Top 100 Artifacts:

The Special Collections of Broward County Library

Highlights from the Holdings:

The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

The Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library

The Broward County Historical Commission

The Moonrock

Written and Edited by Della J. Attisani

In Collaboration with Denyse Cunningham, Matthew Defelice, Myrka Don Fred, Debbie Llenza, Kala A. Luzia, Lillian Perricone and Pearl Woolridge

Broward County Library

2012

Copyright ©2012

BROWARD COUNTY LIBRARIES DIVISION
100 South Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Robert E. Cannon, Director of the Broward County Libraries Division, for unflagging support and encouragement and the vision to embark on this undertaking.

Thanks to the collection curators and staff from each Special Collections team for their input, contributions, careful reading and research assistance. From the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center: Myrka Don Fred, Larry Holland, Kala A. Luzia, Steve Vinik and Pearl Woolridge. From the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library: Debbie Llenza and Lillian Perricone. From the Broward County Historical Commission: Denyse Cunningham, Peggy Davis, Matthew Defelice, Maria Muñoz and Kao Ng.

The Special Collections sections were authored by Denyse Cunningham, Myrka Don Fred, Kala A. Luzia and Lillian Perricone. The Special Collections sections were edited by Catherine McElrath in 2011 and by Della J. Attisani in 2012.

Thanks to Harriet Buchbinder, Robert Cannon, Eileen Cobb, Peggy Davis, Susan Hodos, Maria Munoz, Kao Ng, Ron Pollworth and the Special Collections teams for their careful reading of the manuscript. Thanks to Steve Vinik for photography and to Dwayne Webbe for his design and layout.

Special acknowledgement is reserved for the artistic achievements of photographer Steve Vinik and graphic and web designer Dwayne Webbe in the creation of this e-book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

About the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center Collection Highlights

Collections of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

About the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library

The Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library Collection Highlights

Collections of the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library

About the Broward County Historical Commission

The Broward County Historical Commission Collection Highlights

Collections of the Broward County Historical Commission

A Special Highlight: The Moon Rock

Introduction

Top 100 Artifacts of Broward County Library

The Special Collections staff of the Broward County Library’s three unique collection areas has assembled the “top 100” artifacts, a brief sampling and overview of our most outstanding holdings. The results of our work are to be found in these pages. As we grant unprecedented access to these collections, what you find will surprise you. What you are poised to discover are the rare and exciting items held by your library.

That these items have come down to us at all is a marvel. The wooly mammoth tooth survived 11,000 years. The treasures of the Atocha survived a hurricane and 363 years of burial at sea. The masks and instruments from Africa journeyed 6,000 miles. The books and ephemera have lasted hundreds of years despite their perishable nature and the odds against their survival. We are fortunate to house and preserve such things and many, many more.

Broward County Library resources go far beyond books and computers. We are privileged to possess a wealth of fascinating and extraordinary art and artifacts. Some of these items are of tremendous monetary or historical value; others merit “top 100” status because they are significant and exciting to the experts who chose them.

Many worthy items from distinguished collections, equal to any included here, were omitted on a purely subjective basis. Debates were lively and many more items merited inclusion. For this trove of items there is a remarkable and lengthy list of donors to thank. Through the generosity of great community leaders, who were also great collectors, we acquired many significant collections.

Sometimes we are enriched by the donation of a single item, the worth of which seems questionable to the donor. Donors have told us that they had considered just throwing the item away, doubtful that anyone would be interested. Yet such undervalued items are some of our most highly-prized pieces. We are always open to receiving anything of historical or literary interest. For the community, there is no greater benefit than having the library system and its collections thrive.

On this note, also to be acknowledged, are the superb curatorial staff at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC), the Broward County Historical Commission and the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book, all components of Broward County Library. Their competence and passion inspire collectors to entrust their prized and valuable possessions to our care, with the certain knowledge that the items will be preserved and made available for the enjoyment of the public and the research of scholars.

Poet Muriel Rukeyser has said that “the universe is made of stories, not atoms.” In presenting this group of prized items from Broward County Library’s three special collections, we also present each item with its story. Regarded in context, each item has a tale to tell about its moment in time, its place in the world. We invite you to view these items and listen to their stories.

And now it is my pleasure to share them with you.

Robert E. Cannon, Director

Broward County Libraries Division

About the African-American
Research Library and Cultural Center

Broward County Library’s African-American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) is a highly-specialized center whose mission is to collect, preserve and provide access to research materials focusing on the history, culture and people of African, African-American and Caribbean descent. It carries the distinction of being the third library of its kind in the nation.

The AARLCC Special Collections section contains 35,100 cubic feet of archival space housing approximately 1 million items, including rare books, artifacts, artwork, manuscripts and reference materials. Within the archives are more than 40 named collections with over 23,700 cataloged items available for use. The majority of the holdings are secured in a humidity- and temperature-controlled storage area adjacent to the reading room where Special Collections librarians furnish materials and provide research assistance for customers on a “by-appointment” basis.

The Special Collections and archives are located within a full-service regional library. The 60,000-square-foot facility offers seminar rooms, 300-seat auditorium with dressing rooms, 5,000-square foot museum and exhibit hall, dance studio, acoustically-engineered community room, small business resource center, computer training lab, bookstore, and an active schedule of exhibits and programs. The library’s schedule of programs and exhibits includes traveling shows and exhibits curated in-house.

As the sixth-largest library in the Libraries Division, AARLCC houses more than 81,500 items in its circulating adult and juvenile collections. To scholars, AARLCC is an irreplaceable academic resource; to the public, it is the community’s center for enrichment, entertainment and learning.

The library takes great pride in resulting from a grassroots phenomenon. Beginning with a site that was a four-acre vacant lot in 1999, it has grown into one of the region’s most important landmarks through the efforts of determined area residents.

At the outset, an older library on Sistrunk Boulevard, the main thoroughfare of one of Broward’s historically black communities, was slated to be replaced. Those plans were pushed aside when then-Broward County Library Director Samuel F. Morrison visited the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture and History in Atlanta, Georgia. It was then that the possibilities of what a similar Afro-centric institution would mean to South Florida began to take hold in Morrison’s imagination and those of area residents.

A gap of $9.5 million dollars existed between the modest library originally proposed and Morrison’s vision of a state-of-the-art center for scholarship and community life. He accepted the challenge to raise necessary funds, and donations poured in from the corporate world, the church community, civic organizations, service clubs, fraternities, sororities and individuals. Donations ranged from $1 to $1 million. Finally, on October 26, 2002, the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center celebrated its dedication and jubilant grand opening.

Throughout the six-year odyssey to build the library, single items and entire collections were acquired to form many of the core collections and archives. The family of actress Esther Rolle donated her NAACP award, her Emmy award and print and audio-visual materials that highlight her career as a performer. The Alex Haley Papers were acquired including eight unfinished manuscripts by the Roots author and materials related to the record-breaking television series that followed the book. Other significant collections include the Sixto Campano Sheet Music Collection and the Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection, which includes art, women’s studies and reference books related to people of African descent in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Niara Sudarkasa Papers fill nearly 200 archival boxes with her anthropological research on Yoruba language and culture; minorities in higher education; and the Black Power Movement in the United States. Notable collections and culturally significant items continue to be added to the library’s impressive holdings.

Generous donations from artists and art collectors have also made the Research Library a repository for fine art. AARLCC pioneer and esteemed artist Charles Mills donated paintings, drawings and other graphic art along with an extensive jazz and book collection. African art collectors Arthur B. Steinman, David D. and Andrea Holbrook, and Mary Sue and Dr. Paul P. Rosen gifted significant collections of masks, statuary and ritual objects. The John H. and Vivian D. Hewitt Collection contains pieces by noted Haitian artists such as Luckner Lazard and Luce Turnier. Other distinguished artists in the AARLCC collection include Kadir Nelson, Jonathan Green, Errol “Elgo” Lewis and award-winning illustrator Ashley Bryan.

The collections are priceless archival resources for historical material related to prominent African-American civil rights politicians, educators and community leaders, including the Rev. Maurice Dawkins Collection, the Ethel Mizell Pappy Family Papers and the Margaret and Cato Roach Papers. The microform collection contains personal papers, journals, legal documents, petitions, FBI files and a vast array of other vital resources held on film or fiche format.

Among the material in digital format are oral histories from multiple sources, including three projects from Dr. Kitty Oliver: personal narratives from the Race and Change Project; the New River Cultural and Environmental Survey project; and the Ghanaian Women’s Oral History Project. Another set of oral histories is The Trailblazers of Broward County, Inc., archive which includes interviews with many of Broward County’s early black residents.

Special Collections librarians are available to assist scholars, students, writers and visitors with academic research and provide access to the collections, by appointment only. Contact the Special Collections Office at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center at 954-357-6217 to schedule an appointment. Visit online at www.broward.org/Library/LocationsHours/Branches/Pages/AA.aspx

African-American Research Library
and Cultural Center

Collection Highlights

Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr., first edition, inscribed by the author, “Best Wishes—Martin Luther King, Jr.,” 1963

Daniel M. Johnson Collection

A treatise of historical, political and spiritual importance, this classic by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has had a lasting impact on Americans since its publication in 1963. Consisting of essays prefaced with the scriptural quotations that inspired them, these meditations were composed, some from jail, as he led the Civil Rights movement. In all, a poignant summation of the philosophy King developed as a Christian clergyman, social critic and advocate for African-Americans.

Many have likened reading this passionate book to sitting in the front pew listening spellbound as he preached his sermons. Says his widow, Coretta Scott King, “If there is one book Martin Luther King, Jr. has written that people consistently tell me has changed their lives, it is Strength to Love…I believe it is because this book best explains the central element of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), Nobel Peace Prize laureate, authored several books, including Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, The Measure of a Man and Why We Can’t Wait.

As a young pastor, he led the Walk for Freedom in Montgomery, Alabama, significant not only for bringing about desegregation on public transportation but as the earliest mass protest on behalf of civil rights in the United States. A founder and president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference and co-pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father, he remained at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, becoming Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1963 and receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

King was assassinated on the evening of April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1983 President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) signed a bill creating a U.S. federal holiday in honor of King, observed on the third Monday of January, the month of his birth.

Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah, inscribed by the author, “With my best wishes—Kwame Nkrumah, Accra, 6th March 1957”

Gift of Joan and Saul Wider

Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) is synonymous with Ghana, as the title of his book reflects. Chronologically organized, the book recounts Nkrumah’s childhood, the formation of his political party in 1949, and ends on March 6, 1957, the day Gold Coast became Ghana, an independent African state, free of British colonial rule. The book’s inscription bears that historic date.

Educated by Catholic missionaries, Nkrumah began his career as an elementary school teacher. He came to America as a destitute immigrant in search of higher education and socio-political experience outside his homeland. In 1935, he matriculated at the world’s oldest institution of higher learning for black men, Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. That unique institution and exposure to America’s black communities and intellectuals was pivotal in the development of his Pan-African philosophy. Nkrumah became convinced that marshaling Africa’s natural resources under the direction of a centralized government guided by traditional tribal principles of governance would make the African continent a world power.

India’s independence in 1947 from the British crown emboldened African nationalists to actively seek autonomy for their own homelands. Nkrumah returned to Gold Coast in 1949, eventually setting up the Convention People’s Party (CCP), which within two years won elections that put Nkrumah at the head of government.

By 1957, Ghana was the first African nation to gain independence; others followed suit, and by the mid-1960s, more than 30 African countries were independent nations. Nkrumah differed markedly from other leaders of emerging nations by veering sharply from colonial, western and democratic influences, believing that, in his words, “Capitalism is too complicated a system for a newly-independent nation.”

Nkrumah’s grand economic plan, hinging on the Volta River Project and the exportation of aluminum, was never fully realized. Increasing suppression of political freedom combined with economic pressures led to Nkrumah’s deposition by a coup d’état in 1966.

Autographed Flight Suit of Barrington Irving, Jr., circa 2007

Gift of Barrington Irving, Jr.

At age 23, pilot Barrington Irving, Jr., made global headlines with his solo flight around the world. He broke two world records on that flight: the youngest person ever to make such a journey, and the first African-American to do so. Although marking out singular achievements, he follows a long tradition of male and female African-American aviators reaching back to the earliest years of aviation.

On March 23, 2007, outfitted in a jumpsuit like the one shown, Irving departed Opa-Locka Airport on his 97-day, 26,800-mile journey. After 27 stops, and encounters with thunderstorms, monsoons, snowstorms and sandstorms, Irving circled the world. Apart from the Caribbean, he had never before been outside the United States.

Irving was introduced to aviation at the age of 15 by a Jamaican airline captain who was a customer at his parents’ bookstore. Two years prior to his epic journey, he founded Experience Aviation, Inc., a non-profit organization that introduces minority youth to careers related to aviation. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in Miami, Irving refused athletic scholarships in favor of a career in aviation. He was later awarded a scholarship in the aerospace program at Florida Memorial University.

The autographed flight suit was donated by Irving in conjunction with his public appearance at a library program held October 27, 2007, at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center. The program gave young attendees the chance to experience piloting a plane through a flight simulator provided by Irving.

