Do You Want Your Receipt?

How old are the oldest objects in the Alice collection? Approximately 4,000 years! What are they? fossils?... a saber toothed tiger tooth? No, and no... there are fossils in the collection, no teeth though - and saber toothed tigers were long gone by the time these objects were created. These are human-made objects inscribed with the earliest known writing system in the world - cuneiform.

Cuneiform evolved from a more pictographic type of writing using stylized representations of real objects. The lines employed to represent each object evolved as they were pared down and simplified, gradually becoming words that no longer looked like the objects they described. The writing was incised in moist clay with a stylus made of a sharpened reed, and the clay tablets were in turn baked to preserve the writing. Cuneiform writing was developed in southern Mesopotamia by the Sumerians over 5,000 years ago, and was later adopted in the same region by the Babylonians and others.

Included in the eclectic collection in the American Indian Room at The Alice are five small clay tablets, each less than two inches square, all created in 2100 - 2400 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia, (which roughly corresponds geographically with modern Iraq). Two of our cuneiform tablets were found at Drehem, and three at Tell Jokha. Drehem is the modern name for the ancient city of Pazurish-Dagan, which was known as a distribution area for ancient Mesopotamia. Livestock was brought to Pazurish-Dagan to be redistributed to temples, officials and palaces in nearby Nippur. The two tablets in our collection found in Drehem are both receipts for sheep; one to be brought to market, with the others to be offered to the temple in honor of the gods Bel and Belit.

Tell Jokha is the modern name for the Sumerian city of Umma. Two of the tablets from this area are receipts for temple offerings or supplies, but the third is a bit more interesting because it is a list of supplies given to a temple messenger for a journey, and the items include oil, dates and bread. This particular piece is made from clay that is darker than the other four, and it has many more words contained in a tighter, more concisely written script.

Object X.2909 in The Alice collection.

This tablet lists supplies given to a temple messenger needed for a journey. Dated ca. 2350 B.C.

Another of the tablets found at Tell Jokha is described in the accompanying card... "A typical receipt of the temple offerings. After the tablet was written, and while the clay was still soft, the Temple Scribe rolled over the entire tablet his cylindrical stone seal, and the seal impression made it impossible to change the record. Seal impression bears name of scribe in raised characters, the seated figure of the Moon-god Sin of Ur, and the standing figures of priests. Dated about 2350 B.C."

Object X.2911 in The Alice collection. Dated ca. 2350 B.C.

If the date given these tablets is correct, they would have been produced during the Early Bronze Age in the area between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers... an area many scholars have referred to as the cradle of civilization. Year-round farming was first started in this area. By fostering a less migratory civilization with a large population base and a specialized work force, this method of farming contributed to the development of a written language. We can see that livestock, for example, was often moved to centralized locations near big cities to be distributed to temples, officials and palaces. This soon required development of a method to keep records of the myriad transactions.

It's exciting for me to closely inspect these small square pieces of clay and muse about the busy ancient civilization that created them. Cuneiform was in use and continued to evolve for approximately another 3,000 years. The eventual extinction of cuneiform, however, was so complete that the meaning of the writing was completely lost until around 1850 A.D. The clay tablets are so old, and were used by people with lives so different from our own, but they served a currently common purpose - receipts! They were not created as works of art, but instead as necessary objects of daily life. These little tablets would not fit in your wallet, but they will last much longer than your grocery receipt!

An illustration of the ancient cities of Sumer, a civilization and historical region centered during the Early Bronze Age around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

Likeness in Profile

Art and history can often be found in the most surprising places. For example, while driving along the interstate recently, I spotted a silhouette... we've all seen her - she may be the most commonly reproduced silhouette of our time - mud flap girl! Although this may seem to some a modern and novel way to depict a beautiful woman, this type of illustration has a long history and was once a very popular form of low-cost portraiture.

The Alice's collection holds a lovely group of thirty slightly more sophisticated silhouettes of men, women and children, collected by Alice in the early 20th century. The silhouettes are displayed together in the Sheraton Room on the second floor. They are wonderful little gems, exhibited in a wide variety of metal and wooden frames. Most are portraits of unnamed persons, but we know who a few of the people are - Benjamin Franklin, Martha Washington, John Ruskin, Aaron Burr, you may not recognize other names; Oscar Dinsmore-Davis (age 10 months and four days,) Margaret Davidson (her daughter was a poetic prodigy who died quite young,) Lucretia Platt, Alexander Potter, Eugenie (which may be the likeness of Empress Eugenie - wife of Napoleon III, and the last Empress of the French.)

