Insights from PCC Intern: Rebecca - Winward Prescott's own masonic bookplate

Winward Prescott (1886 – 1932) was, among other things, a collector and scholar of bookplates. His own bookplates are some of the most unique in CSU LA’s collection. He wrote several books and pamphlets about bookplates including “Masonic Bookplates” (Four Seas, 1918). 

That book discusses and catalogs bookplates belonging to individual freemasons as well as masonic lodges. In case you’re not familiar, freemasons are members of a fraternal organization modeled on ancient stonemason guilds and organized into masonic lodges. The once-secret society seems to have originated around the turn of the 16^th Century¹ and its use of rituals, symbols, and claims of secret knowledge have sparked public imagination ever since. Whether you believe freemasons control the world, are just a social club, or something in between, know that Winward Prescott, bookplate collector and associate English professor at MIT, was a member.²

Although not included in his book, this particular example seems to be Prescott’s own take on a masonic bookplate. Prescott writes in “Masonic Bookplates” that some of the most common masonic symbols include a square and compass with the letter G and the all-seeing eye in the triangle. Prescott uses less widely recognized symbols in his bookplate.

At center, a nude woman, shown from the hip up, stands with one arm around an owl, her other hand holding a shield. She likely represents Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, who frequently appears with an owl known as the Owl of Minerva. 

The Owl of Minerva was actually the original symbol used by Adam Weishaupt when he founded the Bavarian Order of the Illuminati in the 18^thCentury, an even more contentious secret society which had overlapping membership with freemasons. Jason Duaine Hahn writes that it’s odd that people today associate the pyramid or eye with the Illuminati rather than the owl.³

Back to Prescott’s bookplate - the owl stands on what appears to be a helmet, somewhat similar to those of the Knights Templar, but I haven't found an exact match. The Knights Templar were a papally sanctioned Catholic military order active during the 12th to the 14th centuries of the Crusades,⁴ and freemasons have used their name and imagery.⁵

On the shield in Minerva’s hand is the word “ΑΝΑΓΚΗ” which means “fate” in Greek. In choosing this particular word, Prescott may have been referencing Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” in which “ΑΝΑΓΚΗ” is scrawled on a wall in one of the towers of the cathedral, which is said to have masonic symbols throughout its architecture.

On the shield, just below “ΑΝΑΓΚΗ” is a skull and crossbones - a symbol of mortality meant to encourage reflection on one’s life. This type of reflection is a masonic imperative⁶ and may stem from the medieval Christian practice of memento mori.⁷

In the upper right corner of the bookplate, handwritten in block letters, is the phrase “CHOOSE WELL YOUR CHOICE IS BRIEF YET ENDLESS.” This is a quotation from the poem “The Mason-Lodge” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of German’s most renowned writers of all time. Though it is not necessarily common knowledge, Goethe was a freemason.

Here we have the counterpoint to the inescapable fate of death – act now! Choose well. And the wisdom of Minerva and her Owl may be a guide in this struggle.

Hopefully, Prescott heeded these words while he lived, for fate struck early. In 1932, at age 46, while cleaning a gun in the study of his home, Winward Prescott accidentally fatally shot himself.⁸

- Rebecca Schiffman

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¹ Ruggeri, Amanda. “Travel - The Lost History of the Freemasons.” BBC News, BBC, 13 Dec. 2016, www.bbc.com/travel/story/20161209-secret-history-of-the-freemasons-in-scotland.

² “Prof Winward Prescott.” The Boston Globe, 3 Mar. 1932, p. 19.

³ Hahn, Jason Duaine. “So, What Exactly Is the Illuminati Conspiracy?” Complex, Complex, 1 June 2018, www.complex.com/pop-culture/2015/02/what-is-the-illuminati-conspiracy-and-who-are-its-members/.

⁴ Barber, Malcolm. The New Knighthood: a History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

⁵ Hodapp, Christopher. Freemasons for Dummies. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2013.

