museums

Is a museum where objects go when they die? Or is it a place where the potential of objects is unleashed?

Those were the preliminary questions posed the Unleashing the Power of Objects session I attended at the joint MPMA AMM conference this year, led by Steve Friesen (Director of the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave), Kiersten Latham (School of Library & Information Management, Emporia State University), and Eli Paul (Director of the National World War I Museum).

The session covered more than the “hide, protect & preserve” versus “show, educate & share” philosophical debate, but rather focused on the sacred and secular powers of objects. Some scholars call these kind of experiences “numinous”.

One example of this is Abraham Lincoln’s hat.

Top Hat Worn By Lincoln At Ford Theater

Lincoln and his hat are very popular. Lincoln is mentioned so often at conferences, at workshops and during lectures that hubby and I joke, “Everybody loves Lincoln.” It’s not an exaggeration. When the Smithsonian created an exhibit of 150 of the most popular (powerful) objects in their collection, Lincoln’s hat made the cut.

“It’s not unusual to see people raise their heads from examining this thing and see tears in their eyes,” said J. Michael Carrigan, the exhibition director, of the hat.

Why we are all so attached to Lincoln’s hat is debatable. Maybe a hat just makes him seem real, human, and vulnerable; maybe we just are drawn to an everyday object from a time long ago, which draws the line between yesterday and today. Lincoln certainly had no idea that his hat was or would become iconic. He didn’t opt to wear it to become powerful or memorable, it was just the fashion at the time. In fact, his top hat was a cheap hat made of cardboard with beaver fur glued on. But whatever ‘it’ is, the hat’s power is more than a symbol; it’s a connection.

When we stand before it, we “feel” or “know” Lincoln in a way that reading, visualizing, or even seeing a photo of it can’t compete with. We want to see it — make pilgrimages to see it; we’d touch it if we could. We have numinous experiences with that hat.

The Smithsonian is aware of the power of Lincoln’s hat, which means the museum is now facing a difficult decision.

Lincoln’s top hat is in bad shape — the kind of bad shape where it’s days are numbered. (Being a cheaply made hat of 143 years, it’s lucky to still be here to cause visitors to weep.) The Smithsonian can either prolong the object’s life, putting it away in the temperature controlled dark for ‘future generations’, or leave it on display and have it deteriorate before the our eyes — slowly, but surely.

The riddle this poses is rather like those questions posed at the top of this post; the ones listed in the museum conference session description. Is it better to preserve and protect the object — letting it physically survive (at least a while longer) at the expense of it’s death to the public; or is it better to let it live and be loved until it physically passes away — allowing the people who come to stand before it have their numious experience?

Let’s say you are the one who has to make that call; what do you do?

Hubby, ever the pragmatist (and believer in technology), says he would put it away under the faith that better conservation methods will one day be available, allowing the old hat to be safely displayed to the delight of those future generations.

But I wonder if Lincoln’s hat, long hidden and perhaps forgotten, would then be returned to display only to be placed in front of people who didn’t have the same connection to it…

Since we don’t know exactly what causes us to stand before Abraham Lincoln’s top hat and have such profound reactions, we can’t necessarily say that the hat’s ‘it’ factor will be here engaging and evoking people as it does today.

So, is it better to save the hat for future people who may not care so much, or to allow it fade away to nothing in front of the people who care so much they weep?

We stand in a time where the ancient, the historic, and the modern are colliding, and they intersect in the collections of historical nature.   As we look back in time, various antiquities have exchanged hands, crossed national lines that no longer exist, and end up in the hands of modern collectors.   Under modern laws, items of historical importance or evoke a country’s identity can be forcibly returned or reclaimed by the original country, but it is not so simple a process.  The way things work today, in the Indiana Jones Dilemma both sides — Jones’ insistence of taking items to a museum, and Belloq’s interest in selling a golden fetish on the collector’s market — would lose out to the nation of origin’s ownership of the item as a source of national identity and pride, even if that original society has long been displaced or replaced by younger cultures.  James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, has written a book about this conflict at the point where national identity intersects with the efforts of museums.

In Who Owns Antiquity?, Cuno does his best to explain how we arrived at this current state of affairs, slowly modified from the earlier days when antiquities represented more financial assets rather than social assets.   While the book focuses mostly on museums (Cuno’s center of expertise), it does explain how private collectors have encountered greater difficulties in acquiring antiquities (even those only a few centuries old) of a historical nature that may have been removed ‘improperly’, whatever that may mean at the time.  Over the past century, nations have asserted greater efforts in claiming historical items as evidence of their long and varied culture.   Cuno identifies a flaw in Italy’s reclamation of Roman artifacts, or Iraq’s claims on Mesopotamian artifacts, as a subterfuge of a museum’s purpose, awarding items of educational or historical importance to a country that has no connection to the ancient society aside from an overlapping geographic location, who in turn uses the connection as a way to identify themselves as a long-lived and powerful country.

James Cuno

Who Owns Antiquity? weighs heavily on the stories of how nationalism has been used to manipulate various museums to represent what the country wants to present, but Cuno provides mostly his own opinions as evidence.   The documentation of antiquities used to feed nationalism dominates the book, and while interesting, a bit more reflection on options or solutions may have made the book more useful to people convinced by Cuno’s arguments.   The book itself is quite political in its purpose and tone, which isn’t a criticism, but readers should understand when reading that it takes the focused side of Cuno’s opinions, without significantly judging the other side of the debate.   That shouldn’t discredit the book, however: Cuno has held positions of high influence in well-respected museums for decades, and his thoughts should be considered with that weight behind them.

The highly iconoclastic view — seen by some as encouragement of looting and destruction of archeological sites — brings an intriguing position on the importance of historical collections to the countries they identify.   This makes for the most thought-provoking idea of the book, figuring out the line dividing a museum’s purpose in creating a sense of history, or whether it is presenting history as we would prefer to remember it.  It questions whether an ancient Roman sword is better placed in the hands of a private sword collector in Barcelona or an Italian historical museum:  each has their place, but is the one with a nationalistic purpose is authorized by law to win out in the end.  Cuno advocates that those who are able to care for an item and properly study it should get priority rather than a manufactured sense of national identity, and Who Owns Antiquity? is a scholarly treatise on why Cuno believes the system is being manipulated for purely political purposes.

As discussed, I’m a huge history nerd. To make matters ‘worse’ I am also one of those parents who prefers that kids not only learn but seek knowledge. I see collecting as one way to instill such passion in our kids (and adults too). Sure, our kids are called ‘weird’ — apparently for just not falling far enough from their weird-parent-trees. (Thanks, Wes Cowan!) But in this age of video games and passive entertainment, I’m thrilled to produce geeks & nerds.

However, instilling such passion in your children is work. It means you have to make the time, be it at home, the thrift store, or right there on the auction floor, to educate your kids… Maybe push them a little bit too. And it means you need to look past a lot of mainstream stuff (i.e. popular toys) to find gifts for your children which will delight as well as continue to quench their nerdy curiosities. That’s not always easy to do. And it’s even more difficult to find something that you can collect together.

So far we’ve bonded over games, vintage vinyl, books, and History Detectives. But there are less ‘new’ items which seem to meet all my (admittedly persnickety) needs. The Noah’s Pals animals are neat, helping with those environmental lessons, but what about history?

Historical Plush Beanie Collectible Figures

Enter the Famous Be’an Collectibles.

Made by Creation Station LLC, Famous Be’an® Collectibles are plush ‘bean stuffed’ toys like Beanie Babies — however, Famous Be’ans are famous historical beings.

Each historical figure is dressed in their appropriate period attire and includes a hang tag with an original colorful illustration and accurate historical information — in poetic verse and prose, to pique interest (we all hope!).

You’ve got your presidents, like Lincoln and JFK, and their wives, such as Mary Todd Lincoln and Jacqueline Kennedy; but there are so many other historical figures and legends too. Activists & authors, explorers & entrepreneurs, inventors and scientists, outlaws & musicians — even animals.

Plush President Lincoln & Other Famous Be'an Collectibles

Standing in front of their booth at the recent museum conference, I was giddy. So many cool plush toys — and so many possibilities for collecting with my kids!

Aside from just being cool history themed things to collect, there are many other reasons why adults will enjoy collecting Famous Be’ans with children:

• There’s a wide variety of historical figures to choose from.
• Because these collectibles are being made today, kids can put their favorite Famous Be’an on holiday lists for Santa and on birthday lists for extended family members.
• And the familiar/understandable topics means people know what the heck the kids are talking about — which means adults can more easily find and purchase the gifts as well as have actual conversations with the children about their collection. (And isn’t that part of what both collecting and gift giving are about?)

