Liz Konopka, former UNCG student employee, shares how her experience working at SCUA prepared her for a position as collection manager for a museum
Liz Konopka on the right
As the Collections Manager for the International Women’s Air & Space Museum, every day is new and exciting. I’m currently managing a complete inventory and rehousing project for our collections, funded by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. We have an estimated 20,000 items in the collection, ranging from a landing gear from Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega to a flight suit belonging to Nicole Malachowski, the first female demonstration pilot for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. On a day-to-day basis, I update and maintain our exhibit cases, give tours, and facilitate researcher visits. I also help with our special programs like Dinner with a Slice of History, where we bring in speakers such as Casey Grant, one of Delta Airlines’ first Black female flight attendants.
Working in SCUA helped me immensely because it gave me a foundation in collections management and the best ways to make items accessible to researchers. I learned how to take full inventory, how to efficiently organize manuscripts, and how to store items for easy access and best preservation. All of these skills are vital to my day-to-day as a Collections Manager, and I would not be here with the experience gained in SCUA.
Photo: One of our summer interns helps me inventory the linens on display in our Katharine Wright exhibit.
Adrienne Johnson, current student at UNCG, writes about her capstone experience in SCUA
My Work With UNCG’s North Carolina Community Cookbook Collection By Adrienne Johnson
In this, my final semester in the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Master of Library and Information Sciences program, I am participating in my Capstone Experience at the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives. For this Capstone, I am lucky to be working with UNCG’s collection of North Carolina Community Cookbooks, for which I will be creating a LibGuide, StoryMap, and information table. These projects will appear in the next newsletter.
This book from the collection features the iconic Betty Feezor, a television presenter who brought cooking and interior design suggestions into homes from the 1950s to the 1970s.
The collection began with a donation made by Foy Allen Edelman of over 2000 cookbooks which she gathered from counties all across North Carolina. Edelman’s enthusiasm for community cookbooks encouraged others to donate their North Carolina-related cookbooks, and the variety of civic organizations included really took off.
When I first heard of this collection, the thought of working with over 2000 undigitized books was daunting- with only four hours a week at the UNCG campus, I did not know how I was going to properly represent the wide selection of materials. However, once I realized that approaching the collection with my own plan of what I wanted to find in the books was not realistic, the books began to reveal their history, patterns, similarities and differences. The books spoke, and my pages began to follow.
The intangible cultural heritage found in these surviving cookbooks is unique and precious, not documented anywhere else. From these pages one can observe the changes in available food, cookware, financial constraints, health ideas, immigration, technology and so much more. I continue to learn North Carolina history including Women’s Suffrage, life pre- and post- WWII in different parts of the state, and about day-to-day life in the mountains, piedmont, coastal plains, and tidewater regions. I look forward to everything I still have to learn, and everything I will be able to share upon the completion of this project.
Surry Sonker is a popular dessert from the North Carolina mountains. My LibGuide has a page dedicated to this the Surry Sonker Trail, which identifies the restaurants and bakeries where this delicacy can be found. I was inspired to make my own black and blueberry sonker, shown below:
All of the ingredients for the sonker
Fried okra is a prominent theme in these North Carolina cookbooks. As I work on this project, I have been cooking popular recipes from the cookbooks. Fried okra patties are up next!
sailorBOYpress, 2012, Copy 6 from an edition of 50.
11 x 9″; 28 pages. Letterpress printed with Plantin type. Printed on Barcham Green and other handmade papers. Sewn binding with matching paper covers. In 11.75 x 9″ lidded aluminum box with embossed titles. Signed and dated by artist.
Box imprinted with Brazda’s prisoner number, edition number and SBP (Sailor Boy Press)
Jeff Morin, Colophon: “The White Maiden is the tale of a hunter who wishes for the ancient wines of the cellars at Thurnberg in a moment of great thirst. His wish is granted by the White Maiden but, as a result of drinking his wine, she forever plagues him with a sense of wanting, an inability to take satisfaction in anything. He sees her in everything and everyone. his life is spent in pursuit of her. Historically, the term ‘maiden’ is gender neutral and simply means one whose virginity is intact. Happiness becomes as elusive to Brazda, who finds his maiden and loses him. His life becomes an unending search for his maiden and his world unleashes a curse that attempts to rob him of any pleasure or sense of being quenched.
Rudolph Brazda found his Maiden when working as a roofer and spotting Werner on the street below. “In the last days of the Weimar Republic, they lived openly together in the home of a Jehovah’s Witness. And Werner brought Rudolph wine whenever he wished for it.” After they each felt compelled to enlist in military service, and being in the “wrong places at the wrong times” they were each arrested for violating Paragraph 175, “which made homosexual acts between men a crime. Between 1871 and 1994, some thousands upon thousands would become marked. Werner disappeared to Rudolph after they were tried and sentenced. They lost one another in the process. Werner died on the French front circled by uniformed men.”
“As the fairytale unfolds, Rudolph moves on and, even when he stays put, the city and country names change. He finds a new white maiden in Anton. He returns to the roofing trade. He is rearrested. He is deported to the Buchenwald concentration camp. His name, like the countries and cities around him, is changed. From August of 1942 he is prisoner number 7952.”
After surviving the war and the Buchenwald concentration camp, prisoner number 7952 is given back his name – Joseph Brazda. After liberation, he and another prison survivor, Fernand, felt bound together and moved to Mulhouse and began working again as a roofers. By the 1950’s, Rudolph found his Maiden, Edi, with whom he built a home together and lived for the next several decades.
“There was to be a monument commemorated in Berlin to the homosexual victims of Nazism. He told his story. In Mulhouse, they put up a plaque to remember those homosexuals who were deported. He was remembered at Buchenwald. More plaques were put up. He received gold medals. He was made a knight. His story was unfolding like a fairy tale again. Rudolph Brazda died on August 3, 2011.”
