N EWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY BANCROFTIANA N UMBER 120 • UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY • SPRING 2002 Mark Twain Photo Op–December 21, 1908: Alvin Langdon Coburn, Mark Twain, and Isabel V. Lyon ome day they will have color Coburn had earlier met and photo- Sphotography,” Mark Twain predicted graphed Mark Twain in March 1905. Now to a young friend in 1907. In fact, by he was invited to visit him at Stormfield, 1904, Auguste and Louis Lumière had his newly completed home in Redding, indeed invented the Autochrome method Connecticut, along with Archibald of making color transparencies, which by Henderson, a young professor of math- the time of Mark Twain’s prediction, had ematics at the University of North Caro- become readily available and easy to use. lina who was then gathering materials for In late 1908, Mark Twain was twice his Mark Twain, a critical biography that photographed using this method. William would be published in 1911. Mark Twain’s Ireland Starr visited him at his home in secretary at the time, Isabel V. Lyon Redding, Connecticut, but reported on (1863-1958), was herself an avid amateur December 20 that “all his photographs photographer, and she recorded their visit (the colored ones) had come to nothing in on December 21, both with her camera the developing except one.” No color and in her journal: print of even that one has been found. Such rich, darling folks do come here to Yet on the very next day, December 21, see the King. Today Prof. Archibald Mark Twain was successfully photo- Henderson & Alvin Langdon Coburn graphed in color (and in black-and-white) came. we had a charming day with Clemens in his Oxford robes. Autochrome by Alvin by twenty-six-year-old Alvin Langdon plenty of talk & Hearts & a walk down to Langdon Coburn. Original at the Mark Twain House, Coburn (1882–1966), a precocious my house. He made a lot of photo- Hartford, Connecticut.* young star in the growing world of serious graphs, color prints too, of the King & he day, as well as portraits of the other photography. got some plain ones of me. After dinner he famous men (33 in all) mentioned by showed us a few of the very Miss Lyon. In the commentary provided wonderful photographs he there, Coburn recalled the December 21st has made of Bernard Shaw, visit in this way: George Meredith, George The great fireplace was a delight, Moore, Yeates—oh, particularly after a tramp in the winter a wonderful Yeates [i.e., air, and in the afternoon there were W. B. Yeats], May Sinclair, “hearts” and billiards to be played, and it Chesterton, Henry James, was understood that our good host, clad in Rodin & others. white, was to be allowed to win in all of Coburn had obviously these contests, by just the narrowest of shown his hosts a preview margins! . Mr. Clemens enjoyed being of his book, Men of Mark, photographed, and I must have made which in 1913 would thirty or forty negatives during this visit, include a photograph of many of which appeared in Doctor Autochrome by Alvin Langdon Coburn, reproduced from Archibald Mark Twain taken on this Henderson’s book. Henderson’s Mark Twain. Continued on page 4 N EWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY From the Director Bancroft’s New Building? would provide for seismic retrofitting of the Oral History Office, the Mark Twin existing building. At the same time we had Project, and the Tebtunis Papyri Project. to determine how much it would cost to With adequate space, each of these provide the space that the architectural programs could begin to develop joint study has shown that we need. Then we research and teaching projects with other would have to find some way of providing academic programs on campus. Thus ecause of the serious deficiencies of the difference between these two sums— ROHO could become a Center for Living Bthe Doe Annex, the building that and all this within a very tight time frame. History; the Mark Twain Project could houses Bancroft (see Bancroftiana, n. 116 In fact, by this summer we must have a develop into a Center for the Study of [Spring 2001]), last year we commissioned formal Project Planning Guide that defines Gilded Age and Progressive-era United Mark Cavagnero Associates to carry out an in detail the scope of the project and States, while the Tebtunis Papyri Project architectural study to document Bancroft’s identifies the source of at least 80% of the could become the research arm of the current condition and future space needs. funding for it. Departments of Classics and Near Eastern In addition to an aging infrastructure, the Bancroft currently occupies just under Studies and the graduate Program in building is rated seismically poor and is two thirds of the Doe Annex building Ancient History and Mediterranean utterly