Fans of ephemeral literature are invited to visit a campus display of 19th-century English chapbooks at UBC Library’s Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC).
Chapbooks are booklets that were popular in rural areas and towns from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and ranged from jestbooks to histories of depraved criminals, medieval romances to song verses. Chapbooks are extremely delicate, and many are illustrated with luridly coloured woodcuts.
This exhibition, created by UBC English Master’s student Catherine Whitehead, runs to the end of September. RBSC contains more than 300 chapbooks, many of which are part of the Arkley Collection of Early & Historical Children’s Literature.
RBSC is located on the first level of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall.