Wade Hall, who received his master’s degree at the University, collected books, manuscripts, music photos, quilts and other media. His donations to the University are the largest amount of materials donated to The University of Alabama’s Division of Special Collections.
Hall’s collection ranges from works right after the start of the revolution to the late 1900s.
“Wade Hall’s collection gives a more unbiased view of what print culture actually looked like,” said Amy Chen, curator of the exhibition.
The collection includes items the everyday, lower and middle-class man read and is a representation of the history of print culture.
“To Wade, the state of the item was less important than the item itself,” said Mary Bess Paluzzi, associate dean for special collections.
Students can visit the library in Mary Harmon Bryant Hall.
“The library is likely to have something to help you bring your research to the next level,” Chen said.
“Wade was a man about town in cultural circles,” Paluzzi said. “By the time I met Wade, his health had begun to decline, and I missed getting to know the personality that I had heard so much about. He was brilliant.”
The exhibition is on display in the Pearce Foyer of the Gorgas Library.
