Harry Ransom Center

Harry Ransom Center Humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin | On view through August 2: Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt
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The Harry Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Its extensive holdings provide a unique record of the creative process of writers and artists, deepening our understanding of literature, photography, film, art, and the performing arts. Thousands of scholars, students, and cultural enthusiasts from around the world s

tudy materials from the collections each year. These collections also inspire original exhibitions and programs that offer visitors opportunities for enrichment, discovery, and delight. The Ransom Center advances the study of the arts and humanities and fosters an environment where culture thrives. Please visit us on line for more information about gallery and Reading and Viewing Room hours, what's on view, programs, and becoming a member.

Charles Dickens died on this day in 1870 at the age of 58. The Ransom Center has many objects related to the career of t...
06/10/2026

Charles Dickens died on this day in 1870 at the age of 58.

The Ransom Center has many objects related to the career of the writer whom some consider to be the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Among many other things, we have a wax impression of his seal, a first edition of the serialized Mystery of Edwin Drood, a penny edition of Nicholas Nickleby, and an ivory notebook owned by Dickens.

Browse an inventory of our extensive Charles Dickens Collection: https://research.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/findingAid.cfm?eadid=00772

1-2. Unknown artist, Charles Dickens, circa 1850. Charles Dickens Literary File Photography Collection, P-13A.
3. Wax impression of Charles Dickens's seal, undated. Charles Dickens Collection, Container 3.6.
4. Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood (London: Chapman and Hall, 1870). Harry Ransom Center Book Collection, PR 4564 A1 1870.
5. Ivory notebook owned by Charles Dickens with handwritten note of authentication signed by Georgina Hogarth, undated. Charles Dickens Collection, Container 3.4.
6. Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby (London: A. Ritchie, 188-?). Harry Ransom Center Book Collection, -Q- PR 4565 A3 1880z.

06/09/2026

Did you know that the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin has scripts, notes and costumes spanning the entirety of Robert De Niro's career? Or over five thousand boxes worth of materials from legendary producer David O. Selznick?? Or an original screenplay for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (with its original title Leatherface)???

Well now you do! We took a field trip to visit the HRC the other day and walked away amazed at what they have on display for cinephiles.

Also, it's very​ cool inside, so keep this in your back pocket as a great way to beat the heat.

Congratulations to the production teams behind Ragtime and Death of a Salesman on their Tony Awards last night!Death of ...
06/09/2026

Congratulations to the production teams behind Ragtime and Death of a Salesman on their Tony Awards last night!

Death of a Salesman won six awards including Best Revival of a Play. The latest production starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf brings Arthur Miller's devastating story of the American Dream to new audiences. The original production won the first physical trophy "Best Play" Tony Award in 1949. Miller's Tony is part of his archive at the Center, which also includes extensive drafts of the script, correspondence, scenic designs from the original Broadway production, and sixty years of production materials from theatres around the world.

Ragtime won four awards including Best Revival of a Musical. It was originally adapted by Terrence McNally from the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow. McNally's archive at the Ransom Center shows his drafting process, often overwriting dramatic scenes to provide rich material for composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens. The archive includes drafts, production correspondence, and concept and workshop recordings that include songs that never made it into the final production like "Houdini's First Escape," "We Are Much the Same," and "Take My Advice."

Learn more about our performing arts collections: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/collections/performing-arts/

1. Arthur Miller's "Best Play" Tony Award medallion for "Death of a Salesman," 1949. Arthur Miller Papers, Personal Effects Collection.
2. Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (New York: Bantam Books, 1951). Harry Ransom Center Theater Arts Library Book, PS 3525 I5156 D4 1951 HRC-TA.
3. Jo Mielziner, [Detail of "First sketch for final plan" (sketch 188A) from Death of a Salesman], 1949. W. H. Crain Costume and Scenic Design Collection, 11.6.
4. First draft of Terrence McNally's Ragtime musical on diskette, circa 1995-96. Terrence McNally Papers, Disk 3a.
5. Unidentified photographer, [Detail of photograph of curtain call with cast of Ragtime], circa 1998. Terrence McNally Papers, 43.5.
6. [Detail of page from Terrence McNally's early treatment for Ragtime], 1994. Terrence McNally Papers, 41.9.

