Web Exhibits - D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections


WEB EXHIBITS
The Web exhibits listed below take many forms. They include exhibits based on material in Special Collections, personal interests, professional activities, travel, and more. They also include collections of items, such as photographs, objects, or multi-media, or art. This material is not necessarily intended to reflect an aesthetic or cultural preference, but is intended to reflect the academic or personal interests of those who created the exhibits. Contributions are by faculty, staff, students, and community and more contributions are invited. For other collaborative exhibits see Heritage of Western North Carolina.

	ASHEVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT A brief history of the Fire Department in Asheville, NC, described by Barbara Berry, an employee of the department and a student at Asheville-Buncombe County Technical College. Early photographs of the Fire Department are derived from the Ramsey Library Special Collections.

	BILTMORE INDUSTRIES ARCHIVE EXHIBIT & HISTORY An exploration of the many people, documents and letters associated with Biltmore Industries, Inc., a large hand-weaving industry located in Asheville, North Carolina that was in various states of operation from about 1917 - 1980. The exhibit also includes Biltmore Estate Industries operated by Charlotte Yale and Eleanor Vance, whose craft industry efforts formed the foundation of the later Biltmore Industries.

	BILTMORE INDUSTRIES: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW An historical overview of Biltmore Industry in Asheville, North Carolina and the events leading to its creation and its eventual closure. Biltmore Industries, Inc. was one of the most important craft industries in the Southern Appalachians and richly documents the rise and decline of handicraft in the region as industrialization pushed hand-craft to its economic limits.

	EAST COAST PIEDMONT BLUES http://toto.lib.unca.edu/sounds/piedmontblues/Default.htm Bio-bibliography and research guide on blues musicians from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and surrounding region compiled by students enrolled in the Liberal Studies Introductory Colloquia, "The Art of the Blues" (Fall 2005) and "Jazz and Blues in American Culture" (Fall 2003). Project Advisor is Bryan Sinclair.

	THE FAMILY STORE:A History of Jewish Businesses in Downtown Asheville, 1880-1990 A virtual exhibit of The Family Store: A History of Jewish Businesses in Downtown Asheville, 1880-1990 , a twelve-station exhibit that was located at sites around downtown Asheville, North Carolina where former Jewish businesses used to thrive. Created by independent researchers, Jan Schocket and Sharon Fahrer, the exhibit "showcases a time when all downtowns were destinations of purpose, providing the items necessary for daily life, from groceries to clothing to restaurants."

	FRED SEELY'S WOMEN A look at Turn-of-the-Century entrepreneurship and the women who worked for Fred Seely, an important civic leader in Asheville, NC. As the builder of the Grove Park Inn and the later owner of the craft industries called Biltmore Industries, Seely was a powerful influence on the culture and business climate of Asheville. The coverage is from the turn of the century through the years just following WWI.

	FRED LORING SEELY & AMERICAN E.N.K.A. ( Eerste Nederlandsche Kunzydfabriek Arnhem) A CORPORATION IN BUNCOMBE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA 1928-1942 An exhibit of material that traces the influence of Fred Loring Seely, the architect of the Grove Park Inn and owner of Biltmore Industries, on the recruitment of American E.N.K.A. to the Asheville area in the late 1920's.

	GREEK AND RUSSIAN ORTHODOX COMMUNITIES, ASHEVILLE, NC A Public History class project that explores two diverse communities in Asheville, North Carolina through interviews, photographs, documents, food, and religious practice. Spring 2008

	ISSUES IN ART HISTORY: MUSEUM STUDIES - ART HISTORY DEPARTMENT - (AHD/MLA 460) A virtual exhibit of objects chosen by students in the Art History Department course, Issues in Art History - Museum Studies from materials found in the D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections or in the Asheville or surrounding Appalachian region. The small web exhibits demonstrate the variety of labels often created for art objects and includes an expository essay on the chosen topic. Five labels were created by each student in the class from objects of their choosing. The papers that accompany the selected objects provide background the foundation for the student exploration of museum studies. This virtual exhibit of labeled objects and papers is the result of the work the class produced over the course of a semester. The primary source materials chosen for this exhibit include documents, drawings, photographs, ceramics, quilts, film, publications , brochures, mosaics, and more. Materials are drawn from Black Mountain College (Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, UNCA) Biltmore Industries Archive (UNCA) Craft Revival: Shaping Western North Carolina Past and Present (WCU) Charles Counts and Rising Fawn Pottery D.H. Ramsey Library Art Collections (UNCA) Pine Mountain Settlement School Archive, Pine Mountain, KY John C. Campbell Folk School Southern Highlands Craft Guild Mrs. Walter L. Massie Collection of Jesse Morris Photographs of Oteen Hospital (UNCA) Stuart Nye Jewelry The Conquest of Canaan, a silent film, Asheville Historic Resources Commission (UNCA) Pauline Miller Cowan Collection [Tryon Toymakers and Carvers], (UNCA)

	NOT SO 'BACK OF BEYOND': URBAN ECHOES ON THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY As part of the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, this exhibit, "Not So 'Back of Beyond': Urban Echoes on the Blue Ridge Parkway," explores the many urban influences on the aesthetics, politics, socioeconomics, people, and environment of the Parkway, particularly the western North Carolina section. The exhibit includes a variety of heritage and contemporary photographs, documents, drawings, and objects that background the construction, use, and future of the Parkway.

	NORTH CAROLINA JAZZ MUSICIANS http://toto.lib.unca.edu/sounds/ncjazz.html Bio-bibliography and research guide on jazz musicians from the Tar Heel State. Included are major 20^th century jazz figures (John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone), forgotten sidemen, unknown early musicians and band leaders, contemporary recording artists, and jazz educators. Portions of this guide were originally published in the Fall-Winter 2001 issue of North Carolina Libraries.

	PACK: A NAME THAT WILL ENDURE A historical overview of the life of George W. Pack and the public square in Asheville, North Carolina that bears his name.

	PEOPLE TO PEOPLE INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIANS PROFESSIONAL DELEGATION TO RUSSIA NOVEMBER 9-18, 2007 The exhibit documents the travel of the CRL Delegation to Moscow and St. Petersburg and their meetings with key Russian libraries.

	SPECULATION LANDS COLLECTION Both a comprehensive web site and web exhibit that documents the early settlement of western North Carolina and the many legal and ethical issues related to land purchase and exchange that occurred during the period from 1774 - 1923.

	WRITERS & MOUNTAINS An exhibit prepared for the Encore program at NC State University that came to UNC Asheville in the winter of 2007. The exhibit builds on information gathered by D.H. Ramsey Library in 1982 and that focuses on Southern Appalachian Writers. Through an exploration of space and place, this exhibit looks at the relationship of Southern Appalachian mountain geography to the writing process and to the creation of what is often referred to as a "sense of place."
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