Charlotte Van Fleet, the former assistant director of undergraduate admissions, visited Doheny Library on December 22 to donate three rare volumes to the libraries' special collections. Scholars will soon be able to consult rare 19th-century editions of William Blake's Milton and There Is No Natural Religion and Samuel Roger's The Pleasures of Memory. A member of the Friends of the USC Libraries, Van Fleet graduated from USC in 1953 with a degree in business administration.
The Blake editions include reproductions of the etchings that accompanied each of his poetic works. A skilled printer, Blake used acids to etch his poems and illustrations into metal plates. Van Fleet's rare 1886 edition of Milton captures the vivid beauty of what Blake described as his "infernal method" of printing.
Associate Dean of Collections Lynn Sipe with Charlotte Van Fleet
A plate from Blake's Milton
Title page from a rare 1886 edition of Blake's Milton