Season’s Greetings from the Jean Outland Chrysler Library

It seems like such a small thing, but I find it thrilling to unlock my apartment’s shiny brass mailbox to find a stack of brightly-enveloped holiday cards. Every year, I await their arrival with child-like anticipation. I excitedly check the postmark and return address, then gently peal back the adhesive flap. (Be careful. There may be glitter inside!) I relish the words in ink biting into the paper, the photos tucked inside of younger cousins who are no longer small, the holiday letters telling of loved ones’ joys and sorrows. If there happens to be a gift card from Target tucked inside by a far-away aunt, well, that’s just a bonus. The real joy in these small paper and paste wonders is that someone, somewhere intentionally chose, purchased, inscribed and mailed this lovely remembrance to me. They thought of me, just as I think of the people who have touched my life over the last year as I fill out my holiday cards. With a quiet smile, I pin these magical mementos to a card display wreath, hand-made by a friend years ago, and bustle off to make a cup of cocoa. ‘Tis the season to be jolly.

Since the production of the first commercial Christmas card by Sir Henry Cole in 1843 London, they have been a staple of Christian and non-Christian celebrations alike during this festive time. The archival collection of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library contains many holiday cards to and from people all over Hampton Roads, including the Chryslers. If you’re in the mood for a burst of holiday cheer, please stop by and have a look. We wish you a bright and happy holiday season.

Library Assistant Sara Mason

All that glitters...

          This is one of my favorite times of the year. As the December nights grow colder and longer Norfolk is truly illuminated with glittering lights and decorations. Inspired by this, I’ve collected some of what glitters in the Library’s collection - twenty-four gilt decorations from books on our shelves to share with you. In most cases hand-tooled onto leather, these tiny decorations – often not more than one or two inches in size – are often amazingly intricate. The detail images above are just a sample of the thousands of designs you can find on bindings in the Library -  ranging from 18th century volumes in the Myers collection to 1915 edition of A Christmas Carol illustrated by Arthur Rackham that is currently on display in the reading room. Glistening on the spines and covers and books throughout the Library collection these small details truly make our collection shine.

 - Laura Christiansen Dickson Librarian

Item of the Week: Art in the Making

Ever wonder about the artist’s process behind Degas’ Dancer with Bouquets or just how artists such as Manet, Monet, and Renoir worked? This week’s featured items may answer your questions. The Library recently acquired three DVDs from the National Gallery, London’s wonderful series Art in the Making including “Degas,” “Impressionism,” and “Italian Painting Before 1400.” Each film delves into the materials and techniques used to create a selection of works. Drawing on tools often used in the conservation of paintings, such as infrared and X-ray photography Art in the Making provides a unique view of each work from the canvas up, so to speak. Each disk also comes with a bonus film that looks at a broader range of work. For example, Art in the Making: Degas is paired with Degas: Beyond Impressionism, a short film that features the later work of Degas and its impact on twentieth – century painters like Picasso.


Interested? Like all of our videos and DVDs, the Art in the Making series DVDS may be checked out by Museum Members or watched in the Library. Stop by take a look .

We know what you're reading...

There are many daily duties in the life of a library that keeps things running smoothly. One of the weekly tasks is managing interlibrary loans. As a member of OCLC (Online Computer Library Center), we can search the collections of libraries all over the world in order to borrow their books for staff and patrons. In return, they may ask to borrow ours. Participating in this system allows us to share resources with scholars all around the globe. Think of it as lending a your favorite book – the one you bought on Amazon just before it went out of print – to a friend that lives all the way across the country. When an institution requests a loan, we find the book on the shelf, check it out to “interlibrary loan,” package the item safely, and ship it off. Items are returned in about a month so that books may be shared fairly.

Over the last year, we’ve noticed that some books are lent out on a regular basis. The four that seem to go out the most are Traditional Korean Wrapping Cloths, Codex Seraphinianus, Memento Mori: Death in Nineteenth Century Photography and Let Us March On! Selected Civil Rights Photographs of Ernest C. Withers, 1955 – 1968. Of those four, The Codex Seraphinianus has been lent the most: 4 times this year! That might not sound like a lot, but in a collection of 111,000 items, that makes “The Codex” our M.V.P.

You too can see what others are reading! Please drop by the Jean Outland Chrysler Library and have a look at some of our most popular and well traveled holdings.

Library Assistant Sara Mason (a.k.a. The Interlibrary Loan Lady)

Wondering where our Interlibrary loans go? The map above features just a few of the locations items from our collections have visited in the United States in 2009.

Item of the Week: Egypt Delineated

         In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt in an ambitious attempt to upset the balance of power in central Asia. While Napoleon’s soldiers went about the business of conquering and occupying Egypt, another small army of artists and scientists – called the Commission of the Sciences and Arts documented its antiquities, history and culture. Among them was Vivant Denon, a talented painter and engraver and an enthusiastic antiquarian. Sometimes called the first Egyptologist, Denon not only explored, sketched and described Egypt’s ancient monuments but also documented Egyptian life and culture at the end of the 18th century. Denon’s engaging work became part of the Description de l’Egypt, one product of the Commission of the Science and Arts, but he also published two volumes relating his personal experiences.

One of these, Egypt Delineated enjoyed great success and was reprinted in numerous languages. The Library is lucky to have an English edition of Egypt Delineated published in London in 1819. This large folio edition describes itself as “The celebrated work detailing the expedition of the French” and contains engravings “exhibiting the scenery, antiquities, architecture, hieroglyphics, costume, inhabitants, animals, etc” of Egypt. Denon’s engravings provided a wealth of information for the first generation of French and British Egyptologists, helped to inspire the use of Egyptian motifs in art, literature, architecture, fashion, and décor and also guaranteed a place in 19th century popular culture for a romanticized image of Ancient Egypt.

