Hot Hot Hot

It’s July 4th and I’m in Italy! Not too much celebration going on here. I wore a navy blue and white striped shirt and some red sunglasses and for once did not pretend I wasn’t American. We also had some McDonald’s to celebrate! The dig’s been going pretty good since the last time I wrote. After the first weekend we came back to the site to find out that it had been broken into. There was broken glass everywhere and we found out that a lot of the special finds (coins and jewelry) that were found by the metal detectorist were taken. I have found three loom weights in total now, and one of them had its original top, which included original stamps, which may indicate its weight! This week was deathly hot and after we finished uncovering the road we were working on, we began a whole new section, which involves a lot of pick-axing, shoveling, and traipsing up and down the hill to dump out loads of dirt with the wheelbarrow onto our ever-growing heap of spoil. It’s exhausting and the heat doesn’t help, but the work is totally worth it. I’m going to be so tan and buff when I get back! Yesterday I went with a group to Tivoli to check out Hadrian’s Villa as well as the Villa d’Este. It was super hot and not terribly easy to get to but it was worth it in the end. Hadrian’s Villa is enormous! It must have been a beautiful place back in the day. Villa d’Este, which is downtown Tivoli (or should I say “uptown” because it is situated up in the mountains), is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It definitely gave me an idea about how beautiful Hadrian’s Villa must have been one day. Villa d’Este is a Renaissance period villa situated at a very steep incline to allow for the natural flow of water to power the impressive collection of fountains that flow through the gardens. These fountains were absolutely beautiful, and to top it off, the mountainside location provided a lovely view of the Lazio countryside. It was hard to leave but we were determined to make it back for our free dinner at the hotel. I was so exhausted that night after my 12 hour journey to Tivoli that I went to bed pretty much right after dinner to wake up and go to Rome this morning. We wanted to check out the flea market, which was less than spectacular, but it was nice to walk around Rome today and see some of the major sites on the bus downtown. Looking forward to next week—hopefully I can survive the 105 degree workdays in the sun!

Gabii

I haven’t written in this blog for a while because I finished up with school and haven’t been around the libraries as much (or at all- to be completely honest).

Right now I’m actually in Italy! I’m here on an archaeological dig called the “Gabii Project” that’s run by the University of Michigan. I found out about it through my archaeology professor, Christopher Ratte, who taught a class I took in the fall that just so happened to be the best class I ever took. I spoke to him after class a few times and told him my interest in being an art conservator and he hooked me up with the conservators at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, which, as you can tell from my posts before, was one of the best experiences of my life and has really opened my eyes to the field of conservation (archaeological conservation to be specific). I decided while taking my class with Ratte that I wanted to be part of a dig the following summer and he recommended this program and here I am!

I really lucked out with this dig because we were able to receive a grant to pay for a majority of the costs by Chrysler/Fiat, and really all I had to pay for was my flight to get over here. This is where I lucked out even more! When I received my boarding pass I realized I didn’t have a seat assignment so I talked to the people at the main desk and they offered me an alternative of stopping in Amsterdam but only I’d be sitting in business class. I thought it over and decided that non-stop was still a better option. I found out not too long after that that I would still be flying non-stop but I was bumped up to business class. Business class for an overseas flight is absolutely amazing. I started the night off with a glass of champagne, had a three course dinner, watched 2 movies on my personal television, enjoyed a massage from my chair, and pretty much slept the whole way laying down almost completely flat.

As soon as we landed in Italy I was reminded how much I love this country. It’s beautiful! The train station was a little confusing but knowing some Italian has definitely helped me out so far. We made it to the hotel, which is very nice, but the room is TINY! It’s probably a 10X10 room that we are expected to share with three people. But it’s ok… as soon as we figured out we can put our clothes in piles underneath the bed we were fine. We get fed three times a day during the week. Breakfast is at 6:30 and we leave for the dig at 7. We get panini (sandwiches) at the field at 1PM but we are soooo hungry by that time! Luckily we get a 20 minute break at 10AM where we can bring our own snacks to hold us over until lunch time. Dinner is at 8 and of course by then we’re also pretty hungry too. The dinners have been great! They usually involve a pasta, a meat, and a dessert—a typical Italian meal.

