New & Notable

This Week in Princeton History for January 24-30

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, an alum urges Americans to put the Civil War behind them in order to defeat a new mutual enemy, the local newspaper advocates scrapbooking, and more.

Mysterious Bread Sculptures: Masapán of Calderón, Ecuador

I’ve been processing late arrivals to the Cotsen collection: a small group of material that was once displayed in the Neutrogena Offices during Lloyd Cotsen’s tenure.

A Proper Toast

Meet a toast with a LOT of personality! Today's blog post is a story time, simple project, AND quick snack, all rolled into one!

This Week in Princeton History for January 17-23

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, heavy snow holds up the mail, the McCosh family host a party for students, and more. January 17, 1995—Paul Muldoon, director of the Creative Writing Program, wins the T. S.

Ransom is as Ransom Does

Quick! You have 90 seconds to describe the inside of Chuck E. Cheese, using only 75 random letters. OK, how about asking your neighbor to borrow something from their kitchen? Summarize the Star Wars movies?

This Week in Princeton History for January 10-16

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, a sophomore travels to Washington to call his family in Togo, bicycles are banned on town streets, and more.

Mattel’s Happy Family of Black Dolls

The toy manufacturer Mattel joined forces in the mid-1960s with the publisher Whitman to bolster the popular Barbie and Skipper brands with sets of paper dolls, a speciality of Whitman’s since the 1930s.  Some authorities think the sheer number and …

Pop’s Top 10: Our Favorite Posts of 2021

Wow wowzers wowie WOW are we looking forward to turning the page to 2022! But before we put a lid on 2021, we thought we would revisit some of our favorite posts! Here they are, in no particular order, our Top 10 posts of 2021!

This Week in Princeton History for January 3-9

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, a battle reenactment goes a bit awry, a professor is called upon to study the problem of mendicant visitors, and more.

This Week in Princeton History for December 27-January 2

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, a Hoboken woman endows a professorship in mathematics, Congress faces criticism for tariffs on books imported for higher education, and more.

Barbie’s Little Sister Skipper’s Growing Pains: A Toy Story for the Holidays

Mattel’s Barbie dolls project toxic stereotypes that have shaped American girls’ ideas of body image  since the 1960s.  Although the actual dolls are out of scope for the Cotsen collection, it does have a handful of the authorized books about …

This Week in Princeton History for December 20-26

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, the son of the Mississippi governor’s presence becomes controversial, prominent professors oppose fallout shelters, and more.

Friends of the Princeton University Library grants support collection and exhibition initiatives

Monkeys, Monkeys, Everywhere

Happy World Monkey Day! December 14th is the official day when all things simian, including monkeys, apes, and lemurs, are celebrated. So we headed down to our library's special collections vaults to find cool images of non-human primates!

This Week in Princeton History for December 13-19

In this week’s installment of our recurring series, an NAACP official’s lecture meets with a polarized reception, Jean Shepherd first appears on campus, and more.