New Exhibit! Mashup #2: Audubon meets T.P. Thompson meets the Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Opening this week -- Audubon meets T.P. Thompson meets the Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, the second in what we're calling an "exhibit mashup" -- bringing together a few things in an interesting way.

This exhibit focuses on J.J. Audubon, the ornithologist and artist; T.P. Thompson, a book collector; and the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that was documented by Audubon and has recently been spotted and made international news.

The exhibit is inspired by the upcoming lecture and book signing on Thursday April 24th with UA professor, Dr. Michael Steinberg. Steinberg will discuss his new book, Stalking the Ghost Bird: The Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in Louisiana (LSU Press, 2008).

T.P. Thompson's books make up the foundation for the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library's Rare Books Collection. The library of over 10,000 items was purchased by The University of Alabama in 1938. Over four decades later, in the 1970s, the Hoole Library acquired the papers of T.P. Thompson. Thompson's papers provide great insight into his passionate hobby as a collector of books and other materials.

This exhibit includes maps and books from his collections as well as images and information that create an interesting portrait of the convergence of these two men and one very big and mysterious bird (Fact: Did you know that the ivory billed woodpecker stands about two feet tall and is the largest woodpecker in the United States!?).

One highlight of the exhibit is a portrait of Audubon, which has been purported to be the only self-portrait the artist ever did. This painting has been on display in the Hoole reading room for many years and has been moved to the lobby for this exhibit.

Another highlight of Thompson's collection and of the exhibit is an important association copy (a seven volume set) of the first octavo edition of Birds of America, published in 1839-1844 by the author & by J.B. Chevailier, Philadelphia. It is inscribed by Audubon and presented to his sister-in-law, Eliza Berthoud. (Image of Audubon's signature and inscription shown here).

T.P. Thompson's passion for collecting and his broad commitment to civic and charitable endeavors in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th century are very evident in his manuscript collection, and are touched upon in this exhibit as well. He gave freely of his time and his funds for a great many causes, but even more remarkably, he readily opened his home to researchers so that they may use his library.



“Any student who desires to refer to my books
is welcome, as I look upon myself rather as a custodian, than an owner. Good books, while seemingly frail, outlive many generations of proprietors.” - T.P. Thompson

He made a request in his will that upon his death, his books would be made accessible to Southern students. They are, and continue to be, at the Hoole Library.

(Image of Thompson's hand written catalog card for the royal octavo Birds of America shown here)

Mashup #2: Audubon meets T.P. Thompson meets the Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker is on display in the lobby of the W.S. Hoole Special Collections Library and opens today, April 16, 2008. The Hoole Library is open Monday-Friday from 8 am - 5 pm with Thursday evening hours until 9 pm.

Additional resource: It should be noted that The University of Pittsburgh Library has developed a great digital project that allows users to search for Audubon plates by keyword. That site is available at http://digital.library.pitt.edu/a/audubon/

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A Memorable dinner at Antoines in New Orleans: March 17, 1914

Featured here is the menu and program cover from the annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner in New Orleans. This particular dinner was held at Antoine's and featured such delicious green delicacies as Absinthe Verte and Artichaux Bayard. The final course seems especially compelling -- cigars, cigarettes, and Café Diabolique -- flambéed coffee served tableside, and still an Antoine's tradition. This program and menu and several other equally interesting St. Patrick's Day Dinners, including one from 100 years ago - 1908) are from the T.P. Thompson Collection at the Hoole Special Collections Library. T.P. Thompson's book collections are the foundation of the Hoole Library's rare books collections. And his papers are an incredible collection of materials that relate to his collections, his civic and business life, and his deep love for the city of New Orleans.

To learn more about T.P. Thompson, stay tuned for Exhibit Mashup No. 2! (Hint No. 2) And have a very happy St. Patrick's Day and a very safe and happy spring break to those who are lucky enough to get one!

Exhibit Mashups @ Hoole: Bringing things together in wild and wonderful ways!

Exhibit Mashup No. 1, Dickens meets Goetzel meets the WPA is about to come down! Come see it at Hoole Special Collections Library lobby before Friday, March 14. After spring break, the new Exhibit Mashup No. 2 will open.

Want a hint about what's coming next?

Here it is! This exhibit will open the first week in April in the lobby of the Hoole Special Collections Library.

Exhibit Mashup No. 1: Dickens meets Goetzel meets the WPA

A new exhibit will be on display in the lobby of the Hoole Library beginning next week, which features some incredible little artifacts in our collections. These figurines were created as part of the WPA-funded project, the Alabama Visual Education Program.

The Alabama Visual Education Project came out of cooperation between The State Department of Education and the Visual Education Project of the Work Projects Administration. It provided a way for public schools in Alabama to purchase high quality visual aids for education purposes at a low cost. Some of these items are now housed in the Hoole Special Collections Library, including a catalog from 1940 listing items which were available for purchase by Alabama public schools. Also included in the collection are the instructional books Flags, Seals, and Coat of Arms of Alabama published in 1939 and History of Western Costume: prehistoric through nineteenth century, published in the 1930’s and featuring 114 full color plates with detailed descriptions.

We have chosen to exhibit this set of beautifully carved and painted wooden figures depicting characters from Charles Dickens novels. It is understood that decades ago, this set was used for teaching/visual aids by UA's English Department. Also created was a set of Shakespeare figures and Chaucer figures, but only two of the other figures are part of the Hoole Collections.

These tiny figures taken from Charles Dickens' novels and the hand-made wooden storage boxes are compelling and unique items to behold. The Hoole Library also holds a scale model of Shakespeare's Globe Theater, which was created as part of this project.

This exhibit features just the Dickens characters, as well as some of Dickens' works housed at the Hoole Library, as well as images from these books -- of course featuring his compelling and classic Victorian morality tale, A Christmas Carol.

The most important volume from our collections exhibited is an 1863 edition of Great Expectations printed by Goetzel in Mobile in 1863. This confederate imprint, though rebound at some point long ago in a library binding is an important piece of Alabama history. Please stop by and see this unique convergence of Victorian London, Confederate-era Mobile, and Depression-era Tuscaloosa. This exhibit was developed largely by Amy Allen, SLIS graduate assistant, working with Jessica Lacher-Feldman.