The first week of digging has been exhausting but very exciting! I’ve been working on what is a called a glariot road, which is a essentially a dirt road. It’s not terribly exciting, considering a lot of people have been finding graves, but it’s incredibly important and a lot of the directors have been spending some time with us because they didn’t expect there to be a road there and it’s changing a lot of what they were thinking about the area I’m working in. We’ve been finding plenty of pottery, bones, and I even found a couple of loom weights the other day (weights that held down strings in looms for the production of fabric). My trench mates joke that I’m all about the finds, which makes sense because I want to be a conservator! I found out that there is actually no conservation that goes on at this site, which is a little bit of a bummer but at least I’m learning about the process of excavation and getting my hands dirty in the field! (literally).

On Thursday, the third day of digging, my trench supervisor disappeared for a bit and came back to tell us that he thinks we’ll be having an exciting day that day but wasn’t allowed to tell us why. About an hour after that the directors called everybody over to show us a tomb that they had found in my area! This was especially unusual because our area was considered to be an industrial part of town and it would be a very unusual spot for a tomb. There was a giant stone slab that was removed that afternoon for all of us to see, and all of us crossed our fingers that it would be filled with beautiful grave goods, but alas it was just a very well preserved skeleton from the 6th century BC (ho hum… just kidding!). The osteologist told us later that the skeleton was that of a female aged 30-40 years old. She was very tall for a female, and very robust, however, her hips were large, which is the true indicator of her sex. On either side of her coffin were two more graves as well, which could not be excavated until the stone coffin was removed as well, which we were able to watch the next day. We have yet to hear what they found inside! National Geographic paid a visit to see this all the way—maybe I’ll be in their documentary!

This has been an amazing experience so far, and to think of all the things we found in just a week, is a promising sign for the rest of the season! I found out this weekend that the town we’re staying in (Frascati) is actually a very neat place with plenty to see itself, which leaves me excited for some future exploring! I went downtown Rome yesterday, which was also very exciting, but I destroyed my feet because I wore the wrong shoes—lesson learned—and we walked around everywhere! I’m taking it easy today (Sunday) to recover for the long week ahead of digging!

The Air Balloon Adventurer

My internship at the Map Library has lead me to do some research to find “old” and “interesting” items relating to France for an up and coming exhibit. I have seen A LOT of maps of France, and while they are all very interesting and old, it’s easy to be phased by them. This past week, my internship advisor, Karl handed me a list of books to research in the Special Collections Library on the 7^th floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library. He found these books in a list of references in a book about the history of traveling in France. I looked at the list and decided to request a book called, “A Narrative of the two aerial voyages of Doctor Jeffries observations and remarks” because it seemed the most interesting.

While waiting for the book to be retrieved from the hidden stacks, I decided to do some research about the author of the book. Dr. John Jeffries, as it turns out, was one of the main witnesses of the Boston Massacre and testified for the defense, and actually served as the chief surgeon dealing with the injuries from the incident. American born, Jeffries would always remain loyal to Britain. He was also a military surgeon for the British Army in the American Revolution. He is also famous for being one of the first meteorologist (or weather observer as they called it back then). But that is not what he’s most famous for, however. He is famous for being the first to cross successfully cross the English Channel into France, and he did it in an air balloon! The book I was waiting for, in fact, was his personal account of the journey. There is no denying that Europe is well traveled, and by the time he flew his balloon over France, in 1785, he was most definitely not the first person to see the country. He was, however, the first to see the country from above, which was a whole new realm of travel.

Dr. John Jeffries, wishing to establish himself as a reputable man of science, created a personal account of his flight to be read before the Royal Society of London, and the book we have in the special collections is a signed copy that was given to the society. The book describes his voyage and as he neared the end of the English Channel, he described a little scare, when the ominous French cliffs came into view. The balloon was not flying high enough and they were worried that they would clear the cliffs, and their solution is admirable:

"We were obliged, though very unwillingly, to throw away our anchors and cords; but still approaching the sea, we began to strip ourselves, and cast away our cloathing, M. Blanchard first throwing away his extra coat, with his surtout; after which I cast away my only coat. ...and then M. Blanchard [tossed away] his other coat and trowsers: We then put on and adjusted our cork-jackets [i.e., life jackets], and prepared for the event."

