Buzz
Libraries and archives are often synonymous with books, but they hold much more than just literary works. While libraries focus on lending books to the public, archives are dedicated to preserving historically significant documents. However, these institutions also house some truly unusual items. Below is a list of 10 of the most peculiar objects discovered in libraries and archives worldwide.
10. A Taxidermied Mole
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) safeguards some of America’s most treasured documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Yet, among these priceless papers lies an unexpected oddity: the preserved skin of a mole. This curious artifact was uncovered in 2005 by an employee reviewing the Civil War Widows Certificate Approved Pension Case Files.
The underground critter ended up in the tent of Union soldier James J. Van Liew, who, for reasons unknown, decided to capture it and mail its skin along with a letter to his beloved wife, Charity Snider. Decades later, in 1900, Charity faced the challenge of proving her marriage to James to secure her Civil War widow’s pension, as official records were scarce and unreliable at the time.
Although Charity no longer had the letter addressing her as “Wife,” she had previously shown it, along with the preserved mole skin (which she inexplicably kept), to her friends. They vouched for having seen the letter, and Charity submitted the mole skin as evidence. Whether the mole played a role in her success remains unclear, but she was ultimately awarded the pension.
9. A Cheese-Crafted Book
Ben Denzer’s 20 Slices challenges the conventional notion of what constitutes a book. Encased in a standard hardcover are not pages of text but 20 slices of Kraft cheese. While this artistic creation is unreadable beyond its cover, it is officially recognized as a book. Six libraries, including the University of Oxford, have added this unique piece to their collections.
Tufts University Library in Massachusetts also possesses a copy, and Darin Murphy, head of the library’s fine arts section, notes that the book sparks lively discussions among students. “They often exclaim, ‘What? You used my tuition funds to buy cheese? How much did it cost?’” Murphy shares. “It’s an excellent teaching aid because it’s so thought-provoking.” While the plastic-wrapped cheese pages are durable, they will degrade much faster than traditional paper, making the window to view this edible book limited.
8. Locks of Hair from Historical Icons
While stray hairs in books are not unusual, some archives take preservation to another level by safeguarding locks of hair from prominent historical personalities. For example, the British Library in London possesses a manuscript adorned with a decorative border featuring hair from Mary Shelley, the famed author of Frankenstein (1818), and her husband, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., boasts a bracelet crafted from Edwin Booth’s hair. Edwin, a renowned Shakespearean actor, is often overshadowed by his infamous younger brother, John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.
A lock of George Washington’s hair was discovered in an envelope tucked inside an almanac at the Schaffer Library at Union College in New York. The almanac belonged to Philip Schuyler, and the envelope bore an inscription stating it was “from James A. Hamilton, given to him by his mother, Aug. 10, 1871.” James, the son of Alexander Hamilton, likely received the hair as a memento, a common practice of the time. Though it hasn’t undergone DNA testing, the lock is widely believed to be authentic.
7. Death Masks
The State Library Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, houses a unique collection of death masks—plaster casts taken from the faces of individuals after their passing. Among these, the most renowned is the death mask of Ned Kelly, the infamous bushranger and outlaw. Created shortly after Kelly’s execution on November 11, 1880, the mask was publicly displayed to both satisfy the public’s curiosity and deter potential criminals. Additionally, it was examined for signs of criminal tendencies through phrenology, a now-debunked pseudoscience that linked skull shape to behavior.
Death masks are also preserved in libraries worldwide. For example, the New York Public Library holds masks of poets E. E. Cummings and James Merrill.
6. A Séance Trumpet
While most items at Cambridge University Library in England are paper-based, one unusual artifact stands out: a cardboard spirit trumpet. Designed for séances, this trumpet was said to levitate and produce voices of spirits and ectoplasm during spiritualist gatherings.
The spirit trumpet at Cambridge University Library dates back to the 1920s and was crafted by The Two Worlds Publishing Co. Ltd of Manchester. It forms part of the Society for Psychical Research archive, which also includes a photograph of fake ectoplasm captured during a séance led by medium Helen Duncan. Duncan was among the last individuals prosecuted under the Witchcraft Act of 1735 in 1944.
