Bibliothèque Artistique: Brussels

The Cloisters: Deep Stacks

This second, deeper stack room of The Cloisters Library holds the monographs unconverted to LC, and the rest of the archival material.

This has resulted in a awesome salmagundi, the best kind of bits and pieces.

Museum administration papers, the personal papers of founder George Grey Barnard, early glass lantern slides of material held by the museum, collections of images of museum under construction, curators papers both internal and external, scholars papers. Bequests of dealers records (particularly those whose merchantry contributed to the Cloisters collection), a bequest from scholars of medieval architecture. Spools of reel to reel tape of classical music for piping through the museum halls, back when one used reel to reel technology to sidestep vinyl records skipping. Piles of loose maps in various states of repair and decay. Basically, this room is crammed with wonderful, ephemeral and very orderly treasure.

And the longest, most impressive compactus I've ever met.

The Cloisters: Deep Stacks

Cloisters: Stacks of stacks

The first stacks we visit are in this great primary blue, and were completed in the early 1990's.

This room holds the working collection. Most of the titles here have been acquired post 1992- when the reading room upstairs officially ran out of space. The few older publications are from collections that were displaced from the reading room for some heavily used subjects like medieval cooking and gardening (the Cloisters grounds have extensive historical gardens, documented here).

Michael admits he really has the best of both worlds in managing a collection like the Cloisters. A small, by-appointment repository, in a beautiful setting, with the full financial and operational support of a major organisation to boot.

While the finances of the Met mean Michael's budgets aren't lean, the Cloisters do receive bequests. There have been about 5 major donations, mostly by retiring scholars. These high quality collections have helped fill the gaps nicely. A bequest from a scholar of Medieval Scandinavia filled just such a gap. 

For the most part the collection supports the curators, and reflects the museum focus of Western Europe: Germany down to Spain, and British to a certain extent. The Library wasn't restrictive against Scandinavia, they just hadn't been actively collecting. They ARE restrictive against Byzantine era resources- there is a strong focus and specific Byzantine collection downtown at the Met proper.

Oscars: Sheet music

When Linda describes the sheet music collection in tonnage, I think she may not be overstating the numbers.
The wide reaching collection includes music notation for every song that has won an Oscar plus every song that has been nominated. Shelved alphabetically, they make for pleasing displays both in and out of their handsome archive boxes.

Oscars: Colleen Moore Scrapbooks

Actress Colleen Moore dropped this collection off to Linda personally. Well into her seventies, she was still sporting the sharp cut she made classic.

I always referred to this hairstyle (which I have adopted a few times) as the Louise Brooks. Sorry Louise, it is now the Colleen Moore.

Oscars: Hayes / Breen Censorship files, continued

These files highlight the extraordinary reach of the code in the early days, and map social and cultural evolution as the restrictions lift later on the in the sixties.

The correspondence between censors and filmmakers was exhaustive.

Comprising mostly crinkly onionskin carbons, the documents are the copies maintained by the censors for their records. The studios would have received the original in this game of censorship vs entertainment/titillation/artistic freedom.

Scripts had to be signed off before production could begin.

The Office very specifically dissected the actions and implications of the characters.

My personal favorite is simple and to the point:

"…importantly there must be no leering on the part of Floyd or Lefty"

(what else did they think a pair named Floyd and Lefty were going to do?)

Later on, as restrictions relaxed, the process became simpler.

No longer was the censor involved at every level from conception, writing, through production and editing. Complete films could be presented and concepts judged in context.

Linda outlines swearing as a great barometer of the changing mores.

Initially out of the question, filmmakers were granted a token @#*!!.

Then 3, then 4. Arbitrary, but a historical and sociological reveal that makes these files very excellent.

In many ways the Code was an simply economic standard: the MPAA couldn't risk valuable film commodities being shunned by puritanical markets within the States, and propitious but possibly sensitive screens across Europe and the world.

Oscars: Hayes / Breen Censorship files

"Cabinet X"

These censorship files represent one of the Library's most heavily used collections.

Every film made between 1930 and 1968 need to go through the rigorous moral obstacle course that was required by the Motion Picture Production Code.

Enacted by the Hayes Office (after founder, censor and Prebestian elder William H Hayes), later known as the Breen Office (after first administrator Joseph Breen) the Code identified and enforced what was allowed upon the hallowed silver screen.

Oscars: Richard Barthelmess scrapbooks

Bathelmess, star of the silent screen and one of the founders of the Academy, is well represented by these fastidious scrapbooks, collated by his proud mama, which comprise of 50 volumes spanning over 11 linear feet of shelves.

They span his career 1920-1936.

His career lasted well beyond '36, but apparently Mother didn't.

She would be pleased to see them still in such fine condition, I'm sure.

Oscars: payrolls

This is a 1926 payroll from one of the major studios.

These columns show what icon Lon Cheney was earning, what John Gilbert and and co were earning.

One particular page perfectly illustrates the huge disparity between male and female earnings even at the uppermost resister of Hollywood at the time. For Flesh of the Devil, John Gilbert was taking $3000 per week, and his female co-star, Greta Garbo only $250. It was, however, the film that really launched her into superstardom, so I guess the pay checks were a bit healthier after that.

Linda likes to keep this book open on that page.

Oscars: Film Accounts

Invoices, receipt scrapbooks and payroll columns. All beautifully boxed.

Except this guy, who I find irresistible.

Beyond boxable, tiny pieces of him gently fall to the floor.