⁶ “The Skull & Crossbones and Freemasonry--You're Doing It Wrong.” The Midnight Freemasons, www.midnightfreemasons.org/2015/02/the-skull-crossbones-and-freemasonry_9.html.

⁷ Burkle KT, Brother William Steve. “Memento Mori - The Symbol of the Skull with Crossbones.” PS Review of Freemasonry, www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/skull-bones.html.

⁸ “Tech Associate Professor Killed.” The Boston Globe, 2 Mar. 1932, p. 24.

Insights from PCC Intern: Rebecca - a bookplate by Mary Crete Crouch

While gathering metadata for CSU LA’s bookplate digitization project over the last few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to scrutinize hundreds of artist-designed bookplates from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. I’ve found myself particularly drawn to the few bookplates artists designed for themselves.

On first glance, Mary Crete Crouch’s whimsical and enigmatic M.C.C. bookplate stood out. The motifs - a Pierrot (an archetypal mime character dating back to late-17th Century Italy), a stack of papers, snakes, and roses - didn’t add up to anything familiar. The mysterious scene implied inside references, something personal. Realizing, based on the initials, that Crouch had probably designed this bookplate for herself piqued my interest further.

For a client, an artist may be working within strict guidelines, on a deadline with limited revisions, or simply reusing one of their own stock images - so that it's hard for us to know how satisfied the artist or client was with the final product, or for whom the design held the most meaning. But working for oneself, we can imagine or at least hope that the artist designed exactly what they wanted. 

Happily, when I removed the M.C.C. bookplate from its protective sleeve for scanning, a handwritten note on the back confirmed it as Crouch’s own and elucidated some of its meaning.

Mary Crete Crouch’s bookplate is printed in black ink on light-colored paper and executed with a neat but hand drawn feel. Centered near the top is a line drawing of a Pierrot in a conical hat with three pompoms, frilled collaret, loose tunic, and pantaloons. Shown from behind, he is bending over to pick up the top pages from a stack of papers. The catch is that the pages are giant - Pierrot’s arms just barely reach both ends as he struggles to lift them. The tips of the pages extend past the edges of a simple circular frame, adding depth and playfully emphasizing the ridiculous scale.

Below this frame is a white oval space where three twisting serpents form the initials “MCC.” While the Pierrot and monogram are done in black ink on a white background, the surrounding negative space is filled in with black ink, on top of which white thorny stems with roses form vertical lines across. 

Handwritten on the backside of the bookplate:

“Des. by Mary Crete Crouch for scrap books. Have taken the part of Pierrot in a play. Turning over a new leaf. Sounds worse than it really is.”

Was performing, rather than visual art, the turning over of a new leaf for Crouch? Or was it something more personal? Either way, the handwritten note explains that Crouch is Pierrot and the “leaves” of paper are a pun. The note and the struggling Pierrot reveal a self-deprecatory sense of humor. 

A 1905 article in the San Francisco Chronicle titled “Highly Successful Society Function Attended by Many San Franciscans” describes a Café Chantant night at the Crocker Art Gallery as “full of fun” and goes on to list the performers including Mary Crete Crouch as “Pierrot, pantomimist.”

Mary Crete Crouch was born in Virginia City, Nevada in 1867 but spent most of her life in Sacramento, California¹ where she was an artist, illustrator, and perhaps a socialite.

Crouch had been exhibiting artwork around Sacramento since at least 1898, when the Sacramento Daily Union praised her paintings and wood and leather etchings in an article about the third annual Arts Students League exhibition.

Crouch was a member of the Kingsley Art Club, studied and exhibited at the Crocker Art Gallery – today a museum, and was a board member of the Ladies’ Museum Association (her older sister Bessie was President), which raised money for the gallery.²

Crouch also illustrated several books for Sacramento-based J. Anderson Press including “Up in Alaska” (1912) by Esther Birdsall Darling, “The Spirit of Peace (1912) by Fred Emerson Brooks, “Memory’s Potlatches” (1913) by Mrs. William Beckman, and “Twilight Fair Tales” (1914) by May Showler Groves.