In 2012 Irving was named one of 15 National Geographic “Emerging Explorers.” National Geographic, NASA, and other sponsors will support Irving on his next flight around the world, scheduled for October 2013. From his cockpit, Irving will blog and stream live lessons to Experience Aviation students and millions of others around the world as he visits historic sites including Machu Picchu, the Galápagos Islands, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Serengeti Plain, the Roman Coliseum, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

Boy Scout Figurine, circa 1920s

Gift of Eli Koton

The Boy Scout movement was brought to the United States from Great Britain in 1910 by its founder, Lord Robert Baden-Powell. National differences raised certain questions immediately, including that of race. Baden-Powell insisted upon the inclusion of African-Americans in Scouting, stipulating that no boy be turned away for reasons of race or creed. However, by way of compromise with the American Executive Council, he agreed that troops would be formed in accordance with local customs and the organization of the local school system.

This three-inch lead alloy figurine dates from the 1920s, when the first African-American Scout troops were formed. Following World War I, returning African-American veterans sponsored troops, and the numbers of such units rapidly grew with the availability of able leaders. As society integrated, the Boy Scouts of America followed suit.

Items or images depicting early African-American Boy Scouts are quite rare. Some elements of this example of a uniformed boy are typical of African-American images found in Black memorabilia stereotypes, while others are not. Black Americana, a category of collectibles that includes caricatured African-Americans, was highly popular at the time this item was fabricated. Subjects were often depicted with stooped posture and exaggerated facial features. While the facial features are painted or over-painted in a comic fashion, the uniform commands respect and the figurine projects dignity. It is unknown if the little Boy Scout was intended as an object of social satire or if he is a hybrid combing the stylized conventions of the past with a post-war culture in transition.

Civil War Union Soldier Tintype, circa 1861-2

Gift of Lloyd Slater

American photography had its beginnings in 1839, and technological advances by the time of the Civil War made that medium popular for keepsake images. Most surviving photographs are of Union soldiers. As a consequence of the North’s blockade, shortages of photographic material combined with economic hardship meant that after 1861 few photographs were produced of Confederates. Images of African-American troops from either side are rare.

Like this corporal, most African-American troops were Union. Out of 2 million Union soldiers, it is estimated that 180,000 were African-Americans, known as USCT (United States Colored Troops). African-American personnel served in the Army and made up some 16 percent of the Navy, where they were principally employed in support services. This corporal would have supervised a group of such men.

Despite regulations prohibiting promotion of African-Americans, a select few, like this subject, rose in rank or were decorated. African-American women were never admitted into the military in any official capacity but served as scouts, spies and nurses. African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), also a photographic subject, scouted for the Second South Carolina Volunteers.

Many Civil War photographs were tintypes, an inexpensive and sturdy medium for itinerant photographers. This photograph was lavishly produced at some additional expense; it was colorized, as seen in the heightened red of the cheeks and the vest. The buttons of the well-made uniform and the insignia on the kepi (cap) have had gold highlights added. The portrait is housed in a handsome presentation case and is clearly an object of pride. As scholars have noted, such photographs presented the first opportunity in United States history for an African-American to directly control his own image.

State of Florida $5 Note, 1862

Geography, perhaps more than any desire to perpetuate slavery, prompted Florida’s decision to become the third state to secede from the Union. Experts have conjectured that had the question been put to a vote by the public, rather than conventions of state delegates, the Civil War might have never taken place. In Florida, delegates voted 62 to 7 on January 10, 1861, to throw in their lot with the Confederacy.

Paper currency issued during the Civil War, whether Union “greenbacks” or Confederate “bluebacks,” was not directly backed by coin; the paper could be negotiated in trade but not cashed in. Each state issued its own currency and designs changed with the year of issue. This bill is the second of five issues of Florida paper currency.

Depicted on this Florida $5 note issued on January 1, 1862, is the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres, flanked by Commerce and Navigation personified as young female attendants. A scene on the right side of the note depicts one slave harvesting cotton and another toting it on his shoulder. There is no design on the reverse, as the ink bled through.

In 1860, the South’s cotton exports exceeded the value of all other products and commodities in the United States, giving cotton the economic and political value of petroleum today. Ironically, the South’s decision to withhold raw cotton from England and France in a bid for diplomatic recognition financially ruined the Confederacy, rendering this and other currency worthless. The South’s financial insolvency led to surrender after funds to provision and arm the troops were depleted.

20th Century Baule People Royal Wari Game Board

Gift of Arthur B. Steinman

A playing board for the game of wari, also known as mankala, was first discovered in an Egyptian tomb dating back to 1600 B.C. Wari remains one of the most popular pastimes around the world today, particularly in West Africa, home of the Baule. This 20th century wooden board carved in the form of a crocodile shows signs of wear, indicating that many games and tournaments were played upon it.

Wari is a game of strategy and mathematical prowess. The board has two rows of six wells, and the objective is to capture the most pawns from the opposite row, playing a series of games. Often, as in this example, there are additional wells to hold captured pieces, seen here on the head and the tail.

In African art, crocodile symbolism is based on being deceptive about the danger one poses. The crocodile misleads an adversary by appearing lazy and disinterested; he is often mistaken for a floating log. Particularly appropriate for a game board, the player, like the crocodile, only appears passive as he waits for a foolish misstep that prompts him to strike and annihilate his opponent.

The Baule men create celebrated art in several media, sculpting wood, casting gold and brass and weaving textiles; the women are potters. Unlike this game board, most carved Baule objects are not intended for viewing or display in daily life. Most non-utilitarian objects are regarded as sacred and hidden from view.

Approximately 1 million people identify as Baule, a society of farming villages divided into districts that has seen many changes in the last decade. The Baule emigrated from Ghana to the Ivory Coast approximately 300 years ago, settling between the ComoÃ© and Bandama rivers. They are an Akan group, speaking a language of the Niger-Congo family.

Buffalo Soldiers Hat Insignia Pins, 24th Infantry Regiment and 25th Infantry Regiment, circa 1893-1902

In July 1866, following the close of the Civil War, the Army formed new regiments for African-American soldiers who were retained after serving in the United States Colored Troops. New recruits were added to their numbers, and ultimately the expanded regiments became consolidated into the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantries.

The sobriquet “Buffalo Soldiers” was given to these troops by Native Americans, whom they encountered in the Indian Wars of the Plains and throughout the American Southwest in the 1880s. Theories vary as to whether the nickname derived from the wooly texture of their hair, their legendary toughness and bravery in battle or some combination thereof.

The 24th and 25th Infantries had a long and varied existence, pursuing Pancho Villa in 1916, fighting the Spanish-American War in Cuba with Teddy Roosevelt in 1898, and seeing combat in the Philippines in 1899 and 1900. During World War ll, they fought in the Pacific Theater and later saw action in Korea in 1951.

The cap insignia pins are of the type in use from 1895 to 1902. The crossed rifles symbolize infantry, with the number above indicating the company and the letter below indicating the troop. The material is a single piece of cast yellow metal.

Kuba Helmet Mask

Gift of Mary Sue and Peter Paul Rosen, Rosen Collection

This helmet mask, known as a mukeem or mukenga, was created by the Northern Kuba of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. About 250,000 people from 18 different Kuba ethnic groups are organized into independent chiefdoms that recognize the authority of tribal royalty and the Bushong king. The mukenga depicted here was made for royal use, primarily for funerals but also for male initiation and enforcement of the law. Masks of this design are known to have existed since 1350 A.D.

The mukenga is worn during the funeral rites of high-ranking men to enact the creation story of their first ancestor and culture hero, Woot, and his sister/wife. This helmet mask is one component of the whole-body costume that the dancer wears to become overtaken by the spirits of Woot and the totem animal that signifies the leader’s strength, the elephant. As such, it is a ‘composite being’ mask whose spirits supernaturally endow the wearer with the qualities that merge human and animal attributes.

The wearer of the mask, whose identity remains a secret, must be led by an attendant. The mask covers the entire head and has no eye holes through which the wearer can see during the slow, deliberate dance and procession. The eye design represents the adaptability of the chameleon. The overarching woven appendage atop the mukenga represents the tail of the elephant.

The mask is made of wood, beads, cowrie shells and raffia, materials prized by the Kuba. The many cowrie shells affixed to the mask signify its great value. Cowrie shells, used as a form of currency before the 20th century, are appropriate for a funeral mask as they are symbols of mourning and the dried, white bones of the ancestors. The beading on this example displays the pattern of triangles pieced into a diamond shape associated with the Kuba.

Masks and other carvings remain an important expression of tribal identity. A skilled carver has high status equal to a senior official. Kuba carvings were originally made exclusively by women, but the function was taken over early on by men.

Fort Lauderdale Work Pass, 1963

Gift of Henry James McNair

One hundred years after the Civil War’s conclusion in 1865, a majority of American states, including Florida, continued to enforce color-based segregation. Consistent with the times, the Fort Lauderdale police issued work passes to African-Americans whose employment required them to work after curfew or in areas east of the railroad tracks downtown. One such pass was issued to Largo Mar Hotel busboy Henry James McNair on March 21, 1963.

The laws and social rules that restricted every aspect of life for African-Americans were known as “Jim Crow” laws, taking their name from a minstrel show character based upon a lame Louisiana slave. The term “crow” was period slang for African-Americans, and such entertainment consisted of blackface racial parody. “Jim Crow” laws and customs were a de-facto continuation of slavery, binding African-Americans to their employers and carrying penalties for those who sought economic autonomy or advancement.

The repressive double standard which extended racism as a social norm for almost six decades after Emancipation began to be challenged as African-Americans migrated from the rural South to the industrial North. Many went in pursuit of opportunities arising from labor shortages created by World War l and World War ll.

Following a prolonged struggle to establish social equality, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act in July 1964, just 16 months after this pass was issued. Henceforth, discrimination in employment, housing, education, medical care and all aspects of life became illegal by federal mandate.

Holmes 3-D Stereoscopic Viewer, with Race-Themed Cards, circa 1890-1909

Viewing 3-D photographs was a popular home entertainment at the turn of the century. With this viewer are 81 stereoscopic cards, circa 1890 to 1909, that portray African-Americans with the cultural bias of that era. Some scenes are realistic and others are blackface depictions in stereotypical situations.

1978 Emmy Award

Gift of Esther Rolle, Esther Rolle Collection

Best known for the sitcoms Good Times and Maude, Esther Rolle (1920-1998) was born in Pompano Beach, Florida, to Bahamian immigrant farmers. In 1978 she won an Emmy for Summer of My German Soldier and in 1990 became the first woman to win a NAACP Civil Rights Leadership Award.

Benin Bronze Statue of Queen Mother Idia N’Iyesigie

Gift of Osemwegie Ebohon

Benin culture hero Queen Idia N’Iyesigie, Mother of Oba Esigie, is shown in royal war attire worn at the battle of Idah (1515-1516). Portrayed as a substantial, fearsome and powerful woman, she wears an elaborate crown and is adorned by layers of symbolic belts, weapons, and charms in this large bronze.

The House Servant’s Directory by Robert Roberts, 1827

Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection

The House Servant’s Directory set household management standards for decades. Published in 1827, it is one of the first books written by an African-American and issued by a commercial press. Roberts wrote his book while employed by Christopher Gore, a U.S. senator and governor of Massachusetts.

Simbi Haitian Voodoo Flag

Voodoo flags are believed to manifest and invite spirits. The symbolic diagram is a veve, in this example representing Simbi, spirits in serpent form that descend from the trees to magically bring wealth, power and insight to the supplicant. Yoruba tradition is an influence on the elaborate beadwork of such flags.

Ancient Kingdoms of Africa, by Charles Mills, acrylic on canvas, 30 inch by 36 inch, 2005

Gift of Charles Mills, Charles Mills Collection

Artist Charles Mills (1920-2009) depicts the golden sarcophagus mask of King Tut, the famed bust of Nefertiti and tribal statuary against the background of the African continent in this acrylic on canvas painted in 2005. Born and raised in Harlem, Mills was influenced by jazz and the Harlem Renaissance.

National Action Council: A Review of the Stay-At-Home Demonstration, 1961, inscribed “To Dan Johnson, compliments and best wishes, Mandela, 3-10-94”

Gift of Daniel M. Johnson, Daniel M. Johnson Collection

The subject of this 15-page pamphlet is the three-day strike (May 29-31, 1961) called for by Nelson Mandela as a non-violent protest of apartheid in South Africa. Since his university days in 1940, Mandela was a leader in the struggle for racial equality. After almost 350 years, apartheid was repealed in 1991.

Kora, West African Instrument

Gift of Dr. Nina Wood-Charles

Classified as a double-bridge harp-lute, the kora is a 21-string instrument that accompanies the jali or griot, the group storyteller, historian, and genealogist. Kora players historically are Mandinka people or hereditary jali. The strings are plucked in rhythmic patterns with thumb and forefinger.

United States Census Map, Showing “5° of Density Distribution of the Colored Population within the Territory of the United States east of the 100th Meridian,” by Francis Amasa Walker, 1870

Gift of June Robinson

The first census after the Civil War was conducted in 1870 by Francis Amasa Walker, a Union officer and noted political economist and historian. Produced five years after the war, it was the first census to count and document emancipated African-Americans. The map illustrates concentrations of population.

Ashley Bryan Book Illustrations

Gift of Ashley Bryan and Dr. Henrietta M. Smith

Born in Harlem in 1923 to Jamaican immigrants, Bryan says the public library was a second home to him. Although not published until age 40 in 1962, Ashley Bryan became the first black author/illustrator of a children’s book. His award-winning, vibrant style is evident in these original colored pencil drawings.

Shekere, Instrument of Burkina Faso

A popular percussion instrument from West Africa, home of the Burkina Faso and their Nigerian neighbors, a shekere is made from a vine gourd that is dried for several months and then hollowed. A decorative beaded net produces rhythmic sounds against the sides of the gourd when shaken.

