Week 9: More Art than Artifacts

Week 9 was all about more artwork.  I found several sketches (loose and bound in books) by David Paige, some pastels, and cartoons.  There were two artifacts (a red storage/shipping chest and an azimuth instrument) and I believe there may only be artwork from this point on.  The azimuth instrument was interesting.  I was unsure as to what it did and did some research on the Internet.  I found an old Department of War field manual (pdf) that had been digitized that gave very clear instructions and description of the instrument.  I included that link into the record and included digital page numbers in order to provide a complete background.


The artwork was very interesting.  I began working on some of the sketches and was able to see how David Paige did his research.  In particular, there was a sketch that showed how he ensured proportions in penguins and time lapses in the Aurora Borealis.  I did my best to rehouse all of the sketches in order to ensure their preservation, but I began to realize that a background in art history would have been incredibly beneficial.  I have always thought that archives and libraries are great environments for any individual regardless of academic background and concentration because there is a place for any specialty to shine through.  Focusing on all of this art makes me want to take an additional course in art preservation!


Along with the working sketches, I also found a few drawings that showed David Paige's sense of humor.  In a small corner of a penguin sketch were a few sketches of Marilyn Monroe's famous pose above the street grate and an incredibly detailed drawing of penguins as New York characters, such as the Park Avenue Boys, Charlie Chaplin, and the Poor Folk (who happen to be molting).  This last drawing had a caption at the bottom that reads "Tentative, rough sketches of illustrations for article 'The Original Bib-And-Tuckers' by David Abbey Paige."  I could not find whether or not this was ever published.


There were a great deal of sketches of penguins, which is interesting considering that there are very few finished pastels featuring penguins.  (See: Paige's "Magic of Antarctic Colours" Online Exhibit)  There was also an entire sketchbook that only featured different sketches of the Aurora Borealis.  It was incredibly interesting to see how Paige practiced his art prior to providing a finished product.  In some cases, there were 3 different versions of the same drawing.


Due to the fragility of these sketches (most were on very thin vellum-like paper), I questioned the best approach to digitizing the images.  I wanted to show the art as realistically as possible, but scanning the images on the flatbed scanner was out of the question.  The book bindings would have torn and there was a high possibility that the pastels could rub off while being handled on the scanner.  I chose to pick a representative sample (sometimes just one image, sometimes multiple) and photograph them with the camera.  It seemed the safest way to handle the materials.  In the third collection of sketches in Box 468, Folder 1, there were around 30 loose leaf sketches, which made it possible to digitally capture multiple sketches.  I then created another external photo album to host the additional photos that went along with the original record.


A big success for me was finding the matching printed sketch to a working sketch.  There was a professionally printed image of penguins that had no name or date that I had previously uploaded.  After going through Paige's working sketches, I found the original sketch of that prints.  I was able to go back and label it as being a work by David Paige and it was satisfying to know that I helped make sense of an item.  


Besides the sketches, there were some other drawings that were of interest, such as a poster "certification" from King Neptune Rex as part of a Navy ritual for crossing the Antarctic Circle and two political cartoonists' visual memorial to Byrd after his death (one by Jim Dobbins and the other by Jim Knox).


Going through each of the sketches took quite a bit of time.  The two artifacts at the beginning only took around 10 minutes total.  The sketches and artwork took the rest of the day.  Overall, I had a very successful day, completing 15 items.

In: 9:15 a.m.
Out: 5 p.m.

On-site hours completed today: 7.75
On-site hours completed total: 68.5
On-site hours left: 31.5

Week 8: Eureka! Oh, the Discoveries!

Week 8 began with more artwork.  Eighteen pieces, in fact!  (It was a busy day...)  Though I did many objects, I am focusing on four pieces for this blog entry.

