Ancient clay artifact meets the Future

October 5, 2016October 12, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

Today in Special Collections, our oldest text faced the library’s newest technology.

Our cuneiform tablet, a beer token from 2,000 BCE, took a new form when DLA postdoctoral fellow Kristy Golubiewski-Davis captured it in a 3D scan.

Mounted on a tripod, a small camera photographs the tablet, on a turntable, while a small projector shines different light patterns onto its surface. In the background, a laptop shows the 3D scan as it materializes.

To see 3D scanning in action – along with the tablet and other important Special Collections objects – come to Davis Family Library this Friday! Kristy will by demonstrating 3D scanning in the library atrium from 10am-2pm, and Special Collections will host our annual Fall Family Weekend Open House from 1pm-4pm.

And stay tuned for a 3D printout made from the scan coming soon, a plastic facsimile students and researchers can inspect in their own hands!

Update 10/7/16: The 3D printouts are here!

On top, the original, incised over 4,000 years ago; below, plastic facsimiles to scale and at 200% the original size 3D printed from the scan.

Endless Summer in a 1930s Snapshot

September 1, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

Every day in the archives, we encounter pieces of history that remind us how our world has evolved over the years, and how some things remain the same through the cycle of seasons. For example, this Middlebury College News Bureau photograph from the summer of 1934 could just have easily been shot yesterday on sunny Lake Dunmore.

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The idyllic scene is a timeless representation of Vermont summer, and as we bid farewell to another August – welcoming September’s cool mornings and return of students – we dive into autumn, fighting the urge to cling onto the beauty of summer, for we know it will be back again next year.

Get out and vote like it’s 1924!

August 8, 2016August 8, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

In honor of the Vermont primary on August 9th, we remember that every vote counts – even in a small town.

The tiny Vermont town of Somerset (which still exists!) could not be silenced despite losing 50% of their voting population in 1924. In one fell swoop, the town clerk, treasurer, tax collector, constable, and school director departed, leaving the other two legal voters the only residents eligible to cast their ballots.

Though the town currently boasts a similarly small population, we hope they, and all voting Vermonters, make it to the polls tomorrow!

New Special Collections exhibits just in time for summer

May 24, 2016May 31, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

Currently populating the glass cases of Davis Family Library are Margaret Armstrong book covers and historic postcards. Don’t miss the chance to see them before heading out for the summer!

As part of American Studies professor Ellery Foutch’s AMST 101 course, American Holidays, students researched holiday postcards from our collection, exploring how symbols and themes reflect the cultural mores of turn-of-the-century American life.

The postcards they studied and their comments are on display in the library atrium.

To compliment this exhibit, college archivist Danielle Rougeau curated and designed an exhibit featuring postcards and scrapbooks from the archives. The postcards capture Middlebury College’s landscape and characters as well as the role of postcard correspondence through history.

Postcard from Marjorie Phelps, class of 1917, to her mother. As she mentions, she and her roommate are pictured on the reverse.

Rounding out our summer exhibits is a tribute to Margaret Armstrong, curated by Joseph Watson and designed by Danielle Rougeau. Margaret Armstrong (1867-1944), one of the most accomplished book cover designers of the early twentieth century, produced cover art and illustrations for over 270 books.

Come to Special Collections to see a selection of her cover designs and learn more about her life!

Can you tell which cover Margaret Armstrong *didn’t* design? Come to Special Collections for a closer look and the answer!

Web Archive solicits contributions

May 18, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

The way to our hearts is through the archives!

As part of SC&A’s latest guerrilla advertising campaign, we infiltrated the Senior tradition of posting crush lists on the bulletin boards outside of the dining halls in the hopes of garnering submissions to the Web Archive.

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The College’s new ArchiveIt subscription allows us to collect and store Web-based projects created by faculty and students, notable blogs and social media by members of the Midd community, student organization websites, and materials donated to Special Collections and Archives.

Students and faculty are encouraged to submit URLs for websites, blogs, and social media presences to Special Collections for inclusion in the archive.

Crush lists in Proctor dining hall, with Web Archive’s Crush List in bottom left corner

This advertisement aims to target online presences related to campus culture but not directly affiliated with or endorsed by the College in order to create a more comprehensive view of student life for future generations to look back on.

The Middlebury College Community Web Archive, a transinstitutional collection, is intended to document life at Middlebury outside the official channels of communication, to archive diverse points of view and student activities, and to create a historical record of dynamic and engaging discussions that define our collective experience at Middlebury College. We hope our crush list conveys the spirit of the submissions we wish to receive!