Socks The Cat As Famous Be'an

You (or grandma!) can even sign up for the Famous Be’an® Collectible of the Month Club and have a new plush collectible come to your home every month. The company allows you to specify particular areas of interest (Civil War, Native American, etc.) and if you send them a list of which Famous Be’ans you already own, they’ll make sure not to send you duplicates.

For all this ease, Famous Be’ans are real collectibles. Figures will be retired — in fact, some already are! This adds to the thrill of the hunt as you try to find ‘who’ you can while they are available — then search the secondary market for those you have missed.

The company also offers Famous Be’an bookmarks and collecting accessories, such as display cases and display stands. (And if you’re a teacher, there are even Famous Be’an lesson plan books.)

To add to the fun, there are even exclusive designs sold as souvenirs and fundraisers to museums and other organizations. That means you & your family can enjoy discovering new historical figures when you travel to historic sites and exhibits — like Socks the Cat at the Bill Clinton Museum. Now you can get the kids excited about ‘another family car trip’ *wink*

Museum Souvenir Historical Figure Plush Toys

(While some of the exclusives are listed on the website, other gems like Socks and the Headless Horseman shown here are not. Contact Creation Station for a complete list of Famous Be’ans and locations.)

Mom, Dad, hubby… anyone who knows me, if you’re reading this I’ve simply got to add Susan B. Anthony and Rosie the Riveter to my ‘feminist’ collection. Belle Starr too.

And then there’s the kids… Hunter will want Abe Lincoln, Destiny will want Blackbeard, and Allie will want Seaman the dog.

OK, I’m pretty sure that between the kids and I, we want them all. They are just too-too cool.

Vintage Ford Service Station, Lenexa Garage, Courtesy Johnson County Museum

Meeting In The Middle, the 2008 annual conference for both the Mountain-Plains Museums Association & the Association of Midwest Museums, was held last week. One of the Wednesday sessions that I attended was Create Access To Your Collections — Digitizing Collaboratively, which was all about the process of creating JoCoHistory.net, a collaborative project of the Johnson County Museum, Johnson County Library, Johnson County Archives, and Olathe Public Library to provide greater access to historical materials related to Johnson County, Kansas.

Now, before you non-technical &/or non-Kansas folks let your eyes glaze over or begin to reach for that ‘back’ button on your browser, let me tell you this is one fascinating project for collectors.

1979 Halloween Party Photo, Courtesy of Johnson County Museum

And just plain fun for those of us who just love looking at old photos.

Sure it’s focused on one county in Kansas, but as far as online databases go, it’s so much more than that. With this easy to use site, even if you aren’t a collector of Kansas, you certainly can find images and information on rather any historical collection you have. Along with search options, there are easily understood categories (people, places, groups, etc.) & collections (by museum, society etc.), all cross referenced with a timeline.

Along with providing greater access to old photographs, valuable ephemera, & historical information (and preserving those fragile photos & paper), JoCoHistory.net makes connections that might otherwise have been missed.

Antique Photo Postcard, Children Riding Ostrich, Courtesy Johnson County Museum

In schools, for example, teachers are finding the resources to make the connections between the national or ‘big picture’ history lessons and the local stories, heroes and events — including finding places for field trips & tours.

And students can get help with with their homework! No, they won’t be given cheat-sheets or the answers, but they will be assisted in where & how to find the answers. Local biographies, something largely missed in school texts, standard history books and even on the Internet, are luring students into pursuing more individual research. Students of all ages are becoming interested in history! And JoCoHistory is quickly discovering that interest in the site isn’t only local — parents & kids from other locations around the US are contacting the site for help in making the connections to their own locations.

OK, call me a history nerd, but how thrilling is that?

But wait, there’s more! Like the Ginsu knives, JoCoHistory offers much more for collectors and amateur historians.

• It’s all easy to use, with the candy (images) right there for sweet instant gratification. That’s so important for me; when researching I often prefer to scan photos to see if a database really has what I am looking for.
• You can get prints of the photos &/or higher quality scans of the images to print yourself. With each listing you’ll get information on Owner, Ordering Information, Resource Identifier, & Photo Use and Limitations — complete with links for easy access.
• Research tools for further help.