In 1927 the Kingsley Art Club began holding an annual exhibition of local Sacramento artists, and Crouch appears to have exhibited paintings each year through 1931³, the year of her death.

CSU LA’s bookplate collection includes four more Mary Crete Crouch bookplates which she designed for others.

In 1907, the Sacramento Union described another more society event, put on by the Ladies’ Museum Association, at the Crocker Art Gallery. Crouch performed as a “Goose girl” singing a song “with a clog pose dance excellently done and convulsing the audience with mirth.” The paper noted it was the first night the room had been lit by electricity, although a blown fuse necessitated the use of candles for several hours during the festivities.⁴

- by Rebecca Schiffman

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¹ “Mary Crete Crouch.” AskArt, www.askart.com/artist/Mary_Crete_Crouch/10012224/Mary_Crete_Crouch.aspx.

² Steele, Myra D. “Society.” Sacramento Union, 7 Nov. 1913, p. 12.

³ Fifty Years of Crocker-Kingsley: a Retrospective Exhibition: April 5 - May 4, 1975, E.B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento. E.B. Crocker Art Gallery, 1975.

⁴ “Last Night at the Art Gallery.” Sacramento Union, 13 Feb. 1907, p. 2.

Blog Spot: Special Collections Student Assistant Jocelyn Acosta

Photo courtesy of Nicole Lim

My name is Jocelyn Acosta. I am a graduate student earning my master on Mesoamaerican archaeology. My focus is on caves and sacred landscape in the Honduran region. I’ve been twice to Belize conducting research on a collapse chultun (artificial man-made cave) and caves under Cal States LA’s Sacred Landscape Archaeological Project (S.L.A.P.) 2014-15. I participated in the Mojave Desert field school in 2016 with Cal State LA’s China Lake Archaeological Research Program. In my spare time when I’m not doing research or digging in dirt, I volunteer at the Autry Museum of the American West in their Archaeology department working on their Mesoamerican collection. Also, I am a Public Relations Officer for the Society for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies in Cal State LA. I share information to our community about events happening in our campus or our community. 

Photo courtesy of Jamie Zeffery

After I was done volunteering for The Foundation of Heaven: The Great Temple of the Aztecs A Symposium in Homage to Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, I attended Transcultural Dialogues: The Books of Mesoamerica and Colonial Mexico that was displayed at JFK Memorial Library. I was interested in being part of Special Collections and applied when there was a student assistant position. My experience at Special Collections and Archives has taught me how to create catalogs, set up exhibits, make labels, handle archival material and become a better researcher. Volunteering at the Autry Museum I can see the similarities in skills that I have acquired working in Special Collections. I know I will leave with great experience when I graduate and someday work in for a museum.

Photo courtesy of Jamie Zeffery

I have been working at Special Collections and Archives since summer 2017. I have been working on Wayne Ruwet Papers. Wayne Ruwet was Mesoamerican scholar and Librarian at UCLA. His collection will help grow our Mesoamerican Studies Program and allow students, like myself, to be able to advance with our research here on campus. I also have been part of events here at Special Collection and Archives, recently we had the Collection Day part of Preserving Y(our) Legacy series on campus, where we displayed some our collections. This event was to encourage students to share their archival materials as Cal State LA students that they would like to be part of Cal State LA’s history.

Blog Spot: Special Collections Student Assistant Karina Cardenas

My name is Karina Cardenas and am a graduate student completing my M.A. in History this semester.  My areas of interest in general are on women of color’s narratives in the United States, urban space, and gender and sexuality studies. Some of my personal interests is listening to podcasts, watching lots of kpop related videos, and going on occasional runs.

