Vault217 https://vault217.gmu.edu George Mason University Libraries' Special Collections Research Center Blog Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:02:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.1 https://i0.wp.com/vault217.gmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cropped-cropped-SM_SCRC_InstaProfile-110x110-1-e1695828616364.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Vault217 https://vault217.gmu.edu 32 32 127840236 New and Updated Finding Aids – February 2024 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10819&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-and-updated-finding-aids-february-2024 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10819#respond Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:02:39 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10819   We’re almost two months into 2024, which means the SCRC processing team has more exciting new and updated finding aids to share! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).   “United […]

The post New and Updated Finding Aids – February 2024 first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
 

We’re almost two months into 2024, which means the SCRC processing team has more exciting new and updated finding aids to share! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).

 

“United States Japan Expedition by Com. M.C. Perry. Vol. II. Maps” bound volume, C0413

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

A bound volume titled “United States Japan Expedition by Com. M.C. Perry. Vol. II. Maps” containing 14 fold-out charts and maps printed to accompany a three volume set, written by Francis L. Hawks, recounting Commodore M.C. Perry’s expedition to Japan. In 1852 the United States, interested in reestablishing contact with the country of Japan, sent a squadron of ships, led by Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U.S. Navy, to Japan to demand that the country end its strict isolationist policy, which it had maintained for 250 years, and open up trade with the West. After two trips, the second with a larger squadron, Japan agreed to Perry’s demands and the two countries signed the Treaty of Kanagawa on March 31, 1854. Upon his return to the United States, Perry was offered a grant to write and publish a narrative of his expedition. To complete this, Perry hired Rev. Francis L. Hawks who used the personal logs and diaries of Perry and his crew to craft the first volume of Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan which was published in 1856.

 

Cover of a 1956 pamphlet distributed by the Federal Civil Defense Administration, C0400

 

United States Civil Defense pamphlets, C0400

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Six pamphlets, including one duplicate, produced by United States Civil Defense organizations during World War II and the Cold War. While initial plans and education materials, such as the 1951 “Duck and Cover” campaign, focused largely on encouraging the same precautions taken with the dangers from traditional weaponry, in the mid-1950s the focus shifted to nuclear fallout shelter construction and survival strategies, largely communicated through the production of posters, films, and pamphlets. Responsibility for the dissemination of these plans was largely held at the state and local level. As such, three of the titles in this collection were reprinted or created by local or state organizations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Red Lion, Pennsylvania based on U.S. Government publications. There are two copies of “Fallout Protection For…Homes with Basements” printed in July 1966. One copy includes a “Protection Evaluation Report” for an Alexandria, Virginia residence on the back cover and the other includes the information for an Amherst, New Hampshire residence. Remaining pamphlet titles and dates include: “Survival Under Atomic Attack”, 1950 “Civilian Defense Handbook for Greater Red Lion”, circa 1941 “Civil Defense Recreation Bulletin”, circa 1958 “A Family Action Program: Home Protection Exercises”, Third Edition, March 1956 (pictured above).

 

George Mason University Student Government records, R0155

Collection reorganized, arranged, re-boxed, and inventoried by Robert Vay

The George Mason University Student Government records consist of materials created by members of the Student Government in the fulfillment of their duties as elected and appointed officers of the organization. Also detailed in the records are student activities and important university topics over the years. Types of materials in the collection include: minutes of the Student Senate and Executive Board meetings, memoranda and correspondence for several Student Government groups, Student Senate resource binders (calendars, agendas, notes, bills and resolutions drafted during the Senate session, and committee working papers), George Mason University Student constitutions and revisions of same, governance documents, bills and resolutions for select Student Senate sessions, budget records, subject files, news clippings, and optical disks containing digital files.

The records date, in creation, from 1968 to 2019, including a few retrospective records which document the history of the organization back to 1966. Today Student Government is part of the university’s leadership group, which includes The Executive Council, President’s Council, Board of Visitors and the Faculty and Staff Senates. In 2023 there were about 55 members of student government serving an enrollment of about 40,000. About 25 served in the Executive division under the President and Vice President, while 30 made up the Student Senate representing the student body on issues including Academics, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Government and Community Relations, Services, & University Life.

 

Photograph of Art Attack’s 1988 “In Activity” installation around the exterior of the Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, C0507

 

Art Attack records, C0507

Collection processed by Vilma Chicas Garcia, with additional processing by Amanda Menjivar

Art Attack was a guerilla art collective founded in Los Angeles in 1979. The group relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1981, and again to New York City shortly after. Initially, Art Attack did not have any official members. Participants joined and left sporadically; however, it eventually formed a core group of three artists: Lynn McCary, Evan Hughes, and Alberto Gaitán. This core group worked with multiple select artists on projects in the United States and Europe. Their creative process aimed to reflect the “‘real world’ interactive systems” to create discussion of differing interpretations of their work. The core group, alongside collaborating artists, worked towards utilizing their adaptability to address problems that many artists are confronted with. You can read more about Art Attack at their website.

The Art Attack records contain audience feedback, cassette tapes, contact sheets, correspondence, mixed-media artwork, notes, oversized blueprints, photographs, photo negatives, photo slides, contact sheets, and press and reviews created by and related to the Art Attack collective. This collection is arranged into two series. Series 1: Art Installations and Events consists of correspondence, planning documents, trip expenses, and reviews, and is separated into two subseries. Subseries 1: Installations in the United States contains materials of projects created or displayed in the United States. Subseries 2: International installations contains materials from projects conducted and displayed in European countries, including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and France. Series 2: Art Attack Organization Records contains materials that have to do specifically with Art Attack as an organization, including articles, correspondence, their mission statement, portfolios, press reviews, and trip information that was not explicitly tied to any installation.

 

Barbara Lustbader New York City playbills collection, C0508

Collection processed by Amanda Menjivar

This collection contains hundreds of playbills and programs from theatre, opera, symphonic music, and dance performances in New York City attended by Barbara Lustbader from 1957-2012. New York City holds a reputation for its offerings in the performing arts. In addition to theatrical performances on Broadway, opera and ballet at Lincoln Center, and symphonic and classical music at Carnegie Hall, the city also offers Off-Broadway and festival productions for visitors and residents to attend. From the creation of the theater district in the 1900s to the founding of Lincoln Center in the 1960s, to the resurgence of musical theater in the 1980s, New York has established itself as an international hub of the performing arts. The majority of this collection’s programs for plays and musicals were officially produced by Playbill magazine, though there are also Showbills, “Playkills,” and other programs produced by local theaters and festivals. Many of the playbills have inserts announcing outages and understudies and covers stepping in for that particular performance. The collection is arranged into four series by genre. All series are arranged alphabetically by production title or performing group and then chronologically by performance date.