06/08/2026

There was more to ancient Egypt than the pharaohs. “Lives And Literacy In Ancient Egypt,” now on view at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, sheds light on the everyday lives of ordinary people. The focus is on manuscripts thousands of years old, written on papyrus, made from the stems of the Cyperus papyrus plant, and preserved by the dry Egyptian climate.

These range from personal letters and medicinal recipes to magical charms and religious texts. On view in North America for the first time is the earliest known fragment from the New Testament. The materials show a multicultural and multilingual society, providing a vibrant insight into daily life in antiquity.

“Lives And Literacy In Ancient Egypt” is on view through August 2, 2026.

IMAGE: Fragment of Homer’s Odyssey. Papyrus fragment containing lines from Homer’s Odyssey, written in Greek and possibly copied by a student. 3rd century CE. John Rylands Library, University of Manchester.

Join us on Saturday, June 13 at 6 p.m. as we remember the life of author, professor, and Director of the Michener Center...
06/05/2026

Join us on Saturday, June 13 at 6 p.m. as we remember the life of author, professor, and Director of the Michener Center for Writers Jim Magnuson. This event is co-sponsored by the Michener Center for Writers. The program will be followed by a catered reception.

RSVP for the event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/remembering-jim-magnuson-tickets-1987611163495

Magnuson was the author of nine books, including Famous Writers I Have Known (2014) and Young Claus (2023). He was also a highly respected playwright, screenwriter, and Professor Emeritus in the English Department at The University of Texas at Austin. For twenty-three years, Magnuson served as the director of the Michener Center for Writers, and it was his vision and dedication to the fellows that brought the Michener Center to international prominence and transformed the lives of countless aspiring writers. Among many honors, he was a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the recipient of the Texas Writer Award from the Texas Book Festival.

Photo by Jana Birchum.

Happy World Bicycle Day! 🚲We're celebrating with a look at bikes from across our collections. Since their invention in t...
06/04/2026

Happy World Bicycle Day! 🚲

We're celebrating with a look at bikes from across our collections. Since their invention in the 19th century, bicycles have played an important role in many aspects of life from transportation to leisure and appear across our collections in films, photographs, books, and more.

The iconic shot of a silhouetted E.T. flying in front of the moon in the basket of Elliot's bike is featured on storyboard art from the Thomas Smith Papers. Along with E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, Smith worked for Industrial Light & Magic on iconic films like Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Our photography collection includes a cabinet card of a woman on bicycle by Austrian photographer Rudolf Krziwanek circa 1890 when women were becoming increasingly independent thanks in part to the freedom provided by a bicycle. We also have an 1869 albumen print of an image made by Lewis Carroll featuring his brother Wilfred Longley Dodgson on a bicycle.

The J.M. Coetzee Papers contain several cycling-related objects including photographs of Coetzee cycling, certificates for the author's participation in the Argus Cycle Tour in Cape Town, South Africa, and manuscripts for his book Slow Man (2005) in which a photographer loses his leg in a cycling accident.

Explore our collections: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/collections/

1. Lewis Carroll, [Detail of photograph of Wilfred Longley Dodgson on a bicycle], 1869. Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Photography Collection.
2. M. E. Ward, Bicycling for Ladies (New York, Paris: Brentano's, c1896). Harry Ransom Center Book Collection, GV 1057 W25.
3. Rudolf Krziwanek, [Cabinet card of unidentified woman on a bicycle], circa 1890. Card Photographs Photography Collection.
4. Thomas Smith, [Detail of special effects storyboard for E.T., shot 234], September 3, 1981. Thomas Smith Papers, Box 5, Folder 3.
5. Unidentified photographer, [Detail of J. M. Coetzee riding a bicycle], circa 1980s. J. M. Coetzee Papers, Box 108.9.11.
6. H. G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance (London: J.M. Dent; New York: Macmillan, 1896). Harry Ransom Center Evelyn Waugh Collection ; PR 5774 W4 1896 WAU. 1. Lewis Carroll, [Detail of photograph of Wilfred Longley Dodgson on a bicycle], 1869. Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) Photography Collection.
2. Thomas Smith, [Detail of special effects storyboard for E.T., shot 234], September 3, 1981. Thomas Smith Papers, Box 5, Folder 3.
3. Rudolf Krziwanek, [Cabinet card of unidentified woman on a bicycle], circa 1890. Card Photographs Photography Collection.
4. M. E. Ward, Bicycling for Ladies (New York, Paris: Brentano's, c1896). Harry Ransom Center Book Collection, GV 1057 W25.
5. Unidentified photographer, [Detail of J. M. Coetzee riding a bicycle], circa 1980s. J. M. Coetzee Papers, Box 108.9.11.
6. H. G. Wells, The Wheels of Chance (London: J.M. Dent; New York: Macmillan, 1896). Harry Ransom Center Evelyn Waugh Collection ; PR 5774 W4 1896 WAU.

