970s poetry and prose publishing company, founded in Philadelphia by Victor Bockris, Aram Saroyan, and Andrew Wylie. Bockris, a 1971 University of Pennsylvania graduate, cites the modest promulgator of poetry and prose as having been, “[a] small concern that proudly put out a few things…
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Joseph Blotner Collection on Thorne Smith
Written by Justin Bortnick, archival processor James Thorne Smith (1892-1934) was an American author of comedic supernatural fiction known for his rapier wit and heavy drinking. Born in Annapolis, Smith briefly attended Dartmouth College before moving into advertizing. After a spectacular literary success in 1927, he moved to the town of Free Acres, the experimental…
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Reflections on a Story Revealed
[Ed. Note: Today’s post is by Lucian McMahon a Penn Classics Post-Baccalaureate ‘14 who was a Penn Libraries Collections Student Assistant 2013–2014] Despite the seemingly inexorable conquest of the e-book and contrary to the doom-and-gloom prognostications of bibliophiles (and publishing houses) everywhere, the physical book continues somehow to eke out an existence, maintaining a mysteriously…