Emily Jack – Page 6 – NC Miscellany

Artifact of the month: “Jimmy in 76” toboggan

The 2012 presidential election is so complicated: convoluted electoral equations, Super PACs, televised debates with real-time feedback from undecided voters. Remember when a voter could express his or her support with nothing more than a smiling peanut?

Our October Artifact of the Month is a green toboggan supporting Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign. The words “Jimmy in 76” are knitted into the cap and a patch bearing a toothy peanut is sewn onto the front.

The hat, which was donated by Patrick S. Wooten and Andrew M. Sugg, originally belonged to James R. Sugg of New Bern, North Carolina. Jim Sugg was the Chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party from 1972 to 1976. Mr. Wooten writes, “I think it is safe to say that Jim was a vital part of the effort that resulted in Jimmy Carter winning in North Carolina, and ultimately being sworn in as president.”

Jimmy Carter was a proud son of the South, and this 1976 electoral map shows how strongly geography played into the election. (Note the one rogue elector in Washington state who, despite pledging to vote for Ford, cast a vote for Ronald Reagan.)

Certainly, it would be a mistake to portray 1976 as a simpler time politically, especially given the effects of Watergate on public perceptions of the presidency. All the same, it’s refreshing to look back on a time when something as wholesome and whimsical as the peanut — and something as iconically Southern — could symbolize a presidential candidate’s entire campaign.

We’re pleased and grateful to add this toboggan to our collection of political memorabilia.

Glenda Gilmore lecture on the history of education in North Carolina

We hope you’ll join us this afternoon for a free public lecture by Yale historian Glenda Gilmore. The details:

“Knowledge Capital and Human Flourishing: Educating North Carolinians, 1865–1970”
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012
Wilson Special Collections Library
5:30 pm, Pleasants Family Assembly Room

The lecture is the keynote address for the statewide conference New Voyages to Carolina: Defining the Contours of the Old North State. Gilmore says her talk will examine “what the history of education in North Carolina has to tell us about the current school crisis.”

The lecture is sponsored by the North Carolina Collection, the Friends of the Library, the Center for the Study of the American South, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill College of Arts and Sciences, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Department of History, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, and the Historical Society of North Carolina.

About Dr. Gilmore

Gilmore (UNC Ph.D. ’92) is the Peter V. and C. Van Woodward Professor of History at Yale. Her books include Defying Dixie: The Radical Roots of Civil Rights, 1919–1950 (W. W. Norton, 2008) and Gender and Jim Crow: Women and the Politics of White Supremacy in North Carolina, 1896-1920 (University of North Carolina Press, 1996).

For more information, contact Liza Terll, Friends of the Library, (919) 548-1203.

Carolina Parakeet will soon disappear from the Gallery, too

audobon_octavo — John James Audubon's Carolina Parakeet (octavo edition)

Since June, the Carolina Parakeet has graced the North Carolina Collection Gallery with its colorful feathers. (We’ve previously written about the exhibit here and here.)

If you’ve been meaning to visit, now’s your last chance to do so: The exhibit will end on September 30.

More details on the Parakeet exhibit can be found on the Gallery’s web page.

Artifact of the Month: North Carolina souvenir scarf

There’s so much to love, and so much to say, about our September Artifact of the Month.

This head scarf from the mid-1950s features a brightly-colored pictorial map of North Carolina.

Elizabeth Stinson, who donated the scarf, describes acquiring it during a childhood moving around between Greenville, South Carolina and Cooleemee, Ridgecrest, Black Mountain, and Greensboro, North Carolina. She writes:

Our family, especially my father, liked to visit western NC. (Mother, coming from Charleston, preferred flatlands, though she gained the respect of my brother and me by passing a big truck on a winding mountain two-lane.) We would picnic at a concrete table set up on the roadside by a stream, investigate the water, and we always had to stop at a country store for apples and souvenirs. While at Greensboro, we traveled to Fontana Village. Sometime along the way between Cooleemee and Greensboro, I acquired the headscarf, probably earlier than later.

scarf close-up — Click on the image for a larger version.

The images on the scarf speak volumes about North Carolina’s popular attractions in the post-World-War-II era, from “fine tulips” to Bridal Veil Falls (where “your car passes under.”)

Looking at this artifact is like traveling back to a more wholesome (and admittedly imaginary) time, when giant bears roamed freely through Hickory, and a person had nothing more urgent to do than while away the hours in Rockingham, cooking over an open fire.

