Cultural Record Keepers: Norman W. Brillhart Collection, University of Oklahoma Libraries' Western History Collections

Abstract

Private library bookplates are designed to reflect the interests of the book owners and often symbolize their life’s work with simple drawings or emblems. The Norman W. Brillhart Collection bookplate is a good example of this simplicity of design. The 18.5-by-15-cm plate shows a map that depicts the route Brillhart believed Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer followed during the Battle of the Little Big Horn River in 1876. This graphic depiction of Custer’s route summarizes Brillhart’s lifetime of reading, travel, and research devoted to the controversial subject of Custer and the Little Big Horn. The Norman W. Brillhart Collection, held by the University of Oklahoma Libraries’ Western History Collections, is comprised of rare books and special material on George Armstrong Custer, the Seventh Cavalry Regiment, and the Battle of the Little Big Horn River. All of the major works necessary for research on Custer and the Little Big Horn are in