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The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (usually shortened to HRHRC or just HRC) is an archive at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and other cultural artifacts from the United States and Europe. The HRC houses 36 million literary manuscripts, one million rare books, five million photographs, and over 100,000 works of art.
Notable possessions
The two most significant possessions in the HRC's archive—both of which are on display in the main lobby—are a copy of the Gutenberg Bible and the first successful permanent photograph, produced by Nicéphore Niépce. Beyond these, the HRC houses many famous or culturally important documents and artifacts. Most are not accessible to the public except through special exhibition or for use in research.
Other notable possessions include:
Literature
- the first William Shakespeare folio (three copies)
- a suppressed first edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, of which 23 copies still remain
- extensive collections of (among others) Lewis Carroll, Roald Dahl, James Joyce, T.E. Lawrence, D.H. Lawrence, Norman Mailer (complete collection), Vladimir Nabokov, John Steinbeck, and Evelyn Waugh. Such possessions include first editions, manuscripts, and literary criticism.
- Edgar Allan Poe's writing desk
- a large collection of rare and valuable comic books
History
- a 16th century globe designed by Gerardus Mercator
- an official declaration from Napoleon Bonaparte
- the entire collection of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's notes, interviews, manuscripts, and other documents relating to the Watergate scandal
Theatre and film
- manuscripts of Tom Stoppard (complete), George Bernard Shaw and Arthur Miller (complete)
- the wardrobe, various drafts of the script, storyboards, and taped auditions from Gone With The Wind
- unused props designed by Salvador Dalí to have been used in the dream sequence in Vertigo
- the sunglasses worn by Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard
Art
- several paintings by Frida Kahlo, including her best-known Self Portrait with Necklace of Thorns
- a she-wolf statue carved in stone and coated with gold leaf (now worn off) by Eric Gill, creator of Gill Sans
- busts of various authors and playwrights (on display in the HRC library)
References
External links
Archives in the United States | University of Texas at Austin
"Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center"