Eugenie, 1870

The silhouette collection runs the gamut of the ways people were pictured - from the view of only the head, to full body profiles. One of the latter method depicts Alexander Potter and his dog. The Potter silhouette was created in 1829 by Auguste Amant Constant Fidéle Edouart (1789-1861.) Mr. Potter's and his dog's silhouettes were cut out of black paper and mounted on white paper, on which a split rail fence was lightly painted. The riding crop he holds is partly of cut paper and partly painted.

Alexander Potter by Aug. Edouart 1829 photo: PHOTOPIA/Shaun Heffernan

On the back of our Edouart silhouette is the following printed label,

"LIKENESS IN PROFILE
Executed by Mons. Edouart,

Who begs to observe, that his Likenesses are produced by the Scissors alone, and are preferable to any taken by Machines, inasmuch as by the above method, the expression of the Passions, and peculiarities of Character, are brought into action, in a style which has not hitherto been attempted by any other Artist..."

The methods used to create these images also varied widely, some were cut black silhouettes, mounted on white paper (which may be blank, or painted, or lithographed with a background scene) - some had the white paper as the cut silhouette which was then mounted on black - still others were produced by painting directly on glass, wax, plaster, or even ivory.

Auguste Edouart began cutting silhouettes in 1825 to prove an argument - he tells a story of "bustling the old father into a proper position, seizing a pair of scissors from a work basket, blacking a quickly torn piece of paper with the candle snuffers, and snipping a silhouette infinitely superior to the mechanical shade the family had been commending. It was at once approved of and found so like, that the ladies changed their teasing and ironical tone to praises, and begged me to take their mother's likeness, which I did with the same facility and exactness." Clearly Edouart was somewhat arrogant, but many others admired his work.

Auguste Edouart self portrait

Edouart was born in Dunkirk, France, fought valiantly in Napoleon's army and was decorated. He later moved to England where he traveled the country cutting portraits of British and French nobility. He came to the U.S. in 1839, just a few months before the daguerreotype made it to America, and stayed for ten years cutting silhouettes of Presidents and well-known Americans. On the return journey his ship sank and most of the folios full of copies of his thousands of silhouettes were lost. It is said that he never produced another after that ill-fated day.

Tracing the shadow of a figure thrown onto the wall was a means of portraiture employed as early as the Greek culture. This method did not receive the name "silhouette" until the 18th century, when it was named for a French finance minister who enjoyed creating likenesses made of cut paper... an inexpensive and fun method of portraiture. Other terms include; shade, scissor writing, paper profiles, paper cuts, black shades (a term Edouart hated!,) shadows, and profiles. The most famous English silhouette artist was John Miers (1756-1821.) Alice Miner also acquired a Miers silhouette of the head of a young woman created with black ink on gessoed plaster.

Head of a young woman by Miers, 19th century

Silhouettes became less prominent with the invention of the camera, rapidly losing popularity in the United States after 1840. They continued to be a type of artwork found at fairs and tourist sites for much of the 20th century, and silhouette artists can still be found today, selling their unique brand of portraiture as a more specialized and nostalgic niche item. If you might be thinking of becoming a silhouette artist, you would do well to visit The Alice and study our collection!

Tours are at 10:00, noon, and 2:00 Tuesday - Saturday.

Manual Cooling...

There are no less than twenty-four meanings listed for the word "fan" on Dictionary.com. We click a button on Facebook to become a "fan"... we fan out the cards to do a magic trick... but the only kind of fans I can think about these HOT and humid days are the ones that can produce a lovely breeze!

This is a serious fan... to provide maximum cooling, or at least adornment for the photographic subject.

The Alice collection holds eighteen beautiful fans of ivory, lithographed paper, feathers, mother-of-pearl, lace, voile, ebonized wood, lacquered wood, and even black satin. No, you wouldn't plug these particular fans into the wall socket to produce a breeze. Instead you would gracefully and languidly twitter the fan with your hand to cool your blushing cheeks!

Francisco de Goya "Woman with Fan" Louvre Museum

Left: Mother-of-pearl and lace fan. Right: Fan of printed and hand-tinted paper showing a pastoral scene, pierced ivory staves, silvered and gilded. The fan on the right has the added bonus of a tiny mirror on the outer stave.

