#cofclibraries

Shakespeare Memorial Building, Stratford-on-Avon

Photograph is taken from across the River Avon between 1892-1912. Title and “356 (3010)” on label. It is alleged that William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, was born in Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 on St. George’s Day (April 23rd) and died on the same day in 1616.

Sweetgrass rice fanner with pine knots

Multiple views of a circular, flat sweetgrass basket with a handle made of pine needles wrapped in palmetto leaves; basket contains accents of pine needles throughout and artist has incorporated decorative pine knots; center of basket contains a combination of sweetgrass, pine needles, and bulrush, sewn with palmetto leaf; label on back reads "HAND MADE BY Ida Mae Bennett." 

The Avery Sweetgrass Basket Collection holds significant modern examples of a centuries-old craft. Following African traditions, baskets of coiled grasses were originally produced by slaves on Lowcountry plantations for agricultural use. Over time, sweetgrass baskets have become artistic expressions that retain the African aesthetic -- a symbol of African American culture and a signature of the Lowcountry region. Alongside the baskets, the Avery Research Center has gathered visual and oral histories of the modern basketmakers and their families. 

Fertility doll

A black wooden fertility doll carried by expectant mothers; origin Ashanti people of Ghana.

Congolese wooden mask

Carved wooden mask with female features. Origin Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).

Mast and sail of the Westward

Image taken by John Henry Dick in the Galapagos Islands in June 1962. John Henry dick, a self-described “Artist Naturalist,” established a reputation as a leading bird painter in the United States. He took approximately 8,000 photographs of professional quality while travelling in more than 50 countries to study and photograph birds and other animals in wilderness settings. He made two trips to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador in 1962 and 1973.

“Moon at Age of Seventeen Days. Copyright Yerkes Observatory”

Photograph of a waxing gibbous moon, 1892-1912. Title and “595 (16646)” on label.

Four people next to a bird bath

Black and white photograph of three women and one man arranged around a bird bath, four women in background. Inscription on back of photograph: “Geneva in college.”

Sketches -- William Martin Aiken Sketchbook, 1878-1885

Two pencil sketches from portraits by Charleston-born architect William Martin Aiken. The left sketch is drawn from The Butterfly Catcher by William Stephen Coleman (1829-1904), and the right is drawn from Fresh Air by Winslow Homer (1821-1896).