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This photo is of the Legendary exhibition display. There are open books displayed within the exhibition as well as large, ink paintings of horses - some with their riders.
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Fall 2021 Exhibitions Open in John M. Olin Library

By WashU Libraries

A number of new exhibitions are on view this fall in John M. Olin Library, featuring a wide range of materials and themes. These include:

Painted depiction of a Chinese war horse. The painting is in black and white and uses negative space to provide definition to the horse.
Detail from Li Yuexi 李月溪(1881-1946), Telebiao 特勒驃, Stone relief rubbing taken from the Six Horses of Zhao Mausoleum 昭陵六骏.

Legendary: Horses and Classical Chinese Literature

August 1, 2021, to December 17, 2021, Thomas Gallery

This exhibition is inspired by Chinese culture and literature, highlighting essential works from the East Asian Library’s collection.

Display titled "To Learn and Entertain," part of the Moving Magic exhibition. The display features eight colorful, educational popup books of various sizes.
A photo of the “To Learn and Entertain” display from the Moving Magic: Movable Books in the Rare Books Collections exhibition.

Moving Magic: Movable Books in the Rare Books Collections

August 9, 2021, to June 3, 2022, Newman Tower of Collections and Exploration

This exhibition highlights different examples of moveable and pop-up books in the libraries’ collections and illustrates the history of the moveable book.

The photo depicts a natural, overgrown field. There are trees in the background and a bush with small, yellow wildflowers in the foreground. Alongside the bush is a headstone that reads "Williams."
Detail from Jennifer Colten, WPC. Section 14. [107.9], 1992 / 2017, photographic print.

Higher Ground: Honoring Washington Park Cemetery, Its People and Place

August 20, 2021, to March 11, 2022, Kagan Grand Stair

The history of Washington Park Cemetery, the once largest African American cemetery in the St Louis region, reveals a pattern of practices representing larger, systemic issues of race, politics, and power. The project Higher Ground seeks to honor and make visible the lives of people and the land that has seen both racial injustice and the power of ancestral resiliency.

A miniature almanac dated July, XXXI - or July 31. The left side of the almanac shows printed information about the day, such as the sunrise and fall; the right side of the page was left blank and has handwritten notations done in cursive.
A miniature almanac on view as part of the A Day in the Life exhibition.

A Day in the Life

August 23, 2021, to March 15, 2022, Miniature Books Case

The portability of miniature books makes them perfect for carrying and using throughout daily life. A large portion of the Julian and Hope Edison Collection of Miniature Books consists of genres of books meant for everyday use, such as almanacs, calendars, and diaries.

Header image for Joy Williams: Honored Guest. A film strip with multiple photos of Joy Williams in a rowboat with one of her German Shepherd dogs.

Joy Williams: Honored Guest

September 7, 2021, to January 31, 2022, Ginkgo Reading Room

Williams is one of this country’s most esteemed living writers, especially in the short story genre. She also represents the first female fiction writer to house her papers at the university. The publication of Harrow, her first novel in 21 years, in September 2021 presents the perfect time to recognize Joy Williams as our honored guest.

A skeleton - Death - rides through a weeping, decimated down on an exhausted horse.
Detail from Alfred Rethel, plate 6 of Auch ein Todententanz, 1848.

Transnational Framings: German Visual Culture in the Age of Nationalism, 1848-1919

August 20, 2021, to March 11, 2022, Julian Edison Department of Special Collections Reading Room

On the occasion of Transnational Framings: The German Literary Field in the Age of Nationalism, 1848-1919, the 25th Biennial St. Louis Symposium on German Literature and Culture, the University Libraries presents a selection of 19th and early 20th century German, Austrian, and German-American periodicals, prints, and illustrated books from our Special Collections.

Kid Collector: Artifacts from Growing up in the ’90s

January 13, 2020, to December 31, 2021, Collect O’Rama Table in Risa’s Landing

The Collect O’Rama table is a space for individuals to share unique personal collections. Kid Collector: Artifacts from Growing Up in the ‘90s highlights Associate University Librarian Nadia Ghasedi’s colorful toys, games, and cultural artifacts from the 1990s.