University of Illinois RBML
@illinoisrbml.bsky.social
Rare Book & Manuscript Library at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Main Library 346 | https://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/
Follow us on Instagram (illinois_rbml) and Facebook (IllinoisRBML)!
Follow us on Instagram (illinois_rbml) and Facebook (IllinoisRBML)!
Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson was born on this day in 1850. His best-known works include Treasure Island (1883) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), both of which introduced themes and tropes that persist in popular culture today.
November 13, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson was born on this day in 1850. His best-known works include Treasure Island (1883) and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), both of which introduced themes and tropes that persist in popular culture today.
Join us at the Spurlock Museum (600 S. Gregory St., Urbana) on Monday, November 17 from 6-8 pm for a lecture by Dr. Emily Hauser, titled "Finding the Female Voice in the Ancient World." This event is free and all are welcome to attend.
November 7, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Join us at the Spurlock Museum (600 S. Gregory St., Urbana) on Monday, November 17 from 6-8 pm for a lecture by Dr. Emily Hauser, titled "Finding the Female Voice in the Ancient World." This event is free and all are welcome to attend.
Reposted by University of Illinois RBML
Daylight Savings ended for much of the US over the weekend. Did you remember to change your clocks?
Find this bookplate from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social in the Digital Special Collections: go.library.illinois.edu/OnderdonkPlate
Find this bookplate from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social in the Digital Special Collections: go.library.illinois.edu/OnderdonkPlate
November 3, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Daylight Savings ended for much of the US over the weekend. Did you remember to change your clocks?
Find this bookplate from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social in the Digital Special Collections: go.library.illinois.edu/OnderdonkPlate
Find this bookplate from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social in the Digital Special Collections: go.library.illinois.edu/OnderdonkPlate
Reposted by University of Illinois RBML
Interested in coming to Champaign-Urbana and using the collections at @illinoisrbml.bsky.social ? We have a $3k visiting scholar program for that! Applications accepted beginning Nov 17. www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/research...
Velde Visiting Scholar Program – Rare Book and Manuscript Library – U of I Library
www.library.illinois.edu
November 3, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Interested in coming to Champaign-Urbana and using the collections at @illinoisrbml.bsky.social ? We have a $3k visiting scholar program for that! Applications accepted beginning Nov 17. www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/research...
Join us on Wednesday, 11/12 from 3-5 pm for a talk by Prof. Gillen D'Arcy Wood (LAS) about his new book, The Wake of HMS Challenger: How a Legendary Victorian Voyage Tells the Story of Our Oceans' Decline.
This event is free and all are welcome to attend. Book copies will be available for purchase.
This event is free and all are welcome to attend. Book copies will be available for purchase.
November 4, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Join us on Wednesday, 11/12 from 3-5 pm for a talk by Prof. Gillen D'Arcy Wood (LAS) about his new book, The Wake of HMS Challenger: How a Legendary Victorian Voyage Tells the Story of Our Oceans' Decline.
This event is free and all are welcome to attend. Book copies will be available for purchase.
This event is free and all are welcome to attend. Book copies will be available for purchase.
Happy Halloween! 💀🎃
Popularized during times of plague and disease, Danse Macabre or "the dance of death" illustrates death as a skeleton dancing alongside people from all walks of life. As examples of memento mori, these images serve as a universal reminder or warning of death to the living.
Popularized during times of plague and disease, Danse Macabre or "the dance of death" illustrates death as a skeleton dancing alongside people from all walks of life. As examples of memento mori, these images serve as a universal reminder or warning of death to the living.
October 31, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Happy Halloween! 💀🎃
Popularized during times of plague and disease, Danse Macabre or "the dance of death" illustrates death as a skeleton dancing alongside people from all walks of life. As examples of memento mori, these images serve as a universal reminder or warning of death to the living.
Popularized during times of plague and disease, Danse Macabre or "the dance of death" illustrates death as a skeleton dancing alongside people from all walks of life. As examples of memento mori, these images serve as a universal reminder or warning of death to the living.
RBML’s new exhibit, "Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho," features our much-loved interactive magnetic poetry board. Here are some recent creations by visitors to the exhibit.
We invite you to follow in Sappho's footsteps and stop by to share your own creativity!
We invite you to follow in Sappho's footsteps and stop by to share your own creativity!
October 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
RBML’s new exhibit, "Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho," features our much-loved interactive magnetic poetry board. Here are some recent creations by visitors to the exhibit.
We invite you to follow in Sappho's footsteps and stop by to share your own creativity!
We invite you to follow in Sappho's footsteps and stop by to share your own creativity!
Join us on Thursday, October 23 from 3-5 pm for a talk by Scheide Librarian Emeritus Paul S. Needham (Princeton University), titled "Gutenberg's Second Invention: The 1460 Mainz Catholicon."
All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
October 14, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Join us on Thursday, October 23 from 3-5 pm for a talk by Scheide Librarian Emeritus Paul S. Needham (Princeton University), titled "Gutenberg's Second Invention: The 1460 Mainz Catholicon."
All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
All are welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.
What do you get when you cross a peepshow with a petite book? A peti-pshow!
