Valentine's Day in Special Collections and Archives

 By Icely88 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

In honor of February and Valentine’s day, we here at Special Collections and Archives thought it might be fun to explore the different books we have about romance and love and the human heart. This of course is a limited list, there are numerous other books that will not be listed in this post that you should absolutely come check out!

For all you biology lovers, or those who just really want to know how the body works, there are a couple of great books in our collection for you this holiday season. Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis... De humani corporis fabrice libri septem. Cum indice rerum & uerborum memorabilium locupletissimo, by Andreas Vesalius is a book about the human anatomy in the 1500s. It is considered one of the most important books in medicine, and one of his most famous works. Born in Belgium, Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy. Another fun read for the biology lover would be The anatomy and physiology of the human body: containing the anatomy of the bones, muscles, and joints, and the heart and arteries, by John Bell. If you’re interested in biology and psychology Fay Bound Alberti’s Matters of the heart: history, medicine, and emotion, covering a range of everything from the physical body to hormones to disease--how romantic!

 By Jonathan Thorne (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

If you’re into the more poetic side of Valentine’s Day, not to worry. Special Collections has books for you. Everything ranging from love poems from places like Egypt (by Ezra Pound and Noel Stock) and Greece (by Jacques Le Clercq or Corrinne Ondine Pache), a collection of love stories from Brazil (by Fabio Lucas, Elizabeth Lowe, and Edla van Steen), and finally Henrietta Temple. A love story by Benjamin Disraeli--a fascinating love story (according to Goodreads) about the plight of a man who must now marry well in order to save his family name and pay off his debts. 

For those of you who would like to focus on relationships this February, whether that be friendships or romantic relationships, we have (and again there is much more than this) Brotherly love: freemasonry and male friendship in Enlightenment France by Kenneth Loiselle, Secret love: the effects of secrecy on romantic relationships by Sara Dimitri, and Love Between the Sexes by Henry Miller. 

Any art or photography majors or enthusiasts out there may enjoy our copy of The Face of Love.

Let us not forget those who (with legitimate reason) believe that Valentine’s Day has become a celebration of Hallmark rather than the Saint it was meant to honor. There are plenty of books unrelated to love including, The practical feminism of Rebecca West : three novels in the context of contemporary feminist theory by Elizabeth Schewe, and Marxism & feminism by Charnie Guettel.*

There is something for everyone in Special Collections, whether you’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places or if romantic type books aren’t for you, you can find something with us. 

*This is not to say that I don’t believe Feminists cannot celebrate Valentine’s Day, because it is most certainly your right (as it is anyone’s) to celebrate or not celebrate what you wish. These books simply came up when I searched key words related to this February holiday. 

--Brandi Russell, Trinity Student, Class of 2015 

Works Cited

Florkin, M.D. Marcel. "Andreas Vesalius (Belgian Physician)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

Vesalius, Andreas. Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis ... De Humani Corporis Fabrice Libri Septem. Cum Indice Rerum & Uerborum Memorabilium Locupletissimo. Venetiis: Apud Franciscum Franciscium Senensem, Ioannem Criegher Germanum, 1568. Print.

"Librivox." LibriVox. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.

Disraeli, Benjamin, and Philip Guedalla. Henrietta Temple: A Love Story. London: Peter Davies, 1927. Print.