David Paige was an artist who accompanied Richard Byrd on his second expedition.  A thoroughly detailed and wonderful online exhibit already exists for his pastels that helped document the journey, but I discovered two additional oil paintings in the collection that were previously unknown.  Though the paintings are not signed by David Paige, his artistic style, texture, and colors are unmistakable.  This was a very exciting moment for my supervisor who quickly showed me a published book of Paige's art for comparison.  The two paintings that were found depicts a plane with five onlookers and a landscape of mountains and snow peaks. 

Additionally, I found two portrait sketches of men that were also done by David Paige.  Neither men had been identified in the finding aid or within the container, but Laura quickly returned to Paige's art book and showed me a photo opposite the title page.  The photograph shows David Paige sketching one of the men!  The photograph identified the man as being Harold June, one of the pilots of the expedition.  It was an unbelievable moment.  I decided that photographing the sketches would not show the detail and precision of the strokes.  I chose to scan the sketch and then digitally inset the photograph of David Paige sketching him.  (See: Sketch of Harold June)  

The second sketch was a bit more difficult to figure out.  Laura guessed right away whom she thought he was and (after much researching), I agreed.  In order to find the answer, however, I used a different mode of reference.  Laura gave me a DVD of the film "Return of Byrd's First Expedition," which (though misleading) was not about the first expedition, but the second expedition on which David Paige was present.  I initially thought that perhaps I would find some information about David Paige and see him sketching more men.  However, after the 50-minute long video, not a single mention of the artist was included.  But, all was not lost!  Of the hundreds of men who were in the film, I actually found the man in the second sketch.  The man, Edgar F. Cox, was very recognizable, with a long face and nose.  Instead of capturing a screen-shot of the DVD, Laura said that she had several rich digital master images that showed his face better.  I found one where he was wearing the exact same hat as in the sketch and to say I was excited is an understatement!  (See: Sketch of Edgar Cox)

It was great to be able to identify this work by David Paige and to also identify the men in the sketches through various other sources.  It was a very full day and I am pleased to announce that the total number of artifacts represented on the media site is up to 90.  I cannot wait to see what else I find in the boxes to come.  It is almost like opening presents!  

In: 8 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Out: 5 p.m.
On-site hours completed today: 8
On-site hours completed total: 60.75
On-site hours left: 39.25

Week 7: Halfway Through, Still Lots to Do!

I am officially halfway through my practicum working hours! In the morning, we had our 50-hour visit from Dr. Boon, my academic advisor. It was so great to be able to show her what I've done and share with her how proud I am of my project. I was able to show her the Byrd Polar Media website and, in particular, the artifacts' site that I've been creating.  It was a very encouraging moment in my practicum because I was able to get some great feedback and even some compliments!  Dr. Boon is encouraging my supervisor Laura and I to write an article after the project finishes to be submitted to a journal.  This is one of the first projects of its kind and we both agreed that it would be an excellent publishing opportunity.  



The rest of the morning was spent unloading another box and getting back to work.  I began to pull some paintings and sketches from the stacks and enjoyed the change of pace.  Though I loved looking at the old radios and kits, it was nice to encounter the other formats.  I began to see how the curator of a special collections must be a Jack of All Trades and have some sort of familiarity with everything: documents, film, photographs, art, 3-D objects, etc.  


We had a "working lunch" of sorts, as we went over to the actual Byrd Polar Research Center for a cook-out.  Though there was no actual digitizing or photographing involved, I felt like this was a big step in my practicum experience.  I was able to meet people who were involved with the "front-of-house" view of the Byrd Center, including the center's librarian.  It was a great opportunity to see how the Polar Archives fits within the Byrd Center and how they support each other, despite being two completely separate departments.  It was one of my first experiences seeing a different part of The Ohio State University and it helped my perspective of the overarching structure of the libraries, archives, and organizations.


