RAMble, the University Libraries' blog

WCU Sesquicentennial History Book Launch on March 10 

Author and WCU Associate Professor of American History and Public History, Dr. Anne Krulikowski, will be presenting a historical overview of the university’s history, followed by the book signing at Special Collections (Room 616, 6th floor at FHG Library) on March 10, 2022, at 12:30 PM. She recently published WE SERVE: West Chester University, 1871-2021 Sesquicentennial History. A period for conversation and questions and answers will be held following her presentation. Free books are available to the first 50 people at the event. Books will be available to purchase at the WCU Bookstore on March 10th. A Livestream of the event will be available to view on YouTube. 

Jenna Bossert (Special Collections Technician) recently interviewed Dr. Anne Krulikowski about all things WCU. They discussed Anne’s academic background and interests, learning and teaching at WCU, archival research processes, and more. For her book WE SERVE, Anne spent countless hours over the past few years combing through the archival collections within Special Collections to learn more about the campus community, the school’s curriculum and activities, and its growth and expansion. Provided is a consolidated excerpt of their interview, which will appear in full in an upcoming University Libraries newsletter. 

Q: Can you talk to me about your upcoming publication on the university’s history, We Serve: West Chester University, 1871-2021? Please tell me about this project began and your research process. 

A: I started the project during the fall semester of 2017. Bob Kodosky, the Chair of the History Department, asked Dean Jen Bacon, the Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, to start thinking about the university’s upcoming 150th Anniversary that would be celebrated during the 2021-2022 academic year. The project started with the vision of a local historian writing a booklet connecting the university’s history with local history and compiling facts about what we have accomplished over the past 150 years. However, it evolved into me writing a book, hah! It officially will press with Matt Born, the Director of Publications, Printing, and Editorial Services within the University Communications and Marketing department, after the university’s editor and publicist Margo McDonough helped review the text for clarity. 

To start researching, I looked to what was already available on the university’s history, primarily examining Dr. Russell Sturzebecker’s Centennial History of West Chester State College. Sturzebecker took a chronological approach to his book, and he covered university controversies and athletics well, albeit often in a manner of free opinion. There is not much contextualization and analysis provided in his book, so I wanted to dig deeper into the themes that I uncovered while also providing an overview of each school era and administration.

Q: What is the most interesting thing you learned during your research?  

A: While there are several things I have learned along the way, I think the most interesting thing I have encountered is the past students of the West Chester community and their stories. When the school had a smaller student body, the literary societies kept in touch with alumni and used these connections to network and document alumni stories. It was interesting to see where students’ West Chester education took them, whether out on the frontier or out of the country to start schools or into wars as nurses and soldiers. There are so many fascinating personal student stories and their respective trajectories to delve into, especially in the early 1920s through World War II, when America is coming into a more modern age.  

Revolutionary Fashion in the 18th Century (and WCU Special Collections)  

By Allison Magerr 

Special Collections student worker Allison Magerr delves into fashion during the French Revolution, analyzing the evolution of styles and depictions of them in the Costume Plates of our WPA Collection. ~ Jenna Bossert

Title :  Ah ! Quelle antiquité ! ! ! _ Oh ! Quelle folie que la nouveauté..... : [estampe] / Chataignier inv. sc. 

Author :  Chataignier, Alexis (1772-1817). Graveur 

Publisher :  (A Paris) 

Publication date :  1797 

   Throughout much of the 18th century, the essentials of fashion remained the same. Of course, there were changes (a robe volante looks nothing like a robe à la polonaise), but there was a general look I’m sure we’re all familiar with: ¾ sleeves, sacque-backed gowns, lace, and ruffles, etc. Towards the end of the century though, fashion changed dramatically, with the French Revolution (1789-1799) playing a large part in this shift.  