 

Watercolor by Gustav Klemp created during his time as a Prussian medic with the German army during World War I, C0250

 

Gustav Klemp World War I collection, C0250

Collection reprocessed by Amanda Menjivar, with inventory assistance from Meghan Glasbrenner, and transcription and translation provided by Dorothee Schubel, GMU Metadata and Cataloging Librarian

The Gustav Klemp World War I collection consists of postcards (both photographic and printed), photographs, artworks, commemorative medals, and a handwritten narrative that document the military service experience of Gustav Klemp, a Prussian medic with the German army who served on the Eastern Front during World War I. Klemp (May 16, 1882-April 1, 1941) was a house painter, photographer, and artist who resided in West Prussia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Klemp was 32 at the outbreak of World War I in 1914, and he reluctantly served as a medic with the German Army. He sent dozens of postcards from the Eastern Front to his wife, Martha Klemp, and other friends and family. Klemp survived the war, and after the creation of an independent Poland, he and his family were given the decision to become Polish citizens or emigrate. The Klemp family then immigrated to the United States and settled in the upper midwest, first in Iowa and then Wisconsin. Klemp made his living in the United States primarily by painting murals for churches. He died in May 1941 at the age of 59, six months before the United States entered World War II.

The materials in the collection were created from circa 1892-1920s, with the bulk of materials created from 1914-1918. Many of the photographic postcards are group portraits of German soldiers, as well as images of military camp life, many of which feature Klemp. Several of the postcards have messages written in Kurrent and Latin script from Klemp to his wife, Martha Klemp, and other friends and family. Klemp sent postcards from across the Eastern Front, including Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. Also included in the collection are artworks created by Klemp during his time on the Eastern Front. These include watercolors and ink and graphite drawings that portrayed camp life, landscapes of the war, and German troops. A couple of the pieces of art in this collection were likely painted by one of his fellow soldiers and acquired by Klemp during his service. Transcription and translation of text is provided where applicable in the inventory scope notes.

 

Fairfax Newsletter collection, C0414

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

A collection of the Fairfax Newsletter containing local government news and updates covering Fairfax County, Virginia published weekly, with a regular two week break in August. Editor Betsy W. Hinkle, who began work in journalism at the age of 16 as a reporter for the Pecos Enterprise and later worked with newspapers in Abilene, Texas and National City, California, she founded the Fairfax Newsletter as a weekly digest of local government activities, with the first edition published on December 31, 1955. Betsy retained ownership of the Fairfax Newsletter until her death on April 9, 1981 at the age of 62. The Fairfax Newsletter would continue to be published by Betsy’s daughter Jane Hinkle through October 29, 1981. This collection contains editions covering the majority of the newsletter’s publication history, starting with the first edition and ending with the last published under ownership of the Hinkle family. The collection contains several notable gaps in coverage, including the mid-1960s and the majority of the 1970s. Individual missing editions and dating errors are noted at the folder level where present.

 

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post New and Updated Finding Aids – February 2024 first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10819 0 10819
New and Updated Finding Aids – January 2024 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10785&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-and-updated-finding-aids-january-2024 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10785#respond Fri, 26 Jan 2024 15:38:54 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10785   Happy New Year and Happy New and Updated Finding Aids, courtesy of the SCRC processing team! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).   Diary of World War I Red Cross […]

The post New and Updated Finding Aids – January 2024 first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
 

Happy New Year and Happy New and Updated Finding Aids, courtesy of the SCRC processing team! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).

 

Diary of World War I Red Cross Canteen worker Florence Bishop, C0393

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Personal diary of Florence Gardner Bishop of Troy, New York recounting her experiences serving as a Red Cross Canteen worker in France during World War I. The American Red Cross Canteen Service was established in Europe during World War I to address transportation difficulties and congestion at railroad junctions that were impacting the ability for soldiers to receive sufficient meals prior to disembarking. The service, which over the course of the war was staffed by roughly 55,000 women volunteers, provided refreshments to both United States and allied (French, Italian, and British) troops near the front lines and along railway junctions.

Bishop’s diary contains entries detailing Florence’s transatlantic travel to France, time working at the Red Cross Canteen, and return to New York at the end of the war. The diary consists of 142 pages, with entries beginning on July 13, 1918, and 70 pages covering November 21, 1918 – February 8, 1919 taken from a separate book and placed in the front half of the diary for storage. In addition to covering her daily work schedule, the diary also describes her social activities, including visits and sightseeing trips with colleagues and soldiers, and romantic involvements with an officer referred to as “H.N.S” or “Sterling.”

 

Sample page from Elizabeth Tatham’s scrapbook showing one of the many colorful and clever original drawings, C0394

 

Elizabeth Tatham scrapbook, C0394

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Late Victorian-era scrapbook created by Elizabeth Tatham of Leeds, Yorkshire, England containing original pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor drawings, handwritten copies of poems, riddles and jokes, pasted-in illustrated clippings, and autograph signatures. The scrapbook is dated 1867 on the first page, accompanied with Elizabeth’s signature, but most illustrations and poems are dated 1868 and dates of signatures range from 1867-1873. Many of the drawings are initialed with variations of “G.T.” without further identification. Clipped signature pages include numerous contemporary political figures, such as Lord Amberley (John Russell, Viscount Amberley), W.E. Gladstone, Sir Andrew Fairbairn, and Sir Thomas Bazley.

Variations on the practice of scrapbooking date as far back as the 14th century when it was popular for upper-class members of European society to keep a bound journal of blank pages, known as a commonplace book, that served as a place for the owner to write informal notes taken from a variety of sources in one place. With the introduction of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s, books and other printed materials became more accessible and by the 1800s, as the availability and types of printed materials expanded, the role of the commonplace book shifted, with owners now filling them with clippings, poetry, drawings, and other various “scraps” of printed material, including greeting, calling, and prayer cards. As the focus of these new scrapbooks shifted from academic interests to social interests and preservation of family materials, by the late 1800s the practice of “scrapbooking” had become a predominantly female hobby.

 

Alexander Golitzen film production collection, C0009

Collection reprocessed by Amanda Menjivar

This collection contains two original film scripts – Colossus by James Bridges, (Revised Final Screenplay, October 8, 1968) and Freud by John Huston and Wolfgang Reinhardt (Final Shooting Script, February 10, 1962). It also contains two scrapbooks representing artistic design research compiled by Hecht-Hill-Lancaster for the production company’s 1957 film production of George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple. Alexander Golitzen (1908-2005) was the supervising art director at Universal Studios at the time, and it is unknown if he was involved in the film in an unofficial capacity. Golitzen was a prolific Academy Award-winning film production designer and art director. Born in Moscow, Russia, Golitzen immigrated to the United States in 1917, fleeing the Russian Revolution. Golitzen’s career in film production began in the early 1930s, and in he 1942 began his long-term association with Universal Studios as their Art Director. He is credited with creating the look and feel of hundreds of movies of significance through the mid-20th century, including Gunsmoke (1953), My Man Godfrey (1957), and films by Douglas Sirk, among others. Golitzen was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards and won four in Art Direction for Foreign Correspondent (1940), The Phantom of the Opera (1943), Spartacus (1960), and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).

 

Real photo postcard portraits from C0396

 

African American women real photo postcards, C0396

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

A group of 25 real photo postcard portraits of African American women, in both studio and informal settings, many containing personal inscriptions and identifications written on the back. Released in 1903 by Eastman Kodak Company, the No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak, a small, portable camera designed specifically for postcard sized film, allowed real photographic images to be printed directly onto a blank card, making it possible, and affordable, for anyone to create their own mailable postcards, either for personal use or as a business. As such, the subjects of real photo postcards were widely varied, including slices of everyday life, such as local shops and humorous antics, but the majority served as formal family portraits to distribute to friends and relatives. Date range estimates are based on stamp box markings where possible (see “How to Date Real Photo Postcards” for more information).

