MARBL

The Benny Andrews exhibition featuring 20 original drawings, dating from 1959 to 2005, on generous loan from The Andrews Humphrey Family Foundation will be on display until November in the corridor gallery of the Woodruff Library, Floor 3. The following is an essay written by exhibit curator Pellom McDaniels III.

by Pellom McDaniels III, Consultant, Associate Curator of African American Collections, MARBL

In the 1960s, Benny Andrews garnered the attention of the New York art world as an up and coming avant-garde artist and social activist. His unique, illustrative style and uncompromisingly expressive imagery boldly captured the human condition as he understood it: sad, desperate, tragic, common. By incorporating fabric, paper, and rope into his collages, and using muted and vibrant colors in his surreal compositions, critics recognized Andrews' works as arresting and disturbing on the one hand; and deeply contemplative and inspiring on the other. His unique approach to art production centered on the thick memories associated with America's long history of oppression, especially that of slavery and segregation. Andrews, by all accounts, was an original.

The Writers exhibition, on display in the Schatten Gallery until November, features photographer Nancy Crampton’s pictures of authors, poets, novelists, journalists and other writers. A small selection of MARBL materials, chosen by guest curators from the Emory community, complements each photo. The materials illuminate the connections the writers have with each other and the special collections in MARBL. The guest curators were asked to write an essay explaining how their own research has been influenced by using primary source materials, and we will be featuring them here once a week. The following essay is by Amy Hildreth Chen about Yusef Komunyakaa.

The Writers exhibition, on display in the Schatten Gallery until November, features photographer Nancy Crampton’s pictures of authors, poets, novelists, journalists and other writers. A small selection of MARBL materials, chosen by guest curators from the Emory community, complements each photo. The materials illuminate the connections the writers have with each other and the special collections in MARBL. The following is Goodrich C. White Professor of English, Ron Schuchard's essay about the exhibition and the importance of using primary sources.

by Elizabeth Chase, Coordinator for Research Services, MARBL

For many of the students who come to MARBL for the first time, their visit to the archives is pure happenstance. They happen to sign up for a course because of its time slot, the general education requirement it fulfills, or its topic. They may not know that the course involves MARBL materials, or even that MARBL exists. While many of the students who conduct research in MARBL are humanities majors, many intend to pursue law, medicine, business, or the sciences. They come to the 10th floor often having never seen a rare book or manuscript, and if we're lucky, and do our jobs well, they leave as converts.

by Sara Logue, Research and Public Service Archivist, MARBL

Early on in Atlanta's history, it was determined that the growing town was going to need a space to bury its citizens. In 1850, six acres of land were purchased and set aside for the purpose of a public cemetery. By 1867, however, the cemetery grew to 48 acres due to the high number of Civil War casualties in and around Atlanta. Oakland Cemetery was designed as a rural garden cemetery allowing for citizens of the city to take advantage of a beautiful outdoor space while visiting with their late friends and relatives. Today the space is frequented for both tours of Atlanta history, and as a way to visit some of the city's more famous inhabitants.

by Randy Gue, Curator of Modern Political and Historical Collections, MARBL

Did you know you can access some of MARBL’s unique maps and atlases online? Do you want to know how Atlanta was shaped in 1878 or 1928? Are you interested in examining the road network in Cobb County in 1954 when suburban expansion was beginning to reshape the county? Then check out the MARBL Digital Historic Map Collection.

This collection provides a new and innovative way to access our rare maps and atlases. It includes printed maps published before 1923, maps from atlases published before 1923, and some maps printed by state and local governments after 1923. Right now you can find atlases of Atlanta from 1878 and from 1928, a rare plan for Milledgeville, Georgia from 1819, and an 1828 plan for Columbus, Georgia in the collection. In addition, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) gave us permission to scan and post their county general highway maps. We will be adding to the collection frequently so check back with us often to see what is new.

by Sara Logue, Research and Public Services Archivist, MARBL

When it was determined by the people of Georgia that a railroad was needed to connect them to the west, the Western and Atlantic Railroad was born and its terminating point became the city of Atlanta. Originally referred to as Terminus, this swiftly growing city soon took on the name of Marthasville after former Governor Wilson Lumpkin's daughter, Martha. There are conflicting tales about how the name eventually changed from Marthasville to Atlanta. Some believed it was derived from the goddess Atalanta, and others came to believe that it was the middle name of Martha Lumpkin Compton. The reality is much less mythical.