05

Feb

Photo Friday: Opening Doors

Today, while up in storage at Cranbrook House, we rediscovered the Master Key for Cranbrook School For Boys, given to George G. Booth in 1927. The locks have changed, after almost 90 years, but it is still fun to see and think about.

Cranbrook Schools original master key.

Cranbrook School original master key.

Bart Simpson: What’s that weird key for?
Ralph Wiggum: That’s Daddy’s magic key. It opens every door in town.
Bart Simpson: The police master key? Oh, Ralph. Do you realize what we can do with…

Like Bart Simpson in This Little Wiggy, what would you do with the Master Key to the Cranbrook Schools? I think I’d eat all the cookies in the dining hall . . .

– Leslie Mio, Assistant Registrar

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Historic Properties/Objects

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26

Jan

A Fond Farewell

It’s been a little over five years since I accepted a position as archivist at Cranbrook Archives. I had toured the Archives some years before, when I first became photo archivist in the Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library. Though familiar with Cranbrook from growing up in the area, I thought, boy, this would be a cool place to work.

My wishful thinking turned into reality when, after retiring from Detroit Public Library and working as a volunteer in Cranbrook Archives, a position opened up. Lucky me! And my first assignment was to process the papers of Edward and Ruth Adler Schnee. I had shopped in their iconic store in Harmonie Park and was delighted to meet Ruth and hear all about her fascinating life, which gave me a framework for processing her papers.

RAS

Ruth Adler Schnee in a fun moment.

Meeting Ruth was just the beginning of a deep plunge into subjects of which I was only marginally aware: the George Gough Booth family who founded Cranbrook; the Saarinens who designed its campus, many of its buildings and furnishings; artists such as Harry Bertoia, Marianne Strengell, Katherine McEwen, Charles & Ray Eames, Maija Grotell, Harry Weese. My head was spinning trying to keep up!

Gradually I became familiar with the history of Cranbrook as documented by the rich material in the Cranbrook Archives. The manuscript collection (institutional and individual), the photograph collection, the architectural drawings, and the myriad other informational sources, not to mention my coworkers, other Cranbrook staff, and Archives’ volunteers, all helped fill in the blanks. Most of all, head archivist Leslie S. Edwards, guided me through the intricacies of building names and campus personalities, filling me in on strange anomalies such as Chanticleer Cottage, or some of the unheralded people like the Vettraino family or John Buckberrough who, in small but important ways, helped make Cranbrook what it is today.

farewell

A favorite view when eating outside in the summer!

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m moving on to other adventures; today is my last day. I learned so much here, thanks to everyone I worked with. And it turns out I was right. Cranbrook is a cool place to work!

– Cheri Gay, Archivist

 

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Archives

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22

Jan

Phenomenologically Speaking

Ok, so I have to admit, I had no idea what the term “phenomenological” meant until yesterday when the Archives was host to a group of architecture students from Lawrence Technological Institute. Phenomenology was defined by the German philosopher Edmund Husserl as the philosophical study of the structures of experience and consciousness. So how does this fit in with architecture? Well, the idea that we experience architecture with all of our senses does seem perfectly logical and of course Cranbrook is a perfect example of that.

The two buildings the students focused on were the Cranbrook School Dining Hall and the Natatorium. If you have ever walked into either of those spaces, you can absolutely understand the phenomenological experience – the dining hall with its’ high vaulted ceilings, the Orrefors glass pendant light fixtures, and the 12 foot leaded glass windows that line the walls and throw patterns of light across the room – all of these contribute to both our visual and non-visual senses as we experience the space.

image2

Head Archivist, Leslie Edwards, discusses drawings with LTU students.

The Natatorium illustrates this concept even more dynamically. The complex use of materials – glazed exterior and interior brick, concrete block interior walls, the gray stone pool deck, the hand-glazed tiles in the locker rooms, and the use of mahogany for the walls, railing, and vertical louver panels – all contribute to the total sensation of the space. Add to that the windows that look out to the woods and the ceiling oculi that open up to the sky and you definitely experience phenomenology.

So thanks LTU students for teaching me something new when you came to the Archives to look at the architectural drawings. Days like this are another one of the perks of being a Cranbrook archivist.

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

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Archives

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15

Jan

Opulence and Splendor

In the spring of 1927, Cranbrook founders George Gough and Ellen Scripps Booth traveled to Egypt. In addition to visiting Cairo and having their photograph taken after an hour long camelback ride, the Booths visited the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Tutankhamun (King Tut).

Letter from Cairo, Mar 1927.

Letter from Cairo, Mar 1927.

