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