   In the early 1780s, a major revolution in 18th-century fashion came about with Marie-Antoinette's chemise à la reine (contemporarily known as the robe en chemise) (fig. 2) [1]. Most commonly made of lightweight fabrics like muslin or gauze, the dress shocked the public, as it resembled a chemise, an undergarment. The dress is known for being very fluffy, with lots of gathered material and ruffles around the neckline and the hem. [2] Colorful sashes tied around the waist completed the look. [3] The chemise à la reine is a noteworthy dress, not only because of its shocking similarities to undergarments, but also its structure. Before this, most 18th century ensembles were put on in 2 pieces. First, on top of the foundation layers, you would put on the petticoat that is tied around the waist. Then you would put on the jacket, or bodice with an attached overskirt, secured in place with pins, or later, hooks, and eyes. [4] The chemise à la reine, however, was only one piece that you could easily slip on. It did not require bulky panniers (skirt hoops) underneath the skirts and was quite the departure from the highly structured clothing worn previously. [5] Though the gown was initially shocking to some, its relaxed look and lightweight fabric became popular and it remained fashionable for individuals to wear for the better part of a decade. [6] 

   During this period, a more natural body shape came into style; stays (corsets) went from being fully-boned to half-boned [7] and the bust area was given a “pigeon-breasted” look with strategically placed ruffles and/or fichus. [8] This silhouette was popular from the 1780s to the mid-1790s, until another shift began to occur. This change saw the waistline getting higher, until it rested under the bust. Because of this new position of the waist, the traditional, conical shape of stays (fig. 3) from the previous era did not work as well. The earlier style of stays compressed the breasts, but the new fashionable shape had them in a fuller and more natural position. [9] In response to this, a transitional style of stays appeared (figs. 4, 5).  

   This new style of stays features separate cups for the breasts and does not focus on shaping the stomach area, as that would be hidden under skirts. There are many different variations of these transitional stays. Figure 4 retains the tabs of the previous version and laces up the front and back, whereas Figure 5 loses the tabs, has no back lacing and the front fastens with lacing and buckles.  

   This period of fashion is called Directoire. It is named after the French Directory government, which lasted from 1795 to about 1800. [10] This look was completely different from anything else in the 18th century. While my focus here is more specific to France, this style was popular throughout Europe and America, with some regional variations. [11] Directoire clothing was known for being very drapey, with white dresses that had yards of fine fabric gathered up for the skirts. This era was all about rejecting the structured formal clothing and the brightly colored fabrics of the former aristocracy, instead of adopting lightweight, white dresses. [12]  

   This style was very inspired by the idea of what ancient Greek and Roman dress looked like, as can be seen in figure 6. Colorful shawls were a popular accessory [13], as well as reticules (little handbags), which replaced the pockets that had previously been tied around the waist in the previous decades. [14] Since these new skirts were much narrower and more sheer, and the waistline so raised, the old style of pockets simply did not work with the new silhouette.

   One interesting trend during this time period was the emphasis on maternity. Some women started padding their stomach area to give the illusion of pregnancy. [15] In a quote from 1794, a man remarked “When our grandmothers were pregnant they wore jumps [a supportive garment that could be worn in place of stays] to conceal it. Our modern ladies, who are not pregnant, wear pads to carry the semblance of it… Our grandmothers had shame, while their descendants had none.” [16] 

   Obviously, that man did not much care for the new fashions. That was by no means an unpopular opinion, as this new style was unlike anything seen before. The dresses were made of lightweight fabric and clung to women’s bodies and were often quite sheer. Some daring fashionistas in Paris left their shoulders bare, and ditched their petticoats and stays, leaving not much left for the imagination. [17] Though those extreme versions of this fashion were not universal, satirists drew many exaggerated caricatures to mock the new mode. [18] 

   In Special Collections, we have a collection of hand-painted fashion plates (figs. 7, 8), that artists created for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) Pennsylvania Extension. The WPA was created during the Great Depression to create more job opportunities [19]. These fashion plates are not the most historically accurate, especially in their little details, but they are a good illustration of the drastic change of silhouette over the course of around 6 years. (Please note that though the plates label the Directoire Period as 1789-1800, it started in 1795). 

  A 1797 satire by Alexis Chataigier is another great example of the silhouette change during this period. In it, a couple dressed in the Directoire style see a couple dressed in the old aristocratic fashions with panniers and wigs, and laugh at them, saying “Ah! Quelle antiquité!!!” (Ah! What antiquity!!!), while the aristocratic couple exclaimed about the new fashion in horror, “Oh! Quelle folie que la nouveauté…: (Oh! What folly is novelty…) [20]. This is also a good demonstration of the differing opinions on this style. 

