Do any of you participate in sewing clubs or quilting bees?
This 1917-1918 undyed cotton muslin quilt was made by members of the Anniston So and Sew Club, as the center square reads. Constructed of 10” x 10” squares laid out in a diamond pattern, each square is embroidered with a club member’s name and date. Some squares have “Logan, NM” or “San Jon, NM” as well, noting the location of the So and Sew in Quay County. Both the seams where squares are joined and the squares themselves are embellished with multicolored embroidery. This piece is completely hand quilted and measures 71.5” x 85.5”.
Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts near Fort Union, New Mexico Photographer: Wyatt Davis Date: 1939? From the New Mexico Magazine collection,Negative Number HP.2007.20.105
On this day in history, Jan. 29, 1822, William Becknell, founder of the Santa Fe Trail, returns to Franklin, Missouri, after his first trading expedition to Santa Fe. Legend has it that Spanish gold and silver coins fell from his leather pouch onto the streets, sparking a “trade rush.”
Colin G Colloway will be speaking on the impacts of the 1779 smallpox pandemic on Native American tribes throughout western North America.
Colin G. Calloway John Kimball Jr. 1943 Professor of History Professor of Native American Studies Dartmouth College.
The talk will trace the spread of the great smallpox epidemic that broke out in Mexico in 1779, traveled north to New Mexico, was transmitted from tribe to tribe across the American West, and reached eastern Canada by 1784. We will discuss its impact on Indian country and the multiple Native American communities it struck, and consider its significance for understanding the subsequent history of the United States.
Colin Calloway grew up in England and received his Ph.D. from the University of Leeds. In the US, he has worked at the Center for the History of the American Indian at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and taught at the University of Wyoming and Dartmouth College. He has published more than a dozen books, including One Vast Winter Count: The Native American West Before Lewis and Clark, which won six best book awards, and most recently The Indian World of George Washington, which was a National Book Award finalist and won the George Washington Prize. He has been President of the American Society for Ethnohistory and received the Western History Association’s American Indian History Lifetime Achievement Award.
Friends of History is a volunteer support group for the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Its mission is to raise funds and public awareness for the Museum’s exhibitions and programs. Friends of History fulfills its mission by offering high quality public history programs, including the First Wednesday Lecture Series. For more information, or to join the Friends of History, go to friendsofhistorynm.org
Infant’s sunsuit or daysuit. This is a one piece garment with short sleeves, mother of pearl buttons and a scalloped collar. The outfit was worn by the donor on his first birthday, July 20th,1940. A sunsuit is an old-fashioned term for a child’s one-or-two piece suit of clothes usually consisting of shorts and sleeveless top that was worn in sunny weather but could also be used as a swimsuit. Sunsuits were usually clothing worn by toddler boys, as is the case with this outfit. NMHM/DCA 2010.13.1
Hewn wooden cross made for and used in the “Milagro Beanfield War” film (1988) directed by Robert Redford and shot in Truchas, NM. The inscription reads: “Miracle Valley Project, / Rest in Peace / El Brazo Onofre” and measures 35.5” high and 17.5” wide. Redford initially donated the piece to the Museum of International Folk Art before it was transferred to the History Museum.
Dave DeWitt joined us for January’s Friends of History 1st Wednesday Lecture to discuss how he earned the name “Pope of Peppers” and his new book that charts the spread of chile peppers throughout the world.
The Museum’s Friends of History group organizes a monthly lecture on New Mexico history by a historian, held on the the first Wednesday of each month. Informative/Promotional Text we are adding to FoH related online postings/Lecture descriptions: Friends of History is a volunteer support group for the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Its mission is to raise funds and public awareness for the Museum’s exhibitions and programs. Friends of History fulfills its mission by offering high quality public history programs, including the First Wednesday Lecture Series. For more information, or to join the Friends of History, go to friendsofhistorynm.org
Jeanna Gienke of Opuntia Cafe is our Creative Mornings speaker for December. This month’s topic is Biophilia and Jeanne will be talking about principles of biophilic design and how they’ve been used to create the atmosphere of Opuntia Cafe.
Photo: Deb Haaland in front of U.S. Capitol Building, January 4, 2019 Photo by: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, of New Mexico’s First Congressional District, is nominated to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior!