Archives Bazaar
Courtesy of Staphany Bravo Garcia

I started working with Special Collections and Archives this summer in July and have learned so much and can only look forward to next semester. I was interested in working in Special Collections since my undergraduate days and am still excited to work in such an enriching space. Currently, I am processing the Richard Alatorre Collection who was a public official and an alumni of Cal State Los Angeles. Another project I am working is the Student Life and Culture Collection that consists of flyers, information, and posters generously donated from the Cross Cultural Center. Other than these two larger collections, I have learned other aspects of Special Collections such as shifting books, making labels, and the preservation of archival materials. I recently worked with my coworkers to complete a 

Halloween exhibition and hosted a collection day called “Preserving Y(Our) Story at Cal State LA”. I enjoy both working independently with collections and also working with my coworkers. My coworkers assisted me when I initially started and encouraged me to think freely when collaborating on exhibitions and other projects. Azalea, the University Library Archivist, creates an inviting and collaborative work space that allows us to work on various projects together as well. She offers great advice and allows us to creatively utilize archival materials.

My experience with Special Collections has develop a greater interest in following a career as a librarian because it intertwines outreach and research. I have a strong interest in assisting those who visit our space and learning individual projects and research interests. I recently participated in the Los Angeles Archives Bazaar and I enjoyed sharing my insight and knowledge with visitors on our archival materials. As a Student Assistant, I go beyond research to truly appreciate the materials and importance Special Collections and Archives has for various academics. Not only has my experience here helped me decipher my future career, but inspired me to appreciate my local East L.A. histories.

Blog Spot: Special Collections Student Assistant Nancy Escalante

I’m Nancy Escalante and I’m a graduate student working towards an MA in History. My research interests include transnational networks of solidarity between women in Central America and Latinxs in the U.S., feminist and women’s studies, and Latin American history. During my free time, I enjoy quoting the Simpsons, catching up on TV shows, listening to podcasts, and sharing memes.

Photo courtesy of Carlos Carbajal

I began working at the JFK Memorial Library Special Collections and Archives during the Spring 2017 semester in January. I first heard about the Special Collections and Archives from professors in the History Department who encouraged me to explore what our archives have to offer. My experience here has been enriching in various aspects. I have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects during my time here. Currently, I am processing the John C. Holland Papers, which is one among our various collections on Los Angeles public officials. Beyond that, I have had the pleasure of working on exhibits and displays--such as a Halloween display, an exhibit on Mesoamerican art and literature, and a display honoring Women’s History Month--all using primary source documents from the various collections in our repository and books from the JFK Memorial Library’s circulation. I especially enjoy these projects because they allow me to work closely with my coworkers--who are all amazing, dedicated, and inspiring--but they also allow me to be creative in the work that I am doing. Personally, these collaborative projects are the ones that I find the most fulfilling because I am able to share the experience with all my coworkers and I get to interact with primary sources in a way that allows me to create a narrative. Luckily, Azalea, the University Library Archivist, gives us the opportunity to frequently work on these types of projects.

Photo courtesy of Staphany Bravo

Ever since I began working at the archives, I have explored different facets of historical research that have informed the way in which I view the production of history and memory. My experience here has not only fueled my intellectual interests, it has also inspired me to care more about the importance of preservation inside and outside of academic institutions. As someone who is interested in pursuing a doctorate degree, my experience at the archives has shown me the “behind-the-scenes” aspect of research. It has helped me better understand how archives work from a researcher’s perspective, and I am certain that this will benefit in my future work. Beyond that, I also hope to translate the work into my personal practice of preserving my own family’s history.