 

Ruth E. Dunsford Elm Place photographs and typed poetry book, C0397

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Two unbound photo scrapbooks created using gray construction paper containing photographs of domestic life at Elm Place estate, built in 1804 for Colonel William Markham (1762-1826), in Rush, New York and one small book containing poems, both created by Ruth E. Dunsford. The photo scrapbooks contain images of life and architecture at Elm Place, including the replica log cabin that Ruth’s uncle, William Guy Markham (1836-1922), built on the property. One of the cover pages also contains a pasted image of a woman in a pointed witch hat accompanied by a black cat with the name “Ruth E. Dunsford” written in calligraphy beneath it. The poetry book contains approximately 32 typed poems, some without titles, and numerous blank pages in the back. Few poems are dated, but those that are include 1929 and three dates from 1933: July 16, October 3, and October 30. The first page includes the typed title “A Collection of the Verses of Ruth Dunsford” and a sticker on the front cover reads “This book is a gift from the Eakin Family”.

 

Examples of woodcut illustrations, a relief process in which a design is cut into the surface of a wooden block, leaving raised areas that are then inked and printed onto paper, from C0398

 

Nuremberg Chronicle leaf with woodcut illustrations, C0398

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Single leaf from Folio CXVII of the Nuremberg Chronicle featuring woodcut illustrations. One page shows images of six Roman Emperors under the heading “Linea Imperatom” and one page shows images of seven individuals, all likely significant Roman figures. All text and images are printed in black and white. The Liber Chronicarum, also known as the Nuremberg Chronicle, was published in Nuremberg, Germany by Anton Koberger in 1493 and is considered one of the most important German incunabula and the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century. Written in Latin by German physician and humanist Hartmann Schedel, the Nuremberg Chronicle uses both text and images to present a history of the Christian world from its creation through the present day of the early 1490s. Koberger’s shop printed the Latin edition between May 1492 and October 1493 and a later German language edition was commissioned and published between January and December 1493. Both editions contain over 1800 images created by Nuremberg artists Michael Wolgemut and Wilhelm Pleydenwurff from roughly 640 woodblocks.

When the movable-type printing press was introduced to Western Europe by German Johannes Gutenberg circa 1455 it led to immediate and rapid productivity in the craft and business of printing. The term incunabula, which comes from the Latin meaning “swaddling, clothes, cradle”, is used to refer to these early books printed between 1455 – 1501, or those “in the cradle” of the printed word. German printmaker Anton Koberger established a large and profitable printing business in Nuremberg by the 1490s, running twenty presses, and helped make the city one of the most prolific centers of incunabula printing.

 

Illuminated manuscript leaf, C0399

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Single double-sided leaf from an illuminated manuscript containing sections from the choral Conversion of Paul. On one page portions of the “Introit: Scio cui credidi” can be seen beginning at the top and on the other page portions of the “Alleluia verse: Magnus sanctus Paulus” begin with the first illuminated letter “M.” Derived from the Latin words “manus” (hand) and “scriptus” (writing) the term manuscript refers to those text written by hand. The term illumination, taken from the Latin “illuminare” (lighted up), referred to decoration of manuscript text with gold leaf, or sometimes silver, giving the impression that the page had been literally illuminated. Throughout the early medieval period illuminated manuscripts were written and illuminated solely by monks and mainly centered on the creation of Latin texts used in Christian worship. By the start of the thirteenth century, the growth of literacy and universities as centers of learning led to an increased demand for books of all kinds, turning the creation of illuminated manuscripts into a city-based business, in which professional scribes and illuminators were hired to complete the work.

 

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post New and Updated Finding Aids – January 2024 first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10785 0 10785
Student Reflections https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10776&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=student-reflections https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10776#respond Fri, 15 Dec 2023 17:09:55 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10776 This blog post was written by Vilma Chicas Garcia and Colin McDonald, former SCRC student workers. Congrats on graduating, Vilma and Colin! My Experience at SCRC by Vilma Chicas Garcia I began working at the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) during the 2022 Fall semester, and at the time, I knew next to nothing about […]

The post Student Reflections first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
This blog post was written by Vilma Chicas Garcia and Colin McDonald, former SCRC student workers. Congrats on graduating, Vilma and Colin!

My Experience at SCRC by Vilma Chicas Garcia

Vilma Chicas Garcia

I began working at the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) during the 2022 Fall semester, and at the time, I knew next to nothing about the archives field. I was extremely nervous to see how this job would pan out. I could not have foreseen how amazing of an opportunity this position would become. From the beginning, everyone I have worked with at the SCRC has taken their time to help me understand the role and responsibility of an archivist and allowed me to grow with every collection I worked with.

The James M. Buchanan papers was the first collection I assisted with and, really, my introduction to this field. The head processing archivist on the collection, Rebecca Thayer, was the first to show me around the archives. There were many things she introduced me to and helped me understand, but one thing that has always stuck with me has been when she told me, “Processing is just as much of an art as it is a science,” and of course, it’s true! So many questions come up when you work with archival materials, and there are times when you have to think a bit outside the box to describe the materials you’re working with the best. Her advice has helped me tremendously, and I still keep it in mind.

Through Women’s Eyes: Southeast Asian American Women’s Stories records was the second collection I worked on and the first collection I processed by myself with the oversight of my supervisor, Amanda Menjivar. I still needed a lot of assistance with surveying and the actual processing part of the collection, and I am incredibly thankful that Amanda had always been there to help. Through this collection, Amanda walked me through the beginning and end steps of processing a collection, including creating a Processing Plan, a Finding Aid, and uploading everything to ArchivesSpace.

The Art Attack records were the final collection I processed as a student assistant and, by far, the most extensive and complex. Art Attack contained a multitude of mixed media and taught me how to properly store different materials, such as glass negatives and oversized blueprints. I used everything I had learned thus far to process this collection and learned so much throughout it. Amanda and Meghan Glasbrenner assisted and provided great insights when I was unsure how to proceed while working on this collection.

Besides work experience within the field, working at SCRC has also allowed me to be a part of larger archivist organizations, like the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference and the Society of American Archivists. I have been allowed to attend conferences and network with other students and archivists in the field. This position has given me the opportunity to learn from so many amazing people and has been a tremendously wonderful experience.

Colin McDonald

By Colin McDonald

When I first came to SCRC I didn’t really know what archives or archiving were. The word might have made me think of dusty papers hidden away in a dimly lit room. I learned that what archiving actually entails is carefully preserving valuable primary sources, and making them easily findable and accessible to the public. The collection that I was hired to work on were the papers belonging to former GMU economics professor and Nobel laureate James Buchanan. Decades worth of materials, from correspondence to book manuscripts, needed to be sorted, labeled, dated, and cataloged. Processing these papers wasn’t a solo effort either; as part of the self-dubbed “B Team” I was one of several people working together on the collection.

After processing of the Buchanan papers was finished (the collection was opened to the public this past summer) I moved on to a new collection. This past semester I have been working on cataloging student and university publications. These include newsletters, magazines, reports of important university statistics, and creative writing journals published here at George Mason starting in the 1960s. It has been interesting reading what students wrote over the years, and seeing how George Mason changed from a college of University of Virginia with less than 100 students to its own university with over 39,000. I hope people will make use of student publications like the underground student newspaper Expulsion to see what past George Mason students were thinking and doing during their time here. While GMU has evolved over the decades, complaints from previous students about parking shows that some things never change. It was great discussing details of the collection with University Archivist Bob Vay, who has an incredible knowledge of the history of GMU.