After losing most of their clothes, the impact seemed inevitable, until the weather suddenly changed allowing them to clear the cliff. What a lucky man!

sources:

http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/franklin/jeffries.htm

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=lot&storyid=21403&source=0

http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/07/dr-john-jeffries-physician-loyalist.html

http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/08/dr-john-jeffries-physician-loyalist_04.html

This Art isn't Free

If you walk into the Duderstadt Gallery on North Campus right now you will find a room full of beautiful art work. The amount of thought and effort that went into these pieces of work screams at you, as you notice the meticulous attention to detail and creative concepts and strategies. But this is no regular art gallery. This is the art that was collected from prisons all over Michigan as part of a large ongoing project that has taken place annually for 15 years. The first time this exhibit ran was in 1996 and there was art from 50 prisoners that exhibited 70 works and ended up selling 43 works. This year, the exhibit has expanded to 236 artists exhibiting 422 works, and the success of this project is warranted!

Art is a wonderful expressive tool, and it's especially intriguing to see what these state prisoners have created. This year there was a theme that the prisoners used as a guidance but were not limited to, "Michigan's Economy." We all know that Michigan's economy is not doing well, but to see how it has affected so many people within the state prison system reverberates the challenges this economy has caused. It's eye-opening and definitely worth a visit.

This project is directed by Janie Paul, a professor in the Art & Design school, and Buzz Alexander, a professor from the English department. Along with this project, they have developed several classes for university students designed to work directly with the prisoners and facilitate critical thought on the state prison system.

When you walk through the exhibit, you will notice that each piece has been assigned a price or asks for the best offer. Some of the money made from the exhibit goes to paying the costs of running the exhibit, and the rest is sent back to the prisoners. When I asked what the prisoners did with the money, I assumed that many of them would send the money home to their families, but I also learned that money is a commodity within the prison, as often times classes are offered and certain things can be bought within the prison such as snacks, cigarettes, phone cards, etc. Pricing the pieces was another thing I was curious about, as some of them were well over $300 and some of them were under $30. Apparently the curators discussed the pricing individually with each prisoner (all 236 artists).

Even if you aren't looking to buy any art, simply walking through the gallery is a very rewarding experience. You are given the ability to look into the minds of people that we know very little about, and visualize their frustrations, hopes, and interests. The gallery is open from 10AM until 7PM every day until April 7th, so hurry up and check it out!

Map Library

So I made a little video from some pictures I took of the Map Library and recorded what Tim Utter, who works in the library, had to say about the place. Enjoy!

Beginning my research

For a class assignment, we have to come up with an individual news story. We were asked in class today if we had thought about this, and while I hadn't really given it careful thought I did have a general idea. I started this blog because it seemed relevant to what I was focusing on this semester outside of class, but it has really developed into something. I really had no idea how many interesting things there are in our collections! Supposedly we have the first bible ever printed in the Western Hemisphere (it's called the Doctrina Breve by Zumarraga and it was printed in Mexico City in 1544- maybe I'll explore this in a future post). Even working in the map library I come across things that are truly remarkable that are hidden away in drawers and cabinets. For example, I was looking through some maps today that are supposedly the first topographic maps ever created of France. Shouldn't those be in France?

Working at the Map Library has given me a glimpse into the complicated process of designing an exhibit. While I've been very busy doing research, I am aware that curators work with a large staff. Exhibits are created to focus on the objects, but I'm interested in exhibiting the people behind the exhibits! The theme semester for this year is Museums, and there just happens to be a new minor introduced this past year in "Museum Studies." Also, this past year we have witnessed the reopening of both the UMMA and the Kelsey Museum. It seems that it would be an appropriate time to question those involved in the process. Sharing a similar goal as my blog, I hope that those who read my works will inevitably be more appreciative of the museums on campus and the work that went into developing them.

