As the year turns, another set of materials has entered the public domain. In 2019 the first set of new materials entered the U.S. public domain in over 20 years – finally making older content freely available for reuse, remixing, and open digitization. This extension has continued apace – and so on this past January 1, 2024 most works published in the U.S. in 1928 entered the public domain. In anticipation of this yearly milestone, a section of rare and distinctive materials from the collection from 1928 were digitized in the fall 2023 semester and have now been published! More 1928 content will be added to the digital offerings throughout the year. And for more check out articles from past years documenting this annual celebration: 2019 – 2022 – 2023

This year newly available from Distinctive Collection are:

Front cover, How 7, v. I, no. 5, May, 1928

How7 (May, 1928 issue)
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:923699

Front cover, Mystery stories, v. XIII, no. 1, January, 1928

Mystery Stories, v. XIII (all 3 issues)
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:865696

Mystery Stories, v. XIV (just the first issue)
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:905149

The Novel Hunter’s Year Book, 1928
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:906635

p. [1], The Gaelic American – Vol. XXV, No. 15, April 14, 1928, Whole Number 1283

The Gaelic American 1928 (51 issues)
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:906344

p. [1], Public Ledger, v. 184, no. 127, Sunday morning, January 29, 1928

Public Ledger (Philadelphia Daily Newspaper – 58 issues January / February 1928)
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:906326

The Suburban, Wayne Times Edition (35 issues from 1928)
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:950838

The “killer’s” protégé / by Robert J. Horton
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:888319

Mrs. Elizabeth O’Brien Brownlow, plate, Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, v. 27

Journal of the American Irish Historical Society, v. 27 for the year 1928
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:894846

Coffin Plate, In old New York; the Irish dead in Trinity and St. Paul’s churchyards

In old New York; the Irish dead in Trinity and St. Paul’s churchyards / by Michael J. O’Brien
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:884015

Front cover, Canadian Folk Song and Handicraft Festival

Canadian Folk Song and Handicraft Festival : under the auspices of the National Museum, National Gallery and Public Archives of Canada, Chateau Frontenac, Quebec, May 24-28 1928
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:891697

Plate, “Cathedral of Learning”, Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh spirit

Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh spirit : addresses at the Chamber of commerce of Pittsburgh, 1927-1928
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:882628

Official jubilee volume; life and work of His Eminence D. Cardinal Dougherty and history of St. Charles Seminary. June 10, 1928
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:889181

Plate, Red Barbara and other stories

Red Barbara and other stories : The mountain tavern, Prey, The oar / Liam O’Flaherty ; illustrated by Cecil Salkeld https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:883062

Dance technique and rhythms; companion volume to A manual of dancing steps by Elsa Pohl, B.S.; music arranged by Carolyn Bergheim, B.A.
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:890491

Front cover, Happy hours magazine, v. 4, no. 2, March-April, 1928, whole no. 20

Happy Hours Magazine v. 4
https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:809972

For more materials available elsewhere – as well as background on how copyrighted materials enter the public domain – see this article from the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University:
https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2024/

Posted for: John Banionis, Director of Resource Management & Description

Sheet Music, Billy-boy : the kidnapped child / words by Sam Bullock; Music by W. E. “Paddy” Krepper.

Falvey Library’s Distinctive Collections are full of digitized treasures available in our Digital Library, including many rare and obscure printings of historical American sheet music. Following the encouragement of our Director of Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement, Michael Foight, and given my own involvement singing with several local choirs (including the Villanova Faculty-Staff Choir, currently on hiatus), I embarked to record a vocal rendition of Billy-Boy: the Kidnapped Child, with expert technical assistance from Distinctive Collections Librarian, Meg Piorko. Adding an audio recording to a PDF manuscript provides a much more accessible version of the music itself, and provides greater context to researchers without musical training. (To access the audio, click on the “Download” link at the bottom left of the page and select “Audio (mpeg)”.)

