Archives Work

Alright, I told Dave I was NOT working on this trip . . . but we are in an archive and my curiosity has gotten the better of me. I explained to Herbert, guardian of the Gementeemuseum reading room,  that I was an archivist.  He invited me to see the electronic catalog.  When I inquired about a painting in one of the current exhibitions, a Charles Leickert, (more on that later), he looked in the catalog for info, saw that there were two books about Leickert in their collection, and invited me to help retrieve  them.  From the shelves in the storage areas.  Down one level through a key-access elevator and through the security doors.  Very exciting, to say the least.  He gave me a thorough tour of the storage area and of the physical layout and intellectual control of the collections.  So, I'm NOT working, but it is terribly interesting. My archives pals will all agree, seeing someone else's mess is as exciting as showing off your own, even if it bores most regular people to death.

A note about Charles Leickert, he was a Dutch artist, born in Den Haag in the early 1800s.  The Brueckner Museum at Starr Commonwealth owns a painting by Mr. Leickert and there is one currently on display at the Gemeentemuseum.  I looked at the two books here on Leickert - he was an orphan in his later youth and was shuttled around institutions and homes. He had learned how to draw and paint and earned his living by being a prolific painter of Dutch scenes, with over 700 paintings to his credit.

Dave is having a great time photographing MC Escher's notebooks and looking through the personal family photo albums.  There are photos of his trip to Spain and also of his children - George, Arthur and Jan.  The are funny photos of George and Arthur in bunny costumes, sitting on the training pot, dressed up as bandits and sticking out their tongues in family portraits.

Weather here is 58F and sunny/partly cloudy. The trees are in bloom as well as the daffodils. We passed a flower shop and they had bouquets of 50 tulips for 4.95 Euros - about $6.00 American. I'm sure they are not going to be that cheap for Betsy's wedding next year!

I am sure we will post more later.