While there are many beloved spots to visit on campus, one of the most fascinating is Rauner Special Collections Library. Home to rare books, manuscripts, and archives, Rauner emphasizes Dartmouth’s connection to and place within history while inspiring students and faculty to continue the legacy.
In 2016, Dartmouth News made a list of 10 extraordinary items that can be found at Rauner, and to both honor the library’s 25th anniversary and continue this tradition, below is a list of 10 more remarkable items that might well draw you to visit.
Mario Puzo’s Papers and Typewriter
Mario Puzo’s papers are but one example of the range of items available in Rauner’s collections. The author and screenwriter’s papers, donated by Diana and Bruce Rauner ’78, include outlines, notes, letters, and manuscripts of Puzo’s most famous work, The Godfather.
Dartmouth students also had the special opportunity during Rauner’s 25th anniversary celebration to type on Puzo’s 1965 Olympia typewriter, where Puzo may have written about his character, Michael Corleone, who, in the story, attended Dartmouth, which is likely due to Puzo’s own experiences visiting the Upper Valley as a child through the nonprofit Fresh Air Fund.
The Eliot Bible
The first Bible printed in America is also available in Rauner’s collection. Mamusse wunneetupanatamwe Up—Biblum God naneeswe Nukkone Testament kah wonk Wusku Testament, also referred to as the Eliot Bible, was created between 1661 and 1663 by Puritan minister John Eliot, with the help of John Sassamon, a member of an Algonquin tribe in Massachusetts who was the first Indigenous person to attend Harvard.
Eliot wrote it in Algonquin, using the Latin alphabet to phonetically transcribe the language. The Eliot bible is notable for the Colonial-era methods it uses in its efforts to convert Indigenous people to Christianity.
Frederick Douglass - My Bondage and My Freedom
Not only is Rauner home to a first edition copy of Frederick Douglass’ autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom, but tucked away inside this rare copy is a letter written by the abolitionist and social reformer himself. The Rauner blog explained that Passmore Williamson, an American abolitionist, wrote to Douglass requesting his autograph for a friend.
Douglass’ response, thanking Williamson’s friend and expressing his own admiration for Williamson (who had been sent to jail for contempt of court following charges related to helping a family escape enslavement), was kept in the copy at Rauner, which allows visitors to read and compare Douglass’ writing from his published work with that of a personal, handwritten letter.
The Taj Torah
Rare is definitely the right word for the Taj Torah, a Hebrew manuscript that has carpet pages—finely detailed, illustrated pages depicting certain patterns and designs, that can be found in Rauner’s collection. The Taj Torah is “one of only three known Hebrew manuscripts” with carpet pages, according to the Rauner Special Collections Library blog. The Taj Torah adds to the discussion of how illustrations relate to text, shown in one of the carpet pages’ portrayal of the Jericho Labyrinth.
Helen Keller - The Story of My Life
Being able to read Helen Keller’s first edition of her autobiography, The Story of My Life, is exciting in its own right, but Rauner’s copy has a handwritten note from Keller herself. Rauner’s policy of allowing visitors to feel items with their bare hands makes it possible to experience the deep impression of Keller’s writing on the page, its lighter echoes on successive pages, and the invisible line left from the ruler that Keller, who was blind, would have used to keep her writing along a straight line.
A Scroll of the Quran
Everyone knows that they shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but there is something to be said about exciting and innovative ways of packaging information. One particular item in Rauner’s collection that exemplifies this idea is a scroll of the Quran, written in very small Arabic in order to fit into its margins, 48 inches long and 3 inches wide, a method of demonstrating piety. Not only is the writing crafted to fit within four pages worth of a scroll, the word placement is deliberate so as to create an intricate pattern through the use of negative space.
Robert May, Class of 1926 - Original Versions of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
The most famous reindeer almost wasn’t named Rudolph. Robert May, Class of 1926, the creator of the beloved character, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, wrote out a list of potential “R” names for the character and seemed to narrow it down to a final few before landing on the name known today. This list along with the original poem and artist mockup are available for view in Rauner’s collection in addition to a first edition of the final version. Visitors can see the evolution of the story taking shape through this peek behind the curtain.
Virginia Woolf - A Room of One’s Own
Several of Virginia Woolf’s books are in Rauner’s collection but the first trade edition of A Room of One’s Own, an essay discussing women’s place in society and the power they should be able to hold, has a notable Dartmouth connection. After humorist and best-selling author Gina Barreca ’79, spoke at Rauner’s 25th anniversary, the library purchased the trade edition in her honor, and this special edition even features a dust jacket designed by Woolf’s sister.
Andreas Vesalius - De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem
Andreas Vesalius’s De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem is a book that revolutionized the medical world. This book features woodcuts of aspects of the human body, such as tendons, ligaments, and muscles, which were based on Vesalius’s research done by cutting into human corpses. Previously, barber surgeons were the ones who handled human corpses while doctors directed them, but Vesalius upended this tradition by taking matters into his own hands. Rauner’s copy allows for viewers to put their own hands on this medical field landmark and discuss the history of scientific advancements.
The Disease and Casualties This Week
When people hear the word plague today, the COVID-19 pandemic quickly springs to mind, but Rauner has documentation of another plague that had widespread impact. The Great Plague in 1665 was disastrous for London, and the pages that have been compiled of sheets listing the weekly count of births, deaths, and baptisms demonstrate the extensive casualties of the British epidemic. Paging through The Disease and Casualties This Week sheets allows Rauner visitors to watch as the bubonic plague unfolded and devastated London.
More to Discover
Visitors are welcome at Rauner during its open hours. During the term, the library is open on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is also open during the interim on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
