Events, From Our Collections, Manuscripts, Readings and Talks, University Archives

Julian Carr and the Magical Occoneechee Farm

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Date: Sunday, August 28, 2011
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Big Barn Convention Center at The Shops at Daniel Boone (map and directions)
Contact Information: Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County, 919-732-2201 or info@orangeNChistory.org

Julian Shakespeare Carr
Julian Shakespeare Carr. From the Picture File, M671.

At his summer home in Hillsborough, Trinity College trustee (and donor of much of the land that is now East Campus) Julian Shakespeare Carr built a model farm that became nationally-known for its innovative farming practices.

This latest event in the “Stores and Stories” series, which is sponsored by the Historical Foundation of Hillsborough and Orange County, will focus on Carr’s Occoneechee Farm.

The dramatic presentation—which will feature Tom Stevens, Hillsborough’s mayor, as Carr—is based on Carr’s farm journal, part of the RBMSCL’s Julian Shakespeare Carr Papers. Additional stories and photos from the farm in its heyday will also be shared.

Events, From Our Collections, History of Medicine, News and Features

History of Medicine Open House

Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Time: 3:00-4:00 PM
Location: Rare Book Room
Contact Information: Rachel Ingold, 919-684-8549 or rachel.ingold(at)duke.edu

This past July, over 20,000 rare books and journals, 4,500 manuscripts, and a variety of instruments and artifacts from the History of Medicine Collections were moved from the Medical Center Library to the RBMSCL. You may have followed the move via “Medical Move Mondays” here on The Devil’s Tale.

On Tuesday, you’ll have your chance to see (some of) the newest items in the RBMSCL’s collections. Join Rachel Ingold, Curator of the History of Medicine Collections, to learn more about the history behind the collections and view some of the unique and spectacular item—ranging from 16th century books that contain hand colored illustrations of amputations to actual amputating saws and more!

Amputating Instruments
No, you can't use these in the Rare Book Room.
News and Features, Renovation

Big News!

We have a new name!

David M. RubensteinDavid M. Rubenstein (T ’70) has pledged $13.6 million to the Duke Libraries in support of the RBMSCL—the largest gift in the Duke Libraries’ history. In recognition of this historic commitment, we are pleased to announce that we will become the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, following approval by the Board of Trustees. (Here’s the official press release.)

Our director, Naomi Nelson, is excited about what this gift means for Duke. “David Rubenstein’s generous gift gives this world-class library a very distinguished name. We couldn’t be more thrilled. His support will allow us to move forward rapidly with renovation plans to transform Duke’s historic library buildings into a proper home for the Rubenstein Library. We will be able to welcome more classes, better serve local and international researchers, and host a greater number and variety of public programs. What makes this gift particularly special is that David Rubenstein once worked as a student in the very stacks we will be renovating. We are extremely grateful for his vision and for his continued commitment to Duke.”

David Rubenstein is the co-founder and managing director of the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm with 36 offices around the world. A native of Baltimore, he graduated magna cum laude from Duke and was elected Phi Beta Kappa. In 2003, he was elected to the Duke Board of Trustees, and he currently serves as the Board’s vice-chair. His gift to the Duke Libraries is part of his larger commitment to philanthropy. He serves on many boards, including those of the Lincoln Center, the Smithsonian, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His largest previous gifts to Duke supported the growth of the Sanford School of Public Policy. Rubenstein and his wife, Alice Rogoff Rubenstein, have three grown children.

You may have seen the news stories covering Rubenstein’s purchase of the Magna Carta and his decision to loan this historic document to the National Archives so that it could be shared with the public. This was one of several seminal historical documents that he has purchased over the years to share with the American people. (See, for example, this profile in Duke Magazine. ).

Architect's Sketch of the Rubenstein Library Reading Room
Architect's Sketch of the Rubenstein Library Reading Room.

We look forward to welcoming you to the new David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. We’ll post updates about the renovation plans here on The Devil’s Tale, so watch this space. We have already started planning for the grand reopening in early 2015!

Archive of Documentary Arts, Digital Collections, From Our Collections, News and Features

Sleep In on Wednesday

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This Wednesday, August 17th, the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library will be opening promptly at 10:00 AM.

You know what this means for you, our researchers, right? One extra hour for this:

"Leaning on pillow, baby sleeps on carpeted floor." From William Gedney Photographs and Writings, 1940s-1989.

Doesn’t that baby look comfy?

So take an extra hour’s break on Wednesday. We’ll look forward to seeing your bright, shiny faces and helping you with your bright, shiny research at 10 AM. Of course, please call us at 919-660-5822 or e-mail us at special-collections(at)duke.edu with your questions or concerns.

Events, News and Features, Readings and Talks

An Artist’s Adventures with the Supernormal

Date: Thursday, August 18, 2011
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: Rare Book Room
Contact Information: Elizabeth Dunn, 919-660-5824 or elizabeth.dunn(at)duke.edu

"Artist as Medium," 2008Video and installation artist Susan MacWilliam will speak about her archivally-based art, which focuses on the world of the paranormal, the tradition of psychical research, the supersensory, and ideas about perceptual phenomenon.

This summer, she is studying the experimental and groundbreaking ESP and telepathy research of Dr. J. B. Rhine through materials in the RBMSCL (focusing on the Parapsychology Laboratory Records) and at the Rhine Research Center. Susan MacWilliam’s residency in Durham is supported through funding from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

For Thursday’s talk, she will show some of her video pieces and discuss the ways that she transforms her archival discoveries and interviews into artistic creations.