Fans were so commonly used in the 18th and 19th century that they were even occasionally designed as a part of a woman's ensemble. These accoutrements served to cool an overheated lady while also adorning her in the ways she might wear jewelry today. The fan complimented one's attire, and even helped a young woman communicate with the men around her. Look up "The Language of the Fan" on the web and you will discover a language lost (and unnecessary?) to the modern woman.

French hand-colored lithographic fan with ebonized wood staves, mid 19th century.

Painted black satin fan with ebonized staves, showing a bullfight and Spanish dancers, circa 1885.

French painted paper fan with pierced ivory staves, painted with scenes after Watteau.

Detail of the ornate, florid decorations after Watteau.

(Photo: PHOTOPIA/Shaun Heffernan) Chinese intricately carved ivory fan, circa 1900, inside a Victorian Tunbridge Ware wood fan box showing a romantic landscape inlaid design on the cover and lined with silk, 19th century... being admired (?) by a bronze and ivory sculpture of Napoleon.

On these eighty-something degree days here at The Alice I find myself peering around my desk for something to fan myself as I type. Of course, I can't go up to the Lincoln Library, open the chest of drawers and borrow a lady's fan with French hand-tinted lithograph held by ebonized wood staves... for one thing, it wouldn't match my outfit!

Gazing into the Future... and Other Rites of Passage

High school graduation is often the first significant secular ritual in the lives of young Americans. There are other rituals in which we may participate earlier in life - we celebrate birthdays, observe family traditions, we participate in religious ceremonies and rites... but walking across the stage, reaching out to shake the Principal's hand while claiming one's diploma is a distinctly individual accomplishment... It's a moment we have earned - and an important rite of passage.

The term "Rite of Passage" was coined by anthropologist Arnold van Gennep, and was the title of his 1909 book. He stated that passage rituals consist of three stages: Separation (from society), then Transformation, and finally - Return to society with New Status.

As I learn more about Chazy Central Rural School and it's traditions I have admired how they have managed to retain many of their traditions from the very early days of the school. There are numerous rituals CCRS students experience, either directly or as observers, over the course of their years at Chazy. In just a few weeks I hope to attend Class Day, which is a Rite of Passage for Juniors, and a very powerful ritual and Rite of Passage for graduating Seniors.

At The Alice we have a wonderful mercury glass gazing ball that has been in the collection since the 1920s. I think of rites of passage when I see the gazing ball in the first floor hall. For a number of years this object was used on Class Day to predict the future of graduating Seniors.



The story goes that William and Alice Miner's employee, John M. Maslowski, and another worker from Heart's Delight Farm would drive to The Alice T. Miner Museum, collect the gazing ball from the Director/Curator, drive around to CCRS (as Mr. Maslowski held the gazing ball gently in the back seat,) and deliver it to the auditorium stage - returning the object to the museum in the same careful way after the ceremony. For those of you who have not been to The Alice - walking with the object over to our neighboring school would have taken about the same amount of time - but was not considered a safe enough mode of delivery, I presume!

Mercury glass is not actually made with mercury, but is clear glass blown with a double wall and coated inside with a silvering formula inserted through the hole left by the punty rod (the rod attached to the glass while it is being blown.) The hole is then plugged and the object is complete!

This method of producing mercury glass was developed in Germany in the early 19th century and was used as an inexpensive type of silver substitute - one that would not tarnish. Many candlesticks, doorknobs, vases, sugar bowls, goblets, and gazing balls were produced using this method. One method of production did incorporate the use of mercury, but it was found to be too toxic and more expensive than the more popular lining.

Critics of mercury glass felt it looked too much like a mirror and not enough like silver - but proponents liked it for this very reason. And, any thief could tell when they were looking at inexpensive mercury glass, and not at silver!

These days Alice's mercury glass gazing ball tells no tales at CCRS of future conquests. It merely sits in a quiet corner of the hall until Christmas decorating time, when it often comes out to be graced by a garland and placed on a windowsill for maximum effect. Yet if one were to visit our museum and pause to gaze into it, oh the tales it might yield of both the past, and one's bright future!

Alice on Ivory

When you visit our museum website (www.minermuseum.org) the first image you see is a lovely painted portrait of Alice T. Miner welcoming you to the site. The original, on loan from Miner Institute, sits on a table in the Parlor here at the museum, and it is truly a lovely image. The portrait was done on ivory by Mira Edgerly Korzybski, a well-known woman artist in her day. Miniature painted portraiture had fallen off in popularity with the rise of photography, but the genre was making a come-back with artists who appreciated the works they were still seeing in Europe.

