Americans love to collect…anything. Often called,
“America’s attic,” The Smithsonian Institution has a long history of
collecting, archiving, storing and displaying items from our history, culture,
and society. The vast archive of artifacts range from historical (Abe Lincoln’s
stovetop hat) to quirky (Archie Bunker’s TV chair). I wrote recently about
collecting architectural fragments and it seems even the respected Smithsonian
Institution has pieces of materials from monuments and historical places. Items
include stone from Joan of Arch’s dungeon, a piece of the Washington Monument
cornerstone and a wooden sliver of
the tie that completed the transcontinental railroad. A new book, Smithsonian Curator William L. Bird Jr.,
highlights fifty items from the museum’s collection and their quirky back
stories. Souvenir
Nation: Relics, Keepsakes, and Curios from the Smithsonian's National Museum of
American History
According to the book’s promotional material, “Buried within the collection of the Smithsonian
Institution's National Museum of American History exists an astonishing group
of historical relics from the pre-Revolutionary War era to the present day,
many of which have never been on display. Donated to the museum by generations
of souvenir collectors, these ordinary objects of extraordinary circumstance
all have amazing tales to tell about their roles in American history. Souvenir
Nation presents fifty of the museum's most eccentric objects—from a chunk
broken off Plymouth Rock to the magnifying glass used to examine the infamous
hanging chads of the 2000 presidential election. Smithsonian curator William L.
Bird, Jr., regales us with the story of each artifact's origins and the quirks
of fate that brought it to the Smithsonian. Strikingly photographed, these curious
objects form a uniquely American narrative: a cabinet of curiosities
representing our nation's most fascinating individuals, both celebrated and
obscure, and the keepsakes they left behind. Other objects at the Smithsonian include a
lock of Andrew Jackson’s hair, a dish towel used as the flag of truce to end
the Civil War, the microphones used by FDR for his Fireside Chats, and the
chairs that seated Nixon and Kennedy in their 1960 television debate.” Many
of the objects have never been exhibited, but for the first time collectors
will have the opportunity to see them in an exhibition planned for this summer,
2013, in Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Castle.
According to the book’s promotional material, “Buried within the collection of the Smithsonian
Institution's National Museum of American History exists an astonishing group
of historical relics from the pre-Revolutionary War era to the present day,
many of which have never been on display. Donated to the museum by generations
of souvenir collectors, these ordinary objects of extraordinary circumstance
all have amazing tales to tell about their roles in American history. Souvenir
Nation presents fifty of the museum's most eccentric objects—from a chunk
broken off Plymouth Rock to the magnifying glass used to examine the infamous
hanging chads of the 2000 presidential election. Smithsonian curator William L.
Bird, Jr., regales us with the story of each artifact's origins and the quirks
of fate that brought it to the Smithsonian. Strikingly photographed, these curious
objects form a uniquely American narrative: a cabinet of curiosities
representing our nation's most fascinating individuals, both celebrated and
obscure, and the keepsakes they left behind. Other objects at the Smithsonian include a
lock of Andrew Jackson’s hair, a dish towel used as the flag of truce to end
the Civil War, the microphones used by FDR for his Fireside Chats, and the
chairs that seated Nixon and Kennedy in their 1960 television debate.” Many
of the objects have never been exhibited, but for the first time collectors
will have the opportunity to see them in an exhibition planned for this summer,
2013, in Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Castle.
Check out this video of the book's author discussing some of the artifacts:
No comments:
Post a Comment