If a visit To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum has you dreaming of elaborate temples and tombs encircled by wind-swept desert landscapes, stop by the Library and ask to take a look at this monumental volume that helped to reintroduce Egypt to the European imagination.

Au revoir, Jeanne-Claude.

This week, we’d like to honor the memory of Jeanne-Claude – wife and creative partner of Christo – who passed away on Thursday at the age of 74. Jeanne-Claude’s complicated upbringing and intriguing sense of self made her overwhelmingly attractive to Christo, whom she met when her mother contracted him to paint her portrait in October 1958. Christo was already a working artist, and though they had a rocky start, the couple eventually married and had a son. Over the years, Jeanne-Claude became Christo’s creative collaborator and business partner. Together, they created such memorable works as “Wrapped Walkways,” “Wrapped Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago,” Wrapped Reichstag,” and the “Pont Neuf Wrapped.” The couple overcame social and political adversity to produce art of which they could be proud. The art world has lost half of an amazing and unforgettable team who seemed to always understand that, like their work, life is transient and should be cherished.

- Library Assistant Sara Mason

In the Galleries....

Wow! The museum has been so busy lately! Of course, there are a number of exciting new exhibitions to take in. Here in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, we have a few areas in our reading room dedicated to keeping up with current exhibitions - like the galleries these are constantly changing and are always available for browsing. I thought we’d let you know what is currently on display. Of course, the hot topic of interest in the Museum this fall is Egypt. Come by and take a look at the exhibition catalog To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum to get the inside scoop about the objects in the show, or take a look at some of our other Egyptian resources. Also featured in the reading room right now are books about Dutch Golden Age paintings to compliment a group of works on display in the Kaufman Furniture Gallery. We have a number of books on view about art inspired by war in honor of “At the Front,” which is currently showing in the Frank Photography Gallery. There is a section devoted to the photographic works of Eliot Porter, as well a selection of our many books on African art in celebration of the newly-reinstalled African gallery. Our newest display features Action painting; specifically books about the artists currently hung in the small changing gallery. (Outside of the café.) “Action painting” is a dynamic form of creation and free expression that involves the spontaneous splattering, dripping, scraping, etc. of paint onto canvas and occasionally mixing in other elements such as sand or strips of tape. This show is a great conversation starter, and will have a lot of visitors wanting more. We have several great books that are worth taking a peek at. One such book is The Gesture: Movement in Painting and Sculpture, which analyzes the ways in which the advent of Action painting affected the art world in the long-term. If you have a moment, please stop by the Library and learn a little bit more about your favorite exhibition.


- Library Assistant Sara Mason

Edgar Allan Poe - 200 Years

Once upon a a research query while I pondered bright and cheery over many a quaint and curious volume of artistic lore...

In honor of Halloween this weekend and of Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday this year, we thought we would present these items from our collection  that are connected to the Poe's life and work. Click on the Album below to see more images. Enjoy!

Edgar Allan Poe in Jean Outland Chrysler Library Collections

Celebrating American Archives Month: At Home and Abroad

Every family keeps records: birth certificates, deeds to land, and of course, passports. This particular passport, signed July 8, 1810 is special. It would have kept Jean Jacques Andre and his wife Suzanne out of prison as they left Norfolk and traveled to France in the middle of the American embargo against France. Suspicious that the United States was turning a profit from shipping goods from French colonies, Napoleon ordered the seizure of all American ships in European ports in 1806. By 1809, the United States Non-Intercourse Act stated that any French or British ships entering U.S. waters were to be seized. In 1810, the year stamped on the Andre’s passport, fears of war between the United States and France ran rampant. Tensions ran high between the two powers, making it difficult to travel by sea, and even more difficult to be a Frenchman traveling on an American ship. The trade disputes were eventually settled by the creation of tariffs and proper documentation for items shipped overseas. Proper travel documentation and regulations for people and cargo remain an important part our lives to this day. Unlike the passports of today, however, photographs were not available at this time for easy identification. Instead this passport features a description by the issuing agent, providing an interesting look at what he may have looked like.  Interested in finding out more? Stop by the Library and take a look!

Celebrating American Archives Month: Archival Musings

Library volunteer Ramon Colorado has been working with a unique portion of our archival collections - ledgers. These oversized volumes contain a wide variety historical information and were used to record important data by organizations as varied as an early 19th century local milita (the Norfolk Blues), a late 19th century liquor store, and an early 20th century police Sargeant's in Norfolk. Ramon jotted down a few thoughts about some of the information our volunteers have come across while catagorizing, organizing, and preserving the ledgers in our archives. Ramon writes:

"Did you know that the Norfolk Sheriff of 1882 was wounded aboard the C.S.S. Virginia during the Civil War? Or, that bottles of Budweiser beer were being shipped into the area as early as the 1880’s. The next time you’re driving around town you might notice street names such as Corprew, Llewellyn, Nimmo or Colley. These are not just random names given by the city planners but instead modest memorials to our area’s founding citizens. While researching information at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library we’ve discovered many such links between past and present.

Researching with archives -  often consisting of unread or rarely read materials of American history  - may seem boring to many. However, opening up a 200 year old roster of a volunteer military unit (the Norfolk Light Artillery Blues) that served in the Virginia militia, the Confederate Army, and the United States military, and finding a pressed rose from the 1840’s and a letter to one’s sweetheart brings this history alive. Each book researched is a treasure chest of knowledge and each page turned a potential academic goldmine of information. "

Interested in learning more? Stop by the Library and take a look at ledgers on display in the Reading Room.

Celebrating American Archives Month: Hampton Roads Stories from Our Collections

October is American Archives Month. To celebrate, we thought we would share some of the stories told by items in the archival collections of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. Each week in October we'll be featuring a story from our archives that reveals part of Hampton Roads history. This week's item, a diary, is a little mysterious...