The afternoon was spent finishing two boxes of artwork.  I practiced some additional reference tasks, as the paintings' relevance to the collection was unknown.  Three paintings required the most reference.  The first was a painting of a young girl.  There was no annotation or caption attached to it and it was unclear who the girl was or why it was part of the Byrd collection.  A sticker on the back had the following written on it: "Eigentum des Grafen Maximilian Alfred von Beroldingen." After using the Google language tool, I found the translation: "Property of Count Alfred von Maximilian Beroldingen."  I searched this same phrase, both in German and in English, and found another painting with the same property tag on an auction website (Portrait of a Man with a Little Book in Hand).  I also tried searching his name, Count Alfred von Maximilian Beroldingen, but it did not result in anything substantial.  Though I was frustrated with this, I had much more luck with my other two pieces of art.


It was clear that both drawings "Albert Read" and "Louis Bleriot" were created by the same person and included in the same collection, as they are both very similar.  The first drawing, titled "Lieut-Commander Albert C. Read Nears Azores in a Navy Plane", did not mean anything to me at first.  I did not know who Read was or what his relevance to Richard Byrd was.  After some searching, I realized that this drawing portrayed the first successful trans-atlantic flight in the Navy's NC flying boats.  There were 4 planes (NC-1, NC-2, NC-3, and NC-4) with NC-4 being the only successful one, flown by Albert Read.  Richard Byrd had assisted in planning the trip and even accompanied Read for parts of it.  The second drawing is titled "Louis Blériot Passes the White Cliffs of Dover in May, 1909" and depicts the first flight across the English Channel.  Though there was not a direct connection with Richard Byrd, the pilots had a very tight-knit circle and were often close friends.  


Both drawings were done by Frank Lemon and were copyrighted by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation in 1928.  Due to the year not being within the time period of Public Domain, I was worried about posting them online.  I spoke with Laura regarding this issue, which is a very common issue in digitization, and she stated that this falls under Fair Use and that I should not be worried.  It was a great discussion and I felt that I had enough knowledge of the subject that I could actively participate in the conversation.  This is yet another experience that has made me feel more confident in my knowledge base and skill set.


Since I spent so long researching these last two drawings, I felt that a special bibliographic note should be added to the records.  I added a few websites, including the Library of Congress' catalog record for Frank Lemon's book and pages from the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission's website.  I was careful in choosing to share resources that were legitimate and seemed permanent in an effort to provide literate and thorough information.  This is another example of putting my knowledge and skills to use.


Overall, I was thrilled to have began a new category of artifacts.  There are several more boxes full of drawings, sketchers, and paintings, which will make for a very fun next few weeks.

In: 8 a.m.

Out: 5 p.m.
On-site hours completed today: 9
On-site hours completed total: 52.75
On-site hours left: 47.25

Week 6: Boxes and Copper and Ink: Oh My! Part 2

Today I finished the two boxes of printing plates.  It was a very long and arduous process, but I completed all of the steps at 4:55 p.m. and couldn't have been more satisfied.


After I had copied the digital files onto the group drive, I had to do some light image modification.  Since the beginning of this project, I have been inserting the filename tag onto each of the images.  The first purpose of including a tag with the image was to show relative size and identify the artifact from the photograph.  I initially attempted to do this by printing out file names onto heavy weight paper, folding them over into a paper tent, then placing them next to the artifact when I photographed it.  The problems with this method were numerous.  First, the text did not always appear clearly in the photograph.  Second, this took up a great amount of time, paper, and ink.  Third, I found that the perspective in photographing each object changed from artifact to artifact, resulting in some tags needing to be flat on the table or ground and some needing to be tented in order to stand upright.  This led to the tags not really helping to define relative size.  In the end, with my Photoshop classes behind me, I found it was easier, quicker, and more efficient to simply insert the text onto the digital image.  I achieved this by creating a second layer on top of the image, typing the filename, creating another layer, selecting a box around the text, filling the background white, and using the Stroke function to create a black outline around the box.  Though this does not help with relative size, it does make the tag easy to read and the artifact easy to identify.  


Additionally, many of the printing plates were extremely difficult to digitally capture, given their nature as etched negatives of photographs and/or thickly engraved text.  Because of this, digitally altering the image was crucial in order for the viewers to see the images on the plates while also being able to compare it to the original page it corresponded to in The Romance of Antarctic Adventure.  I manually adjusted the light levels on the images on most of the files.  I also adjusted the color, if the flash or fluorescent lighting gave the image a yellowish hue.  


