Richard Wagener Lecture and Related Exhibits in Special Collections

The Book Arts Guild and University of Washington Libraries present

An Afternoon at Mithras Bookstore and a Sierra Journey, a lecture by Richard Wagener.  This talk will trace his development as a wood engraver and his involvement in the world of fine press books.

Thursday April 11, 2013, 7-9pm (doors open at 6:45)
Maps/Special Collections Classroom
Suzzallo Library Basement Room B69

Richard Wagener grew up in southern California spending a lot of time with his grandfather in remote parts of the desert and up in the Sierra. Early art classes introduced him to Maynard Dixon and Edgar Payne. After school activities included selling the evening newspapers at the Disney studios where he met many of the illustrators and animators. Richard has an undergraduate degree from the University of San Diego and a graduate degree from Art Center College of Design. He has been engraving wood for over thirty years and his work has been in a number of fine press editions. He currently lives and works in northern California.

There are two related exhibitions that feature relief printing which are on display in Special Collections.  This will be an opportunity to view them.  Both Conor Casey, curator of Images of Labor and Social Justice: The Art of Richard V. Correll and Sandra Kroupa curator of Lasting Impressions: Relief Prints Over 500 Years, will speak briefly and will provide access to the exhibitions.

Cheers to MOHAI

Aerial view of MOHAI, October 10, 2012

Just a very quick announcement before the holiday weekend descend to serve as a reminder that tomorrow is the official grand opening of the Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI) at its brand new location in South Lake Union. Housed in a former naval training station (often referred to as “the Armory”), this old/new facility offers increased exhibit space of over 50,000 square feet.

Look for “reviews” in the fullness of time. For now, heartiest congratulations!

For the sentimentalists among us, here are some eerie and wistful pictures of the “new” MOHAI under construction in 1937 (from the Seattle Municipal Archives):

Lake Union Naval Training Station under construction, 1937

and the Paul Thiry-designed original MOHAI building in the Montlake neighborhood still under construction in 1951;  this image is  from the Calvin F. Todd photograph collection (PH Coll 232) in Special Collections:

Exterior of MOHAI under construction, 1951

 

New Exhibit-Images of Labor and Social Justice: The Art of Richard V. Correll

Images of Labor and Social Justice: The Art of Richard V. Correll

New Additions to the Collection of the Labor Archives of Washington State, UW Special Collections

December 6, 2012 – April 19, 2013
Special Collections Basement Lobby
Allen Library North First Floor Balcony

Richard V. (Dick) Correll (1904-1990), was “one of the leading masters of printmaking in the West.” Best known for his powerful black and white linoleum cuts, etchings and woodblock prints, for most of his life he earned a living as a commercial artist in the book publishing and advertising fields while producing a large body of fine art in his own time.
Correll’s themes ranged from landscapes, animals and agricultural scenes, harbors and ships, and music and dance to those which reflected his lifelong concern with political and social issues. This exhibit features selections from several core areas of Correll’s recently donated collection at the Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections: Images of labor, social justice, civil rights, anti-war themes, work for the Great Depression-era Federal Art Project of the Works Projects Administration, and his work for the progressive Depression-era newspaper the Voice of Action.

The World of Tomorrow Continues

Image of the Space Needle at night taken during the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair by an unknown photographer

As the long weekend approaches and the end of the season draws ever closer, why not try to prolong that summertime feeling for at least a little while longer by planning a visit to The World of Tomorrow: Looking Back at the Seattle Worlds Fair next week? The exhibit, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Century 21 exposition, has been extended through September 14, 2012.

You will find the exhibit installed in cases on the Allen Library North balcony and the Special Collections lobby. Both areas are accessible to the public whenever the building is open. Please check the current hours of opening as the library is operating on an interim break schedule.

Get the Party Started at SPL!

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.

New Special Collections Web site Sneak Peek

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.

 

Free Ephemera Event in Tacoma

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

2011 Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Conference

 

Postcard showing automobile on a Pacific beach with shipwreck in background, circa 1923

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.

Seattle Camera Club Exhibition at the Henry

 

“Into the Library,” undated photograph by Frank A. Kunishige. Frank Kunishige Photograph Collection. PH Coll 343. Special Collections Division. University of Washington Libraries.

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.

Connecting Collections, People, and Professionals

White board from inaugural meeting of the Puget Sound Special Collections Interest Group

Today marked the first meeting of the Puget Sound Special Collections Interest Group at the Seattle Public Library, which has been convened in an effort to encourage collaboration and communication among the various stakeholders in the local special collections and archives community.  I didn’t take a head count, but about thirty-five or so people made it to what was a very lively meeting.  As you can see, the group came up with a very ambitious and lengthy “to-do” list.  Thanks to Jodee Fenton of SPL and Sean Lanksbury of the Washington State Library for organizing the meeting.

Tomorrow the rest of you can drop by SPL to take in the annual Archives Fair extravaganza.  Happy Archives Month, everyone (there, got it in, just in the nick of time)!