Archives & Special Collections

The Archives & Special Collections at the College of Staten Island grows mostly through the donations of collection material and financial support from individuals. We collect books, manuscripts, photographs, and ephemera that document the history of the College of Staten Island, Richmond College, and Staten Island Community College. We also are interested in books, manuscripts, photographs and ephemera useful for Staten Island historical research. Particular focuses are political life, public education, economic development, and health and environmental issues. If you have material that may be appropriate for the collection, or would like to make financial contributions to fund special projects, collection development, equipment, and supplies, please contact James A. Kaser, Ph.D., Professor and Archivist at james.kaser@csi.cuny.edu

The Library Archives and Special Collections owns a volume of calligraphy specimens (known as a commonplace book), bound in the 18th century and executed by William Gamble (c. 1730-1794), who served as Commissary of Provisions for British troops on Staten Island near the end of the American Revolution. The commonplace book needs professional conservation work, funding for which is being sought from donors. In addition to stabilizing the volume, conservators at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia will create a physical copy that researchers will be able to handle and a digital intermediary for remote use.

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For more information on William Gamble and his Commonplace book, see:  https://library.csi.cuny.edu/archives/projects

Independent scholar Joe Wages researched Gamble’s life and shared what he discovered in the 2020 CSI Archives History Day Lecture.

Follow this link or click the image to see the Zoom presentation: http://bit.ly/gamble-presentation