Nancy Escalante

M.A. History Student

Lxs de abajo: Latinx Performative Text from Below in the Los Angeles Area

Final Insights from Cal State LA intern: Gladys

End of the year Reflection

            I had a truly unique experience working as an intern for Special Collections & Archives here at California State University, Los Angeles. I had the tremendous fortune of gathering a collection based on the material owned by the Latin American Studies center, a program very dear to me as a recent Latin American Studies graduate. In retrospect, I believe I would have benefited from working on the collection 15 hours or more a week in order to finish sooner, but also to absorb and grasp the importance of being detailed in the cataloguing process. It was a tedious process but the outcome was worth it for the sake of creating for Central American narratives.  I was able to put together a sound finding aid that will be usable for students and faculty alike who are interested in conducting research relating to the Central American diaspora here in the Los Angeles area.

 As I processed the Central American Solidarity Network of Los Angeles collection, I learned many interesting facts, but one of the things that I found the most interesting was the role of nationalism in the intra-ethnic violence amongst Central Americans during the height of the conflicts in Central America. I highlight this because the narrative that is often told about the conflicts that happened in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras is that U.S. intervention was the sole actor responsible for unrest and human rights abuses. This is true, but the nationalism of each country often times made it inhospitable for refugees fleeing and migrating within Central America during the 1980s, the highest point of intensity. This is still the case today.

            Going into the internship I did not anticipate the variety of skills necessary in order to make a successful collection, finding aid, and good publicity for the collaborative exhibit I did with this spring semester with Staphany Bravo. Nonetheless, these are all things I will need to learn along the way as I initiate myself into the field of library sciences. I had a rewarding experience working with Staphany Bravo as her work ethic and creativity pushed me to think about the importance of wording with our exhibit labels, the placement of our objects to make it visually appealing, and the importance of communication so that our collections related and made a cohesive exhibit that served to reflect the ignored communities that we came from or were in solidarity with.

For future interns, I suggest that the students have a meet and greet in order to break the ice prior to the internship beginning, so that they can gauge each other’s personalities and bond. What made my internship a success was by having set deadlines and the help of Azalea Camacho and Jamie Zeffery to guide me. The combination of structured and individualized tasks was perfect for my personality as I am person that often likes to take initiative, but will seek help when I do not know how to do something.

If it had not been for this Archival internship, I would have never considered pursuing a Master’s degree in Library Sciences all the while advancing my love for social justice. If it was not for the experience I gained and the encouragement of the Archives center at Cal State LA, I would have not applied and earned a prestigious internship with the Center for the Study of Political Graphics through the Getty Foundation and with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. Beyond this, if it was not for my newfound love of archival work I would have not been inspired on my recent trip to Guatemala as a human rights observer, to consider doing a Fulbright fellowship working on archives relating to Guatemalan human rights abuses. The archival internship I undertook here with Special Collections & Archives has given me the perfect foundation to begin my career as a future Archivist. 

Final Insights From Cal State LA Intern: Staphany

Since my last blog post titled “Insights from Cal State LA Intern: Staphany,” I have co-curated an exhibit by the title of “Lxs de abajo: Latinx Performative Text from Below in the Los Angeles Area,” attained a permanent position at CSULA’s Special Collections and Archives as an Archival Student Assistant, have interviewed a new batch of Archival Student Assistants for the of Fall 2017, and rekindled my interest in the arts specifically with photography and painting. To the list, I could have added the completion of a Finding Aid for the “Compton Communicative Arts Academy” (C.C.A.A.) archive . . . unfortunately (or fortunately for potential researchers and the preservation Compton’s historical memory) a folder was found with fifty negatives during the remodeling process of Special Collections and Archives this summer.  I am looking forward to reviewing the new material and preserving it for future generations to come.

Lxs de abajo: Latinx Performative Text from Below in the Los Angeles Area

Flyer by: Jaime Zeffery (2017)

Beyond the tangible accomplishments, I feel as though my experiences at Special Collections and Archives have offered me “grounding.” My experiences have served tactfully as a “link” (if you will) from theory to action. As someone whose academic trajectory has leaned towards “interdisciplinary studies,” I often longed for something to assure me that my studies correlated with my community in a sensible manner. Special Collections and Archives has served as a space that mediates between both of these worlds. Further, it does so in a matter that is not intrusive because the overall purpose is aimed at the preservation and amplification of narrative regardless of the format, stage, time, place or people.