From Rome to Ann Arbor

What would ever possess the cities of Ann Arbor Michigan and Rome Italy to ever collaborate on something? Rome is a city that will forever be associated with its extreme importance through history, and while Ann Arbor is a city that we all hold dear to our hearts, it’s hard to compare its importance to Rome! A few weeks ago while I was working in the Kelsey Museum, I was given a new project to begin cleaning some marble architectural fragments. When you spend a good amount of time with an object as I was doing with these marble fragments, you can’t help but be interested in their story. These pieces of marble, as I found out, had been returned to the Kelsey museum from Rome as they were being loaned for a special exhibit. I began my research by looking into the catalogue for the exhibit, and what I found out was pretty fascinating.

From 1900-1901, 15 fragments of Roman sculpture were discovered at the construction site for a new central railroad station in Rome (you can only imagine the crazy things they must find in Rome when they try to dig anywhere). Because it wasn’t an actual archaeological excavation, certain facts were not recorded that may have given clues about the objects recovered from the ground. Of the 15 fragments they found, 9 were sold to a German archaeologist and the other 6 were sold to Francis W. Kelsey (i.e. the “Kelsey” museum). Both the German archaeologist and Francis W. Kelsey were unaware of each other’s purchases. The significance of these objects was unknown, but the German archaeologist had his ideas (he ended up being right!), while the objects in the Kelsey museum remained unidentified for over 80 years.

In 1977 a graduate student here at Michigan was studying one of the fragments, which was a representation of the Roman emperor, Vespasian (the famous emperor responsible for the construction of the Coliseum). This particular fragment was also one of the two fragments I had been working on in the conservation lab.

(This is a picture I took while cleaning Vespasian's face. He wasn't too dirty... mostly just behind his ears!)

This graduate student proposed that it might come from the Templum Gentis Flaviae, which was the Flavian family sanctuary and supposedly served as the mausoleum of the three emperors of Rome’s second dynasty (AD 69-96). This was suggested because it was known that this monument was constructed on the particular site that it was found, and a representation of Vespasian would be expected for such a monument. At this point, the theory was merely speculation that lacked a lot of proof. A year later a student from UNC noticed that a fragment of a breastplate (the other object I was responsible for cleaning) fit perfectly with a fragment of a head in the collection in Rome that had been donated by the German archaeologist.

(Here is a picture of the breastplate fragment that I was working on. This is really the piece that put it all together!)

Upon realizing this, he also observed that the 9 pieces of marble in Rome shared many similarities to the collection of marble fragments in the Kelsey museum. He noticed that all the fragments shared a similar scale and ornamental detail, and also figured out that all of the marble was quarried from the same location near Athens. Upon realizing this, the student from UNC made the assertion that these separate collections are indeed one collection.

In 1986, the director of a museum in Rome suggested that there should be an exhibit that would reassemble these pieces for a singular exhibit, and that’s exactly what happened. (For more information about the exhibit click here) Now each museum has casts of each other’s fragments so that each can display the full collection. You can view the pieces in the Kelsey Museum on the second floor where they have created a model of what they think the actual mausoleum may have looked like one day. If these discoveries hold true, and they are actually fragments from Templum Gentis Flaviae, then the Kelsey Museum is displaying the earliest surviving sculptural decoration from a Roman imperial funerary complex!

Resource:

Gazda, Elaine K., and Anne E. Haeckl. Images of Empire: Flavian Fragments in Rome and Ann Arbor Rejoined. Ann Arbor, MI: Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, 1996. 5-10. Print.

Personal Blog guidelines

As an assignment, as well as a means of establishing some form of integrity for my blog I have created a set of "guidelines" dealing with the nature of blogging. These rules are subject to change as I learn more about the blogging world!

Facts:
Of course facts really depend on the nature of the site. In the case of my blog, facts are very important. I have presented myself as a provider of interesting facts about objects within the University’s collection, and because my site is available for everyone to see I hold a level of obligation to adhere to.


GENERALIZED RULES FOR BLOGGING INFORMATION:

1. If you are unsure about what you are writing, either don’t write it or make it clear that you are unsure.
-The Internet is at our fingertips… look it up!

