Northeast Florida is marking the 450th (sesquiquadricentennial) anniversary of the landing of French Huguenot Capt. Jean Ribault in 1562 near the mouth of the St. Johns River. Special Collections is fortunate to hold several works featuring Ribault and places named in his honor in Northeast Florida. Images featured: Brochure: Jean Ribaut Club, Fort George Island, Jacksonville, Florida; Monograph: The whole & true discouerye of Terra Florida.
These subject guides list resources and primary source materials in Special Collections. Materials include books and periodicals, manuscripts and personal papers, maps and nautical charts, music scores, records of organizations, theses and dissertations, and videorecordings.
The Dr. Edna L. Saffy Collection
The collection contains awards, correspondence, memorabilia, printed materials, and writings. Many printed materials and photographs relate to politics and political activism. There are also numerous photographs and newspaper clippings, as well as Dr. Saffy’s dissertation. The collection also contains two large portraits of Dr. Edna Louise Saffy. The portraits are available for viewing by request in Special Collections. The collections spans from 1962 to 2013 with the majority of the items dated 1973 to 2010.
The Carl Hayden Quinn Collection
The collection is named after Carl Hayden Quinn who is the grandfather of the donor’s wife. The collection was received September 2014 and consists of twenty-two items including World War I maps with markings of French barracks, photographs, newspaper clippings, and a variety of documents such as enlistment and discharge records. The materials are dated between 1917 and 1922. The Quinn Collection in now available in the UNF Digital Commons.
Joanelle Mulrain Memorabilia Collection of Florence Nightingale
In partnership with the Brooks College of Health, School of Nursing, Special Collections has acquired the Joanelle Mulrain Memorabilia Collection of Florence Nightingale. Lee B. Anderson, Assistant Director of Development for the Brooks College of Health played a major role in the acquisition. The collection was gifted to the School of Nursing, who felt its significant pieces would be best kept in Special Collections. The Joanelle Mulrain Memorabilia Collection of Florence Nightingale will be processed, digitized, and made available for research during the fall semester.
Carol Fitzgerald Collection
Special Collections has acquired the Carol Fitzgerald Collections consisting of 130 books and 58 Jazz CDs. Mrs. Fitzgerald’s books, Series Americana and The Rivers of America, are the products of a passionate collector, scholar, and bibliophile. Mr. & Mrs. Fitzgerald gifted a personal collection of books, correspondence, and original artwork to the Library of Congress in the late 1990s, which became a permanent collection in the federal repository. It is an honor and privilege to add another personal collection of Mrs. Fitzgerald to the UNF Special Collections. The collection is being processed and will be available this fall.
Northeast Florida Literary Heritage Collection
Special Collections, in collaboration with Dr. Michael Wiley of the English Department, has established the Northeast Florida Literary Heritage Collection. The collection consists of first editions, manuscripts, papers, correspondence, autographs, and other materials from literary authors living in or writing about Northeast Florida. The collection also holds the work of emerging Northeast Florida poets, fiction writers, playwrights, and screen writers who are the literary voices of today and tomorrow. With digital as well as print texts, the collection makes the literary heritage of Northeast Florida available to researchers, scholars, and other interested readers from the region and beyond.
Ansel Brooks Smith, Sr. Letters
Ansel Brooks Smith, Sr. was a well-known physician with prominent patients including Sen. Arthur Vandenberg. Smith, Sr. who served during WWI as a Chief of Medicine operating on wounded soldiers and training Military physicians. The collection was donated by his son, Ansel “Bud” Smith, Jr. This collection, acquired with a recommendation from Dr. Courtwright of the History department, contains more than 1,000 World War I letters from Ansel Brooks Smith, Sr., a prominent physician during the Great War. The collection also includes envelopes, letters, telegrams, and postcards to his wife, children, and other family members.
Special Collections is working to bring new events including book signing, special guest speakers, and a variety of other programs to the UNF faculty, staff, and students. Check back for updates.
