Ellis Library's hidden treasure
Photos and story by Kyle Spradley, posted 12/8/05

Students not afraid to meander through the stairs and stacks of Ellis Library, left, will find the hidden treasure of the Special Collections Division.     Through the front door and up the steps, hang a left, down a long, narrow hallway, up another flight of steps and hang a right and you have reached a special place few know about inside MU's very own Ellis Library. With more than three million books and counting it's easy to get lost in North America's 47 th largest research collection, but a small assortment of books and pieces of art that are housed in 4 West that should keep you occupied for a very long time.

This place is called the Special Collections Division.   Here, priceless books and original pieces of artwork that have printed dates that span this and last two millenniums are amassed.

"One of our favorites is a copy of De Historia Stirpium by Leonhart Fuchs, which is a really beautiful illustrated plant book from 1542 with hand-colored illustrations," librarian Kelli Hansen said. "It has the first illustrations in any European book of some New World plants like pumpkins and squashes."

De Historia Stirpium by Leonhart Fuchs, 1542.

Hansen is the Print Collections Manager, which is part of the Special Collections Division that helps look after the pieces.

One of the more interesting pieces includes a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible.

A leaf from the Gutenberg Bible.

"The leaf is a definite favorite with staff and patrons, and it is amazing to see a page from the first printed book," Hansen said.

Another intriguing piece is the book, Dialogo Sopra I Due Massimi Sistemi del Mondo, which is the first publication by Galileo. In this book Galileo describes his theory that the earth revolves around the sun instead of the sun revolving around the earth. This book was very controversial and was even banned shortly after the first few copies came out in 1632.

The oldest complete book in the collection has a born on date of 1175 A.D. It is a Greek grammar book titled De Constructione and was written by Prisciannus. The collection also has tablets of ancient Babylonian cuneiform that were written close to 2000 years ago. The Fagmenta Mauscripta Collection, a section of the Special Collections area, also has medieval manuscripts that are well over 1000 years old.  

A Greek grammar book titled De Constructione, written by Prisciannus and printed in 1175 A.D.

The Special Collections area also has another sub-section called the Thomas Moore Johnson Collection. Included in this section are several philosophy books and focuses mainly on the works and interpretations of Plato. It was originally a private collection and was donated to Ellis in 1949. Most of the books are from the late 1800s and early 1900s, but there are a few books from the sixteenth century. The oldest book dates back to 1508.

Not only is Ellis Library a place for literature, it houses a wide array of original pieces of art.  

"Our comic art collection includes work by V.T. Hamlin (creator of "Alley Oop"), Edgar Martin (creator of "Boots and Her Buddies"), MU art professor emeritus Frank Stack (creator of "The Adventures of Jesus") and Mort Walker (creator of "Beetle Bailey")," Hansen said.

An original "Beetle Bailey" sketch by Mort Walker.

The sad thing about the collection is that not too many students know or have even heard of the Special Collections part of the library.

"I have never been there but I have heard of it. A girl from my class was mentioning it to me for a research paper," MU freshman Andrew Blakemore said.

The good news is that most of the "well-aged" pieces have been digitally copied and are available on the MU libraries website in hopes to lure more people into the collection and let future generations of MU students look into our past and gaze upon other things besides Nintendo and MTV.  

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