During a recent visit to Philadelphia, I paid my respects to two of my favorite people from the history of Duke University: Julian Abele and Horace Trumbauer. Trumbauer’s architecture firm was hired to design the new campuses of Duke University, which were constructed between 1925 and 1932.

Abele was the first African-American graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Architecture (1902). As Trumbauer’s chief designer, he designed Duke Chapel. In addition to Duke, Abele’s work can be seen at the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Trumbauer never received a formal education in architecture but designed some of the grandest residential homes of the Gilded Age, and later hotels and office buildings. One of his clients was James B. Duke, who hired Trumbauer to design his Fifth Avenue mansion in NYC (construction was completed in 1912). The success of the project likely led to Trumbauer’s firm receiving the commission to design Duke University.

Julian Abele is buried in the Lehman section of Eden Cemetery, designated the oldest African-American cemetery in the United States.

Kim Sims visits Julian Abele's grave.

Horace Trumbauer is buried in the Franconia section of West Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Photo of Horace Trumbauer's grave.

You can track the progress of the construction of Abele’s designs for Duke’s East and West Campuses in our digital collection, “The Construction of Duke University, 1924-1932.”

Post contributed by Kim Sims, Technical Services Archivist for the Duke University Archives.

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Mad Men Mondays logo

The Chevy executives in Detroit aren’t happy with any ad campaigns the merged agency is submitting. Don asks them to work all weekend to come up with new ideas for Chevy. After talking with Sylvia, Don begins having flashbacks of being a teenager in the brothel with his stepmother. Jim brings in his doctor to “fix everyone up” and gives some staff an energy serum shot, guaranteed to give 1-3 days of uninterrupted creative focus and energy. The energized creatives are unable to focus, leaving Peggy and Ginsberg frustrated with their frenetic, but useless, work. Don asks Peggy to find a soup ad in the archives to inspire them for the campaign. Don’s thoughts are more focused on a pitch to win Sylvia back, rather than to persuade Chevy.

Sally babysits her brothers at Don’s apartment while he works and Megan is at a dinner. Awakened by sounds from the dining room, Sally walks out to find an African-American woman rummaging through the cupboards. She tells Sally she raised her dad, but she’s actually a thief. Finally returning home, Don finds the kids, Megan, Henry, Betty (back to a blonde), and the police in his apartment. He promptly faints. The episode ends with Don reassuring Sally the robbery was not her fault, and Don telling Ted to call him in 1970 when Chevy is ready to make an ad.

Episode eight’s plot referred to Admiral radios, Chevy Impala, tuna salad, soup, and gold watches, among other things. Enjoy our selection of ads and images that illustrate some of the products and cultural references mentioned in last night’s Mad Men. A gallery of our highlighted images may also be found on Pinterest and Flickr.

admiral radio - blog

Impala - Blog

starkist - Blog

Campbells 1958 - blog

watch - blog

pajamas - Blog

Helene Curtis - blog

typewriter - Blog

Alice in Wonderland 1960 - Blog

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Date: Thursday, May 23, 2013
Time: 1:00 PM
Location: Perkins Library, Room 217 (Click for Map)
Contact Information: Kirston Johnson, 919-681-7963, kirston.johnson@duke.edu

Please join us for a conversation with internationally renowned photographer Lynn Saville on Thursday, May 23rd from 1:00 until 2:00pm in Perkins Library Room 217. Lynn will discuss her latest project, “Vacancy: The Disquieting Beauty of Emptiness,” which focuses on New York City and the strikingly beautiful visual effects of economic turmoil.

Fine-art and documentary photographer Lynn Saville was educated at Duke University and Pratt Institute. Saville specializes in photographing both cities and rural settings at twilight and dawn, or as she describes it, “the boundary times between night and day.”

Lynn Savile, Dyckman Street, C-Print, 2011

Lynn Savile, Dyckman Street, C-Print, 2012

Lynn Saville has received numerous awards and grants and her photographs are published in two monographs: Acquainted With the Night (Rizzoli, 1997) and Night/Shift (Random House/Moncelli, 2009). Her work is represented by the Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York and her prints are included in numerous permanent collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the George Eastman House, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the International Museum of Photography, the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University, and many others. She lives in New York City with her husband, the poet Philip Fried.

This event is free and open to the public.

 

With the opening of Star Trek Into Darkness this week, it seemed like a good time to check out what our collections have on Star Trek.  As it turns out, Star Trek’s long history before becoming a star-powered summer blockbuster is well represented in our collections.

I found a number of Star Trek comic books in the Edwin and Terry Murray Comic Book Collection which are a lot of fun:

Star Trek Comic May 1973

“The Hijacked Planet” Star Trek #18 (May 1973), Gold Key Comics

"All Those Years Ago" Star Trek Annual v. 1 #1 (1985), DC Comics

“All Those Years Ago” Star Trek Annual v. 1 #1 (1985), DC Comics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But my favorite piece comes from the Edwin and Terry Murray Fanzine Collection. Fanzines are nonprofessional publications produced by fans of particular pop culture genres or works.  Most of the fanzines in the Murray collection are from comic book fans, but there are some from the genres of science fiction and fantasy, including issue 3 of Spockanalia. Spockanalia was the first fanzine devoted exclusively to Star Trek. The first issue was published in 1967 during the first season of the original television series. Spocknalia 3 was published in 1968 and features essays on Star Trek, fiction, drawings, and even a letter from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Here are some highlights:

 

Cover of Spockanalia 3

Cover of Spockanalia 3, drawn by Allan Asherman

 

Letter from Gene Roddenberry

Letter from Gene Roddenberry

 

Vulcan Graffiti, by Sherna Comerford

Vulcan Graffiti, by Sherna Burley

Enterprise Graffiti, by Sherna Comerford

Enterprise Graffiti, by Sherna Burley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Young Vulcan's Handbook of Emotional Control

Young Vulcan’s Handbook of Emotional Control, by Deborah Langsam

Post contributed by Kate Collins, Research Services Librarian

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