Working at SCRC has been a very positive experience, and I will take the skills and lessons that I learned here with me to wherever I go next.

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post Student Reflections first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10776 0 10776
New Finding Aids – November 2023 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10730&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-finding-aids-november-2023 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10730#respond Fri, 10 Nov 2023 15:39:44 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10730   The SCRC processing team is excited to announce that we have more new finding aids to share! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).   Through Women’s Eyes: Southeast Asian American […]

The post New Finding Aids – November 2023 first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
 

The SCRC processing team is excited to announce that we have more new finding aids to share! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).

 

Through Women’s Eyes: Southeast Asian American Women’s Stories records, C0509

Collection processed by Vilma Chicas Garcia

Through Women’s Eyes: Southeast Asian American Women’s Stories was an Oral History project originally titled Dual Identities/Multiple Roles conducted by Lisa Falk and Uaporn Ang Robinson in the early 1990s in which they interviewed and photographed eighteen Southeast Asian American women who were born in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, or Vietnam, and migrated to the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area in their young adult years during the 1960s-1990s. This oral history project aims to describe what caused these women to move and their transition into American culture and life while keeping their native customs alive in their homes. The project was made into a temporary independent exhibit for the Smithsonian in 2016. This collection includes planning and exhibition files from the oral history project itself, research materials used for interviewing the women, interview records and transcripts, correspondence, biographical information and other personal materials from the interviewees, and contact sheets, photographs, negatives, and slides of images taken throughout the project.

 

Selection from February 1929 “Old Pal Dal” letter, C0344

 

Letters to music lyricist and publisher Dallas “Dal” Gray, C0344

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Personal and professional letters received by music lyricist and publisher Dallas “Dal” Gray, the majority of which are from his long-time collaborator Jack Kjellin who addresses them to “Old Pal Dal”. Gray was a newspaper editor, songwriter, and owner of the Gloucester City, New Jersey based Monmouth Music Publishing Company, with Western offices in Portland, Oregon and Hollywood, California. Kjellin was a composer and lyricist, based in Battle Creek, Michigan. While neither man achieved widespread fame, both appear to have had some success in publishing or selling songs, such as Gray’s “Annie” (possibly in collaboration with Kjellin, circa 1930) and Kjellin’s “Just another night” in collaboration with Nick Kenny (1939) and “There’s a story going ’round” (1940). These letters, of which there are approximately 53, conclude with the breakup of their collaborative relationship, but the final letter appears to end on a friendly note from Kjellin. The remaining letters are from mixed senders, such as composer Claude Lapham, and concern personal or financial matters, with several addressed to Gray’s Monmouth Music Publishing Company business. Contents also include a single photograph of Jack Kjellin and his wife, a page of handwritten lyrics, and a flyer advertisement.

 

Leesburg, Virginia “Rates of Toll” list, C0345

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

A printed single sided sheet, dated December 18, 1833, with the heading “Rates of Toll: To Be Paid Here” above a list of Leesburg, Virginia toll rates for various carts, wagons, carriages, and animals printed by the “Washingtonian-Office, Leesburg”. The toll information is surrounded by a floral decorative border with round seals in each of the four corners. In the latter half of the 18th through the early 19th century, road building in Virginia was marked by the development of many toll roads, also known as turnpikes. In 1785, when established methods of funding for road improvement and maintenance proved insufficient, gates were constructed along heavy travel and trade routes to collect tolls. These newly established turnpikes got their name from the original toll gate design, which consisted of a turnstile
made from two crossed bars, pointed at their outer ends, and turned on a vertical bar. In and around Leesburg, these newly established turnpikes included seven toll gates between Leesburg and Alexandria and four from Leesburg to Georgetown.

 

Washington, D.C. souvenir postcard circa 1916, C0551

 

Randolph Lytton historic Washington, D.C. postcards and photographs collection, C0511

Collection processed by Vilma Chicas Garcia

This collection consists of postcards, souvenir photographs, and stereographs featuring images of Washington, D.C., as well as one photo album of Washington, D.C, and one foldable postcard booklet of Arlington, Virginia. The materials in this collection were created from the early 1910s-1968, with the majority of the postcards created between the 1910s and the mid 1940s. The United States Congress allowed for the private selling and mailing of postcards on February 27, 1861. However they did not become a preferred method of communication until 1907, when the U.S. government – alongside the Universal Postal Union – created a divider on the back of their postcards. This design allowed for customers to add a message on the left side of the postcard and the address on the right. The souvenir photographs in this collection include assorted views of different areas throughout Washington, D.C. and one set of souvenir photographs of the 1938 New York World’s Fair. Stereographs were photographs used to create a three-dimensional image with the illusion of depth through a stereoscopic lens. Their relevance faded in the early 20th century after the postcard was introduced.

 

Manuscript copy of paper from Annie K. Southwick recipe book, C0346

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Single page of five handwritten recipes (spelled “receipt”) originally found in Annie K. Southwick’s recipe book. This page is dated 1884, almost 10 years later than the full recipe book’s date of March 1875. All recipes are written in paragraph format without a separate list of ingredients or measurements. Derived from the Latin “recipere” (meaning “to receive” or “to take”) “receipt” and “recipe” books have a long history. Originally, both terms were used interchangeably and referred to instructions for the preparation of medicinal mixtures. It wasn’t until the mid-1700s that the terms began to be applied to instructions for food preparation and it would take until the early 20th century for the term “recipe” to fully replace the term “receipt”. The popularity of both handwritten and published recipe books in the United States reached its height in the 18th and 19th centuries. This newfound popularity is attributed to both increased literacy and mobility in the population, as well as a growth in the immigrant population which encouraged the writing down of traditional and family recipes.

 

“Woodsy Fieldsy” flyer circa 1965, C0415

 

Bonnie Atwood papers, C0415

Collection processed by Evan Dorman

This collection contains material collected by former George Mason College (GMC) student Bonnie Atwood from the late 1960s to the mid 1990s, with much of it focused on her antiwar activism and the broader protest movements of the 1960s-1970s, as well as news reports from student, professional, and underground publications, legal documents, and promotional materials produced by Northern Virginia Resistance. During Atwood’s time at GMC she was a member of the anti-Vietnam War organization Northern Virginia Resistance (NVR), alongside fellow students and GMC professor James Shea. She and David Lusby, another member of NVR, were arrested in 1969 for trespassing after protesting inside Draft Board #39 in Fairfax, Virginia. The American Civil Liberties Union defended them in the case Lusby v. Commonwealth of Virginia. Atwood provided articles to the GMC student newspaper Broadside while enrolled at GMC, and wrote professionally for the Manassas Journal-Messenger afterwards.

 

“A New Atlas of the British West Indies” bound volume, C0349

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

A bound volume titled “A New Atlas of the British West Indies” containing 11 maps of various 19th century colonized islands in the Caribbean, published by James Humphreys of Philadelphia. The three fold-out maps depict “A New Map of the West Indies” engraved by J.H. Seymour and St. Domingo and Jamaica engraved by Benjamin Tanner. The eight single page maps include St. Vincent, Barbados (spelled Barbadoes), the Virgin Islands, Grenada, and the Island of Tobago engraved by Benjamin Tanner, as well as “Maps of the Island of Dominica” engraved by J.H. Seymour, and the Island of St. Christophers and the Island of Antigua attributed to “Marshall”. 

