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Northwestern University Library Painting and Artifact Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 9/1/18

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

The Northwestern University Library Painting and Artifact Collection contains paintings, prints, artifacts, sculptures, ceramics, and more that have been displayed within Deering and University Libraries. Items are mostly undated and were acquired individually by the library either for display or in some cases as part of an acquired collection over several decades.

Artifacts found here include items acquired through purchase or donation intended to be decorative in nature for Deering Library’s early years, in the 1930s-1940s. Many of these items were eventually displayed in the reading room of the McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives, prior to being housed for preservation.

Dates

  • circa 1300-2007 and undated

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Access to items in this collection may be impacted by their condition. Review of materials by preservation staff is required prior to use.

This collection is stored off-site and requires two business days' advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

Extent

55 Boxes (55 boxes)

51 items (51 items)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Northwestern University Library Painting and Artifact Collection contains paintings, prints, artifacts, sculptures, ceramics, and more that have been displayed within Deering and University Libraries. Items are mostly undated and were acquired individually by the library either for display or in some cases as part of an acquired collection over several decades.

Arrangement

The Northwestern University Library painting and artifact collection is an artificial collection compiled by NUL staff from multiple sources. The collection is arranged alphabetically by subject depicted or by item's title. Primarily, titles are provided to the works by processor. Information about specific items in the collection, if available, can be found at the item-level.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These items were acquired individually over several decades, either as purchases or donations. More in-depth information for Immediate Source of Acquisition can be found at the item-level.

Related Materials

Collection des médailles en des campagnes et du règne de l'empereur Napoléon (Folio 737.2 N216Zm) was once housed within the Special Collections Reading Room and is now cataloged on its own.

Some artifacts once housed in the Joseph Spear Beck Room and from the Beck Collection have been cataloged on their own, see:

  • [Mounted fish] - (McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives - L2 Beck M928)
  • Chandler Robbins fishing rod - (McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives - L2 Beck C455)
  • Orvis fishing rod - (McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives - L2 Beck O792)
  • Fishing rod - (McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives - L2 Beck F5374)
  • Skeets (McCormick Library of Special Collections and University Archives - L2 Beck W211s)

    • Subjects

    Related Names

    Finding Aid & Administrative Information

    Title
    Guide to the Northwestern University Library Painting and Artifact Collection
    Status
    In Progress
    Author
    Andrea Martinez
    Date
    February 2024
    Description rules
    Describing Archives: A Content Standard
    Language of description
    English
    Script of description
    Latin

    Library Details

    Library Details

    Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository

    https://www.library.northwestern.edu/libraries-collections/mccormick-library/index.html
    Contact:
    Deering Library, Level 3
    1970 Campus Dr.
    Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
    847-491-3635