A brain teaser

One of the book collectors / rare book dealers posted Rhymed Rebuses today http://www.simonbeattie.kattare.com/blog/archives/595 
You might enjoy trying your hand at these pictorial letters and codes. They remind me of the picture letters I saw at the Morgan Library http://www.themorgan.org/home.asp exhibit of Beatrix Potter Letters http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?id=67 . While Potter's letters aren't secret codes, they are the forerunners of her famous books about Peter Rabbit and friends. I really enjoyed looking at the letters and books, and all the toys that she created. Yes, Beatrix Potter created toys, games, and more to promote her creations. She was a real business woman, licensing her ideas and copyrighting her books in the UK and the USA.  Unfortunately they didn't have a catalog of the exhibition which would have been a great souvenir. Nevertheless, the museum gift shop has lots of memorabilia and books for the curious visitor to take home.

Just in case you think I've been hanging around Brooklyn not doing much, in the same week I went to the Morgan, I was at the Met (my previous post) and the Brooklyn Museum (the anti-penultimate post). Last week I was at the Library Company in Philadelphia http://www.librarycompany.org/ and saw a lovely exhibition about the Pennsylvania RR company and its stations in Philadelphia http://www.librarycompany.org/collections/exhibits/index.htm  . At the same time, I've been looking at more incunabula bibles. I'll post some pictures later this week.

I'm off to Boston for a few days to soak up more east coast culture.

a different museum experience

As I start to see the end of my visit here, I thought I'd do some different things with my time, or more accurately, I am trying to see all the museums and collections I haven't gotten to yet. So yesterday, Tuesday, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a special tour. I know, I know, I've been there three other times since May, but I wanted to experience the museum differently.

Before I left, I selected 5 distinct exhibitions I wanted to see, just 5. Now these weren't the usual 'special exhibits' but minor showcases of materials held by the Met. I went to the main exhibits page http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/current-exhibitions  and scrolled past the fancy exhibits to the smaller ones, and voila, a special tour ensued.

First I went to see "Historic Images of the Greek Bronze Age: The Reproductions of E. Gillieron & Son" http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2011/historic-images-of-the-greek-bronze-age--the-reproductions-of-e-gilli%C3%A9ron--son  This single room contained four walls of drawings and reproductions made by Ernst Gillieron, a Frenchman, and his son, the premier art reproducers of the late 19th century. They 'reconstructed' in situ the wall paintings at Knossos for Sir Arthur Evans, those contested murals that to this day we aren't certain are what is now on the walls. They also made and sold reproductions of artifacts found at the digs of Evans and Schliemann, including the Vaphio cups and the Mask of Agamemnon.  According to the captions, the Met commissioned and purchased these reproductions to fill out their collections. By the 1930s, they had acquired the original artifacts and put the reproductions away, until they displayed them in this room. It was fascinating seeing the drawings of what Gillieron found and what he created. Of course today, this type of reconstruction is frowned upon because it isn't 'accurate'. Nevertheless, we have a sense of what the walls of the palaces must have looked like. While the Met displayed murals from Knossos, they didn't show wall paintings from Santorini. I now need to find out if Gillieron also 'repainted' those walls or if the discovery was much later. The Met also has an article about the conservation work performed on the Gillieron materials before they were placed on exhibition, for the curious of course http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2011/the-gilliron-paintings-on-paper-from-a-conservation-perspective




On to the next gallery, which was of Turkmen Jewelry http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/turkmen-jewelry which was in the new Islamic / Middle East wing where all the Indian art is located. This little room was full of beautiful silver ornamental jewelry. The red and silver sparkled in the cases.
I wanted to take some home with me, but the pieces were too large. Alas the exhibition catalog weighed about 30 pounds and contained far more than the 20 or so pieces in the room.


After a water break, I went to see a curious little exhibit called "Pen & Chisel" which contained about 10 preparatory drawings for sculpture. http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/pen-and-chisel The drawings dated from the 1450s to the late 1800s. One of the pieces was most interesting for it had tiny pin pricks all along the horse's body. I wondered what they were for and then realized that light could be projected through the holes onto a wall to create a life-size (or any size) reproduction. Alas, the caption didn't explain the prickings and my explanation could be incorrect. One other drawing was of the famous Marcus Aurelius Horse statues in Rome. What a delight.