This atlas volume was printed to accompany the 1806 Philadelphia printing of Bryan Edwards’ History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies and can be recognized by key details on the fold out maps, such as the circular cartouche that contains the title on the West Indies map and the signatures of the engravers in the bottom right corner. Bryan Edwards was born in Westbury, Wiltshire, England on May 21, 1743, the eldest son of Bryan Edwards and Elizabeth Bayly. After the death of his father in 1756, young Bryan came under the care of various family members, eventually relocating to Jamaica where he would spend the majority of the rest of his life. In 1793, he published the first London edition of his History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, a two-volume account of the history and culture of the British colonized islands, which ran for five editions, including an 1806 edition published in Philadelphia by James Humphreys. He passed away on July 16, 1800 in Southampton, England.

 

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post New Finding Aids – November 2023 first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10730 0 10730
Cookbook Corner – Baked Pears https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10714&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cookbook-corner-baked-pears https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10714#respond Fri, 27 Oct 2023 15:29:39 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10714 This blog post was written by Jack Moore, SCRC Research Services Student Assistant. Jack has a double major in Political Science and Philosophy from Christopher Newport University. He is currently working on his Master’s in Biodefense at George Mason University. This week’s Cookbook Corner took a recipe out of Cookbook for Two by Audrey P. […]

The post Cookbook Corner – Baked Pears first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
This blog post was written by Jack Moore, SCRC Research Services Student Assistant. Jack has a double major in Political Science and Philosophy from Christopher Newport University. He is currently working on his Master’s in Biodefense at George Mason University.

This week’s Cookbook Corner took a recipe out of Cookbook for Two by Audrey P. Stehle, and it seems to be the start of what I know as the modern approach to cookbooks. As I mentioned before, a lot of the older cookbooks are written as pet projects to help a novice cook the author knew at the time. There are a lot of examples of notes and forewords along the lines of “Oh my dear Mary, you may be helpless in the kitchen, but we shall endeavor to save your marriage.” Cookbook for Two is intended for a large-scale commercial audience and reads as such. The fun stories and anecdotes are absent entirely and rather than general cooking tips, the book is a list of different recipes divided by category. While far less engaging than older examples, the recipes are more detailed and easier to implement. I would like to add, in defense of Mrs. Grier, that she was cooking over open flames, not a conventional electric oven. 425 for 25 minutes isn’t a viable metric for cooking in that style, no matter how helpful it would be for me now as I stare at my oven dials.

The recipe I chose for this week was Baked Pears with Sherry, which I believed would be a slam dunk for the easiest and best recipe yet. My father and older brother included baked pears at the holidays for a number of years, but they use port instead of sherry. Now, it’s important to note that while I talk about these different cooking alcohols with knowledge after making the recipe, I had no idea what either port or sherry were prior to this. I was certain that they were not wine, (swing and a miss on that guess) because I had heard people talking about port and wine as two different things before. Saying “port” and “sherry” out loud confirmed to me that they were not beers. Deeply scientific I know, but they just didn’t sound right, so I assumed they were probably some kind of liqueur. The specific version of sherry called for in this recipe was “cream sherry,” which led me to believe that I was looking for something along the lines of Irish cream.

Cream sherry is not like Irish cream in the slightest. Sherry is a sweet wine, and cream sherry is when different cheap vintages are mixed to improve the flavor. It is surprisingly uncommon and difficult to find outside of dedicated wine shops, and even then, it has a thin selection, so using normal sherry or port would work just as well. The purpose of the wine is to be soaked up by the pears. Pears lose some of their sweetness during the cooking process as the juice within them is expelled, and the wine replaces it. Therefore, if you prefer a specific sweet cooking wine, go with that instead.

The actual steps to the recipe are simple:

1: Slice the pears in half and remove the core

2: Place the pear halves into a baking dish

3: Combine the butter, almond extract, and almond slivers

4: Spoon the almond butter mixture into the hollowed-out core

5: Pour sherry over the top

6: Sprinkle sugar over the pears and bake

The problem I ran into is really with the central premise of the recipe. To absorb the most sherry to replace the lost sweetness, as much of the pear as possible should be in contact with the sherry. If the pears are placed with the hollow side up to allow the butter and almonds to stay in place, then the rounded outside is in contact with the sherry on the bottom of the dish. But if you flip over the pears, then the butter and almonds will spill off the sides of the pears. The result I got from the recipe was…fine?

The butter and almond mixture was delicious, but the pear itself was just a hot pear. Any bite without butter was disappointing, and I was left unsatisfied.

I tried the recipe again because I know that baked pears can be far more than what I’d tasted, so it had to be the cooking method that was the problem. This time I used a saucepan to sauté the butter and almonds while baking the pears face down in the sherry. Once they were done baking, I spooned in the sautéed butter and almonds. The result was a drastic improvement. The pears soaked up significantly more sherry, keeping them moist and providing a punch of sweetness. The butter mixture browned more on the stove top and had a more complex flavor to it. I would highly recommend this method to the recipe if you plan on trying this one at home.

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post Cookbook Corner – Baked Pears first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10714 0 10714
New SCRC Exhibition Opening – Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and An Audience https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10686&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-scrc-exhibition-opening-slideshow-an-image-a-light-a-lens-and-an-audience https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10686#respond Thu, 05 Oct 2023 14:09:41 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10686 On Thursday October 12, 3:30 – 5 PM, in the SCRC Seminar Room, 2400 Fenwick Library, the University Libraries will hold an opening reception for the new exhibition: Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and An Audience. The Special Collections Research Center will open the exhibition Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and […]

The post New SCRC Exhibition Opening – Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and An Audience first appeared on Vault217.

]]>

On Thursday October 12, 3:30 – 5 PM, in the SCRC Seminar Room, 2400 Fenwick Library, the University Libraries will hold an opening reception for the new exhibition: Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and An Audience.

The Special Collections Research Center will open the exhibition Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and An Audience documenting both images from the SCRC collections and the technology used to show these images over the past 100+ years. Bob Vay, University Archivist and exhibition curator, will give a short talk and an in-depth tour of the cases in the exhibition.

Refreshments will be provided.

 

Humans have been presenting slideshows since the mid-1600s!


A magic lantern slide show in France from the 18th century.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fantasmagorie_de_Robertson

Beginning in the 17th century, projectionists using projectors called “Magic Lanterns” used candle light, a small image painted on glass called a slide, and a lens to show images of people, animals, and sometimes ghoulish figures on a wall to an audience. Advances in photography in the mid-19th century brought lifelike photographic images to lantern slides. By the 1930s, Kodak had created the 35 mm Kodachrome slide. Smaller, lighter, less fragile, and more portable than a glass lantern slide, the Kodachome and its imitators soon became the industry standard for slideshow presentations. The development of the Kodak Carousel projector brought professional slideshows within reach of any individual. At this same time, the overhead projector, the larger, heavier cousin to the Carousel, was a fixture in classrooms, military bases, and company boardrooms. Slideshows today are mostly accomplished using a laptop computer, an LCD projector, and a software app, such as PowerPoint. The screenfuls of information are still called “slides”.