The scarf is all the more charming for the things it doesn’t get quite right:

Orville and Wilbur Wright, sitting cheerfully side by side on their first flight…

… and the first state university in the country, known here as “N.C.U.”

But what’s most appealing about this scarf is knowing its history. Envisioning the childhood road trip to Fontana Village, and the excitement of picking up this colorful souvenir, makes this artifact come to life in a rare and rich way. Many thanks to Elizabeth Stinson for sharing both this scarf and her memories.

Gallery event: The Carolina Parakeet and Relatives

Next Wednesday, August 29, the North Carolina Collection Gallery will host two experts from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to talk about the Carolina Parakeet. The program is associated with the Gallery exhibit, “The Carolina Parakeet in Art: Images from the Powell Collection.” Details on the event are as follows:

The Carolina Paraket and Relatives: A Look at Some Natural, Un-natural, and Cultural Histories

How much do we know about the Carolina Parakeet? Very little, as it turns out. John Gerwin and Brian O’Shea of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences will describe what is known and not known about this extinct bird, and talk about some of the early explorers who had personal experiences with the Parakeet. They will also share some natural history highlights of related species and conservation stories of select, endangered parrots in the U.S. and abroad.

5:15 p.m.: Reception and viewing of exhibit, North Carolina Collection Gallery

5:45 p.m.: Program, Pleasants Family Assembly Room, Wilson Library

Artifacts of the Month: Ambrotype, medal, and pin of a Civil War soldier

“Be just and fear not.” With these words, David Ward Simmons, UNC class of 1861, signed a classmate’s autograph book. Three years later, Simmons died at the age of 23 of wounds sustained on the battlefield near Petersburg, Virginia.

Our August Artifacts of the Month, donated by a relative of Simmons, include an ambrotype of Simmons posing with a musket and two of his personal belongings: a Dialectic Society medal and a small pin.

Simmons was born on March 31, 1841 in Onslow County. As a young man, he entered UNC-Chapel Hill, where he studied law and joined the Dialectic Society. The Di Society is the obvious origin of the medal, the inscription of which reads “DIALECTIC SOCIETY.”

What’s less clear is the meaning of the pin. (If you can offer any insights, please share them in the comments.)

Measuring just about an inch in diameter, the pin bears the inscription, “UBI CONSULUERIS MATURE FACTO OPUS EST.” (Translation: When you have made your plans, you must act quickly.) And, at the bottom, a “D.S.” (David Simmons? Dialectic Society?) Is the insignia in the middle (L.I.S.?) from a fraternity?

Is there a clue on his autograph page?

After graduating, Simmons served as a Lieutenant in Company B, 41st N.C. Regiment. The Siege of Petersburg began June 9, 1864, and lasted nine months. Simmons was wounded June 21, less than two weeks into the siege. He died four days later, on June 25, 1864.

It’s a rare and welcome occurrence that we receive artifacts related to a 19th-century UNC student; rarer still that they come to us with a beautiful photograph of the student himself. When viewed together, these three artifacts deliver a unique glimpse into a life that ended too soon. We’re honored to have them in the collection.

Artifact of the Month: Kay Kyser’s beach hat

Kyser's yearbook photo — 1927 yearbook photo

The accomplishments of North Carolina’s native son Kay Kyser have been well documented: UNC cheerleader, class president, and bandleader; host of the successful radio show Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge from 1938 to 1949; big band leader with eleven number-one records to his name; star of seven feature films. Kyser’s rise to fame was swift, and he left an indelible mark on the Big Band era.

That’s all well and good, of course, but what did he wear to the beach?

The answer is our July Artifact of the Month.

When Kay Kyser headed to the shore, he used this red, white, green, and blue cap to shield his face from the sun. The cap’s exaggerated brim displays some of the characteristic whimsy for which Kyser was known throughout his show-biz career.

The hat also bears a U.S. Marine Corps insignia pin, but the only connection I could find between Kay Kyser and the military is his performance of a song called “Tell It to the Marines.” (If you know of something I’m missing, please chime in with a comment!)

Readers curious to learn more about the life of Kay Kyser can consult the papers of Kay and his wife, Georgia Carroll Kyser, which are in the Southern Historical Collection.

We’re thrilled to add this great piece of Kay Kyser memorabilia to the Gallery.

Meet Doodles, the Carolina Parakeet

It can be hard to determine just what’s going on in this grainy, black-and-white photo. It’s a bird and a man; that much is clear. To be more specific, it’s a Carolina Parakeet comfortably perched on a man’s necktie.

