Curated from rare books found in the department of Special Collections and Archives, "Sex, Religion, and Politics: The Heterogeneous Library of John Bigelow" is a single case exhibit that presents a diverse assortment of books from the personal library of John Bigelow (1817-1911, UC 1835). The books on display range from 1700 to 1903, showcase eight different languages, and tell a story about how his personal and professional reading choices were partly responsible for shaping his open-mindedness and forward-thinking decision making.
Union College and Schenectady have played host to countless stories over the campus’s centuries-long history. Since the invention of photography, members of the campus community have documented this history and their stories visually. Many such photographs are housed in the Picture File (SCA-1206), a collection of thousands of images preserved in the Special Collections and Archives department.
The James Joyce collection at Union College is housed in Schaffer Library's Special Collections and Archives. A small, yet rich collection of rare materials, the collection offers researchers access to unique items related to international Bloomsday events, first and rare book editions, ephemera, and pamphlets from American and European libraries.
This exhibit features selections from John James Audubon’s Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size watercolors reproduced from hand-engraved plates and printed between 1827 and 1838. Eliphalet Nott acquired Union College’s copy of Birds of America directly from Audubon himself in 1844.
Night of the Living Radio: WRUC Past and Present celebrates the 101st anniversary of WRUC. The exhibit showcases materials from the WRUC collection and includes vinyl records, radio equipment, ephemera, and recordings of broadcasts that visitors may listen to on their phones.
This exhibit was inspired by the 50 year anniversary of coeducation and celebrates the impact women have made throughout the course of Union's history. Women have long been involved in the history of this institution, influencing its structure through contributions to areas such as labor, finances, and educational developments, among others. These contributions have not always been at the forefront of the historical record, but they have been instrumental, visible or not.
Celebrate Indigenous People's Day by discovering some of our books in the catalog about Indigenous People. Click on each of these books to find out more, and to find them in our catalog!
Union was the first liberal arts college to offer engineering in the United States. To celebrate 175 years of engineering education, the Special Collections and Archives Department of Schaffer Library has put together a digital exhibition which explores how the discipline of engineering influenced and shaped the College’s reputation as a partner in modern science and technology - from the 19th century to the present day. In addition, engineering alumni will be able to share their personal experiences to be kept for posterity.
The goal of the exhibit is to recognize the sisterhood of students whose accomplishments have helped shaped Union’s success. With courage and commitment, these women and others, alongside students of color, helped build the foundation for a more diverse student body, faculty and leadership at Union College. Today, women represent 47 percent of enrolled students.
Social Distancing: Stories from the Union Community captures the unique experiences from students, faculty, staff, and community members of Union College, Schenectady, and the region during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sort through stories by student, faculty, staff, community member, browse our interactive map, or search by keyword.
Katherine (Kay) Flickinger Dockstader (1910-1995) was a lifelong resident of the Schenectady, New York area who worked for General Electric. She was one of the first women to hike the 46 Adirondack High Peaks and was an active member of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), Mohawk Valley Hiking, and Otyokwa Clubs. Kay took extensive scenic photographs, detailing many of them with personal notes about the locations and participants. The images reflect Flickinger’s opinion that “up here, everything is beautiful!"
This website is an historic guide to Union College as it stood at the turn of the twentieth century. It is based upon information and stories gleaned from the recent donation to the College of a treasure trove of over 700 letters written between 1895 and 1904 by Anne Dunbar Potts Perkins, beloved campus resident, creator of Mrs. Perkins’ Garden, and wife of Maurice Perkins (Union College Professor of Chemistry, 1865-1901).
Learn about Notable Union Personages, and view our current feature on the Women of Union College, from the recent Schaffer Library Exhibit, Faces of Change.
This collection contains letters written by Hiram S. Wilson to his wife, Elizabeth, from 1861 to 1864 with the majority of the letters dating between 1862 and 1863. While most letters were addressed to his wife, there are a few letters written to other family members including his daughter, Stella. Most of the letters were written while he was stationed at various army camps in Virginia and Maryland. He writes about family and home issues but also talks about military activities. Wilson expresses confidence about the army’s abilities and writes about his trust in General McClellan and other Generals. He includes discussions about camp life, troop movement, and general war news. For instance, several letters discuss the passage by Congress of the Militia Act of 1862 and the Confiscation Act of 1862 that allowed the enlistment of African Americans.