The sheet music’s stunning cover is presented as a strange hybrid of pictorial sheet music and a crime broadside or reward poster. Surrounding a half-tone image of Billy and his mother is a detailed physical description of the boy and the clothes he was last seen wearing when he was abducted in Sharon, Pennsylvania near the Ohio border: “This exact life-size photo of Billy Whitla just as he was dressed when he was taken from school.” This is followed by the offer of a “$1000.00 Reward” from the Scripps-McRae League, the first modern newspaper chain. Not only does a sensational kidnapping help sell newspapers, but it also is fodder for sheet music, a medium that was always in need of fresh, contemporary content. That its cover should resemble a broadside is very clever marketing. An affecting musical chorus also pulls on the heartstrings: “I want to go home to my mamma / Oh won’t you please take me away / I want my dear daddy to hear me / when I kneel down to pray.” The lyrics also mention the $10,000 asked for Billy’s return and Pat O’Reilly who “brought to justice those who caused sweet Billy Boy to cry.” James Boyle was later convicted of kidnapping Billy. Additional music printed here includes the song “I Love Thee My Irish Home.”

Be on the lookout for more recordings, including a Philadelphia-themed tune this Fall!

After much hard work by Director of Technology Development, Demian Katz, Villanova’s Digital Library has the capacity to host video files in preservation formats and provide in-line viewing. The first work to be made available by this new advancement is the documentary film The Red Hand: Stories of Joseph O’Neill & Emily Quinn which tells the story of the extended Irish O’Neill family’s Philadelphia legacy, part of the O’Neill Family Collection.

Future moving picture offering that are in the works include – recently reformatted to digital media – films of campus life; campus events; and born-digital videos. Closed-captioning is currently only available via the “old viewer” option, but work on updating the University Viewer software to permit closed-captions viewing in the primary viewer is progressing rapidly.

Here are the books that top the reading piles of the Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement staff this summer. Most if not all of these titles can be found via stocked online booksellers while some are also available in digital and audio formats for interested readers. And for even more reading recommendations, here are links to the 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 lists.

From Beaudry Allen, Preservation & Digital Archivist:

The End of White Christian America by Robert P Jones. Inspired to read this from Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart’s recent talk “A Womanist Path to Ending White Christian America.”

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner. The book is about growing up Korean American and how Zauner, of Japanese Breakfast, navigates death and identity in adulthood.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. A booktok influenced choice. A fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology and the legend of the moon goddess Chang’e.

From Michael Foight, Director Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement:

The World: A Family History of Humanity / Simon Sebag Montefiore (2023). A just-published global history tome weighing in at 1344 pages!

Knowing What We Know: the transmission of knowledge from ancient wisdom to modern magic / Simon Winchester (2023). Overview of information theory mixed with pop philosophy and computer culture.

The Soviet Century: archaeology of a lost world / Karl Schlogel (2023). A deep dive into the popular culture of the former Soviet Union.

The Lies of Locke Lamora / Scott Lynch. (2006). First in a series of fantasy novels about thieves in the city of Camorr (loosely based on medieval Venice).

From Megan Piorko, Distinctive Collections Librarian:

I Hold a Wolf by the Ears by Laura van den Berg (2020)

Finna by Nino Cipri (2020)

Severance by Ling Ma (2019)

From Christoforos Sassaris, Distinctive Collections Coordinator:

Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made (2017), by Jason Shreier. A non-fiction book about the fascinating world of video game development, using several games of the past decade as case studies.

The Phantom of the Opera (1909), by Gaston Leroux. I have already read this classic novel, but I will likely re-read it now that the Broadway adaptation sadly ended its 35-year continuous run.

Locke & Key, Volume 1: “Welcome to Lovecraft” (2009), by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. As a fan of Lovecraftian horror and mind-bending sci-fi, I have had my eye on this comic-book series for a while.

The Multiversity(2015), by Grant Morrison and various artists. Grant Morrison’s comics—such as his run on Doom Patrol and Animal Man, both of which I loved—are always interesting a multilayered. With the notion of the “multiverse” becoming more prominent every day in contemporary popular culture, I wanted to read The Multiversity, perhaps the ultimate DC Universe multiverse story.

From Mike Sgier, Distinctive Collections Coordinator:

Between Two Fires / Christopher Buehlman.

Parable of the Talents / Octavia Butler.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands / Kate Beaton.

Gustave Dore and the Modern Biblical Imagination / Sarah C. Schaefer.

In this exhibit 7 curators (Beaudry Allen, Michael Foight, Demian Katz, Rebecca Oviedo, Megan Piorko, Christoforos Sassaris, Mike Sgier) have identified poems from Falvey Library’s Distinctive Collections that moved them to share with others. Each curator has had “poetic license” to select and curate an individual exhibit case or shelf of poetry – and then – author a text to tell a tale about their choices.  Over the coming weeks and months, be on the lookout for additional blog posts by other curators highlighting different parts of the collections.   We are also digitizing additional  materials to showcase all things poetic this spring of 2023, and for manuscript poetry we are focusing on transcribing already digitized texts to make them easier to read and reference.

