I will be spending the week with family and friends, but I hope your holiday dreams come true!
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| Charlie dog, dreaming of a white Christmas. |
Monday, December 19, 2011
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!
The Petroleum Museum's Library & Archives Center will be closed for the holiday from Monday, December 26th through Monday, January 2nd. We will re-open Tuesday, January 3rd!
I will be spending the week with family and friends, but I hope your holiday dreams come true!
I will be spending the week with family and friends, but I hope your holiday dreams come true!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Archival Photography
A good snapshot stops a moment from running away. ~Eudora Welty
All photos are accurate. None of them is the truth. ~Richard Avedon
The Monday morning volunteer, Katelyn Mulder, has been working on an archival collection from the Estate of N. Ford Chapman, which includes hundreds of photographic prints and negatives. Some of the negatives have not been stored in the ideal conditions, wrapped around a piece of styrofoam. So she's had to re-house those negatives in archival materials.
In the Archives Center, we place photographic prints in inert plastic sleeves, which are then housed in archival folders, which are in turn housed in archival boxes. This creates a three-layered protection between the print and the environment to prevent potential damage or harm. Photographic negatives are treated similarly.
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| Photographic print storage in the Museum's Library & Archives Center. |
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Blast from the Past
One neat thing about working in the Archives is you never know what you'll run across.
Karen Shephard, a volunteer in the Archives & Collections Department, has been working on organizing and processing a collection of material from Ed Thompson related to the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. In the material, there was a publication from the Midland Chamber of Commerce, probably dated from 1971, trying to recruit mid-continent oil companies to set up shop in Midland.
One interesting tidbit found in the publication is the statistics about Midland and housing in Midland:
I wonder how that compares to today ...
Karen Shephard, a volunteer in the Archives & Collections Department, has been working on organizing and processing a collection of material from Ed Thompson related to the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. In the material, there was a publication from the Midland Chamber of Commerce, probably dated from 1971, trying to recruit mid-continent oil companies to set up shop in Midland.
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| Above: Cover of publication. |
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| Above: Aerial view of Midland at time of publication, circa 1971. |
One interesting tidbit found in the publication is the statistics about Midland and housing in Midland:
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| Above: General Information & Housing Costs in Midland circa 1971. |
I wonder how that compares to today ...
Monday, September 26, 2011
Barrels, Barrels Everywhere, and Not a Drop to Drink!
Every six months or so, I get an email from someone who has a metal oil drum wanting more information about the object. Today was the latest. Vicky from Illinois had a metal drum marked "Property of S.O. Co. - IND."
Above: Images from Vicky in Illinois.
Others have also emailed images wanting to know more about what they have.
Above: Images of oil drum from Tyler in May 2010.
Above: Images of kerosene drume from Anonymous in July 2010.
Typically, my response is the same. I tell them I am legally and ethically not allowed to provide any appraisal, i.e. assign a monetary value to the object, but I can provide some general information for them. For Vicky, my response was the following:
The barrel looks to be very similar to others in the Museum’s collections. These metal barrels were used to store and transport oil, often using a hand pump as well. The “S.O. Co. – IND” probably stands for Standard Oil Company of Indiana. After an anti-trust lawsuit in 1911, Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust was divided into different entities, creating Standard Oil of Indiana among others.
Many of the oil drums are from an entity of the Standard Oil Trust after it was dissolved in 1911. Standard Oil of New York (or Socony, later Mobil) was one such entity. The history of Rockefeller's legacy is fascinating, but another topic for another post!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Remember When?
A patron visit this afternoon turned out to be quite serendipitous!
Clay Barbee of Amarillo, TX, came into the Museum's Library & Archives Center to find a print of a certain panoramic photograph of Texon, his home town. (Texon was a town built in West Texas around the Santa Rita No. 1 and No. 2. The town offered a movie theater, a golf course, and even a baseball field with semi-professional team!)
While reviewing the database for the particular photo, he saw some images of kids he knew while growing up in Texon. He easily identified 15 young men and women from his past! One of them was Mr. Barbee himself as a young lad. It's amazing what the mind remembers after time.
While Mr. Barbee left without his photograph, his memory certainly helped the Library & Archives Center! I've updated the catalogue information on those individual photographs with names that were not included before. I promised Mr. Barbee I would do some investigating to find the photograph he wants!
Clay Barbee of Amarillo, TX, came into the Museum's Library & Archives Center to find a print of a certain panoramic photograph of Texon, his home town. (Texon was a town built in West Texas around the Santa Rita No. 1 and No. 2. The town offered a movie theater, a golf course, and even a baseball field with semi-professional team!)
While reviewing the database for the particular photo, he saw some images of kids he knew while growing up in Texon. He easily identified 15 young men and women from his past! One of them was Mr. Barbee himself as a young lad. It's amazing what the mind remembers after time.
Above: Clay Barbee as a young boy. His shirt was red with horses on it.
While Mr. Barbee left without his photograph, his memory certainly helped the Library & Archives Center! I've updated the catalogue information on those individual photographs with names that were not included before. I promised Mr. Barbee I would do some investigating to find the photograph he wants!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Time Travel
I am not sure where July and August went. Here we are, August 29th, and I haven't posted anything in two months! While I have been busy with various projects and tasks, I felt that nothing really deserved it's own blog post.
