by Isaac Burgdorf | Apr 17, 2025 | Exhibits
“Bloody Work: Lexington and Concord 1775” explores the early months of 1775 in Massachusetts, the battles of April 19, and their immediate aftermath, giving an account of the events that ignited a nearly eight-year Revolutionary War between the British Empire and its American colonies.
by Clements Library | Feb 27, 2025 | Collections, Events, Exhibits, Fellowships
By Alexander Lawrence Ames [Website] Figure 1. Allegorical female figure of America, with a harp. Clad in classical robes, the figure holds a piece of sheet music titled “UNION 1800.” Mezzotint, hand-colored; 30.2 x 25.1 cm. Prints POR.E Ame. [Catalog Record] Come,...
by Sam Huck | Feb 14, 2025 | Exhibits, Library Work
Was the 19th century really as dull and drab as the era’s prints and photos might suggest? Far from it! While we might picture early America in black and white, that’s because photographs obscure garish fabric colors, busy wallpaper patterns, and rainbow-hued books. To help you see beyond the gray and sepia tones of the era, Outreach Assistant Sam Huck sat down with Jayne Ptolemy, our Associate Curator of Manuscripts and the main curator of the exhibit, More than Gray: Reimagining Early America in Full Color, for a Q&A.
by Isaac Burgdorf | Jan 20, 2025 | Exhibits
Contents Introduction Dress to Impress The World in Color Boring but Bright Beautiful Books! Additional Resources Additional Resources Full list of citations Coloring pages Interview with the Curator Beautiful Books! Online...
by Isaac Burgdorf | Jan 10, 2025 | Exhibits
Contents Introduction Dress to Impress The World in Color Boring but Bright Beautiful Books! Additional Resources Beautiful Books! If you cast your eye around the Avenir Foundation Room and the beautiful bookcases within it, you may notice the varied tones of rich...
by Isaac Burgdorf | Jan 10, 2025 | Exhibits
Contents Introduction Dress to Impress The World in Color Boring but Bright Beautiful Books! Additional Resources Boring but Bright Even things that are, quite frankly, boring at face value can have an unexpected, if still utilitarian, colorful side. A clutch of...
by Isaac Burgdorf | Jan 10, 2025 | Exhibits
Contents Introduction Dress to Impress The World in Color Boring but Bright Beautiful Books! Additional Resources The World in Color It wasn’t just the clothes early Americans wore that were colorful. In this case, you see evidence that people used monotone paper as a...
by Cheney Schopieray | Jan 10, 2025 | Exhibits
Was early America as drab as it appears in prints of stoic figures or black-and-white photographs? This exhibit illuminates the brighter side of history, spotlighting all the color and vibrancy that are often concealed by the gray and sepia tones of pre-1900 American imagery. Come see the garish fabric colors, busy wallpaper patterns, and rainbow hues of books that just might challenge you to think of the past beyond black-and-white.
by Isaac Burgdorf | Jan 8, 2025 | Exhibits
Contents Introduction Dress to Impress The World in Color Boring but Bright Beautiful Books! Additional Resources Dress to Impress You can’t deny that there’s something about a black-and-white photograph that feels… stuffy. With portraits showing people with their...
