Finally We Get a Nice Day!

Policy Change

"Photography by students, faculty, staff and guests (such as visitors to parents’ weekends) using hand-held, self-contained cameras is permitted so long as it respects the privacy of library patrons, does not disrupt or interfere with the scholarly environment, the work of library users or staff or the safety of the collections and abides by copyright law. Personal photographers should not record any library patron without prior consent, and photography cannot be used for commercial purposes."

Since I have to open the Widener desk on Wednesdays, I took a bunch of shots before opening.

Loker Reading Room with the barrel vault ceiling.

The reference room (Atkins) with my back to the windows.

The lounge outside Loker and Atkins.

Stairs leading up to level 2.

Entrance to Loker.

Ancient suggestion box.

How Come These People got a Better Picture Than the American Press?

Store politistyrkar måtte til då bombealarmen gjekk midt i eksamenskaoset ved Harvard universitet i går.

Spring Update, or This Bud's for you

Here's a picture of the robin's nest in the Pusey Pit tree from above.  You can see the ribbons, at least.

Here's some flowering bushes in back of Wadsworth House.  I don't know what they are.

The flowers on these trees have already fallen off.

Harvard Yard is not too crowded.

My Favorite Bookplate

Many zillions of years ago I checked out a book with the infamous Widener bookplate.  (It wasn't the following book; I'm just using it as an example.)

Read the second bookplate.

[from Twenty-Six Historic Ships]

I was rather shocked, because I didn't know the story behind the infamous bookplate:

"In 1931 Joel C. Williams, A.M. '09, Ed.M. '29, a former instructor at Groton and a former high-school principal, was caught with 2,504 stolen Widener books at his home in Dedham, Massachusetts. He said he was preparing himself for a college professorship. His thieving had begun eight or 10 years before, but had stopped a year and a half before he was caught when, according to a newspaper account, "extraordinary steps were taken by the Harvard authorities to prevent students 'sneaking' books out of the library without permission. A turnstile was erected at that time and suspicious bundles were ordered examined." An editorial writer in the Boston Post said that the case "suggests impaired mentality." When the books came back to Widener, librarians had an acerbic bookplate printed and affixed to each volume. It reads, "This book was stolen from Harvard College Library. It was later recovered. The thief was sentenced to two years at hard labor. 1932." A security measure of sorts."  From Harvard Magazine.  The Crimson article.

Note that, though literally true, the text of that bookplate is misleading.

Despite the security measures, the thieving continued.

[from A Source Book in American History to 1787]

Reading Has Sex Appeal

Some class is having students do papers on Harvard University as a brand.  This reminded me of my small collection of old advertisements for the Harvard Classics.  This first one was one of the earliest, and I stupidly did not take down the source.  Since then, I've used all the indexes that include ad text, but I still can't track it down.  I was able to find a better copy in a book*, but the book gave no source information.  I love this ad, because it touts the Classics as a marital aid.

(For a larger image go here.)

I have other, less racy examples too.

 Life, September 28, 1922 page 27
(For a larger image go here.)

Life, Novemeber 23, 1922 page 27
(For a larger image go here.)

*Those were the good old days: a happy look at American advertising, 1880-1930, by Edgar R. Jones, Simon & Schuster: New York, 1959, page 310.

A Storm to Impress Poss

Rot-O-Lantern

Chris pointed out this shot: an aging jack-o-lantern on a Thayer Hall lintel.

And variations.

Not Just Basic Black!

Last Friday the Archives had a special display for visiting parents, and one of the items was this antique student gown. circa 1834.  (The student was David Greene Haskins.)

Shockingly, it was not black.  The accompanying rules for student dress (1822) specifically said "mixed blacks."  But the student who owned it was supposed to have worn it during the summer of 1835.  (The school year ended in August.)  If you click on the picture, you'll see it was a charming green gingham check.  I felt inspired to look into student dress in the old days.  Here's an excerpt from Harvard A to Z, available on Google Books 

Be Vewy, Vewy Quiet. I'm Hunting Wabbits!

Except that these might be Hares.

Maybe they are Eastern Cottontails.


OK, some of my readers will think wild hares (rabbits, cottontails)  are a big ho-hum.  But in the 31 years I've lived in Cambridge, I've never before seen wild hares (rabbits, cottontails) in urban areas.  Now suddenly there are two just between Lamont and Houghton Libraries.  I also spotted one on the lawn of a church near my home.

The Houghton people call the grown-up the Houghton Bunny and the baby Artie, after Arthur Houghton.  However, there is already a movement at  Lamont to sue for custody.

Leporidae (cohort Glires, order Lagomorpha)


The family that includes the rabbits, cottontails, and hares. These are lagomorphs in which the tail is reduced, the hind legs are modified for jumping, and the ears are usually long. Rabbits are adapted for burrowing, and their young are born in burrows, naked and blind. Hares are born above ground, their eyes open, and fully furred. Cottontails do not burrow, but may use burrows dug by other animals. There are eight genera. They are distributed widely throughout the Holarctic region, where they are highly successful (there are more than 30 species), but are less common in Africa (about eight species) and S. America (two species).

How to cite this entry:
"Leporidae"  A Dictionary of Zoology. Ed. Michael Allaby. Oxford University Press 2009. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Harvard University Library.  3 August 2010  

Vending Machine Economics

You must enlarge the photo to get the full story.

Exams Haven't Ended..

...and police are in evidence after a recent on-campus shooting, but that doesn't stop this student from enjoying the sun.

i Learn iMovie

Last Friday America's most offensive church came to Harvard and had a little demonstration near the law school. I decided to take this opportunity to learn iMovie.