Alice T. Miner painted portrait by Mira Edgerly, ca. 1915

A largely self-taught artist, Mira Edgerly was born in Illinois in 1879, but grew up in Michigan where her father was an inventor and the director of the Michigan Central Railroad. Her fascination with drawing started when she was quite young, and as a teen she was sent to Europe to study art in England and Paris. Mira later studied at the Art Institute in San Francisco where she met and posed for her friend, photographer Arnold Genthe. John Singer Sargent urged her to pursue her love of portraiture by painting on ivory.

Mira Edgerly Burt (Mr. Burt was her first husband) portrait by Arnold Genthe

Mira Edgerly eventually took the medium one step further by painting on larger pieces of ivory, such as the 4.5"x 10" portrait of our founder, Alice T. Miner. Mira chose more translucent pieces of ivory to give greater luminescence to her colors, ordering the large pieces from London. Her skills were in demand around the world and she painted portraits of socialites, statesman and the upper echelons of American and European society in New York, London, Paris, San Francisco, Chicago, and Latin America.

In 1919 Mira Edgerly married her second husband Alfred Korzybski, a Polish-American philosopher and scientist best known for developing the theory of General Semantics. She led an extremely interesting life! She worked to forward the career of Gertrude Stein, and painted a portrait of Princess Patricia, a grand daughter of Queen Victoria, while in Ottawa. Mira Edgerly is mentioned in the autobiography of Alice B. Toklas in 1933, "Mildred Aldrich once brought a very extraordinary person Myra Edgerly. I remembered very well that when I was quite young and went to a fancy-dress ball, a Mardi Gras ball in San Francisco, I saw a very tall and very beautiful and very brilliant woman there. This was Myra Edgerly young. Genthe, the well known photographer did endless photographs of her, mostly with a cat. She had come to London as a miniaturist and she had one of those phenomenal successes that Americans do have in Europe. She had miniatured everybody, and the royal family, and she had maintained her earnest gay careless outspoken San Francisco way through it all."

An independent and strong character seemed to sustain her and help further her career as well as those of her friends. Today, however, there is not much known about Ms. Korzybski. Her work can be found at The Art Institute in Chicago, and there is a large collection of her personal papers, letters, journals and photographs, along with forty of her ivory portraits at Columbia University in New York City. But if you are in northern New York, you need only travel to The Alice to see an amazing example of her work!

Charles F. Moore Civil War Letters

The Alice has a very diverse and deep collection. The most obvious elements of the collection are those one would see on a tour of the museum: decorative arts, furniture, samplers, pewter settings, lovely paintings, engravings, and prints... What most visitors do not explore are the archives.

Among the many letters, photographs, and papers in the archives relating to Alice and William Miner are; postcards from Europe, volumes full of holiday cards from the 1900s, letters written by famous Americans such as Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, journals written by William Miner's relatives, and a wonderful collection of over 100 Japanese woodblock prints.


I have written about a few of these precious documents before, and exhibited may of those mentioned. A few years ago the museum transposed a very interesting collection of letters written by a north country lad named Charles Moore. These letters are on our website, www.minermuseum.org, as a permanent "floating" exhibit. We have placed images of the letters along with a typed version for easy reading.


If you would like to read about young Mr. Moore's experiences serving as Quartermaster with the 16th NY Infantry and later with 16th NY Sprague Light Cavalry defending Washington, DC, in his own words, simply go to the website, click the "Enter" button on the front page, and then click the link next to President Lincoln's photograph on the top right of every page.

An Ode to the Farmer and the Harvest

We have often seen a bumper sticker that says, "No Farms No Food." This may be interpreted in a few different ways, but - as have other professions - the farming community has been advertising its contributions to society for hundreds of years. As tools used on the farm have evolved, so have the methods of keeping the farmers' perspective fresh in the minds of the consuming public.

"Arms" Jug ca. 1800

We have just a few objects in the museum collection that would be used on the farm - a scythe or two, a beautiful hay rake, and milk collecting jugs. The museum also houses some interesting farm propaganda tools. The most charming is a two-handled mug (or jug as it would have been referred to) made around 1800. As mugs go, this one is large - holding approximately 32 ounces. The white exterior is decorated in polychrome colors and illustrated on one side with a farmer and his wife, various farm implements, animals and crops. On the opposite side is a twelve-line poem surrounded by a border of farm tools and products. The inside rim of our mug is decorated in a simple stylized design of wheat stalks and green leaves.

Book label pasted on the inside front cover of the above book. Alice and
William often had labels on the books kept at Heart's Delight Farm.