2. Anyone that you are referencing should be aware that they are being referenced.
-This goes along for any quotations as well.

3. Anyone that you are referencing should be aware of the nature of your project.

4. The best information comes directly from a person as opposed to outside sources. If you want to quote an article, it wouldn’t hurt to verify the intention of the author by talking with them if it’s possible.

5. Be sure to properly cite any information that was taken from other places


RULES PERTAINING TO MY BLOG IN PARTICULAR:

1. The intention of my blog is to incite interest in the University of Michigan collections. I will assume that my viewers are uninformed and provide the most information I can (even if that means providing links for further research).

2. I will try my best to include a large variety of topics and objects, even though I have the best access to items within the Kelsey Museum and Map Library.

3. I will take into consideration any suggestions as my interests don’t always apply to everybody.

I think U of M collections are cool!

The building as art

This week I thought I would talk about the University of Michigan Museum of Art or the "UMMA." Unlike the other locations I've talked about, this museum is definitely more well known. It was under construction almost the entire time I've been at school here. While it was being constructed, I was definitely suspicious at times. The addition doesn't look like the original part of the museum at all, and I was worried about the way it would turn out. I think everybody is happy with the end result, however. The addition has a more modern feel, which works because it does house the museum's modern collection amongst other things. When you walk into a museum, it's generally assumed that you're there to appreciate the objects housed within, but we often times disregard the actual building itself. Architecture is a form of art, and a good example of this is the Guggenheim in New York City designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. There's a lot of thought that goes into the design of a museum, beyond the placement of the objects. The fact that the museum's collection existed before the building was built means that even the collection was considered when designing the new addition. I feel as if this video expresses the intent of the designer very well.

The honest truth about Abe

Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, and as my “gift” to him I decided to write about an object relating to him. The interesting thing about this object, however, is that it directly relates to the end of his life as opposed to the beginning. In the Clements Library there is a shorthand personal account of Abraham Lincoln’s last moments.

I’ve heard the term, “shorthand,” and I guess I never really thought about what it is. I guess I just thought it was the way we’d write notes and sometimes abbreviate our words. Apparently, shorthand is a lot more complicated than that. When I saw an image of the account of Abe’s death, I immediately asked, “is that English?!” It really looked more Arabic than anything. I also thought that it might be just really messy handwriting, and somebody had to transcribe it.It turns out transcription of this account is a little more complicated than figuring out messy handwriting. This particular shorthand is called, “Pitman,” and it was first presented in 1837, which means it was around for only 31 years before this account was written. (For more information on Pitman shorthand click here).

If you take a look at the image above you can understand the confusion I had when I first saw this document. But why was shorthand necessary, and furthermore, how come we don’t use it today? The idea behind shorthand is that it can be written fast. Before computers, typewriters, or any kind of recorders, knowing how to write shorthand was a skill used particularly for its speed.

James Tanner, the author of this document we have in the Clements Library, happened to be the person to record this account by several coincidences. He was injured in the war and was forced to have both of his feet amputated. Unfortunate? Yes. He decided to go to Business College rather than dwell in sorrow. He acquired his ability to write shorthand while he was there and was hired to be a clerk in the War Department in DC. On the same night that Abraham Lincoln was shot at the Ford Theater, James Tanner was not too far away at Glover’s Theater. Lincoln’s assassination was announced during the show, and Tanner happened to be renting two rooms in a house across the street from Ford’s Theater and when he got home, he found out that Lincoln was in the adjoining building. He was able to check out what was going on by stepping onto his balcony, and when the services of a shorthand writer were requested, he was the only one who knew how! When he finished, he wrote a lengthy account in shorthand to his classmate from college and it looked like this:’

