Archives & Special Collections

10/30/2026

Happy Halloweekend! 👻

As you get in costume for your weekend plans, check out these surreal photographs from our fine print collection by Ralph Eugene Meatyard, a Kentucky native whose experiments with multiple exposures and blur have influenced photographers since the 1950s. Meatyard often posed his friends and family in eerie, abandoned settings around Lexington, Kentucky.

Image Details:
1. “Romance (N) From Ambrose Bierce #2,” 1962, gelatin silver print.
2. “Chapter Pain 6,” 1960s, gelatin silver print.
3. “Untitled 21,” 1970, gelatin silver print.

10/27/2026

Although we unfortunately cannot allow for food in our research room, there's still plenty to whet your appetite in our collections! These photos from the Louisville Defender photographs are just a small representation of the many food journalism materials we steward. Come visit us to review historic recipes, advertisements, and images... and take home inspo for your next gathering!

All photos have been cropped for social media and come from Box 24, Folder 396 of the Louisville Defender photographs in the University of Louisville's Archives and Special Collections.

Image credits:
1. [Braided bread], undated, LD12363
2. Photograph from Kraft Foods, 1976 LD12362
3. Three flavor biscuits, photograph from Wheat Flour Institute, May 1972, LD12385
4. Croissants, photograph from Wheat Flour Institute, April 1972, LD12387
5. Test Kitchens, photograph from the Quaker Oats Company, undated, LD12359
6. Hearty Denver sandwich, undated, LD12386

10/22/2026

The UofL Center for Belonging Access & Engagement's Women’s Center is celebrating 35 years of building community and empowering students. Check out these photos from the University of Louisville Libraries Archives & Special Collections of the Women’s Center's 1991 opening celebration.

The Kentucky Women's Book Festival is also celebrating its 20th anniversary this Saturday, October 24, in Louisville. Learn more about the Kentucky Women's Book Festival: https://uofl.me/4ebP8LB

📸: Women's Center Opening (November 1991), photographer unknown [possibly Public Information Office], Women's Center reference file.

10/22/2026

TOMORROW (Friday, 10/23), Archives & Special Collections is excited to support the launch of the centennial print edition of the student newspaper, The Louisville Cardinal. Come by W116/117 in the Student Activities Center from 7-8:30 PM to learn about the history of the periodical, meet alumni, and see a preview of its first print run in six years.

Want to see more of The Louisville Cardinal for yourself? Head to our Digital Collections webpage to see over 2500 scanned copies going back to the inaugural issues in 1926. And, if you find yourself on campus before 5 PM on a weekday, come see our exhibit on the newspaper before it closes in December.

Graphic designed by UofL student Emma Posey.

10/21/2026

October is a month full of birthday celebrations for our team! We thought we'd keep the party going with these sweet photos from the Louisville Defender. And, if you did not already know, we wanted to boost that we can scan or print of any one these images (and many more!) as a gift for your friends and loved ones. Just click the link in our bio and head to the section "Order Reproductions" for more details.

We look forward to helping you all enjoy life's most special moments and hope these memories from the Defender bring a smile to your day!

All images are scanned from the Louisville Defender photographs at the University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections. Photos have been cropped for social media aspect ratios.

Credits:

1. Donald Dorsey Jr.'s birthday, August 12 issue (no year), LD7842

2. Ludie Hughston Thomas cuts her cake on her 100th birthday, undated, LD7854

3. Mortorice Page's birthday party, undated, LD7853
Back row, L to R: Lillie Page, Adele Woods, Timothy Page, Rita Thomas, Shirley Weathers, Imogene Thomas
Front row, L to R: Raymond Marks, Shawn Wood, Monté Glover, Tina Jackson, Mortorice Page, Stephen Page, Norman Collins, Chlise Marks, Debra Marks, Daymond Marks, Patrick Woods

4. Melanie Latreece's birthday party, undated, LD7852

5. James Beaver Jr.'s (seated in the center) 1st birthday at the Chestnut St YMCA, photo by Bud Dorsey, undated, LD7838

6. Traci Mullin's 4th birthday party, photo by Jay Thomas, undated, LD7840
Seated L to R: Dwayne Carpenter, Derek Young, Traci Mullins, Pam Brown, Marsha Cooksey, and Robin Laine
Standing L to R: Lovest Brown, Maria Laine, Jeffrey Laine, Patricia Laine (holding Derrick Peterson), Catherine Mullins, and Barbara Young

7. Undated and unidentified birthday party, LD7848

8. Saundra Clark's 16th birthday party at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in the Southwick area, photo by McElroy, undated, LD7847

9. Merecco Turner's (right) birthday party with (from L to R) Donna, Donald, and Nannette Bertram, undated, LD7846

10/16/2026

As the weather begins to change, we are reflecting with gratitude on sanitation workers past, present, and future. These photos come from the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photograph Collection, which documents a wide range of ways that Louisville sanitation workers keep us safe and healthy. Additional photos included in the collection demonstrate emerging technologies used by the then Louisville Sanitation Department and collective organizing efforts of its employees.

