“Our interns are archival ambassadors, who take with them the experience of working with this set of historic documents and who can spread the word about the wealth of material and information within them.” “Another one of the rewards working on this project is being able to introduce this material to our interns, who as future archivists will also be our colleagues,” Goldberg says. Since the beginning of the project, graduate students in archival studies have worked in the Historical Collections Department to assist in processing the files. Sullivan shares his findings from the lot correspondence project. He loved nothing more than sharing riches from the files with staff and friends of Mount Auburn.įriends of Mount Auburn walking tour. Sullivan, former archivist at Mount Auburn Cemetery, had a magical ability to find among the seemingly dry institutional records the poignant, human stories within. From these records of thousands of lives-lengthy and brief, celebrated and little known-comes an untold picture of American history, a still largely untapped resource for families, genealogists, and biographers. Extensive genealogical charts and obituaries tell the official stories of individuals and their families, while letters and telegrams reveal a more personal tale. While team members engage in the time-consuming task of examining each document, they also delight in the discovery of unusual details and unexpected treasures within the collection-the kind of intimate knowledge those working in historic archives come to have. Records in the lot correspondence files are sometimes the only surviving documentation of the inscriptions carved on the monuments that have since worn away and are no longer legible. Many oversize documents are tightly folded and compressed in the lot correspondence file folders. Winslow.įragile diazo print of commemorative inscription. A site visit by conservators from the New England Document Conservation Center confirmed the urgent need for preservation and, in 2005, the Cemetery’s lot correspondence preservation and processing project began, led by Historical Collections Curator Meg L. Plant materials and insect remains, which also accelerate the deterioration of the records, have been discovered in some folders. An alarming percentage of the documents are in fragile condition - brittle, discolored, torn, or otherwise damaged as a result of routine use, storage in overcrowded cabinets, acidic enclosures, and the New England environment. These fragile drawings which include these attributions are often folded and easily damaged within the files.Įven though many of the documents date back to the 19 th century, Mount Auburn staff refer to these critical institutional files on an on-going basis. Previously unknown dates and designers are often recorded on this type of document. Planting plan documenting a monument design and its associated horticulture design. The contents of these unique and extraordinary files offer a wealth of untapped resources for families and scholars, and they continue to guide Mount Auburn staff in their historic preservation efforts. The lot correspondence records are often the sole place where these historical documents reside―revealing the tender human stories of individual families as well as American aesthetics, spiritual values, and interment practices. In the files researchers find evidence of thousands of lives as told within the history of the rural cemetery movement in America. The folders include a variety of documents: telegrams, personal notes, wills, genealogical charts, work order cards, perpetual care records, planting plans, and monument designs. The lot files contain correspondence between the Cemetery and families including succeeding generations regarding on-going care of the lot from the time of purchase to the present. When a lot is purchased, Mount Auburn creates a file that holds documents relating to it. Preservation photocopying and scanning of the most threatened documents will ensure that the information contained in the documents endures. Fragile records in the lot correspondence files are compromised by fading ink and their small card size. Work order cards detailing the history of family requests for monument care and commemorative plantings.
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