Posts filed under 'Field Trips'
This summer I am in the mood for unplanned excursions and spontaneous adventures, so yesterday morning, when I read the May 30th entry on Joan of Arc in Helen Dean Fish’s Children’s Almanac of Books and Holidays (1934), I knew that I had to explore that theme. Since I have a backlog of reading material at the moment, I could not follow Fish’s advice to read E.M. Wilmot-Buxton’s The Story of Jeanne d’Arc. Instead, I decided to see the Jean of Arc exhibit at the Boston Public Library.
“10,000 Joans: Treasures from the Joan of Arc Collection of the Boston Public Library” is not about children’s literature, but children’s literature enthusiasts and anyone fascinated by collectors and collecting will delight in this exhibit. The exhibit is in recognition of the 30th anniversary of the donation of the collection to the BPL by Cardinal John Joseph Wright in 1976, and it shows the many ways the legendary saint has been depicted in print and popular culture over the centuries. A wide range of objects are on display, from posters and early printed books to decorative plates to cigarette cards and prayer cards. Children’s books and prints are scattered throughout the exhibit, but there is one freestanding case devoted to depictions of the saint for children.
The exhibit also reveals the growth and development of a topic collection. For Cardinal Wright, his collection was a lifelong passion. He became fascinated with Joan of Arc as a child when his curiosity was sparked by hearing soldiers returned from France after WWI singing the popular song “Joan of Arc, They Are Calling You”. This interest was further fueled by the gift of a book about Joan of Arc from a teacher. Now, the 6,000 items from his collection form the heart of one the largest and most comprehensive collections on Joan of Arc.
The exhibit runs until June 15, 2006, so if you are in the Boston-area, there are still a few weeks to catch it. Guided tours are available on Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. There will also be a guided gallery tour with the exhibition curators on Wednesday, June 7 at 6 p.m. Admission is free and the exhibit is open the same hours as the library.
May 31st, 2006
As a personal project, I have started compiling a list of sculptures, murals, and other public art featuring characters from children’s books. It is a work in progress, and I am still transferring links from my Furl archive. Also, I will probably choose another format for this list, as the current format is inelegant and difficult to navigate and edit.Visiting most of the sites listed would be a wonderful long-term project. Perhaps, I will start with Massachusetts. Sadly, I have lived in Boston for more than seven years and have not seen the ducklings yet.
January 6th, 2005
Saturday morning, I joined the Connecticut Chapter of the American Book Collectors of Children’s Literature (ABCs) and the Ticknor Society for a tour of the Boston Athenaeum and its collection of children’s books. Although this excursion got off to a rough start–the guard and circulation desk staff did not have this tour group on their schedule and I was the first to arrive–in the end, I was happy that I decided to participate.
The Athenaeum was founded in 1805 by the Anthology Society and has resided at 10 1/2 Beacon Street since the 1840s. A renovation project was completed in 2002, and as part of the renovations, a children’s library was added. It is an amazing space, with comfortable reading nooks, a built-in goldfish aquarium, and huge picture windows looking onto the Granary Burying Ground (eerily fitting, considering that Mother Goose’s grave is there). And there are shelves and shelves of books of all types. The books made me very nostalgic. While the children’s library has many new books, there are also many older books in the circulating collection. These books reminded me of the books that I borrowed from local libraries as a child, the well-read and well-loved copies of illustrated classics–except many of these books had been owned and read by some of the most well-known people in Boston society.
I found much inspiration in my visit to the Athenaeum. The space and the books were inspiring, of course, but the people working there were equally as inspiring. The children’s librarian was patient and very helpful. She distributed information on the Beatrix Potter Society and copies of an article that she had written about association copies in the children’s library collections. She also handed out signed copies of a broadside by Vera B. Williams. (My copy is on my desk at the moment with a bunch of other things that need to be framed).
Although there were many murmurs of excitement about the books on display and the handouts, the one thing that most of the book collectors on the tour wanted was a checklist or bibliography of rare children’s books at the Athenaeum. The librarian only had an old printout of children’s books in the rare book collection. I was very surprised to learn that a bibliography did not exist already. This could be an interesting research project, if only I had the time and support to do it.
April 26th, 2004
By 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, I was dressed, packed, and ready to go to BloggerCon, but as I was heading for the door, I suddenly had an idea. It was a good idea, but as usual for me, it came at an inopportune time.At the previous BloggerCon in October, many people were curious about my weblog, and I was reduced to writing my URL and other information on scraps of paper in a nervous, unrehearsed hand. I felt unprepared and awkward and quickly began to avoid conversations with unfamiliar bloggers.
Saturday morning, as I was heading out the door on my way to the second BloggerCon, I realized that I was about to walk into Pound Hall unprepared again. I needed something like blogcards, but in this last minute moment, I would have to make them myself. So, I did, but the simple project (in my typical fashion) turned into a complicated flurry of creative activity.
Three hours later, I had created fifteen unique cards–each card printed on celery cover paper from the Paper Source and featuring a version of the simply drawn little girl image that used to be on my weblog. Each little girl was wearing a one-of-a-kind paper dress, crafted from my new stock of print-on-demand chiyogami and my vast collection of decorative paper scraps. With my colorful, homemade stack of cards in hand, I felt happy, confident, and ready to network with other bloggers.
And, after all of that effort (and the embarrassment of missing a good portion of the conference), no one asked me about my weblog.
April 19th, 2004
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 14th 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
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Online images from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection:
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search for images from the exhibit
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March 26th, 2004
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