“Sitting in a hospital waiting room, I reached for a Time magazine, only to discover Rudolph Brazda through his obituary. I have chosen to weave the true-life story of Brazda with the German folktale of ‘The White Maiden.’ In a recorded interview, Brazda delivers a frank and rather clipped recounting of the horrific acts swirling around his early life. He makes simple, declarative statements that should boggle the soul and cause us to weep. He was perhaps the last person alive to have worn the pink triangle as a Nazi concentration camp detainee.” – Jeffrey Morin
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison’s first novel, is one of the post-Harlem Renaissance African-American novels that have entered “the Western Canon” as acknowledged classics. Special Collections’ copy is the first edition, complete with dustjacket.
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Random House. 1952.
A Date with a Dish / Freda DeKnight
Written by Freda DeKnight, Ebony‘s food editor, A Date With A Dish is credited with inspiring a generation of cooks, serving as a cultural guide, and shaping Black culinary history. The recipes contained within span from Haiti to Trinidad to California to Mississippi, capturing the diversity within the Black palate and experience.
DeKnight, Freda. A Date with a Dish: A Cook Book of American Negro Recipes. New York : Hermitage Press. 1948.
A Morality Tale for Children: The African Woman
An effective morality tale about race discrimination. “Little Mary” is depicted sitting at the window with her mother, watching “a poor old African woman go by.” Mary comments: “I do not love that woman at all! … Because she is black; I do not like anybody that is black.” Her mother scolds her: “I am sorry to hear you talk so. It is foolish, it is wicked,” and proceeds to invite the woman into their house and introduces her to Mary. Mary is embarrassed by her comments when she learns how kind the woman is, and concludes: “I will not hate black people any more.” Her mother comments: “All men and women are made of one blood … This poor African woman was brought to America when she was young. Now she is old and very poor.” When Mary later gets sick, the African woman stops in and nurses Mary for seven days and nights, until she is well, and Mary vowed: “I will never hate anybody for having dark skin. Poor Patty is a great deal better than I am.” An uncommon early tract on the subject of race relations in America.
The African Woman. Philadelphia : American Sunday-School Unionm No. 146 Chesnut Street. [ca. 1830]
Roots : The Saga of an American Family / Alex Haley
The groundbreaking book which pioneered mainstream interest in African-American genealogy and culture. The landmark television dramatization was watched by over 100 million people and remains a highpoint in the medium’s history. Roots was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 1977 and it remains a key testament to the evolution of the African-American experience. Special Collections’ copy is nicely inscribed in the year of publication.
Haley, Alex. Roots : The Saga of an American Family. Garden City : Doubleday. 1976.
The Penitential Tyrant; or, Slave Trader Reformed: A Pathetic Poem, in Four Cantos … The Second Edition, Enlarged / Thomas Branagan
Early American Illustrated Abolitionist Work Intended for Youth
The stipple engraved frontispiece by Barralet depicts a slave trader fecklessly pleading his case before Lady Liberty who looks onto the slaves landing on the shores of America with despair.
Original published in Philadelphia in two cantos, this edition expanded to four, plus the following sections: Notes to The penitential tyrant — Appendix — Messiah: a sacred eclogue, in imitation of Virgil’s Pollio [by Alexander Pope] — Buying stolen goods synonymous with stealing; or, The immorality of using the produce of slavery demonstrated. Addressed to all Christians of all denominations — A subject for conversation and reflection at the tea-table.
Originally published in England [by William Cowper] — The method of procuring slaves on the coast of Africa … Extracted from authentic documents, and exemplified by engravings — Extract from an essay in verse, entitled, Slavery. By Captain Marjoribanks, belonging to a British regiment which was stationed in the West-Indies.
The section titled The method of procuring slaves on the coast of Africa includes a double-page depiction of the plan of slave ship Brook’s lower deck, a provoking symbol of the abolitionist movement, depicting the horrors of the Middle Passage.
Branagan, Thomas. The Penitential Tyrant, or, Slave Trader Reformed : A Pathetic Poem, in Four Cantos (version 2d ed., enl. …). 2D ed., enl. ed. New-York: Printed and sold by Samuel Wood, no. 362, Pearl-street, 1807.
A Pilgrimage to My Motherland: An Account of a Journey Among the Egbas and Yorubas of Central Africa, In 1859-60 / Robert Campbell
An important account of a mid-19th century African-American-led attempt to procure land to return formerly enslaved African-Americans to Africa.
Born free in Jamaica to a white Scottish father and mixed race mother, Robert Campbell apprenticed at a printing shop and later became a teacher in Spanish Town. He emigrated to New York in 1853, eventually becoming a teacher at the Institute of Colored Youth in Philadelphia. In 1858 he joined Martin Delany on his Niger Valley Exploring Party expedition to Africa on behalf of the National Emigration of Colored Men, and published his own account of the experience. The work includes descriptions of Abeokuta, ethnographic material, and the text of the treaty he and Delany negotiated with the king and chiefs of the Egba for the right to establish settlements.
Both Campbell and Delany’s accounts were published by Thomas Hamilton, who Blockson calls “the first Black publisher of importance in America.” The year following its publication, Campbell purchased a cotton gin and printing press and emigrated to Nigeria with his wife and children, hoping to start a colony for African Americans at Lagos. With attention turned to African American participation in the Civil War, the colony did not come to fruition but represents an important moment in black nationalistic thought.
Campbell, Robert. A Pilgrimage to My Motherland: An Account of a Journey Among the Egbas and Yorubas of Central Africa, In 1859-60. New York: Thomas Hamilton; Philadelphia: By the Author, 1861.
