Folklife Center News, Volume 31, Nos
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Summ r / 11200 aseball S~m .i 200 Folklife Center News AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER BASEBALL SYMPOSIUM. BUFFALO SOLDIERS INAUGURATION 2009 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Congressional Appointees: C. Kurt Dewhurst, Chair, Michigan Daniel Botkin, California Mickey Hart, California Dennis Holub, South Dakota William L. Kinney, Jr., South Carolina Charlie Seemann, Nevada Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Massachusetts Librarian Appointees: Jane Beck, Vice-chair, Vermont Maribel Alvarez, Arizona Tom Rankin, North Carolina Read about AFC’s fascinat VHP’s Experiencing War In the weeks surrounding Donald Scott, Nevada 2 ing symposium, Baseball 11 series features the 92nd 15 the inauguration of the Ex Offi cio Members Americana, featuring Hall-of- Infantry, an African American nation’s first African American James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress Famer Ernie Banks! Division that served in Italy during president, AFC collected sermons G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the World War II. and orations relating to the Smithsonian Institution historic occasion. Rocco Landesman, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts Jim A. Leach, Chairman, National Endowment AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER for the Humanities Th e American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to “preserve and present Elaine Lawless, President, American Folklore American folklife” through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference Society service, live performance, exhibition, publication, and training. Th e Center incorporates the Archive Deborah Wong, President, Society for of Folk Culture, which was established in the Music Division of the Library of Congress in 1928 and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the Ethnomusicology world. Peggy A. Bulger, Director, American Folklife Center Folklife Center News publishes articles on the programs and activities of the American Folklife Judith McCulloh (Emerita), Illinois Center, as well as other articles on traditional expressive culture. It is available free of charge from the Library of Congress, American Folklife Center, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20540–4610. Folklife Center News does not publish announcements from other institutions or reviews of books from publishers other than the Library of Congress . Readers who would like to comment on Center Folklife Center News activities or newsletter articles may address their remarks to the editor. Volume 31, Nos. 3-4, Summer-Fall 2009 ONLINE INFORMATION RESOURCES: Th e American Folklife Center’s Website provides Stephen D. Winick, Editor full texts of many AFC publications, information about AFC projects, multimedia presentations David A. Taylor, Editorial Advisor of selected collections, links to Web resources on ethnography, and announcements of upcoming Morgan E. Greene & Stanley Bandong events. Th e address for the home page is http://www.loc.gov/folklife/. An index of the site’s Designers contents is available at http://www.loc.gov/folklife/az-index.html. The ebsiteW for Th e Veterans History Project provides an overview of the project, an online “kit” for Cover: Full Sheet Base Ball Poster no. 281, a participants recording oral histories of veterans, and a brief presentation of some examples of video- chromolithograph copyrighted in 1895 by the and audio-recordings of veterans’ stories. Th e address is http://www.loc.gov/vets. Calvert Litho. Co., Detroit, Michigan. Th is and the other items from Library collections Th e Folkline Information Service is a cooperative announcement program of the American Folklore throughout the “Baseball Americana” article Society and the American Folklife Center. It is available only on the American Folklore Society’s are featured in Baseball Americana, a book server: www.afsnet.org. Th e service provides timely information on the fi eld of folklore and folklife, published by Harper Collins and featuring including training and professional opportunities, and news items of national interest. treasures from the Library. AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER STAFF Administration: Nancy Groce, Folklife Specialist Judith A. Gray, Folklife Ariel De, Program Officer Peggy A. Bulger, Director Guha Shankar, Folklife Specialist Specialist, Coordinator Jeff rey Lofton, Public Aff airs Specialist Mary Bucknum, Acting Assistant to Stephen D. Winick, Writer-Editor Stephanie A. Hall, Automation Rachel Mears, Collections the Director Processing and Cataloging: Specialist Management Michael Taft, Head, Archive Catherine Hiebert Kerst, Archivist Todd Harvey, Folklife Specialist Monica Mohindra, Senior Program David A. Taylor, Head, Research and Maggie Kruesi, Cataloger Ann