The University of North Alabama Library's Collier Library has announced the acquisition of film scripts, photographs, DVD's. interview recordings, and other personal papers from famed motion picture actor Claude Rains.The collection is a donation from his only child, daughter Jessica Rains, herself an actor in such films as The Sting (1973) and Woody Allen’s Sleeper (1973).Claude Rains, born in London in 1889, became a US citizen in 1939, a year following daughter Jessica's birth. Originally a stage actor, he came to motion pictures late in his career, becoming a sensation as the titular character in James Whale's The Invisible Man...
NYPL Goes Underground
The Velvet Underground with Nico (far left) and Andy Warhol (left).Nearly 45 years after their formation, The Velvet Underground, the most influential band to emerge from the New York City rock scene of the 60's, is reuniting at the city's public library. On December 8 three of the group's surviving members, singer-songwriter-guitarist Lou Reed, drummer Maureen Tucker, and bassist Doug Yule will come together for a question and answer session, and appropriately, to promote a new book celebrating the band's history.LEIGH, Michael. The Velvet Underground. NY: Macfadden, [1963].While the library might seem an unlikely place for the reunion of an...
Scotland’s Library Highlights Highland’s Historic Homicides
Victorian Artist James Hamilton's Romantic Depiction of The Massacre of GlencoeThe National Library of Scotland has chosen as the centerpiece of an exhibit of "nine cultural treasures" one of the most infamous documents in the country's history: the 1692 government order commanding the notorious Massacre of Glencoe. The chilling contents of this death warrant stand as a horrific example of state sanctioned murder.The Official Order For The Massacre (see full text below.)In August of 1691 the English crown ordered the chiefs of all Scottish clans to take an oath of allegiance to William III by year's end. This proclamation reflected...
Dig This Hipster Decor From A Library’s Store
Have you always wanted a crazy, copacetic crib but your pad screams strictly squaresville? Are you a cool cat or a hot chick with style galore but not much bread in store? Well you're in luck. Indiana's Elkhart Public Library is having a furniture sale.Normally a library is about the last place you'd expect to find retro-cool, Mid-Century Modern furniture but this one is the exception. The Elkhart Public Library moved into a modernist building in March of 1963, and the original furnishings included Herman Miller and Jens Risom desks, credenzas, tables and chairs, and Eames fiberglass chairs. Some of...
The Food Librarian’s Got A Bundt (Or 30) In The Oven
As much as we here at Book Patrol love the written word, let's face it: man does not live by books alone. So thank goodness for The Food Librarian and her bountiful, beautiful baking blog. Mary (No last name. This woman has a unique talent to rival Voltaire, Homer, or Saki. She don't need no stinkin' last name.) is a librarian somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area. Like her literary namesake, Mary Poppins, our Mary knows that just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down. The medicine in this case being a lot of nice plugs for...