Brianna LoSardo – Special Collections & The Gallery

College life in the 1870s: John Erigena Robinson’s diary

The Archives & Special Collections Center recently acquired a historic diary of a Seton Hall student, which provides interesting glimpses into what it was like to attend Seton Hall College in the 19th century. The diary was written by John Erigena Robinson, who graduated from Seton Hall College in 1874. His diary concerns his everyday life at the college, including worrying about assignments, writing letters to his family and friends, and playing for the college’s baseball team. The campus that Robinson studied at during the mid-1870s was one that centered on a structured, liberal arts education that was emblematic of Catholic higher education during his age. He entered into a world of study at Setonia that consisted of two sessions lasting five months apiece from September through June.

Front cover of John Erigena Robinson's diary — Front cover of John Erigena Robinson’s diary

According to his recollections, Robinson primarily lived on campus during the school year, but on many weekends and holidays he would travel the roughly 24 miles from South Orange to Manhattan via the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad roughly three hours or more round trip to visit family and friends and then reverse his commute prior to the resumption of classes.  After walking from the train station to campus he would study on campus in a setting where “The College buildings are of great architectural beauty, large and commodious . . . ” and quite different in setting with the Orange Mountains in the background as opposed to the more congested streets of Brooklyn.  Along with the scenery and the structures where he would spend most of his time while at the school, Robinson entered a world that was structured and included a liberal arts curriculum of long standing.

Beyond the classroom, Robinson played baseball for the Seton Hall nine also commonly known in that age as the Alerts which began as a popular sport on campus during the late 1860s and engaged in more formal play the following decade.  According to existing documentation they played local teams mainly their arch-rivals St. John’s College (now known as Fordham) of the Bronx during the 1873 season.  The main highlight of his time was a defeat of St. John’s 24-13 during October of that year which carried the squad into the following campaign where they would play the same opponent twice more.  Robinson would be among the pioneer players for the team that would grow in competitiveness and success over subsequent seasons.

One of the earliest photographs of Seton Hall College's baseball team, The Alerts, taken in the early 1890s. — One of the earliest photographs of Seton Hall College’s baseball team, The Alerts, taken in the early 1890s.

John Erigena Robinson was the son of William Erigena Robinson, a congressman and a journalist whose political career is mentioned several times in the diary. Robinson must have been inspired by his father’s journalistic pursuits, because he writes in the diary about his desire to start a student newspaper for Seton Hall College. On January 26, 1873 he wrote:

“To start a paper. How, when, and where? These were the things that occupied me during the day and I may add during the night as I went to bed and fell asleep with visions of shears scraps and papers flying here and there. If we can only get the permission of Malley who owns a press and of Dr. Corrigan who heads the College we are all right. We have fixed the name it is the Setonian. We have got the outline and the matter for each page and now for the permission of the two worthies who at least in this case have a great case in hand!”

Unfortunately, Robinson never realized his dream of starting The Setonian. A full explanation is never given in the diary, but on February 14, 1873 he laments that his plans will not come to fruition:

“George and Bill received a valentine today. I also received one. It had a picture of an editor on it and some ridiculous rhyming lines beneath it. It was sent to me as it had got around that I was going to start a paper in the college. Alas, the poor ‘Setonian’ is but a dream of the past.”

The reasons why Robinson was not able to start a college newspaper are unknown, but fortunately for Seton Hall it was not completely “a dream of the past” but simply deferred. A college newspaper was eventually founded in 1924—51 years after Robinson’s plans and with the same name he proposed, The Setonian.

Front page of the first issue of the Setonian — The first issue of the Setonian was released on March 15, 1924, 51 years after Robinson’s initial attempt to start a newspaper for Seton Hall College.

After graduation, Robinson returned home to Brooklyn and filled his days by playing baseball and meeting with friends. When the school year re-commences and he does not return to Seton Hall, he muses in his diary:

“First day of September. Tomorrow school opens. I have no fears of the morrow. The noisy Setonia cricket no longer hears my tramp. The boys no longer shake me by the hand. The prefect no longer smiles in anticipation of the sarcasm and the lines he will burden me with. Such is the past. The future is alone known to God. Played ball.”

