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!