Oscars: Lux Radio Theatre

Keeping The C. Lion company on these shelves are the Lux Radio Theatre scripts.

These half hour radio programs were based on current feature films (and originally, Broadway shows) but had a significantly broader reach through this medium.

Bound into these covers are the original scripts used by the actors, editors and producers. Even the advertisers/ their proxies (who would have wielded real power on these productions) have made made notes in these margins.

Technical issues, overall recording quality, changes in dialogue are all scribbled here.

Oscars: 3D objects

Chillaxing on the shelves with the Lux Radio Theatre scripts is The (honest to God, actual) Cowardly Lion.

I love these stacks.

Shucks folks, I'm speechless

Shucks Folks I'm Speechless

Oscars: John Huston collection

The Huston Papers were an early cataloguing project of Linda Mehr, before she took the reins as director here at the Margaret Herrick Library.

The library received the collection directly from Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) , where Mr Huston had lived for several years.

It became apparent that the region was not an ideally suited archival environment. Fumigation had been required, and Linda recalls extraordinary insectile activity- holes eaten through entire tomes- from front cover to back- and the pages hollowed out cleanly from the inside.

Everything is safe, sound and bug-free now.

Oscars: Special Collections stacks: On the wall

Photographs exhibited on this wall space must satisfy a strict criteria, and represent at least two collections held by the Oscars library. No one can sneak one up unless it alludes to two. Or more.

First one represents Carey Grant and Alfred Hitchcock's papers, the second John Huston and Katharine Hepburn's.

Also given face were the collections of George Stevens and John Sturges; George Cukor and Margaret Booth, Sam Peckinpah and Steve McQueen.

Oscars: Special Collections

Special Collections includes everything but the photographs and the graphic arts, including sound and oral histories.

One floor of the special collection is only accessible by stairs (unless you'd like to squeeze yourself into a ominous dumbwaiter).

We wind our way up to the MGM script collection, a behemoth that was received as 1500 boxes of material.

I met the herculean staff member responsible for moulding this mountain- a diminutive champion of the archive who spent the years 1994-2002 sifting through the works, cataloguing, eliminating duplicates, formatting the items onto the shelves in the ordered universe they appear today.

 This ordered universe is housed in the topmost floor in the old water vaults.

This is a raw space. Linda reminds me that we are looking at floor to ceiling compactus in place in the top floor of a 1927 building- architecturally unheard of.

Turns out an old water treatment plant (and its accompanying storage units) make particularly excellent library conversions- a reinforced water vault is designed to hold weights far beyond anything they could pack onto shelves: even film stock.

Oscars: Posters and graphic arts stacks and workroom

This is the workroom dedicated to cataloguing posters and other graphic arts materials such as production art, costume and set design.

Reproduced by their lab, mounted and hung is a selection from their main and special poster collections. In fact, the library has an amazing lab facility, responsible for creating duplicates of original materials for any and all uses. Reference, research, in-house display and online use keep them busy. Original materials are reserved for museum exhibition.

As I stand on the threshold of the graphic arts stacks, my breath transforms to plumes of vapor. It is icy in here.

This is the handy communal arctic wear to keep staff from becoming turning blue. And brightly coloured so they may be spotted if they get lost in the nooks and crannies of these stacks.

These rooms were originally designed to house film stock (hence the chill), when the Academy's film archive shared the Fairbanks site. The film archive has since expanded (with staff numbers increasing 30 fold), and inhabit their own quarters in Hollywood. Another historical titbit on the sites of this fine Academy- the Film Archive facility is now in the oldest surviving television studio in Hollywood, the Pickford Centre for Motion Picture Study.

The Library also has several storage vaults at the Pickford Centre- and the huge cement sound stages of it's era have proved incredibly apt for maintaining climatic conditions for archival purposes.

Here in the Graphic Arts stacks are the Poster collection (at 38 000 pieces), the Costume and Set Design collections, and in the coldest corner, the photographic collection of negatives and transparencies.

UCLA Arts Library: 'The Belt'

Another very special collection held by the UCLA Arts Library is the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana.

Donated to UCLA in the sixties, this incredible private collection was built by medical doctor Elmer Belt (a member of faculty at the UCLA Medical School) who became interested - very interested - in Leonardo da Vinci. He initially tried to recreate the personal library of Leonardo da Vinci- buying originals and facsimiles of everything that was known to be in his library, and facsimiles of his notebooks in all the different sizes. This collection now stands at over 10 000 volumes strong and includes (among other incredible titles) a first edition Alberti. Colour me impressed.

Dr Belt hired a librarian to help build this collection, and once word got out, book dealers and specialists would contact him directly with any goodies that came on the market. 

In addition to collecting Leonardo specific artefacts, he also collected a variety of reference materials in order to research Leonardo and the Italian Renaissance. Some things are not special collection material per say, but contributed to this personal quest.

UCLA has ended up with some very well known renaissance scholars and boasts a strong program in Renaissance Studies. With many graduate students doing very interesting work on Italian Renaissance, this collection continues to be one of the Art Libraries "little treasures".

Some of the (more) extremely valuable parts of this collection (there are over seventy items of incunabula) are housed with Special Collections in more controlled archival conditions. The rest of the 10,000 strong titles are housed here. This entire space is taken up by "The Belt".

Aisle upon aisle of this.

The far wall contains as yet uncatalogued parts of the Belt Collection. The gift that just keeps on giving.