On September 6, 1950, Enos M. Johnson returned to the Columbia University Libraries a book last checked out in 1772 from the King’s College library, long before it was known as Columbia. Johnson found this historical item in the attic of his aunt Susan Ruggles’ home in Binghamton, NY. Johnson’s donation joined the few other […]
Two Operatic Controversies (and what they tell us about the relationship between the arts and the media in the United States)
This post is by Callum Blackmore, a GSAS student and intern in the RBML’s Graduate Student Internship in Primary Sources. In October 1975, a controversy erupted around the American opera singer, Beverly Sills. At the heart of this controversy was a feature article by the opera critic, Peter G. Davis (1948-2021), whose papers are now […]
Research at the RBML | Nathan Gorelick on Otto Rank
Nathan Gorelick, currently an Assistant Professor of English at Barnard, recently visited the RBML to explore the Otto Rank papers. Rank’s theories of the doppelgänger, leadership in the International Psychoanalytic Association, and long association (and then falling out) with Freud place him as both an important– and controversial– figure in the history of psychoanalysis. Below, […]
Meet me at the Sundial
“Meet me at the Sundial.” It’s heard all over campus, but have you ever wondered how that platform on College Walk is (or was) a sundial? Well, the Sundial is missing its “dial” or a 7-foot granite sunball that used to tell time. […]
Research at the RBML | Hannah Klimas on Mirra Ginsburg’s translations of Mikhail Bulgakov
Hannah Klimas, PhD Candidate at the School of Languages, Cultures, and Societies at the University of Leeds, recently visited the RBML to examine materials for her research on Mirra Ginsburg and her translations of Mikhail Bulgakov, best known as the author of The Master and Margarita. Klimas’ project, entitled “Breaking the ‘fifth’ wall: The role […]