Light refreshments will be served.

For more background on Susan MacWilliam’s work, please visit her website.

Post contributed by Elizabeth Dunn, Research Services Librarian.

From Our Collections, History of Medicine, RL Photos

Decorating the RBMSCL

Along with print items, manuscripts, and artifacts, the History of Medicine Collections include works of art. On Friday, thanks to Peter Geoffrion, three pieces of artwork were hung in the RBMSCL.

In the RBMSCL’s reading room, we now have a portrait of Hans Horst Meyer, a German physician and pioneer in anesthesia. The portrait was a gift from his grandson, Professor J. Horst Meyer, Fritz London Professor Emeritus of Physics here at Duke University.

In the Trent Room (part of the Mary Duke Biddle Rare Book Room), a portrait of Valentine Mott and a framed ivory skeleton sculpture, or Memento Mori, were hung.

The Memento Mori piece is one of the most exquisite items in the History of Medicine Collections. A gift of Mrs. Mary D. B. T. Semans from the collection of her late husband, Dr. Josiah Charles Trent, this sculpture is carved from a single piece of ivory. Reminiscent of the illustrations from the famed Vesalius anatomical work, De Fabrica (1543), Memento Mori displays a variety of material goods splayed at the feet of the skeleton. Looking at this, one is reminded, that in the end, we’re all mere mortals.

Post contributed by Rachel Ingold, Curator for the History of Medicine Collections.

Archive of Documentary Arts, From Our Collections

A Love Supreme

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This is the second of a summer series highlighting a few film shorts from the Full Frame Archive, a collection within the Archive of Documentary Arts, with the goal of preserving masters all past winners of Durham’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. The Full Frame Archive has grown to 75 films since 2007 and continues to grow; DVD use copies of these films can be viewed in the RBMSCL’s reading room. A complete list with descriptions, as well as titles of award-winners not yet acquired, can be found in the finding aid.

“Virtuosity and improvisation.” That’s what connects Nilesh Patel’s 2001 film short that documents his mother’s hands making samosas with John Coltrane’s jazz masterpiece, its namesake. “I wanted to refer to both of these ideas, which I believe can be ascribed to a mother’s cooking. A mother feeds you before you emerge into the world, and would even go hungry if necessary, just to ensure that her children can eat.”

A ten-minute, black-and-white film, A Love Supreme won the 2002 Full Frame Jury Award for Best Short and is, in my opinion, one of the more consciously artistic films in the Full Frame Archive. The film shows Patel’s mother, whose face is never shown, making the popular deep-fried Indian pastry stuffed with potatoes, peas and spices. Completely wordless, it presents the preparation process in ten stages, each set to its own tempo, images seamlessly edited in time with a musical or ambient soundtrack.

Click the image to view the film on the BBC's website.
Click the image to view the film on BBC's website.

Continue reading A Love Supreme →

Bingham Center, Do Your Research, Events, Readings and Talks, Travel Grants

Unnatural Intimacies

Date: Friday, August 12, 2011
Time: 3:00 PM
Location: Rare Book Room
Contact Information: Kelly Wooten, 919-660-5967 or kelly.wooten(at)duke.edu

Join the staff of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture for a discussion, titled “Unnatural Intimacies: Deviance, Sexuality, and the Historical Relationships of Lesbians and Prostitutes, 1935-1965,” with Marika L. Cifor, the recipient of a Mary Lily Research Grant.

Ms. Cifor is a candidate for a Masters of Arts in History and a Masters of Science in Library and Information Science, with a concentration in Archives Management, at Simmons College. During her research visit, she will be studying the Bingham Center’s lesbian pulp fiction collection. Light refreshments will be served.

Post contributed by Kelly Wooten, Research Services and Collection Development Librarian for the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History and Culture.

Just for Fun, News and Features

Another Wednesday at the RBMSCL

So, you ask, what did your friends at the RBMSCL do on Wednesday? Well, we helped some researchers and we added some new materials to our collections and we encoded a few finding aids.

And then there was this.

Bake-Off Treats!

Yes, on Wednesday afternoon, Team Smith and Team Perkins matched baking skills in the First Annual All-RBMSCL Bake-Off.

Our three esteemed judges sampled 37 desserts from four categories (cakes, pies, cookies and bars, and “other”) and assigned scores for presentation, taste, and creativity.

Cleansing Their Palates

They were a little overwhelmed.

Feeding Frenzy

While the scores were being totaled, we got down to some serious eating (note our serious eating faces).

Our Winners:

  • Pies Category: Patrick Stawski, Human Rights Archivist
  • Cakes Category: Mary Samouelian, Doris Duke Collection Archivist
  • Cookies and Bars Category: Elizabeth Dunn, Research Services Librarian
  • “Other” Category: Paula Jeannet Mangiafico, Senior Processing Archivist (for tiramisu!)

Elizabeth Dunn won “Best in Show” for her Heart-Shaped Dark Chocolate Brownies.

Best in Show

Although Team Smith won the categories 3 to 1, Team Perkins scored the higher average of points per entry. We’re calling it a draw. For now, the trophy—the Golden Recipe Box—will reside at Perkins in the RBMSCL’s reading room. Comparisons to the Stanley Cup are, we think, inevitable:

The Golden Recipe Box

We haven’t tried drinking champagne out of it, though.

For more Bake-Off photos, visit the “2011 RBMSCL Bake-Off” set on our Flickr photostream.

Dispatches from the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Duke University