Two very literary collections are on display in the Frank and Anne Piskor Reading Room. One is in honor of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died on February 22nd, 2021. Since we were not doing exhibits at that point in the pandemic, Ferlinghetti’s passing went unobserved, but now that the Reading Room is open we wanted to honor Ferlinghetti’s legacy as a poet, publisher, and bookseller. Ferlinghetti was the long-time proprietor of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, and as part of his business, founded City Lights Press. Our City Lights Press collection is an important piece of our rare book collection, and we have out many of our “Pocket Poet Series” editions, arguably the most recognizable books City Lights published.
Also on display is a cross-section of materials from our Milburn Collection of Hawthorniana. A graduate of the class of 1891, Ulysses Sumner Milburn came from Ohio to Canton to study theology, and after he was ordained, begin a career of service to the church in Massachusetts. While at St. Lawrence he discovered the collection in the Herring Library, and this happy youthful discovery inspired him to a life of book collecting, with a particular passion for Nathaniel Hawthorne. Before he was done, Ulysses Milburn had created one of the finest private collections of Hawthorne materials, which he donated to St. Lawrence in 1949. The Milburn collection includes books, letters, and manuscripts in Hawthorne’s hand, books about Hawthorne, and materials from the Hawthorne family library. We have a little from both the manuscript and rare book components of the collection out in the Reading Room, including our British and American first edition copies of The Scarlet Letter. The Milburn Collection is truly a cornerstone collection for our Special Collections, please do come by and have a look at some truly unique items.