This style of jug was originally made by Richard Abbey (1720-1801) in Liverpool, England. Our copy of "The Old China Book" by N. Hudson Moore, published in 1903, mentions this was one of a series of "Arms" jugs created by Abbey. The museum copy of this book is well worn and has the Heart's Delight Farm library label pasted inside the front cover. This indicates it was one of Alice's personal reference books. Many of her tomes in the museum collection are reference books about decorative arts. Alice clearly wanted to know as much as she could about the objects she was collecting.

According to Moore there are Arms jugs for many professions; including the Blacksmith, with the motto "By Hammer and Hand All Arts Do Stand," the Baker, the Butcher, and even the Hatter. The motto on the Farmer's jug is "The Husbandman's Diligence Provides Bread." The lines on the back of the jug read;

"Let the wealthy and great
Roll in splendour and state.
I envy them not I declare it.
I eat my own lamb
My own chickens and ham.
I shear my own fleece and I wear it.
I have lawns I have bowers
I have fruits I have flowers.
The lark is my morning alarmer:
So my jolly boys now
Heres God speed the plough.
Long life and success to the farmer."

This poem has been used for many years in songs and odes under various titles: "The Farmer's Toast," "God Speed the Plough," and "The Farmer's Creed" being a few we have identified. It may have been borrowed from a popular song of the day, however, it's unclear to us which came first. The originator of the Arms mugs was a talented engraver who may have drawn on popular sayings or songs for the poem to support his design.

According to museum records this jug has been in Alice's collection since before 1917. That is the year Alice's dear friend and fellow collector, Emma Hodge, wrote a catalog of her porcelain collection. Undoubtedly, being the advocate he was for farmers and their hard working ways, William Miner also appreciated the sentiment this jug bears!

And so, in honor of the harvest which feeds us through the winter months, "Long life and success to the farmer!"

Deck the Halls

On Thursday, December 10 The Alice will start the holiday season off in high style with a visit from Martha Gallagher, The Adirondack Harper. Martha is calling the show Deck the Halls and will play holiday favorites to help you get into the spirit of the season!

Because seating is limited and Martha is such a popular performer, reservations are required. Make sure you have a seat at this event - reserve by calling 518-846-7336, or send an email to director@minermuseum.org.

Martha Gallagher has been sharing her spirited, distinctive, and richly varied music with audiences for over 30 years. Known in the northeastern region of New York, where she makes her home, as The Adirondack Harper, she has performed with such luminaries as six-time Grammy winners, The Chieftains. Her extensive solo tours have taken her around the U.S. and into Canada, with several tours sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts. She has been featured on numerous television and radio programs; most recent appearances include BBC Television, Northeast Public Radio, and Good Morning America.

Laborare est Orare

I wanted to share an article I recently read from our archives about William H. Miner from the "Bell Telephone News" April, 1921:

Work is Worship

"Laborare est orare,"
Sang a monk of olden time,
Sang it at the early matins,
Sang it at the vesper chime.
"Work is worship," toil is holy,
Let this thought our zeal inspire.
Every deed done well and nobly,
Burns with sacrificial fire.

"Laborare est orare,"
Watch-word of the olden time,
Let us take it for our motto,
Serving in this later time.
"Work is worship," God, my brothers,
Takes our toil as homage sweet,
And accepts as signs of worship,
Well worn hands and weary feet.

~ Thomas Handford

The poem reproduced here hangs in the office of William H. Miner, who has for eleven years been a director in the Illinois Bell Telephone Company.

When told that we intended to print the poem in The Bell Telephone News, Mr. Miner asked us to say that anyone who would take the thought expressed in these verses as the motive power of his life, would make himself a good citizen and solve the secret of true happiness.

You want to know more about Mr. Miner? We thought so, and we asked him to tell us, but he just smiled - he is a big man with a whole souled smile - and said, "Tell them I am just a farmer."

But what a farmer!

Many years ago he went into the field of invention and planted some good ideas which grew into a fine crop of appliances for increasing the security of and efficiency in railway operation and which are in use on almost all freight cars. The harvest was golden and plenteous.

Then he bought the farm on which he was born (This is not quite accurate - his father was born on the Chazy farm, but William was born in Wisconsin.) and the next one to that and then the next, and so on until he had more than 11,000 acres.

Then he proceeded to smash all records agriculturally. Not satisfied to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before, he put the minimum at six blades. His was the tallest and finest stand of corn; of wheat; of barley.

He bewildered the vegetable world by growing peas as big as onions and onions as big as melons.

