April Flowers

April at ATBL is kicking off with some wonderful opportunities for supporters and the public alike! On April 11 we will have a tour of the Shubert Archive for a fascinating deep-dive into theater history, and on April 21 we have an exclusive private tour of the New York Public Library's "Treasures" exhibition, with President and CEO Anthony Marx. We have just been able to open up this event to all current ATBL supporters, though, if you are interested, a reminder to register quickly to secure your spot!

April will conclude with a pair of exciting virtual events with Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library curatorial and conservation staff focused on the mysterious eighteenth-century Denig Devotional Manuscript: first on April 20th with Stéphanie Delamaire, PhD, Curator of Fine Art, second on April 27th with Joanna Hurd, Mellon Paper Conservation Fellow, Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts, and Joan Irving, Assistant Director of Conservation and Senior Conservator.

Last month we were honored to welcome Dr. Anne-Marie Eze as our 11th distinguished Bernard H. Breslauer lecturer. Dr. Eze's presentation showcased an important, but lesser-known art and book dealer in the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-centuries, Abbé Luigi Celotti, and her lively Q&A underscored the complexities and fruitfulness of her explorations. We look forward to sharing the edited recording with you in the near future!

Keep an eye on your email for additional, upcoming news for ATBL supporters—including the May 2022 debut of a new, virtual, British Library curator series exclusive to current ATBL supporters, and an exciting private tour of the Morgan Library and Museum's Hans Holbein exhibition. Equally, our annual printed newsletter will be arriving in your mailboxes quite soon, and we look forward to sharing our work over the past year with everyone!

And, last but not least: April 6 is Library Giving Day, a day to support public libraries and their work. Click here to donate to the British Library in recognition of their invaluable services to the global community.

As we emerge from winter into this season of renewal, I wish everyone, everywhere, joy, and, most importantly, peace.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Berkowitz, MA, PhD

Executive Director

The American Trust for the British Library

Vaslav Nijinsky, Choreographic score to the ballet L’après-midi d’un faune, 1915. Add MS 47215.

Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Kiev—now part of the Ukraine—and was one of the most famous dancers in Sergey Diaghilev's Ballets Russes dance company. Nijinsky completed this choreographic score in 1915 while under house arrest in Budapest; as a Russian national at the time, he was considered an enemy alien during World War I. He dedicated the score to his wife Romola. Nijinsky died in 1950 in London.

Food historians Kathryn Sampeck and Rebecca Earle unpack the remarkable, and fascinating history of vanilla—a tale every bit as captivating as that of its sister flavor, chocolate. The discussion is chaired by food writer, Sue Quinn.

This event is organized by the Eccles Centre for American Studies at the British Library.

Free.



To register and for more information, click the image below.

Completed in 1913 for the Ballets Russes dance company, the ballet and orchestral work The Rite of Spring by composer Igor Stravinsky was scandalous when first performed. From challenging assumptions about orchestral organization, to deliberate and harsh loud tones, to the accompanying choreography, The Rite of Spring was as controversial in its debut as it is beloved today. A Finland-born composer whose parents were important figures in the Kiev cultural and government circles, Stravinsky claimed a wide range of national influences and identities—many of which can be traced in his work. Stravinsky later became a United States citizen before his death in 1971.

These selected stories from the British Library highlight The Rite of Spring and its complex history.

Making Manuscripts: Oak Gall Ink

Where there are flowers, there are bugs. Patricia Lovett reveals how wasps were essential to the complex process of creating oak gall ink for medieval scribes.

Click the image above to play the video.

From an India Office Records file relating to the repatriation of Austrians and Germans during WWI, Oct 1915-Nov 1915.

British Library News

Patch for an anorak bought by Janet Thomson at New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica, 1984.

All images copyright of the British Library unless otherwise noted.