Can you solve a mystery? – Diary-keeping has always been a popular form of reflection for both men and women. A diary might hold lists of daily activities, family life, travels, or – of course – secrets. The author of this diary is unknown. Writing between 1893 and 1895, the author was a servant on a working farm or estate in New Hampshire. We know what work the author did each day, what food they ate, what books they read (strangely enough, this diarist loved mystery novels), and even what time they got up each morning. We don’t know the name of the person who created this diary, their gender, why the author wrote or how this detailed account of daily life ended up here in Norfolk. Who knows, maybe you can solve the mystery.

Item of the Week: Emma's Favorite

Portraits of the Fifties by Sanford Roth

While wandering through the stacks of the library, I came across a plain black book that for no particular reason I pulled from its place on the shelf. I had no expectations and was therefore hugely surprised to find striking photographs of familiar faces looking back at me. This book Portraits of the Fifties is a collection of images featuring people who, now remembered as icons of their generation, were at the height of their celebrity. The talented photographer Sanford Roth humanized these artists, actors, scientists, and composers in his work by catching them at their most natural and relaxed state. Many of them were or became his close friends. The most interesting thing about the book is the diversity of the people featured. From a handsome James Dean wearing a cowboy hat to an aged Henri Matisse opening his mail to a brooding Aldous Huxley staring into the camera, Roth’s varied pictures remain both beautiful and haunting.

 - By Emma Tisdale, Library Intern Summer 2009

Celebrating Archives Month: Hampton Roads Stories from Our Collections

October is American Archives Month. To celebrate, we thought we would share some of the stories told by items in the archival collections of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. Each week in October we'll be featuring a story from our archives that reveals part of Hampton Roads history. Feeling a little under the weather? This week’s item might help.

Feeling a little under the weather? We’ve got a remedy for you – a home remedy from the eighteenth century. It’s a little worse for wear, but we can still read most of the ingredients for these homemade pills. You take half an ounce of rhubarb, half an ounce of an ingredient lost to time, mix both with soap and roll into pea sized pills. Add a little honey (to help it go down) and hope for the best. What ailment was this prescription for? Unfortunately (or, perhaps fortunately), this document is very discreet, but we do know that rhubarb was used as a cure for various stomach troubles. This document hails from a time when home remedies were relied on for everyday ills. If a home remedy didn't appeal to you, there were other options. By 1882, people in Norfolk could also elect to head to K. Cook’s Hair Dressing Saloon where particular attention, as this advertising card notes, was paid not only to the dressing of Women and Children’s hair, but also to “cupping and leeching. ”

As for me, I think I’ll stick to the rhubarb…

Item of the Week: Brendan's Favorite

We Apologize

It would have been impossible for me to choose a favorite book based on content—there are far too many interesting things tucked away in the stacks, and I didn’t have nearly enough time to get a really comprehensive idea of what was available. Instead I decided to pick something more obviously odd or unique, and in a library filled with artists’ publications, it wasn’t hard to find things beyond the traditional pages-enclosed-between-covers book. And when I came across We Apologize—which Cataloging Fellow Rachel Juris also wrote about recently—while labeling books, it became an easy decision. The Jean Outland Chrysler Library has #12 out of 100 copies of We Apologize, each copy constructed from recycled materials (the cover of the Chrysler’s is a B.B. King record cover), signed by authors/artists Paul Lamarre and Melissa Wolf, and containing a manifesto printed on a napkin, a book retrospective of their work since 1983, and a flow chart tracking these years. Lamarre and Wolf work together under the intentionally ambiguous acronym EIDIA, whose meanings are laid out in the manifesto and which include “every intellect develops intuitive art” and “everything I do is art.” The latter seems to sum up their philosophy pretty well: among the work discussed in We Apologize are documentary films, photography, a recipe, an encounter with the Virgin Mary, and instillations of bread, antiques, and Jackson Pollock-style paintings. There is also a clear tone of activism throughout, especially regarding the NEA and censorship, and a press release inserted in the book explicitly states their position against “America’s desperate neo-conservative agenda of privatization and homeland security.” While the art of EIDIA may be hard to swallow for many, We Apologize is worth seeing as the product of two passionate contemporary artists who approach their work determinedly and from every possible angle.

 - By Brendan Higgins, Library Intern Summer 2009

Celebrating Archives Month: Hampton Roads Stories from Our Collections

October is American Archives Month. To celebrate,we thought we would share some of the stories told by items in the archival collections of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. Each week in October we'll be featuring a story from our archives that reveals part of Hampton Roads history.  This week it's the story of a well known (at the time) visitor to our area.

Born in 1868 into infamous wealth as the eldest daughter of New York financier and railroad magnate Jay Gould, Helen Miller Gould (later Helen Miller Shepard) spent her life in philanthropic efforts. Though “Miss Gould” focused on the education of children and the lifting of the less fortunate on the grounds of her home, Lyndhurst, her real love was the Young Men’s Christian Association. She traveled almost yearly on inspection tours of Y.M.C.A.s all over the country. Known for her patriotism and war-relief efforts which began during the Spanish-American War, she gave freely of her time. Miss Gould gave talks, joined in Bible studies and was a general inspiration. She also gave of herself financially, spending millions of dollars to build new facilities and libraries for soldiers and railway men who made use of the organization for social and academic enrichment.

Miss Gould made several visits to Norfolk. She presented a building to troops at Old Point Comfort in the early 1900s and returned for visits and Y.M.C.A. inspections over the years. She gave talks, participated in Bible studies, and encouraged the servicemen in any way possible. In the archives, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library holds images from one of these visits [pictured below].The young men in uniform listen respectfully, presumably to Miss Gould, on one of her visits to the Norfolk Naval Y.M.C.A. The local ladies pause in their conversation with Miss Gould for a photo with the lady of the hour. Want to learn more about Miss Gould's visit to Norfok or other Hampton Roads Stories?  Stop by the Library! 

