Hidden Gems Fall 2011 - Free Library of Philadelphia

Hidden
GEMS
A PERIODICAL HIGHLIGHTING THE FREE LIBRARY OF
PHILADELPHIA’S RARE AND UNIQUE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
A Letter
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Welcome to Hidden Gems, a new periodical highlighting the
Free Library of Philadelphia’s rare and unique special collections.
Each year, scholars and curiosity seekers from around the globe
visit the Free Library to examine our unparalleled holdings,
including Charles Dickens’s manuscripts, rare orchestral sheet
music, original drawings by Alexander Calder, and more. We are
incredibly proud of these literary and cultural treasures, and look
forward to sharing more about them with you.
In Hidden Gems you’ll have a peek inside our special collections
and hear directly from the passionate librarians who work with
them. You’ll gain deeper insights about our treasures, get tips on
how to use them, and read some of our favorite stories about how
these collections touched lives around the world.
I hope you enjoy this first issue of Hidden Gems, and that you
stop by and visit us in person soon! And don’t forget, you can see
many digitized items from these amazing collections online
anytime at freelibrary.org.
Warmly,
Siobhan A. Reardon, President and Director
HIDDEN GEM
63
#
SHOWN HERE IS A GORGEOUS,
hand-painted page
from Genesis FROM A 15TH CENTURY FRENCH BIBLE.
THE TEXT IS A
french translation OF THE LATIN
VULGATE, MARKING AN EARLY ATTEMPT IN THE
CHURCH’S HISTORY TO RENDER THE
sacred words
OF THE BIBLE INTO A LANGUAGE THAT MORE PEOPLE
COULD UNDERSTAND. THE MANUSCRIPT WAS
illuminated BY TWO DIFFERENT ARTISTS FROM THE
WORKSHOP OF THE MASTER OF THE ÉCHEVINAGE DE
ROUEN IN THE PROVINCE OF NORMANDY.
THIS BIBLE IS PART OF THE RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT’S
EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF MANUSCRIPTS,
PRINTED BIBLES, AND OTHER SACRED BOOKS DATING
FROM THE 10TH TO THE 16TH CENTURIES.
Bible. Rouen, France, 15th Century. Illustrated at the Workshop of the
Master of the Échevinage de Rouen. Gift of Joseph E. Widener.
Top: Rich Boardman in Parkway Central’s Map Collection. Bottom: G.M. Hopkins Map of Philadelphia, 1876.
Connecting our Collections
TO THE 21ST CENTURY
The Free Library’s extensive map collection contains more than 130,000 current and
historical cartographic creations, including Sanborn maps, world atlases, and aerial
photos of the Delaware Valley. But in the digital age, are maps even necessary
anymore? Richard Boardman, Head of the Free Library’s Map Collection, explains why
these historic treasures are an essential part of modern life.
Why do (or should) we care about a collection of “old maps?” After
all, in this age of GPS, digital cameras, YouTube, and everything instant,
what’s to be gained from looking backwards? The practical answer is:
quite a bit. Understanding the past very often helps us understand
what goes on in our lives today. Let’s take a look at some examples.
A common question in the Map Collection is, “When was my
house built?” Deeds won’t give you the answer, and tax records
won’t either. Old city property atlases, while not supplying an exact
date, will get you pretty close, often within a few years. Sometimes,
individuals or non-profit groups need to know how their particular
neighborhood developed over time. And if your basement is wet
after a storm, it’s possible that your house is built over or near an
old stream. We once had a question from someone who was
thinking about purchasing a particular house but was worried
about water. It turned out the houses on the block were built over
an old stream bed. Just think: An old map might have kept him from
making a modern mistake!
Sometimes, the big
picture is better than
the iPhone view of things. Google Maps
and MapQuest show you a nice street map of an area and will tell
you how they think you ought to get there, but what if you want to
construct your own route or see interesting sights along the way to
your final location? The Map Collection has thousands of country,
city, and town maps from all over the world when you need to
“look at the big picture” and connect all the dots without having to
move the cursor.
Finally, if you think a picture is better than a thousand words,
the Map Collection has lots of them for Philadelphia and the
Delaware Valley. Stretching back almost 85 years, old aerial
photographs are a great way to see how Delaware Valley towns and
countryside developed over the years. It’s another great “big
picture” tool that has plenty of uses.
Left: Janine Pollock in the Rare Book Department. Right: Original drawing for the Household Edition
of Dickens’s Pickwick Papers, 1873, “The Goblin and the Sexton.” Gift of William M. Elkins.
A YEAR WITH “THE INIMITABLE”
Charles Dickens
Photo credit: Ryan Brandenberg
Home to one of the world’s largest collections of Charles Dickens first editions and
ephemera, the Free Library of Philadelphia is excited to celebrate the Bicentenary of his
birth throughout 2012. Janine Pollock, Head of the Free Library’s Rare Book Department,
shares her insights into the history and breadth of the Library’s extensive Dickens collection.
The upcoming Bicentenary of Charles Dickens presents an
opportunity for the Rare Book Department to showcase its
outstanding collections related to the life and work of “The
Inimitable,” as he liked to call himself. Dickens was the most popular
English writer of the Victorian age whose work continues to be
studied, read, and enjoyed. In his career, which spanned a mere 35
years, he wrote 15 novels (if you include the unfinished The Mystery
of Edwin Drood) and countless shorter pieces, bringing into the
world some 1,000 memorable characters.