The insertion of a filename and the level adjustments were not accounted for in the metadata of the file.  I felt that this was irrelevant and/or self explanatory.  I did add some metadata of image modification in certain circumstances, however.  For example, I had photographed a small plate from the first box along with its corresponding page.  In the second box, I found another small plate that corresponded with the same advertisement on the same page.  The problem was that when I began the second box, the items in the first box had already been housed in envelopes and packed away.  I chose to photograph the second item individually and when I got to the computer work, I decided to copy the first image and the second image into one file and place it along side the scanned advertisement from the book (scanning the book was step 5 in this whole process).  The end result was effective and made sense.  This was accounted for in the metadata under "Modifications."

https://byrdpolarmedia.osu.edu/ffxPwGSBJ

The fifth step involved scanning the book into a .pdf file.  I had many problems with this step, as I had was working with the Epson software that came with the device and I was unfamiliar with the procedures.  I chose to scan the book in color in order to preserve the yellowed pages.  Additionally, scanning in greyscale caused the images to look shaded and patterned.  I chose a medium resolution and chose to preserve the digital pages in their original 9" x 7.25" size.  I did not know that Media Manager (a homegrown web-based program that I am using to upload the digital content to the Byrd Polar Media page) could be used outside of images.  I uploaded the scanned book and was happy to see a link under the cover image that allows the user to download the entire book.  


We had problems with this initially, however.  My ninth step was to ensure that all of the files were viewable and downloadable.  Though my supervisor was able to view the "Click to Download" link, I was not.  I tried updating plug-ins, such as Flash, and trying Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Google Chrome web browsers.  My supervisor realized that the protection options and permissions were set to prohibit any downloading from the site to the public.  She changed the permissions and the link appeared on multiple computers.  I realized that this brought up a fairly large issue.  The permissions on this program can only be set on an album-basis, not an item-basis.  Because the public can now download this .pdf file, they can also download any other digital content from this album (which includes all artifacts in the Richard E. Byrd Papers collection).  Though this is not a very large issue for this particular collection (the images themselves are not incredibly valuable, as they are being used to describe the item and are not the item themselves), it could be a problem if the album had mixed content and included files that the Archives did not want public access to (such as photographs). 


Each plate has a note in the metadata that tells with which page in the digital .pdf the plate corresponds.  It also includes a link back to the .pdf file for user convenience and ease of access and navigation.  I wanted to emphasize that this links to the digital copy's page numbers and not the actual page numbers in the book.  I omitted blank pages in the scanned copy and stated this in the metadata for the .pdf.  As a result, the digital copy is 49 pages, while the actual book is 52.  


The entire day was extremely busy and I was thankful to be finished with these boxes.  I also spent time introducing my project to an undergraduate student worker, in case this project must be finished by another person after my practicum is complete.  It gave me a brief moment to exercise my oral communication skills and explain the purpose, process, and importance of my project to another person who did not have the same knowledge base.  


The total number of items now available for public view = 64.  This has now surpassed the amount of items that we had hoped to complete throughout the entirety of my practicum!  




In: 8 a.m.

Lunch: 12:15 - 12:30 p.m.
Out: 5 p.m.
On-site hours completed today: 8.5
On-site hours completed total: 43.75
On-site hours left: 56.25

Week 5: Boxes and Copper and Ink: Oh My! Part 1

September 23, 2009


This was my 5th week at the Byrd Polar Archives and I found myself at the beginning of an arduous task. Two boxes, both enigmatically titled "Copper Plates" sat in the room, just begging for some maintenance. I later learned that the plates were metal printing plates for the book The Romance of Antarctic Adventure, presumably published around 1935 after the return of Admiral Byrd's second expedition. The first box had a few plates preserved in manilla envelopes with its description written in permanent marker, several other plates laying in the box, and a copy of the book. The second box had several pieces strewn inside, laying on top of each other, with no preservation strategies implemented.  The total number of plates was around 60 pieces, of which none of them had been assigned an item number within its container.  After thinking about how to go about these boxes, I decided that this would take several steps:


1.  Digitally photograph each plate with its corresponding page in the book.
2.  Place each plate into a separate manilla envelope (some smaller pieces can be combined into one envelope) and indicate on the front with permanent marker the box number, item number, stacks location, and brief description.
3.  Maintain a running list of item numbers, descriptions, and size in order to create a Container Inventory List to be attached to the box itself and along with the paper inventory list of the entire Richard E. Byrd Papers' artifacts.
4.  Open each digital file in Photoshop, do any necessary modifications, and add the filename tag.
5.  Digitally scan (at medium resolution) the book.
6.  Upload the book (in .pdf file) to the Byrd Polar Media site.
7.  Upload each plate into the Byrd Polar Media site.
8.  Describe each plate and include the corresponding page number in the digital copy (while linking back to the .pdf for user convenience).
9.  Ensure that all files are viewable and downloadable (in particular, the .pdf).

Granted, this project was not able to be completed in one day.  Fueled by my motivation and determination, I did not even take a lunch!  I worked for 9 straight hours and by the end of the day, I had only completed the first three steps and had just begun the fourth step.  

(A photo of some plates, the book on the right, and a manilla envelope with description written on it)

I felt slightly disappointed that I had been unable to upload anything that day, but my supervisor continually reminded me that this should focus on quality, not quantity (and speed).  

Again, I was reminded that this project is not just digitization.  By accessing all of these boxes slowly and methodically, I have the opportunity to re-house many of the items and create ways that help track the inventory and also help when the artifacts need pulled in the future.  Additionally, I am able to help others find these amazing items for future use by uploading them onto the Web.

Speaking of the Web, this week we opened the Gallery to the public.  It is accessible by going to https://byrdpolarmedia.osu.edu/Artifacts_in_the_Richard_E_Byrd_Papers.  I had uploaded a total of 22 items at the end of Week 4, which is 1 week ahead of schedule.  Due to the large amount of artifacts in the two printing plates boxes, I believe that the next goal of uploading 25 more items by Week 10 will be fulfilled by Week 5.  

In: 8 a.m.
Out: 5 p.m.
On-site hours completed today: 9
On-site hours completed total: 35.25
On-site hours left: 64.75

Week 4: Doing A Bit More Than Digitization

This week, I did a full 8-hours and was able to achieve quite a bit.  I realized that my project has evolved a little bit.  Yes, I'm still photographing artifacts, creating metadata, and posting them online.  However, many of these boxes have not been examined since their accession in 1989.  After processing the first 6-7 boxes of frequently accessed items, I began to see the more unknown boxes.  Some of the boxes didn't even look as if they had been open in 20 years.  I found myself in a much more professional position.  I had to begin making judgment calls and really flex what I've learned in some of my classes and workshops.


First, a box was uncovered that had another box inside of it.  It was full of mold and brittle paper.  The inventory finding aid stated that it was just a box full of paper rolls.  Upon further discovery, I realized that they were not just paper rolls, but old player piano music rolls.  Songs like "Take Me Out To The Ballgame," "Turkey In The Straw," and "Alice Blue Gown" were in fantastic condition.  The boxes were not, however, and many of them needed to be discarded.  This is unfortunate, as the boxes were really interesting.  They were engraved with the manufacture name, like Ampico, and could have been really beautiful if preserved properly the first time around.  The box seemed to have been stored in very humid conditions (prior to the OSU stacks) or had suffered a flood.  Once dried, it looked like somebody simply placed the old box inside of a new box.


After finding this box, I knew that I could save at least the rolls, if not the cases.  After photographing them, I began to wrap each one in plastic archival-quality sleeves.  I stacked them in a case and surrounded them with thick cardboard (to keep from the weight of the ones on top smashing the ones on bottom).  Some of the cases were able to be saved, and I included them in the plastic.