Handwritten entry in Robinson's diary reflecting on Seton Hall College — Handwritten entry in Robinson’s diary reflecting on Seton Hall College

Like many Seton Hall students, Robinson felt a connection to the College that extended well beyond his graduation, and further diary entries indicate that he remains aware of what is happening there and stays in touch with friends he met in school. His diary provides insight into the ways that student life has changed over the years, but also ways it has remained the same. To read the whole diary and learn more about the context of Robinson’s life, please visit our digital exhibit. For more information or to view the diary please make an appointment with Brianna LoSardo or Alan Delozier. We can be contacted at archives@shu.edu or (973)-761-9476.

Archives News: Conservation and Digitization of 17th Century Illuminated Manuscript Qur’an

The Archives & Special Collections Center in collaboration with the Digital Humanities Committee recently had conservation work and digitization performed on a 17th century illuminated manuscript Qur’an from the rare book collection. The Qur’an was originally brought from Lebanon by Edwin D. Hardin, who was a missionary stationed at the American University of Beirut from approximately 1900 to 1915. It first came to Seton Hall in 2003 when it was featured in a Walsh Gallery exhibition entitled The Beauty of Sacred Texts: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Judeo-Christian Studies. The lender, Mr. Peter Kennedy, had intended to gift the volume to the University and in 2016 donated the Qur’an to the Archives & Special Collections Center.

Qur'an's binding before conservation — Before conservation

Qur'an's binding after conservation — After conservation

Marginal decoration with handwritten annotation

The Qur’an was sent out for conservation in order to stabilize it for digitization and handling. The volume had undergone some previous repairs and was re-bound sometime during the 18th or 19th century. The envelope flap, which extends from the back cover of the volume and folds up to cover its fore edge, was very weak at the hinges and became detached during the conservator’s examination. The binding was also failing, causing some leaves to loosen and begin to detach. We sent the volume to Etherington Conservation Services in North Carolina, where conservators reattached and reinforced the envelope flap, repaired minor damage to the covers, re-sewed the binding, and re-covered the spine. While the binding was removed, they scanned the pages to create a digital copy of the book.

As a result of this work, this historic Qur’an is stable enough for handling and display, and the digital images can be made available online. This will allow researchers to view the Qur’an’s beautifully illuminated pages and intricate marginal decorations without putting stress on the volume. It will also open up many possibilities for research projects, such as a potential project to decipher and translate the annotations that appear throughout the volume. The digital collection is coming soon!

Archives News: Conservation of Pope Paul V Papal Bull

The Archives and Special Collections Center recently had conservation work performed on an early 17^th century Papal Bull issued by Pope Paul V, who was Pope from 1605 until his death in 1621. The Papal Bull is a large vellum document with a lead seal attached by a cord. It was donated to the Archives by Dr. Herbert Kraft, a Professor Emeritus of anthropology at Seton Hall and director of the Seton Hall University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

Pope Paul V was born Camilo Borghese in Rome in 1550. He studied jurisprudence at Perugia and Padua and became a renowned canon lawyer. He was made a cardinal in 1596 by Pope Clement VIII and was elected as Pope Leo XI’s successor in May 1605. Pope Paul V was most famous for persecuting Galileo for his defense of the heliocentric theory of Copernicus. He also canonized St. Charles Boromeo, Frances of Rome and Albert de Louvain and beatified Ignatius Loyola, Philip Neri, Teresa of Avila and Francis Xavier.

Before treatment - folded vellum obscuring text and decoration — Before treatment – folded vellum obscuring text and decoration

Prior to its conservation, the Papal Bull was folded several times and remained in a folded condition for so long that it was impossible to unfold without risking damage to the document. Conservators at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia were able to use a process of humidification, which is the controlled introduction of moisture, to increase the suppleness of the vellum and to allow the document to be unfolded and safely flattened. Once the document was flattened, they cleaned its surface with soft polyurethane sponges and mended a small hole in the vellum. Finally, the document and seal were housed in a custom-made mat designed to support the heavy lead seal and framed for easy displaying.

Flattening the document revealed intricate text and decoration — ‘After treatment – flattening the document revealed intricate text and decoration

Before treatment - hole in velllum — Before treatment – hole in velllum

After treatment - hole repaired with mulberry paper and dilute gelatin — After treatment – hole repaired with mulberry paper and dilute gelatin

Conserving the Papal Bull revealed its text and intricate design. However, the beautiful, ornate script presented a challenge for translators. We consulted Dr. Michael Mascio in Seton Hall’s Classics Department for assistance with translating the document. He was unable to decipher the script, and conferred with a few colleagues around the country who also were unable to decipher it. On his recommendation we contacted a specialist in this area of script analysis, the Reverend Doctor Federico Gallo of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Italy. Rev. Dr. Gallo was able to work on the text during the summer months to provide us with a translation from the archaic Latin script to modern Latin. Dr. Michael Mascio is now working with Dr. Frederick Booth, also in Classics, to translate the modern Latin to English.