These selections are but individual picks from a wealth of additional poetry from Distinctive Collections – much of which is available online in the Digital Library.   Especially strong are the poetry collections by Irish and Irish-American authors and the poems that appear in popular cultural materials such as story papers, magazines, and newspapers. For my part, I  highlighted two important parts of the collections: manuscript poetry and limited editions. Often the poetry manuscript will display signs of revision and editing especially for poems authored by the writer of the manuscript – sometimes not the same person! Manuscript poems are regularly signed or initialed by the author. As well poems of significance to an individual are sometimes copied into a commonplace book or embellished with highly ornate and decorated calligraphy, see The Hound of Heaven manuscript as one example. Some manuscripts contain both original as well as copied poems and again sometimes the text is embellished with illustrations – either drawn by the author or from another source and then glued or tipped-in as can be seen in the manuscript poems “The Lobo” and in “The Frontier School” from Horace Tussey.

p. 15, Poem, “The Lobo” / Horace F. Tussey

6, recto, Poem, “The Frontier School” / Horace F. Tussey

I highlighted three manuscript poetry collections for this exhibit:

Horace F. Tussey papers

Manuscript poetry collection from Horace F. Tussey of Sapulpa, Oklahoma from 1910- 1920: including titled poems: The Lobo; The Frontier School; Hospitality; The Lawrence Massacre; Bob White; Autumn; The Gardener; The Humming Bird; The Frontier Garden; The Prospector’s Dream; The Rescue of Olive Oatman from the Apache Indian; The Grey Marauder; Country Dance; The Wild Turkey Pet; The Eagle; The Story of a Fierce Wolf and a Great Dog. Some poems are illustrated by Tussey.

James Roger Personal Papers

The James Roger Personal Paper Collection, 1860-1915 contains the poetry, diaries, and accounts of James Roger (1841-1916) who was a prolific poet and diarist, and career railwayman; later in life, an immigrant to the United States, to become a gentleman farmer in rural New Hampshire. He began his 31-year career with the North British Railway Co. in 1866, ultimately serving as the Station Master at Rosslyn Castle, outside Edinburgh.

p. 1, Album, Essays and Poems, James Roger

51 p., Manuscript, Essays and Poems, James Roger.

Annie L. Tuttle Personal Papers

A collection of 13 notebooks filled with the manuscript writings of Annie L. Tuttle (nee Gribus), of New Haven, Connecticut dated between 1912-1920, filled with her poetry, short stories, songs, and recipes, along with a copy of sheet music for “The Quinnipiac River,” a song she composed the lyrics to, and was published in 1912.  The subjects are largely domestic (nature, love, and children) but with timely references to automobiles, “aeroplanes,” and suffragettes.

Notebook, “Mile A Minute Composition Book” / Annie L.Tuttle.

Sheet music, “The Quinnipiac River”

The market for many poetry collections, especially for little known poets, is often small.  Publishers reduce the risk of creating large numbers of un-sellable copies by producing limited editions until an author achieves market recognition warranting larger print runs.  As well some well-known and established poets will be desirous of creating a more beautiful edition of a work – often these are illustrated with commissioned artwork or produced by a hand-press or both.  Of note works by William Butler Yeats were printed by the Cuala Press (formerly the Dun Emer Press) in Limited editions.  The Second Coming – a poem frequently cited – was published in such an edition in Michael Robartes and the dancer.

Illuminated manuscript, The Hound of Heaven / Francis Thompson

Here are the books that top the reading piles of the Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement staff this summer. Most if not all of these titles can be found via stocked online booksellers while some are also available in digital and audio formats for interested readers. And for even more reading recommendations, here are links to the 2019, 2020, and 2021 lists.

From Beaudry Allen, Preservation and Digital Archivist:

All Boys Aren’t Blue, George M. Johnson. A series of essays about Johnson growing up as a young queer men of color.

From Michael Foight, Director Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement:

Scarlett: The Sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind / Alexandra Ripley. In this first sequel to Margaret Mitchell’s novel, Scarlett and Rhett’s relationship continues the page-turning-drama of the original.

