Smithsonian Libraries

Lighting New York, 1895-1946: Edward F. Caldwell & Company

The Cooper-Hewitt Library is celebrating the release of Shedding Light on New York: Edward F. Caldwell Collection, a new online database on Saturday, February 28th. Margaret Caldwell, great granddaughter of E. F. Caldwell, will also talk about the firm’s origins, craftsmanship, clients, and importance in the decorative arts world. Select original drawings and photographs from the Caldwell Archive will be on display.

Caldwell & Co. was America’s premier producer of lighting and other metal objects during the turn of the 20th century through the 1940s, and the archives are currently stored in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Library in New York City. Notable clients of Caldwell lighting fixtures included the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, and the Roosevelts, and the company was also commissioned for famous landmarks such as the Grand Central Terminal, Radio City Music Hall, and the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.  Caldwell & Co. manufactured unique and intricate lighting fixtures in their Manhattan factory, such as chandeliers, electrified lamps and wall sconces, which were then shipped to prominent residences all over the United States.

The digitization of the Caldwell & Co. archives will bring unprecedented access of this vast collection to viewers around the world.  Prior to this project, researchers faced great challenges accessing the collection, due to the fragility of physical archives, their location in New York City, and the difficulty of searching through unidentified pieces in the collection.  The Smithsonian Institution Libraries anticipates this visual resource to aid a diverse population, including historians, restorers, antique dealers, appraisers, collectors, and designers.

Shedding Light on New York: Edward F. Caldwell Collection was supported in part by funds from the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) through the New York State Regional Bibliographic Databases Program.—Liz O'Brien

Is that a zebra?

No, it's a quagga!

From the Libraries' current exhibition, The Art of African Exploration:

Quaggas were frequently confused with zebras in early explorers’ accounts. Unlike zebras, a quagga’s stripes are most distinct on the neck and head, and its coat is tawny. When first described in 1788, the quagga was regarded as a separate species. Modern genetic studies indicate that they are likely related to the plains zebra. Their fewer stripes may be an adaptation to the open grassland of the south.

Just one of the interesting features in this exhibit on display in the National Museum of Natural History Constitution Avenue lobby until August 2009. —Elizabeth Periale

Libraries tweets

Smithsonian Libraries is blogging, tweeting and facebooking. It's a 2.0 world and the Libraries is a part of it. If you'd like to keep up with the collections, events around the National Mall and beyond, please sign up as a fan or to follow our blog our twitter page. —Elizabeth Periale

Lucy?

As you browse the Libraries extensive image site, Galaxy of Images, you might run across this Baedeker from the online exhibition Nile Notes of a Howadji: American Travelers in Egypt. The title page is inscribed "Lucy H. Baird." Why would the Smithsonian Libraries have this particular travel guide book of this particular lady?

Lucy H. Baird was the daughter of the Institution's second Secretary, Spencer F. Baird. Baird became Secretary in 1878 and was instrumental in establishing a United States National Museum which would eventually become the Smithsonian Institution.

The Libraries has also named its donor recognition group the Spencer Baird Society in honor of this Secretary and his support of libraries. All gifts are welcome, but donors of $500 or more take advantage of special Baird Society tours and events throughout the course of the year.

There are many interesting images and links to explore throughout Galaxy of Images that will tell you more about the Libraries. Give it a try! —Elizabeth Periale