Southern Life and Trust Company Branch Certificate and Letter, Apalachiacola, May 1839

Southern Life and Trust Company was one of three Florida bank charters in 1839, the date of the branch certificate and accompanying solicitation letter. Bonds and mortgages were offered for plantations “and Negroes who worked on same,” with application to Samuel L. Burritt, Esq., the firm’s agent.

Original Mud Cloth from Ghana

Gift of Sgt. Babatu Larrimore

Mud cloth is a traditional craft of the Malian ethnic groups, most significantly the Bambara people. Woven strips of cloth are painted with fermented mud to illustrate proverbs, myths and history. The cloth was the ritual attire of women after initiation and childbirth and was worn by men while hunting.

Balafone

Gift of Dr. Nina Wood-Charles

The first balafone, now kept in Guinea, is over 800 years old. It is a West African tuned percussion instrument, similar to the xylophone or marimba, with calabash gourds supporting and amplifying the keys from below. The Virginia Gazette records transported Africans playing a balafone in 1776.

Bronze Bust, Benin Kingdom

Gift of Julie Hunter

Benin’s great West African civilization flourished until it was destroyed by the British in 1897. An offshoot of Edo/Nigerian people, they have been masters of cast bronze since the 13th century. Ownership of bronze work was reserved for the royal court, such as the young noblewoman portrayed.

Dutch Pot or Dutchie

Gift of Errol “Elgo” Lewis

The Dutch pot, also known as a Dutchie, is a staple of the Jamaican kitchen. Dutch explorers brought the all-purpose, cast iron pots to Africa where tribal people traded for them. Jamaican plantation owners issued Dutchies to slave households where they were inventoried with personal effects such as clothing.

Mbira

Gift of Charles Mills, Charles Mills Collection

The mbira has been called “the first Walkman” because one of this instrument’s names translates as “the thing that makes walking easier.” Itinerant griots (poet bards) play mbira while traveling on foot and at religious and social ceremonies. It is beloved across Africa, especially in the Congo and Zimbabwe.

The Anti-Slavery Advocate Newspapers, circa 1850s to 1863

Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection

Abolitionists relied most upon newspapers for reaching and persuading the undecided citizen and calling adherents to action, particularly from the 1850s to 1863, the publication period for The Anti-Slavery Advocate. Published in London and sold for a penny, the Advocate wrote passionate, emotional appeals.

Bronze Busts of Shona Royalty

Gift of Ross Parker, Call of Africa Galleries

Sculptor James Tandi of the Shona people of Zimbabwe created the stone busts “African King” and “African Queen.” Tandi sculpts using a classic hammer and chisel method, often working in verdite. Shona have lived for 2,000 years in the southern African Plateau and are reknowned as stone sculptors.

Travels Through Syria and Egypt, In the Years 1783, 1784, and 1785
by Constantine-Francois Volney

Daniel M. Johnson Collection

French philosopher and historian Constantine-Francois Volney (1757-1820) spent three years in today’s Lebanon to study Middle Eastern culture for this volume, published in 1788. An aristocratic partisan of the French Revolution, he was among the first to identify ancient Egyptian culture and people as African.

Black Power “Black Strike Shut It Down!” Literature

Gift of Niara Sudarkasa, Niara Sudarkasa Collection

San Francisco State College saw nationally noted unrest from 1966 to 1969 with the Black Students Union, Third World Liberation Front and Students for a Democratic Society pitted against authorities. Student demands included an Ethnic Studies program and the end of the Vietnam War.

Say You Love Me Sue Sheet Music

Sixto Campano Sheet Music Collection

Theatrical caricatures of African-Americans became popular in the early 1830s, with white and black performers applying blackface to perform. The sheet music cover for Say You Love Me Sue, a score from a comic operetta published in 1899, depicts an African-American dandy serenading his sweetheart.

Gold Ceremonial Fly Whisk Handle

Gift of Arthur B. Steinman

Produced by the Baule people of the Côte d’Ivoire, the gold ceremonial fly whisk handle is known as a nandwa-blawa. The culture places importance on kingship, and this scepter-like status symbol may only be held by or for a king. Symbols of the leader’s strength, such as the elephant, adorn the handle.

The Collections of the
African-American Research Library
and Cultural Center

The mission of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center Special Collections is to collect, preserve and provide access to research materials focusing on the history and culture of people of African, African-American and Caribbean descent.

Books

Daniel M. Johnson Collection contains more than 5,600 books. Most are first print editions signed by the author and include accompanying materials such as news clippings, program fliers, written correspondence and photographs. Of special note is the extensive collection of books on the history of ancient Egypt, Nubia and West African kingdoms. African-American literature of the “New Negro” era (1892-1938) is another strong component of this book collection.

Dorothy Porter Wesley Collection provides scholars with more than 2,000 books on African-Brazilian history and culture, women and gender studies, the history of early African-American families, and historically black social organizations and publishers.

Jack Abramowitz Collection concentrates on the history of African-Americans in the Southern United States, primarily during the slavery and reconstruction eras.

Frederic Gomes Cassidy Collection focuses on the history and culture of the Caribbean islands with a strong emphasis on Jamaica.

Charles Mills Collection provides an outstanding collection of books relating to the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance cultural movement during the 1920s and 1930s. Accompanying this collection are jazz music recordings on CD, audiocassette and vinyl record albums.

Black Heritage Library Collection contains more than 300 volumes selected from the collection of slave narratives, biographies, literature and historical texts originally collected as part of the Negro Collection at Fisk University Library.

Ephemera and Manuscripts

Ephemera and manuscripts comprise well over 1 million items. Included are calendars,
broadsides, posters, postcards, game kits, obituaries, vertical files, sheet music and collectible stamps. While English is the predominant language, there are works in French, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Portuguese. The manuscripts focus on the papers and records of individuals and some national or international organizations.

Alex Haley Papers include eight unfinished manuscripts, letters and postcards from prominent individuals and readers, photographs of cast members from the film Roots, and several photographs of Juffure people in the Gambia, West Africa, where Haley’s ancestor Kunta Kinte was born.

Niara Sudarkasa Papers contains nearly 200 archival boxes of documents, correspondence, news clippings and other printed materials relating to Sudarkasa’s research as an anthropologist, her career as a professor and associate vice president of the University of Michigan and her tenure as the president of Lincoln University. These papers also provide research on Yoruba language and culture, minorities in higher education, and the Black Power Movement in the United States.

Sixto Campano Sheet Music Collection contains approximately 1,000 pieces of well-preserved sheet music. Song themes cover early 19th century plantation life in the American South, early 20th century popular music, and the stereotypical themes associated with blackface minstrelsy.

Maurice Dawkins Papers serve as the largest named collection in the archives with more than 250 archival boxes of documents, correspondence, news clippings and other printed materials detailing Dawkins’ career as a member of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC) and NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). The collection also documents his tenure as a prominent reverend in California and his 1988 political campaign as a black Republican candidate in Virginia.

Esther Rolle Collection focuses on the life and entertainment career of the Pompano Beach, Florida, native. Included are her NAACP award, Emmy award, print and audio-visual materials that highlight her career as a performer, including artifacts, news clippings, books and photographs.

Margaret and Cato Roach Collection consists of personal papers, awards, pamphlets, and news clippings documenting these Fort Lauderdale pioneers and mentors in the field of education and civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s.

Ethel Mizell Pappy Collection contains news clippings, photographs, correspondence, awards and other miscellaneous papers. The majority of the collection focuses on Dr. Von D. Mizell. Of special note are business documents and photographs relating to Provident Hospital, letters written by Dr. Charles R. Drew to Dr. Mizell and other documents relating to Dr. Mizell’s lawsuit against North Broward Hospital District in 1970.

Oral Histories

Kitty Oliver Oral Histories contain more than 100 interviews from multiple oral history projects, discussing race and ethnic relations in Broward and Palm Beach counties during the 1960s and 1970s, the Fort Lauderdale New River community, the historical community of Liberia in Hollywood, Florida, and women in Ghana. Printed transcripts, photographs and videos of narrators are included.

Trailblazers of Broward County, Inc. contains oral histories that document the stories and lives of black pioneers in Broward County. These stories are stored on digital format.

Photographs and Prints

African Missions Postcard Collection contains 600 postcards depicting images of missionary works and native social life and customs in Sub-Saharan Africa spanning the late 1800s to the early 1950s.

Reverend Clinton Mack Photographs Collection contains more than 300 images of African-Americans living in Pompano Beach, Florida, circa 1930s and 1940s.

Slides of the Sistrunk Corridor provide more than 1,000 images depicting various cultural celebrations including the Sistrunk festivals and programs held at the Mizell Library.

Audio-Visual Materials

The audio and visual materials include more than 5,500 videocassettes, audiocassettes, DVDs, CDs and record albums. Rare recordings of cultural programs conducted at the Collier City Library and the Mizell Library are included.

Anthony Rotante Collection contains more than 300 jazz and rhythm and blues recordings; a significant portion of the recordings are by Duke Ellington.

Library of the Spoken Word provides 300 recordings of lectures, oral histories, stories and documentaries of Caribbean culture and history produced by the University of the West Indies.

Eric Rawlins Record Albums contain nearly 6,000 albums covering jazz, rhythm and blues, hip hop, Latino and gospel music genres. Formats include 33 rpm and 45 rpm phonograph records.

Periodicals, Newspapers and Microfilm

This collection contains African, African-American, Caribbean and South American publications. Included are several short-run Black newspapers and newsletters dating back to the early 1800s. Rare titles include Ikenga, Tarikh, Africa News, Bilalian News, The Colored American Magazine, The Anti-Slavery Advocate, Negro History Bulletin, Negro Digest and Freedomways.

Contemporary publication titles include the Journal of African-American History, African Arts, Research in African Literature, Caribbean Quarterly, Callaloo, Africa Confidential, Jeune Afrique L’intelligent, African Affairs and the Journal of Negro History.

Microfilm and microfiche titles include the Black Abolitionist Papers, Papers of Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, 1915-1950, Universal Negro Improvement Association Records, 1921-1986 and The Crisis.

Artwork and Artifacts

The artwork and artifacts collection consists largely of African masks and sculptures, Haitian and Jamaican paintings and an assortment ofart pieces and graphic prints from African-American artists. The collection also contains a significant poster collection, historical prints, illustrations, cloth art, ivory, bronze and wooden carved objects and African and Afro-Cuban musical instruments.

Many of the works of art and artifacts found in the AARLCC Special Collections were gifts from generous benefactors. Included among the donors are African art collectors Arthur B. Steinman; David D. and Andrea Holbrook; and Mary Sue and Dr. Paul Peter Rosen. Haitian and African art collectors John H. and Vivian D. Hewit enriched the collection. Award-winning African-American artists Charles Mills and Jonathan Green; illustrators Ashley Bryan, Kadir Nelson and Jerry Pinkney; Jamaican artist Errol “Elgo” Lewis; aviator Barrington Irving, Jr. and prominent individuals such as Samuel F. Morrison, Dorris Avner and Dr. Nina Wood-Charles contributed to the scope and magnitude of the holdings.

About the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library

The Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library is a state-of-the-art facility where rare books and Special Collections are housed, preserved, actively collected and researched. It is also a venue for related lectures, programs and exhibitions.

This special repository was conceived in 1995 and made a reality through the generous support of Fort Lauderdale philanthropists Dianne and Michael Bienes, a grant from the Broward Public Library Foundation, funding from the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council. The Museum opened to the public in December 1996.

The Facility

The Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library is located on the sixth floor of the Broward County Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

The 8,300-square-foot facility was designed by Fort Lauderdale architect Donald Singer. The modern design utilizes glass, granite, ceramic tiles and a dramatic, curved wood ceiling above slatted-wood walls. The stained-glass entryway, titled Passages, was created by Shelley Jurs as a commissioned work through the Broward County Public Art and Design Program. The design motif was inspired by Celtic knots from The Book of Kells, a ninth century Irish illuminated manuscript represented in facsimile at the Museum.

The Museum has a lobby reception area, numerous exhibition cases, a 25-seat conference room and a 60-seat ceremonial room that is available for lectures and programs. Visitors may view rare and special materials in the reading room with the assistance of a Special Collections librarian.

The Bienes Museum houses special collections totaling more than 15,000 items, including rare books, artifacts, manuscripts and reference materials. The majority of the holdings are secured in a humidity- and temperature-controlled storage area.

Special Collections, Exhibits and Programs, and Digital Resources

New exhibitions and programs related to the collections are scheduled continuously, often accompanied by catalogs and lectures. The Bienes Museum has featured lectures on topics such as book collecting and book histories, and mounted exhibitions ranging in scope from Japan and the Art of War, 1863 to 1945 to Pictorial Covers: An Exhibition of American Book Jackets, 1920-1950. Admission to the Museum and to related programs is always free.

A specialized area of the collection contains artifacts and literature pertaining to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs of the 1930s. The collection contains important holdings from the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Historical Records Survey, Writer’s Project children’s books, Florida publications, Handicraft Projects and the Museum Extension Project. The Jean Fitzgerald Collection of WPA Federal Writer’s Project Materials contains approximately 2,000 titles and is generally considered to be the largest and most comprehensive in the United States. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) collection consists of approximately 200 titles and other ephemera.

New digital technologies have enabled the Bienes Museum to create online exhibitions that celebrate the printed book as an art form. These online exhibitions have garnered attention from customers and researchers around the world.