Discourses of the ecclesiastical and civil polity of the Jews / Isaac Abendana
Isaac Abendana, the Hebraist and book collector was born in Spain, brother of the celebrated Jacob Abendana, the distinguished Spanish physician and Haham, was taken at an early age to Hamburg, Germany where he completed rabbinical studies and then Leyden, Holland where he studied medicine. After studying in Leyden he came to England in 1662, and secured an academic post at Trinity College, Cambridge. While in Cambridge, and later on in Oxford, he became a significant supplier of Hebrew books. As part of his trading activities he published the Oxford Almanack, otherwise known as The Jewish Kalendar; containing an account of their fasts and festivals, from 1692 to 1699. This work, Discourses of the ecclesiastical and civil polity of the Jews, gathers and expands upon the essays that appear in the Almanacks. During his time in England, Abendana enjoyed a virtual monopoly in Hebrew studies at Oxford and Cambridge. A fine copy, with the contemporary armorial bookplate of the Moray family of Abercairny.
Abendana, Isaac. Discourses of the Ecclesiastical and Civil Polity of the Jews. : Viz. of Their Courts of Judicature. Laws Concerning Tithes. Institution of Their Priesthood. Their Liturgy. Their Schools. Their Feasts, Fasts, Coins, Weights and Measures. Printed for Samuel Ballard, at the Blue-Ball, in Little-Britain, 1706.
WomanPower : Report No. 136
A scarce publication on the role of women in the workforce during the second world war.
“When Congress declared us a participant in World War One in 1917, women had no vote. Their place in industry was minor. Today, in our first year of World War Two, women not only have a voice in government, but are the labor saviors of the nation’s vital war production program….This development presents new problems to every employer…”
This publication presents a brief history of women in the U.S. workforce and the potential for up to 5 million more entering the workforce by the end of 1943, “Types of Work in Which Women Prove Effective” and those “least Suitable”; “Relative Strength of Women to Men”, dress, job factors and training, “Factory re-Engineering to Accommodate Women Workers”; Supervision of Women in Industry; child care problems, among other topics.
“Music Hath its Charms to Speed Up Women’s Work…An interesting side-light on the capacities of women through musical appeal to their rhythmic senses comes from a 100 per cent woman operated factor, Velvac Inc. … Detroit’s only all-woman factor is engaged in the manufacture of airplane, machine gun, and tank parts. But aside from th prosaic details common to hundreds of plants making similar products, the Velvac factory atmosphere is as feminine as Phil Spitalny’s all-girl orchestra, and almost as musical. … ‘The music keeps the girls from getting bored – and with women, boredom is a worse ‘bogger downer’ than physical fatigue.'”
The George S. May Business Foundation was a non-profit organization devoted to conducting research into problems of business management.
George S. May Business Foundation. WomanPower : Report No. 136. Chicago: George S. May Business Foundation. 1943.
Practical, Warm Hand Knits for Service Men, Make and Mend for Victory; Knit for Victory; Men’s Sweaters at Work and Play
“If your sister Susie’s sewing socks for soldiers, here’s a pack of patterns picked for her perusal: four vintage WW2 guides for thrift and for knitting useful bits of kit, “also practical for air raid or fire warden use”. “
Women’s Barracks / Tereska Torrès
Credited as “the first pulp fiction book published in America to candidly address lesbian relationships”
“This is the story of what happens when scores of young girls live intimately together in a French military barracks. Many of these girls, utterly innocent and inexperienced, met other women who had lived every type of experience. Their problems, their temptations, their fights and failures are those faced by all women who are forced to live together without normal emotional outlets. The girls who chose Tereska Torres, the author, as their confidante poured out to her their most intimate feelings, their secret thoughts. So, this book, with all of its revealment and tenderness, is an important book because it tells a story that had never been truly told–the story of women in war” From the back cover.
Special Collections’ copy is the 1950 first printing of Fawcett’s Gold Medal #132 paperback. The cover art is by Barye Phillips, who was known as the “King of Paperbacks” for his ability to create four cover paintings per week.
Torrès, Tereska. Women’s Barracks. Translated by George Cummings, Fawcett Publications, 1950.
We may consider Leary’s book a spectacular copying, or retelling, of the Wyf of Bath’s tale, in the context of a rollicking account of the author’s exile in Switzerland, between the Cleaver episode and the capture in Afghanistan, with flashbacks to Milbrook and Harvard, related with exuberance and good humor and imagination that puts to shame the lurid stories that have appeared in the newspapers, in the form of a science-fiction adventure novel. (As a model for his story Leary takes not Chaucer’s version but that of Gower the Scot (=Wanderer), whose hero was King Arthur’s nephew Gawaine, a.k.a. Gowan, or cowan, the rogue mason, not a member of any guild, who learned by himself to cut and pile stone. A nice metaphor for the author’s own public career.)
Special Collection’s copy states an edition of 5000 copies, this is copy number 2159. Inscribed by Leary: “S.M.I.L.E. To George, Timothy Leary. N.Y., N.Y. 8 / 76.”
Leary, Timothy. What Does Woman Want. 88 Books, 1976.
The Ladder
First nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States
Special Collections acquired a run of scattered issues covering the years 1957 – 1968 of this groundbreaking periodical. The Ladder was the primary publication and method of communication for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization in the US.
In 1956, the Daughters of Bilitis wrote their mission statement, which was printed on the inside of every cover of the magazine until 1970:
Education of the variant…to enable her to understand herself and make her adjustment to society…this to be accomplished by establishing…a library…on the sex deviant theme; by sponsoring public discussions…to be conducted by leading members of the legal psychiatric, religious and other professions; by advocating a mode of behavior and dress acceptable to society.
Education of the public…leading to an eventual breakdown of erroneous taboos and prejudices…
Participation in research projects by duly authorized and responsible psychologists, sociologists, and other such experts directed towards further knowledge of the homosexual.
Investigation of the penal code as it pertain to the homosexual, proposal of changes,…and promotion of these changes through the due process of law in the state legislatures.