All images are in the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photograph Collection of the University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections. These photos have been cropped for social media.

Image credits:
1. [Charlie Shoulders (on truck) lifts a couch with the help of William Esters and James Matthews on Denmark St as part of the Trash and Junk pick up program], May 30, 1978. Photo by Keith Williams.
2. [Demonstration of new blue sanitation worker uniforms. Includes Mrs. Agnes Chapman (left), Mrs. Almeda Buckrop (below center), Mrs. Eleanor Ziege (above center), Louisville Sanitation Director Raymond L. Merrifield (above right), Mrs. Theresa Leavell (right)], January 22, 1964. Photo by Gean A. Baron.
3. [William Richardson (right) and Rufus Daily (left) stand with trash plows off of Main and 41st street in the Portland area], March 6, 1978. Photo by Melissa Farlow.
4. [Sanitation Department pickup], April 1, 1968. Photo by Cort Best.
5. [Sanitation Department employee spoons out rat poison], April 2, 1968. Photo by Cort Best.

10/02/2026

Happy Midterms Season, Cards! Are you all ready for Fall Break? 🧙‍♀️🔮

To celebrate the season, we are sharing some memorable depictions of pumpkins from across our collections. Whether picked from the vine or decorated for laughs, this festive squash reminds us to take time to breathe amidst the busy fall semester.

Just make sure you don't focus too hard like the Thinker in this 1968 photo of him looking down at a smashed pumpkin! 🎃

Image Details:

1. Gruebbel, S. (Photographer). (1968, November 2). University of Louisville Belknap Campus candid shots. ULUA 2010_098_0841, Stephen L. Gruebbel Photographs, Archives & Special Collections, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.

2. John P. Morton & Co. (ca. 1800s). John P. Morton & Co. Woodblock Prints, Reprint sheet 1. ULAL Morton Woodblocks Reprint 01, John P. Morton & Company Woodblock Collection. University of Louisville Margaret M. Bridwell Art Library.

3. Brooks, C. (Photographer). (1946, October). Pumpkins, Massachusetts. ULPA SONJ_42413, Standard Oil (New Jersey) Collection.

4. Matthews, K. (Photographer). (1885-1920). Cinderella. ULPA 2007_014_024, Kate Matthews (1870-1956) Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY.

5. Royal Photo Co. (Photographer). (1949, October 31). Southern Bell Telephone Co. Night photo of party at Nichols Hospital. ULPA R_11496_00, Royal Photo Company Collection.

6. Matlack, C. (Photographer). (ca. 1903-1916). Cabin, near Oneida. ULPA 1982_001_128, Claude C. Matlack Collection.

09/30/2026

It always makes our day when we get to join HUM 105 with Professor Fraley! This year, students wrestled with the term "text" by reviewing over 20 unique items from our rare book collections. Join our Special Collections Librarian Chad Kamen as he describes a few of the pop-up books that were brought out for the session. And, if you are interested, come visit us in person to read one yourself (families welcome and encouraged!).

09/29/2026

This episode of Remnants with Tom Owen looks at some Kentucky connections to Marquis de Lafayette—from Fayette County, to a Louisville visit, to the naming of LaGrange. Lafayette is featured in Pursuit of Happiness, one of our America250 exhibits at the Frazier!

Thanks to Tom Owen, the University of Louisville Archives, and our friends at the Filson Historical Society.

Episode 3, Thanks to the University of Louisville Archives

09/29/2026

What can we learn from Lois Morris?

A strident leader in the fight for civil rights, Morris pursued justice for Black Americans through local and national service. Throughout her three elected terms as a city alderman and historic run to be the first Black woman mayor of Louisville, Morris directed her energy toward the building of a democracy where everyone has a seat at the table. This focus also guided her efforts to found the national Black Women for Political Action in 1982 and the local chapter of the National Council of Negro Women.

Morris’s papers at the University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections extensively document her political career, as well as the many ways she poured into the joy and thriving of those around her (look no further than the notes and photos from her annual Derby Party). For, Morris knew well the impact of doing things in style, having been named one of Ebony Magazine’s 21 Best Dressed Women of 1963.

Yet, for someone whose presence was so singular, Morris has taught us the value and necessity of joining together to build a better future. We hope these images and materials from her collection inspire you to come research with her materials and find ways to connect them to the collective work ahead of us.

Photos have been cropped for size. All materials come from the Lois Morris papers, University of Louisville Archives & Special Collections.

Image credits:
1. Alderwoman Lois Morris in her office, ca. 1969-1975
2. Lois Morris with membership of the National Council of Negro Women, undated
3. Lois Morris, undated
4. Lois and Dr. Ralph Morris’s annual Derby Party, undated
5. Lois Morris mayoral ad, 1977
6. Lois Morris and others, undated
7. League of Cities meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1973
8. Lois Morris, undated