In May 2012, the Bienes Museum had the distinction of being the subject of Broward County Library’s first e-book, The Bienes Museum Catalogs of James A. Findlay. The publication honors the work of librarian and curator James A. Findlay, who served as head librarian of the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book from 1995 to 2010. The publication may be accessed at no charge by visiting Broward County Library’s online Digital Collections page. It is available in EPUB eBook format for iPad, NOOK, Sony Reader, Kindle eBook or by viewing with Adobe Digital Editions.

For more information about the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library, call 954-357-8243 or email bienes@browardlibrary.org. The Bienes Museum may be visted online at www.broward.org/Library/Bienes/.

Bienes Museum of the Modern Book:
The Dianne and Michael Bienes
Special Collections and Rare
Book Library

Collection Highlights

Berlin Wall Fragment

A chunk of the Berlin Wall symbolizes the shattering of the Cold War, the tearing down of the Iron Curtain.

Following World War ll, Germany was divided by the Allied Powers. While East Germany faltered financially under the Soviet Union, West Germany, with its prospering capitalist economy, became a magnet to its neighbors.

In August 1961, desperate to retain its young professionals, East Germany erected, literally overnight, a barrier running more than 100 miles. The barrier became a wall and, while it stood, an estimated 200 people were killed in attempts to scale the wall and escape to the West. Twenty-six years later at the Brandenburg Gate President Ronald Reagan challenged his Soviet counterpart, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

On the evening of November 9, 1989, a startling announcement was made by the East German government that permitted free passage once again. Frenzied Berliners began jamming the streets, hugging, kissing, singing, cheering, crying and demolishing the hated wall with anything at hand. Celebrants and historians carried off pieces of the wall as mementos of liberation.

Since 1990, East and West Germany have been united as a single state and people. Nothing exists of the wall except a small section left as a reminder and fragments that have made their way into museums and private collections.

This 16 x 16 x 8 cm. sample bears traces of red graffiti.

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, first edition, with dust jacket and signed letter from author, and decorations by Edward Shenton. New York: Scribner’s and Sons, 1938

Gift of Earl Chesler, Floridiana Collection

Now a classic on teen reading lists, The Yearling was written before the genre of young adult fiction existed. It tells the coming-of-age story of a boy who adopts and rears an orphaned fawn that he ultimately cannot protect. Critical to the novel’s success is the setting of the north-central Florida wilderness now synonymous with Rawlings’ name.

Born in Washington, D.C., in 1896, Rawlings received critical acclaim for her ability to bring to life the color, characters, speech and local customs of old, rural Florida. The unlikely transition from the life of city sophisticate to backwoods Floridian was the making of Rawlings.

Rawlings struggled unsuccessfully for a decade to make the leap from urban newspaper columnist to novelist. Her personal and professional life was radically altered in 1928 when she discovered a property by happenstance while visiting her husband’s family. To everyone’s surprise, Rawlings purchased and moved to the 72-acre orange farm located by remote swampland.

After resigning herself to literary failure, Rawlings finally sold a short story set in her new, rustic surroundings. She had found her subject. In 1939, she completed The Yearling, which became a best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, a popular Book-of-the-Month Club selection and an MGM movie, earning her a lifetime of royalties and unimagined fame.

Set of Peter Rabbit Puppets, Works Progress Administration, Museum Extension Project (Pennsylvania), Marionettes and Puppets Collection, circa 1935-1943

Pennsylvania was the first state to embark on the Museum Extension Project, a New Deal initiative with the dual mission of providing employment during the Depression and supplying visual aids to tax-supported public schools, libraries and museums.

By 1939, 1 million articles had been produced for visual education in Pennsylvania, which included lantern slides, architectural models, dioramas, cut-out puzzles, marionettes, maps, flash cards, materials in Braille and puppets, such as the Peter Rabbit set, which includes seven hand-painted puppets of various sizes.

In an era when props were a rarity in the classroom, particularly in depressed, rural school districts, puppets added an extra dimension of color, motion and excitement to a teacher’s story time.

The story of Peter Rabbit has enchanted children since it first came into being as an illustrated letter sent in 1893 to the bedridden son of a former governess. Londoner Helen Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) often wrote such letters during her summer sojourns in the Lake District. In 1900, after failing to find a buyer for her charming little tale, Potter printed the story privately. In 1902, The Tale of Peter Rabbit was published by a commercial firm and became an instant success.

A clever businesswoman, Potter did something remarkable for her time: merchandising her characters. One year after Peter Rabbit’s literary debut, Potter made and patented a Peter Rabbit doll followed by board games, coloring books, wallpaper, figurines, baby blankets and china tea sets, licensed by her publisher. At her death, nature lover and land conservationist Potter left her considerable property to Britain’s National Trust, a donation that comprises most of Lake District National Park.

Crusade in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower, signed limited first edition. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1948

Gift of Anonymous Donor

Before America chanted “I Like Ike!” and made him 34th president of the United States, General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander of the Second World War. His revealing and very personal memoir, Crusade in Europe, was written in 1948 while he was president of Columbia University in New York City. Highly readable and regarded by critics as among the best American military memoirs, Crusade is Eisenhower’s chronicle of his thoughts, motives and personal struggles on many levels. The book is a valuable resource because it reveals what Eisenhower alone knew as the war’s ultimate insider.

Eisenhower was the last president born in the 19th century and the first to appear on color television. He was the only general who became president in the 20th century and, while his qualifications as commander in chief were unassailable, he was one of the very few who had never previously held elected office. Moderate and conservative, more engaged by foreign policy than domestic, Eisenhower is ranked today by historians as one of the top 10 presidents. In his own time, he was compared unfavorably with the dashing, dynamic young senator from Massachusetts who succeeded him.

The copy of Crusade in Europe belonging to the collection contains an inscription by Eisenhower to diplomat Joseph Edward Davies, who was ambassador to Russia and Belgium and chairman of the War Relief Control Board. Eisenhower wrote a lengthy message of gratitude, giving Davies credit for the realization of the book and identifying the book as the product of Davies advice and encouragement.

Souvenir Pennant, Civilian Conservation Corps Company 2528, circa 1933–1942

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was created in 1933 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of the cornerstones of his New Deal to revitalize the American economy. The CCC was a program with the goals of providing employment and job training for single young men and upgrading the nation’s infrastructure of roads, bridges, forests and national parks.

In the course of the nine-year program, the CCC provided employment to half a million men and gave work to another 3 million men collaterally. The men built more than 46,000 bridges and erected more than 27,000 miles of fences. They stocked lakes and rivers with more than 1 billion fish, planted 3 billion trees, halted soil erosion on 20 million acres and developed more than 800 state parks.

Although not a military outfit, the CCC program was organized and administered by the United States Army. Men aged 18 to 25 enlisted and were based at various camps, such as Company 2528 in Idaho. The “CCC boys” received room, board and instruction and were paid $30 per month, $25 of which was sent home to their families. Some men used their $5 allowance to purchase souvenirs such as pennants, pillow covers, jewelry and so forth, for themselves and others as proud souvenirs of their CCC experience.

Although an immensely successful program on many levels, the CCC was disbanded in 1942 when all able-bodied, available young men were being redirected to serve in the armed forces as America entered the World War ll.

The 28 x 85 cm. triangular pennant is made of green and yellow felt with yellow and orange lettering, bearing the CCC emblem.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, first edition, early mixed states. New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885

Gift of the Sciortino Family

Two books by one author are the wellspring of modern American literature: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). Of the latter, Ernest Hemingway said, “All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”

The novel is replete with social satire and poignant commentaries on the issues of its day, most notably slavery, as Huckleberry Finn escapes his abusive father and travels on the Mississippi River in the company of Jim, a runaway slave.

Like its title character, Huck Finn is a novel with an inability to stay out of trouble. There have been efforts to ban this book since the first month of publication to the present day. Ironically, banning was initially called for because the novel was considered racially biased in favor of African-Americans. That the plight of slaves was written of in sympathetic terms, or that a slave was portrayed as intelligent and noble, was insulting to many nineteenth century readers. More recent challenges and lawsuits to ban the novel as an objectionable work arise because its language, which is authentic to the period, is offensive to modern readers.

Author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, best known by his nome de plume Mark Twain, was born in Missouri in 1835 with his birth and death bracketed by Halley’s Comet. He grew up in Hannibal, the town where Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are set. When he was 12, upon his father’s passing, he left school to work as a printer’s apprentice. An enthusiastic champion of libraries, Twain tutored himself every night in the public library to acquire his education.

As a young man, Twain achieved his great ambition to become a Mississippi riverboat pilot. When river travel was curtailed by the Civil War, he went west to be a miner. After failing as a prospector, he succeeded as a journalist, author and lecturer who counted among his friends the leading figures of his age, including fellow inventors Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison. Twain himself held three patents, one of which prefigured Post-it Notes.

This edition is characterized by a publisher’s pictorial binding in green cloth and is stamped in gilt and black on the front cover and spine.

The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum, first edition, third state. Chicago: Reilly & Britton Company, 1904

Frank Baum will forever be associated with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, his children’s novel of 1900 which subsequently became the 1939 MGM musical classic, The Wizard of Oz. Thirteen Oz sequels followed, beginning with The Marvelous Land of Oz, written four years later.

A prolific author, an entrepreneur who tried many careers, an actor/screenwriter/film producer, Baum was irresistibly drawn into any theatrical endeavor, often to the point of financial ruin. Always creative, his futuristic imagination placed devices in his stories common only a century later: television, laptop computers, wireless telephones and advertising on clothing.

Baum was also a staunch adherent to the cause of feminism, which surfaces in The Marvelous Land of Oz. In 1882 Baum married Maud Gage, the daughter of prominent suffragette and activist Matilda Joslyn Gage. Feminism in the Baum household is reflected in a plot line of this novel. In a militant women’s coup, female General Jinjur and her all-female troops armed with knitting needles subdue the men and assign them traditional female chores: cooking, cleaning and childcare. Women are also depicted in traditionally masculine pursuits, a concept as far ahead of its time as Baum’s technological fantasies.

The Baums had no female children; they produced four sons, the first audience for Frank Baum’s famous tales, songs and poetry for children.

A red cloth binding stamped in silver, black and green with the title outlined in silver on the cover distinguishes this edition.

Mannequin of Juan Ponce de León, Works Progress Administration, Museum Extension Project (New Jersey), Explorers Collection, circa 1938–1943

When he touched land in St. Augustine on Palm Sunday 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de León became the first European to see Florida. He named it Pascua de Florida, Feast of Flowers, and promptly claimed it for his sovereigns. Born in San Servas, Spain, circa 1460, he was notorious for being a brutal and rapacious conqueror, even by the standards of his day. Two years prior to his Florida expedition, he was removed as governor of Borinquen, better known today as Puerto Rico, in part for his extreme cruelty to the native people.

On his final expedition to search for Bimini, questing for the Fountain of Youth, he was wounded by a native’s poisoned arrow. He died in Havana, Cuba, in 1521 and is buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Although some modern scholarship disputes the explorer’s fearsome reputation, the Latin inscription on his tomb reads: “Here rest the bones of a valiant LION [León], mightier in deeds than in name.”

The Ponce de León mannequin was created for use in the classroom to give students a visual component to their curricula. At the time of its making, visual aids were a novel concept in schools. Children were expected to learn by reading textbooks and listening to the teacher lecture. Visual aids such as this mannequin brought historical figures to life.

The mannequin measures 44 cm high and is part of a set of notable explorers, including John Cabot, Leif Ericsson, Vasco-Núñez de Balboa, Amerigo Vespucci, Hernán Cortés, Sir Frances Drake and Ferdinand Magellan. The materials are painted plaster of Paris, wood, metal and fabric.

Dick Tracy the Detective by Chester Gould, Big Little Book. Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Company, 1932

Gift of Duane H. Siers, Duane H. Siers Family Collection of Big Little Books

A printing foreman’s mistake forever changed reading for children. In 1918, the Hammerung-Whitman Publishing Company, future producers of Big Little Books, fabricated 12 times the quantity of a children’s book order when gross (12 dozen) was confused with 1 dozen. To save the day, a salesman persuaded retail chains such F.W. Woolworth Company and booksellers around the country to experiment with offering the books year-round. Heretofore, children’s books were only on sale once a year at Christmas. The floodgates to reading and owning books for children were opened.

Pushing ahead with children’s amusements, the firm added a box division and introduced jigsaw puzzles and boxed games in the early 1920s. Big Little Books were their unique innovation for Christmas 1932: a book designed to fit comfortably in the diminutive hands of a child. This kids-only product preceded the first comic books by one year.

The Golden Age for Big Little Books was 1932 to 1938. Like the cost of a movie ticket, a Big Little Book was a dime. The first book in the series was The Adventures of Dick Tracy, based on the newspaper comic strip. Unlike subsequent titles, there was only one printing (600,000 copies) of Dick Tracy the Detective, which makes it highly desirable to collectors.

Biblia Sacra Mazarinea or Gutenberg Bible, in facsimile. Paris: Éditions Les Incunables, 1985

Gift of Dr. Wayne T. Moses

There have been two information revolutions in history: the Gutenberg printing press and the Internet. Although 500 years separate them, each has exponentially increased access to the written word, ushered in radical social change and closed the “information divide” between rich and poor.

For centuries, the duplication of a text involved laboriously hand copying a manuscript, character by character, on a handmade surface with handmade inks by trained scribes at enormous expense. Until German printer Johannes Gutenberg (1398-1468) made printed material affordable, only the truly wealthy read.