The Ladder, June 1957
ONE : The Homosexual Viewpoint
The first nationally distributed homosexual periodical
ONE Magazine was a nationally-distributed publication put out by ONE, Incorported, a homophile organization based in Los Angeles. The magazine was published from 1952 to 1967, surviving threats from the police and federal government to provide news, essays, fiction, and more to gay and lesbians across the United States.
Rare Books added issues from 1957 – 1960 which include articles featuring topics such as homosexuals in the military, same-sex marriage, coming out, and discovering community.
Portion of the collection of ONE
PUNK Magazine
Early music fanizine celebrating the underground punk scene
Punk was founded by cartoonist John Holmstrom, publisher Ged Dunn, and punk enthusiast Legs McNeil in 1975. In addition to celebrating the burgeoning punk scene in New York City, Punk is known for providing an outlet for female and Black writers, artists, and photographers who were often shut out of both the mainstream and underground music publishing opportunities.
Rare Books acquired all 15 issues published between 1976 and 1979, which feature iconic covers of Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, Blondie, The Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, and Ramones among others.
Selection of issues on display for WGS 250 : Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
Special Collections
Kathe Kollwitz, March of the Weavers (1893-1897) and The Ploughman (1907)
SCUA recently received the very generous donation of two Kathe Kollwitz etchings from UNCG alumna Betsy Brinson, Ph.D. March of the Weavers (1893-1897) and The Ploughman (1907) are welcome additions to the collection. Born in East Prussia in July 1867, Kathe Schmidt Kollwitz had an early interest in art. She studied in Munich and Berlin, with Max Klinger as a major influence. As her style developed, she moved toward graphic art, producing numerous drawings, etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs. The grief that she experienced because of the loss of her youngest son in World War I, resulted in prevalent themes of mothers and children, poverty, suffering, death, and the stark reality of war. She experienced further tragedy during World War II, when her grandson was killed in action and her life’s work was lost during a bombing attack. She died shortly before the end of the war. Kollwitz is considered one of the last great German Expressionists.
March of the Weavers (1893-1897)
The Ploughman (1907)
Kodak Brownie Holiday Camera
This Brownie “Holiday” Camera was generously donated by Terry Brandsma, the Information Technology Librarian at the University Libraries, UNCG. Made of Bakelite, the small viewfinder camera is was available in the United States and Canada from 1953 to 1962.
Kodak Brownie Holiday Camera
Women Veterans Historical Project
Red Cross Poster
Artist W. Hood created this fundraising poster to support the American Red Cross initiatives to support the armed forces.
Keep Your Red Cross at His Side. Motion Picture Industry 1945. Red Cross War Fund Week. March 15 Thru 21st.
University Archives
UNCG Freshman Beanie
This class beanie, originally owned by Laura Ann Carson (Class of 1964), was recently donated to SCUA, along with a 1964 class jacket. These college-issued beanies were worn by students throughout their freshmen year. In their sophomore year, students were given class jackets, which replaced the beanies. This example is particularly interesting, as it downs not have a specific date, but instead has a “D” and question marks, allowing the same style to be worn in multiple years.
1960s Class Beanie
UNCG National Champion Sweatshirt
Beginning in 1970, the men’s soccer team was one of the earliest intercollegiate teams on campus. In 1982, the team captured its first Division III national championship. This victory was repeated in 1982 and 1983 under coach Mike Berticelli. The team went on to be the first NCAA team to win three consecutive national championships from 1985-1987, this time under coach Michael Parker’s direction. In 2004, the soccer team would earn their first No. 1 national ranking since moving to Division I. This sweatshirt was created to celebrate the 1980s victories.
SCUA recently received the very generous donation of two Kathe Kollwitz etchings from UNCG alumna Betsy Brinson, Ph.D.. March of the Weavers (1893-1897) and The Ploughman (1907) are welcome additions to the collection. Born in East Prussia in July 1867, Kathe Schmidt Kollwitz had an early interest in art. She studied in Munich and Berlin, with Max Klinger as a major influence. As her style developed, she moved toward graphic art, producing numerous drawings, etchings, woodcuts, and lithographs. The grief that she experienced because of the loss of her youngest son in World War I, resulted in prevalent themes of mothers and children, poverty, suffering, death, and the stark reality of war. She experienced further tragedy during World War II, when her grandson was killed in action and her life’s work was lost during a bombing attack. She died shortly before the end of the war. Kollwitz is considered one of the last great German Expressionists.
The students at Woman’s College (the W.C.) were essentially restricted to campus and made their own fun with clubs, pageants, theatrical and musical productions and many other traditions. One of those was the annual “Unmusical.” According to the May 13, 1949 edition of the school newspaper The Carolinian, an Unmusical was a “programmed planned, written, and directed by the senior class for the sole purpose of a “take-off” of the faculty, presented at the last chapel program of the year. The theme for 1949 was “Through the Years.”
Alice C. Boehret (1919-2008), was a U.S. Army Nurse Corps veteran of World War II and came to the W.C. in 1946 using her G.I. Bill educational benefits. She graduated in 1950 with a degree in French and returned to her native city Philadelphia, PA to teach at Albert Einstein Hosptial. received a bachelor’s degree in French in 1950. She returned to Philadelphia to teach at Albert Einstein Hospital. In 1957, Boehret accepted a position at the Woman’s College in the newly formed Department of Nursing; she became chairman of the department in 1960.
In a recent addition to her manuscript collection there is a three-page song sheet, circa 1950, of parody lyrics about the W.C. experience set to popular tunes such as “Old King Cole”, “This is the Army, Mr. Jones”, “Comin’ In on a Wing and a Prayer”, “K-K-K-Katy” and “Pack Up Your Troubles in an Old Kit Bag.” These songs were performed by students for other students and perhaps faculty.
* McIver refers to Charles Duncan McIver, the first president of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG) from 1892-1906. “Normal” was a term for institutions that taught pedagogy (i.e. “how to be a teacher”.)