Hoog, Folklife Specialist Officer Programs Gabrielle Sanchez, Archivist Valda Morris, Processing Technician Audio Engineering: Rada Stojanovich-Hayes, Marcia Segal, Processing Archivist Tom Wiener, Historian Jonathan Gold, Audio Technician Administrative Assistant Nora Yeh, Archivist, Coordinator American Folklife Center: Digital Conversion: Research and Programs: Megan Halsband, Processing Technician Tel: 202 707–5510 Th eadocia Austen, Public Events Bert Lyons, Digital Assets Manager John Barton, Specialist Fax: 202 707–2076 Coordinator Reference: Veterans History Project: E-mail: [email protected] Peter Bartis, Folklife Specialist Jennifer A. Cutting, Folklife Specialist Bob Patrick, Director www.loc.gov/folklife Folklife and the National Pastime: AFC’s Baseball Americana symposium. Take Me Out to the Ball-Game By Stephen Winick from LC Music Division. n October 2 and 3, 2009, the was a wide-ranging and enjoyable ex American Folklife Center, together amination of both baseball itself and the Owith colleagues in the Publish culture surrounding the game. ing Office and the Humanities and The idea for a symposium about Social Sciences Division, produced a baseball has its roots in the Library’s symposium, a film screening, and an unparalleled collections. Indeed, the exhibition of archival treasures, all on the Library’s baseball collections are the compelling topic of baseball. Baseball largest in the world, and by the time Americana was a unique celebration of the symposium, their richness of our national pastime, with highlights had already led to the creation of a that included presentations by Hall-of- beautifully illustrated book, Baseball Fame player Ernie Banks, all-star pitcher, Americana: Treasures from the broadcaster and manager Larry Dierker, Library of Congress, which was and Negro Leagues pitcher Mamie published by HarperCollins on Sep “Peanut” Johnson. Rather than concen tember 29, 2009. In addition to the vast trating solely on Major League play, the variety of baseball-related prints, photos, commissioner of Major League symposium also covered several other manuscripts and music held throughout Baseball, Fay Vincent. The symposium perspectives on the game, including the Library and featured in the book, AFC celebrated both of these milestones in those of groundskeepers, organists, and had its own collection to celebrate: the the Library’s relationship with baseball. bat manufacturers, as well as folklor Center recently acquired a collec Baseball Americana began on Friday, ists, language experts, and culinary tion of videotaped October 2, at 2:00 p.m., with an exhibi historians. The result oral history inter tion of baseball-related treasures from views with former the Library’s collections. Coordinated by professional play AFC reference specialist Todd Harvey, ers and managers, the exhibition featured curators from sev organized and con en curatorial divisions within the Library. ducted by a former Highlights included the first baseball Photo by Stephen Winick. Spalding Base Ball Guide from LC General Collections. Jackie Robinson comic book from LC Serial and Government Publications Division, reproduction number: LC USZC4-6144. Photo of Paul Dickson. AMERICAN FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS 3 to Rickey’s career as a Major League Baseball manager and executive. During the exhibition, interested members of the public circulated among tables staffed by Library of Congress curators, who were on hand to answer questions about the treasures on display. Meanwhile, Frank Ceresi, one of the editors of the Baseball Americana book, and a leading expert on the ap praisal of sports memorabilia for museums and auction houses, staffed another table, where members of the public brought in their own base ball treasures to be appraised. At 3:00 p.m., Ceresi gave a fascinating presen tation on baseball artifacts, memorabilia and collectibles. 1888 King Kelly baseball From 7:00 to 9:00 card (LC-DIG-bbc-0554f), 1913 Myrtle p.m. on October 2, Rowe photo (LC-DIG-ggbain-04721) the baseball pro- and 1860 Political Cartoon (LC-DIG gramming moved to ppmsca-09311) from LC Prints and the Madison Build- Stephen Winick. Photographs Division (LC P&P). ing’s Mumford Room, hoto by P L-r: New York Yankees organist Ed Alstrom, Chicago Cubs Hall-of where the audience image printed in America (1787), the Famer Ernie Banks, and AFC’s Thea Austen and David Taylor, singing was treated to a film earliest known dated baseball card “Thanks for the Memories.” screening featuring (1865), and the original 1908 sheet scenes from notable music for “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” which came to the baseball films. Comedic scenes included Harold Lloyd’s clas Library when it was submitted for U.S. copyright. Other items sic turn as a cab driver taking Babe Ruth to Yankee Stadium included vintage photographs, early editions of Spalding’s Offi in Speedy,