5. A Booklet Sealed in Concrete
Books are typically designed to be read, but Wolf Vostell’s Betonbuch (Concrete Book) intentionally thwarts this purpose. Created in 1971, Vostell produced 100 copies of this unreadable book, with 83 housed in the University of Chicago’s library. Encased within the concrete is said to be a 26-page pamphlet titled “Betonierungen” (“Concretifications”), detailing his various concrete art projects—some feasible, others utterly impractical.
“Vostell envisioned concreting the city of West Berlin and even clouds,” says Patti Gibbons, Head of Collection Management at the Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, who has reviewed the library’s loose copy of the pamphlet. Known for his wit, Vostell may have hidden something entirely unexpected—or nothing at all—inside the concrete. Despite numerous noninvasive attempts to uncover its contents, scientists have yet to determine what lies within.
4. An Elephant’s Tail
The most sought-after item in Tufts Digital Collections and Archive is the tail of an elephant. This tail belonged to Jumbo, a circus elephant whose preserved hide was donated to the university by P. T. Barnum, a founding trustee of Tufts. Standing 11 feet (3.4 meters) tall and weighing 5 tons (4.5 tonnes), Jumbo became the university’s mascot. Today, students are particularly curious to see his tail, the only surviving part of the legendary elephant.
During Jumbo’s time at Tufts, students would tug his tail and drop pennies into his trunk for good luck. However, his tail was eventually pulled off by accident. This mishap is the sole reason any part of Jumbo survives today. While the tail was preserved in the university archives, the rest of his body was destroyed in the 1975 Barnum Hall fire.
Though Jumbo’s tail is the only intact body part remaining, someone from the Athletics Department collected some of his ashes and stored them in a peanut butter jar. These ashes are now used in a ceremonial ritual called the “passing of the ashes” whenever a new athletics director is appointed.
3. KKK Robes
The Cushing Memorial Library & Archives at Texas A&M University holds Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods, some embroidered with the names of individuals associated with the university. Among these names is Dana X. Bible, a football player who served as the university’s head football coach in 1917 and again from 1919 to 1928. He also coached basketball and briefly managed the baseball team during his tenure.
The university’s digitized yearbooks reveal photos of students and staff wearing KKK robes, alongside racist caricatures. David Carlson, the library’s dean, emphasizes the importance of confronting this history: “Past mistakes, though regrettable, offer valuable lessons. If we conceal them, we lose the opportunity to learn and grow.”
2. Charles Dickens’s Cat Paw Letter Opener
Among the peculiar items in NYPL’s Berg Collection is an ivory letter opener featuring a handle crafted from a cat’s paw. This unusual artifact belonged to Charles Dickens, the celebrated Victorian novelist behind works like A Christmas Carol (1843). The blade, near the cat paw handle, is inscribed with “C.D. in memory of Bob 1862,” a tribute to his beloved late cat, Bob.
Dickens’ daughter Mamie recalled that Bob would trail her father “around the garden like a dog and sit with him as he wrote.” This mutual affection was evident when, after Bob’s death, Dickens had the cat’s paw preserved and mounted on the knife as a decorative element. While pet taxidermy was relatively common in the Victorian era, attaching a stuffed paw to a knife was decidedly unconventional.
1. Jack Kerouac’s Blood-Signed Pledge
Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation author famed for On the Road (1957), made a unique commitment to his literary ambitions before achieving fame. While living with his parents in Queens, New York, Kerouac wrote “The Blood of the Poet,” inspired by Jean Cocteau’s 1930 film, on an index card. He then cut his finger and used his blood to write “BLOOD” on the card, which he proudly displayed above his desk.
Kerouac reportedly carried out this unusual gesture “as a declaration of his calling.” He also inscribed “Blood-stained string used as tourniquet for finger, Nov. 10, 1944” on the card. This blood-marked card, still attached to its original string, is now part of the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library.
This wasn’t an isolated incident; Kerouac also scrawled “BLOOD” on the opening page of his unpublished novella I Bid You Love Me, later renamed Galloway.