Item of the Week: Gabrielle's Favorite

Moscow in a Different Light

Although wedged between a picture book on Spain and an illustrated anthology about Saudi Arabia, William Klein’s Moscow beckoned me to open its pages. It is not the fanciest volume, the most insightful work, or even the strangest piece in the collection, but its bright red title encouraged me to take a look. Klein explains the complexity of this age-old city in his forward which is represented in the series of photographs. The author chose pictures of everyday people engaging in common activities such as shopping, dancing, doing gymnastics, and cleaning chicken. Nevertheless, there is also an austerity to all the photographs, which author believes to stem from the harsh Soviet government. Behind state symbols, famous portraits, and institutionalized settings, the viewer is still able to catch a glimpse at the people of Moscow’s inner being whether it be a shot of women laughing over their coffee or a father balancing his son on his arm. My favorite photograph captures a crowd looking at St. Basil’s Cathedral at night. The crowd is blurred into the sky as fluorescent light illuminates the church and the Kremlin.

 - Gabrielle Barr, Library Intern Summer 2009

The Body as Art

During the summer, we asked Interns Emma, Gabrielle, Brendan and Jessica to create a virtual collection by collecting digital images of some aspect of the library collection to be decided by them. For example, they could collect images of bookplates in the collection, of details on binding, books with funny titles, or books on a particular subject – the possibilities were endless. On July 31, at the Library Open House, each collection was presented. This week we're posting the last collection from this summer. Thanks to our Summer interns for all of their hard work!

This week’s collection comes from Jessica Dame who is a student at Christopher Newport University. Jessica described her collection “The Body as Art” as follows:

"Since the beginning of time, the human body has been an important part of art and has been expressed in endless ways. From early cave paintings of stick-like figures, to complex life-like sculpture and paintings that capture veins, muscles, curves and angles. The body is crucial to art. For many artists the human body, in all its conditions, is the focus of their work.

After spending time in the Jean Outland Library, I began to find great examples of masquerade, fashion and costume; from runways in metropolitan cities to the lesser know parts of the world where the body has always been used in expression.

I came across images of masquerade dancers in the Congo, the Dance of Tumbu in Guinea, and the Mancrab dancer of the Caribbean. Masquerades blend art and symbolism to make magnificent costumes for performance. In the world of fashion, as with masquerades, there are no limits but the catwalk or photo shoot becomes the canvas which designers and photographers show off their art. Examples are the elegant and sometimes controversial designs of Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Gaultier and other designers.

Across cultures, through art work of the body, one can see what is considered beautiful, acceptable in a society at that time period. Statements can be made about life, spirituality, sexuality, and society.

So what happens when the body is no longer limited to a flat surface or stiff marble and rock? What if it could walk, run or dance? Then that would be art brought to life. "

You can view all of the images in Jessica's collection here.

Yar! Beyond This Point There Be Pirates....

Ahoy! September 19th be International Talk like a Pirate Day. In celebration, we at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library have been thinking about illustrator and realist painter Newell Convers Wyeth. Though we know much of his work from main-stream sources, such as The Saturday Evening Post and many posters advertizing household products like Coca-Cola, he is also famous for his illustrations of classic novels. Wyeth loved literature as much as a pirate loves treasure. One of his most popular series of illustrations was for Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Wyeth successfully navigated the choppy seas of the arrrt world to have a long and varied career, passing on the bounty of his knowledge to others. His protégés include eminent illustrator Howard Pyle and Wyeth’s own talented children, including his son Andrew. On this September 19th, the 9th Annual International Talk like a Pirate Day, take a moment to think about all the land-lubbers in history and in your life who enjoy a fine tale (or image) of swashbuckling romance, daring-do and black-hearted evil. Also, please remember to practice your pirate speak!

Bone up at http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html. Happy International Talk like a Pirate Day! Arrrrr….

By Jean Outland Chrysler Library First Mate Sara Mason

New York Through My Eyes

During the summer, we asked Interns Emma, Gabrielle, Brendan and Jessica to create a virtual collection by collecting digital images of some aspect of the library collection to be decided by them. For example, they could collect images of bookplates in the collection, of details on binding, books with funny titles, or books on a particular subject – the possibilities were endless. On July 31, at the Library Open House, each collection was presented. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting each intern’s collection along with a few other posts they created during their time in the Library.



This week’s collection comes from Emma Tisdale who is a student at New York University. Emma described her collection “New York Through My Eyes” as follows:


"The beautiful thing about New York City is that it is the kind of place that can be seen through many different perspectives. A tourist may only see the crowded streets of Times Square while a businessman sees the opportunity for success on Wall Street. A high school drama student may see the city as a place where her dreams of fame could come true. A boy who is misunderstood or ashamed in his own skin could see New York as a place of acceptance. My personal view of New York, which is reflected through the images in my collection, is that of a college student living in Lower Manhattan. I searched for scenes with which I am familiar, such as the marketplace in Union Square, the wildly painted buildings in the Village, and the pedestrians relaxing in Washington Square Park. I also included some older photographs of the New York City’s older architecture, paintings of a green Central Park, and an image of my favorite bookstore. These are the things that I see not only throughout my daily life at school but in my mind as I daydream of New York. My perspective is not one of glamour or crowds. It is just my personal view of the diverse city that has become my home. "


You can view all of the images in Emma's Collection here.