You can see the entire song sheet and find more catchy tunes at SCUA!
How did a simple ad set a trend for disposable dresses? See 1960’s consumerism bleed into a fad that transformed fashion?
Three paper dresses featured in the exhibit.
For starters, the dress came about in 1965 as a challenge presented to a wife of a Scott Paper employee to create a dress made of the company’s latest product, Dura-Weave. This cellulose fabric used for hospital personnel’s laundry-reduced garments served as the new material for Scott’s promotional campaign: Send Scott $1 and one would receive a throwaway dress along with the throwaway tableware Scott promoted and coupons for other Scott products. Such a disposable nature allowed the masses to keep up with the fast-changing styles of the times. People used scissors and tape to adjust looks and stay trendy – much less hassle than needles and thread.
The fad touched other parts of society: capitalism and art fused together in 1967 with the creation of the “Souper Dress,” Warhol’s Campbell’s soup masterpiece but now printed on a dress for Campbells to sell and advertise. Other companies took advantage of the paper dress’ easy print quality as well. This promotional dress also became a promo in the political sphere as Nixon’s campaign ad in 1968.
The paper dress fad made an appearance on UNC Greensboro’s campus as an exhibit known as the Art on Paper, 1967 show at Weatherspoon Museum. Dillard Paper company’s sponsorship allowed the Weatherspoon Guild to pursue this artistic venture. Featuring fast fashion served as a way to show audiences the state of Art in that time period. The dresses’ painted designs reflected the personalities of the 18 docents who wore the garments.
Accession Number 2005.36, purchased with the Emma Harter Fund, Newfields.
One or two wears then toss made the dress appealing, but eventually manufacturers began combining wood pulp with synthetic fibers, like nylon, to make the dresses last longer. Consumers could get a couple washes out of the dress and even iron it at a cool setting. However, advancements in clothing technology led to cheap fabric that could keep up with daily trends while more wearable than Dura-Weave-like materials. Paper dresses couldn’t compete. Counterculture’s rejection of materialism conflicted with paper dresses’ mass produce-then-throwaway nature as well. By 1968, the fad was thrown out completely.
Paper dresses remain notable mentions in our fashion, consumer, and art world. Isabelle de Borchgrave, the Belgian artist known for designing paper dresses, created a paper gown worn by the Queen of Belgium in 2004. She continued to use paper gowns as a mode of art to tell fashion’s history from gowns worn by the Medicis to mantua dresses of the 18th century. In a 2019 interview with Vogue, Borchgrave remarked about her journey with paper dressmaking: “I was, and still am, surprised every day by what paper can give you. Paper gives you freedom…”
The five dresses in the Fast Fashion of the 1960s, Paper Dresses exhibit were all designed by faculty in the UNC Greensboro Department of Art for the 1967 Art on Paper gala held at the Weatherspoon Art Museum and are held in the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections & University Archives. This exhibit is available for viewing on the first floor of the W.C. Jackson library from January 4th until June 1st, 2023.
Paper dress by artist Gilbert Carpenter. From the Weatherspoon Guild Records.
We recently purchased a copy of François Menon’s The Art of Modern Cookery Displayed (1767) for our Historical Cookbooks in the Woman’s Collection. This copy is the first edition in English of Menon’s encyclopedic cookbook, translated from the original French Les soupers de la cour (1755). Promoting simple recipes and carefully balanced flavors in the new style of haute cuisine, this was the last major French culinary text before the revolution.
François Menon was considered the most influential and prolific of all eighteenth-century cook book authors. Not only did he focus on the nouvelle cuisine of the day with its emphasis on health, but he also explored the science of cooking, wrote books for maîtres’ d’hôtel, and assigned the term “chef” to the head of the kitchen.
This present work covers all courses from entrees to desserts, and is divided into chapters dedicated to different dishes or ingredients, with extensive sections on sauces and broths, meats and fish, pastry, compotes and jams. Remarkedly, Menon selected recipes not only from French tradition but also from Italy, Germany, Ceylon, and Flanders.
The anonymous author of this English translation was Bernard Clermont, who only revealed his identity on the title page of the third edition. In the pages of this work, he described himself as “a foreigner”, stating that he worked as a clerk of the kitchen for some noble English families, including the Earls of Abingdon and Ashburnam. In his translation, Clermont preserved French terms, adding useful explanations “for the mutual Ease and Instruction of Natives and Foreigners”, and added to Menon’s text a few interesting introductory pages listing all the products that could be found in the markets of London in different seasons.
This copy has apposite provenance, with the ink stamp to the front free endpaper of the Educational Department of the Royal Baking Powder Company (founded in 1866, it was one of the largest producers of baking powder in the USA). It also has the fancifully designed bookplate of the American home economist Julia Perrin Hindley, depicting a goose wearing a toque. Hindley worked as a radio personality and wrote a number of homemaking and cookery books under the pseudonym “Julia Lee Wright” from the 1930s to the 1960s. We have some of her cookbooks in our Paul & Janice Hessling Home Economics Pamphlet Collection.
Menon, et al. The Art of Modern Cookery Displayed: Consisting of the Most Approved Methods of Cookery, Pastry, and Confectionary of the Present Time. Translated by B Clermont, Printed for the Translator, 1767.
Following The River Thames
Charles Mackay (1812 – 1889) was a widely respected journalist working for the Illustrated London News and later The Times for whom he covers the American Civil War, interviewing Abraham Lincoln. This work is the first edition of this pleasingly illustrated history of the River Thames, concluding with an account of the frost fairs that would take place when the river had frozen over.
Mackay, Charles. The Thames and Its Tributaries, or, Rambles among the Rivers. London: Richard Bentley, 1840.