Gutenberg’s brilliant breakthrough was to cast reusable, individual letters in metal, line up the letters to make a copy of a page and print mechanically. By 1455, he had sufficiently mastered his new technology to produce his masterwork, the Latin Bible. A replica of this historic book can be found on permanent display at the Main Library. The printing method was so ingenious that it remained in use until the late 20th century.

Holy Bibles produced by Gutenberg are termed Mazarin Bibles, in Latin Biblia Sacra Mazarinea, named for French Cardinal Jules Mazarin in whose library the first Gutenberg Bible was discovered in 1760. A rare and prized item then and now, Gutenberg printed 30 copies of his Bible on vellum (calfskin) and 145 on paper. Twenty-two of the original Mazarin Bibles on vellum remain; no paper copies have survived.

The original edition price of a Bible was 30 florins, the equivalent to three years of income for the average person. Most copies were purchased by churches which, for the first time, could obtain a copy of the Bible. Today almost anything written, including the Guttenberg Bible, can be had instantly by downloading from the Internet, many free of charge.

The collection’s copy of the Biblia Sacra Mazarinea consists of two folio volumes of the Bible in Latin, together with two folio volumes of history, transcription and translation of the work in English.

The History of Broward County by Francis H. Miner, Works Progress Administration, unpublished typescript for the Federal Writers’ Project, American Guide Series, 1936

The History of Broward County is a report on Broward County, an area that consisted of seven fledgling cities in 1936. The 5,000-word uncirculated report by Frances H. Miner was a New Deal writing assignment that was published for the first time in 1998 and again in 2006 by the Bienes Museum.

Florida, the Land of Enchantment, Including an Account of its Romantic History from the Days of Ponce de Leon and Other Settlers… by Nevin O. Winter. Boston: Page Company, 1918

Florida, Land of Enchantment expounds upon everything pertaining to the state in the early days of the last century. Winter provides a comprehensive account of the state’s natural resources, climate, economy, entertainments and native people. The edition is distinguished with a pictorial cloth binding.

An Important Issue in the Gubernatorial Contest in Florida. Respectfully submitted for the careful perusal of the citizens of my native State. By Napoleon B. Broward. Jacksonville, Florida: S.F. Hall & Sons, 1903

A political broadside issued by gubernatorial hopeful Napoleon Bonaparte Broward two years before he was elected to office defines the schism in state politics: agriculture versus “land-grabbing railroads.” His proposal was to save 8,000,000 acres and $400,000 by draining the Everglades to create farmland.

Fort Lauderdale Cook Book, compiled by the Ladies of the Baptist Church. Ascadia, Florida: Baptist Witness Publishing Company, 1915

The 61-page cookbook provides a glimpse into the domestic realm of 1915 Fort Lauderdale with recipes, household hints, hostess advice and advertisements from local merchants. The cookbook offers insights into how people lived and what they ate before prepared foods were common.

Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State, compiled and written by the Federal Writers’ Project of the Work Projects Administration for the State of Florida, sponsored by State of Florida Department of Public Instruction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1939

Gift of Evanell K. Powell-Brant

A New Deal initiative, the Federal Writer’s Project produced master guides for every aspect of life in each state. Florida: Guide to the Southernmost State is signed by Florida Director (1935-1942) Carita Dogget Corse, a historian who advocated for African-American participation in the book’s preparation.

Manuscript of Two Roads to Petra by Michael Shaara, 1962

Gift of Helen Shaara and Family

Michael Shaara (1929–1988) published four novels, including 1975 Pulitzer Prize-winner The Killer Angels, adapted as the miniseries Gettysburg. His final novel, For Love of the Game, became a 1999 feature film with Kevin Costner. He wrote more than 70 short stories, including Two Roads to Petra.

Hand Printing Press Model, Works Progress Administration, Museum Extension Project (Pennsylvania), Machinery Models Collection, circa 1935-1943

The model of an early hand printing press was created to show school children a three-dimensional item that would be difficult to visualize. Such teaching tools were valuable during the Depression when Pennsylvania had 6,000 one-room schoolhouses lacking educational resources.

Demolition Bomb Model, Works Progress Administration, War Models Production Project, War Service Division, circa 1942-1944

A wooden model of a bomb opens to reveal its interior workings for military personnel in the Coast Guard, Marine Cadets and recruits assigned to National Defense Training Centers. During World War ll, the WPA designed and produced visual aids for classroom training that could save a serviceman’s life.

Collection of Handicraft Project Wood Signs, Works Progress Administration Handicraft Project (Michigan), 1939

Twenty-six wooden signs with bark attached show the names of various trees that grow in Michigan. WPA workers burned the names of the trees into the wood. The project materials were used in tax-supported institutions and introduced students to native species of trees.

Transportation Model of Airplane, Amphibian, Works Progress Administration, Visual-Aids Project (Wisconsin), circa 1935-1943

The Wisconsin Visual-Aids Project created a series of scale transportation models for classroom use. The wooden model was based on a Sikorsky twin-engine aircraft built in the late 1930s and used primarily by the U.S. Navy and Marines. As the name implies, Amphibian aircrafts operated on land and water.

Popeye with the Hag of the Seven Seas by E. C. Segar. Chicago: Pleasure Books, 1935

As publishers sought ways to increase lagging sales in the Depression, New York firm Blue Ribbon Press produced a series of pop-up books with classic fairytale and cartoon characters such as Little Orphan Annie, Buck Rogers and Popeye. Blue Ribbon was the first publisher to use the term “pop-up.”

How Columbus Discovered America, by Vojtěch Kubašta. London: Bancroft & Company, 1960

Gift of Gerry Bohning

Czech artist and paper engineer Vojtěch Kubašta (1914-1992) was an acknowledged master in the field of designing movable books for children. How Columbus Discovered America was used in Japan to teach American history to children. The back cover unfolds into a double page pop-up of Columbus’ ships.

Amazing Spider-Man, vol. 1 no. 39, How Green Was My Goblin! New York: Non-Pareil Publishing Corporation, August 1966

Gift of Anonymous Donor

A pivotal issue in the Amazing Spider-Man series is How Green Was My Goblin! In this series shocker, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by John Romita, the secret identity of Spider-Man is revealed along with the secret identity of Green Goblin, who in an earlier storyline murdered Spider-Man’s girlfriend.

Handicraft Project 1170: Doll Dress, Pinafore, and Panties, Works Progress Administration, sponsored by the Milwaukee State Teachers College, circa 1936-1937

The Handicraft Project was a New Deal program to teach marketable skills to unemployed women. The items made were sold or donated to public hospitals, libraries, schools and orphanages. Orphans were especially grateful recipients since playthings were not normally a feature of their bleak environments.

The Book of Kells, fine art facsimile volume, limited edition 131/1480, commentary edited by Peter Fox. Luzern: Faksimile-Verlag, 1990

Gift of Michael S. Bienes, Dianne and Michael Bienes Art, Architecture and Fine Facsimiles Collection

Regarded as Ireland’s foremost national treasure, the Book of Kells takes its name from the Abbey of Kells. Celtic monks created the illuminated manuscript of the Gospels of the New Testament in Latin circa 800 A.D. This Swiss facsimile is unsurpassed for verisimilitude and took a decade to fabricate.

Guernica: riproduzione integrale in facsimile… Picasso, limited edition 126/1020. Rome: Salerno Editrice, 1990

Gift of Michael S. Bienes, Dianne and Michael Bienes Art, Architecture and Fine Facsimiles Collection

Pablo Picasso’s mural Guernica was his response to the 1937 bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). It created a sensation when unveiled at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair and endures as a testament to the horrors of war. Featured are Picasso’s 42 preparatory sketches.

Alphabet pour Adultes by Man Ray, edition 52/150. Paris: Editions Pierre Belfond, 1970

Gift of Jean Trebbi

American avant-garde artist Man Ray (1890-1976) played an important role in the Surrealist and Dada movements that electrified the art scene in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. This signed French edition ABC book includes a signed Rayograph, a composition created with objects, photosensitized paper and light.

Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, the Extensive Territories of the Muscogulges, or Creek Confederacy, and the Country of the Chactaws… by William Bartram. London: Reprinted for J. Johnson, in St. Paul’s
Church-Yard, 1792

Among the oldest books in the collection, Bartram’s Travels describes the Native Americans, geography and natural history of the southeastern United States. Included are observations of subtropical Florida in its early, pristine state. This work is a classic in the genre of nature writing.

The Life and Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra,
4 vols. London: Printed for Hurst, Robinson and Company, 1820

An 1820 English language edition of the great novel of Spain’s literary canon follows the misadventures of an idealistic dreamer who attempts to rekindle chivalry under the name of Don Quixote. The original work by Cervantes (1547-1616) was issued in two volumes spaced 10 years apart (1605 and 1615).

Miami Blues by Charles Willeford, first edition. New York: St. Martins Press, 1984

Gift of Betsy Willeford

Orphaned at an early age and riding the rails in Mexico at 13, Charles Willeford (1919-1988) was an original like his detective Hoke Moseley, whose series begins with Miami Blues. His edgy style influenced writers and directors; three books became movies: Cockfighter, Miami Blues and The Woman Chaser.

The Vatican Frescoes of Michelangelo by André Chastel; photography by Takashi Okamura, limited edition 48/400. New York: Abbeville, 1980

Gift of Michael S. Bienes, Dianne and Michael Bienes Art, Architecture and Fine Facsimiles Collection

The two-volume photo essay provides detailed documentation by a noted art photographer of Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, most notably the Sistine ceiling and The Last Judgment, prior to the restoration project (1984-1994), which was criticized for stripping the work too harshly.

The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, 2 vols. London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1820

While supporting himself as a spy and merchant, Defoe authored more than 560 books and pamphlets, among them the tale of Robinson Crusoe (1719). Considered by scholars to be the first true novel written in English, by the end of the 19th century no book had as many editions, spinoffs or translations.

Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D. MacDonald, with scarce dust jacket. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1972

MacDonald is credited with originating the modern Florida mystery. The 21-book Travis McGee series were all titled with a color. Although McGee made it to film and television, the author is best known for his non-McGee movie The Executioners (1962), remade as Cape Fear (1962 and 1991).

The Collections of the
Bienes Museum of the Modern Book, Main Library

The Bienes Museum of the Modern Book: The Dianne and Michael Bienes Special Collections and Rare Book Library is a section of the Broward County Libraries Division. Its purpose is to collect, preserve and provide access to rare books and Special Collections. The Bienes Museum also seeks to play a role in the broader research community by building collections in areas not well covered by other repositories. Consequently, the Museum draws visiting scholars to Broward County and enhances Broward County Library’s reputation as a center for scholarship.

Formats

The Bienes Museum’s holdings include rare books, audio and videotapes, microfiche, scholarly journals and newsletters, archives, manuscripts and personal papers, sheet music, photographs, programs, art objects, three-dimensional objects and other material artifacts.

The Museum has numerous online web exhibits consisting of approximately 20,000 digital scans and images that are used by library customers, collectors and researchers from around the world.

Children’s Literature and Artifacts

Nyr Indictor Collection of ABC Books and Related Materials

The Nyr Indictor Collection of the Alphabet is a research-level resource of approximately 3,000 items that records in detail the worldwide development of the 19th and 20th century alphabets.

Along with ABC books in languages as diverse as Arabic, Cherokee, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, American Sign Language, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Thai, Ukrainian and Yiddish, the collection also includes a wide variety of formats ranging from toys and games, ceramics, clothing and rubber stamps to flash cards, jigsaw puzzles and wrapping paper.

Jean Trebbi ABC Collection

The Jean Trebbi ABC Collection features 300 alphabet books. The collection was shaped over a period of 20 years and includes first editions, signed and numbered copies, artists’ books and other rare and out-of-print titles dating from the late 19th century to the present day.

Duane H. Siers Family Collection of Big Little Books

In 1986, Duane Siers donated his collection of 500 Big Little Books dating from 1932 to the 1970s. Big Little Books was the collective title given to the volumes that Whitman published. They are all approximately 4 ½ inches high by 3 ¾ inches wide.

Bienes Museum Comic Books Collection

The collection contains approximately 2,400 vintage comic books dating from the 1950s to the 1980s, and includes titles such as The Amazing Spider-Man; Archie; Betty and Veronica; Daredevil; The Defenders; The Fantastic Four; The Incredible Hulk; Iron Man; Jughead; Marvel Tales; Marvel Team-Up; The Sub-Mariner and Star Wars.

Collection of Books Illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher

Leonard Everett Fisher is a well-known artist and author. He has illustrated more than 260 books for young readers since 1955. Fisher has been honored with such awards as the 1981 National Jewish Book Award for Children’s Literature and the Christopher Medal for Illustration. The Bienes Museum has approximately 140 of his titles.

Collection of Vojtěch Kubašta works

In 2001, the Bienes Museum began collecting the works of Vojtěch Kubašta (1914-1992), the Czech paper engineer, children’s book illustrator and graphic designer. The collection includes more than 315 advertisements, calendars, flat books, maps, models, pop-up books and greeting cards, portfolios, postcards, posters, prints and stationery. The Bienes Museum has the largest public institutional collection of Kubašta’s works in the United States.

Floridiana

Florida Artists’ Book Collection

The Florida Artists’ Book Prize, a juried competition established jointly in 1997 by the Bienes Museum and the Florida Center for the Book, has generated a collection of books made as works of art by Florida artists. The Bienes Museum permanently houses the winner of each annual competition.

