Tales of True Crime Exhibition

Now open on the main level of Shadek-Fackenthal Library is our latest exhibit: Tales of True Crime from the Special Collections. Featuring true crime books, pamphlets, and broadsides from the Special Collections, the exhibit follows the history of true-crime publishing in the United States from the late-18th to 20th centuries. Most items involve chapbook (inexpensively printed, paper-covered pamphlets) tales of murders that occurred in 19th-century Pennsylvania. Of particular interest are items printed in the German-language that became part of the German-American community's folklore, such as the case of Susanna Cox, executed in 1809 for murder. This exhibit runs through May 2008.