   The last decades of the 1700s were quite literally a revolutionary time period. As such, the fashion of this time also followed this revolutionary trend. Starting with the chemise à la reine, and ending with the Directoire style, fashion became something, unlike anything 18th-century people had seen before. Though opinions on it were mixed, it was an important style that ultimately played a part in the evolution of fashion that led to what we wear today. 

Footnotes 

1. 1780-1789, FIT Fashion History Timeline, fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu 

2. Le Costume, vol. 4- Louis XVI- Directoire by Jacques Ruppert, page 29 

3. 1780-1789, FIT Fashion History Timeline, fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu 

4. The Writer’s Guide to Costume: 18th Century Gown Closures, mimicofmodes.com 

5. A Stitch in Time, season 1 episode 6 

6. The Chemise à la Reine, thefashionhistorian.com 

7. 500 Years of Women’s Corsets, Stays, and Bras: A Dress Historian Explains Bustlines and Necklines, by Abby Cox, YouTube 

8. Magasin des Modes Nouvelles Françaises et Anglaises, 11 février 1789 edition, page 58 

9. 500 Years of Women’s Corsets, Stays, and Bras: A Dress Historian Explains Bustlines and Necklines, by Abby Cox on YouTube 

10. Directory, Encyclopedia Britannica  

11. Parisian Milliner’s Advice in 1801 to a Visiting Lady: Regency Fashion, janeaustensworld.com 

12. Directoire Style Fashion of Women 1795-1800, hisour.com  

13. 1790-1799, FIT Fashion History Timeline, fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu 

14. The History of Underclothes, by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, page 74 

15. Directoire Style Fashion of Women 1795-1800, hisour.com 

16. The History of Underclothes, by C. Willett and Phillis Cunnington, page 71 

17. Directoire Style Fashion of Women 1795-1800, hisour.com 

18. Parisian Milliner’s Advice in 1801 to a Visiting Lady: Regency Fashion, janeaustensworld.com 

19. Museum Extension Project Costume Plates, 1940-1943, Archives of American Art, aaa.si.edu 

20. 1790-1799, FIT Fashion History Timeline, fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu 

Global Music Residency - gamin (Woodwind Musician) 

Global Music Residency welcomes prominent NYC soloist & former principal player of the National Gugak Orchestra, gamin. 

gamin tours performing traditional Korean music alongside experimenting with cross-disciplinary collaborations, including the Silk Road Ensemble.

gamin plays the 피리 piri (double reed Korean oboe), the 태평소 taepyeonso (double-reed horn), and the 생황 saenghwang (mouth organ). 

Check out her website @ https://www.gaminmusic.com/

Residency Events

Lecture-Recital | M. 2/21 at 8:15pm, Ware |
Learn to Play Korean Traditional Instruments | M. 2/21 - TH. 2/24 at 12-2pm, MWAT Lobby |
Recital in collaboration with WCU Faculty and Students | TH. 2/24 at  8:15pm, Ware |
Contemplative Music of Korea, WCU Center for Contemplative Studies | W. 2/23 at 4:30-5:45pm |

Presser Music Library - Top Left Image: Emma Rolecki, Caleb Sharp, and Malaika Paralkar. The books on display were curated by one of our Presser Library student interns, Hannah Shields (not pictured).

Presser Music Library Highlights

Stop down to Presser Music Library to view a student-curated book display on Lunar New Year in Asia!

You can also join in making your own paper lantern! We have set up a craft table for your making of a New Year’s Paper Lantern. We encourage you to make these paper lanterns and place them along the window sill. We also have some coloring pages (Lunar New Year-themed) that you can color and hang anywhere in Presser.

For more resources, on our webpage (https://library.wcupa.edu/music) we’ve created a list of some book and score resources, under the tab “Celebrate Lunar New Year” on the left.

FHG Highlights

Enjoy these selected books exploring other dimensions of Korean culture.