Floridiana (including archives of Florida authors: Connie May Fowler, Olivia Goldsmith, Michael Shaara and Charles Willeford)

The collection has rare titles published and/or authored by Florida residents and several archives of Florida authors. Also included is the Kay Latona Florida Crime Mystery Collection of 200 titles. Current collecting focuses on local historical documents and rare and unusual monographs on Florida personages and topics.

John D. MacDonald Collection

John D. MacDonald was a prolific writer of crime and suspense novels, many of them set in his adopted home of Florida. His best-known works include the popular and critically acclaimed Travis McGee series and his novel The Executioners, which was adapted into the film Cape Fear. The Bienes Museum has a large selection of MacDonald fiction published in various editions and languages.

General and Fine Presses

Dianne and Michael Bienes Art, Architecture and Fine Facsimiles Collection

The collection includes approximately 600 titles covering various subjects and time periods. Many titles are from European publishers and/or are limited editions.

Deicke Collection of Books on Rare Tropical Fruits and Vegetables

In the 1980s, Lois L. Deicke presented a grant to Broward County Library to develop a collection on gardening, fruits, vegetables and plants common to Florida and the tropics. The collection contains more than 150 titles by leading horticulturalists.

General Collection of Books

The collection is comprised of reference materials pertaining to book collecting, conservation and preservation of books, printing, typography and guides to book values. Also of interest are periodicals such as Firsts and Biblio. The Bienes Museum houses first editions of classic American authors including L. Frank Baum, William Faulkner, Eugene O’Neill, Edgar Allan Poe, Maurice Sendak, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Mark Twain and Thomas Wolfe.

Paulette and Robert Greene Collection of Books about Books and Florida Fine Press Publications

The collection is primarily about book collecting and rare books and also contains retrospective and current Florida fine press publications such as King & Queen Press and Angel Alley Press.

Irving Weil Coin Collection

The collection consists of commemorative gold and silver coins, U.S. and foreign currency, gold and silver mint pieces, state seals, gold and silver plates and other miscellaneous numismatics. Included in the collection are plates with renditions of works by Dali, Wyeth and Rockwell.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) and New Deal Literature

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

The CCC was created by an act of Congress in 1933 soon after the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The dual-purpose program provided work for unemployed youth and protected and conserved natural resources. The collection has approximately 200 titles and includes books, pamphlets, posters, banners, clothing, memory books, newspapers and newsletters, certificates, games, matchbook covers, menus, patches, pillow cases and postcards.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) commonly refers to the many agencies established by the federal government in the 1930s during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The collection contains books, pamphlets and political tracts written about Roosevelt’s life, administration and policies.

Historical Records Survey

The Historical Records Survey was a project of the WPA in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Originally part of the Federal Writers’ Project, it was devoted to surveying and indexing historically significant records in state, county and local archives. The official mission statement was the “discovery, preservation and listing of basic materials for research in the history of the United States.” The Bienes Museum has surveys from most states.

WPA Children’s Books

The Bienes Museum has approximately 90 children’s books created for young Americans during the Roosevelt administration and published by the WPA Pennsylvania Writers’ Project, the WPA New York City New Reading Materials Program and the WPA Milwaukee Handicraft Project.

Jean Fitzgerald Collection of WPA Federal Writers’ Project Materials

Jean Fitzgerald, a retired U.S. Naval officer and a local library supporter, donated his important collection of WPA Federal Writers’ Project materials to Broward County Library in 1986. The Bienes Museum now has approximately 2,000 titles composed and printed during the WPA era, 1935-1942. The collection is generally considered to be the largest and most comprehensive in the United States.

WPA Florida Publications

The collection includes 114 publications, artifacts and art works by various Florida Writers’ Projects and Florida New Deal and WPA agencies.

WPA Handicraft Projects

The WPA Handicraft Projects came into being in the 1930s to help unemployed Americans. The crafts were designed and made with inexpensive or surplus materials and were sold and distributed to tax-supported institutions. The collection features artifacts from Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Des Moines, Iowa; Iron Mountain, Michigan; Orlando, Florida; Tennessee; and Vermont. It includes examples of block-printed textiles, books, bookbinding, bookmarks, children’s furniture, clothing, crewel embroidery, doll clothing, educational toys, portfolios and wooden signs.

WPA Museum Extension Project

Jean Fitzgerald was the catalyst behind the Bienes Museum’s 1998 acquisition of its first Museum Extension Project artifacts. Since then, the Bienes Museum librarians have aggressively acquired hundreds of additional artifacts. The current collection contains more than 750 children’s books, handbooks and three-dimensional objects made by state-wide Museum Extension Projects and used by tax-supported schools, libraries and museums as visual aids for education. It is the only collection of its kind in existence.

About the Broward County
Historical Commission

The Broward County Historical Commission was created by County ordinance in 1972. Now a part of the Libraries Division, this agency preserves records and artifacts that document the natural and social history of a diverse, dynamic region of South Florida. The Historical Commission serves the 31 municipalities that comprise Broward County by gathering material evidence, including early accounts which describe each city’s legacy.

Although the County was formed less than 100 years ago in 1915, archaeological finds discovered around South Florida date from as far back in time as 10,000 years ago. The area we now know as Broward County was at various times a submerged landscape, a dry savanna and a subtropical wetland. Today, where high-rise condos and office buildings stand, Tequesta Native Americans made their homes 4,000 years ago. Submerged offshore, historic vessels from the early 17th century onward lie in ruins sunk by foul weather or scuttled by foul play. Several ships have been relocated, rich in artifacts and information. Such items and others can be found in the library’s Historical Commission collections.

The tasks of gathering artifacts, documents and oral histories are carried out by the County Historian, County Archaeologist, Historical Commission Curator and Historic Preservation Coordinator. They educate the public through on-site and traveling exhibits; publication of the historical journal Broward Legacy; popular programs such as the Brown Bag Lunch lectures; recognition events such as Pioneer Day and Heritage Celebration; bestowing preservation and education awards; and creating free site-specific guides. In addition, the staff works to ensure the preservation and protection of historic structures and archaeological sites throughout the County.

Free illustrated booklets and brochures produced by the Historical Commission include: A Guide to the National Register of Historic Places in Broward County, with color photographs and QR codes and Historic Sites Walking Tour of Fort Lauderdale Beach. To learn more about local points of interest, the free publication Bibliography of Select Local History Holdings provides interesting asides and reader advisories.

The Facility

The Historical Commission is located in the former West Side Grade School, one of the oldest former school buildings in the County, located in the historic Sailboat Bend neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale. The two-story, 12,000-square-foot building was designed in 1923 by prominent local architect John Morris Peterman and was built the same year by contractor Cayot and Hart. As an elementary school, it served several generations of pupils from 1923 to 1961. The building was saved from demolition and renovated as a fitting venue for the Historical Commission, which relocated there in the fall of 2009.

Facilities include an exhibition area for changing gallery presentations, a spacious library and reading room, and a meeting room capable of holding events for up to 100 people. Most Special Collections are contained in the 23,736 cubic feet of archival area, containing approximately 20,000 cataloged items. Additional material, according to size and value, is housed off-site.

Special Collections, Exhibits and Programs, and Digital Resources

The Historical Commission resources are vast, varied and open to all. The reference library of more than 2,000 volumes contains books ranging from rare 19th century volumes to recent publications, periodicals, city directories (1918 to c. 1980) and high school annuals (1920s to 1990).

The general reference collection includes manuscripts, newspaper clippings and pamphlets on a wide range of subjects. Of particular interest are the biographical files which include obituaries and pioneer (early resident) biographical data forms. Supplementing the general collection are Special Collections which include, among others, an oral history collection with more than 300 recorded interviews conducted since 1972; Florida East Coast Railway employee records (1918 to 1950); and the Cooper Kirk Collection with emphasis on such topics as Major William Lauderdale and the Second Seminole War, Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, the creation of Broward County and extracts from local papers, circa 1909 to 1929.

The archives contain a collection of original government documents, including probate records from 1916 to 1940, sheriff’s correspondence and records, license applications, school records, County Guard records, voter registration cards from 1900 to 1946 and deed records.

Maps and photographs depict the County over the course of its evolution. More than 1,200 maps ranging from 16th century sailing charts to modern road maps and development plats make up this collection. An extensive photographic collection includes more than 20,000 images dating from the late 19th century to the present. Comprehensive aerial photographs of the County dating from 1947, with some random images from as early as the 1920s, are among the most commonly used items in the archives.

Nine filing cabinets house the Hollywood Sun-Tattler collection of photographs that appeared in that paper mostly from the 1970s and 1980s. Postcards and DVDs also make up part of the collection, which includes movie footage dating back to the 1920s. The collection also includes hundreds of slides, primarily taken in the 1970s, of historical buildings and sites, many of which no longer exist today or have been drastically altered.

Almost 1,000 reels of microfilm are in the collection. The newspaper microfilm collection includes a nearly complete set of Fort Lauderdale newspapers (Sentinel and News) from 1913 to 1964, as well as issues of smaller Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Pompano papers. Included also are early issues of the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, Miami Herald and Metropolis, Palm Beach Post, Tropical Sun and the only known microfilm records of the Hollywood Sun-Tattler in Broward County.

Over the years, hundreds of archaeological sites within the County have been recorded on land and underwater. A variety of artifacts from excavations within the County during the last 30 years also form part of the holdings. Among the rarest are the only known surviving relics (musket balls, gun flints and pottery) from one of the three forts named for Major William Lauderdale during the Second Seminole War.

Marine archeology is an active area of investigation. One marine archaeological site that is well-known to many locals and visitors alike is the wreck of the S.S. Copenhagen, which went down in 1900 off the coast of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. In 1994, working with a local dive boat captain, local divers and the state, the Historical Commission succeeded in making the S.S. Copenhagen the state’s fifth Underwater Archaeology Preserve, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and accessible to scuba divers. In 2007, eight submerged archaeological sites were identified which are the subject of ongoing research.

For more information about the Broward County Historical Commission, located at 301 Harmon (S.W. 13th) Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312, call 954-357-5553 or visit online at broward.org/Library/History/.

Broward County
Historical Commission

Collection Highlights

Self-Portrait of Dr. Anna Darrow (1878–1959)

Gift of Darrow Family

Dr. Anna Darrow studied art while growing up in Chicago. At age 15, two of her drawings were exhibited at the Chicago World’s Fair, also known as the 1893 World’s Columbian exhibition, a major event of that time. Although Darrow ultimately found her calling in medicine, she continued to paint for the rest of her life. Records show that she took second prize, a $1,000 bond in the 1947 Medical Art Exhibition, at the American Medical Association convention.

Darrow practiced medicine with her husband, Dr. Charles Roy, in the Lake Okeechobee area before the couple came to Broward in 1924. They ministered to the entire population counting among their patients Seminoles and the notorious bank robbers, the Ashley Gang.

As befitting a daring woman, Darrow’s painted self-portrait depicts her not sitting sedately before an easel, but in an exciting moment of danger. In this scene from her life as Fort Lauderdale’s first female physician, she depicts herself stepping away from her Ford automobile ready to walk the path to a patient’s home in Lake Okeechobee unaware of a threat lurking underfoot. In the nick of time, Darrow is saved by a mother hen who charges a snake, flapping and screeching, rescuing her chicks and, consequently, Darrow. The patient’s family is shown standing by the house witnessing the drama. Since two sequential views of a stork carrying a bundle are shown near the home, Darrow may be indicating that she was there to deliver a baby.

Framed Photograph of Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Plaque on bottom reads: “Napoleon Bonaparte Broward 1857–1910 Governor of Florida 1905–1909, Planner and Developer of Everglades Drainage”

Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, like his Corsican namesake, was a man of immense determination. Politically he had no ambitions to be an emperor; on the contrary, he was a member of the Straightouts, a populist faction of the Democratic Party that championed the agrarian, rural working class, the “common man.” It was these Floridians with whom Broward identified and aligned himself.

Broward started life as a Jacksonville, Florida, farm boy. Union troops razed the family farm during the Civil War, devastating them economically. Orphaned at an early age, Broward and his brother tried unsuccessfully to run a farm together. Eventually, young Broward went to work on his uncle’s steamship destined for later adventures at sea as a gunrunner for the Cubans in their fight for independence from Spain.

In January 1888, Broward’s reputation as a daring sea captain led to an appointment as sheriff in his native Duval County after a disgraced predecessor left in midterm. His experience as an office holder started Broward on the political path that led to becoming the 19th governor of Florida in 1905. In that election, Broward’s victory was narrowly delivered by his farming constituency, with a lead of 600 votes out of 45,000. As governor, Broward is remembered for draining the Everglades to convert swamp into arable land for farmers. A controversial project then and now, the drainage project was a boon to the fledgling citrus industry.

In 1910, five years prior to the creation of the county that bears his name, Broward passed away while awaiting surgery to remove gallstones. Today, 30 streets throughout the state are named for him, as well as the second most populous county in Florida.

Early Ballot Box

Gift of Easter Lily Gates

Paper ballots were known to the ancients, appearing in Rome in 139 B.C. They were first used in what is now the United States in 1629 to elect the pastor of a Salem, Massachusetts, congregation. Despite the long history of casting one’s vote by written ballot, voice voting was the norm in America until the 1860s.

Voice voting was not without its advantages, hence its longevity. The system involved men going to the polls, placing their hand on a Bible and swearing to a judge that this was their only ballot. They would publicly shout the name of their candidate and a clerk sitting behind the judge would record the vote in a poll book. Voter registration did not exist; the honor system and fear of discovery were the only safeguards against multiple voting.