Here is a photo of the discarded moldy box and piano roll cases and some photos showing how I rehoused the items: (click to make larger in a new window)









Besides the preservation work I did, I also had to make some judgment calls regarding the content of the boxes themselves.  Some of the items in the "Miscellaneous" boxes did not fit within the scope of the collection, nor did it really have any relevance to the entire project.  Some things were discarded and I had to make some decisions in regards to what needed to be kept, what should be questioned in keeping, and what could just be discarded.


This week, I also reached our 20-item goal.  We are a week ahead of schedule!  I'm very happy with this.  I hope that I can finish more items than initially thought over the course of the project.  The collection should be opened for public viewing soon.


All-in-all, this week made me realize that my project really is giving me the opportunity to not only gain new knowledge and experience, but also to help me put my previously learned knowledge to work.  I realize that I'm doing a bit more than just digitization and just an internship project.  It's quite satisfying!



In: 8 a.m.
Lunch: 11:45-12:30
Out: 4:45 p.m.
On-site hours completed today: 8
On-site hours completed total: 26.25
On-site hours left: 73.75

Week 3: Short, but sweet.

Week 3 was just 3 hours, but it led to three very specific revelations.


1) I had been dabbling with entering some html in the fields due to formatting. I learned that I can use it quite extensively, beyond the basic html tags. In particular, I was able to use the blockquote tag while attempting to format the description for two glass lantern covers. This was very exciting, as we can make the Media Manager gallery pages a little more interesting and more correct when transcribing labels and other text on artifacts. However useful it may be, it does bring up a question. When thinking about the html tags being typed in with the words, I was unsure as to whether or not this would affect the search-ability of the text by inserting other characters directly before and after the actual words. I hope that this does not affect the number of access points through web and search engine crawlers. I made a note to research this a little further.


2) An artifact that I pulled did not come with a very good title or description. In fact, it was unknown what the artifact really was. It was listed as an "unknown recording device" and the only known information was the model and manufacturing company/brand. I decided to do a bit of research in order to have a more complete description. My first instinct was to Google search the model name and manufacturing name (Teleplex+Perfectograph). There weren't any successful results and I tried again by searching Perfectograph Co. I found that the company made radio Morse code devices. I returned to the artifact and realized that the tape had a series of dots and dashes punched into it. I was so excited when I finally found out the devices' purpose! After I had this further information, I did an Image Search and found similar-looking machines on other museum- and archives- related websites. Though many times in SLIS classes, we are discouraged to use Google as a single resource, the time I had led me to Google and I found an answer within minutes. With images of devices that were similar, I decided that my information was correct and filled out the description. I realized that there is a certain level of reference librarianship that goes along with this project. It's not necessarily for patrons, but for myself!


3) Since the beginning of my project, I've been doing a certain level of modification to the digital images. I mostly just removed spots on the white boards behind the artifacts, but have recently been doing more. I began adjusting the contrast and color of some images in order to match the artifact and also removing the horizon lines of the perpendicular paper sheets. As I was working with this, I began to worry that I was taking away too many aspects that made the artifact real. Without the background lines, would the viewer be able to truly view the object with accurate perspective and size? I decided to keep the horizon lines. The color/contrast adjustments I kept, due to the necessity for continuation. One file may contain 4 or 5 artifacts. I do not want the viewers to be seeing the series of images/items and come across one that does not seem to fit with the others. There is a reason that the artifacts were stored and organized in a certain way and I did not want the digitization to take the focus away from the actual object.


In my three hours, I completed three artifacts. This brings the total count up to 12. I hope that on the 16th, I can finish 8 items, resulting in 20 objects total. Once we hit 20, we will open the gallery up to the public.




In: 2:00 p.m.
Out: 5:00 p.m.
On-site hours completed today: 3
On-site hours completed total: 18.25
On-site hours left: 81.75