Academy Hall open house in pictures
I had the pleasure of attending the recent open house held at Academy Hall on Stanford's Redwood City campus, which houses the Media Preservation Lab, Conservation Services, and much of the Department of Special Collections. Here are some things that caught my eye:
In true Northern California style, the entrance sweeps you in with a xeriscape of succulents and grasses.
Enclosures, tools, and some challenging objects to house (note the wire sphere from the Buckminster Fuller Collection).
Work areas are bright, practical, and spacious.
This rather imposing standing press was made in Italy. I can only image how much it weighs.
The giant paper cutter, made in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a classic example of precision engineering.
Clare Spitzer tries her hand (or rather, foot) at the pam-bind stapler.
The imaging station allows for carefully-calibrated image captures in a controlled environment.
Equipment in the Media Preservation Lab.
Player piano rolls have undergone repair work in advance of digitization. What tune does this roll play, I wonder?
Old meets new. The book cover fashioned from an antiphonary leaf caught my eye; the microscope illuminates a tiny section where some of the red pigment has flaked away, and awaits restoration.
Another music manuscript repurposed as a cover, this time for the Estrato di me Augusto et Nepoti d’Attimis dell Anno 1673, a government record-keeping book.
This cuneiform clay tablet, circa 1900 BCE, is a recent acquisition.
The light table illuminates the laid lines (horizontal), chain lines (vertical), and watermarks embedded in this 18th-century handmade paper.
The intricately tooled leather cover on this 15th-century work, Autores historiae ecclesiasticae, is stretched over wooden boards and secured with metal clasps.
Paper Conservator Aisha Wahab discussed this 16th-century medical manuscript. Contents include treatments for various diseases and afflictions including pestilence and gangrene, and was likely written in response to the plague that descended upon Wittenberg in 1527. A report I read later mentioned that while many fled the city, residents Martin Luther and his wife took in many ill and dying citizens, and their house may have had to be quarantined. Which leads me to...
..this decidedly ominous door. Needless to say, I quickly moved along.
Finally, an attempt at an "artsy" shot. This brush display reminds me of something you might see in a Shaker museum (never mind the power outlets).
I highly recommend a visit to Academy Hall and to the RWC campus. Thanks to all of the welcoming and informative staff at Stanford Redwood City for an enjoyable afternoon!
