University of Arizona

Everyone is welcome to visit Special Collections without an appointment from 9 am - 5 pm, Mon - Fri. Note that beginning April 1st, our hours will be 9 am - 4 pm

News

Happy 100 Year Anniversary to the University of Arizona Mascot!

Oct 15, 2015

October 17, 2015 marks the one hundred year anniversary of the University of Arizona having a mascot. On October 17, 1915 Tom Easter, a live bobcat, arrived on the UA campus. The following day he was introduced to the student body at an assembly in Herring Hall. Tom Easter was the gift of the freshman football team, who raised $9.91 to purchase him from a blacksmith located in Douglas, AZ. Soon he was rechristened “Rufus Arizona” after then UA President Rufus B. von KleinSmid.

Searching for Pancho Villa

Aug 11, 2015

Sophie Treadwell interviewed Francisco “Pancho” Villa shortly after Venustiano Carranza’s murder. Her article appeared in the New York Tribune on August 28, 1921. For more, explore MS 318, Papers of Sophie Treadwell.

La periodista Sophie Treadwell entrevisto a Francisco “Pancho” Villa después del asesinato de Venustiano Carranza. El artículo apareció en el New York Tribune en agosto 28 de 1921. Los invitamos a que exploren la colección, MS 318 Sophie Treadwell papers.

Why Was This Photo Banned from Publication?

Aug 7, 2015

This photo of students from the class of 1898-1899 in front of Old Main was taken for a newspaper but its publication was delayed for 52 years due to the concerns of the university president.

Finding the Things You’re Not Looking For at UA Special Collections

Jul 21, 2015

I love archives because every time I’m in one I find something of intellectual curiosity and value.  Much of the time what I find is the sort of item that an undergraduate professor once told me was really only useful for “good cocktail party conversation.”

At least he deemed it “good.” 

World UFO Day, July 2

Jun 30, 2015

Whether you have always been curious or experienced something yourself, July 2, World UFO Day is the time to find out more about the alleged existence of unidentified flying objects and beings from outer space.  While Special Collections may not have the answers on the existence of aliens (that we know of anyway) we do have manuscript and book collections that might provide more information about the study of this phenomena. 

Alchemy: Or, a Disquisition on Early Modern Formulas for Mouthwash, by a Sage and Seer of Repute.

Jun 25, 2015

Within the walls and upon the shelves of Special Collections lie many works, powerful and invaluable. At times, the stories about the books themselves are more marvelous than what appears on their pages.

One such work, devoted scholars, concerns alchemy. (For more, pursue this to that troth trove agreed, the OED, and its entry sub vivo “alchemy”.) What it purports to be, it is almost certainly not; what it is, more fantastic, is forgery.

Cacti Cacti All Around: A Brief History of the Joseph Wood Krutch Garden

Jun 4, 2015

As cacti in Arizona bloom from April to June, the University of Arizona campus has its very own cactus garden.  With a long history and several moves, the cactus garden survives as the Joseph Wood Krutch Garden, a small plot of land just south of the Administration Building.  Amid a sea of grass, native Arizona plants showcase the beauty of Sonoran Desert plants.

Animals in Special Collections

May 20, 2015

Animals are everywhere. In nature. On our laps. In our lives. On our plates. And one may – or may not – be reading this blog post. Yet human-animal relationships remain largely unexplored. Volumes have been written about animals, but only recently have scholars studied human-animal relations: our use of animals, our interdependence, and ideas underlying the human-animal dichotomy, or prospectively beyond it.

Resources for Classics in Special Collections

Apr 21, 2015

On Wednesday, April 8, 2015, Special Collections saw Lectio Vergiliana, an annual reading of the Roman author, Vergil. This year’s gathering involved a five-hour reading of Book Two of Vergil’s Aeneid by faculty and students from the Classics Department. Organized by Professor Cynthia White, Director of the Basic Latin Program, and graduate students Stephanie Hutchings and Elizabeth Del Curto, the Special Collections classroom was alive with Vergil’s words, clapping and laughter, and good food. There was even a Trojan horse to lend some atmosphere.

Exhibition Highlights Life and Work of Raúl Castro

Apr 15, 2015

University of Arizona alumnus Raúl Héctor Castro, who overcame hardship and discrimination to become Arizona's only Mexican-American governor and a U.S. ambassador, died Friday, April 10 in San Diego at the age of 98.

Castro had many ties to the UA, including his graduation from the James E. Rogers College of Law, his support of a scholarship fund in the Center for Latin American Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and his donation of his manuscript collection to Special Collections at the University of Arizona.

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