Archaic Latin script — This archaic Latin script proved difficult even for experts to decipher and translate.

Highlights from the Catholic Right Ephemera collection: Fiat newspapers

The Archives and Special Collections Center recently acquired a small collection of Catholic Right Ephemera. Among these materials is an incomplete run of the rare Irish newspaper Fiat. Fiat was the monthly newspaper of the Maria Duce movement, which was a small ultraconservative Catholic group founded in Ireland in 1945. The group’s founder Fr. Denis Fahey was an Irish Catholic priest who was born in the village of Golden, County Tipperary, Ireland in 1883. He entered the novitiate of the Holy Ghost Fathers at the age of 17 and studied in France and Rome before returning to Ireland in 1912, where he was appointed professor of philosophy at the Senior Scholasticate of the Irish Province of the Holy Ghost Fathers at Kimmage, Dublin. Fahey is best known for his writings, which were widely distributed and controversial. He was forcefully opposed to anything he perceived as an attempt to go against God’s divine plan. Fahey was especially critical of naturalism, a philosophical viewpoint that proposes that only natural forces are at work in the world, discounting the spiritual or divine. This put him in conflict with systems that he felt promoted naturalism, including communism, Freemasonry, and Rabbinic Judaism.

The Maria Duce movement grew out of a study circle held by Fr. Fahey. There was some secrecy surrounding the group so exact membership numbers are not known, but it is estimated that at its peak it probably did not exceed one hundred members. One of the most notable activities of the Maria Duce organization was its campaign to amend Article 44 of the Irish Constitution of 1937, which recognized the “special position” of the Catholic Church in Ireland, but also recognized Jewish congregations and several Protestant groups. In his writings Fahey called for stronger recognition of the Catholic Church by the Irish Constitution, and objected to the fact that Article 44 placed it on the same level as other religions. From 1949 to 1951 Maria Duce members circulated petitions calling for the article to be amended to reflect the Catholic Church as the “one true church” of Ireland. However, the campaign was largely unsuccessful because it was not able to secure the backing of Archbishop John Charles McQuaid of Dublin. The movement lost momentum after the failed campaign and Fahey’s death in 1954. In 1955 Archbishop McQuaid ordered the group to change its name as an indication that it did not have official church support. The group continued publishing Fiat into the 1970s under the name Fírinne, and eventually dissolved.

For more information about the Fiat newspapers or the Catholic Right Ephemera collection, visit the Archives or contact us at archives@shu.edu or (973)-761-9476.

References:

DELANEY, EDNA. (2011). Anti-Communism in Mid-Twentieth-Century Ireland. The English Historical Review, vol. 126, no. 521, 2011, pp. 878–903.

DELANEY, EDNA. (2001). Political Catholicism in Post-war Ireland: The Revd Denis Fahey and Maria Duce, 1945-54. The Journal of Ecclesiastical History, 52(3), 487-511.

Adopt a Book: Charles Moore’s A full inquiry into the subject of suicide, 1790

The Archives and Special Collections Center is launching a new Adopt a Book program! This program gives donors the opportunity to contribute to the conservation of specific items from our collection that interest them. Each month, we will feature a different adoptable book here on our blog. To learn more about the program, or to make a donation, please visit our Adopt a Book page.

A full inquiry into the subject of suicide. To which are added (as being closely connected with the subject) two treatises on duelling and gaming … by Charles Moore

Charles Moore (1743-1811) was a rector and vicar of the Church of England. He was born in London in 1743, and during his career he worked in churches throughout England. In 1792 he was appointed to the College of Six Preachers of Canterbury Cathedral, a distinguished group of priests who were called upon to preach both at the Cathedral and in their own parishes.

