Old Curiosities

We are so much in the habit of allowing impressions to be made upon us by external objects which should be produced by reflection alone, but which without such visible aids, often escape us, that I am not sure I should have been so throughly possessed by this one subject, but for the heaps of fantastic things I had seen huddled together in the curiosity-dealer's warehouse.

-- Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop

How pleasant a way to spend a summer's day -- antiquing, the activity or pastime of searching or shopping for antiques! Quaint little shops and shingled sheds tucked quietly off the main road, hand made signs and white picket fences, leafy trees bending in a rush of wind. Lavender in the air, with the scent of sea salt and musty editions, turning the page of Treasure Island to discover buccaneers and buried gold, coming of age, ages past. Buttons and baskets, bottles and banjos, egg coddlers and canning jars, curiosities -- and memories.... Cherished things remind us of people and places, contributions and accomplishments, history and meaning, especially when they are gifted for safekeeping.

Over the past year, not long forgotten but without such relaxing forays into the countryside, interesting objects came our way. In short, Gottesman got lucky!

The first piece was a glossy black Hammond Typewriter, Model 26, circa 1926, completely refurbished to be in "fine shape", thanks to Mr. James Tyler, son of Dr. Henry Teller Tyler who earned his Ph.D., The Bearing Of Certain Personality Factors Other Than Intelligence On Academic Success: A Study Of Tests Made at Teachers College, Columbia University. An enormous package arrived just after the Christmas holidays, its contents carefully wrapped in "packing peanuts" -- prompting us to seek out an acrylic box in which to display and preserve the antique typewriter, complete with a manual for usage and care, and a unique carrying case. 

Wrote James Tyler, "Dad was a packrat, which probably explains why the typewriter survives. He told us many times that his thesis involved statistical analysis of data, which in those days he did with a slide rule and otherwise by hand, with his new wife checking the results. Years later he got a hand-held calculator (free, for subscribing to a magazine) which had the stat functions on  it. Dad dug out all the data, entered it on the calculator, and was pleased to find it gave the same results he’d gotten. That process took him less than  twenty minutes." Teller Tyler's doctoral research, typed upon the Hammond, was later published in 1931 as a volume in Teachers College Contributions to Education, a  prestiguous collection of doctoral research and other seminal monographs in education, psychology, and the applied health sciences.

Stumbling around cyberspace, I discovered that James Tyler is landlord to a beautifully restored Queen Anne house in San Francisco's Mission District, a house that would become the "centerpiece of a local sensation" — The Last Black Man in San Francisco, a film that portrays a young man searching for his home in a city he has lost. Learning that Mr. Jim Tyler was a retired water treatment chemist "who became enamored with the house" in the early ’60s, I thought more about old things ... and could well picture the Hammond typewriter, among many other Victorian pieces, and appreciated architectural restoration of buildings, including libraries and museums in which to showcase art. A sought-after piece of technology, the Hammond typewriter was central to a timely Fall technology workshop at Teachers College's Digital Futures Institute, where visitors engaged in using both old and new mediums to compare their learning experiences. See here for time-lapsed footage of participants' encounter with the Hammond typewriter.

In October 2021, a Lenox commemorative plate was gifted to the Gottesman Libraries by Ms. Catherine Nellist, whose Teachers College alumni parents received it as a wedding gift. The inscription on the back reads, "Columbia University Press, Russell Hall of Teachers College Columbia University, 1932." It was a plate we had not seen, for what came to mind were distinct metal plates made by students for their studio exercises in the arts and education program, circa 1920s. It turned out that Lenox issued a set of plates, 10.5 inches in diameter, for Columbia University, with over one dozen different depictions of campus buildings, including one of Russell Hall; drawings by Ernest David Roth were transfer printed onto off-white bone china in a delicate, intricate light blue pattern that included border designs of the Columbia crown and three gold bands by Frank G. Holmes. With thanks to the Office of Alumni and Community Engagement who facilitated correspondence, we received the china plate as a welcome addition to the collections of the Gottesman Libraries (in Russell Hall, named after James Earl Russell, President of Teachers College, 1898-1936, and whose son, William Fletcher Russell succeeded him, 1927-1954). 

The Special Collections Reading Room, located in Room 104 Russell, displays the Hammond typewriter and Lenox plate of Russell Hall. There you will also find historical oil portraiture and beautiful blue bound volumes of archival serial publications, including Teachers College Record; The NSSE Yearbook; Educational Yearbook of the International Institute, and The Social Frontier (all digitzed through Teachers College Record). This newly restored wood-panelled room was once the Office of the President of Teachers College and continues to serves as meeting place for the Cabinet and other senior members of the College.

Read more about art, artifacts, and the art of historical research. Of note are the artifacts that are part of the Adelaide Nutting Historical Collection -- last exhibited in 2020 as 3D printed objects; these inspirational pieces include Florence Nightingale's lace cuffs and veil; a brick from the wall of her family home; R. Louise McManus's nurse's cap; a Syrian medicine bowl, mysterious footstool, and silver award with portrait of Nutting. It goes to show how old curiosities affirm our past and spark continuing reflections and connections, guiding excellence in scholarship and leadership.

References / Images:

• Living in the Past: The ‘Last Black Man in San Francisco’ Mansion Is My Home, by Julian Mark, July 12, 2019. Mission Local.
• Typewriter's Big Value: What a Pioneer Manufacturer Has Done For the Business World. (1909, Sep 25). New - York Tribune (1900-1910)
• Hampton, J. (1933, Jan 22). What's News in Decoration: Columbia Issues Crown Service Plates Depicting Fourteen Historic University Scenes. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Set of Plates Depicts History of Columbia U: Dr. Butler Receives China Service Commemorating 175 Years of the College Available to Students' Designs Made By E. D. Roth and Frank G. Holmes. (1932, Dec 18). New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• The Hammond Typewriter, Courtesy of the Author
• Commemorative Lenox Plate, with Stature of Socrates & Background Portrait of James Earl Russell, Courtesy of the Author