Intern Projects - Walter Chrysler Jr. Research

This summer, we asked the Library interns to write a short paragraph about their favorite assignment this summer. In a post on September 4, we told you about Emma, Gabrielle and Jessica's favorite task. This week it's Brendan Higgin's turn. Here's what Brendan said he enjoyed the most:

"Our second to last week here at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, the other interns and I assisted with an ongoing project to trace Walter P. Chrysler Jr.’s life as an art collector and key figure in the Museum’s history. Ultimately the research will be compiled into a database that contains detailed information on Chrysler’s possessions and purchases/sales/donations at different points in his life. Each of chose a decade and, after poring over the Library’s collection of biographies, scrapbooks, and files of newspaper clippings pertaining to Chrysler, constructed a timeline of everything relevant we could find about that period. I researched the 1930s, a period in history and the arts that I find particularly interesting, and became immediately absorbed in the work. The name Walter Chrysler had been somewhat of an enigma to me all summer, and it was fascinating finally to learn some of the details of his life—sometimes controversial, often inscrutable, but always active and aware. His tastes in the '30s were ahead of his time, and thanks to a keen business sense, he built up one of the finest collections of modern art in the world, containing supposedly hundreds of Picassos, as well as pieces by Matisse, Cezanne, Braque, Leger, and Gris (among many other big names of the 20th century). This task, probably more than anything else I did this summer, really deepened my understanding and appreciation of the Chrysler Museum and its art; specifically, I realized the impact Walter Chrysler’s voracious buying during this period has had on the wonderfully varied collections housed in the Museum today."

Brides Across Borders

During the summer, we asked Interns Emma, Gabrielle, Brendan and Jessica to create a virtual collection by collecting digital images of some aspect of the library collection to be decided by them. For example, they could collect images of bookplates in the collection, of details on binding, books with funny titles, or books on a particular subject – the possibilities were endless. On July 31, at the Library Open House, each collection was presented. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting each intern’s collection along with a few other posts they created during their time in the Library.



This week’s collection comes from Gabrielle Barr who is a student at Johns Hopkins University. Gabrielle described her collection “Brides Across Borders” as follows:

"For little girls, weddings are about the flowers, cake, and most of all their dream dress. Magazines and reality TV shows emphasize this fantastical view of matrimony, and occasionally distort the true meaning of the event. As I hope this collection demonstrates, weddings have always been a fundamental component of cultures throughout time and across borders. These paintings and photographs depict not only the individual subject but also his or her society. From the ancient Egyptian couple to the modern photograph of the bride in an unusual setting, viewers can observe how the world’s perspective on marriage has changed and remained constant. The scary sculpture of the bride who holds roses in one hand and babies and reptiles in the other differs vastly from the formal portrait of Queen Victoria. In turn, the regal and religious works vary greatly from the representations of peasant weddings. This cultural discrepancy between eras, nations, and classes can give the viewer a sense of how one ritual is performed in so many different ways.

Religion and ceremonial customs play a significant role in the event as well. Marriage is frequently seen as a religious rite of passage and a transforming ceremony, especially for the bride. In the depiction of the young girl flanked by her mother and grandmother, the artist is showing the Portuguese, Jewish bride at her beddekah ( a ceremony before the wedding where the bride sits on a throne like chair surrounded by female family members and greets her guests). While fashions have changed over the years, this custom and the kettubah are still important aspects of an observant, Jewish wedding. Similarly, the religious imagery seen in many of the works display the Christian view of nuptials and include certain symbols that westerners would associate with weddings today. The depiction of the Muslim wedding procession underscores Islamic values with the woman fully cloaked beneath a litter. An Englishman captured this scene which prompts the question, “How do other societies interpret foreign ceremonies and how have the traditions merged in our connected world?” From the colorful Berber and African weddings to Hogarth’s dark criticism of the institution, weddings have always been a part of art and the human experience. "

A better view of all of the images in Gabrielle's Collection is available here.

Intern Projects - Moving the Myers Library

This summer, we asked the Library interns to write a short paragraph about their favorite assignment this summer. Imagine our suprise when three of four chose to write about the dirtiest, most difficult task they were given - moving the Myers Library. Here is what Gabrielle Barr, Emma Tisdale and Jessica Dame had to say about this unique assignment.

Gabrielle Barr :Tying Up Loose Ends


"Green with Gold. Swirling purple and blue paper. Diamond embossed leather. With the many damaged books in the Myers’ Collection, it was the interns’ task to mend and help preserve these deteriorating volumes. I enjoyed matching covers to works which involved analysis of the book’s size, the color of its remaining cover, and identification of designs on the spine and inside the piece. If both covers were missing, it was necessary to observe the way the pages had laid on the leather. Then I tied linen tape around the volumes to keep them intact until they can be enclosed. The most rewarding aspect of this project was when I was able to unite missing pages with the books such as with Moliere’s plays. These pages often bestowed useful and interesting information about the book as well, giving the name of the author, date, title, and publisher. While I loved the detective and detail oriented nature of the assignment, I relished the opportunity to handle these old works. A drawing of a horse, algebra problems scribbled in pencil and little notes demonstrate the personal quality of books that allow viewers to gain an understanding of the individuals. The Myers’ library encompasses such a range of eras, genres, and authors that reveals a part of each member of the family. "

Emma Tisdale: My Favorite Project

"Before my summer at the Chrysler Museum, I truly had no comprehension of the amount of work a librarian has to face each day. From the numerous long term projects to the preservation of the collection, the tasks that the librarians at the museum have to address are much more than I ever thought existed. I had the chance as an intern to tackle a small part of many of these difficult tasks. My favorite project, however, left me scrubbing smudges off my fingers and sneezing book-rot for days. It involved moving the ever-aging Myers Library from the back corner of the library to the front of the stacks. It took patience and focus, as the books were very delicate to handle and extremely disorganized on their shelves. My fellow interns and I took a new inventory of the collection of books and moved them in chronological order. The project took over a week to finish, but it left me with a sense that I had actually done something to help the library and that Laura could now check one of the many projects off her to-do list. "