Then he sowed a line of boulders across a valley and they grew into a great dam which caught the cool and glistening waters from a thousand springs in the hills, for the use of all of the people for miles about.

Then he broke into another field where children lived and where there were briers and weeds and poison ivy, and he ploughed them out and he made to grow a great schoolhouse next to the corn and wheat and barley.

Now every autumn there is a rich harvest of hundreds of the coming fathers, mother, citizens, statesmen, merchants, farmers, etc. - red-cheeked, bright-eyed youngsters, made sure and strong for the tasks and burdens that they must soon take on, by the helping hand of this great-hearted farmer.

Bountiful Lord - send us a few more farmers like this one!

This "Bell Telephone News" article was written before William and Alice Miner built Physicians' Hospital in Plattsburgh and The Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy... I would love to read the farming analogies this author would have come up with to describe those two wonderful contributions to the North Country!

Engineer as Artist - 1588

When it comes to books we all have our preferences... I appreciate a story that draws me in so fully that I forget to eat dinner. And, as a visual artist, I am naturally enticed by drawings and prints. Since my first summer on the job, one of my favorite books here at The Alice has been Agostino Ramelli's, "Dell' Artificiose Machine". This tome first caught my eye because of it's strong cream-colored leather binding. It has simple, elegant, gold foliate designs on the spine framing the author, title, and "Parigi 1588." Bindings like this are relatively rare due to the skill and attention it takes to create them.


As soon as I opened the cover and looked at some of the illustrations within, my curiosity was piqued - I had to know more. The book is comprised primarily of images, with the text serving mainly to explain the objects that occupy well over a third of the pages. The illustrations, intricate in their detail and precision, are comprised of very detailed drawings of machines - among them are whimsical designs for water pumps, derricks, mills, bridges, and even looms!


The above image illustrates a very specialized library table Ramelli imagined. This revolving table is designed for someone who, suffering from gout, could not get around easily. In each compartment one would place a different book to study or enjoy!

Agostino Ramelli was a military engineer who obviously had an eye for artful detail. In his youth he studied mathematics and architecture. He was a product of the Renaissance, with its emphasis on education through classical sources combined with a search for realism and human emotion in art. The beautiful details Ramelli included in his works illuminate his desire to include a human element in each diagram. They often include whimsical spouts on illustrations of wells, generally in the shape of a mythical creature or animal head, with the water pouring out of the mouth. Many of the etchings involve humans - sometimes powering the machines by walking on huge wheels to turn the cogs and gears, or at other times collecting the water as it pours from the spout.


In the above illustration the creature's head that forms the spout even has flowers in its hair! Presumably, these would have been conceived of by Ramelli as carved stone sculptural elements serving to enhance the beauty of his machines.

Ramelli's work was one of the first of its kind to have drawings so finely and accurately detailed that you could actually construct the machines by using his images as a reference. He wrote this volume for the French royal court, thus the text is in French and Italian.

I encourage all engineers and aficionados of beautiful art alike to come to The Alice to see "Dell' Artificiose Machine" while it is currently on exhibit!

@ The Alice - Friday, November 6

We have a fun evening in store for visitors and friends of The Alice coming up on the first Friday in November... Tim Hartnett will be joining us at 7:00 pm for an evening of song!

Tim was raised in a family that loved to sing songs together. At age 11 he was inspired by his sister Seana to learn guitar, along with the popular melodies of the day. Many a good time was had at the family home enjoying rousing sing-alongs with the friends who would frequently drop by.

I've enjoyed listening to Tim sing and play guitar many times over the years. Tim has an amazing memory and appreciation for music, lyrics, and songs - and he exudes a joy that flows through every performance. Perhaps you can think of a popular tune Tim won't know? That is a real challenge!

Tim’s musical resume is lengthy and varied. He has appeared as a solo performer, in several duets with women (including his sister Seana), and in numerous bands whose music ranges from country, blues, jazz, pop, and rock. Presently he performs with singer/songwriter Julie Canepa, the jazz/blues/pop combo PureBlue, and occasionally with the Zip City Blues Band.

Seating in the ballroom of The Alice is limited, it's a good idea to reserve your space by calling 846-7336, or sending an email to director@minermuseum.org. The show is $5 at the door, we hope you'll come to the museum on November 6 to relax and enjoy a true minstrel!

