Crawford Gates is recognized nationally both as a conductor and composer. His music is well known and loved in the LDS community. He is perhaps best known for the music to the Hill Comorah Pageant, Promised Valley and the hymns Our Savior’s Love and Ring out Wild Bells. Born in December 1921, Gates grew up in Palo Alto California and was influenced the rich cultural offerings of the Bay Area. At the age of eight he composed his first piece. He remains active as a composer and his works now number over 800.

A portion of the archive is related to the time when Gates served as Chairman of the Department of Music at Brigham Young University.

The Brigham Young University orchestra performs at the Provo Tabernacle in 1938.

Image of the interior of the Provo Tabernacle, ca. 1910.

A meeting held in the Provo Tabernacle, ca. 1920.

An orchestra practices in the Provo Tabernacle, ca. 1940.

Postacard image of the Provo Tabernacle, 1906.

A view of the Provo Tabernacle from downtown Provo, 1900.

Another view of the Provo Tabernacle from downtown, ca. 1900.

The Provo Tabernacle in the early 1900s.

For more information about the photograph collections documenting the Provo Tabernacle, please contact the Photo Archivist at (801) 422-4170 or tom_wells@byu.edu.

To find these sorts of books, search the library catalog using these subject terms:

• Medicine – early works to 1800
• Human anatomy – early works to 1800
• Surgery – early works to 1800

The example shown here is one of Colines’ most lavishly-illustrated books, Jean Milles De Souvigny’s Praxis criminis persequendi (Call number: Vault Collection 094.2 C682 1541 no.10). The book is a treatise on criminal law and describes the various stages of an imaginary murder trial.

What makes the Estienne family stand out from other printers of the same period? Nicolas Barker notes that they united “qualities of scholarship and good printing with a determined and individual approach that did mark them out from their contemporaries in a way clearly visible” both in their own time and to modern observers (in Schreiber, The Estiennes: An annotated catalogue of 300 highlights of their various presses. New York, 1982, p. 2).

Special Collections owns over 500 books published by various generations of the Estienne family. This image is from a copy of Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History printed by Robert Estienne I (1503-1559) in 1544. Robert I was a prominent classical and biblical scholar and also served as the royal Printer in Greek. The font of Greek type used in this book was cut by Claude Garamond.

Interestingly enough there are many different legends attached to Emo/Moritz’s grave. We have eight versions of Emo’s grave in the Wilson Folklore Archives and none of them are the same. One legend says that the grave belongs to Frank Emole and glows at night (FA3 12.2.2.1.2.1). The next claims that Emo was a 7 ft. Indian. Supposedly if you walk around his grave several times at night repeating “Rise, Emo, rise,” you will be able to see his eyes peering out of the tomb ( FA 3 122.2.1.2.2). The third story claims that Emo was the first person cremated in the Salt Lake City cemetery. His urn is decorated in an eye pattern and at midnight you can see the eyes shining in the moonlight (FA 3 12.2.2.1.2.3). A story that is similar, although a little scary, agrees that Emo is cremated and his grave holds an urn with his ashes. As you walk around the grave three times and look at the vase, you will see Emo’s eyes staring back at you (Fa 3 12.2.2.1.2.4)

Another tale has more of a back story. It seems, in this version, that Emo was a miner who was killed by an explosion. The blast was engineered by his wife and a partner who were carrying on an affair. In this story if you walk around the grave two times, Emo’s ghost will appear( FA 3 12.2.2.1.2.5). Another story calls it Emil’s grave and states that if you close your eyes and turn around three time while saying his name, that you will see his face looking at you from inside the tomb (FA 3 12.2.2.1.2.6). Another spelling of the name is Eemo. This legend tells of how there is a brick wall around the grave. The number of times that you can walk around the brick wall without falling off indicates the number of years you have left to live (FA 3 12.2.2.1.2.7). Finally in what is probably a more modern version, Emo is painted as the leader of a satanic cult in Salt Lake City. If you go to the grave and look through the window slit, after you say a set chant you will see a pair of glowing red eyes (FA 3 12.2.2.1.2.8). As you can see many of the stories make use of eyes to some degree. Emo’s Grave is another spooky legend that is fun to tell at Halloween time.

The success of her first expedition won her support for a second. Kingsley returned to Africa in December 1894 for another solo expedition through Nigeria, Cameroon, and Gabon. She collected specimens of animals, plants, shells, and insects, and when she returned to England in November 1895, she was invited to give numerous lectures and to write scientific papers based on her journey. She argued against the “Europeanization” of African peoples and advocated a system of indirect rule for Britain’s African colonies in order to preserve African culture and society.

