The Red Gown: Reflections on the Visual History of Menstruation in Scotland

Over the last decades, menstruation has become more present in public discourse in Scotland.While scholars are increasingly documenting this change, little attention has been paid to therole of menstrual art made in Scotland. In this article, we explore the historic contexts ofmenstrual art in the town of St Andrews and in Scotland during the late twentieth and earlytwenty-first century, and ask what this reveals about menstrual absence and presence in publicdebates. We do this in collaboration with artist Bee Hughes, whose practice focuses on thevisible and invisible aspects of menstruation, and who was artist in residence at St Andrews in2020. Due to a university strike and a pandemic, our collaboration changed and subsequentlyfocused more on the histories of menstrual art. We thus assess symbols and collections ofmenstrual visual culture in Scotland, including the use of the ceremonial red gown at theUniversity of St Andrews, and menstrual art collections at Glasgow Women’s Library and StAndrews Special Collections. Together, we reflect on how their histories might be both present(institutionalised) and absent (when not on display). 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RED W. SMITH NATIONAL LIBRARY FOR THE STUDY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, АS UNIQUE INFORMATION RESOURCE

Purpose. The article by Svetlana Polovyk and Natalia Morshny «Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington as a Unique Information Resource» reveals current issues of the Fred Smith National Library for the study of George Washington, which are analyzed in the context of history and creation of documentary fund as a set of information resources USA and the activities of the founder of the George Washington Institute of Presidential Power. Methodology. The research methodology is based on the application of general scientific principles of historicism, consistency, complexity, objectivity, comprehensiveness of knowledge. This was facilitated by the use of methods of analysis, abstraction, synthesis and generalization. Finding. Analysis of the composition and content of special collections stored in the library showed their important complementarity, because only together they form a single documentary and information space, which gives a real opportunity to join the historical context of an important state institution – the presidency. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is that the documentary heritage of D. Washington is studied as a single cultural and historical complex of the library. Practical value. Implementation of the experience Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington in the work of similar structures in Ukraine. Results. The study concludes that the history of the formation and development of the Fred Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington is closely linked to the history of the state, its ideological and sociocultural priorities. Among the main areas of use of the first president’s documentary heritage are scientific, cultural and educational projects aimed at understanding the cultural and political heritage of D. Washington and the conditions of formation and development of American statehood.

History and Memory of Dissident Sexualities from Latin America

This article focuses on Red Latinoamericana de Archivos, Museos, Acervos y Investigadores LGBTQIA+ (AMAI LGBTQIA+), a network composed of researchers and institutions related to LGBTQIA+ memory in Latin America, founded in 2019. First, the authors analyse the network’s creation arising from the discontent of some participants of the June 2019 Archives, Libraries, Museums and Special Collections (ALMS) Conference, in Berlin, who felt bothered by the lack of attention given to subaltern perspectives on LGBTQIA+ history and memory. Next, the authors describe and analyse the network’s first year of activities communicated through its Facebook group. Multiple challenges arose from creating a network with members from different national origins, languages, and identities, especially considering the conservative political contexts of several Latin American countries and the social distancing measures imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, the authors present a general profile of the network’s members and a map of partner institutions. Finally, the article points out some challenges to the network’s continuity and its desire to render Latin America more visible in the broader panorama of global LGBTQIA+ history. The authors conclude by highlighting the importance of AMAI LGBTQIA+ in stimulating further discussions about the participation of global-south researchers and perspectives on global queer history initiatives.

Reconstructing a Middle Dutch Alexander Compilation

This article provides a first description, edition and analysis of Antwerp, University Library, Special Collections, MAG-P 64.19. This fragment is the sole known remnant of a Middle Dutch compilation of stories about Alexander the Great copied by the well-known Ferguut scribe (ca.1350). Our research shows that this compilation comprised Dutch versions of the Voeux du paon and the twelfth-century Fuerre de Gadres, which was previously unknown to have been translated into Dutch. We advance the possibility that the Stuttgart and Brussels fragments of Alexanders geesten and Roman van Cassamus, which were also copied by the Ferguut scribe, belonged to a second copy of this compilation, providing a continuous narrative about the life of Alexander. In this respect, the Dutch compilation resembles contemporary manuscripts of the Roman d'Alexandre in which Alexandre de Paris' vulgate compilation was complemented with various amplifications. The combination of pre-existing Dutch stories into one (semi)coherent narrative is also similar to the famous Lancelot compilation, a collection of Arthurian narratives created in Brabant in approximately the same period. The fragment thus sharpens our understanding of the role of compilations in the dissemination of Middle Dutch chivalric romance.

