The Playful Antiquarian

Art of the Japanese Postcard

I decided to break out of my Cambridge(work)/Somerville(home) rut and venture into Boston last Wednesday night. This was not an entirely spontaneous adventure. I have been very anxious to see the new Art of the Japanese Postcard exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), and Wednesday seemed like the perfect time for postcard-viewing.

The exhibit was all that I hoped it would be and more, but I am somewhat biased. When Leonard A. Lauder donated his collection to the MFA in 2002, I was ecstatic about the news. I could not wait for the materials to be accessioned, catalogued, and exhibited and briefly had considered applying for the curatorial assistant position for processing the collection.

The exhibit, which opened March 10 and will run through June 6, showcases 350 of the more than 20,000 Japanese postcards in the Lauder collection. There is also an accompanying exhibit entitled Japanese Design in Transition: 1900-1940?E which features posters, kuchi-e, and sculptures.

I would say more about the exhibit and my impressions, but I am still feeling overawed. If I have time and can collect my thoughts, I may revisit this topic in a later post or in an extended story. But, this is dependent on how much work I complete in my research on Japanese decorated paper and pattern design (newly invigorated by the exhibit and the exhibition catalogue that I purchased from the museum gift shop).

For anyone who may be interested, Leonard Lauder will be giving a lecture at the museum on April 14^th on the art and social history of Japanese postcards. I will probably attend, as I am really looking forward to hearing his perspective on this topic. I am also looking forward to another journey to the MFA to explore this fun and refreshing ephemera exhibit.

Related links

• Christine Temin’s review of the exhibit in today’s Boston Globe arts section
• Online images from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection: browse or search for images from the exhibit
• Art of the Japanese Postcard exhibition catalogue: Available from the museum gift shop and online (but not yet at Amazon or in general bookstores)

Add comment March 26th, 2004

The bee’s knees: bee culture for bibliophiles

(for my brother on his 10th birthday)I had hoped to post this earlier, but today was much busier than I had expected. I gathered these links months ago (during the summer) for a post that I never published. I had collected them after a conversation with my supervisor about beekeeping, Parisian beekeepers, and my little brother’s fascination with bees.

I am very phobic about bees (and all other types of flying, stinging creatures), but in gathering information for my knowledge-hungry younger brother, I have gained a new appreciation for honeybees. Last summer, I was even caught reading a few books about bee culture and musing about beekeeping as a new hobby. Knowledge can be surprisingly therapeutic sometimes.

Bees in special collections (not comprehensive)

• Abuzz about bees
  • The E.F. Phillips Beekeeping Library at Cornell University’s Mann Library
• Apiculture manuscript collections at the University of California–Davis
  • The Biological & Agricultural Sciences Reference Department also has a pathfinder for apiculture research
• Moir Rare Book Collection
  • Deposited by the Scottish Beekeepers’ Association at the National Library of Scotland
• Richard Stannard Baker Bee Collection
  • Michigan State University, Special Collections

Bees and information science

• Apiary and beekeeping indexers
• Gentle art of beekeeping
  • Internet Public Library page by Erica of Librarian Avengers
• Apiarists and antiquarians?
  • According to the MARIAB site, Massachusetts has three dealers specializing in books on bees and beekeeping.

Books about bees (a selection)

• Life and times of the honeybee / Charles Micucci
  • my little brother’s favorite bee book
• Hooray for beekeeping!
  • another well-loved children’s bee book
• A book of bees: and how to keep them / Sue Hubbel
  • the book that almost turned me into a beekeeper
• Literary beekeeping
  • An Amazon “listmania” list–The Secret Life of Bees and beyond

…and the reason why I started this list…Parisian beekeepers

• Paris bee venues: urban beekeeping in the city of light (APIS, July 1997)

1 comment March 26th, 2004