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Rare Writing and Printing Collection to be Given to SOU Hannon Library (2/9/09)

Southern Oregon University’s (SOU’s) Hannon Library is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Hearn Family History of Writing and Printing Collection. The collection, donated by Lily Hearn and her family, includes examples of rare and valuable early writing and printing from various cultures and languages around the world. 

Some examples from the collection include the following:

  • Cuneiform tablet on Sumerian clay, dated 2034 B.C.
  • Egyptian hieroglyphic on granite, circa 1785–1660 B.C.
  • Illuminated Medieval manuscript on vellum, from thirteenth- or fourteenth-century missal
  • Coptic Ethiopian scroll, age unknown
  • Wooden Japanese printing board with a religious text, age unknown
  • Koran in Arabic with mother-of-pearl hand-carved tiles on leather binding

Lily and Joseph Hearn acquired the collection over the course of several decades. Lily Hearn, who lives in Ashland, holds a graduate degree in library science from McGill University in Montreal and a master’s degree in English from USC. Her husband had a doctorate in history, was an avid collector of books on Africa, and was a member of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association.

While both were teaching at San Bernardino Valley College, Lily developed a course on the history of writing, printing and libraries that she taught for many years. While teaching the popular course, Lily often shared items from her personal collection with students. After moving to Ashland to be near her son and his family, she decided that she would like the collection to be accessible to students once again and contacted Hannon Library. 

“Even after I retired, I enjoyed the collection that graced at least one wall in our home,” says Lily. “Now I want the young people, especially, to appreciate the treasures that were developed over the long road to the technologically dominated present.”

“This is a great thing. The Hearn Collection provides a new depth and diversity to our collection,” says Deb Hollens, English librarian at Hannon Library. “Undergraduate students can now see the breadth of writing across time, language, culture and geography. The Hearn Collection is also a perfect complement to the Margery Bailey Collection of Shakespeare and Renaissance publications.” 

Hannon Library will initially display the collection in the exhibit cases on the second floor adjacent to Special Collections/University Archives until a custom exhibit is created. For questions about the Hearn Family History of Writing and Printing Collection, call 541-552-6836 or email cedarface@sou.edu.