“At 6:45 Saturday morning I finished my notes and passed into the back room where the President lay. It was very evident that he could not last long. There was a crowd in the room, which was small, but I approached quite near the bed on which so much greatness lay, fast losing its hold on this world. The head of the bed was towards the door, at the head stood Cat. Robert Lincoln, weeping on the shoulder of Senator Sumner. Gen. Halleck just behind Robt. Lincoln and I stood just to the left of Gen. Halleck, and between him and Gen. Meiggs. Stanton was there, trying every way to be calm and yet he was very much moved. The utmost silence pervaded, broken only by the sounds of strong men’s tears. It was a solemn time, I assure you. The President breathed heavily until a few minutes before he breathed his last, then his breath came easily, and he passed off very quietly. As soon as he was dead, Rev. Dr. Gurley, who has been the President’s pastor since his sojourn in this city, offered up a very impressive prayer… Secretary Stanton told me to take charge of the testimony I had taken, so I went to my room and took a copy of it to be delivered to him, as I wished to keep both my notes and the original copy… Walch, I would not regret the time and money I have spent on Photography if it never brought me more than it did that night, for then it brought me the privilege of standing by the bed of the most remarkable man of modern times and one who will live in the annals of his Country as long as she continues to have a history.”

Source: Dann, John C, ed. One Hundred and One Treasures from the Collections of the William L. Clements Library. Ann Arbor, MI: The Mosaic Foundation, 1998. 166-68. Print.

A Hidden Treasure in the Literal Sense

This week I decided to focus on an object from the Clements Library. This building is unknown by a grand majority of students, but it is very well known amongst scholars. It is a really beautiful building located in a very prominent location on campus, but I will be honest in saying that I've walked by it a thousand times before I ever even realized what it was. It wasn't until this year that I actually learned what it was and how impressive it actually is. While working in the Map Library, my internship advisor, Karl, took me over to the Clements to sign me up as a reader. Once you're signed up as a reader, you are allowed to physically handle and look through some of the treasures, but what exactly does the Clements have in its collection? After signing me up as a reader Karl took me upstairs to the old "Reading Room," which is the room available to the public. This room is beautiful in its own right, and it usually houses some sort of exhibit highlighting a certain aspect of the collection. Right now there's an exhibit called, "Reframing the Color Line: Race and the Visual Culture of the Atlantic World."

Karl introduced me to Tom Dziuszko who volunteers as a docent in the reading room. He knows A LOT, and he's obviously very excited about the Clements, which is extremely contagious. I told Tom my idea about writing a blog and when I asked him if he could think of any objects in the collection that he found particularly interesting, he had a hard time narrowing them down. He did tell me about one object, however, that really stood out in my mind.

The object Tom described was the "Hack Atlas." He explained to me that in the late 1600's, the Spanish were charting the Pacific coast of South America and for some reason were especially secretive of their maps. If the Spanish were to have their ships ransacked, the first thing they would do as a precautionary measure was to throw their maps overboard so that nobody would ever have access to them. Well, one day they weren't lucky in protecting their maps and a British pirate by the name of Captain Bartholomew Sharp attacked a Spanish ship, "El Santo Rosario," and escaped with a somewhat unusual treasure that would one day save his life. Because England and Spain were not in war at the time, Captain Sharp's acts of piracy were punishable by death. When he was tried in England, King Charles II realized the value of the maps seized by Sharp and pardoned his acts of piracy in a trade for their possession. The King hired William Hack to translate and compile these maps into a new atlas. Because the atlases were considered confidential at the time, the atlas was not published, but rather hand crafted. According to the Mirlyn library database there are only 14 known copies made, and the University of Michigan has one of them! Knowing all this, it makes sense that the University acquired this object for a mere $144,000 in 1979, which is probably more lik $400,000 today.

Because I was signed up as a reader, I was lucky enough to request to see this atlas. When I was in the reading room, I turned in a slip to request this book. The real title is:

"From the Original Spanish Manuscripts & our late English Discoveries A Description of all the Ports Bay's Roads Harbours Rivers Islands Sands Shoald's Rocks & Dangers in the South Seas of America between Calafornia and the straghts of Lemaire as allso the Passage about Terra Del Fuogo Discovered by Capt Sharpe in the year 1681 & Peyps's Island lyeing in the North Sea Discovered by Capt William Ambros Cowley in the year 1684 Delineated by William Hack"