The Roman Republic of Letters: Scholarship, Philosophy, and Politics in the Age of Cicero and Caesar / Katharina Volk. This deep dive into Roman Republican “senator scholars” checks many of my ancient world interests.

Watergate: A New History / Garrett M. Graff. A compelling and page-turning big picture revisionist read on the scandal that caused Nixon to resign.

In Pursuit of Civility: Manners and Civilization in Early Modern England / Keith Thomas. An ethnographic study showcasing the conflicting early European standards of polite behavior through a lens of voices from 1600-1789.

From Rebecca Oviedo,Distinctive Collections Archivist:

Archival Virtue: Relationship, Obligation, and the Just Archives by Scott Cline.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

Posted for: Emily Alesia Poteat

The act of transcribing manuscripts can transport you back in history and allow you to rediscover voices lost or ignored in the historical record. My graduate assistantship with Villanova University’s Irish Studies Department and Falvey Library’s Distinctive Collections has done just that. Throughout my time transcribing Irish American historical manuscripts in Villanova’s collection, I was confronted with a diverse set of experiences and distant voices from unique figures of the past.

Stark and defiant voices emerged in manuscripts from figures like Joseph McGarrity, who sought to make real change in their own time. McGarrity was born on March 28, 1874, and died on September 04, 1940. It is through his distinctive scrawling penmanship, McGarrity’s voice rose from the pages, and he detailed his hopes, his organizing for the Irish republican cause, and his personal opinions about the happenings of the world on the eve of World War II. Most riveting, however, was the discovery that McGarrity directly sought to partner with Nazi Germany to find support for the Irish republican cause. As Joseph McGarrity’s 1939 diary demonstrated the reach of Irish American organizing in the twentieth century. As, the purpose of aligning with Germany was to force the United Kingdom to remove its forces from Northern Ireland, and to allow a united and independent Ireland. Brute force was seen as the best way to do this by McGarrity, as he he sought, from an alliance with Nazi Germany, “technicians…particularly chemical experts,” to “ask for submarine experts to be trained,” and most tellingly with his intentions “that sufficient war stuffs be supplied in the line of war material for a major engagement in England.” From McGarrity’s rhetoric, he and he Irish republican allies sought to plan a major military effort and armed engagements with England during the onset of World War II.

Photograph, Joseph McGarrity, standing with gloves, n.d.

Also deepening the Irish American and German connection, The Irish American Club’s connection to the Clan-na-Gael was most revelatory, as this connection was largely undiscovered. The Clan-na-Gael formed in 1867 in New York as the successor of the Fenian Brotherhood, and was a secret Irish Republican society. As the American sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Clan-na-Gael was dedicated to supporting the formation of an independent and democratic republic in Ireland through the use of force. With Irish republican beliefs deeply embedded into the organization, the Clan-na-Gael was active in assisting the Irish Republican Brotherhood in achieving an independent Ireland. Because of this deep support of Irish independence, the Clan-na-Gael was the single largest financial support of the Easter rising, as well as the Irish War of Independence. In the Minute Book of the Board of Officers for the Irish American Club, the way in which Irish Americans, in the Irish American Club, actively engaged in support of the German war effort came to light, and offered new insight into ways Irish Americans engaged in Irish republicanism during the early twentieth century. Through advocacy work and monetary support, the Irish American Club attempted to support the German war effort in World War I. Most distinguishing, however, was not this fact alone, it was the fact that the Irish American Club consistently referred to themselves as the Clan-na-Gael.

Advertisement, “Grosse Massen-Demonstration unter den Asupicien des Irish-American Club,” 1916.

By delving into the archive forgotten connections that largely reorient our understandings of history are possible. For instance, just by connecting Irish Americans to Germans during the world wars, these sources offer new opportunities for research into transatlantic history, as well as into understanding the reach of Irish American organizing. If we continue to ask new questions of archival sources, we can continue to diversify the historical record with underrepresented voices from the past. While these sources can not tell us everything about certain individuals, they offer a chance to preserve the voice and experiences in the historical record.

——————–
Emily Poteat is a graduate assistant in Irish Studies and Falvey Memorial Library’s Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement Department, and a graduate student in the History Department.

