St. Louis Mercantile Library Spring Newsletter, 2025

Spring 2025

News of the Mercantile Library

Artwork Conservation: Our Treasures Return!

Many important collections needed care after the water main break, and several works of art were included in that number. Some works had noticeable water contact, while others only a little. Our major concern was the pastel portrait of our founder, James Yeatman, that suffered from the bloom of humidity in the building at the time. Fortunately, this legacy painting is now fully restored and back on the wall, with new UV shielding to insure it is safe for years to come. Three other portraits had minor water exposure and have been cleaned, reframed, and returned to the Library. Even our wonderful Aurora painting required a bit of frame repair from being moved, and that too has been skillfully accomplished. All our historic collections benefited from the quick triage and handling accomplished by the Mercantile staff during those hectic early hours of the event, from the immediate and supportive response of the University teams, and from the talented conservationists helping us care for these treasures.

Coming Soon: Frederick Oakes Sylvester and His Circle

One significant outcome of the library building renovation is the creation of the new Wallace H. Smith Gallery of Art, thanks to the generosity of the Bellwether Foundation, and with the support of the Kemper, Orthwein, and Kranzberg Foundations, and numerous individual donors. This exciting, state-of-the-art exhibition space will open with the exhibition Frederick Oakes Sylvester and His Circle that explores Sylvester’s time in the city, from 1892 to his death in 1915, through his interactions with and shared influences among other Missouri artists, his role in regional and national artists’ organizations, and his artistic legacy. The exhibition will showcase the Mercantile’s extensive collection of Sylvester paintings and copies of his book The Great River, alongside many works from the collection by his contemporaries that are being shown for the first time.

There will be several opportunities to take part in our launch of this new space and its inaugural exhibition: Friday, October 17^th will be the ticketed gala dedication of the gallery and exhibition opening, Sunday, October 19^th will be a free afternoon members-only opening reception, and on Monday the 20^th the exhibition will open to the public. Although the renovation has paused our tour program for quite some time, we’re pleased to announce that free docent-led tours of the exhibition and the Mercantile will be available beginning October 20^th with advanced reservations by emailing MercantileLibrary@UMSL.edu or phoning 314-516-7248.

Frederick Oakes Sylvester (1869-1915), Live Man, Live Strong, Another June is Here, 1910, oil on canvas.

Library Renovation Updates

The culmination of the past few years' renovation project is finally starting to show in big ways at the Thomas Jefferson and Mercantile Libraries. While we are excited to have our brand new North entrance open on Level 3, the South side entrance of the building remains closed for construction. We are especially pleased to have reopened the grand staircase leading from Level 3 down to the Mercantile on Level 2. Once you step off the stairs onto Level 2, you are immediately welcomed by expertly crafted, state-of-the-art display cases that include built-in LED lighting that we're eager to test out for future exhibitions. Finally back on the walls are the portrait studies of Martha and George Washington by George Caleb Bingham (1811-1879), with Napoleon's death mask re-positioned inbetween. To the left of the paneled wall hangs the freshly conserved portrait of James Yeatman.

As you continue to walk further past the entrance lobby, you will notice that our beloved sculptures are once again on display. Another exciting addition to this space is a long, glass display case that will be ideal for showing time paintings or other scroll-like materials, thanks to funding provided by the Kranzberg Arts Foundation. We very recently had lettering installed to the front of the case displaying the gallery's official name, the Wallace H. Smith Gallery of Art. The lettering of Smith's name is a replica of his own handwriting--a personal touch that we were thrilled to incorporate.

The entrance to the long-awaited Wallace H. Smith Gallery of Art, Level 2.

This entrance includes the original, 19th-century front doors from the Mercantile's previous building.

We are also nearly done with putting some finishing touches on areas of Level 1 that had suffered the most impact of the water main break. The entire floor has been fully re-carpeted, the book stacks are back in their original places, and a combination of maps, portraits, and other notable paintings hang on the walls once again. It's almost as if the flooding had never occurred! We are ever grateful for our hardworking staff and contractors who quickly and efficiently helped to bring the first floor back together, including those works, collections and books affected most by the water damage.

We simply cannot wait to welcome back our students and members to Level 1. Please watch your emails for updates so you can be the first to know when this cherished space is reopened to the public!

Board Spotlight: J. Thomas Dunn

Tom Dunn has long been a member of the Mercantile Library, having served on the Library's board in the 1990s downtown. For over 45 years he had been with Streckfus Steamers and the Gateway Riverboats on the St. Louis levee. Naturally, the Pott Library and its collections have always been a resource for his interest in river history. In 2015 he received the James V. Swift Medal for his book on the steamer Admiral, Admiral: A Boat Full of Memories. He looks forward to following the good work of Nelson Spencer as the president of the Pott Library.

Congratulations to the Bibliographical Society of America

Mercantile Library Fellowship Recipient, Nick Sturm

We are pleased to announce that the 2025 BSA Mercantile Library Fellowship has been granted to Nick Sturm, currently based in Atlanta, GA. This fellowship will help support Sturm's research on his project "The NEA and Small Press Publishing: How Federal Funding Shaped Literary Production and Distribution."

Excerpt from Sturm's Project Description:

"The purpose of this project is to conduct archival research in the Nancy Hanks Papers at Duke University and the Records of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities at the National Archives. The project focuses on these two collections in order to examine the relationship between the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts) as a federal agency, NEA administrators, and small press publishing. This project is significant because it asks how federal funding and federal arts policy affected, produced, and sustained small press publishing ecosystems after the establishment of the NEA in 1966. While scholarship exists on the role of the NEA in national arts policy (see Margaret Wyszomirski) and the sociology of art nonprofits (see Paul DiMaggio), this project is the first to examine the relationship between the NEA and the literary field to understand the production, publication, and distribution of small press literature. Through this archival research, my aim is to gather extensive primary source materials to understand the history of small press publishing and distribution from the late 1960s through the 1990s."

Sturm earned his Ph.D. in English from Florida State University (2015). He has also spent five years as visiting faculty in the Creative Writing Program at Emory University. From 2021 to the present, he has also lectured for the Department of English at Georgia State University. Sturm has published several book chapters, articles, essays, interviews, and editorial projects. Learn more about Sturm and his recent projects by visiting nicksturm.com.

The BSA-St. Louis Mercantile Library Fellowship ($3,000) supports research in North American bibliography, including studies in the North American book trade, production and distribution of North American books, North American book illustration and design, North American collecting and connoisseurship.

Learn more about BSA Fellowships

PLEASE NOTE - UPCOMING CLOSURE

Due to a scheduled power outage the UMSL Libraries will be closed Monday, May 19th - Sunday, June 1st.

We will be available online during the shutdown. Please see our website for library resources.

Any books requested between May 16-June 1 will be denied.

During the power outage and closure, the University Libraries will check daily for items being returned to the library. Please be sure to return items to our outdoor book drops located at the library’s south entrance.