UM Museum's Holiday Keepsake Features Rowan Oak

Rowan Oak has not been featured as the holiday keepsake since 2007.

"We have been sold out of the former design for years so I think people will be happy to see this 2.0 version with color and more details," said Melanie Antonelli, the museum's curator and collections manager. "Rowan Oak has also since had their own logo developed, which will be included in the insert as well as stamped on the gold box."

Faulkner purchased Rowan Oak, then called the Bailey Place, in 1930. The Greek revival-style home sat on a 4-acre plot of hardwood and cedar and is where Faulkner wrote many of his most-loved works.

Sold to the university in 1972, the home serves as a museum and includes Faulkner's furniture, smoking pipe, typewriter and an art gallery. Martha Kelly's block prints of trees from the Faulkner property and Boyd Saunders' etchings from "The Sound and the Fury" are on display in the gallery.

Rowan Oak curator Bill Griffith and assistant curator Rachel Hudson reviewed the design of this year's keepsake, Antonelli said.

Each commemorative ornament is $25 in the museum store. Keepsakes can be purchased in person or by phone at 662-915-7073. Shipping within the continental U.S. is $10. To ensure a shipped keepsake arrives by the holiday, orders should be placed by Dec. 13.

Museum members and Friends of the Museum get a 10% discount on all merchandise. To become a member, visit https://museum.olemiss.edu/join-the-museum or stop by the museum.

The UM Museum is at the corner of University Avenue and Fifth Street and is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays.

Top: The UM Museum’s annual holiday keepsake features William Faulkner’s home, Rowan Oak, for its 2024 edition. Submitted photo