All posts by Kate Collins

Featured, From Our Collections, Students and Interns, University Archives

Unlocking the Mysteries of “Trinity College Locket, June 1903”

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Post contributed by Meredith Mobley, University Archives Intern for Student Engagement.

Duke’s University Archives (UA) houses many endlessly interesting artifacts from the history of the University. The collection that houses these materials, the Artifacts and Relics collection, contains everything from rolling pins and trowels to ESP testing cards and boxers with the library’s logo printed on them. As part of my role as UA Intern for Student Engagement, I interact with these and similar materials on a daily basis, but this collection in particular never ceases to pique my curiosity and send me tumbling down a rabbit hole.

These past few weeks I’ve been intrigued by a specific locket in Box 13 of this collection. The Artifacts and Relics collection contains a fair amount of jewelry, mostly having to do with student organizations, such as Tombs (an athletic honor society)

or various Greek letter organizations. The locket that I am writing about, though, seems to be a personal commemorative piece, perhaps meant to celebrate a person’s class and graduation from Trinity College, the predecessor to Duke University. The locket prominently features a woman with bat ears and bat wings, exemplifying the popular art nouveau style of the early 1900s. On the back of the locket the following is engraved: “Trinity June 1903.” Inside the locket a four-leaf clover has been lovingly placed.

Many of the objects in the Artifacts and Relics collection were collected by individuals or other organizations before being passed on to the University Archives. Documentation by these parties may not detail the history of the item or who donated it. This means that their histories are blurry, and we rarely have detailed information about who originally owned them or the story of their creation. This locket is no different. All the information that is available is found on the envelope that the locket is stored in, which reads, “Trinity College Archives, Locket, June 1903, Source unknown.”

I decided to try to find out more about the locket itself. Was it purchased from a local jeweler? There are ads for local jewelers in college publications from the time, could this be a piece they sold? I imagine a student in their senior year at Trinity, meandering down Main St. and seeing the locket displayed in a window, instantly enamored. Are there more of these lockets out there, or is it one of a kind? My search commenced by looking through online catalogs and finding aids of other nearby institutions’ university archives. Looking for something so exact, though, is a “needle in a haystack” endeavor. I was unable to find anything of note — no lockets to be found at all! It was time for some help from a colleague. Together, we reverse image searched the locket and found that it was indeed mass produced, but that the locket in our collections had been made unique through after-market add-ons. On the front of the locket, almost appearing to be held by the Bat-Woman,

is an equal armed cross with “T” in the middle, surrounded by engraved alpha and omega letters. The back features the previously mentioned engraving. The locket was made by Unger Brothers, who are most famous for their art nouveau silver sterling jewelry and utensils, produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

There are some things we likely will never know about this locket. Was it a graduation gift from the owner’s family? Part of a student organization’s welcome to new members? What was the experience of this student at Trinity College? Are there more of these out there, still being cherished by families? The life of whoever cherished this locket remains unknown. I think that is part of what makes the objects in the Artifacts and Relics collection so entrancing – their material histories are definite and simultaneously unknown to the viewer. They are physical embodiments of the personal experiences of those who studied and worked at Duke, yet the experiences that made many of these objects dear enough to survive until this point are “fogged over” to our present eyes. Imaginations (and potential research questions) flow abundantly.

If you are interested in learning more about how student records are preserved in the University Archives, please reach out to AskRL@duke.edu! Documenting the impact that students and student organizations have on Duke University is integral to the mission of the University Archives. More information about sharing student group records with the University Archives can be found here.

Citations

Trinity College Locket (front), 1903, Box 13, Artifacts and Relics collection, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Trinity College Locket (back), 1903, Box 13, Artifacts and Relics collection, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports, Events, Exhibits, Featured, Hartman Center, Readings and Talks

Save the Date: “Test, Inform, Protect: Consumer Reports Archives Exhibit Opening and Panel Discussion”

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Due to weather, this event has been rescheduled from January 27 to March 4.

