One of the trio of projects comprising the AMNH Library’s Shelby White and Leon Levy Archive Initiativeis the installation of custom compact shelving and collection-specific cabinetry to store the Archive’s Memorabilia Collections. The collection contains a variety of items, much of it three-dimensional objects, that help tell the story of the Museum and serve to document the history of Natural History research, education, and exhibition.
Once the items have returned to their new home (see a rough preview in the form of a scale model built by Library Conservator, Barbara Rhodes) they will be ready for further description by a project archivist, who will create finding aids to connect and provide access to these rich object collections that enhance the entire Archives
Not surprisingly, the pandemic has delayed our progress towards meeting both of these goals. Back in 2019 Library staff and teams of volunteers were working to create a baseline inventory of the collection – a necessary step to track items that will have to be moved twice; first out, and then back into the new storage space. For several months following the shutdown in March 2020, we did not have access to the collections, creating a critical roadblock in our project timeline. Only in recent months, the Library has been able to invite back four veteran volunteers to help complete the inventory so that this important work can continue.
Our workflow involves examining each item in the collection, affixing a label with an inventory (control) number, a barcode, a brief descriptive title and the object’s dimensions. This information is added to an online, collaborative workspace using Airtable to track our holdings, data and digital snapshots for reference during the move. Library staff (including myself, the Director!) and volunteers have teamed up for two, two-hour shifts per day moving swiftly through the inventory, tagging the room’s final items before year’s end.
Having begun working in the Library in 1995, I’m familiar with many items in this collection, but there have been surprises even for me: I was confused when I encountered this small, but heavy box. The source of the weight was revealed when I glimpsed the cast iron gem inside: a painted metal cartouche nearly a foot tall with the Museum’s initials A-M-N-H overlapping in relief across the middle. A pair of screw holes flanking the crest indicated that it was once mounted to a wall and this was confirmed by the type-written note inside:
“RECEIVED MONDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 1989 FROM NINA ROOT, (WHO RECEIVED IT FROM JOE SEDACCA WHO REMOVED IT FROM A THIRD FLOOR STAIRWELL THAT WAS BEING RENOVATED)...”
A second note indicated that it was not known which stair hall in the Museum’s complex of 20-odd buildings it originated, but I’m guessing it was the Museum’s first building, the 1877 wing designed by Calvert Vaux and Jacob Wrey Mould.
As a student of the Museum’s history, any item that helps tell the Museum’s story or offers a glimpse of a visit to the Museum in another time ranks high on my list. This item made its way to my predecessor, Library Director Nina Root, back in 1989. Nina was a devotee of the Museum’s history, so this item must have tickled her as well.
So here is my challenge for all of you: Does anyone out there remember seeing these plaques in the Museum’s stairwells? Do you recall which building? And what was their purpose – solely decorative or something more purposeful we’re missing? I hope someone can help us fill in these blanks that illustrate the history of the Museum’s past.
This entry was written by Tom Baione, Harold Boeschenstein Director, Library and Archives.