A Scandalous Affair Affecting Military Readiness
The circumstances in which Mrs. Clarke (1776? – 1852) met the Duke of York (1763 – 1827) are unclear. However, from about 1803, she “made money out of her affair with the duke (which ended in May 1806) by promising promotion to officers, in return for payment. This matter was raised in the House of Commons by Colonel Gwyllym Lloyd Wardle on January 27, 1809, and referred to a select committee, which heard several witnesses testify that York has at various times tolerated or been involved in the trafficking of offices … there were no grounds for the duke’s prosecution; but his resignation as commander-in-chief on March 18 was the only way to avoid the renewal of the allegations.” (ODNB)
Our copy is the second edition, with the portrait of Mrs. Clarke beautifully hand-colored. This collection of letters and memoirs is the most reliable source of information on Mary Anne Clarke’s scandalous affair with Frederick, Duke of York, and was composed by Clarke’s close friend, Elizabeth Taylor.
Taylor, Elizabeth, et al. Authentic Memoirs of Mrs. Clarke : In Which Is Pourtrayed [Sic] the Secret History and Intrigues of Many Characters in the First Circles of Fashion and High Life, and Containing the Whole of Her Correspondence during the Time She Lived Under the Protection of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, the Gallant Duke’s Love Letters, and Other Interesting Papers Never Before Published. Printed for Thomas Tegg, 1809.
A Tale Inspired by 17th Century Witch Hunts
One of the various novels published by the journalist and novelist Thomas Gaspey (1788 – 1871) in the 1820s, The Witch-Finder narrates a tale of mid-17th-century witch hunting, purporting to be historically accurate, even if a romance.
Gaspey, Thomas. The Witch-Finder; or, the Wisdom of Our Ancestors. A Romance. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green. 1824.
Jack The Ripper Newspaper Account
For the course HIS 374: British History Since 1688, Dr. Jill Bender schedules class sessions for her students to view original materials related to The Great Exhibition of 1851 (also known as The Crystal Palace) and also the sensationalism of the Jack the Ripper’s murders in the British and American press. SCUA recently added another newspaper documenting coverage of this infamous murder mystery.
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer, active in the impoverished districts in and around Whitechapel in the East End of London in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporary journalistic accounts, the killer was called the Whitechapel Murderer, Leather Apron, and Jack the Ripper.
Northampton Daily Chronicle, Tuesday, November 13, 1888
This newspaper issue details the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, the final of the five “canonized” murders attributed to Jack the Ripper:
Detail of article, The Latest London Tragedy
As the first image shows, the paper was discolored from acidification. Audrey Sage, Special Collections Conservator, stabilized and housed this newspaper so that students can continue to incorporate it into their class exercises. Sage writes about this process in her article, found at this link.
19th Century Word Games
SCUA hosts several classes which focus on the creation of found poems, “exquisite corpse”, and other creative writing exercises. We recently purchased two word game sets published in the late 19th century.
Anagrams; or Words Alive!
Peter G. Thomson was a Cincinnati publisher of children’s books, games, valentines, and novelties in the 1880s. His products rivaled the popularity of McLoughlin Bros, who bought out the company in 1889. Variations of anagrams and word games proliferated in the late 19th century and many publishers produced their own versions similar to Milton Bradley’s “Game of Words and Sentences,” which Bradley claimed to be the first such word game in the 1870s and published until the early 1890s, when he bemoaned the number of imitations had diminished its allure.
Anagrams; or Words Alive. Peter G. Thomson: Cincinnati, Ohio. ca.1880s.
Hood’s Spelling School and Other Games
Hood’s Sarsaparilla was marketed to purify the blood and cure various disorders, including heart disease, rheumatism, and edema. The product was inspired in part by the success of Ayers’ Sarsaparilla. Hood’s Sarsaparilla contained sarsaparilla root, dandelion, juniper berries, and 18% alcohol among other ingredients.
This pamphlet and tiles were novelty advertising by Hood’s. Tiles could be acquired from the company by mailing in proof of purchase (a trademark from their wrapper), plus 8 cents in stamps. Booklet provides instructions for 10 anagram games, including one requiring special tiles that have complete words or numbers along with the letter, used to answer quiz-type questions and form sentences as part of the final game.
Hood’s Spelling School and Other Games. C.I. Hood & Co.: Lowell, Mass. 1897.
Student in Emilia Phillips’ ENG 221-02 Writing of Poetry class, having composed The Longest Word “antidisestablishmentarianism” using Hood’s tiles:
WOMEN VETERANS HISTORICAL PROJECT
Filomena “Fay” Langone Helme Collection
Helme served in the U.S. WAAC (Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps) and the WAC (Women’s Army Corps) from 1943 to 1945. She was an “Air WAAC/WAC” who was assigned to the Army Air Forces, which was the predecessor to the Air Force. The collection includes military papers, a scrapbook, and a photograph album documenting her time at the Roswell Army Air Force Base in New Mexico.
Detail of ephemera included in the collection
Detail of photograph album
Nina M.H. Photograph Album
This album documents the experience of one woman who trained at the quasi-military First National Service School in Chevy Chase, Maryland during World War I. Established by the Women’s Section of the Navy League, which was the first “national women’s preparedness” organization, the service schools were training camps in which women learned about national defense, citizenship, and American history. At these camps women wore military-styled uniforms and practiced calisthenics, drilling, marching, first aid, and marksmanship.
Detail of photograph in the album
Detail of photograph album
Mildred A. Higgins Collection
Higgins served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps during World War II. The collection includes photographs, letters and ephemera documenting her time stationed at the 228th Station Hospital in Sherburne, England.
Overview of materials included in this collection
U.S. Army Service Club Worker Scrapbook
The unidentified woman who created this scrapbook was an employee of the U.S. Army Service Club Program. The scrapbook documents her time at various American clubs in Germany in the late 1950s.