A full inquiry into the subject of suicide is Moore’s most significant scholarly work. It was written as a response to Hume’s 1783 Essay on Suicide. While Hume argues that suicide can be justified and even preferable in some cases, Moore contends that any form of suicide is morally wrong and an affront to God. He includes an extensive literature review that is a great resource on attitudes towards suicide in the 18th century. He also wrote two treatises on dueling and gaming and their relation to suicide, which are included at the end of the volume.

Front cover of A full inquiry into the subject of suicide — Front cover of *A full inquiry into the subject of suicide*

The Archives and Special Collections Center holds a rare copy of A full inquiry into the subject of suicide. While the work was originally published as a two volume set, the Archives’ copy contains both volumes and the two treatises on dueling and gaming bound together as one. This copy is in need of conservation treatment to clean and repair its leather spine, reattach its back cover and some of its leaves, and mend damaged areas on its covers. You can help support the conservation of this important work! Any donation toward preservation of this rare volume would be gratefully accepted. To donate, please visit our Adopt a Book page.

Announcing ArchivesSpace!

The Msgr. William Noè Field Archives & Special Collections Center at Walsh Library is excited to announce the launch of its new searchable archival database, ArchivesSpace.

Researchers can now use ArchivesSpace to discover what the Center has in its holdings. Digital archival content will be available through ArchivesSpace in the coming months.

Begin your ArchivesSpace search!

Browse our digital collections!

Archives News: Conservation of Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson

The Archives and Special Collections Center recently had conservation work performed on some important pieces from the collection. One of these is a 1787 edition of Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia. This edition was the first English-language edition of the text that was made widely available. (Its very first printing in 1785 was a small run of only 200 copies, which Jefferson distributed himself to friends and colleagues.) Notes on the State of Virginia was the only one of Jefferson’s books to be published in his lifetime, under his supervision. The copy held by the Archives and Special Collections Center still contains the fold-out maps and tables, which were frequently removed from this type of work in the past and are rarely found intact.

Notes on the State of Virginia before treatment, showing the fold out map settled at a slight angle and damage to the leaves, especially near the bottom of the spine. — *Notes on the State of Virginia* before treatment, showing the fold out map settled at a slight angle and damage to the leaves, especially near the bottom of the spine.

Notes on the State of Virginia after treatment, showing the leaves and cover attachment mended and the map re-attached to sit correctly in the volume. — *Notes on the State of Virginia* after treatment, showing the leaves and cover attachment mended and the map re-attached to sit correctly in the volume.

While the book is overall well-preserved, at 230 years old it was in need of some conservation treatment in order to make it stable enough for handling and display. In particular, the leather covers were desiccated and especially worn around the corners. The covers had detached from the text block, and were reattached at some point in the past with black cloth tape. These types of repairs can often do more damage than good, and in this case the tape had discolored the leather on the spine and left adhesive residue. The large map at the front of the volume had a tear running from its attachment to the text block to its first vertical fold, and many of the pages had small tears, creases, and surface staining. To address these issues, we took the volume to the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) in Philadelphia.

Damage caused by the use of adhesive tape to reattach the book's covers. — Damage caused by the use of adhesive tape to reattach the book’s covers.

Conservators at CCAHA used a variety of techniques to correct the condition issues while preserving as much of the original binding as possible. The desiccated leather was consolidated—a technique in which a solution is used to penetrate the leather and adhere the leather fibers together. The black tape was removed from the book’s spine along with the spine leather, which was too damaged to salvage. The spine was then cleaned and re-covered with new leather dyed to match the existing covers. New endbands, additional sewing supports at the top and bottom of the spine, were also added to match the style of the old ones. They surface-cleaned accumulated dirt from the pages and mended the tear in the fold-out map. The covers were humidified and flattened, then re-attached to the text block. A custom clamshell-type box was created for the book, using archival materials.

Before treatment: abraded covers and amateur tape repair.

After treatment: leather consolidated and spine repaired, with the leather toned to match the new material to the original covers.

Now that the volume has undergone treatment, the book can be handled and displayed without fear of causing further damage to the volume. Since care was taken to match the original materials and style, the repairs made to the binding keep the original character of the volume while greatly improving the book’s stability. With these measures, we will be able to have this treasure of American history in our collection for the next 230 years!