Kingsley returned to Africa in 1900, sailing to Cape Town, South Africa, where she attended Boer prisoners of war. She succumbed to typhoid during an epidemic in June 1900. She left behind two published books about her expeditions, Travels in West Africa (1897) and West African Studies (1899). First editions of both books can be found in Special Collections, as can a letter Kingsley wrote in Calabar, Nigeria during her second trip (MSS SC 673).

Special Collections owns several astronomical treatises written by Cassini, including this book, Observations sur la comete, detailing Cassini’s observations of a comet which appeared December 1680-March 1681 (click on the smaller image to the left to see Cassini’s observations of where the comet appeared on consecutive nights in February and March). This book and other early works on astronomy are part of the library’s History of Science Collection. You can find them in the library catalog by searching with the subject term, “Astronomy early works to 1800.”

BYU owns a near-complete edition of the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle, as well as a 1497 reprint of the text published in Augsburg. The text was translated from Latin into German in the 1490’s, and Special Collections has several modern facsimiles which use the German translation. If you can’t read Latin or German, though, never fear; Special Collections has just purchased an English translation too!

To find the original Nuremberg Chronicle, the translations, and other facsimiles, just search the Library Catalog using the author search “Schedel, Hartmann.” Don’t forget to limit your search to Special Collections.

In 1851, London hosted a world’s fair to highlight cultures and industries. An enormous glass and cast-iron building known as the Crystal Palace was erected in London’s Hyde Park to house the fair.  The Great Exhibition brought together the artistic and technical achievements of the Victoria era, with exhibitors from Great Britain and its Colonies (including India, Australia, and New Zealand), European countries, and the United States.  Over 13,000 exhibits were on display, and the Exhibition brought in over 6,200,000 visitors during the weeks of May 1-October 15, 1851.

Special Collections has an extensive collection of accounts of the Great Exhibition of 1851, from contemporary histories of the exhibition and specific displays, copies of the official exhibit guide and the weekly magazine produced for the exhibit, dioramas of the Crystal Palace, and other memorials of the Great Exhibition, both comic and serious.  Coverage of the Great Exhibition can also be found in contemporary periodicals like The Illustrated London News and Punch.  The illustration of the interior of the Crystal Palace shown here is from Recollections of the Great Exhibition of 1851, issued by London publishers Lloyd Brothers & Co. and Simpkin, Marshall & Co.

To find accounts of the Great Exhibition in Special Collections, search the library catalog for the subject “Great Exhibition 1851.”

Special Collections has several early editions of works by both Boswell and Johnson, including a 2^nd edition of The Life of Samuel Johnson and a first edition of Johnson’s dictionary!

British author Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins (pseud. Anthony Hope) was born 150 years ago on February 9, 1863. A lawyer by trade, Hawkins began publishing short stories and novels in his late twenties. He is best known for the runaway bestseller The Prisoner of Zenda, published in April 1894. The novel, set in a fictional kingdom called Ruritania, is a tale of romance and political intrigue. When the heir to the Ruritanian throne is kidnapped, his identical cousin, a young Englishman, must impersonate the king until he can be rescued. The Prisoner of Zenda has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, most famously by David O. Selznick in 1937.

Hawkins continued writing well into the 20^th century. Though his popularity as a novelist declined, he was knighted in 1918 for his services to British propaganda efforts during the First World War. Another interesting fact about Hawkins: he was the cousin of Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows.

Special Collections has numerous items related to Hawkins and The Prisoner of Zenda, including a collection of Hawkins’ correspondence (call number: Vault MSS 226) and first editions of Hawkins’ novels (several signed or inscribed by the author).

One of Special Collections’ newest acquisitions for the literary collections is Peter Brears’ Cooking and Dining with the Wordsworths (Rowe Collection TX 717 .B7289 2011), which shares recipes and menus used in William Wordsworth’s household. If English poets aren’t your style, you could also peruse the Louisa May Alcott Cookbook (Alcott Collection TX 715.A5663 1985). Alcott and her novels have inspired a number of cookery books, including ones inspired by Little Women and a collection of recipes and home remedies compiled by Louisa’s mother, Abba.

Just search the library catalog for the subjects “cooking” or “cookbooks.” Special Collections owns a wealth of themed cookbooks, all relating to different collecting areas: Utah and Mormonism, the Victorian era, and even Yellowstone Park!

Sunday, Nov. 4 marked the 150^th anniversary of the birth of prolific English writer Eden Phillpotts. He wrote novels, plays, essays, short stories, children’s literature, and stage and radio plays. Phillpotts’ most famous books chronicle the county of Devon in England, particularly the Dartmoor region.