Two-page spread of the photograph album
“The American Red Cross Coffee & Doughnut Award”
This plaque was presented to U.S. Navy Captain Eduguardo Martin Coppola, the Commander at USN Naval Station in Sangley Point, Philippines, circa 1971. The award includes the ode “The American Red Cross is great indeed, Gives coffee and doughnuts to men in need, To our C.O. (commanding officer) who never received his share, This plaque will show that we care.”
The hand-carved plaque
“Overseas Woman“
This publication, published April 1945, was issued by the U.S. Special Information Services. It was aimed at women in the Army Nurse Corps, the Women’s Army Corps, and American Red Cross, who were serving in the ETO (European Theater of Operations.) The stated mission of the magazine was “to be a link to the home-front, a channel of introduction to the people and countries in which we are stationed, [and] a hand of friendship linking together all American women serving here.”
Cover and Table of Contents from Overseas Woman
“I’ll Soon Come Back to You, Sweetheart!”
This “Service Woman’s Fun Book” was published in 1944 and contains cartoons and humor for and about WACS, WAVES, SPARS, and MCWRs. The “sweetheart” referenced in the title appears to be a fashionable hat!
Detail of front and rear covers
Detail of internal pages, depicting humorous cartoons
Selection of Recruiting Brochures
WVHP continues to add examples of recruiting brochures to our collection. We recently purchased two post-WWII publications.
1982 U.S. Army Recruiting Brochure
“How the WAFS Make the Team”
1950 Women in the Air Force recruiting brochure
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Portrait of Julius I. Foust
This portrait of the second president of the university, Julius I. Foust, was transferred from the Foust Building where it hung for many years in the lobby.
In 1902, he became a professor of pedagogy at the North Carolina State Normal and Industrial College (now UNCG). After the death of first president and founder, Charles Duncan McIver, in 1906, Foust became acting president of the College. The following year he was made president, serving in that capacity until 1934 when he became president emeritus of the College.
During his long and esteemed career, Foust served as president of the North Carolina Association of City School Superintendents, president of the North Carolina Teachers Assembly, president of the North Carolina Association of Colleges, and a member of the Board of Directors of the A and M College (now North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.) He was also the author of a textbook on the geography of North Carolina and co-author of a spelling book.
Foust remains the longest-serving administrative leader in UNCG’s history. In 1960, the “Main Building,” the only remaining structure from the school’s founding year — was renamed in his memory. He died at Lakeland, Florida, February 15, 1946.
Plays and productions were an important part of early campus life at the State Normal and Industrial School (now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro). They were not only a creative outlet for the students, but also an ideal way for classmates from across the state to get to know each other better. In addition to obvious social benefits, the earliest campus productions drew attention to the new school during a time when the North Carolina Legislature was making important appropriation decisions for the state’s colleges. Charles Duncan McIver, the founder and first president of the small state women’s college, was constantly defending his school and advocating for recognition and financial and political benefits.
Figure 1: “The Bevy of Sailor Girls,” New Hanover County, 1894
In this vein, during visits of the Legislature’s Education Committee in 1894 to assess State Normal’s buildings, grounds, and administrative management, McIver planned a State County Fair, intending to show off his new school and student body from across the state. He appointed four students to plan the auspicious event, during which the Committee, local businessmen, and the general public were entertained with a competition to present the most creative skit featuring significant local products and notable historic figures from the students’ home counties. The Fair took place in the auditorium, or “chapel,” of the Main Building (now the Foust Building), and included elaborate costumes and props, as well as cleverly titled banners. The skits varied greatly in size, depending on how many students were from a certain county. A particularly large group from Yadkin County incorporated corn shucks and a large bottle with a banner reading, “Yadkin furnishes corn in all its forms.” Particularly singled out were the “bevy of sailor girls” from New Hanover County who sang a rollicking version of “A Sailor’s Wife a Sailor’s Star Should Be.” Only one “plucky” girl represented Greene County, but she did so with great flair, wearing a garland of corn and holding a squealing piglet on her back. It’s hard to believe that the piglet, as well as her banner reading “hog and hominy,” did not push her into the winner’s circle. Yet, the victorious county was Rockingham, which represented a cradle holding a sugar-cured ham and students dressed as nurses carrying shields representing four governors from that area of the state. Their banner declared, “Nursery of Our Governors.” For winning the day, the Rockingham girls were awarded the Grand Prize of a framed picture of Pilot Mountain. The event was a notable success and hailed as “one of the most unique entertainments ever given in the state.” Afterwards, the students were feted with oysters and hot chocolate.
Figure 2: “Nursery of the Governors,” Rockingham County, 1894
The County Fair program was replicated during the next Legislative Committee visit in 1897. McIver welcomed the committee at a dinner at the Benbow House Hotel in downtown Greensboro, then accompanied them back to the State Normal to see the elaborate presentation prepared for them. It began with a costumed student chorus representing the three departments of the school – Business, Domestic Science, and Pedagogy. Subsequently, there was a presentation, which featured students parading across the auditorium stage, with musical accompaniment, representing home counties. The audience was ecstatic at the portrayals, which sometimes incited humor, patriotism, and pathos. The Mecklenburg County offering, which represented students dressed as hornets, was very well received, as was the Lenoir County skit which featured students as “Cotton,” with wreathes atop their heads. As many of the students were from Guilford County, the stage was filled with girls dressed as Revolutionary soldiers sporting tricornered hats, who were soon joined by peers in dresses of white and gold, the school colors. The entire group then sang “America,” with patriotic fervor. But the high point of the pageant was a mock legislative session presented by thirty-five State Normal students dressed as senators and legislators, during which the College’s appropriation budget was increased by $100,000. The moving finale included a tableau vivant which featured students from their eighty-seven home counties gathered around the Great Seal of North Carolina singing “The Old North State.”