Posted for: Emily A. Poteat

The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland, now known as the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St. Patrick, emerged in the immediate years before the American Revolution, 1771. Founded in Philadelphia on St. Patrick’s Day of 1771, the organization’s founding tenants were to aid immigrants from Ireland. In the present day, the organization also seeks to focus on ties between the United States and Ireland, as well as sponsors a variety of charitable scholarships, activities, as well as educational endowments.

Currently I am transcribing the minute book of the organization, which extends from 1813 to 1852. Intriguingly, the beginning of the manuscript is not handwritten, rather, it was a printed by a prominent Philadelphia printer named John Bioren, who was the co-proprietor of Mountford, Bioren and Company. Most striking in this particular manuscript, however, is the sheer number of prominent historical figures, especially founding fathers, involved in the American Revolution that were founding members of the organization. Riddled throughout the first few pages of this manuscript are the names of those who created, and facilitated, the charity and aid to Irish immigrants to the United States that landed in Philadelphia.

p. 3, “Rules Minutes &c. of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, 1813-1852.” Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for the Relief of Emigrants from Ireland, 1813.

Thomas McKean is the first man listed as amongst the founding members of the organization. McKean was a founding father of the United States, and politician that was born to Irish parents in 1734. Coming to prominence during the American Revolution, McKean was the Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, at which he signed the Continental Association, Articles of Confederation, as well as the Declaration of Independence. Beyond this, McKean is also noteworthy for his place in Pennsylvania’s history, as McKean served as the chief justice to Pennsylvania, and was the governor of Pennsylvania as well.

Also appearing in the manuscript is Thomas Barclay, an Irish American who came to international political prominence, is also amongst the founding members of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick. Barclay, initially a Philadelphian merchant, was integral to international relations for the United States in the aftermath of the American revolution. Importantly, Barclay was the first U.S. consul in France, and later George Washington appointed Barclay the U.S. consul in Morocco in 1791. This appointment came following Barclay’s success at negotiating the first treaty between the United States and Morocco in 1786.

Jared Ingersoll is also amongst those who are listed as founding members of the organization. Ingersoll, was a founding father of the United States, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress, as well as signed the United States constitution. Further, Ingersoll was important to Pennsylvania’s history, as he served as the state’s attorney general from 1791 to 1800, and then from 1811 to 1816. In addition to this, Ingersoll was the United States attorney for Pennsylvania, as well as the Philadelphia city solicitor. In further connection to his career as a lawyer, Ingersoll argued Chisholm v. Georgia, and Hylton v. United States, which were two of the first cases to be argued before the United States Supreme Court.

“Masthead image, The Society of The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick for The Relief of Emigrants from Ireland.” The Society of The Friendly Sons and Daughters of St. Patrick for The Relief of Emigrants from Ireland, published digitally 2017.

These three men are only a few of many who appear in this minute book, and represent just a few of many voices to arise from the manuscript’s pages. Pertinently to the historical record, this minute book gives a glimpse into the machinations of the elite Irish American class of the newly formed United States, as well as their efforts to support new Irish immigrants to the United States. In doing so, this manuscript provides evidence of understandings of class and societal rank in the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution as well. Furthermore, this manuscript allows a deeper understanding of Irish American organizing during the 19th century, and provides a peek into what went into maintaining a cohesive organizing effort during the time period as well.

——————–
Emily Poteat is a graduate assistant in Irish Studies and Falvey Memorial Library’s Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement Department, and a graduate student in the History Department.

Posted for: Emily A. Poteat

Joseph McGarrity’s diary from 1939 details his hopes, his work in Irish-republican organizing, and his personal opinions about the happenings of the world in the immediate months preceding the Second World War. This diary gives an important glimpse into the mind of one of the most prolific Irish-American organizers of the period.

Riddled throughout this particular diary of McGarrity’s are numerous newspaper clippings, and through these clippings one discerns what was important, or exciting to McGarrity about the world on the eve of World War II.

First see the clipping in McGarrity’s diary on the page entitled “Front flyleaf, verso clipping over.” This clipping importantly signals that McGarrity was watching the United States’ involvement in Irish peacemaking attempts, and activities.

front flyleaf, verso clipping over, “Diary, Joseph McGarrity, 1939.” Joseph McGarrity, 1939.

