Wow, my summer is flying by. In addition to working, I’ve been taking a class in archival practices at the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History with the former President of the Society of American Archivists, John Fleckner. The course is fun and interesting, and I am working on John F. Grace’s papers of the Worthington Corporation collection, which was a 19th and 20th century industrial manufacturing empire that created steam pumps, engines, and other hydraulic machinery. I’ve found some interesting anecdotes within the papers, including the fact that one of the presidents of the corporation drowned on the Titanic and the elevators at the Eiffel Tower were constructed with Worthington machinery in 1900 at the Exposition Universelle. The photos of 19th century machine shops and workers are also fun to look at.
(The photo was taken with a phone – sorry about the quality!)
Another thing I get to do in the class is be crafty! Sink mats are used to protect fragile artifacts while providing researchers access to them. I made this sink mat out of layers of cardboard, mylar, canvas and tape. The items being displayed in this mat are paper, flower, metal and glass notecards, maybe late 19th c?, that say “I love thee” and “Forget me not.” I’m so spending the rest of the summer dorking out and making these for my stuff.
Posting may be scattered while I’m finishing up my coursework, but I will try to post some images, advertising, and other visual odds and ends.
(Also – shameless plug: check out Smart Chicks Commune for more fun stuff from a band of three awesomely smart chicks.)