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Time: 4:30 – 6:30 PM
Location: Rubenstein Library Room 153 (Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room)
Registration required:  Click the blue “Begin Registration” at the bottom of the page here to reserve your seat.

For 90 years, Consumer Reports has been the premier source for product reviews and ratings, consumer advice, and consumer issues advocacy in the United States—and a model for consumer movements around the world. The nonprofit organization manages a complex of testing facilities, advocacy and outreach offices, and a media operation that delivers content through radio, television, and online, in addition to the popular Consumer Reports magazine and seasonal Buying Guides.

Join the Duke University Libraries for a special event featuring a panel discussion and gallery talk highlighting the opening of two Consumer Reports exhibits—This Sneeze is for Science, featuring photography of the striking visual narratives depicting scientific testing of consumer products; and Test, Inform, Protect: The Consumer Reports Archives at Duke University, which explores the history and impact of the organization over its 90-year history.

Attendees will hear from panelists from Duke and Consumer Reports, who will comment on the significance of the Consumer Reports Archives, the evolution of the organization and the impact it has had on the Consumer Movement.

Gallery talks with exhibit curators will offer opportunities to connect with the exhibits and reflect on the intersection of science, activism, and public trust.

Panelists will also be available for questions at the conclusion of the panel discussion.

Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Panelists

  • Lisa L. Gill, Investigative Reporter, Consumer Reports
  • Jason Holmes, Director of Testing, Consumer Reports
  • Edward Balleisen, Senior Vice Provost of History and Public Policy, Duke University
  • Jacqueline Wachholz, Director, Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
  • Moderator: Ashton W. Merck, Historian and Researcher, Duke Ph.D. (2020)

 

Header Image: Dishwasher testing preparation, undated, Consumer Reports Archives, Iconographic Materials, Box PD20, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

 

 

Bingham Center, Events, Featured, Readings and Talks

Save the Date: “Freeing Joan Little: Gender, Incarceration, and Struggles for Justice”

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Date: Thursday, January 29th, 2026
Time: 5:00 – 6:30pm
Location: Smith Warehouse, Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall, Bay 4; 114 S Buchanan Blvd, Durham, NC

In 1974, a twenty-year-old Black woman named Joan Little found herself facing the death penalty for killing a white guard who had tried to rape her in an eastern North Carolina prison. The folks who campaigned on Little’s behalf understood the webs of sexual violence, state violence, and racialized carcerality that ensnared her, and they linked her trial to other sites of existential concern for Black women’s—and everyone’s—liberation. Her August 1975 acquittal spoke to the power of their critique and the reach of their organizing. 2025 marks the fiftieth anniversary of this landmark case that still offers lessons in the struggle for justice. Join historian Christina Greene, Ph.D. ’96, and death penalty lawyer Shelagh Kenney to discuss what Joan Little tells us about gender, incarceration, and state violence then and now.

Christina Greene is professor of Afro-American studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and author of Free Joan Little: The Politics of Race, Sexual Violence, and Imprisonment; Shelagh Kenney, is Interim Director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. Adriane Lentz-Smith, Associate Professor of History and African & African American Studies at Duke University, will introduce and moderate the discussion.

In addition to the panel, an exhibition of items related to Joan Little, including one of her handwritten, illustrated poems, will be on display in Perkins Library during the month of January 2026.