A peepshow, or tunnel book, is a book format that spaces multiple illustrated leaves apart from one another to create an illusion of depth when viewed through a front opening.
A peepshow, or tunnel book, is a book format that spaces multiple illustrated leaves apart from one another to create an illusion of depth when viewed through a front opening.
October 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
What do you get when you cross a peepshow with a petite book? A peti-pshow!
A peepshow, or tunnel book, is a book format that spaces multiple illustrated leaves apart from one another to create an illusion of depth when viewed through a front opening.
A peepshow, or tunnel book, is a book format that spaces multiple illustrated leaves apart from one another to create an illusion of depth when viewed through a front opening.
Happy American Archives Month!
To celebrate, we're highlighting one of our archival collections: the Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design. An added perk? It's digitized: go.library.illinois.edu/MotleyDigita...
To celebrate, we're highlighting one of our archival collections: the Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design. An added perk? It's digitized: go.library.illinois.edu/MotleyDigita...
October 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Happy American Archives Month!
To celebrate, we're highlighting one of our archival collections: the Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design. An added perk? It's digitized: go.library.illinois.edu/MotleyDigita...
To celebrate, we're highlighting one of our archival collections: the Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design. An added perk? It's digitized: go.library.illinois.edu/MotleyDigita...
The International Day of Sign Languages celebrates the linguistic identities of the Deaf community and all who use sign language. John Bulwer was the first person in Britain to advocate for the education of deaf people. His 1644 book explores the communicative and rhetorical power of hand gestures.
September 23, 2025 at 3:46 PM
The International Day of Sign Languages celebrates the linguistic identities of the Deaf community and all who use sign language. John Bulwer was the first person in Britain to advocate for the education of deaf people. His 1644 book explores the communicative and rhetorical power of hand gestures.
Friendly reminder that tomorrow(!!!), RBML is hosting a reception to ring in our new exhibit, "Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho," from 3-5 pm.
Until then, please enjoy this timelapse video of our exhibit staff hard at work. 💪
Until then, please enjoy this timelapse video of our exhibit staff hard at work. 💪
September 18, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Friendly reminder that tomorrow(!!!), RBML is hosting a reception to ring in our new exhibit, "Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho," from 3-5 pm.
Until then, please enjoy this timelapse video of our exhibit staff hard at work. 💪
Until then, please enjoy this timelapse video of our exhibit staff hard at work. 💪
Join us on Friday, September 19, from 3-5 pm for a reception to open our new exhibit, "Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho." This event will feature live dance and spoken word performances, as well as a look at the exhibit!
All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.
All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.
September 9, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Join us on Friday, September 19, from 3-5 pm for a reception to open our new exhibit, "Sweetbitter: The Literary Legacies and Afterlives of Sappho." This event will feature live dance and spoken word performances, as well as a look at the exhibit!
All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.
All are welcome. Refreshments will be served.
Reposted by University of Illinois RBML
Pepperoni pizza, anyone?
We're not quite sure why, but this week's #MarbledMonday is making us feel a bit hungry!
Whet your appetite for knowledge with Das erste Buch für Kinder, die gern bald lesen lernen wollen from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social: go.library.illinois.edu/Marbled1810
We're not quite sure why, but this week's #MarbledMonday is making us feel a bit hungry!
Whet your appetite for knowledge with Das erste Buch für Kinder, die gern bald lesen lernen wollen from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social: go.library.illinois.edu/Marbled1810
September 8, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Pepperoni pizza, anyone?
We're not quite sure why, but this week's #MarbledMonday is making us feel a bit hungry!
Whet your appetite for knowledge with Das erste Buch für Kinder, die gern bald lesen lernen wollen from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social: go.library.illinois.edu/Marbled1810
We're not quite sure why, but this week's #MarbledMonday is making us feel a bit hungry!
Whet your appetite for knowledge with Das erste Buch für Kinder, die gern bald lesen lernen wollen from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social: go.library.illinois.edu/Marbled1810
Visitors often ask: "What's the oldest item you have at RBML?" To which we answer: "A cuneiform tablet!"
Pictured with our tablet are examples of old and new housing, one keeping the tablet safe for the last 100 years or so, and the other supporting its preservation for even more years to come!
Pictured with our tablet are examples of old and new housing, one keeping the tablet safe for the last 100 years or so, and the other supporting its preservation for even more years to come!
September 3, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Visitors often ask: "What's the oldest item you have at RBML?" To which we answer: "A cuneiform tablet!"
Pictured with our tablet are examples of old and new housing, one keeping the tablet safe for the last 100 years or so, and the other supporting its preservation for even more years to come!
Pictured with our tablet are examples of old and new housing, one keeping the tablet safe for the last 100 years or so, and the other supporting its preservation for even more years to come!
Established as a national holiday in 1894, Labor Day is celebrated each year in September to honor the achievements of workers in the United States.
RBML will be closed on Monday, September 1, in observance of the holiday and will resume our regular hours on Tuesday, September 2.
RBML will be closed on Monday, September 1, in observance of the holiday and will resume our regular hours on Tuesday, September 2.