UNDERGROUND WELBECK: INTAGIBLE SPACES John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, 5th Duke of Portland (1800–1879)

The life of the 5th Duke of Portland is a story about the mental obsession to find a haven of absolute stillness, a worry-free place, and somewhere to feel safe (Pl L1/2/8/3/13: Four letters to Fanny Kemble, 1842–1845. In these letters, the 5th Duke refers to the subsoil as “shelter” and the “only safe place”, found in Manuscripts and Special Collections, Archives Nottingham University). Perhaps it is there, in the space that unfolded away from the visible world, that he found the strength to overcome his difficulties and to understand the scale of space and its intangibility; he was aware of the relationships and interaction between the human body, inhabited space, and the mind, and this information helped him in his hiding process. After his appointment as the heir to his immense estate, a series of investments on an unprecedented scale began almost immediately, which have been considered, both technically and conceptually, to be pioneers of domestic and landscape architecture during the nineteenth century. Welbeck Estate represents the construction of a double city, one that is visible and another that is concealed, but it is also a reflection of how our body and our mind interfere, dialogue, and create an architectural space that is framed in a cognitive process. Space and time were unfolded and folded into themselves in order to build this fascinating scenery, which represents the duke’s life.

A Rare Find: a 19th Century Song about Cholera in Slovenia and Its Interpretation

The accidental discovery of an 1847 manuscript in the Local History and Special Collections Department at Maribor University Library in Slovenia (shelfmark: Kreps, 1847; UKM Ms 563), which contains, among other things, a song about cholera, was the basis for its contextual interpretation and comparison with related recorded songs. This new discovery is important because the song refers to the first wave of cholera on Slovene territory in 1836, whereas other songs describing the disease were written later. The text of the song resembles a collection of frightening news about the disease circulating among the people. The questions of whether the information in the song is real or fictional, genuine or exaggerated are discussed in light of the memory of cholera outbreaks found in other songs of the same genre and historical data.

Poljičke isprave – čuvanje, zaštita i prezentacija dokumenata iz arhiva Poljičke republike pisanih bosančicom = Poljica Documents – Protection and Presentation of Documents from the Archive of the Poljica Republic Written in Bosančica

Zbog svojih jedinstvenih i rijetkih kolekcija, Specijalne zbirke Nacionalne i univerzitetske biblioteke Bosne i Hercegovine (NUBBiH) su nezamjenjiv izvor za mnogostruke istraživačke projekte i naučne radove. Već dugi niz godina NUBBiH ulaže napor da putem svojih projekata naučnoj zajednici pobliže predstavi vrijedne kolekcije Specijalnih zbirki. Da bi se korisnicima osigurao brži i lakši pristup građi, a ujedno i zaštitili originalni dokumenti od njihovog daljeg propadanja, građa koja je obuhvaćena projektima digitalizira se i prezentira kroz Digitalne kolekcije NUBBiH. U ovom radu predstavit ćemo jedan takav projekt, a to je projekt zaštite i prezentacije Arhiva poljičkih isprava iz Zbirke Aleksandra Poljanića te ćemo prikazati dosadašnje rezultate, kao i krajnje ciljeve ovoga projekta. = The Special Collections of the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NULBIH) are an irreplaceable source for multiple research projects and scientific papers. For many years, NULBIH has been strengthening efforts to present values of Special Collections to the scientific community through its projects. To provide users with faster and easier access to the material, and at the same time to protect the original documents from their further deterioration, the materials covered by the projects are digitized and presented through the Digital Collections portal of the National and University Library of BIH. In this article, we will present the ongoing project “Protection and presentation of the Poljica Documents Archive from the Collection of Aleksandar Poljanić” and so far, the results and ultimate goals of this project.

The Rare Books of the Galway Poor Clares

The Poor Clares of Galway are the oldest surviving convent in Ireland, maintaining a small but important collection of rare books from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This essay offers a bibliographical analysis of these rare books in order to sketch the role of reading within the convent from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. By analysing material evidence of reading and circulation practices—signatures, readers’ marks, marginalia, and bookmarks—broader patterns of book usage among the Galway Poor Clares are reconstructed for the first four centuries of existence. The essay concludes with a short bibliographical catalogue of the convent’s special collections.