Ingalls Library & Museum Archives

This index is the type of reference text that librarians and researchers rejoice over.  The A.C.I. was compiled and realized by Noelle Corboz and Cécile de Pebeyre under the direction of Marc Blondeau and Thierry Meaudre.  The subtitle defines it succinctly, “Catalogues Raisonnés & Critical Catalogues of Artists 1780-2008,” and further, “Painting, Sculpture, Works on Paper, Prints, Contemporary Media.”  Entries are alphabetical by artist name, with place and date for birth and death.  Bibliography proceeds chronologically from date of publication, with separation for genre.  Details of publication are included, as well as ISBN number.  A thoughtful introduction tracing the history and evolution of the catalogue raisonné written by Rainer Michael Mason is also presented.  An author index follows, linking to the corresponding artist.  Prior to the release of this volume, art reference librarians relied on the Wolfgang M. Freitag text Art Books: A Basic Bibliography of Monographs on Artists, published in 1997.  This more up to date volume will indeed be a boon to research.  The A.C.I. will be shelved behind the reference desk for ease of access.

Some times a book is more than a book. That is the case with one of the latest acquisitions of the Ingalls Library, Papermaking at Hayle Mill 1808 – 1987. The impressive clamshell cased publication is an historical archive and treasure trove of papermaking history. Hayle Mill, near Maidstone, Kent, was the last industrial handmade-paper mill in commercial operation in Britain. The mill went through several owners until it was bought by John Green in 1817. It was operated continuously by the Green family until its closure in 1987.

Opening the clamshell case you find a hand-bound book chronicling the history of the mill. Next you see a reproduction of an 1856 map of the mills that operated in the Loose Valley in Kent. Unfolding the map you see that 12 mills operated in the two mile area between Tovil and Loose Village. Underneath the map is a folded paper portfolio containing 12 original paper samples with names such as Renaissance, Egyptian Vellum and Bodleian Light Toned. These are the papers used by some of the greatest English artists known, including John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. At the bottom one finds the paper portfolio containing a diagram of the mill and 19 reproduction photographs. Most interestingly, the author puts names to the faces in the pictures. In photo 4, the Rag House in 1921, where Mrs. Brislee and Miss Harrison sort rags. Photo 8 shows us that Arthur Whatmore, with his big bushy moustache, worked as vatman in 1933.

Hayle Mill closed in July 1987, a victim of economic recession. Ironically the last paper made by the mill was called Finale. And it is on this paper that the author chose to print the book. The Mill worked for 179 years to produce papers of the highest quality and Papermaking at Hayle Mill 1808 – 1987 is a fitting accolade to this achievement in word, photographs, paper samples, and construction.  TS1096.H38 G44 2008.

Researching the history of the Cleveland Museum of Art collection became easier recently with the addition of two serial publications to the JStor collection.  The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art ran from1914 to 1994, serving as the primary publication for announcements regarding exhibitions, collections, and all things about the Museum.  With JStor’s full text searching, researching museum objects is certainly easier.  Searching within the publication by accession number, dropping the first two digits of the year, reveals numerous relevant articles.  Notable authors, such as Henry Hawley, can be tracked similarly.  As well, caption searching returns images of objects not included in the Ingalls Library Publication Index.  This latter search can be especially helpful with May Show artists, as the objects of First Prize and Special Award winners are often pictured, as in this caption search for Schreckengost.  This information is not available via the Ingalls Library’s May Show database.

While Cleveland Studies in the History of Art picks up in 1995, it is not a typical successor to the Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Rather, this annual publication produced more academic scholarship on the Museum’s collection.  Because the journal spans nine years, through 2000, accession number searches are useful in both two digit and four digit year number searches.  Though a scan of the table of contents would be equally useful.  Caption searching produces color images, suitable for presentation, as in this search for the Museums 14th Century table fountain.

Original copies of both publications will continue to be held in the Ingalls Library reference room.