Carved in Stone... Cast in Bronze

I recently visited the cemetery in Chazy where Alice and William Miner are interred. Also buried at Riverview are William Miner's grandparents, Lydia and Clement Miner, and his Aunt Huldah and Uncle John Miner, who raised him after his parents died (Will's mother and father are buried in Wisconsin and Ohio respectively.) Entombed in the mausoleum with Alice and William is their infant child, William Miner, Jr., and Alice's three sisters Matilda, Bertha and Louise Trainer.

A note, written by William Miner in 1925, served to secure

the area for the Miner/Trainer mausoleum.

Riverview Cemetery was incorporated in 1920 but has been continually in use since 1811, possibly earlier. The land, and a few of the homes around the old cemetery, were purchased by William H. Miner in 1916, and he deeded the cemetery and one house to Riverview Cemetery, Inc. in 1920. In 1926 Alice and William built the stone chapel and in 1927 the mausoleum. The plans were drawn up by Frederick Townsend, the architect who designed The Alice T. Miner Museum, Chazy Central Rural School, Physicians' Hospital and many of the buildings on Heart's Delight Farm.

The earliest plans, drawn up by Townsend in 1918,
depict a rather stately structure.

Frederick Townsend's final drawing shows a more rustic building...
The Alice holds the sketches for the mausoleum, the
stone chapel and the museum in its archives.

For the first time I had the opportunity to see the inside of the mausoleum, a solidly built stone structure... I found the workmanship on the interior absolutely breath-taking, which was a surprise after studying the somewhat plain exterior of the building. The mausoleum is entered through a bronze gate with the initials "T M" which is repeated along with a bronze wreath inlaid in the marble floor.

As with all of the Miner structures,
the mausoleum was clearly built to last.

The plaque placed above the door to the mausoleum is inscribed with the
names of the members of the Trainer and Miner families interred within.

The interior of the mausoleum is beautifully decorated with mosaic tiles carefully handset in artistic designs, and seven colors of polished marble are arranged for the floor. The walls feature inlaid glass tile borders which are repeated throughout the space. The back wall is decorated with marble that was cut and then laid out as though unfolding a piece of paper, creating interesting rorschach images. The most interesting, yet subtle, image is just above a pink marble urn in the rear of the chamber. The urn may have been filled with fresh cut flowers from Heart's Delight Farm.

In the rear of the chamber, above a stained glass window, an
intertwined 'T' and 'M' are framed with a mosaic border.

The tiles used in the borders appear to be hand cut and are quite small - none larger than one inch. The room has a lovely domed ceiling with a glass and bronze light fixture. Clearly the best artisans available at the time were hired to create the lovely detail and lasting workmanship displayed is this final resting place for Alice T. Miner (1863-1950), William H. Miner (1862-1930), William Jr. (March 16, 1902 - March 30, 1902), Matilda Trainer (1851-1916), Bertha Trainer (1857-1928), and Louise Trainer (1861-1932).

The Khrabroff Collection

There is a wonderful variety of characters and historical figures to learn about at The Alice, with research frequently focusing on one General or another. On the second floor of the museum, in a little space that houses cases of dolls, is a photo of a Russian General - General Nicholas Khrabroff, who originally came to the United States from Russia as President of the Artillery Commission. From 1915-1917 the Russian Artillery Commission was based in New York, its mission to negotiate purchase of munitions and other artillery supplies for the Imperial Russian government.

The arms shortage in Russia was so acute during WWI, that by 1916 Russian soldiers were being sent to the front lines without arms, hoping they would equip themselves with weapons recovered from fallen soldiers from either side. Efforts at weapons production in Russia were greatly stepped-up and attempts to procure weapons overseas were intensified. Then came great turmoil in Russia, spurred on partly by the poor treatment of soldiers and massive loss of life in WWI.

Mrs. Khrabroff looks on as Nicholas Khrabroff puts the
finishing touches to the base of a pair of dolls.

By December, 1917 General Khrabroff was still acting in his role to procure arms, despite the changes in Government occurring in his country precipitated by the Russian Revolution. There is still question whether he could have actually been representing his government in agreements he signed during this time, having been sent as a representative of the Imperial Government, which had been overthrown in early 1917. Eventually, it became obvious that he could not return to Russia and he settled in Thetford, Vermont with his wife and daughter, having lost his son in WWI.

A Mongolian Couple and the sketches
from which Mrs. Khrabroff worked...

