Superstitions and Luck from the 1900s

Every person at least once in their life has heard some type of superstition. Bad luck can come from breaking a mirror or going under a ladder. Good luck can come from having a special coin. We have sung childhood rhymes that can ward off rain. These are all bits of information passed from generation

The Humanity in a Hollinger

One Intern’s Experience with Connection in a Collection As a recently graduated alum of Florida State University, I spent my last semester as a senior interning for Special Collections and Archives at FSU in collaboration with the John G. Riley House Center and Museum, and Tallahassee Community College. This position posed the opportunity for invaluable

FSU Special Collections & Archives Summer Hours

FSU Special Collections & Archives will be open for walk-in hours this summer at the Claude Pepper Library in the Claude Pepper Center at 636 W. Call St. A reference associate will be available to answer questions and help with research in our collections. Our reading room in Strozier library will remain closed during the

New Digital Collection: 17th-20th Century Correspondence and Documents

A series of over 600 documents have now been digitized by the Digital Library Center into DigiNole, FSU’s digital library! The 17th-20th Century Correspondence and Documents collection features manuscripts from 1618-1981 relating to international names and local celebrities. Some recognizable names apart of this collection include: General George Washington, Albert Einstein, and Mrs. Bram Stoker,

SCA Art Showcase

When using Special Collections and Archives as an academic resource, there tend to be certain collections or texts that get more attention than others, either because our staff are more familiar with these materials or because the materials pertain to subjects that our collections are relevant to. Inevitably, there are many materials in the archives

Guide on How to Visit Special Collections

Have you ever visited FSU Special Collections & Archives? Not sure where to start?  Well here’s your Guide on How to Visit Special Collections! Although the process does require some planning ahead, it’s quick and easy. First you need to find an item you want to explore. You can get more information about how to

New(ish) Additions to the Digital Library

When you’re in the thick of things and just excited to cross off one project on your list and start another, you sometimes forget to celebrate and share what you did just accomplish. A lot of our bigger projects added to the Digital Library get their own post here at Illuminations (exhibit A New Digital

Me and Dr. Jones: Glimpses of the Past

The William R. Jones Papers have been a hot ticket as far as projects go here at Special Collections & Archives. Under the guiding hand of our Director of Manuscripts Collections, a handful of us have been sorting away at the documents from a wide variety of dated technology. My colleague Michaela has written about

Oral histories: Transcending physicality

Cultural heritage is not limited to the physical. It includes living traditions or expressions inherited from ancestors and transmitted to descendants, and concerns practices related to nature and the universe, knowledge, and techniques that transcend physicality. Working in archives, I love my papers and trinkets, and the mysterious photographs and calligraphy I have to decipher.

Snapshot of a Dynamic Life

Below is a brief letter from M. H. Boulware to Thelma Gorham. Boulware exchanged several letters with Gorham asking for her help in finding a wide variety of materials to write articles on. He was smart to write to someone as well connected as Gorham. Gorham was a lifelong journalist with a wide range of