Stewarded by a team of specialists, Rauner Special Collections Library houses over 100,000 rare books, millions of manuscripts, and the extensive Dartmouth College Archives. The team collaborates and partners with students, faculty, staff, and the archive-curious at Dartmouth — and across the globe — to accelerate research and advance scholarship. Come and get hands on with us!

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First page of Nathan Smith letter
In the winter of 1810, Doctor Nathan Smith wrote from Hanover to a fellow physician in Philadelphia. Smith apologized for not writing sooner to his friend and colleague, blaming the delay on a "little bad luck" back in December that had given him "great inquietude." As the founder of Dartmouth's medical school in 1797 and its only professor of medicine at the time, Smith was also the instructor of anatomy. The bad luck, it turned out, was that Smith had contracted with an untrustworthy individual to procure a fresh cadaver for the school's anatomy lectures.
Image reads "Mr Breen FINAL SCRIPT"
Trying to pick a scary movie to watch tonight? How about pulling some inspiration from Rauner's script collection? We have a few great ones from RKO Pictures. For something really classic, take a look at our screenplay for the 1933 King Kong, which is still spawning sequels and spin-offs today.

If you want something a little more off the beaten path, how about one of the films produced by Val Lewton?

Charles Perrault (1628-1703) was a French writer and poet as well as a member of the Académie Française. In 1697, at the end of his illustrious career, Perrault published a collection of eight Contes du temps passé, literally “tales from times past” (Bouchenot-Déchin 2018). These included stories we know today as Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, and Cinderella, and all of them were written in prose.

Exhibits

map of eastern United States with red line denoting Appalachian Trail running from Georgia to Maine
Now on Exhibit
September 15, 2025 - December 12, 2025
Rauner Library, Class of 1965 Galleries
A sepia photograph of a cross-dressing individual in an early 20th century dress with text: "Let the Old Traditions Fail" and information about the exhibit.
July 09, 2025 - September 12, 2025
Rauner Library, Class of 1965 Galleries
Colored illustration of woman in late 18th, early 19th century dress preparing food in a kitchen.
March 17, 2025 - June 13, 2025
Rauner Library, Class of 1965 Galleries