TAM 2008 Navigating the Waters of Research
44
Texas Association of Museums Annual Conference Galveston, TX Ware Petznick, McFaddin-Ward House March 28, 2008
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PPT presentation for Texas Association of Museums\' annual conference on collections research, with particular reference to online resources
Transcript of TAM 2008 Navigating the Waters of Research
Texas Association of Museums Annual Conference
Galveston, TX
Ware Petznick, McFaddin-Ward House
March 28, 2008
• Research as if you didn’t already know
• Finding authoritative sources
• How can the internet help
• Guidelines to use the tool
• How to begin – examples
• Some tricks to find what you want
• Links
a historic house perspective
Collections research broadly builds a
picture of social history as it relates to
your particular collection and
specifically seeks to identify objects
and to document how, when, why and
by whom they were used.
Still want same sources…
access is different
Drives labels, exhibits, publications…
Ensures reliable evidence
Contributes to your uniqueness
Elevates all programs to a high
standard
Maintain insurance coverage
Accurate information is
fundamental
n. diligent and systematic inquiry
or investigation into a subject in
order to discover or revise facts,
theories, applications, etc.
No strict rule as to HOW the information comes as long as it is documented.
Has the internet changed
research?
www.dictionary.com
Faster access to information
Ability to consult repositories
without travel expenses
Excellent content… if vetted
Has the internet changed
research?
Primary & secondary sources – superb audio visual resource online –contemporary
publications, & other museum databases
Munsey’s Magazine, eBay source,
aids object identification
Period cookbook,
searchable online,
page by page,
at the Duke
Scriptorium, adds
historical context
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/cookbooks/CK0025/CK0025-01-72dpi.html
Encyclopedia Britannica – “was not very
democratic at all (not to mention racist).” A Landscape of Words,
by Robert Sullivan, New York Times December 3, 2006.
Anyone can post to the internet…
How reliable is your source?
It is a tool… with caveats
http://www.steve.museum/
Steve.museum an IMLS grant funded project
What terms to search?
Less than 50% of tags or
metadata descriptions relate to
what museum professionals have
used to describe their objects
What terms to search?
http://www.steve.museum/
original period evidence - receipts,
correspondence from object maker or
owner
What terms to use?
Even without receipts you do
not have a blank canvas…
describe an object as best you
can.
Navigating sources and how
to ask for the sources you
want is the key.
It doesn’t have to be a needle in a haystack. If you
can’t find it one way, move on…
What terms to use?
How many words does it take a
curator, archeologist, glass collector,
antique dealer, cataloguing intern
using Chenhall, Marc, Dublin Core,
ULAN, Getty Research Project
language, a newspaper columnist or
some guy trying to have a virtual
garage sale online to clean out the
attic –
to describe the
SAME OBJECT?
A case study
What terms to use?
Glass vase
Favrile glass
Jack in the pulpit
Iridescent glass vase
Tiffany vase
Quezal vase
Art nouveau…
ca. 1905
A case study
?
Google image –
jack in the pulpit vase
Jack-in-the-Pulpit Vase
Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1913
iridescent glass, blown
Toledo Museum of Art
via about.com
www.ngv.vic.
gov.au
Dargate.comwww.glamorgan
antiques.co.uk
Julia.hanover
computer
“A dazzling and delicate Quezal
Jack in the Pulpit vase with
wonderful green pulled feather
design finished up amid applause
reaching a record …”
James D. Julia Auctions
Terms and images lead to
other resources
American Heritage
May 2006
cites
Magazine Antiques
article
Explains the Tiffany /
Quezal connection
• after checking the object &
collections files
• try the maker’s name
• use professional terms
• describe basic elements
• try adding “vintage”
What terms to search?
Check other objects in a set
Start with the object
F. Schultze Co.
Cincinnati, OH
Visited by Ida McFaddin
1984.171
1984.1174
Initialed ICM Limoges
dinner service
Search sample
Name in “quotes” Google = nada
Name & drop “the” on Google = nada
Mary Frank Gaston's Collector's Encyclopedia of
Limoges, Third Edition
Name & drop “the” & add LIMOGES
on Google = partial result
Search sample
Searched for
Cincinnati History,
Business…
Then tried
familysearch.org
genealogy sites
census records
Dun & Bradstreet
records at Harvard
F. SCHULTZE HouseholdMale
Other Information:Birth Year <1828>Birthplace GERAge 52Occupation Importer Of ChinaMarital Status M <Married>Race W <White>Head of Household
F. SCHULTZE
Relation SelfFather's Birthplace
GER
Mother's Birthplace
GER
Source Information:Census Place Cincinnati, Hamilton, OhioFamily History Library Film
1255025
NA Film NumberT9-1025Page Number 525A
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=ancestorsearchresults.asp
•Can search for books published
within a particular period
•Useful for terminology
•Historical insight
Some tricks of the trade
http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=n
avclient&ie=UTF-
8&rlz=1T4TSHB_enUS213US213
Search sample
Google Booksperiod results when a basic
search failed
Terms: Schultze Cincinnati
Illustrated Cincinnati
By Daniel J. Kenny, 1875
The Cincinnati Southern Railway:
A History…
by Charles Gilbert Hall - 1902
It’s a swinger!
A case study
Follow traditional research methods to
document your collections
The ability to reunite and document this
Ansonia Gloria Swing Clock with barbedienne
finish ca. 1905
object itself
contractor
internet source
Ansonia book
clock expert
finding object
System used at the V&A
Makers Files
Searchable on your computer
Useful if do not have a full catalog on
PastPerfect or other database
Headers – Company name and Accession
numbers
Consider writing an article about it
You don’t get what you don’t
ask for…
William Lindsay
Perth Museum and Art Gallery
Perth Wright
Made targes for Bonnie Prince Charlie
in the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion
www.tartansauthority.com
Maker’s labels… but are
they always AUTHENTIC?