Jessica Dame - Favorite Project

"Over the summer, I got the chance to intern for the library and obtain school credits and gain great hands on experience. Of all the projects in the library this summer, my favorite was getting to work with the Moses Meyer book collection. It was fun to look at books from the 1700s through the 1950s and see what a wealthy local family was reading in that time period. I came across books and authors I have heard of or read and got to see science books that had very bad information in them that have long since been changed in today’s books. I had to wear gloves and handle the books with care because I was literally handling history. Somehow when you have to put on gloves for a project, it feels more important and reminded me of professions that require gloves, like doctors, scientists and historians in general.
It also felt like I helped accomplish something big and I got to see an end result. The books were relocated and put in order by year. What began as a bit of a mess came together and now looks neat and organized. "

Farewell from Rachel

Although the 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellowship has ended, the knowledge I gained through my work this summer will be put to use in my next job, cataloging and archiving photographs at the Chicago History Museum, and as continue I pursue a career in museum libraries. This summer, I learned about cataloging many different types of materials and had the opportunity to work hand-on with many old and rare items. I want to thank the Friends of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library for making the Cataloging Fellowship possible. I am also appreciative of the staff, volunteers, and patrons of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library and the Chrysler Museum for providing me with such a welcoming and educational environment. I had a wonderful summer in Norfolk!

Farewell to Our Fellow...

The summer is quickly drawing to a close and our inaugural Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow, Rachel Juris is on her way back to Chicago. Rachel spent the summer hard at work adding information about materials previously unavailable to Library patrons to the Library’s online catalog. Over the course of ten weeks, she added or corrected records for over 1,000 items! Rachel will go on to use her new skills as the Hedrich Blessing Photography Collection Project Archivist at the Chicago History Museum. Rachel created an impressive portfolio of the work that she completed for the Library this summer. It is available online at http://courseweb.lis.illinois.edu/~juris/chrysler/chryslerlibrary.html

Thank you Rachel for all of your hard work this summer!

Reading in Tongues

During the summer, we asked Interns Emma, Gabrielle, Brendan and Jessica to create a virtual collection by collecting digital images of some aspect of the library collection to be decided by them. For example, they could collect images of bookplates in the collection, of details on binding, books with funny titles, or books on a particular subject – the possibilities were endless. On July 31, at the Library Open House, each collection was presented. In the coming weeks, we’ll be posting each intern’s collection along with a few other posts they created during their time in the Library.

This week’s collection comes from Brendan Higgins who is a student at the College of William and Mary. Brendan described his collection “Reading in Tongues” as follows:

“During my first few weeks at the Jean Outland Chrysler Library, I came across a number of books in what I thought—with my narrow, naïve worldview—were exotic, obscure languages. Often I couldn’t even make an educated guess as to what I was looking at, let alone comprehend it. Something Scandinavian? Something Germanic? Something with a strange alphabet? That was about the best I could do. Despite my ignorance, however, I’m fascinated by linguistics, particularly by our planet’s rich variety of distinct though often interconnected languages. So when I began to consider my personal collection project, I thought I’d indulge my interest by seeing exactly how many and what languages I could find represented in the stacks. I started by listing as many as I could think of and entering each one as a general search in the online catalog. With trial and error, I refined my technique until I had a fairly efficient method of searching, jotting down several promising books (or only one, in some cases), and then finding the most photogenic and interesting of these on the shelf. Although it was still an imperfect method, it guided me in the right direction, and often I’d stumble upon a more suitable book along the way. In the end, I was blown away to have gathered a pile of 31 books in as many languages, certain also that I had left some uncovered—a testament to the depth and cosmopolitanism of the collections here. My selections spanned close to a century, with most areas of the world represented by at least one language, from Korean to Zulu to Catalan to Estonian. Some I chose for being topically significant to their places of origin—discussing something either deeply associated or unexpected and refreshing—while others I simply chose because they amused me (e.g. Radicalchip, a book in Welsh and English on contemporary Japanese art). In doing this project, I began to recognize more fully that each language is inseparable from the people and culture that claims it; as such, each foreign language book in the Chrysler’s collection has value beyond that of its content.”

A collage featuring the images Brendan gathered appears above. All of the images in Brendan’s collection can be found here.

Exploring The Archives

Over the course of the summer, I cataloged many exhibition and auction catalogs that originated from the Knoedler London Library collection. This week, I gained insight into the workings of M. Knoedler & Company gallery offices in the 1960s and 70s through an examination of a selection of papers and indices now in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library archive. One of the more unusual items I encountered, and which proved a challenge to describe, was a set of card catalog drawers filled with auction data. I created a finding aid that orders and describes the contents of the M. Knoedler & Company Papers.

-Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

Auction Catalogs

The Jean Outland Chrysler Library auction catalog collection includes rare or unique items, ranging in date from the early 19th century to today. Auction catalogs that belonged previously to the M. Knoedler & Co. Ltd. library (later acquired by Walter P. Chrysler Jr.) have been available to researchers via microfiche since the 1970s (the microfiche is held in the collections of many major research libraries). However, some of the print catalogs have not been cataloged individually. The physical catalogs are significant objects because they contain original handwritten annotations of sale prices, newspaper clippings, and notes made by Knoedler & Co. employees. The Jean Outland Chrysler Library auction catalog collection is extensive, too large to be cataloged in a single summer, however, this week I began the process of creating individual catalog records for items from the Knoedler auction catalog collection. The criteria for cataloging auction catalogs differ slightly from those for cataloging monographs (for example, date and place of sale, owner, and auctioneer are components of an auction catalog record), and I am learning a new skills through the process of completing this project.

-Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

A rare collection of Chinese drawings and other items unique to the library...

