A glimpse of our world in 500+ Community Collections
This month we have reached (and have grown past) the 500 Community Collection milestone, with 591 collections from 162 contributors. Through this initiative, JSTOR has partnered with universities, museums, and other institutions around the world to expand the reach of their special collections. These rare primary source materials cover nearly every discipline, content type, and topic, and are openly accessible to the millions of scholars who begin their research on JSTOR.
To encapsulate the range of content included in the Open Community Collections, we’re showcasing collections that represent the global reach of this initiative, in the origin of contributions and areas of the world featured. We’ve rounded up highlights including design portfolios, exploratory photographs, fine art, postcards, posters, prints, and textile collections.
See these collections around the world
Design journals and portfolio collections
The following collections, all contributed by the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, share the designs and portfolios of notable European artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These materials, initially intended to be adapted and reused by others in the art world, offer elaborate stage costume renderings, illustrations of the female figure, designs of plant and animal forms, and graphic design used for printed labels.
- 16 Weinetiketten : Beilage zur Zeitschrift “Das Plakat,” November, 1913
- Casanova: décors et costumes par Georges Barbier
- Das Weib im modernen Ornament
- L’animal dans la décoration by Maurice Pillard Verneuil and Eugène Grasset 1897
- Plakat gedanke und kunst
Exploratory photograph collections
Through the archeological, architectural, topographical, and documentary photographs included in the Community Collections, researchers can follow along on sailing expeditions, world tours, and journalist trips to the corners of the Earth. These collections offer rare images of ancient architecture, landscape, major events, and everyday life, captured in countries around the world.
- Detweiler Collection from the American Academy in Rome
- Haldore Hanson’s China Collection (1937-1938) from Carleton College
- Knoop Far East Photographic Collection from University of Sheffield
- Lauren R. Donaldson Collection of Northern Pacific Ocean Radiological Surveys, 1946-1964 from University of Washington
- Lenkin Family Collection of Photography from University of Pennsylvania
- Vandis Expedition 1883-1885 from National Museums of World Culture, Sweden
Fine art collections
Find works on paper, paintings, sculptures, and more, rendering historic events and cultures, with a glimpse into art across the centuries in the Community Collections. Altogether, the collections below gather nearly 15,000 items with roots in the Middle East, Oceania, Africa, Ancient America, and beyond from the special holdings.
- Binghamton University Art Museum Collection from SUNY, Binghamton University
- Dartmouth: Original Etchings by American Artists from Dartmouth College Library
- Fine Arts Collection from Wofford College
- The Fisher Fine Arts Materials Collection from University of Pennsylvania
- Lehigh University Art Galleries Permanent Collection from Lehigh University
- Visual Resources of the Middle East from Yale University
Postcards, posters, prints, and more
With posters made in Cuba from the revolution to the 2000s, postcards from European travels, Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and woodcuts, and street art captured over forty countries, these selected Community Collections have great range in both origin and medium. Included materials represent artistic and national movements, addressing the personal and the political through striking visual items.
- Japanese prints collection, 1765-1964, (bulk 1780-1860) from Boston College
- The Lindsay Webster Collection of Cuban Posters from Wofford College
- Pins and buttons from University of Connecticut
- Prints in the Goold Collection from University of Divinity
- Street Art Graphics Digital Archives from St. Lawrence University
- Trinity College European Postcards from Trinity College
Textile collections
In the fabric of the Community Collections, you’ll find pattern books, loose samples, and cultural designs, with cotton, linen, silk, wool, and more, from prominent designers, firms, art students, and communities around the world. Many of these textiles had a great impact in the fashion industry, being sold to fashion giants such as Chanel and Balenciaga, while also representing the trends, movements, and cultural history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
- Bernat Klein from Heriot-Watt University
- Bonnie Cashin Collection from University of Cincinnati
- Cheney Brothers Silk Manufacturing Company Records from University of Connecticut
- Donald Brothers from Heriot-Watt University
- Experimental Embroidery Samples – Goldsmiths Textile Collection from Goldsmiths, University of London
- Textiles that Talk – East African Kangas and their Meanings from Bard College