This exhibition marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death by celebrating how his works have come to life through innovations in print technology, editorial practice, and graphic design. Books and printing artifacts drawn from Special Collections' eclectic holdings will explain the technology of printed books in the 17th century, narrate the complex editorial history of the plays, and survey the myriad forms Shakespeare's works have taken in print over the last two centuries.

In the decade following the publication of Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique (1963), feminists resorted to other genres to communicate their message. Purchased for a few cents, handed out at meetings, or sent via mail, radical manifestos, pamphlets, and periodicals electrified the woman’s movement. They called for a change in consciousness, urging feminists to work outside the system. They shed light on discrimination in women’s health, education, and labor, as well as discrimination in the women’s movement itself.

Did you know that a small part of the Harlem Renaissance took place in a garden in Lynchburg, Virginia? This exhibition celebrates the legacy of poet, civil rights activist, and gardener Anne Spencer (1882–1975). Her home was a sacred space for the African-American community on the East coast, a space free from Jim Crow. Her garden was Spencer’s own sacred space for poetic creation. View the house and garden as they look today through the eyes of John Hall’s stunning photographs, juxtaposed with artifacts, manuscripts, and books that bring Spencer’s work and times back to life.

Special Collections researcher Sue Rainey used numerous materials from our collections when working on her recent book, Creating a World on Paper: Harry Fenn's Career in Art. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Harry Fenn (1837-1911) played a key role in popularizing periodical and book illustration. The exhibition investigates his contributions to three highly successful serial publications of New York’s D.

Although celebrated today as one of England’s foremost artists and poets, William Blake (1757–1827) worked and died in obscurity. Drawing from Special Collections’ Sandra Elizabeth Olivier and Raymond Danowski Reference Collection of William Blake, presented by the Danowskis to UVA in 2010, this exhibition traces Blake’s artistic achievement as well as the fascinating process by which later generations rediscovered Blake.

This mini-exhibition is drawn from Mildred Abraham’s personal collection of rare books on the Grand Tour. It offers viewers a chance to travel back in time to experience the Italy famous for its classical origins, Carnival, and banditti. Ranging from the earliest account of the Grand Tour in Italy, published in the 17th century, to illustrated accounts of 19th-century tourists and intellectuals such as Henry James, the exhibition is a visual feast for anyone interested in Italy and its history.

This exhibition surveys one of the greatest archives of American literature: the University of Virginia's William Faulkner collections. Manuscripts of eight novels are displayed alongside first editions and key archival documents. The novelist's life is narrated through the personae he inhabited: artist, aviator, screenwriter, Nobel prizewinner, white southerner, and UVA writer-in-residence are just some of those featured. Die-hard fans, the general public, and even the Faulkner-phobic will find the unexpected in the items on display.

On March 19, 1917, James Rogers McConnell became the first UVA student to die in World War I. He is remembered most as one of the Lafayette Escadrille, a corps of American pilots fighting for the French before the U.S. joined the war. This exhibition surveys his extraordinary adventure, beginning with his decision to join the American Ambulance Corps in 1915, through flight training, combat, and injury, and finally to his death in aerial combat and subsequent memorialization at UVA and beyond.

“Miniature Books and Money” was launched as a partner project to an exhibition at the Virginia Arts of the Book Center, "Monumental Ideas in Miniature Books 2." Drawing almost entirely from the McGehee Miniature Book Collection, the exhibition featured almost 100 miniature books, showcasing some of the ways that one topic–money–can be approached through this 12,000 item collection.