In previous blog posts, I have written about items that, in the process of cataloging, I discovered to be rare or unique to the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. This week, I have devoted my time to cataloging items exclusively from the library’s rare book and ephemera collections.

The first issue of the journal Lorelei: a journal of arts & letters, dated August 1924, provides a glimpse into the lives of artists living and working in Provincetown in the early 20th century. I have been unable to locate any other copies of Lorelei or any reference to how many issues of the journal were published. The copy of Lorelei in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is a unique resource to scholars.

A sales catalog for the Dunbar Glass Corporation, located in Dunbar, West Virginia, 1913-1953. Based upon the styles of glass for sale, I was able to date the catalog to the late 1930s or early 1940s.

Most stunning of all, however, is a leather-bound book containing 75 original Chinese drawings. A handwritten note in the front of the volume explains that the drawings were “brought from China by Dr. Fleming, physician to the Princess Charlotte of Wales” and later sold in London. The drawings portray figures, flowers, and birds, and are vibrantly colored. Among the leaves of illustrated plates, I found a page of sketches by an unknown artist, influenced by the Chinese drawings.

-Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

You are invited to a Library Open House!

If you've been reading this blog this summer, you'll know that Cataloging Fellow Rachel Juris and Interns Gabrielle, Emma, Jessica and Brendan have been hard at work helping the Library accomplish some big projects. Before our interns return to their respective schools for the year, we invite you to stop by the Library Reading Room on Friday, July 31 between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to meet them and see some of the amazing work they've completed. This is also a wonderful opportunity to meet Rachel and hear about her excellent work cataloging the Library's backlog.

We look forward to seeing you on Friday!

And the Winner is.....

The results of the 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library bookcart decorating contest are in! It was a close contest, but the Alice in Wonderland Themed cart submitted by interns Jessica Dame, Gabrielle Barr, Emma Tisdale and Brendan Higgins is the clear winner! I hope you enjoy the following slide show with images of the entries.

Periodicals in Fashion...

My activities this week were devoted to cataloging periodicals. I added approximately 35 new titles to the library catalog, ranging from American and French fashion magazines of the early 20th-century (Signe: Les Modes à Paris, French Elle, Vogue) to art-related titles. As Jessica mentioned in her blog entry last week, fashion and art are closely related. Many early fashion magazines include articles about artists and artworks of the times, in addition to stylized fashion photography and graphic design advertisements. One art-related title of particular note is an issue of View magazine, a surrealist art and poetry publication. The Jean Outland Chrysler Library collection already contained a book about the history of View magazine (View: Parade of the Avant-Garde), which, over the years of its publication (1940-47) featured work by artists, including: Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. Now, library users can see an original example of the magazine itself.

-Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

Item of the Week: Jessica's Favorite

After researching fashion and costume for a project, I came across an interesting book that I am calling my favorite item in the library this summer. It is Bravehearts: Men in Skirts by Andrew Bolton. It is a collection of photographs and the history of the skirt in men’s fashion. It is one of those items which on first glance one may think, “Is this really a book about men in skirts?” This question is soon followed by, “Why does the Chrysler’s library have this?” What may seem strange, and hilarious, after some reading you are reminded boys and men have been wearing both skirts and dresses since the beginning of time.
The history begins with Egyptian sculptures and relief in which male figures wore a wrap that was an early short-style skirt. Greek vases portray men in wraps and Greek sculptures have male figures in simple dresses. The Augustus of Prima Porta (1st Century Roman statue) wears armor over a short-style dress and wrap. Many occupations held by males in history have be synonymous with tunics, ropes and wraps such as monks, priests, kings, and gentlemen of high status. Little boys during the sixteenth century wore dresses in infancy and the first couple years of their lives. It was thought to provoke “precocious sexual curiosity” in children if parents distinguished between the sexes at an early age. Men in cultures from Africa, India and South America wore wraps and waistcloths which may have been in part to climate and the need to stay cool. Gowns and robes (such as the kimono) were also an important part of a man’s wardrobe in Asian cultures as well.
After picking up this book men wearing skirts doesn’t seem strange anymore. The one skirt worn by men that may stand out the most and be widely accepted today is the kilt. In today’s pop-culture, many fashion designers, models and rocks stars have taken on the skirt in a new way, which is OK, as long as it is David Bowie or Boy George.

-Jessica Dame, Library Intern 2009

Artist’s Books

I recently returned from the American Library Association 2009 Annual Conference in Chicago. Among the sessions I attended, More Than Paper: The Small Press and the Artist's Book was especially relevant to my work in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. Panelists discussed not only the importance of preserving small press and artist’s books in libraries, but also the challenges of describing artist-made objects so that users can search for and identify these materials in library catalogs. Small press and artist’s books are often printed in limited numbers and may, therefore, be rare or unique items. The manner in which small press and artist’s books are printed and bound and the materials used in the bookmaking process can be as significant as the texts and illustrations. Some small press and artist’s books have more in common with book art and art objects than with traditional books.
We Apologize by the filmmakers and artists EIDIA (Paul Lamarre and Melissa Wolf) is an example of an artist’s book I recently added to the Jean Outland Chrysler Library collection. A book, a flow chart, and a manifesto printed on a napkin are all housed in a modified record album cover. Only 100 copies of We Apologize were printed; each copy is numbered and signed by the artists.
- Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

Recent Inquiries

One of the great things about working in the Library is helping visitors to the museum learn more about items in the Chrysler Museum's collections. When answering questions about items in the galleries for students, scholars, and other curious museum patrons, Library staff members have the unique opportunty of viewing the Museum's collections from new and unique perspectives. Here are just three of the many Chrysler Collection items for which information has been requested this week:

Peach Blow Pitcher in Tankard Shape with Rich Decoration,
ca. 1886-90
Blown glass Enamel
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Location: Glass, Gallery 131.R6.C64
With poem: "On waste and woodland, rock and plain,/Its' humble buds unheed rise;/The Rose has but a summer reign;/The daisy never dies!/James Montgomery".

