GVH Exhibit: Greenwich Village Underground: A Brief Transit History of the Village

One of the exhibits created by students in the Creating Digital History course:

Greenwich Village Underground: A Brief Transit History of the Village

by Stephanie Krom

In 1904, the notorious “underbelly” of Greenwich Village was born. This underground scene had nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll or the Beatnik movement – it was the building of the first subway line through the Village. This IRT East Side Line was revolutionary. It replaced the elevated rail system and changed the way the people of Greenwich Village lived and traveled.

This exhibit will explore the construction, opening, and cultural impact of New York City’s first subway line, the IRT East Side Line.

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GVH Exhibit: Documenting Death: The Records of the New York Marble Cemetery

One of the exhibits created by students in the Creating Digital History course:

Documenting Death: The Records of the New York Marble Cemetery

by Christina Bell

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.

• -Benjamin Franklin, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789.

The one thing common to both death and taxes is paperwork. Each enterprise generates a vast amount of documentation, and such records serve to inform much about individuals and society in past years.

This project relates physical space to an archive. Located on Second Avenue just north of Second Street in New York’s East Village, the New York Marble Cemetery has been an active burial site since 1830. The dead were interred in large, underground marble vaults, with no headstone but a vault number. Here lies the importance of the archive: the records of the New York Marble Cemetery, housed by the New-York Historical Society, are the only way to identify and track those buried here.

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The Robert Mapplethorpe Archive

Self-Portrait of Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe Archive

Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) was an American photographer who worked primarily from the mid-sixties until his death, due to AIDS related complications.  Mapplethorpe was known for his large black and white images with male nudes serving and his prominent subject.  During Mapplethorpe’s lifetime his photography was considered to be very controversial and even after his death his work continued to spark controversy for its erotic nature.  Before Mapplethorpe passed away in 1989 he also set up the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, with the hope that the money generated by his estate would continue to support his creative vision.  The Mapplethorpe Foundation has since championed for AIDS Research.

The Mapplethorpe Foundation donated the Robert Mapplethorpe Archives to the Getty Research Institute in 2011.  The bulk of the materials date from about 1975 until the photographer’s death in 1989.   There are over 2,000 works of art in the collection as well as personal papers, which includes personal correspondence and other material that is significant to both Mapplethorpe’s personal life and art.

Most of the archival material resides at the Getty Research Institute while the art is available to be viewed in special exhibitions.

What makes the Foundation’s collaboration with the Getty Research Institute so special is the goal of the institute to digitize much of the collection.  This includes much of the artwork and other materials that were critical in Mapplethorpe’s artistic process.

When the finding aid is viewed online there is a link to the digital collection.  The digital archive splits into two separate digital collections; one of Mapplethorpe’s artwork and one of other artwork by others.  The collection is still in the process of being fully digitized but the Getty Research Institute has made what is digitized available online while the project continues.

Each object has extensive metadata, which makes identifying and citing objects easy for researchers.  Aside from the common identifying information for art such as the artist, title and year there are accession numbers (which are common for most archives), and information about reproductions and who holds the rights to the original and digital versions of the works.   The site also provides options for researchers to email the citation or save it on their personal computers.

This type of access to the materials is a part of a growing trend in archives to provide the highest level of access to researchers without having to step into a physical location.  These innovative types of services make it easier for all parties involved.  Researchers are able to do “pre-research,” which allows them to confirm that a repository has the information they are looking for and it give the archivist or librarian the ability to better serve their patrons who will have more information prior to contacting the institution.

The National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago

NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

As a graduate student studying archives it is easy to get caught up the national industry and national issues that affect archives and the historic community in the United States.  It is easy to forget that many other countries contribute to archival theory and are as interested in collecting and saving the heritage of their countries as American repositories.

As a first generation American I find myself to be not only interested in the history and national collections of the United States but from my parents’ home country, Trinidad and Tobago.

Trinidad and Tobago is a twin island Caribbean nation off the coast of Venezuela.  The islands have a colonial history, which has left the mark of a myriad of European countries.  Trinidad and Tobago was also an immigrant destination which promoted numbers of Chinese and Indian immigrants to ascend on the island to run plantations.  These events have created a nation with a rich cultural, social and political history.

