Christine Jacobson is a cultural heritage professional.
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The often-uncredited work of women shaped how modern literature was written, revised, and published.
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Christine Jacobson is associate curator of modern books and manuscripts at Houghton Library, Harvard University’s rare book and manuscript library, where she helps steward, develop, and interpret collections spanning from 1800 to the present. Her work focuses on connecting researchers, students, and the public to primary sources through teaching, exhibitions, and collaborative projects.
She is co-curator of Thanks for Typing: Women’s Type Labor in Literature and the Arts, which explores the overlooked contributions of typists and amanuenses to literary history.
Jacobson’s broader interests center on cultural heritage, archival research, and the material history of modern literature. She also serves on the board of the Ticknor Society, an organization of book collectors, booksellers, librarians, historians, archivists, conservators, printers, publishers, and writers, and organizes reading groups in both virtual and in-person settings.
Jacobson holds a BA in political science and Russian studies from Stetson University, an MA in Russian and Eurasian studies from Harvard University, and an MLIS from Simmons University. She is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Events with this author
Thanks for Typing: Women’s Type Labor in Literature and the Arts
January 26 through May 1, 2026
Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library, Harvard Yard
From the poems of Emily Dickinson to Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, many of the masterworks of modern literature were originally written by hand, then typed. But their creators were rarely the ones to type them. This work was performed by typists—usually women—working for love, money, or both. Largely uncredited, this labor has generally been undervalued and misunderstood, with the typists seen as mere conduits for the writing that passed through their hands. Drawing on collections across Houghton Library, Thanks for Typing spotlight typists’ surprising contributions to literature, theater, film, and dance. The exhibition also puts typists in context by showing the technical skill required for their work and exploring portrayals of typists in popular culture.
Co-curated by Christine Jacobson, Associate Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts, and Dale Stinchcomb, Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts at The Morgan Library & Museum.