“Hepplewhite” period or reproduction – when labels or maker’s marks fail. ALWAYS trust the object as the most PRIMARY source. Robert Mitchell Catalogue No 75, No. 75-127 & Hepplewhite chair plates 5 & 7, The Cabinet Makers and Upholsterers Guide, 1788.
Making the most of the internet
Use Ctrl-F to find a term faster on a long, detailed page
Google with quotes to narrow search if get too many results
Familysearch.org for free genealogical information
Google Image is great for identifying unknown objects
Google Books may yield results when others fail
Gutenberg Press is also a great way to SEE full period texts
Click CACHED COPY to see more or pages not available
Try YouTube for period video and music
Subscribe to search sites (eBay, rubylane, ArtFact)
ALTAVISTA BABELFISH to translate foreign sites
• Absence of info isn’t proof
• go directly collections that can help you
• Filemaker Pro uploads cannot be accessed
•Bear in mind how info is posted
LOC, Chenhall terms, libraries tend to
use “Last name, first name” in finding aids
FREE historical texts
Great for period terms
Some tricks of the trade
Emily Post,Etiquette,1922
Gutenberg Press
1922 dinner party with wine?
WHAT ABOUT PROHIBITION?
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14314/14314-h/14314-h.htm#Page_177
Cached copy
G o o g l e's cache is the snapshot that we took of the page as we crawled the
web. The page may have changed since that time. Click here for the current
page without highlighting. This cached page may reference images which are no
longer available. Click here for the cached text only.
Sometimes you just can’t access the page you want
for any number of reasons. If “cached” appears at
the end of the web address on Google, try clicking
that. It may be garbled, but you should be able to
tell if it is information that you wish to pursue.
YouTube music and video
• free downloads of music
documented in collection by
sheet music and records
• Accurate ambiance for the
world you recreate
• Hover cursor over video to see
RealPlayer download link. Burn
to cd or dvd.
• Remember copyright & IMDB
Program eBay
Here are newly listed items that match your favorite search.
Hi Laura,
We've found 1 new items that match your search for ""knoxville table"". We hope this helps you find exactly what you're looking for!
http://www.artfact.com/
GOOD TO UPDATE YOUR
APPRAISALS FOR INSURANCE
visual identifications
Subscribe to ArtFact
Search leads you to the Uffizi or a ceramics
museum in Bratislava?
Online without a Baedeker?
Cut and paste text to
Altavista Babelfish or
another translator
TEXASwww.mcfaddin-ward.orgwww.starkmuseum.orgwww.moodymansion.orgwww.dma.orgwww.io.com/~tam/USAwww.artic.eduwww.chipstone.orgwww.colonialwilliamsburg.orgwww.getty.eduwww.lacma.orgwww.mesda.orgwww.pem.orgwww.met.orgwww.mia.orgwww.mfa.orgwww.mfah.org
philamuseum.orgwww.sandiegohistory.orghttp://www.siris.si.edu/ www.winterthur.orgINTERNATIONALwww.britishmuseum.orgwww.dorotheum.comwww.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/ www.hermitagemuseum.org www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.inodysseus.culture.gr/h/1/eh10.jspwww.smb.spk-berlin.de/e/ www.tnm.jp/en/ www.uffizi.comwww.vam.ac.ukMUSEUM-L listservAASLH listserv
Many global resources
SAMPLE LINKS USEFUL TO OUR PARTICULAR COLLECTION
Period publicationsGoogle Book Searchwww.gutenberg.orglibrary.duke.edu/specialcollections/www.joslinhall.com
Antique sitesantiquesandthearts.comArtfact.comeBay.comMaineantiquesdigest.comRubylane.com
Architecture termshttp://ah.bfn.org/a/DCTNRY/vocab.html
Ceramicsthepotteries.orgwww.collectorscircle.com
Clockswww.clockmuseum.orgwww.nawcc.org
Conservationaic.stanford.edu
Fine Artwww.siris.si.eduwww.tfaoi.comULAN www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies
Foodwaysfoodhistorynews.com
Furniture & Period Roomswww.chipstone.orgwww.grpl.org/collections/grhsty_spcoll/furniture/
www.furniturehistorysociety.orgwww.geffrye-museum.org.uk/www.regionalfurnituresociety.com
Glasswww.sandwichglassmuseum.org/www.cmog.org/
Jewelrywww.clir.org/pubs/reports/jewel/corebib.html
Landscapewww.gardens.si.edu
Musichistorymatters.gmu.eduYouTube.com
Silverwww.925-1000.comwww.silvercollecting.com
Texas Historytexashistory.unt.eduwww.tshaonline.org
Textileswww.athm.orgwww.textilehistory.orgwww.persian-carpet.infowww.whitakerauction.com
Generalwww.americaslibrary.gov (LOC)www.decorativeartssociety.org.ukJSTORFlickr (LOC)Scran.co.uk Viewimages
LOOK FOR .edu .org .museum
CONTACT BRUCE LIPSCOMBE
about the CMC Workshop on
Collections Research in Waco, TX
Sept 25, 2006…
She shared great links!
Surf the net… wax your
board…, watch for waves…
keep an eye on the horizon…
& don’t forget how
Gidget
learned
to surf…
It is a tool