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement upon reports that President-elect Joe Biden will nominate U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland:
“This is an historic day for New Mexico and for the United States of America. This is a proud day for indigenous peoples everywhere, not least in New Mexico. Rep. Deb Haaland is a woman of integrity, tenacity and heart. She is a leader, a fighter and a tireless advocate. A proud daughter of Laguna Pueblo, she has made it her life’s work to represent and deliver for not only her home and her people but the interests of everyone – she stands for all New Mexicans, for a just and equitable society and a better future for all of us. And now she will represent New Mexico on the national stage, and I am so incredibly proud to know her as a colleague and as a friend. I hope all New Mexicans will join me in congratulating Deb, and her family, and in thanking the president-elect for his vote of confidence in one of our state’s most dedicated champions. I greatly look forward to working with a Secretary Haaland on the issues that matter deeply to our tribes and pueblos and to all New Mexicans.”
New Mexico’s Jewish community is celebrating Hanukkah this week, in much the same way as other Jewish communities around the world. The holiday commemorates a rededication of their Temple after the first time that Jews had ever fought in battle to preserve their religious liberties in 165 BC. They needed oil to re-light the lamp, and after the attack only found enough to burn for one day. Miraculously, the tiny bit of oil lasted for eight days, until new supplies arrived and the Temple was restored.
The miracle of the oil is symbolized in Jewish homes by the lighting of the menorah with eight lights, starting with one light and each night one more is lit. The miracle of the oil is remembered in the kitchen as well, and it is traditional to eat foods fried in oil at this time.
The all time favorite is the traditional potato latke, which is a savory potato pancake. Here is how to make your own latkes to try at home, and enjoy them served as a side dish, traditionally served with apple sauce and/or sour cream. Highly recommended: some green or red chile on top!
You can download a pdf of this recipe by following THIS LINK.
A look at the Gustave Baumann book Indian Pottery Old and New
The Press at the Palace of the Governors
announces with great pleasure
A NEW Book by Gustave Baumann
Indian Pottery Old and New
An entry in the December 31,1919 issue of El Palacio magazine reported an exhibit of woodcut prints by Gustave Baumann. On display were pages of what the article called a “wonder book,” Indian Pottery Old and New, said to have been printed in an edition of 50 copies. That showing, and another in Chicago in 1920, were the last times the work was seen in public, and the book was little-known to collectors and admirers of Baumann’s work for nearly a century. Only a few of the fifty copies planned for that 1919 edition were completed, and no more than a dozen are found today in museum, library or private collections. In 1937 Baumann worked on a much-expanded version, and as late as 1950 he still spoke of his intent to bring out a book on Southwestern Indian pottery. So, like the book’s title, we present a book by Gustave Baumann that is both old and new. It is yet another display of the artist’s wit, ever-sharp eye and sure hand.
The block-book style text and fifteen woodcut studies of Indian pottery were carved within a year of Baumann’s arrival in Santa Fe, and we have followed the design of the booklet as he first conceived it. Variations in its black-only format were suggested by changes in his 1937 prototypes, most notably the introduction of brown background blocks carved for all of the pottery groupings. Those blocks, now in the collection of the New Mexico History Museum, are printed here for the first time. Many of the pots, so skillfully rendered, are in the collections of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and the School for Advanced Research.
One hundred forty-five copies of the book were printed by Thomas Leech and James Bourland on Baumann’s remaining supply of Arak paper made by the Whitehead and Alliger Company. That a ream of this paper remained at the time of his death in 1971 may indicate that he had been saving the paper for this very project. Handmade paper covers by Thomas Leech include Baumann’s mouse-chewed canvas tool belt (too far gone to restore), New Mexico mica, and recycled paper trimmings from some of Baumann’s other papers.
The 28-page soft cover book measures 6.75 by 8 inches and comes in a hard-cover folder made by Rosalia Galassi. The price of the book is one hundred sixty dollars, which includes USPS Priority postage.
How to Order in the Time of COVID-19
If you wish to reserve a copy of this book, please email your request to: thomas.leech@state.nm.us
(For Institutional purchases, contact Thomas Leech at the above address)
However, books will be mailed only upon receipt of check, made out to:
Museum of New Mexico Foundation
and mailed to:
Palace Press, c/o Thomas Leech
2 Casa Del Oro Loop
Santa Fe, NM 87508
(This is a museum approved teleworking location)
Please include contact information and an address where the book will be mailed.