Foot sore, wandered through the main hallway, past the huge tree and down the stairs to a very small gallery that's actually the atrium for the Antonio Ratti Textile Center and Reference Library http://www.metmuseum.org/research/libraries-and-study-centers/antonio-ratti-textile-center-and-reference-library   at the museum. This little gallery contained three cases entitled "Gems of European Lace 1620-1920" http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/european-lace  . Oh the lace is magnificent. There were detailed explanations of how the lace was made, both needle and bobbin, and magnification of some of the pieces. If only.... 

Since I had some time to kill, I walked through the Roentgens exhibition, a big one http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/roentgen   to see what all the fuss was about. The table were interesting, full of secret compartments and moving parts. None of his automatons were on exhibit, which was disappointing. I did enjoy seeing all the marquetry and polished  wood, but not as much as some of the other exhibits.

Unfortunately there were no small catalogs or even post cards of the little galleries, and I wasn't interested in a huge catalog of Turkmen art, so I left the gift shop empty handed. On the other hand, I spent intensive time reading captions and really looking at the artwork and drawings. Along the way, I stopped and looked at illuminated leaves of books, Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin (also no specific catalogs) which I've seen before but not really looked at. Altogether, it was an enjoyable way to experience the museum. I would definitely do it again. Thanks for joining me on my adventure.

Thursday, I'm off to see the Morgan Library & Museum. There's an exhibit of Beatrix Potter's Letters and a few bibles I want to study.

Museum musings

I just realized it's been over a month since I posted anything about my cultural adventures and explorations. There's no way to catch up or itemize the exhibits I've viewed. I'll have to go back and write about earlier visits another day. Today I want to write about the Brooklyn Museum http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/  It's the first time I've ever been there as far as I know and what a building Building image In a few hours I toured most of the collection including one of the finest collections of Egyptian art and artifacts I've ever seen. They have papyri from the Book of the Dead, from Elephantine, and even writings on mummy wrappings on display.  They do have 12 panels from the palace of Ashur-nasir-pal II which shocked me. I thought the only ones in NYC were at MMA. It turns out they were a gift in the 1955. The panels are displayed with photographs of the great 5 legged bulls, which they don't have. Still magnificent no matter what they own.

While I managed to see most of the museum, I also took two tours. The first showcased a contemporary  African American Artists Mickalene Thomas: Origin of the Universe http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/mickalene_thomas/ Thomas uses a variety of media and crystals to make her art glitter. The docent explained that many of her pieces used paintings from the 1860s as models for her work. After pointing that out and seeing the impressionist paintings, I was less impressed by Thomas' work. 

As I was leaving I hooked up with an architectural tour of the McKim, Mead & White building. I must say that the building was much more impressive than the docent who seemed to say the same thing over and over again. There also seems to be no official published history of the museum, at least not in their gift shop, so I was doubly disappointed. 

On the whole, I liked the museum and could see myself returning for a special exhibit and maybe another look at the American Wing (also very impressive). But when compared with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this museum wasn't nearly as interesting.

Digital Collections

I was going to write about my experience today at the Center for Jewish History in NYC. I just wrote about the talk and experience to my Rare Book Librarianship students. Rather than repeat myself, I'll just give you the link. http://mkahn1.blogspot.com/2012/10/digital-collections.html

Tomorrow I'm off to Columbia University. I'll take some pictures of the Hebrew Bibles with commentary to share.   I have lots of travel coming up and lots of libraries and museums to visit, so my blog should become really active again. 

The High Line

After a month in NYC, I finally took the time to be a tourist. I walked the entire length of the High Line, an interesting, trend-setting, innovative park on the elevated 10th Avenue train line. http://www.thehighline.org/ OMG it's amazing. The trail / park is the width of the rail lines and three stories above the surface streets. It runs from Gansvoort Street at 10th Avenue in the Meat Packing District to 34th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, right near Penn Station. You can see NJ from the park and of course, lots of NYC skyline. There are building roofs and water towers, smoke stacks, turrets, cupolas, crenelated roofs, and much more. There are tons of apartment buildings and lofts that overlook the park and some so close you can touch their windows.
 
Here are just a few photos of the fifty or so I shot. 

 There's a water fountain fashioned from a railroad track


 
Just below the park, there's an unusual warehouse that looks absolutely one dimensional. I just love buildings that look flat.

After walking all afternoon, I wandered around, and I do mean wandered, through the west village and into the east village. I must have walked 10 miles. Oh my aching feet.
It felt great to sit and eat with a friend in the east village.

