In October, UConn Archives & Special Collections dedicated its exhibition gallery in honor of Richard H. Schimmelpfeng, former director of Special Collections and a longtime advocate for and friend of the UConn Library.

For over fifty years – 27 of those as a paid employee, and 25 as a volunteer – Schimmelpfeng helped guide and develop the exponential growth of Archives & Special Collections, providing leadership in the acquisition of some of our most important and enduring scholarly collections, donating significant collections of materials from his own collecting interests, providing mentorship for generations of library students and staff, and giving of his time to make our collections usable and accessible for scholars. Even after his death, Schimmelpfeng continues to provide sustaining support for Archives & Special Collections with a generous bequest that will enable us to develop new collecting efforts, to expand our research, teaching, and learning programs, and to create new avenues for engagement with our communities.

In recognition of his service and his love of the UConn Library exhibition program, the dedication of the gallery in the Dodd Center for Human Rights Center was marked with an exhibition entitled “Fables, Pictures, Pulp and Pen,” which featured objects from the significant and varied collections Schimmelpfeng donated to Archives & Special Collection over a 50-year period, including fine press books, photobooks, handmade paper specimens, calligraphy and type samples and illustrated bookplates.

Due to pandemic concerns, we wanted to share the exhibition and why Mr. Schimmelpfeng was so important to us, so we invite you to watch the video to learn more. Special thank you to our student Elizabeth Flaherty for the video production. More details on the exhibition can be found at https://s.uconn.edu/fables-exhibit.

Post written by Rebecca Parmer, Head of Archives & Special Collections