Zithers, Moscow Mules, and Bucky's Dome

As you might gather from reading my past posts on Emory Cook and his record label, Cook Labs, I am  exceedingly fond of the man behind such recordings as Kilts on Parade and Torchy Lullabies my Mother Sang Me. You also may have gathered that when perusing the Cook Labs Records, it's hard not to find some little tidbit that makes you chuckle, or, as is the case in this story, something seemingly inexplicable, yet intriguing and charming nonetheless.

I was digitizing my way through a folder of materials relating to Ruth Welcome, probably the most glamorous zither player I have ever encountered. (Also notable: her music. Turns out, the zither is seriously pleasant to listen to, and in Welcome's hands, one can hear why she was such a popular entertainer in dark and fancy restaurants. Sample her music here.)

Cook-041-16: Ruth Welcome. Cook Labs Records.

After several stylish publicity shots, I came across two photographs that hardly fit in with the contents of the file.

 

Cook-041-23 and Cook-041-24: Dome Restaurant, post-Hurricane Carol. Cook Labs Records.

 I can't say I was surprised by their presence--at this point, I've learned to let the whimsicality of Emory Cook wash over me--but really, what the heck is happening in these photos? I had no real way of knowing if they actually belonged in the folder at all, but like a good archivist, I left them where they were until I could figure out a better solution. My only clues as to the context of the photographs were that they were taken in front of a wrecked geodesic dome, and that geodesic domes were invented by Buckminster (Bucky") Fuller, a known associate of Emory Cook. There was an inscription on the verso of one of the photographs as well: "Joe- Dome Hurricane Carol 1954".

Half of archival work is making connections between materials. About a month after seeing these photographs, a colleague was flipping through the May 1955 issue of Cook's Audio Bucket newsletter that was sitting on my desk. I caught a glimpse of the instantly recognizable photograph--it accompanied an article titled "The Affair at Woods Hole..." Not only were the photographs directly connected to Ruth Welcome, here was an entire story detailing their context. It was like someone giving me an unexpected birthday present all wrapped up in a big, bright bow. The article is so wonderful, so Cook-ian, that I must present it in its entirety (click to enlarge).

 

Cook-015-04: Audio Bucket, May 1965, Vol. 1, No. 4. Cook Labs Records.

 This line is a personal favorite: "Poor Ruthie--such beautiful femininity, so innocent, so gentle with her zither,--was unprepared for its capacity for devastating a community, pitting neighbor against neighbor, provoking headlines so shocking as to push man-bite-dog into page two." And our man with the cup? He's holding up a Moscow mule, retrieved from the surviving bar. It's an appropriate cocktail for post-hurricane occasions, I think.

Intrigued by this story of a geodesic dome restaurant on Cape Cod nearly destroyed by a zither/hurricane, I did a little digging (Googling). As our article says, the structure was actually the Dome Restaurant, designed by Bucky Fuller himself. Built in 1954, it was looked upon with distaste by some of the residents of Woods Hole, who liked their wood-shingled cottages just fine, thankyouverymuch. Despite this resistance, it was a popular destination for locals and tourists alike. It was novel, swanky, and striking--imagine listening to the beautiful Ruth Welcome as you dined under the stars, or, during the day, looking out to a spectacular view of the sea. The style is long gone now, but the structure remains on its hilltop in Woods Hole, empty and derelict. There was talk of restoration in 2008, but it doesn't look like anything has happened yet.

This radio story on the history of the restaurant (including reminiscences of Ruth Welcome's performances) is worth a listen if you'd like to learn more.

Cecilia Peterson
Digitization Archivist
Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

Fine Art of Flower Arrangement and Description

Spring is a popular time for flower shows and a major feature of these shows is flower arranging. The Archives of American Gardens recently acquired a collection of photographic slides belonging to floral designer Georgia S. Vance who was best known for her talent of preserving and arranging dried flowers. Vance began her career in the 1960s, and for more than 35 years her flower arrangements decorated the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., as well as the White House and other historic homes. 

Dried flower arrangement, Early Colonial style, 1967.

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, 

Garden Club of America Collection, Georgia Vance Slides

Georgia Vance’s slide collection features many intricate floral arrangements in a variety of styles, including the Japanese Ikebana technique. In 1972, she published a book, The Decorative Art of Dried Flower Arrangement, which received the Helen S. Hull Award for Literary Horticultural Interest from the National Council of State Garden Clubs. Vance was a member of the Garden Club of America, the Garden Club of Virginia, the Garden Club of Alexandria (Virginia), and the Officer’s Wives Garden Club of Fort Belvoir (Virginia). The Garden Club of Virginia continues to honor her skill in floral design by presenting the annual Georgia S. Vance Award for Most Creative Arrangement. 

Dried flower arrangement, Ikebana, 1970.

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, 

Garden Club of America Collection, Georgia Vance Slides

Floral arrangement as an art form in the East is a tradition that dates back to 6th century with the practice of Ikebana in Japan.  In the West, floral art enjoyed a heyday during the Victorian era when flower arranging was taught and recognized as an artistic endeavor. However, it wasn’t until the 1930s that floral experts, guidelines for amateurs for creating arrangements, and floral arrangement schools came to the fore in America. 

Today, flower arranging is still considered an art form by those that practice it. The Garden Club of Virginia’s website for flower shows provides extensive categories and definitions about floral styles and designs, including a separate category for designs in the Asian manner: http://www.gcvirginia.org/userfiles/file/FloralStyles(11).pdf . Flower judging is as detailed an endeavor as floral arrangement with points awarded for design, artistic concept, expression and distinction: http://www.gcvirginia.org/userfiles/file/FlowerShowJudging(5).pdf 

For more information on the history of floral arrangements, see The Art of Floral Design by Norah Hunter and The Flower Arranging Expert by D. G. Hessayon.