In their new life in Vermont it is Nicholas Khrabroff’s wife who emerges to us through her Christmas gifts to Alice. The Alice T. Miner Museum holds, among other wonderful collections, an assemblage of hand made dolls representing various historical and cultural groups of Russia. The 30 dolls, usually in male/female pairs, were lovingly made and clothed in their traditional dress by Mrs. M.V. Khrabroff, who even included accessories and jewels for the fascinating figures. Among them are: Peasant twins sent to Alice in 1929; a Polish Noble couple sent in 1928; a newly engaged Ukrainian couple; Finnish twins; a Shaman or “Mongolian Priest” holding his drum; a “bridal couple” from the Volga River region that Mrs. Khrabroff refers to as “Mordvah”, sent in 1935. The Mordvins (also Mordva, Mordvinians) are among the larger indigenous peoples of Russia.

The sketches were done by a friend in Petrograd.

Accompanying these wonderfully made dolls, some of whom have hand painted faces, are affectionate and romantic letters written to Alice by Mrs. Khrabroff about her creations. Some of the letters include sketches of costumes, and separate notes written to Alice by the dolls themselves! These letters are usually safely stored in our archives and therefore out of the public eye. Right now, however, you can see a few of the sketches and postcard images that inspired Mrs. Khrabroff, paired with the figures she created, on exhibit at The Alice.

For this pair Mrs. Khrabroff worked from postcard images...

She recreated every wonderful detail, including costume colors.

Mrs. Khrabroff once wrote to Alice, "I want you, dear Friend, to be sure that I understand very well that the only thing which makes my rag-dolls a little bit interesting and a little bit worthy (oh! very little!) to occupy a very, very small place in your beautiful and rich museum - is the truth of the costumes. Next year I am going to send you the sketches which Oksana made of the Tartars from the ethnographic figures in our best museum in Petrograd... I want that the whole Russia in the great variety of her numerous nationalities, tribes and races would stand up before you as a token of love and gratitude for what Mr. Miner and you, our endlessly kind Friend, made for one of her unfortunate families." The costumes and details of these figures are magnificent! Mrs. Khrabroff was justifiably proud of her work, and would be thrilled, we feel sure, if she knew your curiosity about these little works of art would lead you to visit The Alice!

ADK Family Time blog about visiting The Alice

Diane M. Chase writes about her tour of The Alice with her children in her blog:

ADK Family Time: Alice T Miner Museum

Thomas Jefferson & The Barbary Pirates

You may be surprised to learn this! Right here in this Colonial Revival influenced museum, first opened in 1924, resides a hand-written letter containing information that may help the United States Navy tackle the current problems presented by pirates on the high seas. In this letter, a very prominent man in our Nation's history offered his advice. He was the President of these United States and he held very strong opinions about dealing with the terror wrought by pirates! This, however, is no recent missive. It was written in November 1801, by Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson Bronzed Metal Plaque, early 19th century

Jefferson was writing to Thomas Newton. He wanted to thank him for the casks of "Hughes's crab cyder" (sic) Newton had sent to Jefferson. But the pirate issue weighed heavily on his mind. Jefferson had just become President in March of that year and he had made a bold decision regarding the Barbary pirates. Since 1784 Congress had been paying as much as $1,000,000 each year in tribute to the North African states of Tripoli, Tunis, Morocco, and Algiers (the Barbary Coast) to protect it's ships from piracy. Jefferson had argued that simply continuing to pay the tribute would never solve the problem. He felt the only way to effectively deal with the issue of piracy was instead to protect our shipping interests with a strong Navy.

When Jefferson refused to pay the tribute, war was immediately declared on the U.S. by the pasha of Tripoli. U.S. Navy frigates were dispatched from the Mediterranean to defend U.S. interests. Thus began the Barbary Wars. Jefferson's refusal to submit to the extortion so surprised the North Africans that Tunis and Algiers broke their alliance with Tripoli. Jefferson's plan seemed to be working. The first Barbary War lasted from 1801 to 1805.

In The Alice's letter, Jefferson wrote Newton (then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 11th congressional district) referring to Navy Lieutenant Sterritt's "having captured the Tripolitan... I wish it true the rather as it may encourage the legislature to throw off the whole of that Barbary yoke."

Letter written by Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Newton, Nov. 1801

I'll not reveal more in hopes you will come read this letter yourself. It is currently on exhibit in The Lincoln Library, along with another letter written by Jefferson, as well as the first English edition of his book, Notes on the State of Virginia, published in 1787. This is the only book written by Jefferson that was published in his lifetime.

Also, while visiting The Alice ask your guide to explain how one U.S. Navy Lieutenant finally got his revenge on the Barbary pirates over 200 years after being held captive by them!

Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson,
First English Edition 1787