Lantern slide of an Austrian Alpine road, 1933 from the Christine Drennon European lantern slide collection, #C0068


35 mm Kodachrome of the Royal Mausoleum, Bagdad, Iraq, November 1953 from the Edith McChesney Ker papers, #C0077

For the past three centuries, the basic tools of still image projection have been virtually unchanged. The concept is simple and comprises three basic components: a medium containing an image, some sort of projector containing a bright lamp and lens for illuminating, enlarging, and focusing the image, and a screen or wall on which to project it. Add an audience, and you have all the ingredients for a slideshow.

A page from the “Bausch and Lomb Optical Company: Projection Apparatus” catalog, 1911. It describes a popular lantern slide projector of that era. Courtesy of Hathi Trust.

 

This exhibition examines the history of the slideshow, beginning with the earliest forms of slide projection, from the magic lantern to today’s LCD projector, while featuring images from many of the Special Collections Research Center’s photographic collections.

Slideshow: An Image, a Light, a Lens and an Audience Exhibit Opening

Thursday October 12, 3:30 – 5 PM, SCRC Seminar Room, 2400 Fenwick Library

Featured Speakers: Bob Vay, University Archivist

Refreshments provided.

The Special Collections Research Center will open the exhibition Slideshow: An Image, A Light, a Lens, and an Audience documenting both images from the SCRC collections and the technology used to show these images over the past 100+ years. Bob Vay, University Archivist and exhibition curator, will give a short talk and an in-depth tour of the cases in the exhibition.

 

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post New SCRC Exhibition Opening – Slideshow: An Image, A Light, A Lens, and An Audience first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10686 0 10686
New and Updated Finding Aids https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10583&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-and-updated-finding-aids-4 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10583#respond Tue, 03 Oct 2023 14:47:56 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10583   The SCRC processing team has had a very busy summer, which means we have a lot of new and updated findings aids to share! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below). […]

The post New and Updated Finding Aids first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
 

The SCRC processing team has had a very busy summer, which means we have a lot of new and updated findings aids to share! All of the following collections are available for use in the Special Collections Research Center and the finding aids are available on our website (or use the links included below).

 

Letter to Hon. C. James Faulkner from Gideon G. Westcott, John Robbins, Jr., and James R. Ludlow, C0341

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

A single letter sent to the Hon. C. James Faulkner from Gideon G. Westcott, John Robbins, Jr., and James R. Ludlow inviting him to speak at a celebration planned by the Pennsylvania Democrats on September 17, 1856 for the 68th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. In the letter Westcott, Robbins, and Sudlow, representing the Democrats of the Eastern & Northern Counties of Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia, assert that the Democrats are the only party to abide by and defend the Constitution, in contrast to the Republican and Whig parties. The Democratic party is the United States’ oldest existing political party, with its origins tracing back to Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican party. Most agree that the modern Democratic party emerged with Andrew Jackson’s successful campaign for president in 1828, when he led a group of Democratic-Republicans in splintering to form the Democratic Party. During the years leading up to the Civil War, the party’s ideology stressed states’ rights and low government spending. By 1860 the issue of slavery would come to divide the Democratic party, helping Abraham Lincoln’s newly formed Republican party win the presidency. 

 

Detail from panoramic photograph, C0339

 

Panoramic photo of women yeomen at the Norfolk, Virginia Navy Yard, C0339

Collection processed by Amanda Menjivar

Sepia panoramic photo of women yeomen at the Norfolk, Virginia Navy Yard, January 30, 1919. Image shows three rows of women posed in uniform for the camera. An inscription reads: “Yeoman [illegible] Industrial Department of Norfolk Navy Yard[,] Norfolk VA[?,] Jan. 30, 1919[.]” According to a label on the glass, the photo was taken by G. L. Hall Optical Co from Norfolk, VA. Yeomen (Female), also as written as “Yeomen (F)”, was an enlisted rank in the United States military during World War I. Thanks to a language loophole in the Naval Act of 1916, women were allowed to officially enlist in the military for the first time. As a result, over 600 women enlisted from March – April 1917, reaching nearly 4000 by July 1919. The Yeomen, also called “Yeomenettes” mostly worked in clerical positions at Naval Yards across the United States, including the Norfolk, Virginia Naval Base.

 

Henry O. Lampe papers, C0092

Collection reprocessed by Amanda Menjivar

Content Warning: Imagery and content related to the Nazi Party during World War II.

This collection contains materials pertaining to Henry O. Lampe’s diverse career as a government employee, transportation planner, and civic activist, as well as his personal interests and lifelong love of theatre. The majority of the materials include programs and playbills from Lampe’s attendance at many theatrical performances, playscripts and publications on theater, as well as records and reports on gerontology, legislation on aging from the Arlington Commission on Aging and the White House Conference on Aging, publications on international affairs, and records on transportation planning in Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. Also included are materials on Germany and the Nazi Party in World War II.

Henry “Hank” Oscar Lampe was born in Bremen, Germany on April 8, 1927 of American parents, Henry D. and Dorothea Lampe (pronounced Lamp-ee). Lampe grew up in Germany and witnessed the rise of the Nazi Party and World War II. In 1941 the family moved to Arlington, Virginia and Lampe attended American University in Washington, D.C. After serving in the Navy, in 1946 Lampe returned to Germany as an employee of the U.S. Government. After returning to the U.S., Lampe married his first wife Virginia in 1953, who was also active in Virginia politics. Employed as a government worker as well as a stockbroker, Lampe had a long record of civic activities beginning in 1964. A Republican, he was a member of the Northern Virginia Regional Planning Commission and the General Assembly of Virginia, Vice Chair of the Virginia Metropolitan Areas Transportation Study Commission, a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, a member of the Arlington Commission on Aging, Chair and President of the Northern Virginia Mental Health Association, and served on the Board of Trustees at Arlington Hospital and the George Mason University Board of Visitors.

 

Selection from 1754 letter from Caygill to Clapham, C0340

 

Letters from John Caygill to Josias Clapham regarding cargo shipments, C0340

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Four letters written by John Caygill of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England to Josias Clapham of Hunting Creek, Fairfax County, Virginia. Each letter covers a different year between 1751-1754 and are dated September 2, 1751, June 8, 1752, January 6, 1753, and February 8, 1754. No responses from Josias Clapham are included, but Caygill makes reference to the content of letters he received from Clapham. The letters all focus on Caygill’s role in receiving cargo shipments, primarily tobacco, from Clapham to be sold in England, with much of the content centering on Caygill’s frustration with Clapham’s management. Tobacco was one of Colonial Virginia’s most successful crops, dating back to the 1600s, eventually forming the basis of the economy. While small planters often sold their crops locally through agents in exchange for manufactured goods, larger planters typically shipped their tobacco back to England. Once in England, a consignment agent sold the tobacco in exchange for a cut of the profits. John Caygill and Josias Clapham likely had such a consignment arrangement, with Clapham shipping his tobacco to England and Caygill, serving the consignment role, selling the goods on his behalf.