While some argued that a box that does not exist cannot be stuffed, paper ballots became standard because they provided the essential element of privacy for a secret ballot. With public voice voting, a man’s vote was subject to appropriation by an employer or other authority figure who could hear it cast.

By the mid-19th century, political parties began providing slips of paper printed with the names of their candidates. Since the ready-made ballots had the dimensions of railway tickets, the party slate came to be called a “ticket.”

The collection’s barrel-style secret ballot box came from Broward County Supervisor of Elections Easter Lily Gates, who held her post from 1929 to 1969. Made of tin and cast iron, the barrel has a wire bale handle at its top and base for fitting over the back of a mule, equipping the box to travel to multiple polling sites. This item was used in Broward County.

The manufacturer’s mark on the ballot box reads “Geo. D. Barnard/& Co. Manufacturers St Louis, Mo.”

Gold Pocket Watch Cover

Gift of Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc.

Ivy Julia Stranahan, one-half of an early pioneer couple, left a legacy as Fort Lauderdale’s first teacher, an advocate for the Seminoles and a lobbyist for women’s suffrage. But did she leave a watch case?

Ivy Julia Cromartie came to Fort Lauderdale in 1899 to teach elementary education. One year later she married Frank Stranahan, who had arrived in 1893 to manage the overland mail route from Lantana to Coconut Grove. A born entrepreneur, he established a trading post, a post office and a ferry service across the New River by 1895. His customers were Seminoles, travelers and early pioneers.

Ivy Stranahan, who resided at the trading post, acted as an intermediary and champion for the Seminoles, facilitating their adjustment to the white community engulfing them. She introduced sewing machines to the Seminole women (traditionally financially self-sufficient), and won the battle to prevent termination of the tribe’s federal benefits in the 1950s.

A gold pocket watch cover inscribed with the initials IJS was found at an excavation of the Stranahan trading post, located beside her former residence, Stranahan House. Although unconfirmed, the initials and the location suggest that Ivy Julia Stranahan was the likely owner.

Ivy Stranhan lived a long life (1881-1971). After Frank Stranahan drowned himself in the New River in 1929 in the wake of financial loss, Ivy recovered economically and survived him by 40 years. In that time, she added to her legacy as an early environmentalist, dedicated to the Audubon Society and instrumental in the establishment of Everglades National Park.

Artifacts of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha

Gift of Arnold McLean and Joe Smith

The Nuestra Señora de Atocha was one of 28 ships of the 1622 Tierre Firme Flota, Spain’s Mainland Fleet, returning home to Cádiz from Havana, Cuba, when disaster struck. A series of delays caused the Atocha to depart six weeks behind schedule, putting her squarely in the path of a September hurricane on the second day of the voyage. The Atocha and sister ship Santa Margarita were battered against the coral reefs of the Dry Tortugas and sank about 35 miles west of Key West.

Considered the safest vessel in the fleet, the Atocha was loaded with wealthy passengers and valuable cargo. The shipwreck’s economic consequences to Spain were immediate and devastating. Loss of the cargo necessitated that Spain borrow extensively and sell other galleons to finance its role in the Thirty Years War. Spain attempted to salvage the Atocha for a decade, but recovery efforts were futile until commercial treasure hunters rediscovered her on July 20, 1985.

Investigation of the Atocha wreckage has resulted in the recovery of thousands of artifacts, ranging from 17th century naval weapons, silver and gold bullion, precious stones, coins, religious items, jewelry, pewter and wooden utensils, and ceramics. The collection contains a representative sample of these artifacts including silver reales (coins), iron sword fragments, silver candlesticks and plates.

These artifacts contribute to our better understanding of Spanish maritime influence in the Americas during the 17th century. The salvage, sale and ownership of the wreck and its artifacts were controversial and led to the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, which prevents unpermitted salvage of shipwrecks on Federal Submerged Land.

Tequesta Shell Bird Effigy

The collection’s bird effigy was made from the flared lip of a conch shell and was likely carved between 750 and 1400 A.D. It was recovered during archaeological investigations near the New River in Fort Lauderdale.

The effigy is attributed to the Tequesta Native Americans, an Everglades or Glades cultural group who occupied the Broward and Miami-Dade regions of southeastern Florida roughly 2500 to 350 years ago. By the mid-18th century, Tequesta settlements had mostly disappeared. The several hundred remaining Tequesta ultimately succumbed to European diseases, fled to the Caribbean during the British accession of Florida Territory or were absorbed into the Seminole tribe.

The Tequesta did not practice agriculture but instead were fisherman-hunter-gatherers. They established seasonal and long-term settlements throughout the southeastern Florida Everglades, along the coast, and adjacent to freshwater streams and rivers. From archaeological evidence and early historical accounts of Spanish explorers, it has been determined that their food sources included a variety of land animals such as deer, panther, raccoon and snake as well as fish and marine mammals such as shark, tuna, manatee, porpoise and sea turtle. Shellfish such as oysters, clams and conch played a principal role in their diet. The monk seal, now extinct, was reserved exclusively for the Tequesta elite.

Bird effigies similar to this one, either carved in wood, bone or shell, have been found in cemetery sites throughout the Tequesta region. Archaeological evidence indicates these effigies are closely associated with Tequesta mortuary practices and support accounts of Spanish missionaries in 1743 who observed that the Tequesta near the Miami River revered a bird head effigy carved in pine. The figure was housed in a cemetery temple and known as “the god of the Graveyard.”

Mammoth Tooth

Gift of Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc.

The biggest grinding teeth found in history belong to the members of the mammoth family, which includes the North American Wooly Mammoth, the smaller Imperial Mammoth and the Columbian Mammoth. Similar to the North American Wooly Mammoth indigenous to midwest North America, the Imperial and Columbian Mammoth roamed South Florida until 10,000 years ago. Weighing up to eight tons and standing nearly 12 feet high at the shoulder, they are closely related to modern Asiatic elephants.

Mammoths were herbivores, subsisting on grasses, roots and other flora. The crown of a mammoth tooth is composed of a series of enamel ridges ideally adapted to grind plant fiber and resistant to the silica in grasses which would wear down a differently structured, less durable tooth.

The collection’s mammoth tooth was recovered in 2003 from a fossil bed discovered during archaeological investigations in the City of Parkland, Florida. This specimen is approximately 11 ¼ inches long by 8 ½ inches tall, and weighs 14 pounds, 6 ounces. It is estimated to be at least 11,000 years old.

The Broward County Historical Commission received the tooth in 2007 and stabilized and conserved it in 2009. The Parkland site where the tooth was discovered is a designated Broward County Cultural Resource Site protected by County ordinance.

Nineteenth Century Patent Medicine and Beverage Bottles

Gift of Archaeological and Historical Conservancy, Inc.

There are several hundred bottles in the collection, some of which once contained patent medicines sold as health remedies during the 18th and 19th centuries. For researchers, the bottles provide insight into the trade, economy, commerce, buying habits, health needs and social conditions of pioneer-era Broward County.

Many of the medicine bottles in the collection predate the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act which required ingredients to be clearly listed. Despite the name, most “patent” medicine formulas were not officially patented by the government, and many included as primary ingredients vegetable oil and large quantities of alcohol. Some formulations included drugs such as morphine or opium. Almost all advertised themselves as panaceas for diverse ailments and made extravagant claims.

Patent medicines, also called “snake oils,” “elixirs” and “potions,” were criticized as ineffective, dangerous and poor substitutes for professional medical treatment. In 1936, patent medicines were outlawed but not before the purveyors made a tidy fortune. Two examples shown here include Duffy Malt Whiskey and Grove’s Tasteless Chill Tonic.

When Walter B. Duffy’s distillery was struggling in the economic depression of the 1880s, he hit upon the idea of marketing his malt liquor as the “greatest known heart tonic.” Sales were brisk for the new “medicinal” product, in addition to exempt from state and federal liquor taxes. Duffy was catapulted from the verge of bankruptcy to the status of multimillionaire.

In contrast to Duffy, Dr. Edwin Wiley Grove, a prohibitionist pharmacist from Paris, Tennessee, created a quinine-based Tasteless Chill Tonic in 1878. Used by the British military to stave off malaria, it outsold Coca-Cola.

Pictured clock-wise from top: Duffy Malt Whiskey (1915-1926, Duffy Malt Whiskey Company, Rochester, New York); Johnson’s Chill and Fever Tonic (1880-1910, Savannah, Georgia); Atwood’s Jaundice Bitters (1890-1910, Georgetown, Massachusetts); unidentified round–bottom soda bottle (1840-1890); Groves Tasteless Chill Tonic Prepared by Paris Medicine Co. (1891-1910, St. Louis, Missouri).

Barrel Faceted Blue Glass Seminole Trade Bead

This blue glass barrel-shaped, faceted bead was recovered from an archaeological site in Broward County and is associated with the Seminole culture. Blue glass beads such as this, often called “Blue Russian,” originated in Bohemia and Austria in the 1800s.

Other European trade beads were produced in various sizes, colors, shapes and of various materials including glass, ceramic and metal. Trade beads were part of the Seminole aesthetic and were a valued barter item during the 1800s and early 1900s. Beads were displayed in simple and complex patterns on clothing, necklaces, leggings, bags and other objects. Worn by both genders, beads were particularly essential to the culture and distinctive costume of Seminole females.

Historically, the Seminole were a matriarchal society and Seminole women were politically, economically and socially empowered. A Seminole woman’s financial income was often derived from selling produce and trade items. After purchasing needed domestic supplies, the remainder of a woman’s income was commonly converted to trade beads that attested to her earning power. Beads would be threaded and worn around the neck in mounds of strands. At birth, a Seminole woman would be adorned with a beaded necklace; with age and stature the number of strands would increase so that the bead weight of a Seminole woman’s beads could reach 10 to 12 pounds. She would wear the beads at all times when going about her daily tasks, despite the encumbrance and the discomfort of the Florida heat.

Donning and removing the layers of beads was a morning and evening custom for the Seminole woman. Her bead strands were kept in a special basket. At the start of each day, she would gather them around her neck and laboriously hand tie each. At night, she would unfasten the strings and the process would be reversed.

Blue beads, light and dark, were favored colors, as was red. Given on all occasions, they were a particularly popular courtship gift and status symbol. The Seminole woman took her beads to the grave. Pioneer diarist accounts from the early 20th century record that a Seminole woman’s silver ornaments belonged to her family, but she was interred with her beads.

The Supervisor of Elections’ Hat

Gift of Easter Lily Gates

Easter Lily Gates was the Broward County Supervisor of Elections for 40 years, from 1929 to 1969.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1889 on Easter Sunday, Easter Lily Bilbo traveled west with her family by covered wagon. As a 17-year-old store clerk, she began making and wearing her extravagant trademark hats, oversized and covered in flowers. Soon thereafter, she met and married husband George Gates, eventually settling in Fort Lauderdale in 1918. The city was a sleepy hamlet of 3,000 residents when they added two sons to the population.

In the killer Hurricane of 1926, Easter Lily Gates heroically saved her family but lost everything she owned. Two weeks later, her husband died. To provide for her children, Gates became Broward County’s first female bus driver. In 1928, she ran for Supervisor of Elections, hitchhiking and walking to campaign stops because she had no car. The electorate then consisted of 5,000 voters; Gates won the election and served unchallenged for the next 40 years. She registered Broward County’s first Seminole and African-American voters.

Using her early training as a milliner, Gates created her signature chapeaux, such as this electioneering example. It epitomizes the bold, unique personal style of a powerful woman who knew how to be noticed and remembered. An umbrella top has been converted to a bulletin board full of political handouts touting herself and her fellow candidates—memorable campaign gear for a lady on the stump.

Following her retirement at age 80, Gates remained active in the community and the Methodist Church while quietly supporting children around the world. She passed away in February 1985.

Bust of Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward by Skip Wellever

Gift of Dr. Cooper Kirk

American sculptor Skip Wellever (1940-1993) was a noted artist and technical innovator. The presentation plaque on the base of the portrait bust fashioned by Wellever notes that he gave it to Dr. Cooper Kirk (1921-1989), teacher, author and Broward County’s first official historian.

Souvenir Plate, 1910

Gift of Robert Carr

In 1910, W.O. Berryhill and Bloxham Cromartie opened a general store at North River Drive and Andrews Avenue. A hand-painted plate depicts Fort Lauderdale’s River Front, and bears the marking: “E. B. & F., Made in Austria Expressly for the Berryhill Cromartie Co., Fort Lauderdale, FL, Eagle China.”

Pastel Drawing by Henry T. Brown, 1915

Henry T. Brown served as secretary for the Broward County Fair, an agricultural showcase. He expressed his optimism in 1915 by creating a pastel of an angel heralding the birth of newly-created Broward County. She bears oranges, is garlanded in orange blossoms and wears a diadem that says “Prosperity.”

County Commission Certificate of Appointment

Florida Governor Paul Trammell appointed William L. Bracknell to the Broward County Commission on October 1, 1915, the official date for the establishment of Broward County. The certificate has been stamped with Florida’s state seal and bears a printed etching of the seal.

Steel and Wood Hand Cancellation Stamp

Gift of Raymond Collier

A cancellation is a postal marking intended to deface a stamp and prevent its re-use. The cancellation can affect the collectible value of a stamp. This rolling cancellation stamp was donated by Raymond Collier, who served as Deerfield Beach Postmaster from 1954 to 1976.

