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Peek in the Stacks: international

"Passport to Peace": European Travel After World War II

The Nathalie Furst Gittelman Travel Ephemera Collection contains ephemera documenting her experience flying to Europe in 1949 during her time as a college student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. World War II ended only four years earlier, leaving many scars on the landscape and the people that lived through the war. The official travel guides and brochures, many aimed at English-speaking audiences, provide insight into the ways travel associations and government bureaus attempted to regain travelers' trust and recreational interest in Europe after a devastating period of loss.

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Honey Recipes in the Archives

Special Collections & Archives’ Culinary Collection holds just under 700 cookbooks. In order to take a closer look at some of these unique holdings I selected a few recipes to recreate using my favorite ingredient—Honey. Honey is one of the oldest known sweets in the world. The nectar from the honey bee takes on the flavor of the flowering plants nearby and taste can vary depending on the plant.

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The Savoy Cocktail Book

When passage of the 18th Amendment in 1919 ushered in the era of Prohibition in the United States, an English bartender named Harry Craddock, who had mixed drinks at the Hollenden Hotel in Cleveland, OH and the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City, left the US and returned to the UK so he continue working in his chosen profession...  

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The Castle of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto, published on Christmas Eve 1764, launched the Gothic novel genre. Horace Walpole initially issued the work under a pseudonym and claimed it was a translation of a found Italian medieval tale. However, after the novel was well received, Walpole revealed that he was the true author in the second edition published in 1765.

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Rationing During World War II in the US

World War II stands as a memorable chapter in human history, forever altering the course of nations and leaving a permanent impact on the world. As a step towards the great sacrifice and collective effort of the United States, rationing became a necessary initiative. Special Collections & Archives houses multiple collections related to the events that occurred during World War II. Specifically, the World War II Rationing Collection, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor Collection and Corporal Raymond Marshall Collection all have items related to rationing during WWII.

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Lend Me Your Ears: Shakespeare in Special Collections

“Lend me your ears” writes William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in his play Julius Caesar. This is just one of many catchy phrases penned by the great writer and playwright. Scholars believe Shakespeare moved to London and began working in the theatre by the latter part of the 1580s, and William Shakespeare’s name began to appear in the record as a playwright by the early 1590s. Special Collections & Archives holds hundreds of titles written by and related to Shakespeare.

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The Hassina and Deeptha Leelarathna Photographic Collection

The Hassina and Deeptha Leelarathna Photographic Collection is an invaluable historical archive that offers a glimpse into the lives of two Sri Lankan immigrants who made significant contributions to the Sri Lankan community in the United States.

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Zaruhy “Sara” Chitjian Collection

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c82z1d78/Family memories that are made within a diaspora are all the more precious. This is especially true about the materials housed in the newly processed Zaruhy “Sara” Chitjian Collection, which documents the Armenian genocide survival and immigrant experiences of Hampartzoum “Harry” and Ovsanna Piloyan Chitjian.

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