 

Nellie M. Lee music manuscript book, C0411

Collection processed by Amanda Menjivar

A music staff notebook kept by Nellie M. Lee from January 28, 1878 – February 2, 1881. The notebook contains handwritten music, along with lyrics, mostly composed by “E.L. Baker,” likely the American composer Everett L. Baker from Buffalo, New York. The first page is inscribed “Nellie M. Lee Jan. 28th, 1878.” Songs include “Name in the Sand,” “Our own Sweet Thoughts to day,” “Fierce raged the Tempest,” and “The Merry Wanderer,” among others. The notebook was only about half-used, and many of the pages are blank. The Nellie M. Lee who kept this notebook was likely from the Buffalo, New York area, and lived from 1856-1926. As of 1869 Lee worked in the local Buffalo City public school system as an assistant. She may have been married to Elmer E. Lee. Everett L. Baker (1829-1896), often credited as E.L. Baker, was an American composer who resided in Buffalo, New York. Baker was a prominent figure in the area, as both the head music teacher for the local school system, as well as the organist and music director at multiple churches in the area.

 

Front cover of “Fleischmann’s Recipes” booklet, C0342

 

“Fleischmann’s Recipes: Excellent Recipes for Baking Raised Breads” booklet, C0342

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Recipe booklet published by The Fleischmann Company in 1916 featuring baking tips and recipes using Fleischmann’s yeast. The Fleischmann Company, also known as Fleischmann’s Yeast, was founded by Jewish-Hungarian immigrant brothers Charles and Max Fleischmann. In circa 1868, the brothers arrived in Cincinnati, Ohio and partnered with James Gaff, an American businessman, to build a manufacturing plant where they put Charles’ experience in yeast production to use. Promotional cookbook giveaways were an early marketing strategy, and one already being used successfully by other companies. To distinguish themselves and their product, the Fleischmann brothers focused heavily on branding, including using colorful illustrations and introducing the use of a cartoon mascot, John Dough, in circa 1912. The Fleischmann Company saw great success from these campaigns, controlling over 93% of their market by the late 1920s.

 

“The Westinghouse Refrigerator Book: Hints, Helps and Recipes” booklet, C0343

Collection processed by Meghan Glasbrenner

Recipe booklet with full color images published by Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company containing recipes that can be stored in a Westinghouse refrigerator, along with helpful tips to assist consumers in using the appliance. The Westinghouse Electric Company was founded by George Westinghouse in 1886, beginning with a small plant in Garrison Alley, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company would change its name to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company in 1889 and later to Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1946. They produced the first electric range in 1917, followed soon by other household electronics including the clothes iron, coffee percolator, and refrigerator. Like many other food and household appliance companies in the later 19th through mid-20th century Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company created and distributed recipe and tip booklets to advertise and assist consumers in using their products. Early versions of these publications were typically simple in design and focused primarily on desserts, but by the 1920s they became colorful, heavily illustrated, and began including more tips on making food preparation faster and easier.

 

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post New and Updated Finding Aids first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10583 0 10583
Cookbook Corner – Brook Trout https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10566&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cookbook-corner-brook-trout https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10566#respond Tue, 19 Sep 2023 15:07:13 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10566 This blog post was written by Jack Moore, SCRC Research Services Student Assistant. Jack has a double major in Political Science and Philosophy from Christopher Newport University. He is currently working on his Master’s in Biodefense at George Mason University. In looking through our collection of cookbooks, I’ve noticed unique trait that many of the […]

The post Cookbook Corner – Brook Trout first appeared on Vault217.

]]>

This blog post was written by Jack Moore, SCRC Research Services Student Assistant. Jack has a double major in Political Science and Philosophy from Christopher Newport University. He is currently working on his Master’s in Biodefense at George Mason University.

In looking through our collection of cookbooks, I’ve noticed unique trait that many of the earliest cookbooks possess. It seems that many of these works are written for a particular person, a friend or family member who is a liability in the kitchen, and then are sold in a broader context. Each recipe will have an anecdote or a story that the intended reader will understand. These intensely personal writing endeavors often target broader cooking concepts such as pairing sauces to different meats (In this case, it was a maître d’hôtel sauce and trout), general procedures for baking, or even procedures for properly serving guests at the time. There were specific social protocols that were firmly adhered to, and deviating from what was expected was considered a significant faux pas. This could range from how the table was set to when different alcohols could be served. Thus, it was often the role of the cookbook’s author to specifically provide all the steps and necessary considerations for how dinner was served, not just what was on the menu. Chapter 1 of A Few Hints About Cooking, the subject of this week’s Cookbook Corner, begins by detailing the hiring process of Mrs. Grier’s home cook. Having done the cooking in her house prior to that, she has high expectations of any prospective employees, and the experience to teach them how to cook to her demanding standards. Each chapter is a multi-course meal broken down into its component recipes, and Mrs. Grier will frame the book through the story of teaching her new cook how to prepare and serve each meal.

At its core, the Brook Trout recipe I chose is incredibly simple. After the prep work of chopping parsley and scoring the fish, it’s just a matter of timing cooking the fish fully and having the sauce ready. An interesting point of note, however, is that despite being written for the “idiot in the kitchen”, many of the recipes have vague instructions. For the recipe this week, the only cooking instructions for the fish were “broil slowly. Dish on a very hot platter”. As a younger home cook, I’ve never broiled a dish through the entirety of its cooking process. I’ve broiled as a finishing method to crisp up the outside of salmon, but I had roasted it beforehand. With no concept of how long “broiling slowly” would take, it made it difficult to time out preparing the maître d’hôtel sauce that it was paired with. I did in fact feel like an idiot in the kitchen as I stared through the opening of the oven at the trout without a clue in the world how long it would take. But I’m not the type of man to turn my back on a fire risk, so look through that oven door I did.

The final result.

Mrs. Grier was certainly right about the maître d’hôtel sauce. It was rich and delicious, but still simple, which would have helped given she planned 4 course meals coming out of a single kitchen. The sauce is comprised of two tablespoons of butter with the juice of a lemon and two tablespoons of parsley. Mix those in a hot pan, and boom, you have a maître d’hôtel sauce. Butter and lemon are a winning pair, and even though I think I started the sauce too early, I could have eaten cardboard and loved it. This recipe served as a lesson: Cook your trout however you like, but butter and lemon are non-negotiable. I’ve found that there are less hands-on methods of cooking fish, (I’ve found more conventional roasting to work well for me in the past), but given that Mrs. Grier published this in 1887, I think we can forgive her for not relying on an electric convection oven with a handy timer.

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post Cookbook Corner – Brook Trout first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10566 0 10566
Questions in the Process: Papers Beyond the Personal https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10523&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=questions-in-the-process-papers-beyond-the-personal https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10523#respond Tue, 12 Sep 2023 14:37:58 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10523 This post is one in a series about the Lavinia Scott papers processing completed by Processing Manager Meghan Glasbrenner. Archival collections, broadly speaking, usually fall into one of two categories: organizational records, meaning those of a corporate or organized body, and personal papers, meaning the records were created or kept by an individual or pair […]

The post Questions in the Process: Papers Beyond the Personal first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
This post is one in a series about the Lavinia Scott papers processing completed by Processing Manager Meghan Glasbrenner.

Archival collections, broadly speaking, usually fall into one of two categories: organizational records, meaning those of a corporate or organized body, and personal papers, meaning the records were created or kept by an individual or pair of individuals. The Lavinia Scott papers (C0506) fall into this second category. With materials such as personal and professional correspondence, spanning nearly 100 years and including such notable figures as Chief Albert Lutuli (also spelled Luthuli) and Dr. Edgar Brookes, and 45 personal individual daily diaries (1920-1997), the materials in Lavinia’s collection provide an example of a truly well-documented and richly complex life of service.