In July, I was busy with webinars on digital tools and social media as well as changing out an exhibit. Mery Codigna Collet's exhibition EXTRA VIRGIN PETRUS OIL closed July 11th. Some of the pieces moved onto Austin where they will be on display at a contemporary gallery there. Other pieces continued onto Italy (where Mery spends some time). Luckily, the Museum was given one piece, BRENT BLEND, by the artist. The six-piece artwork continues to hang in the Davidson gallery, but we're hoping to move it to its permanent home soon.
Soon after, Kathy and I installed the new exhibit TAKING STOCK, an exhibition showcasing the beauty and value of stock certificates. The exhibit is on loan from the Western Heritage Museum Complex at New Mexico Junior College. Come check it out! Be sure to pick up one of the activity brochures in the gallery.
I was also busy with potential rentals of the Museum. Many oil & gas companies like to use our large Auditorium for day-time events, like professional development, and for night-time receptions and celebrations. We've instituted an online calendar system to minimize double-booking the Museum's spaces. We can literally see who is using our facilities when on the new system.
August has turned out to be even busier! Kathy, Hal and I traveled to Irving at the beginning of the month for the annual meeting of Texas Association of Museums. While it was a more condensed conference than normal, I still learned quite a bit and got to network like never before. There were sessions on deaccessioning, museum ethics and collection conundrums.
The past several weeks, I've been focused on the upcoming Permian Basin Petroleum Pioneers' Biennial Reunion. We sent out several pieces of mail to potential sponsors, trustees, and the general membership. The event, scheduled for Friday, September 16th, consists of a full-day of speakers and an awards luncheon. Hopefully, all my hard work will pay off! Keep your fingers crossed!
In July, I was busy with webinars on digital tools and social media as well as changing out an exhibit. Mery Codigna Collet's exhibition EXTRA VIRGIN PETRUS OIL closed July 11th. Some of the pieces moved onto Austin where they will be on display at a contemporary gallery there. Other pieces continued onto Italy (where Mery spends some time). Luckily, the Museum was given one piece, BRENT BLEND, by the artist. The six-piece artwork continues to hang in the Davidson gallery, but we're hoping to move it to its permanent home soon.
BRENT BLEND
Mery Codigna Collet
Oil & natural fibers on plastic and canvas
2010
I was also busy with potential rentals of the Museum. Many oil & gas companies like to use our large Auditorium for day-time events, like professional development, and for night-time receptions and celebrations. We've instituted an online calendar system to minimize double-booking the Museum's spaces. We can literally see who is using our facilities when on the new system.
August has turned out to be even busier! Kathy, Hal and I traveled to Irving at the beginning of the month for the annual meeting of Texas Association of Museums. While it was a more condensed conference than normal, I still learned quite a bit and got to network like never before. There were sessions on deaccessioning, museum ethics and collection conundrums.
Above: Logo for TAM 2011 Annual Meeting
The past several weeks, I've been focused on the upcoming Permian Basin Petroleum Pioneers' Biennial Reunion. We sent out several pieces of mail to potential sponsors, trustees, and the general membership. The event, scheduled for Friday, September 16th, consists of a full-day of speakers and an awards luncheon. Hopefully, all my hard work will pay off! Keep your fingers crossed!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
High Tech & Outreach
Even though today is the official first day of Summer, the season arrived several weeks ago. Yesterday we set a record for 14 days of triple-digit weather. Today is a "cold" front with a high of 98 degrees! Ha!
In the last few weeks, however, I have stayed busy trying to update the Museum's website. I updated all of the Archives pages, from the Archival Collections to the Photographic Prints and Negatives. I even updated the Links page; take a look! What do you think?
One of my goals this summer is to reach out to similar institutions in the area. To that end, I had a "Tour Swap" with Jenni Opalinski, the Collections & Exhibits Manager at the Museum of the Southwest. I showed her around The Petroleum Museum, and she showed me around the Museum of the Southwest. It was quite fun and interesting to find out what they have and how we might help each other out. This Thursday, I plan on meeting with Pat McDaniel at the Haley Library. I'll let you know how that goes!
Similarly, I also want to reach out to educational institutions, like UTPB, Midland College and Odessa College, to find out how the Library & Archives Center can better serve that audience. While visitorship is up at the Center, I know it is HUGELY underutilized. Why? Do they know we exist? If so, what do the area students want and need from us? These are questions I hope to answer during my discussions with the various professors I've contacted. And I hope to come up with some solutions too!
In the last few weeks, however, I have stayed busy trying to update the Museum's website. I updated all of the Archives pages, from the Archival Collections to the Photographic Prints and Negatives. I even updated the Links page; take a look! What do you think?
One of my goals this summer is to reach out to similar institutions in the area. To that end, I had a "Tour Swap" with Jenni Opalinski, the Collections & Exhibits Manager at the Museum of the Southwest. I showed her around The Petroleum Museum, and she showed me around the Museum of the Southwest. It was quite fun and interesting to find out what they have and how we might help each other out. This Thursday, I plan on meeting with Pat McDaniel at the Haley Library. I'll let you know how that goes!
Similarly, I also want to reach out to educational institutions, like UTPB, Midland College and Odessa College, to find out how the Library & Archives Center can better serve that audience. While visitorship is up at the Center, I know it is HUGELY underutilized. Why? Do they know we exist? If so, what do the area students want and need from us? These are questions I hope to answer during my discussions with the various professors I've contacted. And I hope to come up with some solutions too!
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