May 25th, 2012
MS Thr 372.1 (28) Date added in Shaw's hand.
And now I’ll tell you a [ ] secret secrets, wrote Mrs. Patrick Campbell, scribbling in dull pencil to George Bernard Shaw on December 9, 1912, some months after her wickedly coquettish reply to the offer that she play Eliza in his Pygmalion. That the part of Eliza Doolittle, Cockney flower girl, was crafted by Shaw specifically for Campbell to play (she, a socialite in her late forties) gives some indication of the needlingly flirtatious relationship between them. This complicated charm of their friendship is nicely revealed in the letter she continued to dash off that night.
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May 23rd, 2012
A recent acquisition from Leo Cadogan Rare Books of London continues a Houghton Library tradition that was articulated by Roger Stoddard’s Marks in Books Illustrated and Explained and published by the Library in 1985. Stoddard’s exhibition catalogue demonstrates the value of evidentiary traces of use that can survive in books and tell us about their readers and their interactions with the text. Such traces are not always physical marks in books, however. The Library’s recent acquisition of Jean Croiset’s La dévotion au Sacre Coeur de Notre-Seigneur Jesus-Christ (Paris, 1741) was, in fact, never actually marked by a reader but it still contains a handmade bookmark fashioned by a devotee for the book. A tiny embroidered heart-shaped cushion of green silk with five ribbons of different colors, as well as one ribbon bound to the textblock, indicates how a reader could mark her place through the various sections of the book or might allow different readers to use the book at the same time. Keep reading →
May 21st, 2012
One of my greatest pleasures in cataloging is to pick up an unidentified work, wave my magic wand, and end up with a verified attribution and full access to a hitherto inaccessible item. Cataloging of this kind is becoming easier to undertake as technology improves our access to information. Many’s the time I’ve Googled an aria phrase from an unidentified 18th century manuscript, in hopes of locating a libretto and finding a place to begin my research, or compared a work in hand to an Amazon. com recording sample! Keep reading →
May 18th, 2012
Because Little Women is embedded in the American mind as a classic children’s book, readers often forget that Louisa May Alcott always viewed herself as a professional author who wrote in order to make money, much of which went to help support her parents and sisters, and later, nephews and a niece. Between 1868, when Little Women was published, and 1886, when Alcott recorded her last royalty statement, she received $103,375 from her publisher, Roberts Brothers. During that same stretch they printed 846,291 copies of her books, and between 1868 and 1898, when the firm was bought by Little, Brown, and Company, they printed 597,827 copies of Little Women in all its various formats. In comparison, Henry James earned $58,503 during the same period, and Herman Melville was paid, from all American and British sales of his books, $10,444.33 during his entire lifetime. Keep reading →
May 14th, 2012
Based in an oral tradition, ballet is the most difficult of the performing arts to document. What remains to us from the time before film? Printed or manuscript music, librettos and scenarios, mise en scène, dance notation, images of sets and costumes; manuscript notes from choreographers, composers, or stage directors; newspaper and personal descriptions … when you add it all together, precise details about choreography are scarce. Reconstructions of historical ballets are contingent on all of this highly ephemeral evidence, so when a cache of ballet documentation appears, collectors take notice. Keep reading →
May 11th, 2012
With Modern Painters (1843-60), The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849), and The Stones of Venice (1851-53), John Ruskin (1819-1900) established his credentials as Victorian England’s most influential art critic. His standing in artistic circles was enhanced by his own talent as an artist and draughtsman. For a number of years he offered drawing lessons at the Working Men’s College in London and at the Winnington School. In addition, he generously offered advice in his correspondence with friends and artistic acquaintances. His practical experience as an artist found literary expression in two popular manuals, The Elements of Drawing (1857) and The Elements of Perspective (1859). A reviewer of the former work praised Ruskin’s pedagogical style: “He speaks to them in a gentle and endearing tone, as if he had an earnest desire to serve them; and he gives his advice in language at once so persuasive and so imaginative, that the student is charmed into wisdom.” Keep reading →
May 4th, 2012
Abraham Lincoln was elected to his only term in Congress in August 1846, representing Illinois’ Seventh District. The future president’s term began in December 1847, more than a year after his election, and he was ready to make his mark in the House of Representatives, choosing opposition to the Mexican War as one of his signature issues. Like many in the Whig Party, Lincoln opposed President James K. Polk’s 1846 decision to go to war with Mexico, asserting that the Democratic president initiated the conflict to acquire land for the expansion of slavery rather than defending American territory as the administration had argued, and thus the war was unnecessary and unconstitutional.
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May 3rd, 2012
A memorial celebrating the incredible life, teaching, scholarship and collecting of John Milton Ward is being held on Sunday, May 6 at 3pm at Paine Hall in the Harvard Department of Music, where Ward taught for over thirty years. Ward passed away on December 12, 2011.
In the 20+ years since his retirement as William Powell Mason Professor of Music, Ward acquired a collection of original music and dance materials of international significance and donated it to Harvard University libraries. The bulk of the material – thousands and thousands of items – finds its home in the Harvard Theatre Collection in Houghton Library. Yet there are also extensive collections in the Loeb Music Library.
In conjunction with the memorial, the beneficiaries of his munificence – including curators, catalogers and librarians from Loeb and Houghton – came together to create an exhibition of materials highlighting Ward’s largesse in five distinct areas. The exhibition will be on display from May 6-July 31 in the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library. Keep reading →
May 2nd, 2012
How to spot a Norwegian bride? Just look for the crown! This 19th century hand colored cabinet photograph depicts a Norwegian bride wearing a traditional folk costume with a bridal crown or brudekrone. You will notice the bridal crown has small metal discs and beads hanging from it which produce a melodic tinkling and according to some legends this is supposed to ward off evil spirits from the bride. The embroidery design, cut of the vest, and addition of jewelry or sølje indicates the region of Norway where the woman lived. Today the term bunad is used to describe this ‘authentic’ regional Norwegian folk clothing. Bunads are immensely popular, so much that there is a National Bunad Council, a government appointed authority that puts modern day bunads into one of five specific categories if they even manage to get an “official” bunad ranking. Bunads are reserved for special occasions and celebrations and have become quite a status symbol in Norway.
Italians on the other hand celebrated a slightly different person- the brigand.
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May 1st, 2012
Finding aids for 12 newly cataloged collections, and a preliminary box list for one recent acquisition, have been added to the OASIS database this month, including the records of the Poets’ Theatre, papers of a paranormal researcher, and more. Keep reading →