But that doesn’t mean everything in the collection reflects Lavinia Scott exclusively. Lavinia was a collector, so she often became the custodian for family history and the history of the organizations and groups she served for the majority of her life. With the collection now fully processed and open for research, the following examples highlight just a few of the potentially unexpected pieces that expand its scope and contents beyond the boundaries of Lavinia Scott’s personal biography.

South Africa’s Fight Against Apartheid

Lavinia Scott spent nearly 40 years living and teaching in present-day KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa and the materials in the collection cover much of her personal and professional work fighting against the government’s restrictive Apartheid policies. However, the collection also includes numerous items that provide a glimpse into the first-hand experiences, and local news coverage, of this lengthy fight in South Africa by South Africans. These range from clippings and full text editions of South African newspapers, including both English and Zulu language editions, to first-hand reports and testimonies from those living and working in the community.

      Imvo Zabantsundu clipping, June 1947

Translated in English as “African Opinion” Imvo Zabantsundu was the first Black owned and controlled newspaper in South Africa. This clipping is just one example of the numerous South African newspaper clippings saved by Lavinia over the years. Other titles include The Natal Mercury and Ilanga lase Natal.

      ANC News Briefing, March 1988

This image of the cover of an ANC News Briefing published by the African National Congress is an example of the collection’s numerous full text publications, including these locally printed news sources, that document the active fight against Apartheid starting as early as the 1950s.

History of South Africa’s Mission Schools

The over 30 years (1936-1969) that Lavinia spent as principal of Inanda Seminary are well-covered in the collection. These materials include correspondence, both formal and informal, student publications, school magazines, annual reports, and extensive coverage of the centennial celebration. However, the coverage of the history and evolution of South Africa’s mission schools extends beyond Lavinia’s direct involvement as she kept in frequent contact with the personnel at these schools well beyond her time as principal. The collection also provides a glimpse at the experiences of the students themselves, both during their time attending the schools and well into their adult lives, as Lavinia remained in sometimes regular contact with these former students over the years.

Personal letter sent to Lavinia, April 1967

This is an example of one of the many letters Lavinia received from former students providing updates on their personal and professional lives after graduating from Inanda Seminary. This letter shows the continued support that both Lavinia and the staff of the mission schools offered to former students as they pursued additional educational opportunities.

Inanda update from Lucky Zulu, December 1989

This portion of a letter from Lucky Zulu, then Acting Principal of Inanda Seminary, is an example of Lavinia’s continued communications with administration and staff that would continue throughout her life. These provide first-hand accounts of the evolution of the school and the challenges they faced in the latter half of the 20th century.

Federal Theological Seminary report, circa 1975

The collection contains numerous materials related to South Africa’s other mission schools, including Adam’s College and The Federal Theological Seminary. The above report, written by Dr. Robert Bryant, detailing the government’s 1974 expropriation order against the school, is one of several available in the collection.

Writings and Reflections

Lavinia’s personal story and perspective is well-documented throughout the materials, but the collection also includes a significant amount of writings by others that capture their own unique experiences. These range from other missionaries and fellow educators, including many other women, most notably Agnes Wood whose writings and correspondence fill a significant portion of the collection, to profiles written by South African families and former Inanda Seminary students.

Agnes Wood memoir manuscript excerpt, 1984

Like Lavinia, Agnes Wood spent the majority of her life working in South Africa. In addition to extensive personal correspondence between Lavinia and Agnes, the collection also includes numerous manuscript copies of personal reflections and stories written by Agnes detailing her experiences and personal relationships during these years.

Reflection by unnamed South African woman

This personal reflection, written by an unnamed South African woman, is one of the collection’s many such writings detailing personal experiences both with the American Board’s missionaries and in attending the mission schools, particularly Inanda Seminary.

Souvenir Postcards

Having lived almost half of her life outside of the United States, it shouldn’t be surprising that Lavinia was someone who enjoyed travel. While the collection includes the expected artifacts and mementos from South Africa, it also includes a surprisingly large number of souvenir postcards from destinations as varied as Casablanca, Morocco and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. These postcards range in date from as early as the 1930s until as late as the 1980s. The two examples below illustrate the wide variety of postcard styles and locations collected by Lavinia over the years:

Color illustration of The Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota

A group of Yeoman Warders (also known as Beefeaters) at the Tower of London, circa 1930s, as evidenced by the King George VI insignia visible on the uniforms.

These are just some of the unexpected pieces found within the Lavinia Scott paper’s 33 linear feet of material, which covers circa 1860s-1998. I am very excited to say that the collection is now open for research, with the full finding aid available online.

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.

The post Questions in the Process: Papers Beyond the Personal first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10523 0 10523
Happy Fall Semester from SCRC’s Director https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10487&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=happy-fall-semester-from-scrcs-director https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10487#respond Thu, 07 Sep 2023 16:12:46 +0000 https://vault217.gmu.edu/?p=10487 This blog post was written by Lynn Eaton, Director of the Special Collections Research Center. Another school year begins, and the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) team of archivists and records managers is excited to welcome students and faculty back to campus! A lot has happened over the past couple of months, and I’d like […]

The post Happy Fall Semester from SCRC’s Director first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
This blog post was written by Lynn Eaton, Director of the Special Collections Research Center.

Another school year begins, and the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) team of archivists and records managers is excited to welcome students and faculty back to campus! A lot has happened over the past couple of months, and I’d like to share a few highlights from our summer.

James Buchanan receiving the Nobel Prize in Economics.

On August 21, our new Records Management Analyst/Specialist begins! Clancy Smith brings records analyst experience from her time at the University of Southern Mississippi. The Records Management program will have another busy year working across all four campuses helping offices with their records and staying compliant with requirements from the university to international organizations. Interested in learning about this part of the university? Visit the website (https://recordsmanagement.gmu.edu/) and discover more about the mission and work of this vital unit.

Interested in learning about the history of George Mason University? Bob Vay, University Archivist, along with our former GRA Charlotte Corneliusen, created an online tour of Mason with Curatescape available both online (https://pastandpresent.gmu.edu/) and as a phone app. Titled The Mason Experience: Past & Present, users can travel back in time through stories and photographs of some of the people, places, and things that have made the Mason of today.

We have also been quite busy processing collections to make them accessible for Mason students and researchers the world over. The papers of the Nobel Prize-winning economist James M. Buchanan are open for research after a two-year grant-funded project. This work, generously supported by a National Endowment for Humanities grant and with tuition support for a Graduate Research Assistant from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, was successfully led by the SCRC NEH Project Archivist, Rebecca Thayer. We will celebrate the opening of this collection on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 in Fenwick Library – we hope you will join us for that event!

QR code to download “The Mason Experience: Past & Present”

We are looking forward to many other events this fall, including celebrating collections coming open and a presentation and discussion about the Appalachian Trail (AT) with Mills Kelly and local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members who have hiked the AT November 8. More of that to come soon!

Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter accounts. To search the collections held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our website and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail us at speccoll@gmu.edu or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Banner photo credit: GMU Office of University Branding.

The post Happy Fall Semester from SCRC’s Director first appeared on Vault217.

]]>
https://vault217.gmu.edu/?feed=rss2&p=10487 0 10487