Special Collections at ASCPL

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Starting June 1, all of the ASCPL branch and division accounts are coming together under one account: Akron-Summit County Public Library .

That means more stories, more events, and more of what you love - right here in one place.

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Have you ever wondered what Main Street in Akron looked like in the 1920s? Here we have a postcard from 1928 showing a bird’s eye view of Main Street. Notice the streetcars and the future home of the Dime Savings Bank.

From the Special Collection Divison of the Akron-Summit County Public Library. Digitized image online at: https://www.summitmemory.org/digital/collection/photos/id/957/rec/1

Happy World Book Day! Here is an article from the Akron Beacon Journal showing new books added to the Akron Public Library’s collection on October 24, 1891. Among the additions are several books by Louisa May Alcott as well as other children’s books.

From the Local History Collection:

Have you ever received a souvenir book from a trip or business? This book, “The Scrap Book: Choice Bits of Wit, Humor and Philosophy, begged, borrowed and begotten,” was published by the Sweeny Bros., Inc. of Akron and given to their customers. Sweeny Bros. was a local funeral home, which was located at 266 East Market Street in 1930. The book included little essays, poems, and sayings such as those seen below.

Are you trying to find a particular address for a relative or business from Akron’s past? The Special Collections Division has a collection of historic city directories for you to use. While you can view the directories in person at Main Library, we also have PDF copies of the directories available on our website. Akron City Directories from 1859 to 1969 are available to view at: https://www.akronlibrary.org/locations/main-library/special-collections/genealogy/historic-city-directories

Among the many children’s books in the Harriet Leaf Collection of the Akron-Summit County Public Library, here we have a 1926 edition of M. Boutet De Monvel’s Joan of Arc. M. Boutet De Monvel (1850-1913) was a French painter and illustrator. He became a popular illustrator in the 1880s who created drawings for the weekly “Saint-Nicolas magazine,” a children’s magazine produced from 1880 until 1915 in France. He also created many illustrations for advertising campaigns and illustrated several children’s books, such as Old Songs and Rounds for Little Children (1883), Songs of France for French Children (1884), and Our Children: Scenes from the Country and the Town (1887).

However, his most famous work is the lavishly illustrated Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc in American editions). Originally published in 1896, this book is considered Monvel’s masterpiece. Below we have several scans of the book’s illustrations from our 1926 copy.

Easter is on Sunday. Have you decorated your easter eggs yet? Here we have a photograph of Violet LeGar, an employee of the Georgian Room restaurant located in O’Neil’s Department Store, coloring easter eggs in 1965.

From Summit Memory: https://www.summitmemory.org/digital/collection/photos/id/517/rec/1

Here is a business card from the 1890s advertising the services of Clarendon Livery. Originally located at 113 W. Exchange, the building has long since been demolished but was once a stable where owners could house their horses and where other horses could be hired or bought. Interestingly the back of the business card lists distances for different cities from Akron by carriage road.