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Month: June 2012

The Fix: Theodore Roosevelt Letter to Elliott L. Coues

Sometimes the treatment performed on an item is minimal but the item being treated is fascinating!  This was the case with this recently acquired letter from State Assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt to the prominent ornithologist Elliott Coues. The letter, dated April 21, 1882, outlines Roosevelt’s interest in shrews and his desire to donate his collection of shrew skins to the Smithsonian.

Charles Loring Elliott carte-de-visite – AA/PG Library

Charles Loring Elliott portrait photograph
Charles Loring Elliott carte-de-visite

Charles Loring Elliott (born Scipio, NY, 1812; died Albany, NY, 1868)

At the time of his death, Charles Loring Elliott was one of the most well-known American portrait painters of the mid-19th century. The artist vertical file at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/National Portrait Gallery (AAPG) Library contains several contemporaneous multi-page eulogies and/or reminiscences on Elliott’s life and career. In 1867, Henry Tuckerman claimed that Elliott had painted almost 700 portraits – a truly prolific life’s work if indeed true.

Digitization Dispatch: Physical Culture

Greetings! This month, we have a look at a real gem in the Smithsonian History, Art, and Culture digital collection. Two volumes of a turn-of-the-century serial devoted to all things related to the human body and its maintenance: Physical Culture. At turns laughable and insightful, this title is a hoot  to page through. It features everything from workout tips to fad diets, diets meant to add pounds, mind you. For example, judging by the amount of ink it gets, the milk diet was very popular back in 1908. When adhering to a milk diet, the publishers warn, it’s important to consume milk only. No solid food of any kind! So, don’t add cheese, for example! It’s kind of like a phlegmy protein shake diet!

Nancy Gwinn Receives Ainsworth Rand Spofford President’s Award

 

Dr. Nancy E. Gwinn

Smithsonian Libraries Director Dr. Nancy E. Gwinn has been awarded the District of Columbia Library Association’s Ainsworth Rand Spofford President’s Award 2012. This award, named for the first president of DCLA and former Librarian of Congress, recognizes outstanding contributions to the development or improvement of library and information services.

Transit of Venus

On June 5 and 6th, much of the world will be able to catch a glimpse of the planet Venus traversing across the face of the Sun. The “Transit of Venus” occurs when the planet passes between the Earth and the Sun, a rare occasion that has happened only seven times since the year 1600. Many folks in the modern era will have a chance to witness this remarkable occurrence twice in their lifetimes, as the last Transit occurred in  2004.

What is an artist’s book?

“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some are to be
chewed and digested.”

 ~Francis Bacon, Essays (1625) Bacon’s Essays By Francis Bacon, Richard Whately.

 

 

We have talked about artists’ books on the Smithsonian Libraries blog before. And we’ll talk about them more, as a part of a short series to highlight interesting works of book art owned by the Smithsonian’s American Art & Portrait Gallery Library.

But what, exactly, is an artist’s book? You may not be able to tell just from looking at the object itself!