In a letter to his son Henry, Booth describes in detail the opulent beauty of the tomb: “When in Luxor we went to the Valley of the Kings and saw the tomb – that is we saw one room where the King lay. He is there still in one of the gold coffins – the mummy had over it a gold mask covering head and shoulders and many jeweled ribbons of gold covering the joints of the mummy cloth. Thimbles on each finger and toe… this lay inside a gorgeous solid gold coffin inlaid with stones. This was all in the finest carved sarcophagus and that inside a splendid wooden shrine – and this inside of a beautifully decorated room.”

Replica created by Egyptian artisans and purchased by George Booth in 1927. The original chair is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Photograph courtesy of Cranbrook Institute of Science.

Replica created by Egyptian artisans and purchased by George Booth in 1927. The original chair is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Photograph courtesy of Cranbrook Institute of Science.

The Booths also visited the Egyptian Museum while in Cairo. Booth writes that although there is still a great deal in the actual tomb, he is in awe of the exhibition’s craftsmanship and value. He was particularly interested in a chair that at the time was believed to be the State Chair of Queen Taia, wife of King Amenhotep III (grandfather of Tutankhamun). Booth writes to Henry, “I would cheerfully give $10,000 for the throne –  which is an ordinary sized chair, but beautifully wrought.”

Exhibition poster, 1973.

Exhibition poster, 1973.

As the original chair was not for sale, Booth commissioned a replica to be made for the Art Museum collection. The chair, of carved wood with relief decorations covered in gold leaf, was later determined to be the chair of Sitamun, an Egyptian princess (and thought by many scholars to be the mother of King Tutankhamun). The chair was lent to the Institute of Science for a 1973 exhibition titled, “Ancient Egypt and the Tomb of Tutankhamen”. In 1984 the chair was transferred from the Art Museum to the Institute of Science, where it still resides today.

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

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Archives/Exhibitions/Objects

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08

Jan

“The Last Minstrel” at Cranbrook

Richard Dyer-Bennet poster

Troubadour, poet, and composer Richard Dyer-Bennet (1913–1991) was among the best known and most respected folk singers in America during the 1940s and 1950s. He became the first solo folk musician to appear in Carnegie Hall and on December 7, 1941, NBC radio broadcast Richard Dyer-Bennet singing “The Ploughboy” when the broadcast was interrupted with the announcement of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Richard Dyer-Bennet performs at Cranbrook, Feb 1954. Harvey Croze, photographer.

Richard Dyer-Bennet performs at Cranbrook, Feb 1954. Harvey Croze, photographer.

Brought to Cranbrook by the Cranbrook Music Guild in February 1954, Dyer-Bennet presented “The Voice of Minstrelsy,” a program of traditional folk songs which spanned six centuries and included old-world European songs as well as American folk ballads.  A year later, Dyer-Bennet founded his own record label in order to maintain artistic control over the sound quality, repertory, and style of his performances.

To see the poster featured in this blog, as well as numerous others from our collection, visit the Archives’ exhibition Designs of the Times: 100 Years of Posters at Cranbrook.

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

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Archives

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31

Dec

The Name Game

From the beginning of Cranbrook’s history in 1904, place names at Cranbrook have evolved and changed. Once the Booths turned the original mill pond into a lake, they named it first Glassenbury Lake (after Glassenbury, England), then it was known as Cranbrook Lake for a very short time, and ultimately Kingswood Lake. The man-made Jonah Lake (or Lake Jonah as it is also known) was originally called Lake Manitou. Brookside School was originally called Bloomfield Hills School and Cranbrook School was Cranbrook School for Boys. Although Brookside School retains its name, since 1985 when the boys and girls schools merged, they are jointly known as Cranbrook Kingswood Schools.

Building names have also changed, often due to an alteration in use or sometimes because they were dedicated to an influential or long-time faculty member.  The Garden House became the Cranbrook Pavilion and is now St. Dunstan’s Playhouse. The Cranbrook School academic building became Hoey Hall after former Headmaster Harry Hoey and what was originally called the “Arcade” is now known as the Peristyle at the Cranbrook Art Museum. Lyon House was first called Stonelea (after its owner Ralph Stone, a long-time friend of George Booth), then Belwood, then the Kyes House before being acquired by Cranbrook.

And even Cranbrook Educational Community is not our first name. In 1927, the Booths established The Cranbrook Foundation as the legal and financial entity that oversaw the then six institutions: Brookside School, Christ Church Cranbrook, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Cranbrook School, and Kingswood School.

So, what is really in a name? How do we name our campus buildings and landmarks going forward and what legacy will we be imparting with them?

That said, I wish you all a Happy New Year! Or should I say Bonne année? Feliz Año Nuevo? Or maybe Xin nian kuai le?

(And thank you Stefanie Dlugosz-Acton for getting me thinking about names at Cranbrook!)

