DC -- GWU -- Museum and Textile Museum -- Exhibit: Treasures from the Albert H. Small Collection:
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Description of Pictures: Treasures from the Albert H. Small Collection
Ongoing
Visit the Albert H. Small Gallery to explore the history of Washington, D.C., through this selection of maps, letters, prints and artifacts from the museum’s Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection.
About the Display:
Highlights of the current display include two panoramic bird's-eye view paintings of historical Washington, D.C., created by Peter Waddell in 2018, and a selection of 19th-century stereographs of the city. Popular with tourists and sightseers, stereographs were the first photographs to be mass produced and offered a unique viewing experience. They were mounted in pairs and viewed with a set of lenses (a stereoscope) for a three-dimensional effect. A stereoscope will be available for visitors to use in the gallery.
The Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection documents the formation, development and history of Washington, D.C., and the surrounding region from the 17th to the mid-20th century. It includes nearly 2,000 maps, prints, rare letters, newspapers, photographs and drawings, as well as an extensive reference library.
Organized in cooperation with the Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies.
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GWMTRE_220505_002.JPG: Treasures from the Albert H. Small Collection
Albert H. Small began collecting in 1949. On a trip to New York City, he wandered into an antiquarian bookshop and unearthed this first Washingtoniana treasure: a manuscript notebook chronicling the boundary stones that define the District of Columbia. His interest in his hometown soon grew into a desire to collect, preserve, and share D.C. history, especially with young people.
By 2018, Mr. Small had assembled more than 1,300 objects of prized Washingtoniana that illuminate both the city's local story and its history as the nation's capital. This exhibition samples several well represented areas of Mr. Small's collection: maps, the founding of Washington, D.C., the Civil War and President Lincoln in the city, and unique tourist memorabilia.
"The history that you get from these things is very valuable. It is part of our heritage. If young people don't take an interest in these things, who is going to? If we don't have young people who care about these things, our cultural heritage is lost."
-- Albert H. Small, Interview with GW students, 2015
GWMTRE_220505_009.JPG: The Indispensable Plan
This painting depicts Peter (Pierre) L'Enfant's comprehensive design for the city. L'Enfant looked to cities of Europe to legitimize the young nation's claim to power. Sparkling fountains and magnificent monuments decorate grand avenues and parks.
Peter Waddell, 2017
GWMTRE_220505_017.JPG: The Village Monumental
The city of Washington progressed more slowly than initially hoped. By 1825, the year L'Enfant died, Washington was more like a collection of villages rather than a united city. Limited funds from Congress and unrealized profits from the sales of city lots were not enough to build the city. Though many aspects of his design remain unrealized, L'Enfant's monumental core and diagonal avenues have since become icons of Washington's design.
Peter Waddell, 2017.
GWMTRE_220505_031.JPG: Early 3D Photography
GWMTRE_220505_072.JPG: The Pennsylvania Railroad's Union Station, Washington, DC
John A. Lowell Note Co., 1906
GWMTRE_220505_089.JPG: Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington. Grand Parade Previous to the Invasion of Virginia
Thomas Nast, Demorest's New York Illustrated Newspaper, June 15, 1861
GWMTRE_220505_108.JPG: The Presidential Party Passing Through the Grand Arch, en Route to the White House, After the Inauguration
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, March 19, 1881
GWMTRE_220505_118.JPG: Scene at the Pennsylvania Avenue Entrance to the Capitol Grounds at Washington on the Daily Adjornment of Congress
Frederick Dielman, Harper's Weekly, April 28, 1866
Description of Subject Matter: Treasures from the Albert H. Small Collection
Ongoing
A selection of maps, letters, prints, and artifacts on display from the museum’s Albert H. Small Washingtoniana Collection includes recent acquisitions and rare treasures.
Mr. Small, a third-generation Washingtonian, first became interested in historical collecting after serving in the Navy during World War II. In 2011, Mr. Small donated his unrivaled Washingtoniana collection—nearly sixty years in the making—to GW. The collection documents the formation, development and history of Washington from the eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century.
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2022 photos: This year included major setbacks -- including Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the Supreme Court imposing the evangelical version of sharia law -- but also some steps forward like the results of the midterms.
This website had its 20th anniversary in August, 2022.
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(February) a visit to see Dad and Dixie in Asheville, NC with some other members of my family,
(July) a trip out west for the return of San Diego Comic-Con, and
(October) a long weekend in New York to cover New York Comic-Con.
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