Sarah Ostrye, 2014 Intern

Archives of American Gardens

Smithsonian Gardens

Who’s on First?

Plays.  Musicians. Jugglers. Comedians. Entertainment has existed in every culture going back to the traveling bards and troubadours of old. These photographs give us a little peak into what entertainment looked like in Japan and Iran during the late 19th to the early 20th century.

Japan: Twelve Woman Ensemble.

Iran:  Arpee Album: Photograph of Musicians and Dancer [graphic]

Iran:  Arpee Album: Photograph of the Nakkara Khana [graphic]

Iran:  Photograph of Street Performers [graphic]

Tehran, Iran:  Royal Puppet Show [graphic]

Japan:  Women playing music and dancing.

Kyoto, Japan: Female musicians on stage with Japanese and American flags, likely at a musical presentation.

Lara Amrod, Archivist

Freer|Sackler Archives





Solomon G. Brown's Poetry

Did you know Solomon G. Brown—the first African American employee of the Smithsonian Institution—was also a talented poet? The legacy of Solomon Brown is not generally known beyond the Smithsonian or the local community of Anacostia where he resided. However, during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries Brown was a man of stature with a public reputation in Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; and Alexandria, VA. 

Memorial Verse: In Memory of Isaac Brown, 1894 by Solomon G. Brown, 06-030.4
Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

In celebration of National Poetry Month the Anacostia Community Museum highlights Brown’s “Memorial Verse” from our archival collection. You can also assist with transcribing the verse by    visiting the Smithsonian Digital Volunteers: Transcription Center. You may also find interesting “Kind Regards of S. G.Brown”: Selected Poems of Solomon G. Brown, compiled by Louise Daniel Hutchinson and Gail Sylvia Lowe.

Jennifer Morris
Archivist
Anacostia Community Museum Archives

Mountains: Climbing to the Top

Mountains are a distinctive geographic feature that ripple throughout Asia.  They can be seen as backdrops to cities and at the center of epic adventures.

Kurdistan, Iraq: Kuh-e Owraman Mountain Range, View of Canyon of Aw-i Shirwan, [graphic]

Iran:  Encapment and Village in the Mountains [graphic]

Hakone, Japan: View of Lake Ashi and mountains circa 1860s.

North of Tehran, Iran: Man Seated on a Mountain Top in Shimiran [graphic]

Hakone, Japan:  View of Ojigoku on great boiling springs [1860 - ca. 1900]. [graphic]

I encountered the mountain below during some routine archives work (yes, even the exciting world of archivists can be dominated by routine!).  But this time, I was surprised to find this charming drawing while performing a physical check of the map cases in our archive. I was almost done in a bottom drawer when I found it, and upon closer inspection I recognized it as the signature of Sir Edmund Hilary— he and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first men to reach the summit of Mt. Everest.

Sir Edmund Hillary autograph, November 16, 1998

Hillary accepted an award at the Smithsonian in 1998, in honor of his ‘monumental explorations and humanitarian achievements.’ According to the item’s catalog record, this autograph drawing was made by Hillary during a press conference at the Freer Gallery on November 16.The signature is quite large it takes up an entire page, very much like mountains often do in photographs.

Lara Amrod, Archivist
Freer|Sackler Archives

WARPATH!

Louis E. Neuman & Co. cigar box label, ca. 1890? Tobacco Trade and Industry Series,
Warshaw Collection of Business American, Archives Center, National Museum of American History  

Among the many different types of pictorial paper items in the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana are cigar box labels.  The collection is rich in provocative imagery used to advertise many types of products.  Perhaps the most common form of advertisement in the collection is the "trade card," essentially an oversized business card with often lively and colorful illustrations.  Another familiar form is the cigar box label.  It might be argued that a label intended to be glued to a product or its container doesn't function exactly the way an advertisement--generally distinct and physically separate from the product--functions.  However, attractive labels can also induce the customer to make a purchase in order to possess both product and its beguiling advertisement.  Neophyte cigar smokers often selected their cigars on the basis of the personal appeal of the illustrations on the inside cover of the box.  Certainly one of the most "collectible" types of advertising ephemera is the cigar box label and its intriguing, distinctive, richly colored style.  Its heyday was the late 19th century to early 20th century, but 21st century cigar box labels often retain the old-fashioned style.  Since cigar consumers were almost exclusively men, the labels were designed to reinforce masculine stereotypes.  Attractive, exotic women often are the subjects of these colorful lithographs, as well as themes such as "cowboys and Indians."  Many of the latter portrayed Native Americans as "noble savages," while others emphasized their reputation as wild, fearsome warriors.  Consider the cultural implications of this particular design and the cigar brand, "Warpath."

David Haberstich
Curator of Photography
Archives Center, National Museum of American History

April is National Poetry Month

Miami-Dade Public Library bookmobile, ca. 1976 / Lowell Nesbitt, photographer. Lowell Nesbitt papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Did you know that the month of April is dedicated to the art of poetry? Although my job centers on the visual arts, I thought I might bring together the visual and the literary and attempt a haiku about one of my favorite items from the Archives of American Art collections, this slide of a bookmobile decorated by the painter Lowell Nesbitt.

Artful bookmobile

Stirs this Librarian's heart

Serving books in style

Wishing you a poetical month,

Bettina Smith, Digital Projects Librarian

Archives of American Art