SLOVAKIA
OPERATIVES OF THE SURETE NATION-
ALE GUARDED THE COLONEL FROM HIS
PARIS APARTMENT TO THE CHERBOURG
MARTIME STATION TODAY. HIS WIFE

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7, COLUMN 3

U.S. ROLE REPORTED
IN IRISH PEACE STEP;
4-WAY PACT HINTED

LONDON, APRIL 8 (U.P.). – THE
DUBLIN SUNDAY TIMES SAID TODAY
THAT NEGOTIATIONS, IN WHICH THE UNIT-
ED STATES IS PARTICIPATING, ARE IN
PROGRESS TO END THE IRISH PARTITION
PROBLEM AND MAY INVOLVE A FOUR-WAY
BRITISH-AMERICAN-NORTHER IRELAND-
EIRE AGREEMENT.
ACCORDING TO THE NEWSPAPER, THE
TREATY WOULD PROVIDE THAT IN CASE OF
A WAR IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES
WAS INVOLVED, TROOPS COULD BE LANDED
IN IRELAND IN RETURN FOR A GUARANTEE
OF IRELAND’S SAFETY.
THE VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER EAMON
DE VALERA TO THE UNITED STATES NEXT
MONTH WAS EXPECTED TO HAVE SOME
INFLUENCE ON THE NEGOTIATIONS, ACCORD-
ING TO THE NEWSPAPER. IT SAID PRESI-
DENT ROOSEVELT WAS ANXIOUS TO SEE A
FINAL SOLUTION OF THE IRISH PROBLEM
BECAUSE OF THE IMPRESSION IT WOULD
MAKE ON THE IRISH POPULATION IN THE
UNITED STATES.
“ONE REPORT IS THAT IF SUCH A SOLU-
TION COULD BE REACHED FOR A UNITED
IRELAND, MAINTAINING EXTERNAL ASSO-
CIATION WITH THE BRITISH EMPIRE,
UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES SHOULD,
BY THE TREATY, BE GIVEN CERTAIN AC-
COMODATION IN IRELAND IN WARTIME,”
THE NEWSPAPER SAID.

Next, another telling clipping, is one entitled “Dublin Bill Asks Terrorists’ Death,” and is located on “p. 3, clipping over,” of the manuscript. In this clipping the legislation created by Irish president, at the time, Éamon de Valera is featured, which called for the death penalty of persons found guilty of treason.

p. 3, clipping over, “Diary, Joseph McGarrity, 1939.” Joseph McGarrity, 1939.

DUBLIN BILL ASKS
TERRORISTS’ DEA

MEASURE BY DE VALERA WOULD
MAKE CAPITAL CRIMES OF ACTS
COVERED BY TREASON ARTICLE

EMBRACES DEEDS ABROAD

REPUBLICAN GROUPS OPEN DRIVE
ON LEGISLATION – CLOSE GUARD
SET FOR KING’S 3-DAY TOUR

WIRELESS TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
DUBLIN, FEB. 20. – THE TEXT OF
THE FIRST OF PRIME MINISTER EAMON
DE VALERA’S NEW LEGISLATIVE MEAS-
URES AGAINST EXTREMISTS, WHICH WAS
ISSUED HERE TONIGHT, PRESCRIBES THE
DEATH PENALTY FOR THOSE FOUND GUILTY
OF TREASON AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE
XXXIX OF THE IRISH CONSTITUTION.
THE BILL FOLLOWS RECENT TERRORISTIC
ACTS IN BRITAIN ASCRIBED TO THE OUT-
LAWED IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY.
THE DEATH PENALTY IS PROVIDED NOT
ONLY FOR THOSE GUILTY OF TREASON.