Figure 3: “Cotton,” Lenoir County, 1894
Yet it was not only the students who held the stage. During the 1897 Legislative visit, one member of the committee announced to the students that he believed in women’s rights and that women should have the same educational advantages as men – this was met with enthusiastic applause. He went on to praise the school by saying, “I wish to say that … after our investigation of this institution, that not before in history has there been an institution started with such a faculty, with such buildings with such a student body, with so little money.” McIver’s plan to win over the committee had been successful. The visitors had found the Fair entertaining, original, and instructive, and they returned to Raleigh pledging to support appropriations for the school.
As usually happens with large events, the 1897 State County Fair did not go without a hitch. It also stands out for being the year that students from Durham allegedly sewed cigarettes into their costumes, which they promptly smoked after the event and consequently were severely reprimanded by the faculty. Whether this is a true story or only a rumor, it remains part of the unofficial college lore.
Figure 4: Mecklenburg Hornets, 1897
By the time the Committee visited again in February 1899, the student productions had taken on a more political theme, most likely due to the Spanish-American War. The tableaux vivants included representations of “E Pluribus Unum – American Types,” “Way Down Yonder in Dixie,” and “Justice.” Also featured was a scene symbolizing the “School of Education,” in which Uncle Sam played by E. J. Forney, the College’s treasurer and professor of business, gave the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba instruction in self-government. This was a common theme after the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, and reflected political cartoons of the day, which showed Uncle Sam attempting to teach a new class of unruly American territories. The production was met with “deafening applause,” and considered a rousing success. The presentation ended once again with a tableau vivant of the Great Seal of North Carolina surrounded by representatives of all of the counties singing “The Old North State.” Although these early State County Fairs were obvious attempts by President McIver to sway the State Legislature, the tradition of the County Fair Day holiday on campus, which included exhibits and rides, would continue until 1920 when it was finally abolished.
This article was originally written for the Society of North Carolina Archivists Archives Month blog, 10 October, 2022
Contained in the Special Collections are a group of artist books that are small in size yet large in content. One work in particular is a piece by Diane Weintraub from 1999.
This work is comprised of three miniature volumes, each of a different size and constructed of accordion fold pages. Each book has a paper cover that has been hand printed with relief print images. The set is tied in a bundle with a cord and attached to cord reads a tag “Birthday suite.”
Contained within are poems and phrases that present thoughts about life and the imagery is reminiscent of Japanese block printing as well as German Expressionism.
This work was published by Iron Bear Press and the statement by the artist follows:
Caught in a conceptual vortex between the graphic traditions of Japan and German Expressionism, these three miniature books by Diane Weintraub, titled Birthday Suite, explore three thoughts about life – or the lack thereof.
Rage
That famous Dylan Thomas quote, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light, “forms the text of this volume which measure 1.5” by 1”.The linocuts on the cover depict and contrast an ocean sunset and naked light bulb waiting to be turned on.
True
Cover linocuts are based on that perception test; do you see a vase or two faces in profile. The text plays with the rumored connection between life and art. From front to back it reads, “If it’s true about art it’s true about life.” but turn the book upside down to find an opposite cover, with text that now reads, “If it’s true about life it’s true about art.” True is 1.5” by 1.5”
Entropy
The cover prints contrast a shooting star (quick, make a wish!) on the front and an image of a crater on the back cover. The text within this volume reads,” Entropy… ain’t it a bitch.” This book is 2.75” by 1.25”.
We hope you enjoy contemplating the imagery and grouping of this set of miniature books and the ideas contained within.
Two former UNCG student employees share how their experience working at SCUA prepared them for jobs in the archives and public history field.
Photo by Paul Buckowski/Times Union
Lacey Wilson
In the summer of 2016 I was fortunate to get accepted into the UNCG Museum Studies graduate program. As I contemplated how I would pay for the out-of-state tuition and housing, Dr. Benjamin Filene recommended that I apply for an oral history job with Martha Blakeney Hodges’s Special Collections and University Archives. Over the next two years, with the help of Brittany Hedrick and under the mentorship of Scott Hinshaw, we recorded and indexed over 100 interviews with students, alumni, professors, staff members, and former athletes at UNCG. I heard firsthand stories of academic departments growing, being a first-generation student, and the journey from Women’s College to UNCG [without the hyphen]. Three years later, I gained the opportunity to return to UNCG Special Collections. This time I led a project reflecting on the legacy of women’s suffrage. In the next few months, I primarily reached out to local women holding political office in the Greensboro area. We discussed what they learned before taking office and what they learned on the job. There were similarities and differences between their first vote and how politics were discussed with their mothers. It was a fantastic way to dive into recent local political history.
After I finished that project, I accepted a job in Albany, New York. As the Public Historian of the Albany African American history Project at the Albany Institute of History and Art, I am researching local black history. Many duties of this job are combinations of both past projects. There are stories of music, activism, community building, and more. The job is to work with education to create programming and exhibit an exhibit that 20th and 21st century highlights Albany’s black history. In my time here, since February 2022, I’ve researched black history for programming, started an oral history project, and connected to organizations and people through intentional outreach here in Albany. I’ll always appreciate the skills I gained in UNCG Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives.
Sarah-Esther Belinga
I am the Photography Archivist at Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Relief (SP), located in Boone, NC. During my time at SCUA, I volunteered, interned, and completed my capstone project as a student in the UNCG Master and Information Science Program (MLIS) While I had no previous experience in special collections or archives, the SCUA staff provided training that always helps me in my current position. I primarily curate the closed photo archives located in “The Vault” and their digital copies located in a digital asset management system (DAMS) in addition to assisting the SP photography team. I also complete photo requests from the graphic, web design and other departments for their projects. The Women Veterans Historical Project under Beth Ann Koelsch prepared me for both reference work and digital archiving. Guided by Stacey Krim, I processed collections and created finding aids which helps me when adding missing metadata to the one million and counting photos, negatives and slides uploading into our DAMS. Recently, I worked with the IT team to build a photo archives inventory on SharePoint based on notes I kept from my time at SCUA. In the true holiday spirit, I can simply say I am truly grateful!