Lxs de abajo: Latinx Performative Text from Below in the Los Angeles Area

Social Spaces 

Photograph by Staphany Bravo Garcia (2017)

My part of the exhibit “Lxs de abajo: Latinx Performative Text from Below in the Los Angeles Area,” that I participated in collaboration with Gladys Garcia encapsulates the link between academia and my community. If I can describe it in a few sentences it would be an exhibit that demonstrates counter-narratives on behalf of Compton’s Black and Latinx community in the midst of symbolic and material erasure produced by mainstream narratives. My half of the exhibit focuses on “The Communicative Arts Academy,” murals, social spaces, music and poetry.

"Black is Back" 
Photograph by Willie Ford (u.d.)

Compton Communicative Arts Academy Collection 

John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, 

California State University, Los Angeles

While my initial designs of the exhibit centered in the re-framing of a Latinx counter-narrative in Compton, I was constantly marveled by the grassroots efforts of Compton’s Black community (that continue to this day).  I noted how often both communities worked in tangent in the face of dismissive laws and policies sanctioned by the state. We have more in common than imagined, a one-sided counter-narrative would not do justice. The Communicative Arts Academy is an important factor in narrating solidarity efforts, for even C.C.A.A contributed to workshops in Bilingual expression and the murals still prevalent in Compton and more importantly my own identity formation as a Latinx. 

It is on this note that I conclude my last post as “intern” at Special Collections and Archives . . . with work ahead and shifts in my own configurations on the meaning of “counter-narrative,” “origins,” “identity formation” and so forth . . . but very much “grounded.”

Photograph by Nancy Escalante (2017)

Staphany Bravo García

B.A. Chicana/o Studies, and Latin American Studies, 2015
University of California, Santa Barbara

M.A. Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, 2018
California State University, Los Angeles

A first year Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies M.A. student, Staphany Bravo García is interested in the production of counter-narratives specifically as they apply to people of color. She is currently analyzing the creative ways Compton’s “un-recorded” Latinx residents resist symbolic and material erasure within mainstream narratives through what she identifies as “communal text.”

Research Interests: Decolonial Theory, Xicanx Theory, Chicanx Literature, Counter-Narrative, Testimonio, Art as Resistance, Black and Brown Relations, Community Autonomy, Epistemic Disobedience 

Chinese American Oral History Project Reception

On Wednesday, May 31th the University Library hosted a Reception for the Chinese American Oral History Project. Approximately 400 people attended the event, including the first four interviewees for the project, Margaret "Margie" Lew, John Chen, Pauline Tso, and Frank Yan. All interviews were conducted by the students in Dr. Julie Phun's Asian/Asian American Studies 3520 class in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. Additional work to make the oral histories available to the public was done by the University Library Special Collections and Archives spearheaded by the Digitization Projects Assistant Jamie Zeffrey.

For more information about the Chinese American Oral History Project please visit:

http://www.calstatela.edu/caohp

A guest listens to John Chen's oral history at the May 31st Reception.

A guest views Pauline Tso's photographs.

Margaret "Margie" Lew listens to her own oral history.

Cal State LA History Event - Today, 4/4 3:00pm-4:20pm in the USU-San Gabriel Room

Now Collecting Materials for The Student Life Collection!

Women’s History Month

          Women’s History Month, occurring annually throughout March, is dedicated to acknowledging and celebrating the contributions of women to historical events and present-day society. Women’s History Month originated from the very first International Women’s Day in 1911, which is now celebrated on March 8.

          Dr. Ángela Vergara from the History Department curated a collection of books to display for Women’s History Month. The books in this collection focus on women’s lives as immigrants and explore topics such as women’s agency, gender liberation, assimilation, and the navigation of foreign social, cultural, and political spaces. The Special Collections and Archives Department and Student Assistant Nancy Escalante helped to assemble this display with books courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library.