The papers of the Westinghouse Family date from 1833-1913, with the bulk of the material falling between 1862 and 1880. The collection includes: correspondence; legal documents such as mortgages, warranty deeds, agreements, leases and patent information; photographs; drawings; a pocket diary and autograph book.
The bulk of the collection is family correspondence. The majority of these letters were written by Albert Westinghouse to his family while he was serving in the military during the Civil War.
The pocket diary belonged to Albert Westinghouse. The diary dates from January 30 until October 10, 1864. His entries are concise, writing about daily military life including mail from home, inspection, clothing, marches, new recruits, drilling, etc.
This collection contains primarily letters written by Captain John McConihe to his business partner, John B. Kellog. The letters date from April 1, 1862 to May 21, 1864. The letters give descriptions of military maneuvers, people and places he encountered during his military service, camp life, his finances, his duties as an officer, his health and his recovery from a shoulder wound sustained at Shiloh. There are some receipts that detail purchases he made during his military service. The collection also contains a carte-de-visite or small photograph of McConihe and one of his calling cards.
This collection comprises a series of unmailed Civil War-era patriotic envelopes or covers that was presented to Union College by John M. Pearson. The patriotic covers featured in this collection primarily depict themes supporting the Northern or Union cause. This includes political cartoons and caricatures of patriotic symbols and political messages both for and against the Northern and Southern leaders of the time. The first patriotic covers appeared in 1861 as commercial printing houses seized the opportunity to publish and sell these novelties as commentary on both sides of the conflict. However, production was relatively short lived as the printing of Confederate covers dropped by 1863 while the Union covers lasted only one year longer.
This website is an enhanced catalog of Schaffer Library’s collection of rare works related to author, artist, and printmaker William Blake. Utilizing research by Union College undergraduates, it also showcases student creativity and engagement with the collection. Selected images and links are included to inspire additional research.
This is a collection of Union College architectural plans which includes Schaffer Library and the Nott Memorial, drawn by Joseph Jacques Ramée in 1813. In January 1813, Nott came into contact with Joseph Ramée, as the architect traveled south through New York State on his way to Philadelphia. Nott had a unique vision for higher education, coupling a modern and practical focus in the curriculum with the ideal of a college community as an extended family. To embody this vision, the campus itself had to be more than just a functional space. Nott apparently found a practical match for his ideas in Ramée, whom he contracted to draw plans for the Union campus.
This website provides a glimpse of the many kinds of unique cultural resources held among the library collections at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, Union College was the first college chartered by the state’s Board of Regents and is situated in a campus that was the first in the nation to have been designed according to a comprehensive architectural and landscape plan.
This collection contains North African Postcards of Jewish women, children, and families dating back to the early 20th Century.
The demographic dispersion of Jews is generally described in three categories: Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi. While Ashkenazi Jews make up the majority of world Jewry, the Feingold Postcard Collection focuses mainly on Jewish populations living in North Africa, which consisted of a combination of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews. The term Sephardi designates the diaspora of Jewish people from Spain who migrated to Mediterranean regions, such as France and North Africa. Mizrahi Jews, on the other hand, originated in Persia and diverse locales in the Middle East and moved eastward. Mizrahi Jews were often seen as outsiders by both natives and other sects of Jews because they had dark skin, spoke different languages and had different customs.
The collection consists primarily of correspondence between William Butler and his family during the Civil War. His letters began in 1861 when he was sailing to Annapolis on a troop ship and continue until his death in August 1864. Some months he wrote almost daily while others he wrote sporadically. His letters document the everyday concerns of a Civil War soldier including life, death, health, clothing, money and liquor. The majority of the letters are written to William’s brother Edmund with his other brother James and his sister Margaret appearing occasionally.
