Elizabeth Broman
Polychromed PlumesDuring the last quarter of the 19th century, feather decoration for hats, fans, and boas was at its peak; in 1886, 77% of women’s hats were decorated with feathers and a milliner’s window had a display of colorful ostrich tips and plumes. They were used not only on hats, but were also used in trimming dresses, wraps, and to a large extent used in making exotic fans. Smithsonian Libraries, ostrich feathers, Alexander Paul, millinery, Victorian fashion, Godey's Lady's book, Peterson's Magazine |
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Lost TribesAs an undergraduate at Oxford University, Irish antiquarian Lord Kingsborough (1795-1837) became fascinated by the Bodleian Library’s collection of Mesoamerican codices. These vividly illustrated manuscripts painted on animal hide or tree bark were created in the 15th and early 16th by the scribes and priests of Mexico and Central America chronicling the histories, religious beliefs, and scientific knowledge of their ancient civilizations. Antiquities of Mexico, Viscount Edward King Kingsborough, Smihtsonian Libraries, National Design Library, Mexican paintings and hieroglyphics, Indians of Mexico, Lost tribes of Israel |
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I Wish I Had Been There!!Between 1909 and 1948, the Grand Palais near the Champs-Elysées in Paris featured remarkable decorative interiors which housed automotive, aeronautical and many other types of trade shows. For the buildings and other structures of the Paris Colonial Exposition of 1931, decorative lighting helped create a unity among the diverse architectures. lighting, André Granet, Smithsonian Libraries, Décors Éphémères, fountains, fireworks, lighting exhibitions, Grand Palais, lumière, Colonial Exposition of 1931 |
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Back in the USSRThis extremely rare trade catalog from 1940, in the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum Library, represents the output of 10 state-owned ceramics factories from all over the Ukraine in small towns and villages after industry was nationalized in 1918. Ukraine, ceramics, tableware, prpoganda, Smithsonian Libraries, political symbols, folk art, embroidery, Soviet Union, National Design Library |
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I Read It in a MagazineNo one can resist flipping through the pages of a magazine—in waiting rooms, while traveling, or anywhere. One that I love to browse through, and one that is popular among our library’s users, is the “women’s magazine,” Modern Priscilla (1887-1930). Originally focused on dress patterns, china painting, and needlework, the magazine’s scope was subsequently enlarged to cover other aspects of women's home life. magazines, Periodicals, Modern Priscilla, Fortune magazine, Smithsonian Libraries, illustration, graphic design, National Design Library |
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Linoleum Lives OnTurning the pages of this 1939 Armstrong pattern catalog brings me back to when I first moved into my apartment. Linoleum, Floors, Armstrong Cork Company, Smithsonian Libraries, patterns, National Design Library |
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New & Notable Books for June, 2011The Cooper Hewitt National Design Library, a branch of Smithsonian Institution Libraries, is the major resource in the United States for books, trade catalogs, serials, pictures, and archival material covering design and decorative art from the Renaissance to the present. Students, artists and designers, writers, researchers from auction houses, preservation and historical societies, conservators, collectors, and museum professionals come and use our library to research and document design and decorative arts- and everyone is welcome. National Design Library, New York, books, recent acquisitions, new and notable, June, 2011 |
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