Retro Smaks Drive In Sign, Photo Courtesy Johnson County Museum

Perhaps the coolest feature is the History Mystery section, where JoCoHistory features images they’d like help with. If you can identify something or someone in the image shown, you can easily send in your information. What’s more, this feature is active on all images on the site simply by clicking the link by Feedback. David LaCrone, Digital Content Manager for the Johnson Country Library, says they’ve received 522 comments since the site began two years ago, with tips coming from folks scattered across the globe.

Feedback and comments on items in the database are verified before any information in the official record is changed; if it cannot be substantiated, comments are saved and included as Public Comments only. Hey, these are museums, historical archives & other organizations dedicated to factual details — that’s why we trust them. But these comments are always interesting, varying from the completely informational to the sublime “This is not so-and-so; I know, because I am so-and-so” and the “How great to see family photos; ours were lost to Katrina.”

Vintage Fashion Show, Pember Co. Department Store, Courtesty Olathe Public Library

At the beginning the site had 15,000 images and now it has over 28,000. They’ve learned that the more images and information they upload to the site, the more popular the site gets — and that’s something they intend to exploit. Along with increasing the number of images uploaded, and the number of collaborative partners from other historical societies, museums and organizations (each with their own unique collection of images), JoCoHistory will also be adding other objects — artifacts of the 3D variety in photographic form — as well as audio files to the database. Too cool.

Many other organizations could should take note of all that JoCoHistory has done; it sure would make my life much easier. (When I spend hours at JoCoHistory, it’s because I’m delighted and interested, not frustrated.)

Note: The site is just two years old, yet they will be updating their site by early 2009, including (if it’s possible) an even more intuitive design and a blog. I saw a brief preview and was impressed. So bookmark the main page of JoCoHistory now, kids; the other pages linked to here could change and you won’t want to miss anything.

I love museums and history, so I was thrilled to be contacted by Sean Hooley a few weeks ago.

Hooley is part of a team working on The Launch at the historic Hingham Shipyard. The shipyard, located in Hingham, Massachusetts, once played a large role in World War Two and the Allied victory. The story begins on December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. At that time all other shipyards were already working at full capacity so it was clear that a new shipyard would have to be created and within weeks the small town of Hingham was selected. One hundred and fifty acres were cleared and one of the largest shipbuilding centers in the entire country was built, with over 2500 women working to put out over six ships each month — in less than two years.

The shipyard has been largely unused since it was shut down after the end of the war. Now it’s being redeveloped — but the town wanted the story about the shipyard and what happened there to be told. So the development project includes an educational exhibit commemorating the history of the shipyard.

The Hingham Shipyard Historical Exhibit will be a series of panels located along pedestrian walkways and parks on the site, creating a walking tour. During his quest for images for the panels, Hooley had come upon my blog post on life on the home front during World War Two, and this image of “How Your Discarded Stockings Go To War” (from Volume 12, Number 2, 1943, Modern Woman Magazine, George M. Wessells, Publisher) seemed perfect for the historic project.

Naturally I was thrilled to play a part — no matter how small — in the project. It’s history for Pete’s sake! But first, we had to be clear on a few things, such as the fact that as a collector I had scanned and posted the image for informational purposes but I do not own the rights to it. Once we were rather certain of the intellectual property issues, it was a matter of me sending him a good scan.

Now I just sit and wait while Hooley and his cohorts add the image (along with an image of a woman having fake stocking seams painted on) to one of the panels. The images are to appear on a panel called “Home Front Sacrifices”, which will cover such things as victory gardens, conservation, and rationing — including the story of nylon stockings in the war effort.

Once it’s open, I’ll have to make plans to travel to Massachusetts to take the walking tour of the Hingham Shipyard Historical Exhibit. I’d love to see the exhibit I’ve been a small part of.

***

I also wanted to mention that I’ll be at the joint “Meeting In The Middle” 2008 annual conference for both the Mountain-Plains Museums Association & the Association of Midwest Museums this week; I’m part of the panel discussion on Wednesday, October 22, Session C2 titled Museums & Web 2.0. Maybe I’ll see some of you there?