WITHIN THE STATE, BUT ALSO FOR IRISH
CITIZENS OR PERSONS ORDINARILY RES-
IDENT WITHIN THE STATE WHO COMMIT
TREASON OUTSIDE ITS BORDERS.
ANOTHER SECTION OF THE BILL PRO-
VIDES THAT A PERSON INDICTED FOR
TREASON MUST BE TRIED IN THE SAME
MANNER AS A PERSON INDICTED FOR
MURDER, WHO CANNOT BE CONVICTED
ON THE UNCORROBORATED EVIDENCE OF
ONE WITNESS. THOSE WHO “ENCOUR-
AGE, HARBOR OR COMFORT” PERSONS
COMMITTING TREASON ARE TO AD-
JUDGED GUILTY OF A FELONY AND LIABLE
TO A FINE OF 500 OR PENAL SERVITUDE
NOT EXCEEDING TWENTY YEARS OR IM-
PRISONMENT NOT EXCEEDING TWO YEARS.
UNDER ANOTHER SECTION, PERSONS
WHO, KNOWING THAT TREASON IS ABOUT
TO BE COMMITTED, FAIL TO GIVE THE
INFORMATION TO THE AUTHORITIES WILL
BE ADJUDGED GUILTY OF MISPRISION OF
TREASON. THIS WILL MAKE THEM LIABLE
TO PENAL SERVITUDE UP TO FIVE YEARS
OR IMPRISONMENT NOT TO EXCEED TWO YEARS.
PRIME MINISTER DE VALERA HAS ALSO
INTRODUCED A SECOND MEASURE AGAINST
EXTREMISTS – THE OFFENSES AGAINST
THE STATE BILL – BUT THE TEXT IS NOT
AVAILABLE YET.
CERTAIN REPUBLICAN ORGANIZATIONS
ARE ALREADY WORKING UP A CAMPAIGN
AGAINST THESE BILLS ON THE GROUND
THAT THEY ARE REACTIONARY LEGISLATION
IN BRITAIN’S INTERESTS. EVEN AMONG
A SECTION OF THE GOVERNMENT’S OWN
FIANNA FAIL PARTY THERE IS AN UN-
EASY FEELING OVER THIS LEGISLATION,
BUT PRIME MINISTER DE VALERA IS CER-

TAIN THAT THE DAIL EIREANN WILL
CARRY IT THROUGH.
AS HE SIGNIFICANTLY OBSERVED IN
THE SENATE RECENTLY, HE WILL ENACT
THESE BILLS WHATEVER THE CONSE-
QUENCES MAY BE. HE FEELS STRONGLY
THAT THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACCEPT
THE IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY’S CHAL-
LENGE TO ITS AUTHORITY OR CEASE TO
GOVERN.

Taken together, these two clippings, and the countless others laden throughout McGarrity’s 1939 diary, add a dimension to the manuscript that would otherwise be lacking if they were not included. These clippings act as a type of gauge, in a sense, to what McGarrity was paying most attention to, or even taking issue with as World War II approached. Beyond this, McGarrity’s personality peaks through from these clippings, as McGarrity wrote commentary on the pages that he featured the clippings on. In this commentary one finds the most candid iterations of McGarrity that I have encountered in his different diaries.

——————–
Emily Poteat is a graduate assistant in Irish Studies and Falvey Memorial Library’s Distinctive Collections and Digital Engagement Department, and a graduate student in the History Department.

Photograph, Volleyball (Women), 1992

This week we present a number of new materials of note, including additional Dime Novels and Story Paper issues as well two more volumes from the Mendel Collection, and in the Villanova Digital Collection 40 miscellaneous athletics photographs and two basketball scrapbooks!

Dime Novel and Popular Literature

Fiction

Front cover, The murder at Linden Fells, or, The mystery of the cadillac needle / edited by Chickering Carter

Nick Carter Stories (4 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:627425?lookfor=series%3A[58+TO+62]#]

Front cover, Buffalo Bill’s iron bracelets; or, Dauntless Dell’s daring / by the author of “Buffalo Bill.”

New Buffalo Bill Weekly (4 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:596124?lookfor=series%3A(155+OR+163+OR+166+OR+167)#]

Periodicals

Golden Era (3 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:689499?lookfor=title%3A(march+OR+april)#]

Portland Transcript (4 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Collection/vudl:700409]

Weekly Novelette (4 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:687791?lookfor=title%3Anovember]

Masthead, The New York Ledger, v. XXIII, no. 21, Saturday, July 20, 1867

New York Ledger (4 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:688217?lookfor=title%3Ajuly]

New York Weekly (2 issues added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:699039]
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:699051]

Mendel Collection

Front cover, Verhandlungen des naturforschenden Vereines in Brünn, III Band, 1864

Naturforschenden Vereines in Brünn (2 v. added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:693282]
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:692362]

Villanova Digital Collection

Photograph, Karate Club, 1989

Miscellaneous Athletics Images (40 photographs added)
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:700410]

Photograph, Swimming (Women), 1990

Athletics

Scrapbook, Villanova Basketball, 1933-1946
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:695437]

p. [8], Scrapbook, Villanova Basketball, 1946-1951

Scrapbook, Villanova Basketball, 1946-1951
[https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:698201]