Browse Exhibits (55 total)

Currently, numerous databases aggregate Pokémon cards from all formats, including those from pre-constructed decks, booster pack promos, booster boxes with 36 packs, and individual packs. The collections are so vast that finding specific vintage cards requires thorough research, and even then, tracking down individual cards from the late 90s can be a challenge.

This exhibit aims to showcase a type of Pokémon card called "Trophy Cards" which are cards that are awarded at tournaments and have less than a 100 printed copies. The scope of this exhibition will feature Trophy cards with the old back design and and will be supported by memoribilia and promo cards that were release during the same event.  

Over my life I have accumulated a small numismatic collection, from limited edition Canadian coins to ancient Roman currency to the complete series of banknotes of the third Zimbabwean dollar, from $1 to $100 Trillion. This exhibit contains detailed descriptions and images of three items that I consider particularly interesting for both historical and collecting reasons.

I believe that creating digital descriptions of such items is beneficial for the overall pool of human knowledge, since their discontinued nature means that they can only become scarcer with time (although these particular specimens are each physically protected: the Canadian dollar bill by clear resin, the Roman coin by a plastic case, and the Zimbabwean banknote by a plastic sleeve). Likewise, all of these items share in the paradox that their discontinuation as legal tender is what gives them value as collector's items, and therefore the ability to fetch more legal tender than they would have at face value. For example, Canadian dollar bills, which are no longer legal tender, can be exchanged at face value, but are often worth far more than this on the collertor's market.

Finally, the contexts of the creation and the state of preservation of the items are worth sharing in themselves: the "Antoninianus" coin of Aurelian directly commemorates his actions as Roman Emperor; the Canadian dollar bill is not just numismatic material, but a stationery object, and thus has multiple stories to tell; finally, the Zimbabwean banknote is material evidence of the rapid collapse of a country's monetary system, a notable historical event. Essentially, these items can tell stories well beyond their simple use as currency, and this is an opportunity to share them.

Introduction

The Dutch Golden Age of painting during the 17th century is commonly recognized for ornate flower and food still life paintings that stemmed from the rise in global trade, Dutch colonialism, and the discovery of new species. In the Golden Age, as Dutch society grew wealthy, such paintings depicting exotic animals and hunting trophies became sought after by the growing middle and upper class population. Displaying flawlessly rendered paintings of game, surrounded by exotic animals, flowers, or food, became a way of showcasing one's success in society, as such artworks expressed themes of travel and wealth. Such dutch still lifes are often not contextualized, and often admired for their skill, but through exploring these works with historic context, themes of trade and travel expose stories of colonization and exploitation, through framing art from the Dutch Golden Age alongside a rare book, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, written and illustrated by a German-Dutch artist and naturalist, Maria Sibyl Merian. This exhibit will outline Merian's 17th-century scientific illustrations, connecting them to 17th-century Dutch painting, and the historical and global context associated with the practice.

This exhibit is about Homer's The Iliad. 

In this exhibit, I will be discussing the different versions of The Iliad through the centuries starting with the Aldine Press version published during the Renaissance to The Song of Achilles, a modern-day interpretation/retlling of The Iliad, focusing on the romantic relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. 

The Iliad is not a rare book but there are version of it that are. Manuscripts of The Iliad are considered rare and valuable and there are fragments of The Iliad (and The Odyssey) that date back millennia (Venetus A, 10th century--complete text and fragments on clay tablets, 3rd century.) 

Comics are no longer relegated to the basement and have become a staple to library collections around the world. Despite rising popularity, comics have proven to be a complicated medium to catalogue.

This exhibit aims to showcase wester serial publications of vintage and current comics for the purpose of developing a more accurate cataloguing practice. It is also the hope of this exihibit to showcase all contributors that participated in the creatoe of the final product.