Cows for the win

February 26, 2025

A February open house in the Special Collections Research Center offered visitors a close look at books, postcards, posters, and more, ranging from a 16th century illustrated Islamic manuscript to a pop-up book published in 2018.

The theme was "Thundering Hooves in the Archives: Cows vs. Horses," and in an unscientific survey cows received an overwhelming majority of votes (64.7%).

Horses also came in second among the items that won the top two spots in the "favorite item" category.

The overall winner was a 1888 poster advertising the play "The County Fair," written, produced, and starring Neil Burgess in the role of spinster Abigail Prue. (Burgess was something of a specialist in female impersonation, and his performances, in the words of one contemporary source, were "faithful portraiture" rather than caricature.)

The runner up was the late 16th century illustrated manuscript copy of Kamāl al-Dīn Gāzurgāhī’s Majālis al-ʻushshāq, a Ṣūfī work on the ecstasy of mystic and material love (Isl. Ms. 270). 

Both edged out the popular children's book "Click Clack Moo" and more than one illustrated edition of the classic novel "Black Beauty."

The event was part of the library's Third Thursday series, themed open houses sharing highlights from the Special Collections Research Center, The Clark Library, and more, from  4–6 pm on the third Thursday of each month during fall and winter terms. 

Visitors to the Clark Library saw Visions of Detroit: Past, Present, and Future, an exploration featuring maps and other cartographic materials, and had the chance to draw their own map of the city. Visitors to International Studies celebrated International Mother Language Day with poetry in a variety of languages, among them Armenian, Russian, Polish, Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Swahili, Ladino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and had the chance to chat with experts about the role of multilingual education in the university and the world.

Planning for March is still underway; the Special Collections event, Fashion, Food, and Flowers in Georgian England, will offer ladies' magazines, novels, recipes (pink pancakes, anyone?), and landscaping books — including landscape architect Humphrey Repton's "before and after" books, which he used to market his services to wealthy landholders. Check back for Clark Library and other events. 

Light refreshments are served at all Third Thursday venues (though probably not pink pancakes).