Any cultural institution worth its salt attracts more than a few
apocryphal stories regarding its founding and evolution. The
following, however, do not qualify as such. They are facts (in
some cases, facts pertaining to the actual existence and
circulation of apocrypha) about the Newberry’s history that,
lack of fictional embellishment notwithstanding, might surprise
you. The Newberry’s founder, Walter L. Newberry, died at sea in
1868. A rumor circulated at the time that Newberry’s body had
been preserved shipboard, sent home, and eventually buried in an
empty rum-cask. In truth, Newberry’s remains were initially
preserved in the cask and then interred in a proper casket in
Chicago. Eliphalet W. Blatchford, the first president of the
Newberry’s board of trustees, took a very hands-on approach to
library administration, even personally instructing Newberry
janitors in his preferred method for sweeping the floors. John
Vance Cheney became the Newberry’s second librarian in 1894. He
was a well-known poet and ne