UW’s Toppan Rare Book Library Opens ‘Turning the Pages of America’ Exhibit

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, “Turning the Pages of America,” an exhibition designed as a literary road trip across the country, is now on display at the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center (AHC).

Curated by Laurel Carr, an intern at the Toppan Rare Books Library within the AHC, the exhibit features a book for each of the 50 states from several of the rare book collections and will be on display through Friday, Dec. 18.  Each book is representative of its state and shows the diversity of the U.S. and its different regions. The books are from various genres, including fiction, nonfiction, memoirs and photography, and date from 1627-1963.

Wyoming’s featured book is “Women of Wyoming” by Cora M. Beach, which highlights significant and influential women from Wyoming such as Nellie Tayloe Ross and Grace Raymond Hebard. Other books include Alabama’s “Up from Slavery” by Booker T. Washington -- his autobiography describing his life from growing up in slavery to founding a university -- and “As Maine Goes” by Alta Smith and Esther Dunham, which presents photos of the state to show its essence and scenery.

“Books have long been a key way to communicate culture and character,” says Paul Flesher, AHC director. “Seeing books from every state provides an itinerary that reminds us of the shared elements of our national culture and the variety of our states’ cultures that season every citizen’s life.”

The books present the exhibit’s attendees with diverse views and lived experiences through the medium of storytelling. They also highlight notable aspects of each of the 50 states and show the importance of literature throughout the history of the U.S.

The AHC’s exhibit hall is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. All exhibitions are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit the AHC website at www.uwyo.edu/ahc or the center’s exhibit page at www.uwyo.edu/ahc/exhibits.html.