Kelvin Smith Library’s newest exhibit features letters from historical figures

Kelvin Smith Library’s newest exhibit, “Sincerely KSL: Postage Ephemera,” features items from the Frances W. and H. Jack Lang Letter Collection. The exhibit is composed of letters and books on the art of letter writing, mostly from the 19th century. An envelope addressed from Robert Louis Stevenson to Henry Newbolt, April 8, 1893. The earliest letter, from the Marquise de Sévigné, dates back to 1695, with the most recent signed by entertainer Mike Douglas in 1980. The collection includes pieces from:

• John and Abigail Adams;
• Lord Chesterfield;
• Winston Churchill;
• Charles Dickens;
• Mahatma Gandhi;
• James A. Garfield;
• John Glenn;
• Washington Irving;
• Samuel Johnson;
• Abraham Lincoln;
• Mark Twain;
• Queen Victoria;
• Voltaire; and
• Oscar Wilde.

Lang started the collection by donating 49 letters in 1977. He continued to donate more items for the collection until his death in 1996. Today, the collection includes 85 manuscripts. The library received an endowment for the collection that enables it to augment the collection. Lang, who was a member of The Rowfant Club and The Manuscript Society, was an advertising executive and Cleveland philanthropist. In 1934, as a service to his first customer, the Wolf Envelope Co., Lang suggested creating a monthly publication of humorous and witty correspondence called The Wolf Magazine of Letters. He edited the magazine for 60 years. Those who are interested in viewing the original letters and envelopes can go to the Hatch Reading Room of Special Collections and Archives Monday through Friday. Advanced reservations are recommended. Find a list of the items in the collection at library.case.edu/ksl/collections/special/manuscripts/lang/lang.html.