Jacob Campbell: Special Collections

I’ll be quite honest, when I was told that we would be making a visit to the library’s Special Collections I was not expecting much in terms of wow factor. However, my doubts were quickly erased upon seeing the selection of books and other pieces laid out for us. I was very surprised by the number of unique and very rare items that are  actually housed in the library. I did not expect for instance so many early versions of such well known texts such as Dracula and Frankenstein. As a book lover I felt right at home with the old texts that the library was kind enough to display for us. On the more amusing side of the items laid out for us were certainly the books of zoology which depicted not only some real world animals but also illustrated and described monstrous creatures which the ancient world believed to exist. But I’d have to say my overall takeaway from the experience with the special collection can not be summed up by just amusement or simply surprise. Rather it made me consider how far we have come as a society, from believing in these improbable creatures to understanding that they are nothing more than our own creations.

It is for this reason that I was most excited about one item in the collection, the first edition printing of Bram Stoker’s Dracula from 1897. I have always loved monstrous literature and Dracula is by far my favorite monster novel. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Dracula, it is the story of how, Count Dracula, attempts to move from his home in Transylvania to England so that he may find a new source of blood and spread his undead curse, and of how a small group of men and women were led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing to kill the monster. The reason this item held my attention above all other items was that due to my personal connection and love of the book I was amazed at the fact I was able to hold a first edition copy for myself. The item for me was in a way more than just a book, it was a connection to the past as someone who has come before held that book and felt the same emotions as me, fear but also a love of horror.