Special Collections owns a very interesting collection of Phillpotts’ manuscripts and published works that were collected by Maurice Buxton Forman. Forman was a devoted fan of Phillpotts’ work, and, through a long correspondence, became Phillpotts’ friend as well. Forman collected Phillpotts’ books and the author presented him some of his books and original manuscripts. The manuscripts, along with ephemera that Forman collected, make up the Eden Phillpotts Papers (MSS 1458). Phillpotts’ printed works in Special Collections can of course be found by searching the library catalog.

For more about Phillpotts, check out the archive of the Literary Worlds exhibit.

Porter was a prolific author. He began his writing career in the mid-1890s, contributing stories to weekly newspapers and magazines. His first book-length collection, Cabbages and Kings, was written in Honduras while he was on the run from charges of embezzling money from a former employer, a Texas bank. He continued to write and publish stories while in prison. After his release, Porter moved to New York, where he continued to contribute stories to popular magazines and published collections of his stories, including Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906). First editions of these and other O. Henry story collections are held in the Rare Book Collections and can be found by searching the library catalog for author “Henry, O.”

Dean Rex Lee examines a model of the proposed Law school building, 1971.

Sketch of the proposed law school building complete with bridge, 1970s.

The completed law school and the bridge connecting it with the main campus, ca. 1970s.

These images come from the Brigham Young University photographs of campus buildings, 1882-1985 (UA 827) which can be accessed here and the Edwin Butterworth collection for the Brigham Young University centennial celebration (UA P 2) which can be accessed here.

If you have any questions about these collections or about materials available for studying the history of the law school, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

Early cougar mascots named Cleo and Tarbo, 1920s.

The easiest way to access the images is through the finding aid which is available through the BYU Finding aids website. You can search for the subject that you are interested in (for example, “Cosmo” or “cheerleaders”) and access the digital images by clicking on the thumbnail image in the search results. This will take you to the digitized contents of the folder of photographs of that particular building.

You can also go directly to the finding aid for UA 869 and scroll through the list of images or search within the collection. Once you have located the image(s) that you are interested in, click on the thumbnail to access the digital file of photographs. Each thumbnail represents the digitized contents of a folder of photographs. Go ahead and see what you can find.

If you have any questions about this digital collection, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu

Extensive investigation into Church population and Church growth was done to determine possible junior college locations. A list of potential cities was compiled based on LDS population, growth predictions and overall church strength. The top six cities were Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Portland, Spokane, and Idaho Falls. While it was suggested that a junior college be established in each of these locations, Los Angeles had the potential of being home to three individual colleges.

The University Archives is home to various collections discussing the purposed implementation of a junior college system. They include:

• UA 1168 Proposed pilot plan for junior colleges, 1963. This collection contains a proposal by Brigham Young University President Ernest L. Wilkinson discussing the pros and cons of LDS junior colleges.
• UA 468 Study to establish additional junior colleges as part of the LDS Church educational system, undated. This collection contains a study and analysis of various geographical regions to determine potential sites for junior colleges.
• UA 1239 Proposed Anaheim College Campus of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints records, 1964. This collection contains a 240 page analysis and proposal for a junior college in Anaheim California. The proposed college would facilitate 5,000 students and 250 faculty and staff.

If you would like to learn more about the resources for study the proposed junior college system, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

Post written by Joseph Wiest.

The University Archives is home to a collection (UA 478) that documents the activities of the Redd Center. The collection contains reports, correspondence, articles, audiotapes, videotapes, corporate minutes, research files, and budgets from the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies dated 1970-2006. The bulk of the materials is from 1970 to 1996. A finding aid for the collection is available here.

If you would like to know more about the resources available in the University Archives, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

Eddie Kimball (left) and his assistant Floyd Millett (right), 1930s.

Eddie Kimball, second row left, and assistant coach Floyd Millett, second row right, with the 1938-1939 basketball team.

Eddie Kimball coached the 1937 football team to the school's best finish--third place in a twelve team league.

If you have any questions about Eddie Kimball, contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

One of these faculty members is Russell R. Rich. His papers are UA 611 Russell R. Rich papers and they document his career at Brigham Young University. The papers include talks, correspondence, class lectures, and research–including the research notes and chapter drafts for the textbook Ensign to the Nations. A finding aid is available here.

Russell R. Rich taught at Brigham Young University in the College of Religion from 1953 to 1977. Among the many classes he taught were survey classes on the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (for which he prepared a detailed study guide to B.H. Robert’s Comprehensive History of the Church). He also authored a popular textbook dealing with the history of the Church from 1846 to 1900 called Ensign to the Nations. Rich also taught several graduate classes in Mormon history.

