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Greetings,
Welcome back after what I hope was a restful summer. Here at the Athenaeum we have had a hectic summer with the exchange of our 1975/76 air conditioning units for new ones with a higher energy-saving rating. We had a few very hot weeks here, but we did not close. We hope that next summer we can schedule more programs since the air conditioning will be more efficient. Also, by now you should have received your schedule for fall programs. Please note that although we are not open for First Saturday due to the Labor Day weekend, we will open on September 24th from 11am to 3pm for Smithsonian Museum Day. We will have a librarian on duty that day for you to check out books, and the gallery, of course, will be open with the new exhibition in place.
Banner Image:
Detail of a watercolor of the Athenaeum by Frederick Fermor, c. 1981.
New Books for September
Philadelphia
Places on Paper: Selections From The Eli P. Zebooker Collection
 Philadelphia
Places on Paper is an
exhibition of more than 50 pieces from the recent gift of Dr. Eli P. Zebooker,
an Athenaeum shareholder since 1976. Featured are maps, prints and books that
document the growing Colonial, Federal and Victorian City. Some of
Philadelphia’s rarest 18th and 19th century cartographic, iconographic, and
bibliographic treasures will be on view, including William Scull’s 1770 Map
of Pennsylvania, Carrington Bowles’s 1778 East Perspective View of
the City of Philadelphia, and Julio Rae’s 1851 Pictorial Directory
& Panoramic Advertiser of Chestnut Street.
Exhibition
Dates: September 19 - November 11, 2011
Free Admission
Opening Reception: September 21, 5:30-7:30PM, informal remarks at 6:00PM.
RSVP to Susan Gallo at sgallo@PhilaAthenaeum.org
or 215-925-2688.
Above:
Detail of a chromolithograph of Independence Hall, 1876, by Thomas Hunter after
Theodore Poleni.
 As
last week's earthquake surprised the city of Philadelphia, the Athenaeum's
Regional Digital Imaging Center was scanning a 1939 survey drawing of the Chew
Estate in Radnor. The highly sensitive Cruse Scanner felt the tremor
enough to leave a visual record of the event in the scanned image. Click
the image to the left to see the shaky results. The
earthquake begins on the left hand side of the image, reaches its peak in the
center and finally returns to normal on the right hand side.
Above:
Detail of PEW.RHS.2.35.1, Collection of the Radnor Historical Society on
long term loan to the Athenaeum through
the Museum Loan Program of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Tunnel
Book Workshop with Maria Pisano
 A
tunnel book is a wonderful structure that allows the viewer to look within and
discover a hidden world, which evolves in accumulated layers. Originally derived
from a “peep” show, it still feels that we are allowed to gaze within a
personal space. The class would begin with a short history of movables. We would
construct a tunnel book, and learn the number of ways this structure can be
adapted to diverse themes. We will start with making a model to understand how
the structure moves and is constructed. If time permits you can begin to create
a work with your own images.
October
1, 2011, 10:00AM
$40 for Athenaeum Members, All others $60
Click
here for registration
KieranTimberlake: Inquiry
Book Launch
 Established
in Philadelphia in 1984, KieranTimberlake is an internationally recognized
architecture firm, recipient of numerous honors including the 2008 AIA
Architecture Firm Award and 2010 Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award. By
undertaking a path of research into new materials and potential technologies
that alter fabrication and delivery methods and influence the way we live in our
environments, KieranTimberlake reshapes our expectations of architecture. Join
Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake to celebrate the launch of their fifth book,
a reflection on the last decade of inquisitive approaches to their clients’
needs, as well as the needs of the environment, and how that has broadened their
vision of the relationship between process, craft, and form. Reception and book
signing to follow.
October 5, 2011, 5:30PM
Free for Athenaeum members. RSVP to Susan
Gallo at 215-925-2688 or sgallo@philaathenaeum.org
All others $10, you may pay by clicking
here.
Save
the date:
September 21: Opening reception for Philadelphia Places on Paper: Selections
From the Eli P. Zebooker Collection, 5:30pm.
September
24: Smithsonian Museum Day, Athenaeum open, 11:00am-3:00pm.
October 1: Tunnel Book workshop with Maria Pisano, 10:00am.
October 5: Kieran Timberlake book launch, 5:30pm.
October
19: Marc Fumaroli, When the World Spoke French, 5:30pm.
October 29: Children's programs: storytelling (1:00pm) and book arts workshop
(2:00pm).
See
the Event
Calendar for details and additional
events.
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