Shortly before Trinidad and Tobago gained its independence in 1962 they contacted U.S. archivist Dr. T. R. Schellenberg as a consultant to develop a national archive for the island nation.  In 1958 Dr. Schellenberg was asked by the Trinidadian government to:

• Do a comprehensive survey
• Provide guidance to develop collecting practices for the country
• Establish an archive
• Create policies for the archive and
• Develop an education program to properly inform the public about the functions and importance of a national archive.

Many of the recommendations of Schellenberg were implemented and since 1960 the archive has served as a national repository and is listed as a government service.

According to the official website the National Archive of Trinidad and Tobago:

• Acquires public and private records of enduring value regardless of format.
• Cares for and preserve records acquired according to international archival standards.
• Provides guidance and technical advice on the management of public records.
• Provides secondary storage facilities to Government Ministries, Agencies and Departments for semi-active records.
• Provides access to information from our holdings through our Reference Facility.
• Provides advice on the preservation of records, including disaster recovery.

The archive has eight major record groups.  They are:

1. Immigration
2. Legal
3. Maps
4. Newspaper
5. Photographs
6. Reference Library
7. Special Collection
8. State Records

I found it interesting that even though the country is very small, (with a population of  almost two million people), they only had gathered enough material to create these very broad categories which could potentially serve large numbers of people for various reasons.

I recently watched a documentary by Trinidadian filmmaker Richard Fung entitled “Dal Puri Diaspora.”  In the film Fung was able to use the National Archive to find immigration records for Indian immigrants in order to trace their passage from places like Calcutta to Trinidad.  The information he found there supported his notion that traditional Indian foods were brought over from India and have heavily impacted the food culture of Trinidad and Tobago.

Of the record groups that the repository has I would assume that their immigration records are among the most popular, primarily because of their enormous research value.

For more information about the National Archive of Trinidad and Tobago visit: http://www.natt.gov.tt/index.aspx

For more information about Richard Fung’s documentary visit: http://www.richardfung.ca/index.php?/scv/dal-puri-diaspora/

GVH Exhibit: America’s Bohemia: Greenwich Village in the 1910s

One of the exhibits created by students in the Creating Digital History course:

America’s Bohemia: Greenwich Village in the 1910s

by Bonnie Gordon

Greenwich Village became widely identified as America’s bohemia by the mid-1910s. The radicals who lived in Greenwich Village in the early 20th century rejected traditional structured socialization, preferring instead bohemian informality. Yet they often met in Village hangouts to discuss their ideas about revolution and art. These places, and the individuals that frequented them, earned the Village its reputation as America’s Left Bank and attracted tourists and those who wanted to live the bohemian lifestyle.

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GVH Exhibit: A Peculiar and Private Press: Targ Editions on West 12th Street

One of the exhibits created by students in the Creating Digital History course:

A Peculiar and Private Press: Targ Editions on West 12th Street

by Jackie Rider

On retirement, publisher William Targ spent a decade creating limited editions of works by famous writers and artists such as John Updike, Kate Millett, Edward Gorey and others.  This exhibit showcases some of those books and looks at the man behind them, what he sought by making them, and his place in Greenwich Village culture of the 1970s.  It also asks, do digital images successfully represent fine press books?

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GVH Exhibit: A Century of Lesbian Feminism In and Around Greenwich Village (1900-2000)

One of the exhibits created by students in the Creating Digital History course:

A Century of Lesbian Feminism In and Around Greenwich Village (1900-2000)

by Rachel Corbman

This exhibit profiles three pioneering women’s  organizations, active in around the Village in various decades of the 20th century. Despite the many differences between these groups, all three helped carve out a place for lesbians either within their own organization or in society at large. By considering these organizations together, I will demonstrate how all three contributed to the creation of a modern lesbian identity as well as the formation of lesbian communities in urban centers. My focus will also emphasize the relationship between lesbianism and the feminist project of women’s equality.

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