Come see the display in Library-South on the 2nd Floor. For more information about Women's History Month go here.

Insights From Cal State LA Intern: Staphany

Figure 1: "Ethnic Simplicity" 
Mural by Elliott Pinkney (1977)
Photograph by Willie Ford (u.d.)

Compton Communicative Arts Academy Collection 

John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, 

California State University, Los Angeles

I am a few weeks into my internship position at CSULA’s very own John F. Kennedy Memorial Library. Prior to my assignment as an intern in Special Collections and Archives, I decided to work on the Compton Communicative Arts Academy (C.C.A.A.) collection. This collection is very dear to me, since I myself am a native of the city of Compton, CA. Personally, I did not know this collection existed, until I saw an old image of the famous Compton mural by Elliott Pinkney named “Ethnic Simplicity” on the Special Collections and Archives website. Since then, I have gone through every negative, photograph, brochure, and pamphlet available in the archive.  

Figure 2:  “Ethnic Simplicity” 
Mural by Elliott Pinkney (1977)
Photograph by Staphany Bravo Garcia (2016)

Working with this collection entailed my placement in “archival processing” since my material although curated years ago needed upkeep. I have been trained by Library Archivist Azalea Camacho to arrange, describe, and catalog every single item in the collection. Many updates have been made. For example, the collection was originally dated from 1970-1976 however through close inspection we have widened the collection to date from 1968-1988! We have also alphabetized and/or arranged items in chronological order with titles for your convenience!

Figure 3: C.C.A.A. Negatives Photograph by Staphany Bravo Garcia (2017) Compton Communicative Arts Academy Collection  John F. Kennedy Memorial Library,  California State University, Los Angeles

Figure 3: C.C.A.A. Negatives
Photograph by Staphany Bravo Garcia (2017)

Compton Communicative Arts Academy Collection 

John F. Kennedy Memorial Library, 

California State University, Los Angeles

For those of you wondering, what exactly is in the archive. . .  the visual archive documents the black experience in Compton and its surrounding cities (Watts and South Central) through the literal lens of photographer Willie Ford. He was involved in C.C.A.A. and throughout his time there, was able to capture the dancers, sculptors, muralists, conferences, festivals, youth, community centers, writers workshops, etc. that took place in Compton. This is groundbreaking material, because it portrays the counter-narrative of Compton that is not reflected by the mainstream. Compton was and continues to be a place with autonomous agents of change creating narratives for and by them.

Photograph by Nancy Escalante (2017)

Staphany Bravo García

B.A. Chicana/o Studies, and Latin American Studies, 2015
University of California, Santa Barbara

M.A. Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, 2018
California State University, Los Angeles

A first year Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies M.A. student, Staphany Bravo García is interested in the production of counter-narratives specifically as they apply to people of color. She is currently analyzing the creative ways Compton’s “un-recorded” Latinx residents resist symbolic and material erasure within mainstream narratives through what she identifies as “communal text.”

Research Interests: Decolonial Theory, Xicanx Theory, Chicana/o Literature, Auto-historia Teoría, Counter-Narrative, Testimonio, SWAPA, Art as Resistance, Black and Brown Relations, Community Autonomy, Epistemic Disobedience 

Exhibit - Transcultural Dialogues: The Books of Mesoamerica and Colonial Mexico, Reception April, 22, 2017

For more information about Cal State LA's Art History Society go here.

Exhibit - Student Power: InnerCity Struggle's Legacy of Activism

Exhibit - Salute to WWII Flying Tigers in China

American Archives Month

Cal State LA's Table at the Archive Bazaar October 15, 2016

    

     Cal State LA Special Collections and Archives has had a busy October. We've participated in multiple events for American Archives Month including the 11th Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar held at USC and the Heritage Square Museum 13th Annual Halloween Mourning Tours.

