For those that keep honey bees, or enjoy reading about those who do, Spring is a busy season spent studying, observing, and nourishing healthy bee activity. And as we learn, much remains unknown about the wonderful world of bees.

The UConn Archives holds a large collection of historic books, pamphlets and periodicals on beekeeping and apiculture and includes a set of unique, handwritten journals by Connecticut resident Charles Pease. “Charlie” as he was known, was born in 1866 and in 1923 moved his successful printing business to Canaan, Connecticut, where he lived most of life. A naturalist and advocate of self-sufficient homestead living, Charlie grew proficient in keeping bees and goats, educating others about his practices as well as the medical benefits of honey and goatsmilk. Charlie’s journals date from 1919 to 1949 and are a fascinatingly personal document of bee-keeping practices, hive behavior, seasonal observations, and inventiveness.

You can read more about the Charles Pease Papers at https://archivessearch.lib.uconn.edu/repositories/2/resources/102

Charlie Pease’s 1946 journal

Charlie Pease’s 1927 Journal

Sample the variety of imagery, designs and printmaking techniques available the UConn Archives’s digital collections: bookplates!  These small artworks, produced to uniquely identify books with their owners and their libraries, illustrate etching, engraving, lithography and woodcut techniques of artists and printmakers from around the world.  The bookplates collection is a component of a large collection of resources that document Ex Libris and the book arts available at the archives.  Browse over 300 images represented in the digital collection currently.

Bookplate by Gerard Gaudaen for Lou Asperslag