Library, Museums and Press Staff
June 17, 2026

New Digital Collection: Special Collections Print Materials

By David Cardillo, Digital Collections and Preservation

 

The University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press is pleased to announce a new digital collection featuring print materials from Special Collections. These materials reflect a diverse range of subjects that support teaching, learning and research across the University.

Collection strengths include fine, decorative, and applied arts; history and Delawareana, particularly the Delmarva Peninsula and Delaware Valley; the history and materiality of the book; horticulture; and the history of science and technology, with notable concentrations in chemistry and engineering.

This digital collection brings together materials that were previously scanned to support Interlibrary Loan (ILL) requests. As a result, the collection does not center on a single theme. Instead, it offers a fascinating assortment of unique print materials from Special Collections that are now more broadly accessible online.

As additional Special Collections titles are digitized, this collection will continue to expand, providing researchers, students and the public with even greater access to these valuable resources.

One interesting item from this collection is A Sermon on the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Preached at Surrey Chapel, London, Sunday, May 14, 1865. Published shortly after the end of the American Civil War and President Lincoln’s assassination, This document provides a glimpse into how the United States was perceived by Great Britain during this pivotal moment in history.

 

Close-up section of printed historical text mourning the assassination of President Lincoln. The text laments the loss of a great man who won the nation's universal homage and affection despite the crisis of the era.

A block of printed historical text praising Abraham Lincoln's honesty, sagacity, and faithfulness to the United States. The passage highlights his commitment to the principles of freedom and describes how history will honor him for navigating the constitutional difficulties of abolishing slavery.

Excerpt from A Sermon on the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, pages 5-6.

 

Another compelling example from the collection is Recruiting Posters Issued by the U.S. Navy Since the Declaration of War, published in 1918. This volume contains a series of wartime recruitment posters that illustrate how visual imagery was used to encourage military service during World War I. 

 

Image displays a historical recruitment poster illustration by W. A. Rogers featuring text at the top that reads When You Fire Remember This and Enlist In The Navy at the bottom. The central sketch depicts a sailor on a ship reaching down toward a young girl standing in a waterlogged lifeboat labeled Lusitania, surrounded by other people in the water.

The sinking of the Lusitania, a passenger ship with American citizens aboard, sparked U.S. involvement in World War I, then known as The Great War.

 

Image displays a historical poster illustration by Herbert Paus featuring a smiling sailor pulling a rope to guide a cluster of large artillery shells hoisted on a crane hook. The text on the poster reads Help Deliver the Goods, with a shipping tag attached to the ammunition that reads To be Delivered RUSH.

A wartime recruitment poster urging citizens to serve.

 

Image displays a historical recruitment billboard illustration by Henry Reuterdahl featuring the text Be A Submarine Chaser at the top and Enlist In The U. S. Navy at the bottom. The central artwork shows a naval ship with dark smoke pouring from its funnels as it navigates through rough, churning ocean waves under the phrase Help Your Country.

By contrast, this poster’s message is broad enough to resonate during both wartime and peacetime.

 

These examples represent only a small sampling of the digitized materials now available through our Quartex platform. As previously scanned items and newly digitized materials continue to be added, the collection will grow, offering fresh opportunities for discovery and providing inspiration for future blog posts and research projects.