     At the Archives Bazaar, we joined other Los Angeles institutions to celebrate the diverse history of our city. Our table highlighted our East LA Archives, a group of collections primarily documenting the Chicano Movement in East LA in the 1960s and 70s, our Compton Communicative Arts Academy Archive, and our new digitization initiatives.



    

    

Books displayed at the Heritage Square Museum October 22, 2016

     At the Heritage Square Museum Halloween event, we exhibited books and materials about Fall customs in the 19th and early 20th century. We also put on a Victorian Fall dinner party of our own.

 

Cal State LA buttons at the Archives Bazaar

 

Special Collections and Archives Internship Opportunity - Application Deadline November 1st

Interested in archives, curatorship, and special collections librarianship? Apply for the Cal State LA Special Collections and Archives Internship!

The internship is designed to enrich the use, awareness, and professional training in primary sources. Professional internships allow undergraduate and graduate students to gain new insights into the nature of archival practice by engaging in meaningful work under the supervision of the Archives and Special Collections staff.


Two students will be selected from the applicants through a formal application and interviewing process. Successful applicants will be matched with collections in their field and specialization. Interns will be required to work 15 to 20 hours a week Monday - Friday during spring semester 2017. Interns will be paid a stipend of $1,650.00. Seniors and graduate students are preferred.


Internship includes:
Archival Processing

• Training in archival processing practices under the supervision of the University Library archivist.
• Arranging, describing, and cataloging collections in one's area of research and interest.
• Creating finding aids, once a collection has been processed, for online publication.

Metadata and Digitization

• Digitizing selected collections and entering metadata under the supervision of the Digitization Projects Assistant

Exhibitions

• Provide support for the production of the exhibitions program encompassing areas of project management, curatorial practice, exhibition design, and installation

Interns will have two major projects during the duration of the internship. Interns will have the option of selecting one project from the Archival Processing or Metadata and Digitization category. Interns will work together on developing and curating an exhibition. Interns will have the ability to customize their internship experience with their interests and educational objectives.


Requirements:

• Undergraduate seniors, Graduate or professional students, currently enrolled at Cal State LA are eligible to apply. History, English, and Art majors preferred.
• Excellent organizational skills, goal-oriented with ability to wok independently with close attention to detail.
• Have excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Interest in archival, librarianship, curatorial, and digitization work.

Application Requirements:

• Resume
• Cover Letter explaining why you want to be an intern in Special Collections and Archives and what you can offer this department.
  

Submission of Application:

Deadline to submit your application materials (Resume and Cover Letter) is November 1, 2016. Please contact the University Library Archivist, Azalea Camacho, at azalea.camacho@calstatela.edu for more information or to apply.

Exhibit - The Master & the King: Edgar Rice Burroughs, the Master of Storytelling, and His Greatest Creation, Tarzan King of the Apes

The exhibit will end on October 28th.
    

     Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was an American adventure writer most famous for his character Tarzan. The Tarzan stories have been adapted into comic books, countless movies, and television programs. He also created John Carter of Mars, a character that has inspired the likes of George Lucas (creator of Star Wars) and noted scientist Carl Sagan (Cosmos). Our exhibit highlights different visual representations of Burroughs’s work, especially in comic books.

     Even though today we know Burroughs as one of the most widely read authors of the 20^th century, he found his calling later in life. He published his first story at the age of 36. Before he became a fiction writer, Burroughs was an honorably discharged soldier, a Gatling gun instructor, a door-to-door salesman, a pencil sharpener peddler for Sears Roebuck, and many other disparate professions. As an avid reader of pulp magazines, Burroughs became convinced that he could write stories just as good, if not better, than published ones. He later commented in the Washington Post, “if people were paid for writing such rot as I read, I could write stories just as rotten.” Burroughs could not have predicted the tremendous impact that his work would have on popular culture.