A little lengthy, but all the librarians knew it as "The Hack Atlas," and there was definitely a sense of regard as they brought it out into the room. It's enormous. It is unlike anything I've ever seen, and as I sifted through the hand painted pages, it's easy to forget how important this book really is. It isn't a large atlas of the Pacific coast of South America, but rather a collection of drawings of ports and harbors and notes to sailors entering them. I found some of these notes particularly charming. One of which pointed out a rock that could easily be mistaken for the hull of a ship in the distance. Another page said, "In the year 1680 Cap Bart Sharpe was here in this port called Velas where he & his ships company were sustein'd by eating of snakes and monkey which induced him to name it the bay of snakes." Areas were noted if the natives were willing to trade, and one harbor it was mentioned: "The valiant Cap' Richard Sawkings in the year 1680 was slain just after he landed on this shore an indian struck a launce through his body."

The story of this book is equally as intriguing as the book itself. We always hear about tales of pirates, but generally these stories seem fictional. Is there really a treasure chest marked out by an "X" somewhere? It's hard to tell, but our University houses one of the most important treasures of all and its housed in a building not known by many. Maybe it is a hidden treasure after all!

The Voyage to Saint Helena

For this week's blog I decided to write about an object I found while I was in the Maps Library. Last week while I was working with my intern advisor, Karl, I was shown an interesting discovery. We were preparing for an open house of the library featuring islands and our task was to find interesting and unique maps of islands throughout the world. Karl, who as it seems knows everything about every map in the library, decided to show me an interesting map of an island that he had found in the recent past as the atlas was a new acquisition. He pulled out a very old atlas. He told me it was by an English cartographer, engraver, globemaker and publisher named, John Cary. The atlas was named, the "Universal Atlas" and it was created in 1808.

He opened the atlas to its index and explained that while he was looking over the atlas, he noticed that somebody had curiously written in, "Saint Helena."

He then opened up the atlas, and there in the middle, somebody had pasted in a beautiful map of an island labeled, "Saint Helena." This map was added in later, as it was created in October of 1815. Everything about this map is intriguing.

My favorite part, however, are some of the names of locations labeled on the island. One in particular is a region labeled, "good shooting grounds." There's a valley named, "Old Woman's Valley," as well as "Break Neck Valley." If you head over to "Old Woman's Valley," you may stumble upon "Granny Mary's House," which is right next to the lemon garden.

Karl told me that Saint Helena was famous because Napoleon was exiled there. I don't know a ton about European history, so I did a little research afterwards about the island and found out that Napoleon was exiled to Saint Helena after losing in the battle of Waterloo, and would spend the rest of his life there. The battle of Waterloo was in June of 1815, and Napoleon was transported to Saint Helena in August of that year, which means that this map was created only two months after the beginning of his exile!

While research Saint Helena I found out some geographic information as well as some current information about the island, which i equally as intriguing. It is basically in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in between Brazil and South Africa. I will be honest in saying that I never even knew that there were islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but apparently there are a few. According the the CIA's World Factbook, 4,255 people live on this island and there isn't even an airport. In fact the only means of transportation I could find to the island is an old British Mail ship, called the RMS Saint Helena that leaves from Cape Town, South Africa, and it takes three days to get there.

This makes Saint Helena the most remote inhabited island in the world!

Jamestown, which is the only city on the island is a large port city and is a common stop for ships on trans-Atlantic trips. If you're interested in voyaging to Saint Helena you better be ready to take at least a one-month vacation, and while $4000 dollars may not seem too expensive for a one-month voyage, you have to factor in the price of getting to South Africa! Maybe one day you can venture to this remote tiny island, but until then you make your way up to the 8th floor of the Hatcher Graduate Library and introduce yourself to Karl. He'll gladly take you on an adventure through the historic artifacts we have in our extensive collection, and if you ask, he'll bring out this map and you can see for yourself.

Walk like an Egyptian?

My first day at the Kelsey Museum was pretty awesome. Unlike other internships I've had in the past, they actually had relevant work for me to do. I told them about my idea to write a blog and asked them if they had any recommendations for topics to write about. They told me that the Kelsey museum was famous for its large collection of every day objects in Egypt. This is quite unusual as early excavations considered objects of great value such as jewelry and other elaborate objects that weren't already stolen by tomb raiders "great discoveries." When they told me this, I immediately thought that these objects would be more valuable as they are less common. they told me that they were probably less valuable monetarily, but as far as informational value goes they rank above many objects that come from this area.

