Physical Exhibits in Special Collections

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Rare Books and Special Collections regularly displays materials from its holdings in our Exhibit Room (102 Hesburgh Library, at the west end of the 1st floor concourse) and on our Web site.

All exhibits are free and open to the public during our regular hours.

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Current Exhibition

“What through the universe in leaves is scattered”
Mapping Global Dante in Translation

August - December 2025

This exhibit traces the global journey of Dante’s masterpiece through rare and valuable printed editions, highlighting how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Commedia. These volumes reveal a dynamic dialogue between Dante’s poetry and the world. A global literary perspective transforms Dante from a monumental yet isolated figure of the European Middle Ages into a central presence in the ongoing international conversation about humanity, the universe, time, eternity, and the power of literature.

This exhibit is co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies and the Devers Program in Dante Studies. It is curated by Salvatore Riolo (Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate), and co-curators Giulia Maria Gliozzi (Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate); Inha Park (Notre Dame Italian Studies doctoral candidate); and Peter Scharer (Yale Comparative Literature doctoral candidate). Theodore J. Cachey Jr., Notre Dame, and Jacob Blakesley, Sapienza Università di Roma, served as consultants on the exhibit.

Related Event

Global Dante: Translation & Reception – Dante Symposium
Thursday, September 25, 2025 – Friday, September 26, 2025

Exhibit Tours

Drop in to meet and speak informally with one of the exhibition's curators. Learn how translators, artists, and printers have popularized and reshaped the Divine Comedy over the centuries and across the world and discover some of the Library’s many Dante editions.

Friday, September 12, 2:00–3:30 pm
Friday, October 3, 2:00–3:30 pm
Friday, October 10, 2:00–3:30 pm
Friday, October 17, 2:00–3:30 pm
Friday, November 7, 2:00–3:30 pm
Friday, November 21, 2:00–3:30 pm

Tours of the exhibit may be arranged for classes and other groups by contacting rarebook@nd.edu.

This and other exhibits within the library are generously supported by the McBrien Special Collections Endowment.

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Spotlight Exhibits

September-October 2025 | Portrait of the Artist as a Dance Fan: Edward Gorey and the New York City Ballet

This year marks the centenary of Edward Gorey’s birth and the 25th anniversary of his death. The artist specialized in small works that often combined writing and illustration. Gorey, who loved ballet, lent his fame and dark, fanciful style to commercial products that promoted the New York City Ballet. This display highlights pieces from the Libraries' Suzy Conway and Robert M. Conway Collection of Gorey Ephemera. The exhibit showcases Gorey’s engagement with ballet in his distinctive noir style.

This exhibit is curated by Rachel Bohlmann, American History Librarian and Curator.

May-December 2025 | Bibliomania: The Library of Sir Thomas Phillipps

Few 19th-century antiquarians matched the obsession or eccentricity of English baronet Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872). A self-described “vello-maniac” (lover of parchment), Phillipps spent his life and fortune amassing what became the largest manuscript collection of his time. It included more than 60,000 manuscripts and 20,000 printed works.

Upon his death, Phillipps mandated that his collection never be dispersed, nor that any Catholic ever be permitted to view his library. After his will was contested, however, Phillipps’ descendants began the century-long process of ridding themselves of the burdensome trove. This exhibit features five manuscripts that have made their way from the Phillipps collection to the University of Notre Dame, testifying to the fraught legacy of one of history’s most extreme collectors. In this exhibit, three medieval charters, a medieval codex, and an early modern treatise are now available for all to see, in direct contrast to Phillipps’ restrictive wishes.

This exhibit is curated by Anne Elise Crafton, 2024-2025 Rare Books and Special Collections Postdoctoral Research Fellow.

 
For information about previous spotlight exhibits, please refer to the History of Spotlight Exhibits page.

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Suggest an Exhibit

Many of the exhibits presented by the Department of Special Collections are produced in collaboration with members of the Notre Dame teaching and research faculty and are scheduled to coincide with significant academic conferences at the University. If you have a suggestion for a future exhibit and/or would like to assist in producing one, please contact Special Collections at 631-0290 or by e-mail.