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Exhibit | Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God (“Eliot Indian Bible”)
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The Holy Bible: containing The Old Testament and the New. Translated into the Indian Language, and Ordered to be Printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies in New-England, At the Charge, and with the Consent of the Corporation in England for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians in New-England
John Eliot (1604–1690)
Massachusetts: Printed by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson, 1663
Brown University Library, Special CollectionsWôpanâôt8âôk, pronounced, womp a naa on too aah onk, has been referred to by various names throughout history such as Natick, Wôpanâak, Massachusett, Wampanoag, Massachusee and Coweeset, as well as others. The language is but one in some forty languages that comprise the Algonquian language family–the largest geographical distribution of languages in the Western Hemisphere.
The first Bible produced on a printing press in North America was printed in Wôpanâôt8âôk in 1663 on the printing press at Harvard University. Today this Bible, as well as all of the other documents in the language, are the foundation of the Wampanoag language work that has earned critical acclaim through the Makepeace Productions film “We Still Live Here: Âs Nutayuneân,” and the work of Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project, a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1993 and governed by four tribes of the Wampanoag Nation (Mashpee, Herring Pond, Gay Head Aquinnah, and Assonet Band).
The bible currently on view was owned by Roger Williams, Protestant theologian who established the colony of Rhode Island in 1636.
Exhibit Dates: April 15 -May 20, 2019
Exhibit Time: John Hay Library Hours
Exhibit Location: Second Floor Landing, John Hay Library, 20 Prospect Street, Providence -
Events | Smith Magic Collection Performances with Joshua Jay
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On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, master magician Joshua Jay will offer two separate engagements.
Both events are free and open to the public with general seating provided on a first come, first served basis. No tickets are required.
Office Hours with a Magician
At 3 p.m. in the Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab at the Rockefeller Library, Jay will answer questions, offer inspiration, and provide attendees with the inside scoop on the world of magic. Ask Joshua all the juicy questions about the craft of magic. You’ll even have a chance to experience close-up magic right before your eyes. Children are welcome.
Tragic Magic
At 6 p.m. in List Art 120, Jay will present, Tragic Magic, a riveting lecture on all the magicians, spectators, and assistants who were killed in the act of magic. You’ll hear true stories of murder, botched escapes, and–with new scholarship–the real cause of Houdini’s untimely death. Told with passion and theatrics by master magician Joshua Jay, this presentation will even include a touch of the impossible. A Q&A will follow the presentation, and all questions on the craft of magic are welcome.
Joshua Jay

Joshua Jay is a former world-champion of close-up magic and the bestselling author of MAGIC: The Complete Course and several other titles. Joshua has performed and lectured in over 100 countries and helped design illusions for Game of Thrones. He has headlined at the Magic Castle in Hollywood and recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Joshua fooled Penn & Teller on their hit show, Fool Us. Last year Joshua consulted with the US Postal Service on the magic postage stamps series released in the summer of 2018.
H. Adrian Smith Collection of Conjuring and Magicana
The H. Adrian Smith Collection of Conjuring and Magicana at the Brown University Library, long considered one of the finest private libraries on conjuring and magic, includes 16th century titles on natural magic, alchemy, astrology, religious rites, and witchcraft. Later holdings include sections on conjuring, card tricks and games, magicians as performers, magic periodicals and other works intended for practicing magicians, such as posters, ephemera, and realia. The Collection is the gift and bequest of the collector, H. Adrian Smith, class of 1930, who as an undergraduate put himself through Brown by giving magic performances.
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Times: 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Locations: Patrick Ma Digital Scholarship Lab, Rockefeller Library, 10 Prospect St, Providence & List Art, 64 College Street, Providence -
Announcement | Application for Rockefeller Library Faculty Study Rooms
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The application for use of Rockefeller Library faculty study rooms opened on April 9, 2019. Applications will be accepted through May 7, 2019.
The following categories of need will receive priority:
- Current Faculty engaged in research requiring intensive use of library resources, programs, and services that is best served on-site within the Library
- Collaborative Research Projects making use of library materials and requiring shared workspace. Such projects — potentially involving visitors, postdocs, and students — must have a faculty lead overseeing the work and who is responsible for submitting the request.
- Emeritus Faculty actively engaged in research for whom departmental space is not available
- Other scholarly needs that fall outside these categories will also be considered, but should be justified with reference to the need for proximity to library resources, programs, and services.
We will continue the practice of assigning studies for a maximum period of one year, with possibility for renewal.