Adopt a Book: I fioretti di S. Francesco

I fioretti di S. Francesco, Il can del sole, Le considerazioni svlle stimmate by Duilio Cambellotti, 1926

I fioretti di S. Francesco translates to Little Flowers of St. Francis. It is a collection of readings about St. Francis, compiled by an unknown author in the 14^th century. The Archives and Special Collections Center holds a 1926 copy of Little Flowers that is one of a limited run of the text which features illustrations and covers created by Italian Art Nouveau artist Duilio Cambellotti. The distinctive wooden front cover is milled to give it a curving shape, and is inset with metal decoration. Striking, brightly colored illustrations depict scenes from the text.

Wooden front cover with metal inset design.

Duilio Cambellotti was born in Rome in 1876. He originally studied accounting, but soon turned to the arts. He became involved in many aspects of the arts, including painting, sculpture, theater, and design, and was influential in the Italian Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. Cambellotti was especially well known for his Art Nouveau style illustrations and his furniture design.

Illustration depicting St. Francis surrounded by animals and nature.

The Archives’ copy of I fioretti is in need of conservation work to repair damage to the spine resulting from stress on the heavy wooden cover, and mending of minor tears and losses to the leaves of the volume. You can help support the conservation of this important work! Any donation toward preservation of this rare volume would be gratefully accepted. To donate, please visit our Adopt a Book page.

The Leab Legacy at the Archives & Special Collections Center

The staff of the Archives and Special Collections Center were saddened to hear of the passing of Professor Emeritus Daniel J. Leab. Dr. Leab had a great impact on the University, devoting thirty years to Seton Hall’s History Department and serving as founder and director of the University’s Multi-Cultural Program.

Daniel J. Leab, By Aboudaqn (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons — Daniel J. Leab via Wikimedia Commons

Dr. Leab was a strong supporter of the Library and the Archives. In 2015 he donated a collection of his research materials to the Archives and Special Collections Center. The collection consists of books, publications, and photocopied material relating to his varied research interests, which included the Cold War, American communism, the American Labor movement, the history of the FBI and the CIA, and the history of film. Notable in the collection is a nearly complete run of House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) reports, including reports on the controversial Hollywood investigations.

Dr. Leab’s contributions to the Archives are just one way that his legacy will live on at Seton Hall. To learn more, view the list of books and the finding aid for the collection.

Adopt a Book this Giving Tuesday!

This Giving Tuesday, consider making a gift to support the conservation of rare books in our collections. Our new Adopt a Book program gives donors the opportunity to contribute to the conservation of specific items from the collection that interest them. Adopting a book is a great way to honor a loved one or commemorate an occasion while supporting the preservation of rare materials for generations to come. To learn more about the program or to make a donation, please visit our Adopt a Book page.

Primo volume dell’vso et fabbrica dell’astrolabio, et de planisferio by Ignazio Danti, 1578

Ignazio Danti (1536-1586) was an Italian priest, astronomer, mathematician, and cosmographer. Born to a wealthy family in Perugia, Italy, he grew up surrounded by artists and scholars. His father and grandfather were both architects and engineers, and his older brother Vincenzo Danti became a famous sculptor.

Raised in an environment that fostered his love of science and mathematics, Danti went on to make significant contributions to those fields. At the age of 18, he entered the Dominican Order and began studying philosophy and theology, but also continued learning about mathematics, astronomy, and cartography.

danti_illustration_cropped_blog — Illustration from *Primo volume dell’vso et fabbrica dell’astrolabio, et de planisferio*

In 1562, he moved from Perugia to a monastery in Florence and began to work on many scientific and cosmographic projects. He painted maps and globes, created architectural plans for various buildings, and published over a dozen scientific treatises. These include Trattato del’uso e della fabbrica dell’astrolabio which was the first Italian work on the astrolabe, an early scientific instrument that enabled astronomers to calculate the position of the Sun and prominent stars with respect to both the horizon and the meridian.

danti-cover_cropped_blog — Front cover of *Primo volume dell’vso et fabbrica dell’astrolabio, et de planisferio*, showing losses and water damage.

The Archives and Special Collections Center holds a rare copy of Primo volume dell’vso et fabbrica dell’astrolabio, an expansion of Danti’s first work on the astrolabe. This important work is an early example of instruction in the use of scientific instruments in Italian, and it provided an important resource for Italian astronomers. This copy is in need of conservation treatment to clean and repair its leaves, replace its badly damaged cover, and reinforce its binding. You can help support the conservation of this important work! Any donation toward preservation of this rare volume would be gratefully accepted. To donate, please visit our Adopt a Book page.