Our collections are the result of the generosity of two great
collectors, D. Jacques Benoliel and William McIntyre Elkins. The 1947
bequest of William Elkins, which included his actual stained
pine-paneled library, initiated the Rare book Department into the
world of Dickens collecting. With it came the so-called sentimental
library with association copies and presentation copies of the novels
in their original parts along with other printed rarities. Elkins also
collected the original art of many of Dickens's illustrators. Among
personal mementos collected by Elkins is a desk from Gads Hill Place,
Dickens’s home along the Dover Road.
D. Jacques Benoliel had a particular interest in items that related
to Dickens's keen fascination with the theatre. Playbills from the
elaborately staged private theatricals at the family home, where
Dickens had one of the rooms converted into a makeshift theater, are
among Benoliel’s gifts. A trove of early letters written by Dickens to
close friends, business associates, and some of the most prominent
people of his day enhance the collection and have been
supplemented by letters purchased through funds endowed by
Benoliel so that they now number nearly 3,000.
Plans are underway to place the Free Library front and center during
what we are billing as the “Year of Dickens.” Letters, art, and manuscripts
are being digitized and cataloged and made available through a brand
new Rare Book Department web presence. In addition, a year-long series
of exhibitions at Parkway Central, literary salons, and other special
events will help us celebrate the 200th birthday of “The Inimitable”!
Photo credit: Ryan Brandenberg
Stories from the Shelves
Kim Bravo in the
tion
ference Collec
Automobile Re
Because the Free Library’s special collections are world-renowned in their
depth, breadth, and rarity, our librarians frequently interact with
individuals from around the globe who are in search of that golden
nugget of information that will help piece their research puzzle together.
Kim Bravo, Head of the Library’s Automobile Reference Collection,
recounts her favorite story.
Founded in 1948 when Philadelphia socialite and antique car
collector Thomas McKean presented his collection to the Free Library,
the Automobile Reference Collection (ARC) has since grown to become
one of the largest public archives of automotive literature in the
United States, containing rare and unique materials unavailable
anywhere else.
As the full-time librarian for this extraordinary collection for
more than five years, I have provided service to a very wide variety
of researchers from all over the world, including artists, attorneys,
authors, business people, collectors, filmmakers, historians,
hobbyists, journalists, mechanics, restorers, students, and university
professors. What is unique about our collection is best explained by
contrasting it with the National Automotive History Collection
(NAHC) at the Detroit Public Library, from where many of our
patrons are referred. While the NAHC contains complete
information about the large auto manufacturers, the Free Library’s
ARC is particularly comprehensive with regard to small and obscure
manufacturers, many of whom made only a handful of cars while
the industry was still in its infancy. I will never tire of hearing
patrons tell me that they had scoured prestigious automotive
archives the world over for the elusive item or piece of information
that I'd just found for them, and how they never imagined their
search would end at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
I have many cherished anecdotes from working in the ARC, but my
all-time favorite is the story of my patron Terje and his 1924 Flint E-55.
He lives in Sand, Norway, and discovered our collection while surfing
the internet. He emailed asking if we had any materials pertaining to
the car he was restoring. Sure enough we did—quite a lot in
Top: An archival photograph of a Flint from the ARC.
Bottom: A snapshot, sent from Norway, of Terje’s restored version.
fact—and I scanned and emailed every last piece to
him. He was completely astonished at what I’d found.
His 1924 Flint was of a somewhat uncommon make,
but he had a very personal reason for restoring it: This
was the same type of car that his grandfather had
driven around Sand in the 1920s as a young man with
his own taxi service. Terje was so delighted to have
the information I'd found that he in turn sent me the
whole story of his project, including some wonderful
color photos of each step of the car’s restoration. He
purchased the car on eBay from a seller in Atlanta,
Georgia and restored it from the ground up in
painstaking detail—and the information I provided
him from our ARC played a vital role in the process.
DR. FREDERICK SIMEONE IS A
DISTINGUISHED NEUROSURGEON
AND ONE OF THE NATION’S MOST
NOTABLE “GEAR HEADS.”AS A
TEEN, HE USED TO SEEK OUT
AUTOMOBILE RESOURCES AS A
“DESIGNEE” OF THE LIBRARIAN AT
THE FREE LIBRARY. HE STILL
CARRIES THE CARD AUTHORIZING
HIM TO COLLECT MATERIALS FOR
US. TODAY, DR. SIMEONE’S
COLLECTION OF RARE AND
UNIQUE RACING SPORTS CARS
FORMS THE BACKBONE OF
PHILADELPHIA’S SIMEONE
FOUNDATION MUSEUM, AND HE
HAS GENEROUSLY DONATED AUTO
MANUALS, SALES LITERATURE,
AND MORE TO THE FREE
LIBRARY’S RENOWNED
AUTOMOBILE REFERENCE
COLLECTION, ENRICHING OUR
HOLDINGS WITH HISTORIC,
ONE-OF-A-KIND LITERARY GEMS.
FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA FOUNDATION
1901 VINE STREET, SUITE 111, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103
Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Philadelphia, PA
Permit No. 5872
Don’t forget!
NEXT TIME YOU’RE IN PARKWAY CENTRAL, EXPLORE
THE EXHIBITION CASES THROUGHOUT OUR
DEPARTMENTS AND CORRIDORS FEATURING UNIQUE
ITEMS FROM OUR MANY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS.
The Free Library is one of the most important
educational and cultural institutions in Philadelphia.
The City of Philadelphia provides funds for the
operations of the Free Library system, including
staffing at our 54 locations. Through the generosity of
individual gifts, the Free Library Foundation supports
many of the Library’s incredible programs as well as
its renowned special collections—like the ones you’ve
read about in Hidden Gems—which promote literacy
and enrich the cultural fabric of our
region. To learn how you can make
a gift to the Foundation, please
visit freelibrary.org/support or call
215-567-7710.