From the Virginia Kingswood Booth Vogel Papers.

From the Virginia Kingswood Booth Vogel Papers.

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

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Archives

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24

Dec

Happy Holidays!

With the end of December quickly approaching, we’ve received several holiday image requests. While looking through different collections, I came across these amazing holiday cards that were made by Cranbrook Academy of Art students and sent to Margueritte Kimball (1906-1995).

Margueritte visited Cranbrook for the first time in 1941. She was introduced to Wallace Mitchell, head of the Painting Department, who examined a few of her drawings, and eventually accepted her as a student to the Academy.  She began attending classes in the summer of 1942 and, at the same time began her career as the Academy’s financial secretary — a position she held for twenty-six years.

Known by many in the Cranbrook community, Margueritte became close with students and faculty at the Academy and collected correspondence and student materials from art exhibitions throughout the years. Although she never graduated from the Academy, she did receive an honorary degree late in her life. I hope you will enjoy some of the holiday samples from her collection. Happy holidays!

Kathryn Keillor (Painting '46)

Kathryn Keillor (Painting ’46)

John Edgar Barthel (Architecture '50)

John Edgar Barthel (Architecture ’50)

Grace Smith (attended Summer courses, 1951)

Grace Smith (attended Summer courses, 1951)

Edward Novak (Design '58)

Edward Novak (Design ’58)

 

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

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Archives

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18

Dec

Think Snow!

Kingswood School Headmistress residence, 1955.

Kingswood School Headmistress residence, 1955.

Boys from Cranbrook School playing hockey outdoors, 1928.

Boys from Cranbrook School playing hockey outdoors, 1928.

Brookside children ice skating, 1928.

Brookside children ice skating, 1928.

Academy of Art students, Florence Chang and Margueritte Kimball cross-country skiing at Cranbrook, 1944.

Academy of Art students Florence Chang and Margueritte Kimball cross-country skiing at Cranbrook, 1944.

Christ Church Cranbrook, ca 1938.

Christ Church Cranbrook, ca 1938.

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Archives/Images

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11

Dec

Photo Friday: Posters Tell a Story

The Cranbrook Archives exhibition, Designs of the Times: 100 Years of Posters at Cranbrook, opens this weekend. The exhibition documents events and performances that have enhanced and enriched the Cranbrook community for more than a century. The image below is just one of many that will be on display through March 20th, 2016.

yeoman

Performing Arts poster, 1955

This poster, signed “M.W.” was  designed by Michael Justin Wentworth (Cranbrook School ’56). In addition to designing posters, Wentworth was the art editor for both the Brook and the Crane, and designed the sets for the Ergasterion productions and the scenery for the bi-annual Operettas. He received his MA and MFA from University of Michigan, and his PhD from Harvard where he wrote his dissertation on the artist James Tissot, a lifelong interest.

The posters in the exhibition represent all areas of campus – we hope you come check it out!

– Gina Tecos, Archivist

10 years ago Short URL

Archives/Exhibitions

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03

Dec

Mapping Cranbrook History

Last night I ran across an article in the Huffington Post about a new blog at the Library of Congress called “Worlds Revealed: Geography and Maps.” Maps have always held a fascination for me, in fact, I am trying to teach my daughter to read a road map instead of using “Siri” or Google Maps to find our way somewhere. This generation just does not understand the value and intrinsic beauty of maps. My friend Maria, for example, is a map-aholic. One time we spent several days of our vacation obsessing over a jigsaw puzzle of a map. For the past 35 years, I have used numerous types of maps and atlases in my personal family history research, and in our work here at the Archives, maps, site plans, topographical maps, landscape architecture maps, and more are used weekly by our campus architects, architecture students, and scholars from across the country.

The staff of the Geography and Map Division at the Library of Congress have recently undertaken the “Dynamic Indexing Project” intended to digitize over 2.5 million map sheets. According to Mike Schoelen, a Post-Graduate GIS Research Fellow, “if the collection were stacked into a single pile, it would tower the Washington Monument by over 300 feet.”

While the map collection at Cranbrook Archives is nowhere near this extensive, we do have an interesting range of maps. Below are some examples.

copper

Map of the Copper Range of Northern Michigan, n.d.

1912.jpg

Sketch Map of Cranbrook, 1912.

hatt532

Sketch, Sedalia, CO, 1919. Robert T. Hatt travel journal.

milles533

Finance Building doors, Harrisburg, PA, 1938. Sketch by Carl Milles.

william_mary

Campus Plan for the College of William and Mary, Competition Packet, 1938.

See Also:

What is a Map?

Maps: Finding Our Place in the World

Maps in the British National Archives

– Leslie S. Edwards, Head Archivist

10 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

Archives

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