Header image:  “Abolish Women’s Prisons” photograph of protestors outside of the NC Correctional Institution for Women, The News and Observer – Raleigh Times, November 1974. Nancy Blood Papers, Box 3, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Archive of Documentary Arts, Bingham Center, Do Your Research, Featured, Franklin Research Center, Hartman Center, History of Medicine, Human Rights Archive, Travel Grants

Research Travel Grants Open for 2026 – 2027

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The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library is now accepting applications for the 2026 – 2027 Research Travel Grant Programs, offering awards of up to $1,500 to support research projects associated with the following collecting Centers, subject areas, and collection holdings:

  • Archive of Documentary Arts General Grant
  • Archive of Documentary Arts Sidney Gamble Travel Grant
  • Doris Duke Foundation Travel Grant
  • Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Travel Grant
  • Harry H. Harkins, Jr. T’73 Travel Grant
  • History of Medicine Collections
  • Human Rights Archive
  • John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History
  • John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
  • Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture (Mary Lily Research Grants)

Anyone whose research would be supported by resources from the Rubenstein Library’s research centers is eligible to apply. We encourage applications from students at any level of education; faculty and teachers; visual and performing artists; writers; filmmakers; public historians; and independent researchers.

For assistance determining the eligibility of your project, please contact AskRL@duke.edu with the subject line “Travel Grants.”

Eligibility

Applicants must reside beyond a 100-mile radius of Durham, N.C., and may not be current Duke students or employees.

Information Session

An online information session will be held Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 2-3 PM EST. This program will review application requirements, offer tips for creating a successful application, and include an opportunity for attendees to ask questions of staff involved with the travel grant program. This information session will be recorded and posted online afterwards. You can register for the session here.

Timeline

The deadline for application will be Friday, February 27, at 8:00 PM EST. Decisions will be announced by the end of April 2026 for travel during May 2026 – June 2027. Awards are paid as reimbursements for personal expenses after completion of the research visit(s).

Featured, Students and Interns, University Archives

Duke Players and “The Corinthian”

The Corinthian Poster, 1974, Box 1, University Archives Poster Collection, Duke

Post contributed by Meredith Mobley, University Archives Intern for Student Engagement.

In February of 1974, the Duke Players, who were founded as an independent student theater group in 1931, brought to Durham the premiere of a new, world-class production: The Corinthian. The new play was based on the myth of Oedipus: the age-old tale of a man who murders his father and marries his mother. In the newspaper Durham Sun, Philip Lawrence, the author and director of the play, called it “a complete and new play” — instead of adapting Sophocles’ existing work, he aimed to create an entirely new work that prioritized the themes of the myth rather than the dialogue and directions provided by Sophocles millennia ago. 

The play starred two professional Broadway actors, John Callum (Oedipus) and Laura Stuart (Jocasta), with a supporting cast made of local and student talent. News of the play’s premiere was met with much fanfare across the Triangle, but the Players worried as ticket sales failed to meet their expectations and opening night crept closer. But audiences flocked to the production, intrigued by the investment that Duke Administration had made by supporting external, professional talent. Local reviewers noted that a standing ovation was received on opening night, but they themselves were reluctant to give the same praise to the play. In The Chronicle on February 28, 1974, Sally Austen Tom made the evaluation that The Corinthian was a “fine production of a flawed play.” She added that “Its faults, however, do not make the original goals, to have a world premiere of a play at Duke, and to undertake a large Page production, any less exciting or any less laudable.” 

The Corinthian Program, 1974, Box 1, University Archives Poster Collection

The Corinthian was the first time in Duke’s history that a world premiere was held on campus. Since then, student written plays, in addition to classics and emerging works, are given by the Players. The Duke Players, through their commitment to artistry and pursuit of good theater, helped to further establish the drama program at Duke, culminating in the formal establishment of the Department of Theater Studies in 2003.  

The story of The Corinthian can be found in the scrapbook kept by the Duke Players during the 1973-1974 academic year. The scrapbook is located in Box 7 of the Duke Players records collection of the University Archives, housed in the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library. More information about the Duke Players can be found in their collection guide. The University Archives relies on donations from student organizations to document and preserve the history of Duke University and the impact of its students. If you are interested in donating your organization’s records (physical or electronic) to the University Archives, follow this link to learn more. 