Dredge Model

Gift from Napoleon Bonaparte Broward III

As soon as he became Florida’s Governor in 1905, Napoleon Broward commenced his most dearly held project: reclaiming submerged land from the Everglades. A carved wooden model of a dredge machine, like the machinery used in the Everglades project, was produced by Broward’s own hand.

Broward County Commission Seal

A cast iron embossing stamp was used to emboss official documents with the Broward County seal. The seal’s imprint reads: “County Commission Broward County Florida created October 1st 1915,” reflecting the first day of the existence of the new County and its first governing board.

Pine Needle Tray

Gift from Robert S. Carr

Pine needle baskets and trays were often made by Seminoles for the souvenir trade. The vintage oval tray frame is composed of pine needles wrapped with grass or reeds. The central floral motif is made from painted sea shells. Labeled: “Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.” Stamp on reverse: “Southern Glass Tray Works.”

Votomatic with Bag of Chads

Prior to touch screen voting, one method of casting a vote employed punch cards and machines such as the Votomatic. As in the presidential election of 2000, an imperfect punch results in an unreadable ballot when the chad, or paper fragment, is not fully separated, creating a now-famous “hanging chad.”

Bronze Courthouse Plaque, 1928

When Broward County was created in 1915, the first courthouse was located in a former school. In 1928 a new courthouse was designed by noted architect Francis Abreau and built at the corner of Southeast Sixth Street and Third Avenue at a cost of $375,000. This plaque commemorates those responsible.

Port Everglades Photo ID

Gift of Bonnie Miller Cole

William Gerry Miller, Jr. was active in The Navy League of the United States, a citizens’ support organization founded in 1902 to serve military seamen and their families. Miller was issued a photo ID badge to enable him to board submarines and ships at Port Everglades after World War ll.

Drainage Map, 1921

Blueprint map of 1921 shows the Fort Lauderdale district with revised boundaries marked with red colored pencil: Plan of Reclamation of the Napoleon B. Broward Drainage District Fort Lauderdale - Florida, General Plan of Drainage. Isham Randolph & Co., Chief Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida.

Furniture from West Side Grade School

Gift of Oleta Dunworth

Former West Side Grade School pupil Oleta Williams Dunworth (1921-2008) received this wood and cast iron school desk with bench as a gift from her father, Samuel Williams. West Side Grade School opened in 1923 and closed in 1961. The refurbished building is the site of the Historical Commission.

Wringer Washing Machine

This hand-cranked wringer washing machine was made by inventor, showman and entrepreneur Albert “Al” Starts. A Russian immigrant, Starts arrived in Fort Lauderdale in 1936 with the sightseeing boat Jungle Queen to found a riverboat business still operating on Fort Lauderdale’s New River.

“Florida Lands At Low Prices” Map, 1924

Gift of Margaret B. Anderson

Color map showing tracts of land for sale on installment, ranging from 320 to 5,000 acres, offered by Real Estate Sales Co., Inc., of Miami. Terms offered were $20 an acre, stating: “It is our honest opinion that every acre of land in Southern Florida, below the frost line, will sell for $100 an acre within two years.”

Helen Farris’s Hat

Gift of Helen Farris

Port Everglades activist Helen Farris wore this hat to protest the Port Everglades Authority’s use of public money to purchase self-congratulatory 14-karat gold rings for themselves. Her anti-corruption lobbying led to the 1994 takeover of Port operations by the Board of County Commissioners.

Artifacts of the Third Fort Lauderdale (1839 – 1842)

Gift of Harold S. Vreeland

Three U.S. Army forts were named for Major William Lauderdale, commander at the New River during the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842. Excavations at the site of the third fort, occupied from 1839 to 1842, yielded musket balls, gunflints, pottery shards, fishing net sinkers and shark and alligator teeth.

Cannon, 18th Century

The collection’s 18th century falconet, a cannon in use from the 16th to 19th centuries, was found submerged near Pompano Beach in 1962. It is known as a “1-pounder” and fired a 2-inch diameter cannonball a distance of 5,000 feet. Such weapons were deployed on land and at sea.

Seminole Cypress Log Mortar

The Seminole used large wooden cypress mortars to prepare foods such as coonti, a flour made from ground arrowroot. Coonti was a staple of the Seminole diet; they called the New River area in Fort Lauderdale Coonte Hatchee because this edible plant grew there abundantly.

Schooner Model

Gift from Napoleon Bonaparte Broward III

Hand carved by former Gov. Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, this two-mast wooden schooner with three canvas sails recalls his early life and career as a sea captain. Before he entered politics, Broward worked on steamboats and tugboats on the St. John’s River in Jacksonville and in the Caribbean.

Survey Map of Fort Lauderdale, 1911

Prior to the formation of Broward County in 1915, the Fort Lauderdale area belonged to Dade County. A land survey, circa 1911, of the nascent city titled “Fort Lauderdale Dade County, Florida Gateway to the Everglades Map,” reveals its first neighborhoods. It is bordered by advertisements for merchants.

“Royal Poinciana Tree,” 1965 Painting

Gift of Brownie Robertson

Classically-trained American artist Hildegard Hamilton (1898-1970) arrived in Fort Lauderdale in the late 1930s, becoming a fixture on Fort Lauderdale’s New River, where she painted daily. A divorced woman, she was able to support herself and her children with paintings of the local landscape.

Dania Maid Tomatoes Crate Label

Gift of Christopher Eck

Early tomato farming was especially profitable and, as early as 1910, the Florida East Coast Railway was shipping to northern cities from “The Tomato Capital of the World,” Dania Beach. In the late 1940s, the tomato boom was over as crops began to fail from salt water intrusion in the fields.

The Collections of the
Broward County
Historical Commission

Books

The Historical Commission’s reference library of more than 2,000 volumes focuses on the history of Broward County and South Florida. The library contains books from rare 19th century volumes to recent publications, as well as periodicals and the Cooper Kirk Library of historical volumes donated by the Kirk family. The Commission has assisted numerous authors of local history books in their research and provided images for these works. The Commission’s book collection is non-circulating and is included in the Broward County Libraries Division online catalog.

Also included is an extensive collection of city directories from 1918 to the 1980s. Some are digitized and available at both the Main Library and the Historical Commission. These books are among the most used items in the collection. The Commission also has a collection of high school yearbooks from various County schools from the 1920s to the 1990s.

FEC Records

One of the most unique collections held by the Historical Commission is the early employee records for the Florida East Coast Railway. These date from 1918 to 1950 and contain priceless information on a number of people who worked for this important company.

Microfilm

The Commission holds almost 6,000 reels of microfilm in its collection. The newspaper microfilm collection includes a nearly complete set of Fort Lauderdale newspapers (Sentinel and News) from 1913 to 1964, as well as issues of smaller Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Pompano papers; early issues of the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, Miami Herald, Miami Metropolis, Palm Beach Post and Tropical Sun and the only known microfilm record of the Hollywood Sun-Tattler in Broward County. These papers are invaluable to those doing genealogical and local historical research.

Census schedules, early land records, aerial photographs from 1947 and 1955 and architectural drawings are available on microfilm. The Historical Commission’s collection of microfilmed Seminole War records, including military reports, topographical engineering records and post returns is extensive. A microfilm reader-printer is available.

The Commission also holds a collection of Chancery Law records from 1915 to 1966.

Government Documents

The Historical Commission archives contain a large collection of original government documents including the County’s early probate records from 1916 to 1940; sheriff’s correspondence and records; license applications; school records; County Guard records; voter registration cards from 1900 to 1946; deed records; Napoleon B. Broward Drainage District material; Port records and the manuscripts of several early County officials including the first County engineer, H. C. Davis. These documents provide a vital and irreplaceable source of information on the County’s people and governmental institutions.

General Reference Tools

The Commission’s general reference collections include inventoried vertical files containing manuscripts, newspaper clippings, pamphlets and notations on a wide range of subject matter. A binder with subject headings is available to researchers.

The manuscript collection primarily focuses on the Seminole Wars. Also of interest are the biographical files, which include obituaries and pioneer biographical data forms that are being compiled in a searchable database. There is also a collection of clippings and research material focusing on the African-American community of Broward County. Various civic organizations have donated scrapbooks and collections of minutes detailing their history.

Cooper Kirk Collection

The Cooper Kirk Collection, compiled by the first County historian, consists of extensive notes, photocopies, manuscripts and other documents collected and assembled by Kirk during his years as the Broward County Historian (1972-1989). The collection contains information on a wide range of topics with an emphasis on Major William Lauderdale, the Second Seminole War, Gov. Napoleon Bonaparte Broward and the creation of Broward County and notes extrapolated from local papers from 1909 to 1929.

Photographs

The Commission’s photographic collection includes more than 20,000 images of Broward County and its residents from the late 19th century to the present, from snapshots to large panoramic views. Nine file cabinets house the Hollywood Sun-Tattler photographs, which appeared in that paper mostly from the 1970s and 1980s. This collection includes images of prominent and ordinary people who lived in the County, as well as various subjects. The Commission also collects postcards of the area. Most of the images in the collection have been inventoried on the collection level.

Comprehensive aerial photographs of the County, dating from 1947 with some random images from as early as the late 1920s, are among the most commonly used items in the Commission’s archives. They attract daily use by environmental consultants, real estate developers and others to document past land use in compliance with current environmental regulations. The earliest aerials (1947-1949 and 1955) are available in a digital format and can be accessed by an alphanumeric key map. Later aerials can be accessed through their organization by section, township and range. The aerial photographs must be accessed by staff, and may be photographed without flash; size and preservation concerns preclude photocopying.

The collection also includes thousands of slides, primarily taken in the 1970s, of historic buildings and sites, many of which no longer exist or have been substantially altered. These were taken during the initial survey of historic sites throughout the county.

Audio-Visual Materials

Movie film and DVDs make up a small part of the collection. The Commission has worked with the Wolfson Media Center to transfer deteriorated movie film, some from the 1920s, to DVD format. A meeting room is equipped with state-of-the-art projection equipment for showing of DVDs and PowerPoint presentations.

Oral History Projects

Tape-recorded interviews with Broward County’s pioneer residents offer priceless eyewitness accounts of the County’s past. The Commission’s collections of more than 300 tapes include interviews conducted since 1972, 120 of which were conducted by Broward’s first County historian, Dr. Cooper Kirk. A number of these interviews have been transcribed and a project is underway to digitize the important information on these tapes. An ongoing interview program is supported by workshops offered by the Commission to teach the public about oral history.

Maps

More than 1,200 maps ranging from 16th century sailing charts to modern road maps and development plats make up the map collection. The majority of these are reproductions. Rare original maps include items from the 18th and 19th centuries while a collection of plat maps document Broward’s 20th century urban development in detail. The Judge L. Clayton Nance Collection of Florida Maps makes up a significant part of the collection. A number of the rarest maps have been matted and framed to archival standards.

Historical Journal

The Broward Legacy is a journal published by the Historical Commission since 1976. Carefully researched articles are written by historians and scholars on topics covering the County’s rich history. Annual subscriptions are available and individual copies of current and back issues may be purchased at the Historical Commission offices. Digital versions of past and present issues, plus an index, may be read without charge via the Historical Commission page of the Broward County Library website.

Three Dimensional Collections

A variety of artifacts illustrating the uniqueness and diversity of Broward County and South Florida’s history are housed at the Historical Commission. Among the rarest artifacts are the only known surviving relics from one of the three forts located in Fort Lauderdale. These date from the Second Seminole War and include musket balls, gunflints and pottery. The Historical Commission maintains a collection of archeological material collected from various sites around the County.

A Special Highlight

The Moon Rock

Permanent Loan of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
and Susan Eisele-Black

Broward County Library is the only public library in the United States to possess and permanently exhibit an authentic piece of the moon. Visitors can “go to the moon” just by taking the elevator to the sixth floor of the Main Library!

Encased in an alarmed and monitored pedestal, the library’s moon rock is on display whenever the library is open. It is surrounded by a dedicated gallery which displays NASA memorabilia and related art and film footage. Its historic value is inestimable.

The library’s lunar sample, or moon rock, was placed with the library in 2007 by Susan Eisele-Black, widow of Apollo 7 astronaut Donn F. Eisele. This specimen of lunar rock was posthumously awarded to Major Eisele via the Ambassador of Exploration Award Program, given to America’s first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs.

Donn F. Eisele was one of a trio of astronauts who flew the first manned Apollo series mission to orbit planet earth. In the course of their lengthy 1968 mission, from October 11 to October 22, the crew circled the earth 163 times. Together with Commander Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and Lunar Module Pilot R. Walter Cunningham, Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele took part in an expedition whose discoveries would ultimately put a man on the moon in 1969.

Participation in the Apollo 7 Mission was particularly courageous. In the previous mission one year earlier, three astronauts died in a launch pad fire. The success of Major Eisele’s mission renewed confidence in the NASA space program, with the result that space exploration was allowed to continue.

The mission occasioned several “firsts” for the space program. Apollo 7 was the first U.S. three-man mission, the first flight of Block II Apollo Spacecraft, the first flight of the Apollo space suits and the first flight with full crew support equipment.

The Apollo 7 crew also had the distinction of being the first astronauts to beam live telecasts from orbit, giving millions of people worldwide their first views of space. Placing the moon rock in a public library preserves Major Eisele’s legacy of bringing the far reaches of the galaxy within view…now closer than ever.

The library’s lunar sample was collected by Apollo 15 astronauts on a voyage to the moon in July and August 1971.