Undiscovered Art from the Korean War | The Record of the Black Dragon Year | Libraries in Korea | The Columbia Anthology of Modern Korean Poetry | Traditional Performing Arts of Korea | Korean Mask Dance | KOREA Art and Archaeology | SILLA Korea’s Golden Kingdom

A new exhibit traces the development of the dress code, and focuses on a flash point in the late 1960s when a student was threatened with suspension for having hair that was slightly too long according to the dress code of the time. 

At most colleges and universities these days, it would come as a surprise to have a dress code at all. Being able to dress however they want is something most college students take for granted these days, except when playing for a sports team or if they attend a military or very conservative institution. 

But in 1967 at West Chester State College, a student named John Whiting was threatened with suspension for the length of his hair. As you can see in the photo of Whiting to the right, taken during a protest, his appearance seems formal to us now, his hairstyle not worth noting. It's a measure of how much things can change, and how rapidly, that Whiting's appearance was seen as anything but conventional, even conservative, at the time. 

Whiting’s experience reflected a larger struggle between mainstream culture and countercultural youth movements in the 1960s, with physical appearance often signaling political leanings and cultural values. The length of men’s hair was one common point of contention. At West Chester, the student response to Whiting’s treatment led to extensive discussion and important changes on campus. 

The exhibit contains images and documents from Special Collections. These include items from the newly processed Earl F. Sykes Collection, which contains a wealth of information about West Chester during the 1960s, when Sykes was president of the college. 

Take a trip up to the sixth floor of the FHG Library and enjoy a fascinating glimpse into West Chest University’s history!

100 years ago as of this past April 6, the United States entered World War I, and in commemoration, library staff have created a new exhibit located on the second floor of FHG Library. The First World War reshaped the map of Europe, and the balance of power throughout the world, as well as producing destruction of human life on a scale never seen before. It may be impossible to fully take in and comprehend the horror and tragedy of World War I, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t commemorate it and learn from it.  

There are numerous angles from which to approach such a huge topic. Part of the exhibit focuses on local aspects, such as the Red Cross volunteer work done by women students at West Chester State Normal School, and fundraising by students in support of various causes. There is a section about people connected to the West Chester community who served in the military during the war, such as: Charles Criswell, class of 1913, Ira Lady, a professor of mathematics, and Michael Sestrick, grandfather of music librarian Tim Sestrick.

There are also some topical focuses, including the roles of women during the war, as nurses, workers, and in the military; the development of technology; and creation of the first government propaganda machine in the United States. There are library resources on display in almost all of the exhibit cases, many of which can be checked out. For books inside a locked display case, feel free to ask for assistance at the Library Help desk.

The creators of the exhibit are Tara Wink, Jesse Brody, Ainsley Hume, and Regina Braidotti. For questions about the exhibit please email libspeccol@wcupa.edu. 

Banned Books Week

September 24-30 is set aside to celebrate Banned Books Week, an annual event which advocates for the freedom to read. The F.H.G. Library exhibit this year features African American writers whose works are listed on the banned books list. Some such authors include Maya Angelou, Coe Booth, Alice Childress, Nikki Grimes, Carolivia Heron, Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Mildred Taylor, and Alice Walker, most of whom are showcased in the exhibit on the 2^nd floor. These books can be taken from the exhibit case and checked out.

It is important to recognize that even now, books are still being challenged by library users. The ALA defines the difference between “challenged” and “banned” on their website at www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks: “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials”. What many people fail to realize is that challenging a book can mean subsequent removal of the item which then restricts the access of information to others. Banned Book Week thus draws our attention to these books that, either in the past or currently, are being challenged in this way.

We, the staff and faculty at F.H.G. Library, encourage you to explore some of these featured authors, as well as check out other challenged and banned books this week! 

The latest library exhibit highlights The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, which the Frederick Douglass Institute (FDI) of West Chester University has chosen as the focus of the One Book program at WCU for 2017-2018. 