 

Header Image: Duke Players Scrapbook, 1973-1974, Box 7, Duke Players Records

Featured, From Our Collections, Gender and Sexuality History Collections

In Memoriam: Allan Kirkpatrick Troxler 1947-2025

It is with profound sadness that we share that graphic artist, mask-puppet-and-banner maker, violinist, country dance teacher, and community activist Allan Troxler passed away on October 26, 2025.

Born and raised in Greensboro, Troxler became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and participated in civil rights organizing and campaigns. He also worked in Boston to preserve neighborhoods threatened by urban development. Later, Troxler moved to a communal farm in rural Oregon with his partner, noted gay activist Carl Wittman. While in Oregon, Allan and Carl helped to publish RFD, a magazine for gay men living in rural America.

Returning to North Carolina in 1979, Troxler and Wittman were actively involved in arts, dance, and cultural programs throughout the region. Both devotees of English Country Dance and leaders in a national dance movement, they started Sun Assembly, its weekly dances and New Year’s celebrations in Durham weaving an egalitarian community beyond gender binaries.

Troxler and Wittman were early members of the North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Health Project, which sought to improve access to medical care and information for the gay community, particularly as it endured the spread of HIV/AIDs in the early 1980s. They were vocal activists against homophobia and the criminalization of homosexuality. Over the years they helped organize a range of community projects and protests. Wittman died of AIDS in early 1986.

Papercut broadside by Allan Troxler. Allan Troxler Papers, 1800s-2024.

Troxler’s writings, dance, artwork, and activism continued through his life. His work appeared in Southern Exposure, RFD, and local features and press. He created Camas Swale, a series of “occasional pamphlets,” along with other zines and artwork by pseudonym E. Bunny. Troxler’s work frequently expressed political views, opposing anti-gay legislation, and promoting peace and inclusivity. Much of this artwork was distributed to local friends in his community network.

Troxler was honored as an LGBT Pioneer at the Executive Mansion by Governor Roy Cooper in June 2024 along with Mandy Carter as Carolinians who “for decades led the charge for acceptance and equality.”  Troxler’s artwork and papers, along with Wittman’s, reside in the Rubenstein Library.

From Troxler’s writings: “Here we be, ears ringing as some of us grieve ancient companions just gone; others meting out pills; potions in portions! Through the window cicadas rattle their ancient benedictions: Life, death. Through the curtain Sister Heavenly Light blesses us all.”

 

Header Image: Allan Troxler. Portrait by Annie Segrest. 

Events, Featured, History of Medicine, New at the Rubenstein Library

Celebrating the Dr. Thomas Bashore Collection

Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Time: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Rubenstein Library Room 153, Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room
Contact: Rachel Ingold (rachel.ingold@duke.edu)

The History of Medicine Collections recently received the Thomas Bashore, M.D., Collection of Artifacts. Dr. Bashore is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the Duke University Medical School, where he specialized in treatment of cardiovascular conditions and congenital heart disease. He first began collecting historic medical artifacts, such as mechanical devices relating to electrotherapy and cardiology, and expanded his collection to include fringe medical instruments and treatments.

Please join us on Wednesday, October 29, at 4:30 p.m. to celebrate the Thomas Bashore Collection. Dr. Bashore will provide remarks.

Items from the Thomas Bashore, M.D. Collection are currently on display in the Josiah Charles Trent History of Medicine Room and the Hubbard Case.

Bingham Center, Events, Featured, Gender and Sexuality History Collections

Defending Intellectual Freedom

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Join us for a panel considering the current state of intellectual freedom in higher education.

Date: Friday, November 7, 2025
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location:
Reception: 1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m. in the Janie Long Study Space (Perkins 4th floor)
Program: 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room (Rubenstein Library Room 153)
RSVP: https://duke.is/intellectual-freedom

The United Nations considers intellectual freedom to be a basic human right through Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which asserts: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

Libraries in particular value intellectual freedom as part of their mission to provide and protect access to information and ideas. According to the American Library Association intellectual freedom is an integral component of a democratic society, protecting an individual’s right to access, explore, consider, and express ideas and information as the basis for a self-governing, well-informed citizenry. Yet there is an intensification of threats to intellectual freedom across the United States, with pressure on curriculum and research, book and program challenges, and censorship attempts continuing to reach unprecedented levels.

