Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

The Tulane Special Collections library is pleased to announce a new exhibition in honor of the 300th birthday of Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), a giant of English literature and criticism. The exhibit consists of rare first editions of Johnson’s works: for instance, his Dictionary of the English Language (the first for English), Prayers and Meditations, and his variorum edition of Shakespeare’s works. The exhibit also contains a rare first edition of Boswell’s famous Life of Johnson and first editions of other notable eighteenth-century writers, such as Jonathan Swift (Gulliver’s Travels) and Laurence Sterne (Tristram Shandy). These materials are further illuminated by pages from an early print dictionary in Latin, Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, and medieval manuscript prayerbooks. All items are drawn from Special Collections, Tulane University. The exhibit is co-curated by Professors Dwight Codr and Michael P. Kuczynski, with the assistance of Samantha Bruner, an MA...

The Louisiana Research Collection is the home of the papers of George Washington Cable, author of the Grandissimes and Old Creole Days . Recently I received a reference question from a Mark Twain scholar, and had the opportunity to delve deep into Cable's papers. I found many interesting and delightful items along the way. The collection contains many fascinating letters between Mark Twain and George Washington Cable. Between late 1884 and early 1885, Cable and Twain embarked on a speaking tour together, and the two were billed as "the Twins of Genius". The George Washington Cable papers includes many letters from Twain to Cable. One of the more interesting letters from Twain I found was addressed to "my Dear Nephew", however it contained an envelope scrap showing Twain's return address and the outgoing address to Cable. The letter is dated January 15, 1883. I think what charmed me most was the quote Twain ended the letter with: "When an audience do no...

John Kennedy Toole (December 17, 1937-March 26, 1969) is known to most as the author of A Confederacy of Dunces . The Manuscripts department is the home of the John Kennedy Toole papers. One of our most heavily researched collections, the Toole papers include literary manuscript material related to A Confederacy of Dunces and The Neon Bible , correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, and other family papers. John Kennedy Toole was stationed at an Army base in Puerto Rico in 1962, and during this time he began the manuscript that later became A Confederacy of Dunces . This picture was taken of Toole on base. For more information on John Kennedy Toole and Manuscripts holdings, please see our website . (Image of John Kennedy Toole on base in Puerto Rico. John Kennedy Toole papers, Manuscripts Collection 740, Manuscripts Department, Special Collections, Tulane University Libraries. Image may not be reproduced without permission.) Posted by Eira Tansey.