By Matthew Benz, Manuscripts Archivist
One of the things that I love about being a Manuscripts Archivist in the Archives Library at the Ohio History Center is the ability to roam at will the stacks of the Archives. I enjoy wandering the aisles and exploring the shelves. This can lead to discovering an unseen jewel of a volume. Finding a small gem of a collection. Or examining an old as stone book. It’s an understatement to say that there’s a lot of stuff here and you can't know about everything that is up in the stacks. Which means that there is always something “new” to discover in all this old “stuff.” Even if you’ve -ahem- been here as long or longer than some of the collections.
So, with that in mind, welcome to the first installment of "Wandering the Stacks..." This will be an occasional series that will look at collections "discovered" somewhere in the stacks of the Archives and presented hopefully for your enjoyment.
The item featured here -a small book of drawings of the Toledo and Cleveland areas - is something I came across in our VOL collections. “VOL” stands for “volume,” which simply means a single bound manuscript item. A farmer’s diary, for example, or a traveler’s journal. Or an account ledger for a doctor or a family store, a scrapbook created by a young girl.
I’m not sure how this unassuming little volume caught my eye, but I’ve since made a habit of pointing it out to others. Why? Well, certainly I think the charming pencil drawings are worth sharing, and maybe also it’s because of the humbleness of the volume. Just a simple sketch book, it's not an official document or record. It's not linked to a famous person. In fact, we don’t even know who created it. And the mystery of that is also part of the appeal: its anonymity.
The sketch book is also a fine example of day-to-day history. It's a reminder that history occurs all around us all the time, taking many different forms and coming from many different creators. Maybe the sketch book was never meant to be history, but it is history. History found in the stacks of the Archives Library and available to all to peruse and ponder.
All images from OHC call number MSS 2846/VOL 1330, described in the online collection catalog as: Small sketch book contains illustrated title page "Views of Toledo and surroundings about the year 1880" with about 25 additional pencil sketches of the Toledo Riverfront, depot and entrance to Swan Creek, East Toledo, Ten-Mile Creek, shipyards and canals. Also includes a second illustrated title page for "Sketches of Cleveland" with five additional pencil sketches of Cleveland Harbor and Union Depot.