This year’s Janie K. Long Speaker Series program will focus on the impact of challenges to intellectual freedom on higher education and the steps we can take to support students, faculty, staff, and other members of our community. We will also honor Duke Alumnus Harry H. Harkins Jr, T’73 longtime supporter of LGBTQ+ library collections, scholars, and this event series.

Speakers: Robin Koshelev, Duke undergraduate researcher, Dr. Janie K. Long, Duke faculty emerita, Dr. Joseph Salem, University Librarian, Dr. Pete Sigal, Department of History; moderated by author, journalist, and Duke alumnus Steven Petrow.

Sponsored by: Duke University Libraries, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke Department of History, and the Duke Program for Scholars and Publics.

Featured, Rare Books

In Memoriam: Terry Allan Murray, 1953-2025

Terry Murray

The Rubenstein Library mourns the loss of Terry Allan Murray, who passed away on August 7, 2025. Terry was born in Durham, where he would reside his entire life alongside his brother, Edwin. Terry was from a family with strong Duke connections. His father, Lee H. Murray, worked at Duke, and his uncle was famed football coach Wallace Wade. Terry and his brother Edwin both attended Duke in the 1970s.  

Terry and Edwin began collecting comic books as boys in the 1950s and eventually assembled one of the largest archival comics collections in the United States, including more than 57,000 comic books. In time this grew to include thousands of fanzines, comic strips, original comic art, pulp magazines, card sets, science fiction, as well as role-playing and board games. In 2002, they donated the major portion of their collection to the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, and they have continued to make additions in the years since. 

Terry was a dedicated collector and brought a methodological focus to his work. Armed with reference books, reviews, and annual top 10 lists, he was intentional about his collecting. At the same time, Terry never lost sight of why comics are fun. He was as much a reader interested in authors, characters, and stories, and would often collect related materials across different genres, from comics to games to fiction. In 1999, McFarland published Terry’s Science Fiction Magazine Story Index, 1926 – 1995, the result of many years of work. In the introduction, Terry writes about how this came out of his own interests in science fiction and how he hoped that this work would serve as a tool for readers, collectors, and scholars. 

Terry, at one of the mini-cons hosted at his home in Durham

In addition to being an avid reader of comic books and science fiction, Terry was also a dedicated fan. In 1968, he and Edwin began hosting the Durham mini-cons – likely the earliest fan conventions in North Carolina. Their personal papers in the Rubenstein Library include photographs of these events held at their Durham home, as well as issues of their fanzine Vertigo. Sharing collections and bringing fans together were part of Terry’s ongoing interests. 

At the Rubenstein Library, the Edwin and Terry Murray collections remain popular with researchers and students. Recent classes that have used parts of the collection have included: “Games and Culture,” “Cold War America,” “US History in Fact and Fiction,” and “Fantasy: The Borders of Genre, Medium, and Culture.” Some of their comics are currently on display as part of the library exhibit American Indians Go Graphic, exploring comic books and graphic novels by and about Native Americans. We are grateful for our long collaboration with Terry and for the legacy that he leaves. His collections will continue to be shared and bring people together. 

Terry Murray was a loving son and a devoted brother and friend. He is survived by his brother, Edwin. 

Archive of Documentary Arts, Featured, Human Rights Archive

Podcast “Inside Kabul” Wins 2025 Rubenstein Library Human Rights Digital Storytelling Award

The 2025 Human Rights Digital Storytelling Award, presented by the Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library at Duke University, has been awarded to the podcast Inside Kabul.

