Organization and arrangement of the lantern slide collection:
For the past few years we have slowly been bringing the lantern slide collection out of storage in order to weed those we do not want to keep (duplicates, damaged slides, poor quality, etc.). We now have the trimmed down collection (still thousands) here and will be sorting into basic categories: Architecture, Sculpture, etc.
In going through the lantern slides we found a number of interesting smaller collections/curiosities:
- slides former faculty member George Howard Forsyth Jr. took on a trip through Asia in the 1920s
- a huge collection of slides of American decorative arts and early American architecture from Richard Townley Haines Halsey. Halsey was class of 1886 and founded the American wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC
- a collection of slides of Monticello and Thomas Jefferson-related subjects put together by Theodore Fred Kuper, one of the founders of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (now Monticello)
- a drawer of slides labeled ‘Panofsky’ (!)
Glass lantern slides of Greece project:
In going through the glass lantern slides we found a large and unique collection of images of Greece. 500 or so of Athens, perhaps 2500 of the rest of Greece. These will be cleaned, digitized, and cataloged (the labels transcribed) and a curated selection will become an exhibition.
Transcription of Antioch excavation find cards:
Students have transcribed THOUSANDS of the find cards of the 1932-1939 excavation of Antioch-on-the-Orontes. We are down to the last section, the largest section, Pottery.
Inventory and labeling of the Robert Judson Clark collection
The Robert J. Clark slide collection is mainly images of modern architecture and the Arts and Crafts movement (and its revival). The process of inventorying may bring to light some images we will digitize and add to the image collection. Likewise, a more concise inventory, consolidation, labeling, and description of this collection (with the description also added online) will improve awareness and access.