The book is an extensively researched, reflective first-person work in which Skloot traces the fate of a sample of cancer cells taken in the 1950s from Henrietta Lacks, an impoverished African-American woman, without her consent. The cell line grown from this sample, known as HeLa, became the basis for a huge amount of scientific research as well as a source of profit, while even Lacks’ name was unknown within the scientific community. Intertwined is the history of the Lacks family, before and after her death, and their experiences of poverty, racism, illness, imprisonment, and abuse. This gripping book connects the United State’s history of racism with bioethics, medical ethics, and scientific research.

In Spring 2017, the book was adopted by several courses in the English Department, and engagements across campus and in the broader community are planned for the coming months.

A visit with two members of the Lacks family, Shirley Lacks and Veronica Robinson, will take place on Wednesday, September 27, at 7 pm in the Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets must be reserved at the box office on the ground floor of Sykes Student Union or online at wcupatix.com. 

More information about upcoming events is available on the FDI webpage. 

Join the University Libraries and the Poetry Center as we celebrate 100 years of Gwendolyn Brooks poetry and life.  A new exhibit on the 2^nd floor of Francis Harvey Green Library features works by Brooks with books available for checkout. The exhibit coincides with a celebration on September 25, 2017 of Gwendolyn Brooks legacy.

Born in 1917 in Kansas, Gwendolyn Brooks moved to Chicago, Illinois at a young age.  Chicago became a rich influence in Brooks' life and poetry; in fact, her book of poetry, Annie Allen, about growing up in Chicago won her the Pulitzer Prize in 1950.  She was the first African American to win this award.  It was one of many honors received during Brooks' illustrious career, which also included serving as Poet Laureate for Illinois.  She taught at several prestigious Colleges and Universities.  Gwendolyn Brooks was also a wife to Henry Blakely III and mother to two children, Henry and Nora.  She passed away in 2000 due to complications with Cancer.

Francis Harvey Green Library is proud to announce a new Library exhibit: Women in Sports at WCU and Beyond.  The exhibit is located on the second floor of FHG Library across from the elevators.  Inspired by this weeks #womeninbaseballweek created by the Internation Women's Baseball Center (IWBC) it celebrates women in Baseball at West Chester University and beyond as well as women athletes generally. 

The exhibit highlights the life and career of Gertrude "Gertie" Dunn, West Chester Class of 1960 and player in the All-American Girls Baseball League (AAGBL); as well as the history of the AAGBL, a league created during World War II to keep baseball alive while men were fighting the war; Ella Ehinger, wife of Clyde E. Ehinger, and an influential professor in the Physical Education department.  The exhibit also highlights early sports at West Chester and the issues surrounding women athletes today. 

The exhibit is open during normal library hours through the remainder of the summer.  Stop by to learn more about women in sports and America's favorite past time!

Gertrude Alice Dunn, known as Gertie, was born in September 30, 1933 in Sharon Hill, PA to Victor and Gertude Dunn. After high school, she was a shortstop for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1951 to 1954, and played for the Battle Creek Belles and the South Bend Blue Sox. She was Rookie of the Year in 1952 and was fourteenth among players in the league in career batting average at .261.

After the League folded in 1954, Dunn attended West Chester University, which did not have a women’s intercollegiate baseball or softball team. Instead, she excelled at lacrosse and field hockey. She majored in Health and Physical Education, and graduated in 1960.

After graduation, Dunn played on the US national teams for both lacrosse and field hockey. She also served as an umpire for 20 years in the Philadelphia Women’s Lacrosse Association, and worked as a physical education teacher for many years.

She was inducted into the U.S. Field Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2012 she was the first lacrosse player inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.

She passed away at the age of 71 on September 29, 2004, when the single-engine aircraft she was piloting crashed shortly after take-off.

Ten West Chester co-eds named to All-College Hockey Team. First Row: Gertrude Dunn,
second team; Janet Bickel, second team; Margaret Walter, second team. Second Row:
Nancy Hubbard, forth team; Elizabeth Wolle, second team; Barbara Clyde, second team;
Patricia Melrath, third team. Not Pictured: Joan Waterfield, second team; Marguerite
Crowley, fourth team; Shiela McHugh, forth team.

Updated 8/11/2021 by Christian Sammartino & Jenna Bossert, for accuracy and clarification.