Produced and originally broadcast by FRANCE INTER (French Public Radio) Inside Kabul was created and directed by Caroline Gillet in collaboration with Marwa and Raha. Inside Kabul tells the story of two young friends whose lives were upended when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021. As they faced an increasingly dangerous present and an uncertain future, Raha and Marwa exchanged and recorded hundreds of voice notes via WhatsApp with Gillet, a noted French journalist.

These recordings became the heart of the podcast, offering a raw, intimate, and immediate documentation of displacement. As the podcast describes:

“What emerges is a raw and incredibly intimate chronicle of two young women coming of age amidst the collapse of the world they had known. While Raha has chosen to stay in Kabul and is confronted with the violence of the new regime, Marwa has left and finds herself locked up in a refugee camp in Abu Dhabi.”

According to Caroline Gillet:

“Raha and Marwa showed immense courage when they accepted to document their lives under Taliban rule and leaving into exile. Their voice diaries are a powerful testimony of how life changed both for those who chose to leave and those who had to stay after the dramatic events of August 2021. New technologies can sometimes create unexpected proximity, and many people in Europe and in the States told me how close they felt to Raha and Marwa after hearing them. I’m very thankful that through this award, more people can get to know them and the terrible suffering of Afghan women under the terrorist rule of the Taliban.”

Patrick Stawski, Human Rights Archivist at Duke, said:

“Inside Kabul powerfully shows how audio technologies can serve to document, connect, and hope. We are intimately connected to Raha and Marwa’s stories through their voices and the sonic elements of their journey: falling rain at a refugee camp, the crinkle of a food ration wrapper, the sounds of a Taliban security checkpoint.”

Caitlin Margaret Kelly, Curator for the Archive of Documentary Arts, added:

“Being immersed in Raha and Marwa’s unedited audio diaries is to be invited into their lives in ways that bypass the usual narrative arc. In listening to the recordings, our pace is set by the two young women, and our view of unfolding events is powerfully constructed through their experiences.”

Image from Inside Kaboul animated short, by Luciano Lepinay based on works by Kubra Khademi.

In addition to the podcast, Caroline, Marwa, and Raha continue to use the audio diaries to tell their evolving story of displacement and rebuilding. A second season of the show, titled Outside Kabul, is now available in English on France Inter’s YouTube channel. In 2023, they partnered with Denis Walgenwitz to produce an animated short also titled Inside Kabul and are now working on an animated adaption of Outside Kabul.  In 2025, they collaborated with Afghan performance artist Kubra Khademi to produce One’s Own Room: Inside Kabul, an immersive installation presented at the 2025 Festival d’Avignon.

Marwa, one of the three collaborators behind Inside Kabul, said:

“I began exchanging with Caroline and recording sound notes with the hope of being a voice for the people of Afghanistan—especially for women like myself who were deprived of their freedom and rights after the Taliban took over the country in August 2021. Today, Inside Kabul is part of my identity as an advocate for our rights. It is our way of resisting—of standing against this regime and the erasure of Afghan women, and against the gender apartheid in Afghanistan. This award is deeply meaningful to me, as it ensures that our voices will be preserved and accessible to researchers who can shed light on the reality of women’s lives under the Taliban’s terrorist regime.”

The Rubenstein Library’s Human Rights Digital Storytelling Award is co-sponsored by the Human Rights Archive and the Archive of Documentary Arts. It supports outstanding documentary artists and activists exploring themes of human rights and social justice. The award aims to expand the library’s digital documentary holdings while ensuring long-term preservation and access.

The award honors projects that transcend simple information sharing. It celebrates digital storytellers who create deeply contextualized, multi-sensory works that may include still images, moving images, oral histories, soundscapes, and documentary writing.

Winners receive $3,500 and are invited to present their work at Duke University, where they collaborate with archivists to preserve their materials.

The David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library has a longstanding commitment to human rights and the documentary arts. Its collections represent the work of global creators and document the power of documentary to inspire action and transform the world.