If you would like to know more about faculty at Brigham Young University, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

Brigham Young Academy's 1900 championship basketball team.

The University Archives is home to a remarkable collection documenting the history of women’s athletics at Brigham Young University. The collection is UA 5584 Athletic Media Relations scrapbooks on women’s athletics. The scrapbooks highlight the involvement of women in sports at the university ranging from basketball to golf to gymnastics. A finding aid for the collection is available here.

If you would like to know more about the resources available for studying women’s athletics at Brigham Young University, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

If you have any questions about this collection, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

Noel B. Reynolds served on the faculty of Brigham Young University in the Political Science Department from 1971 to 2011. He had a wide variety of interests that ranged from Plato’s political theory, constitutionalism and the rule of law, authorship studies, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Book of Mormon. The Noel B. Reynolds papers (MSS 7935) document Reynolds’ teaching career and his scholarly activities. The collection is divided into four series: 1. Correspondence, 1981-1997; 2. Research files, undated; 3. Faculty course materials, 1978-2011; and 4. Personal course materials, 1966-1985.

If you would like to learn more about the Noel B. Reynolds papers, please contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu

Aerial view of the Brigham Young University campus in the 1970s.

Brigham Young University has grown from a small academy into one of the largest private universities in the United States. Ephraim Hatch, a university employee who worked for Physical Facilities, compiled a series of pictorial histories documenting that growth photographically. These histories are contained in UA 923 Ephraim Hatch views of Brigham Young University campus development. The collection includes pictorial histories of building construction at the university from 1875 to 1975 and is arranged chronologically. Images are grouped by university presidential administration. The collection also includes pictorial histories of individual campus structures built and remodeled during 1970s and early 1980s as well as photographs, slides, and negatives of campus buildings and personnel, and other schools operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also included are images of the construction of the Provo and Jordan River temples, and images of the Brigham Young University-Hawaii campus, the Ricks College campus, the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, and the Missionary Training Center adjacent to Brigham Young University.

For more information about this collection, contact the University Archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.

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Several of his books are about Utah or take place in Utah settings: his 1943 novel Big Rock Candy Mountain follows its characters through a period of residence in Salt Lake City; nonfiction works like The Gathering of Zion (1964) and Beyond the Hundredth Meridian (1954) examine the exploration and settlement of Utah in the 19th century.

Special Collections owns first editions of many of Stegner’s works, as well as this 1955 letter to Jeanne W. Gunn (MSS SC 1483). Gunn had inquired about Stegner’s career; in his reply Stegner discusses his time at the University of Utah and getting his first book, Remembering Laughter, published.

“We were hit by German fighters just after crossing the border of France. Our position had been as the last plane in the lower echelon of the squadron. Trying to hold our position, the co-pilot and I were taking turns at the controls. I happened to glance up and to our right and saw a blazing plane cutting through the formation above that had been set on fire by a German fighter. I reacted quickly, popped the stick to miss him, and put the ship into a sharp dive. The blazing plane just skimmed us on its way to the ground.

Our sudden dive separated us from the rest of the squadron. While it relieved us of the tail-end Charlie whiplash we had been going through, it also left us alone and unprotected from the fighters. Why we didn’t get hit by German fighters, I don’t know. The best chance we had against the fighters was to regain the formation as fast as possible, and all possible power was poured on as we tried to reach our place, but the squadron was miles ahead of us by now, and we anguished over being a lone sitting duck as we tried vainly to overtake them.

As we approached the target, we had nearly regained our position and were sufficiently close to drop our bombs as planned.

Our target that day was Friedric hshafen, situated by a lake between Germany and Switzerland, where reportedly the Germans had been manufacturing ball-bearings. We bombed what we thought was the target. As we pulled off the release point, in very heavy flak, two engines started to act up. At 25,000 feet or so when you see your supercharger gauges showing a failure, you know you’ve got trouble. We were losing power and altitude. The formation was gone, miles ahead of us. We didn’t know whether we’d been hit, or had a malfunction. . . .

Our route home, had we gone as well as we could plan, would have been over ‘flak alley,’ or the Ruhr Valley, the most heavily defended part of Germany, with the exception of Berlin. So there we were–one plane, no navigator, inadequate maps, solid cloud cover below us, insufficent fuel (we had used half of our fuel by the time we had hit the target, even though we had been flying with a tail wind). We were approximately six hundred miles and hour hours, in a straight line, to our base. The island of England was a pretty small chunk of land. I didn’t think we had a chance to get back. It was time for a decision.”

We will post more of Petit’s fascinating tale in the future. For now, if you want to know more, please visit Special Collections.