Library exhibit makes most of “dirty” Valentine

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, the Special Collections department of Sheridan Libraries hosted their annual Dirty Books and Longing Looks event on Feb. 11. The event was first inaugurated in 2011 by Heidi Herr, the librarian for English and Philosophy and has continued to draw in romantics and book enthusiasts since its inception.

The event, set to sweeping classical music, presents an array of historic artifacts including romantic literature, erotica and valentines from several decades. These materials come from collections at Homewood, the George Peabody Library and the Johns Work Garrett Library. Herr, who often looks to the opinions of student collaborators when putting together the event, remarked on the process of selecting items each year.

“The materials I tend to select are objects that are visually engaging, books that just make you want to read or explore them right away, as well as materials that have a really odd history, such as our set of 18th century erotica,” she wrote in an email to The News-Letter.

Each year the event features a range of artifacts that exemplify all sides of love and desire. One item that Herr chooses to showcase every year is an early 17th-century emblem book on the nature of love. This book features cupids in various states of love-caused distress such as being consumed by a hungry crocodile.

In addition to the texts that have become standard elements of the exhibit, there were also a number of new objects. There were several new items on display this year, including an instructional guide for writing Valentines and how to respond to them. The guide was originally produced around 1813 and includes everything from stilted and not-particularly-romantic verse to coy insults suggested for unwanted amorous attention. Valentines as we know of them today didn’t become popular until the early 19th century, so this guidebook illustrates the creation of a tradition.

According to Herr, the most popular new item on display is a sailor’s scrapbook from the very early 1930s.

“The scrapbook includes rather film-noirish photographs of the sailor’s various girlfriends, locks of hair, and even love letters covered in lipstick kisses,” Herr wrote. “The sailor’s main squeeze appears to be a married woman referred to only as ‘the little rebel’ and she enjoyed writing to him just to let him know how much she despised him.”

While most of the artifacts on display are from past centuries, one item from the 21st century is Random Passions. This is an artist book by Karen Hanmer, which is composed of pictures traced from romance novel covers.

The event also featured an interactive portion for those that were seeking a bit more from the event. There was the opportunity to create your own vintage valentine. This enabled visitors to take their own jump back into yesteryear and make their own attempts at love notes.

In hosting this event, Herr strives to allow students the opportunity to engage with materials found in the Special Collections outside of a research setting.

“Most students don’t get a chance to really interact with rare books and materials during their time at Hopkins, and this is a charming way to get them engaged with our collections in a fun way,” she wrote.

Herr also hopes that students will recognize the enduring significance of these historic materials and their relation to our modern world.

“When students come to this event, they often show up with their friends, they have a good laugh, and they make connections between their own life and experiences and the historic materials,” Herr wrote. “That’s important because it shows that these materials are not ‘dead,’ but that they continue to be relatable, even though they may be centuries old.”

The Sheridan Libraries have more events coming up in the near future. This includes the third Annual Edible Book Festival on March 31.