“Shall we their fond pageant see?” A Midsummer Night’s Dream May 5-8!

April 29, 2016April 29, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

While our February Folio fever has passed, the Shakespeare celebration continues with the theater department’s upcoming production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Come watch the latest show in the long legacy of Shakespeare at Middlebury with performances at 7:30pm Thursday-Saturday, May 5-7 and 2pm Sunday, May 8th in Wright Theater!

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And be sure to catch Special Collections’ archival exhibit featuring historic costume and set designs of past Middlebury Shakespeare productions! On display for a limited time in the atrium of Davis Family Library.

Middlebury's 1971 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream — Middlebury’s 1971 production of *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*

TheTempest1978 — Original watercolor costume design by legendary Middlebury costume and set designer Capp Potter for the 1978 production of Shakespeare’s *The Tempest*.

Special Collections & Archives Celebrates Winter Carnival

February 23, 2016March 7, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

s6pf.wc.1947 poster — 1947 Winter Carnival Poster

As part of the 93rd annual Winter Carnival, Special Collections & Archives will continue a new tradition, a screening of historic film footage from Winter Carnivals past!

Join us in Crossroads Cafe Friday February 26th from 4:30pm-6pm to enjoy a free hot chocolate sponsored by MCAB and films from the archives!

Though this tradition was established just last year, it celebrates the legacy of Middlebury’s Winter Carnival with sound and silent footage spanning the 1920s to 1950s, capturing the spirit and magic of our very own winter wonderland.

If you can’t make it to the screening and hot chocolate bar, be sure to check out our vintage videos on Vimeo!

First Folio Festival Thursday!

February 12, 2016February 13, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

Join us this Thursday February 18th to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the First Folio! exhibit at the Middlebury Museum of Art.

Starting at 4:30pm in the Center for the Arts lobby, there will be musical and theatrical performances, guided tours of the exhibit with professors of English and American Literature Timothy Billings and James Berg, children’s activities with Page One Literacy, and sweet and savory Renaissance refreshments.

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Shakespeare’s First Folio at Middlebury – Keynote Wednesday and more events to come!

January 29, 2016February 2, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

This February, one of the most important books in the history of English literature is coming to Middlebury. This year marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, and to honor the centuries of the bard’s influence, the Folger Shakespeare Library is sponsoring a national tour of their collection of First Folios.

Considered one of the most influential books in the world, the First Folio includes 36 Shakespeare plays, 18 of which had never been printed before the First Folio in 1623. Without the First Folio, all of those plays – including Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, As You Like It, and more – might have been lost forever.

From February 2-28, Middlebury College will serve as the Vermont site of the national tour, displaying the First Folio at the Middlebury Museum of Art.

TitlePageFirstFolio_FirstFolioFolger

To kick off this month of celebration, James Shapiro, Columbia University professor and renowned Shakespeare scholar, will give a lecture on Shakespeare’s role in American history on Wednesday February 3rd at 7:00pm in the Concert Hall.

Visit go/shakespeare for more information about events throughout the month of February, including a First Folio Festival on Thursday February 18th at 4:30pm in the Center for the Arts Lobby.

Anderson Freeman Resource Center Opening Weekend!

January 14, 2016 Mikaela Taylor

Two distinguished alumni are returning to Middlebury as the faces of the Anderson Freeman Resource Center, celebrating its opening weekend to coincide with Alumni of Color and Martin Luther King Weekend, January 15-17, 2016.

Mary Annette Anderson and Martin Freeman represent the struggles and triumphs of the beginning of diversity at Middlebury College, and Special Collections & Archives is pleased to see their impact on College history continue in the form of the new Resource Center.

Mary Annette Anderson, class of 1899, was the first woman of color to graduate from Middlebury College. She earned the title of Valedictorian and went on to teach as a university professor in New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

middarchive.middlebury — Martin Henry Freeman graduated from Middlebury in 1849 and became the first African-American Professor and College President at the all-black Allegheny Institute (later Avery College) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An advocate a movement of black Americans to Africa, he himself relocated to Liberia where served as a professor and later President of Liberia College in Monrovia.

The opening weekend festivities begin with a keynote address by UCLA and Columbia Law School professor Kimberlé Crenshaw at 7pm in Mead Chapel. On Saturday professors, alumni, staff, and students will speak about the “History of Diversity and Student Activism at Middlebury College” at 12:30pm in Wilson Hall, followed by an official opening ceremony at Carr Hall and a talk by Professor of History William Hart on these two iconic alumni at 2:30pm.

For more information visit the events calendar or AFC’s official Facebook event.