To kick off the citywide 1962 Seattle World’s Fair 50th anniversary celebrations, the Seattle Public Library will host an afternoon of events this Friday, November 19, 2011, at the Central Library in downtown Seattle. These include an author reading by Paula Becker and Alan Stein, as well as a chance to take a test drive of SPL’s new Century 21 Digital Collection.
Complete information about Friday’s programs is available here.
Screen shot of new Special Collections homepage
At last Wednesday’s Division meeting, the redesigned Special Collections Web site was unveiled to staff. Feel free to send in your comments or other feedback during this testing period. The new site is scheduled to go live on October 19, 2011.
Crowd gathered for a speech in the Stadium Bowl, Tacoma, circa 1911
A special behind-the-scenes tour of the Washington State Historical Society’s extensive ephemera collection will be held at the WSHS Research Center in Tacoma on Saturday, May 14th from 12:00-4:00 pm.
Ed Nolan of the Washington State Historical Society will lead this introductory tour of the WSHS Ephemera Collection, discussing the steps in acquiring, cataloging and storing ephemera, and the many uses to which it is put.
Following the tour, Mr. Nolan will give a talk on a particular interest of his — Northern Pacific Railroad land and tourism promotional material from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
This free event, which forms part of the Northwest Regional meeting of the Ephemera Society of America, will be the first in what the organizers hope will be an on-going series of get-togethers of those interested in ephemera. The formal tour begins at 12:30 pm, but attendees are asked to have their lunch before the tour and to arrive around noon.
Numbers for the tour are limited! To reserve your spot, e-mail imprints@oldimprints.com or call Elisabeth Burdon at 503-234-3538.
The WSHS Research Center is located at 315 North Stadium Way, Tacoma, Washington. Full directions can be found here.
Image credit: University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections, Order No. WAS1048
Pacific Waterways: Connecting Local, Regional, and Global Histories is the theme of this year’s PWNHG conference, which takes place tomorrow at the Museum of History & Industry. Among the panels on offer is a session, “A Report from the Archives,” which will include a presentation on the Labor Archives of Washington State.
You also can go out of the library and head over to the Henry Art Gallery for this evening’s reception and panel discussion for the opening of the exhibition, Shadows of a Fleeting World: Pictorial Photography and the Seattle Camera Club. The show draws heavily on material from Special Collections, including the Frank Kunishige Photograph Collection (PH Coll 343) and the Kyo Koike Photograph Collection (PH Coll 262). The panel discussion, features Henry Chief Curator, Elizabeth Brown, as well as David F. Martin and Special Collections Visual Materials Curator, Nicolette Bromberg, who co-authored the catalog for the exhibition. The event begins at 7:00 P.M. in the Henry Auditorium; it is free with museum admission or membership, but seating is limited.
If you can’t make it tonight, the exhibition runs from February 12 – May8, 2011.
With the change of seasons, our thoughts turn to those of our colleagues who have moved on (or soon will be). A wave of wanderlust seems to have struck Special Collections this summer, with Europe being the destination of choice.
Researcher extraordinaire, Jessie Sherwood, departed Seattle last month to undertake a post-doctoral fellowship at l’Université de Nantes. In a well deserved reprieve from chapbooks and scrapbooks, she will complete her M.L.I.S. from the University of Washington online.
Accessioning Specialist, Jeni Spamer (in a nod to Philip Barry?), has decided to take advantage of her EU status passport and is heading off to sample life on the Continent. After touching down in the land of her ancestors, she will be throwing away the road map for real. Jeni brought good vibes, dedicated professionalism, and tasty recipes to Special Collections. Her unfailing good humor, patience, and can-do spirit will be much missed.
Although green with envy, we wish both our wanderers well and hope that they will send further word of their adventures.
Flier for show at Ballard's Aster Coffee Lounge
Looking for something to do this weekend? Why not take in the Second Saturday Art Walk in Ballard?
This coming Saturday, April 10, 2010, is the opening and reception for a display of images from the University of Washington Special Collections at the Aster Coffee Lounge. The show has been organized by CSS Photography, which assists with the photographic needs of the UW community and beyond. This event is a rare opportunity to look at our photographs while drinking coffee (or even wine or beer)! Read more here.
Portrait of Bertha Knight Landes at unidentified ship launching, circa 1918.
The Seattle Municipal Archives celebrates its 25 years of existence with two special events this month; separate lectures by City Archivist, Scott Cline, and historian, Paul Dorpat. Both of these programs are free and open to the public. For full information, see their online flier.
We seem to have missed the call for papers, but the program for this year’s Pacific Northwest Historians Guild conference has been announced. The theme of the conference, “A Time for Reconsideration,” which will take place on March 5, 2010 at the Museum of History & Industry, is on trails and treaties in the Pacific Northwest. Full program description is available here.
Lowman & Hanford Company booksellers store interior, circa 1908
Hour 2 on the Service Desk and only a few creatures are stirring.
Happy holidays, everyone!
Image credit: Order no. SEA1809, Seattle Photograph Collection.
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Conor Casey, Labor Archivist