August 30, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Established as a national holiday in 1894, Labor Day is celebrated each year in September to honor the achievements of workers in the United States.
RBML will be closed on Monday, September 1, in observance of the holiday and will resume our regular hours on Tuesday, September 2.
RBML will be closed on Monday, September 1, in observance of the holiday and will resume our regular hours on Tuesday, September 2.
Reposted by University of Illinois RBML
Happy first day of classes, Illini!
Get back to basics with this 1552 Abcedarium Anglico-Latinum ; protyrunculis Richardo Huloeto exscriptore from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social
Get back to basics with this 1552 Abcedarium Anglico-Latinum ; protyrunculis Richardo Huloeto exscriptore from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social
August 25, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Happy first day of classes, Illini!
Get back to basics with this 1552 Abcedarium Anglico-Latinum ; protyrunculis Richardo Huloeto exscriptore from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social
Get back to basics with this 1552 Abcedarium Anglico-Latinum ; protyrunculis Richardo Huloeto exscriptore from @illinoisrbml.bsky.social
Today is International Dog Day, so we're celebrating by learning how to draw some cute canine friends. Consider trying one out (or sketching your own pet) and tag us in your drawing(s)! 🐶
August 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Today is International Dog Day, so we're celebrating by learning how to draw some cute canine friends. Consider trying one out (or sketching your own pet) and tag us in your drawing(s)! 🐶
English writer H.G. Wells used bicycles as a literary vehicle in many of his published works, including The Wheels of Chance (1896), which he wrote while living in the town of Woking, Surrey. Pictured here are some of Wells' drawings or "picshuas" from his time in Surrey that feature bicycles. 🚲
August 20, 2025 at 3:12 PM
English writer H.G. Wells used bicycles as a literary vehicle in many of his published works, including The Wheels of Chance (1896), which he wrote while living in the town of Woking, Surrey. Pictured here are some of Wells' drawings or "picshuas" from his time in Surrey that feature bicycles. 🚲
Haven't had the chance to check out our 2024-2025 exhibit? Time is running out! Visit RBML by the end of the week to take a look at "We are each other's harvest": Gwendolyn Brooks and the Formation of Black Literary Canon before installation begins on our next exhibit. 👀
August 11, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Haven't had the chance to check out our 2024-2025 exhibit? Time is running out! Visit RBML by the end of the week to take a look at "We are each other's harvest": Gwendolyn Brooks and the Formation of Black Literary Canon before installation begins on our next exhibit. 👀
One of the oldest printed books to incorporate maps of the Aegean Islands, Bartolommeo da li Sonetti’s "Isolario" belonged to a genre of "isolarii," or island books, which was popular in the Mediterranean during the 15th and 16th century Renaissance.
August 6, 2025 at 9:13 PM
One of the oldest printed books to incorporate maps of the Aegean Islands, Bartolommeo da li Sonetti’s "Isolario" belonged to a genre of "isolarii," or island books, which was popular in the Mediterranean during the 15th and 16th century Renaissance.
Happy International Friendship Day!
Frog and Toad were created by children’s author Arnold Lobel and debuted in Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970). This pop-up book depicts three of the amphibious characters’ everyday adventures, including planting a garden, going for a swim, and flying a kite. 🐸
Frog and Toad were created by children’s author Arnold Lobel and debuted in Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970). This pop-up book depicts three of the amphibious characters’ everyday adventures, including planting a garden, going for a swim, and flying a kite. 🐸
July 30, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Happy International Friendship Day!
Frog and Toad were created by children’s author Arnold Lobel and debuted in Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970). This pop-up book depicts three of the amphibious characters’ everyday adventures, including planting a garden, going for a swim, and flying a kite. 🐸
Frog and Toad were created by children’s author Arnold Lobel and debuted in Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970). This pop-up book depicts three of the amphibious characters’ everyday adventures, including planting a garden, going for a swim, and flying a kite. 🐸
Have you ever seen a book made entirely of silk? One item getting a lot of reading room attention recently is this "Livre de Prières." This book was manufactured with the Jacquard process, which relied on perforated punch cards to operate a loom, and is considered a precursor to early programming.
July 23, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Have you ever seen a book made entirely of silk? One item getting a lot of reading room attention recently is this "Livre de Prières." This book was manufactured with the Jacquard process, which relied on perforated punch cards to operate a loom, and is considered a precursor to early programming.
On this day in 1955, Disneyland first opened its doors. As the California theme park celebrates its 70th anniversary, we invite you to visit our new pop-up exhibit, "Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy": 70 Years of Disneyland Park! ✨🏰
July 17, 2025 at 8:12 PM
On this day in 1955, Disneyland first opened its doors. As the California theme park celebrates its 70th anniversary, we invite you to visit our new pop-up exhibit, "Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy": 70 Years of Disneyland Park! ✨🏰
Today we celebrate the birthday of French novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922), whose correspondence contains examples of past communication technologies, like telegrams, pneumatic messages, and even a letter sent via balloon!
July 10, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Today we celebrate the birthday of French novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922), whose correspondence contains examples of past communication technologies, like telegrams, pneumatic messages, and even a letter sent via balloon!