I think most people have an idea of Egypt as being an exquisite culture where people only ate from golden plates and were commemorated through elaborate burial customs. We come up with these representation because we often don't hear about cultural discoveries outside of the burial traditions. Check out the fancy picture of Elizabeth Taylor playing her role as Cleopatra in the 1963 film. If you're feeling ambitious, search for the music video of "Walk like an Egyptian" by the Bangles.

There was an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston that I visited called, "The Secrets of tomb 10a" and it was notable not only for the sarcophagi and human remains, but a majority of its contents were wooden figures performing every day activities such as farming, herding, and making beer. (This exhibit is running until May 16th if you're ever in the Boston area). you don't have to travel all the way to Boston the get an idea of everyday Egyptian life! The next time you have a break between classes or you're a little early to meet somebody and you're looking for some time to kill, just walk inside the Kelsey Museum and check out some of these objects. When I checked them out I was pretty amazed.

Within the collection displayed at the Kelsey, these types of objects are numerous. There are wooden doors, boxes, seats, and sandals. There's even a small wooden horse and rag doll found within the tomb of a child: very interesting. One particular object that I found of interest is a broken glass conical lamp and a set of dice. What's interesting about these objects, however, is how they were discovered. The dice were found inside the conical lamp, which has lead experts to believe that this lamp was actually used as a dice cup.

Egyptian tombs were created to bring souls into the after life, and every object placed within a tomb was put there for a particular reason and purposely arranged. It's as if the Egyptians wanted to be discovered (well, at least those who could afford proper burial). So, obviously, tombs have been a good resource of information, but rather a skewed resource of information. These discoveries of everyday objects give us insight into another whole component of Egyptian life, and for this they are extremely valuable.

Collections

As a class assignment we are required to write a blog. I brainstormed on some of the potential topics I could write on, and it wasn't an easy decision. My friends tell me that I'm funny (they could just be being nice), and I guess I can see that. I considered a topic that would be humorous as in a collection of humerous things I find online. I also considered writing a blog on music, as I'm very interested in finding new music and sharing it. I love to travel, and I'm always interested in finding new places to go, so the idea of writing a travel blog was also intriguing. Then I started thinking about a topic relating to my major (Art History) and I came up with a decision.

As an Art History major, my long-term goal is to apply to graduate school to become an art conservator. This semester I lucked out in getting two pretty awesome internships. One of the internships is working directly with the conservators at the Kelsey Archaeological Museum on campus to start getting some training in the field. My other internship is working at the Maps Library within the graduate library, where I'm working to put together some exhibits.

Before working at the Maps Library I had no idea that there were even exhibits! (Check out some of the current and upcoming exhibits and events) My director showed me the current exhibit and I started to get excited. One thing that really ignited my interest was that they were displaying the oldest known print in the world, here, in our own collection, in an obscure gallery space in the basement of the graduate library. Who knows what other hidden things there are within our collections at school? It struck me that these hidden gems are most likely unknown by a grand majority of people on or around campus. I decided to make some of these objects more apparent and work to promote the exhibitions so that they are not simply overlooked.

One idea that I had was to create some sort of daily calendar that would highlight different objects that can be found in collections throughout the museums and libraries on campus. I really hope that most people have visited the UMMA, Kelsey Museum, Exhibit Museum, and Botanical Gardens, as they are free and full of wonderful things. Maybe this is just me being a museum nerd, but as a person that has visited many museums, I can honestly say that the collections housed within these buildings are extraordinary. I'm hoping that by my research into these little known treasures, I will inspire people to pay closer attention to the resources we have on campus, and to be more interested in the exhibitions put on to highlight them.

When deciding a topic for my blog, I thought about the actual purposes of a blog. A blog is an efficient way to share thoughts and ideas. Blogs are continually added to, and old blogs will remain archived. In essence, a blog is a "collection" of thoughts. Why not use a blog to highlight different objects I find within the University's "collections?"