Use of Rouen
French Book of Hours, ca. 1480
Vellum Tempera Gilt Ink
Loan from the Irene Leache Memorial Collection
Location: The Dalis Foundation Galleries of European Art







Larkin Goldsmith Mead American (1835-1910)
The Battle Story (The Returned Soldier)

modeled ca. 1863-65, carved 1865-66

Marble

Gift of James H. Ricau and Museum Purchase

Location: Ricau Gallery

For more information about these items, or about any other items in the Museum collection take a look at the Chrysler Museum's Collection Online, or, stop by the Library - we're here to help.

The Changing Look of Art Exhibition Catalogs

During the past week, I catalogued approximately 75 art exhibition catalogs, ranging in date from the 1870s through the 1970s. Many of these catalogs are rare-- located in only one or two other libraries worldwide. Art exhibition catalogs from the late 19th century and first half of the 20th century bear little resemblance to the thick, glossy, color illustrated, essay-filled publications distributed by galleries and museums today. Earlier exhibition catalogs are smaller (sometimes only a single folded page), unillustrated or sparsely illustrated in black and white, listing artworks (title, artist, date, dimensions, medium, and sometimes price) for the purposes of promotion of the gallery and the artist, and sale of the artwork. Instead of a scholarly essay or note from the curator, a biography of the artist and description of his or her technique may be included. Although early exhibition catalogs do not make great coffee table books, they do provide scholars with valuable information about the provenance or artwork and the state of the art market at a particular time. Stop by the Jean Outland Chrysler Library to see the variety of art exhibition catalogs in our collection!

- Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

New Feature - Cataloged, Labeled and Shelved...

As you are scrolling down the blog this week you may notice a rather lenghty list has been added under our regular list of new acquisitions. This summer, with the able help of Cataloging Fellow Rachel Juris, the Library staff is working to catalog, label, and shelve as many uncataloged materials as possible. Previously part of our cataloging backlog and unavailable to researchers, the 150+ items listed this week were entered into our library catalog by Rachel between June 15 and June 30. Now all of these items are easy to find in our catalog and on our shelves. Rachel is still working away - so keep an eye for further additions in the coming weeks!

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass...

In the heat of the summer, people all across the country are dreaming of vacations; car trips, cook-outs, crashing waves and, of course, long days spent on warm sand. Alicia G. Longwell of the Parrish Art Museum also thought about the significance of sand when she created Sand: Memory, Meaning, and Metaphor. The book is a collection of prose, poetry and works of art ranging from paintings to elaborate multimedia constructions and traditionally-built sandcastles. Longwell focuses on the effect of sand on artists and their work including Pablo Picasso, William Merritt Chase, and Jackson Pollock, who is pictured on the beach with Lee Krasner. She also plays with sand, literally, using images of sand encased in glass to give the reader the opportunity to ponder the origin of glass. The focus of the book is far-reaching yet unified. One is left feeling that the final point is this: sand inspires. Children building castles with water-filled moats on Virginia Beach, glass blowers in the hot shop at TCC Portsmouth, and the artists and writers featured in this book all have one thing in common; as they allowed grains of sand flow through their fingers they were inspired to create.

- By Library Assistant Sara Mason

Unique to the Library...

This week, I came across a book to catalog that is unique to the Jean Outland Chrysler Library: Barton Myers: The Architecture of the Theater: Learning from Italy, published by the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles on the occasion of a 2006 exhibition of the architect’s work. Barton Myers, a descendent of Moses Myers and the grandson of a former mayor of Norfolk (Barton Myers, 1853-1927), remains involved in the Norfolk community. The Library has a number of other interesitng architecture books as well. Also to catalog I discovered several architectural and engineering books and manuals once belonging to Wyatt Hibbs (1903-1998), a former resident of Norfolk. These books, annotated by Mr. Hibbs, were used by their owner in his work as an architect and draftsman. The discovery of books whose history is tied to their subjects, uses, and former owners, caused me to consider the responsibilities of the cataloging librarian: both to accurately transcribe information about the books and objects in the library, but also to add meaning (through the addition of subject headings) that relates specifically to the history of the community and to current and future needs of library users, with the goal of making searching for materials easier and more effective. Thus, the collection and catalog of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library strive to represent and to serve the Chrysler Museum’s collections, staff, visitors, and the larger community.

- Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow

The staff of the Jean Outland Chrysler Library enthusiastically welcomes Cataloging Fellow Rachel Juris ! Established with the goal of enabling access to the Library’s unique resources while offering Masters of Library and Information Science students the opportunity to gain valuable experience, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellowship is made possible by funding from the Friends of the Library. Rachel is already hard at work cataloging materials that have previously been unavailable to Library patrons. Interested in learning more? Keep an eye on the Library's blog for weekly updates from Rachel about her work, new additions to the collection, and interesting items she comes across while cataloging.

New in Norfolk

Allow me to introduce myself (I am, after all, following on the heels of Emily Post’s Etiquette): I am the Jean Outland Chrysler Library Summer 2009 Cataloging Fellow. A recent library school graduate, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to put my skills and experience to use in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library. This summer, I will be working to input materials (books, photographs, films, and more) into the library catalog and to make using the catalog to search and find materials easier for all. In my first week, I have cataloged many interesting new books. Among my favorites is Harold Gregor’s Illinois, an exhibition catalog of photo-realist paintings. This is my first visit to Norfolk (my hometown is Chicago) and I am looking forward to exploring the Library, the Museum, and the City.

- Rachel Juris, 2009 Jean Outland Chrysler Library Cataloging Fellow