Cantabrigian Julia Child Turns 100 Today

Today is a special day in Cambridge – it’s Julia Child’s centennial!   There are several articles in the New York Times, celebrating her birth.  “The Gifts She Gave” is about Child’s most popular recipes still used today.  “Memories of a Friend, Sidekick, and Foil” is chef Jacques Pépin’s story of Julia.  Her obituary is also prominently featured:  “The French Chef for a Jello-O Nation.”

If you want to explore Julia’s kitchen (which was donated to the Smithsonian), check out this great site:  http://americanhistory.si.edu/juliachild/

If you want to dig deeper into the life of Julia Child, explore the Schlesinger Library’s special online exhibit in honor of her centennial.  (The Schlesinger has her papers!)  Radcliffe is also hosting a one-day symposium on Julia on September 21. It looks fantastic!

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Third Annual Open Archives Tour – Reserve Your Spot

This July, Cambridge, Mass., residents and visitors will be given a rare opportunity—the chance to see inside nine different archives. The third annual Open Archives Tour will feature tours of private, City, and Harvard University archives on three separate days. This year, the event’s theme is Cambridge in the 1860s, and each archive will delve into its collections to display related materials, including rarely seen photographs and new research.

“This is a unique opportunity to see some of the rare items from our collections, see the spaces where our archivists process this material, and talk to the professionals who have a deep and passionate understanding of this history,” said Gavin W. Kleespies of the Cambridge Historical Society. Alyssa Pacy of the Cambridge Room at the Public Library added, “Cambridge is a really unusual city in terms of the number of organizations that are collecting and holding archival material, and this is an amazing chance to peek behind the scenes in nine of these institutions.”

The following institutions will participate:

Cambridge City Clerk’s Office
Cambridge Historical Commission
Cambridge Historical Society
Cambridge Public Library
Harvard University Archives
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Longfellow House – Washington’s Headquarters
Mount Auburn Cemetery
Schlesinger Library, Harvard University

For additional information, please visit www.cambridgearchives.org

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman on Exhibit at the Schlesinger Library

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1860-1935.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s birth, the Schlesinger Library has digitized its world-renowned collection of her papers.  The Schlesinger library is the primary repository for the papers of Gilman, 20th Century American feminist and author.  Gilman’s papers, which were donated by her daughter, Katharine Beecher Stetson Chamberlin, 40 years ago, consists of personal materials (such as family correspondence), professional materials (such as manuscripts of plays, speeches, and poems), drawings and illustrations, photographs, diaries, and newspaper clippings.  The digitized materials can be viewed here:  http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/findingAidDisplay?_collection=oasis&inoid=5106.  Please note, that you must scroll down to the “Inventory” section.

The Schlesinger Library has curated a free exhibition titled, From Woman to Human:  The Life and Work of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, that includes numerous photographs, letters, examples of her artwork, and books she read. The exhibit is on view through February 23, 2011, on the first floor of the library during regular library hours: Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Read more about Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the Gilman digital project, and the exhibition here:  http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles/charlotte_perkins_gilman.aspx.

One of the digital images from the Gilman Papers, “Charlotte’s Hair, cut off April 16, 1863″.

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Free Conference at Schlesinger Library: Why Books?

Original photo by Horia Varlan

For all you book lovers out there, this free conference looks great.

When:  Thursday, October 28, 2010–Friday, October 29, 2010.

Who can Attend:  This event is free and open to the public.

Description:  “Why Books?” probes the form and function of the book in a rapidly changing media ecology. Speakers from a variety of disciplines—literature and history to sociology and computer science—will discuss the public-policy implications of new media forms and will explore some of the major functions that we identify with books today: production and diffusion; storage and retrieval; and reception and use.

For more information, http://www.radcliffe.edu/events/calendar_2010books.aspx.

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