inadequate to house Bancroft’s (66,000 of 103,000 “assignable square Archeology. Bancroft could then also collections. We have been unable to make feet”), with the rest occupied by other contemplate serving as a home for the any net additions to the collections stored library operations, including the offices of long-contemplated program in the History on campus since 1980. For every book or University Librarian Tom Leonard. The of the Book. carton of manuscript materials we add, we Cavagnero study has determined that We still don’t know if such an ambi- must send one to off-campus storage at the Bancroft needs about twice as much space, tious building project is feasible, either Northern Regional Library Facility in approximately 122,000 square feet. financially or technically. We are currently Richmond. The only way to accommodate this assessing both areas and expect to have The Cavagnero space study was given need is to expand the current building. answers later this spring. However, if we added urgency this past summer when Tom What makes the most sense to us is a three- are given the green light by campus Koster, Assistant Vice Chancellor–Capital story underground addition directly east of authorities, and if we can raise the neces- Budget & Planning, called to tell me that the Doe Annex, exactly similar to the sary funds, the chronology will look the Office of the President had determined underground stacks for the main library something like this: 2002-2003, selection that funds would be made available to start (constructed 1990-1994). The new of an architect and preliminary design seismic retrofitting in 2004. Within the addition would house the on-campus work; 2003-2004, completion of working university’s complex system of managing collections in a state-of-the-art facility with drawings; 2004-2006, construction of capital projects, 2004 is just around the appropriate security mechanisms for both underground addition and decanting of corner. The call came, fortunately, the day life safety and theft. The current building, Bancroft collections and staff into the new before Bancroft’s strategic planning retreat; then, could be devoted exclusively to public space (Phase I); 2006-2008, seismic so we were able to use part of the retreat to and semi-public space for technical and upgrade and partial renovation of Doe map out the issues that we would need to public services staff, exhibitions, seminar Annex (Phase II). Phase III, the final resolve in light of the imminent seismic rooms, teaching laboratories, classrooms, renovation of the Doe Annex, would then work. offices for visiting scholars, and graduate take place at some as yet undetermined Because of the urgency of retrofitting and undergraduate research groups. time. the university’s infrastructure to make it A renovated and expanded Bancroft, by And all of this comes as we are prepar- earthquake proof, the state of California has allowing us to integrate research and ing to celebrate the centennial of the determined that it will fund only seismic teaching into the warp and woof of University’s acquisition of The Bancroft work on existing buildings. “Programmatic Bancroft programs, would turn Bancroft Library in 1905. You will be hearing more enhancements,” i.e., renovations or into one of the intellectual centers of the about a Centennial Campaign for The expansions necessary to provide more space Berkeley campus, just as it is today the Bancroft Library. or to upgrade existing space, must be physical center. funded from other sources. Bancroft has three strong research A tall order. In the first place we had to programs that could serve as nuclei and Charles B. Faulhaber determine how much money the state models for similar programs: The Regional The James D. Hart Director The Bancroft Library P AGE 2 / SPRING 2002 N EWSLETTER OF THE FRIENDS OF THE BANCROFT LIBRARY Genentech, Inc. Celebrates 25 Years with Gift to Bancroft ROHO completes key oral histories enentech, Inc., the world's pioneer Levinson said. "He simply told me, 'Join us Gbiotechnology company, celebrated and you'll change the world.'" its 25th anniversary last year with a Levinson did. generous pledge of $500,000 to Bancroft. Genentech formed around the technol- The gift will fund through 2004 an ogy for cloning DNA, which was developed ambitious new phase in the Program in the in 1973-74 by UCSF's Boyer and molecu- History of the Biological Sciences and lar biologist Stanley Cohen of Stanford. Biotechnology. The company's work with recombinant Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl ex- DNA technology has resulted in the pressed Berkeley's gratitude at a gala manufacture of nine protein-based prod- anniversary reception and dinner in the ucts for serious or life-threatening medical library in October.