Throughout its more than 150 years, Ole Miss campus has amassed all kinds of secrets and hidden treasures – both historical and tactile. Many of those “hidden treasures” are safely stored in our Library and Special Collections department in the J.D. Williams Library or the University Museum, and not all of them are on public display.
So, what are a few of these hidden pieces of history?
* A 1494 incanabulum (publication pre-dating 1500) containing the first printed description of double-entry bookkeeping. This historical step toward modern accounting is fittingly housed here, since we do have one of the top accountancy programs in the country.
* George Washington, John Hancock and other revolutionary era heroes authored letters housed in the Library’s Skipwith Revolutionary Letters Collection.
* The Library archives also includes a Civil War Letterbook that recorded events from 1864 provides a look at day-to-day life for a Confederate camp at the end of the war.
* The Library is home to several antebellum publications in native Choctaw, a tangible link to some of the state and country’s Native American history. The collection includes a rare Choctaw spelling book and Choctaw catechism.
Be on the look out soon for some new videos here on the Ole Miss News blog on these and other great Ole Miss treasures. If you would like to learn more now, check out this series of videos produced by Mary Stanton Knight here in Ole Miss PR.