Cabinets of Curiosity: James Ford Bell Library
Tue, Oct 3 2023, 1pm
The James Ford Bell Library holds a treasure house of historical hand-colored maps, rare travel journals, and artifacts from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. The October UMRA Cabinets of Curiosity tour, led by Marguerite Ragnow, curator, and her assistant Anne Goode, begin with two exhibits, “Eyes on the World: Cartography in the Age of the Sail” and “Curious strangers: Views of the Other on Early Modern Maps,” including the valuable Ricci map. They will then provide direct access to several of the rare, artistic, and informative maps that undergird the era of global exploration as well as illuminated letters of James I of England to the emperors of China and Japan and an early 19th century book of costumes of China, illustrating people in a variety of walks of life/professions.
For more on the library, see: https://www.lib.umn.edu/collections/special/bell.
The event is free but registration is required. Event size is limited so register soon.
Join the tour on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, from 1-3 pm, at the Wallin Center on the ground level of Elmer L. Andersen Library, which is located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. Personal items will go into lockers. The closest parking is the Law School Parking Lot. After the tour, those interested will convene for conversation and refreshments at the Town Hall Brewery, just two blocks away.
Can’t attend this time? Look for more Cabinets of Curiosity outings in the coming months.
Questions are welcome to Sally Gregory Kohlstedt ([email protected]), Jan Morlock ([email protected]), or Cathy Lee Gierke ([email protected]).
Upcoming Events
Our July 15 "hike" is going to be a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles! If you don't have a kayak (or paddleboard), Wheel Fun Rentals, located next to the new concession stand rents single kayaks at $15 an hour and double kayaks at $25. The second hour is free if we rent before noon. Life jackets are provided with the rental.
Laura Ericksen will lead the discussion of How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger, a true story by a speech-language pathologist who taught her dog, Stella, to communicate using buttons associated with different words.
Our August 5 hike will be a reprise of our hike last summer at William O'Brien State Park. This is a beautiful park with a winding trail and a great view of the countryside. The hike is about 5.5 to 6 miles and we'll go at a moderate pace with frequent water breaks. After the hike, we will eat lunch at Rustic Roots Winery, a half mile north of the park.
Kathy Cramer will lead the discussion of The Bookbinder by Pip Williams, a book set in 1914 Oxford chronicling the life of Peggy who works in the University bindery, but craves a life beyond binding books but to being a scholar herself.
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