This collection contains diaries of James Kershaw, 1791-1825, with meteorological observations, recipes, and home remedies, including advice for treatment of pimples, boils, baldness, and unwanted hair. The papers record observations, 17 September 1811, of a solar eclipse, accounts of debts paid, January-April 1812, including prices of cotton, molasses, and sugar, and typed abstracts of recipes, …
The German scientist Alexander von Humboldt and his expedition partner, botanist Aimé Bonpland, traveled through Central and South America between 1799 and 1804. Under a Spanish warrant, they explored the Orinoco in Venezuela, surveyed and gathered plant and animal specimens, and studied the geology and mineralogy of Colombia, Peru, and Mexico. They climbed Chimborazo, the …
This collection of textbooks and printed works on nineteenth century American education had its impetus in a request from our colleague, Professor Susan Schramm-Pate, of the College of Education here at the University of South Carolina. She was interested in supplementing the core group of texts for her doctoral seminar “Curriculum Classics: Trends and Issues” …
Léon Bakst (1866-1924) was a Russian portraitist and designer who spent much of his career in Paris. This book reflects his extraordinary collaborative work with Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes as well as the dancers Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky. The costumes and set designs in the book demonstrate his modern yet exotic aesthetic …
The series of photograph albums document the time that John Shaw Billings (1898-1975) and his extended family spent at the Redcliffe plantation in Aiken County, South Carolina. Known for his position as the first managing editor of Life Magazine, Billings purchased Redcliffe in 1935 from his uncle Henry Cumming Hammond (1868-1961) for $15,000. Even before …
The illustrated annual giftbook is one of the most distinctive publishing genres on both sides of the Atlantic, from the mid-1820s through to the 1850s. In 1823, the British published Rudolph Ackerman issued what is usually recognized as the first annual, the Forget-Me-Not, an almanac with poems and engravings, issued in a small format in …
The historical minutes of Columbia’s City Council, spanning January 1883 to December 1907. Through the efforts of volunteers at Richland Library’s Walker Local History Center the handwritten entries are in the process of being transcribed to allow for full-text searching. Please check back frequently as we are constantly adding to this collection.
During the late 19th century the discovery of phosphate deposits in the Charleston and Florence areas marked the beginning of a rapidly growing industry in South Carolina. Phosphates are rocks formed from the fossilized remains of sea creatures found in areas once covered by oceans. In South Carolina, phosphates were used as fertilizers to extend …
The poems of Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784) are read and studied by students and scholars in a variety of disciplines (American literature, African-American Studies, African Studies, and Women’s Studies), but the first edition has not previously been freely accessible in a digital facsimile without a fee or subscription. Wheatley’s Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral …
This collection from the South Caroliniana Library consists primarily of the Civil War letters of Edward Laight Wells, discussing the mood in Charleston during the secession crisis in 1860, fighting with the Hampton’s Legion 1864-1865, and the immediate aftermath of the war. Other letters are from Eliza Carolina Middleton Huger Smith discussing the health and …