Go Spurs Go! 🏀We're rooting for our neighbors in San Antonio as the NBA finals begin tonight. These illustrations of spu...
06/04/2026

Go Spurs Go! 🏀

We're rooting for our neighbors in San Antonio as the NBA finals begin tonight.

These illustrations of spurs come from the 1911 book The History of the Spur by Charles De Lacy Lacy in our J. Frank Dobie Library. Heading the list of Ransom Center collections which contain items relating to Texas history and letters is a substantial part of the archive and library of J. Frank Dobie. Manuscripts for the folklorist's books, tales, and articles are here, as is a massive correspondence file. A collection of five hundred paintings, etchings, prints, maps, photographs, drawings, and sculptures collected by Dobie includes works by Charles Russell and Frederic Re*****on.

Search more Dobie-related items from our collections: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/search-the-collections/

Charles de Lacy Lacy, The History of the Spur (London: The Connoisseur, 1911). Harry Ransom Center J. Frank Dobie Library, GT 5888 L3 DOBIE.

Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 years old yesterday. The legendary actress appears in many Ransom Center collection...
06/03/2026

Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 years old yesterday.

The legendary actress appears in many Ransom Center collections. Magnum's Eve Arnold photographed Monroe reading James Joyce's groundbreaking modernist novel in 1955. In addition to the Magnum Photos Collection, Monroe also appears in many photographs in the collections of Elliot Erwitt and Arnold Newman housed at the Center.

The papers of playwright Arthur Miller, who was married to Monroe from 1956 to 1961, are housed at the Center. They contain journals with entries about Monroe, annotations on a script in her handwriting, photographs, and more. Correspondence between Miller and Norman Mailer, who interviewed the playwright for his 1980 speculative Monroe biography, Of Women and Their Elegance, can be found in the Norman Mailer Papers.

Maurice Zolotow's notes for his biography of the star, simply titled Marilyn Monroe, are archived at the Center. Zolotow's book was the only one published during her lifetime and based in part on interviews he conducted with the actress.

There's even more Marilyn Monroe to discover at the Ransom Center! Satisfy your curiosity and search our collections today: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/search-the-collections/

Eve Arnold, [Marilyn Monroe reading Ulysses by James Joyce, Long Island, New York], 1955. Magnum Photos Collection, Harry Ransom Center © Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos.

Join us on Thursday, June 11 at 6 p.m. for a special panel discussion on the changing market for archives and rare books...
06/02/2026

Join us on Thursday, June 11 at 6 p.m. for a special panel discussion on the changing market for archives and rare books! 📖

Admission is free with an RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/panel-discussion-the-changing-market-for-archives-and-rare-books-tickets-1989112038653

Learn from panelists Richard Austin, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Books & Manuscripts at Sotheby’s, and Sarah Funke Butler, the founder of Funke Literary, an agency specializing in archives. In conversation with Harry Ransom Center curators Megan Barnard and Aaron T. Pratt, they will offer a window into the world that moves books, manuscripts, and a wide variety of other media from creators and collectors to new generations that will appreciate and care for them—including institutions like the Ransom Center. A reception will follow the program.

05/31/2026

What can ancient scraps of papyrus reveal about everyday life 2,000 years ago?
“Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt,” a new exhibition at UT's Harry Ransom Center, explores how writing preserved the stories, beliefs, records, and routines of people living in Greco-Roman Egypt through remarkably rare manuscripts and artifacts.

Learn more in the latest issue of the Alcalde: https://alcalde.texasexes.org/2026/04/ancient-documents-once-buried-with-mummies-are-now-at-the-harry-ransom-center

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300 W 21st Street
Austin, TX
78712

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Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 12pm - 5pm
Sunday 12pm - 5pm

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