This 1906 photograph is remarkable for a number of reasons. Among them is the man’s seeming nonchalance despite the alarming proximity of a bird to his face. But this is also an extremely rare photo of a live Parakeet, a bird that’s been extinct since about 1920. And the story of this particular Parakeet is even more remarkable than the photo.

A member of the family

The Parakeet was named Doodles. Doodles belonged to the Smithsonian scientist Paul Bartsch, who kept him as a pet. (Nowadays respected scientists don’t keep endangered species as pets, but those were different times.) The man in the photo is identified only as “Mr. Bryan,” who we might assume was a visitor to the Bartsch household.

Dr. Bartsch adopted Doodles after the bird had been rejected by his captive parents. Bartsch taught him how to feed himself and Doodles quickly became part of the family. In a reminiscence about Doodles, Bartsch wrote, “He shared our meals, was well behaved, and stuck to his own plate almost always.”

The “well-behaved” claim is belied by other tales Bartsch tells: Doodles prying jewels from their settings. Doodles escaping to run around the neighborhood with the local pigeons. But Doodles also seems to have been a very sweet bird, napping on Bartsch’s cheek in the morning, or nestling with a pet squirrel for company.

It’s hard to reconcile these latter stories with the image of the wild, squawking flocks presented by naturalists like John James Audubon. But such is the enigma of the Carolina Parakeet.

When Doodles died in 1914, he was one of the last known captive members of his species.

The Parakeet in the Gallery

If you’re curious about the Carolina Parakeet, or if you’re looking for an air-conditioned experience of nature, visit the North Carolina Collection Gallery’s exhibit “The Carolina Parakeet in Art: Images from the Powell Collection,” now through Sept. 30.

The Carolina Parakeet, in all its splendor, in the Gallery

It’s hard to imagine now, but the North Carolina skies were once teeming with brightly colored parakeets. Conuropsis carolinensis, the Carolina Parakeet, was the only species of parrot native to the eastern United States. The story of the Parakeet is one of abundance and extinction, beauty and tragedy. Our current Gallery exhibit celebrates the life of the Carolina Parakeet and laments its decline.

The exhibit, “The Carolina Parakeet in Art: Images from the Powell Collection,” showcases the collection of William and Virginia Powell, who have been collecting art works depicting the Carolina Parakeet for decades, as well as prints, photographs, paintings, and books from the North Carolina Collection.

Highlights include an original print by John James Audubon, an illustration by British naturalist Mark Catesby in his 1771 The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, and a 1918 newspaper article documenting the death of the last known Parakeet in captivity.

Take a Carolina Parakeet home with you

And if you’re a fan of the Carolina Parakeet, beautiful works of art, or supporting the library, visit our 1000 Museums portal where you can purchase a high-quality archival print of Mark Catesby’s The Parrot of Carolina and the Cypress of America.

Catesby was an English naturalist who traveled to South Carolina, Georgia, and the Bahamas between 1722 and 1726. The book he subsequently published, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, contains gorgeous, colorful illustrations of the flora and fauna he encountered in his travels.

In addition to the Carolina Parakeet, seventeen other Catesby illustrations are now available for purchase through the Library’s partnership with 1000 Museums. Sales of the prints benefit the library, making this a rare opportunity to simultaneously do good and elevate your home décor.

Artifact of the Month: Chang Bunker’s rifle

If you’re a regular follower of the Artifact of the Month, you’ll remember that last month’s post featured Chang Bunker’s silverware. (And if you’re not a regular follower of the Artifact of the Month, why aren’t you?)

This month we’re pleased to share another artifact that sheds some light on the everyday lives of Chang and Eng Bunker, the original Siamese twins.

Recently, Chang’s hunting rifle was generously donated by Dr. Vance Haynes, one of Chang’s descendants.

The .41 caliber rifle was made by Jacob Kuntz (Kunz) of Philadelphia and is over fifty-five inches long.

Accompanying the rifle are a bag-style copper powder flask, a single-cavity iron ball mold, and a copper funnel.

The rifle is impressive in its beauty and the quality of its craftsmanship. But what’s even more remarkable to the twenty-first century observer is its weight. This is a heavy weapon. To imagine lifting it — let alone shooting it — even without being a conjoined twin is a reminder of how much hardier our nineteenth-century forbears really were. That Chang fired it, as he did, attached at the sternum to his brother is yet another reminder of the Bunkers’ resilience.