I'll find more photos of the flora and post them later this week.

Brooklyn Mysteries

Over the past two days, I've wandered about Brooklyn looking at older buildings and wondering about their history. These particular buildings reveal their pasts through painted facades. Here's one near the Brooklyn Bridge. The name of the business is affixed to the upper level. it reads "The Eagle Warehouse & Storage Company. Today the building is probably lofts and condos, but once it was part of the Brooklyn Docks area where goods were stored awaiting shipment to other destinations whether by ship, rail, or truck. The Brooklyn Bridge area teamed with shipping and warehouses, dockworkers and ships. Today it's full of upscale restaurants and housing. 

Near this warehouse is another fine building which housed business offices for the Brooklyn City Railroad Company. I wish I'd taken a closed picture of the historic marker and of the stonework. I'll have to walk down and photograph this building again. The ironwork is stunning and the gates have dragon finials on them.

Today, I walked over to Park Slope. It was a really long walk. I now have a better sense of the neighborhoods between Brooklyn Heights and the Slope. Both are very upscale and trendy although I must say when I returned to Brooklyn Heights, it felt like home.

Along the way, I was more warehouses which have been turned into artists studios. This one was the National Packing Box Factory.

It's just on the east side of the Gowanus Canal. http://gowanuscanal.org/

There's actually a drawbridge over the canal and I could smell the salt water as I crossed over the very stagnant water. Here are some photos of the area as it is today

Once a swamp that the colonists used to their advantage to foil British troops, it's been channeled and dredged. Today there are projects to study the Indian tribes and early settlements in the area. The Ratser map shows the area in 1766 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BrooklynMap1766.jpg Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gowanus_Canal  has a nice historical essay about the canal which has been neglected and is now being cleaned up as part of a superfund project.

Once I found Park Slope, I found a beautiful branch of the Brooklyn Public library. It is in a traditional building. I really wanted to go inside and peruse the collection but my feet were tired and there was a huge hill to climb from whence Park Slope gets its name.

One more interesting building, this one in white with metal or enamel plaques with lions heads. I couldn't resist taking a picture.

I'm discovering that the sights and sounds of Brooklyn are endless. When I left Park Slope, footsore and thirsty, I boarded the B63 and rode up 5th Street to Atlantic Avenue. In front of me was the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburgh_Savings_Bank_Tower, an extremely tall building that marked the street where I lived 30 years ago. I now know that I live about a mile from Fort Green and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I have no recollection of any of the landmarks however. The area is completely gentrified and absolutely renovated. The streets headed away from the tower on Atlantic Avenue were filled with signs in Arabic, a definite change from the Brooklyn of several decades ago.

Buildings Are Eye-Candy

As I walk in the city, I cannot help but admire the buildings. There are so many amazing examples of architecture intermingled on blocks and slathered onto facades.  Since I'm spending so much time at NYPL, I thought I should take my own pictures. Here is a close up of the lions:

The facade of NYPL is just gorgeous. Here are my own photos

Looking up at the columns (above) and straight ahead at the steps and entrance.

Caddy corner across the street is Mid-Manhattan, the largest circulating branch of NYPL, and once my place of employment. NYPL is in the process of selling off the building along with the former B Altman - now the Science & Technology Library. I don't know where the collections are going, but I do know that Mid-Manhattan looks sad and in drastic need of a cleaning.

On my way back to Brooklyn Heights, I decided to walk down Lexington Avenue and enjoy the sights. There are some stunning buildings. My favorite block contained this row of brownstones, not all brown or of the same period. The one on the left has a greenhouse on the top floor. The white one has ornamental ironwork and a front door flush with the street.

I thought the building on the far left was interesting because it has a roof line that two stories taller than its neighbor. I wonder which was constructed first?

Once I arrived in Brooklyn Heights, I decided to look carefully at the stonework on the buildings. While it's not stone work, it could be a sculpture. What do you think it on the top of this building? 

My day ended at the Brooklyn Historical Society and more time exploring the early history of Long Island. They have an amazing collection of books, periodicals, pamphlets, maps, and objects. Even the outside of their building is decorated with clay and stonework.  I'll have to ask the public historian who the faces represent. 

This building's front door has the largest set of pocket doors I've ever seen. They must be 25 or 30 feet tall, and they work.   These two gentlemen were making certain the doors slid back without a hitch. And they do glide in and out.

Tomorrow, the piers along the water in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO.