The University of Arizona

Category Archives: Objects and their Stories

The Mysterious Mr. Walsin Is Revealed!

Not even 48 hours after the posting of my last blog I received two emails offering information about “mysterious Mr. Walsin.” I discovered that far from being unknown, unidentified, or illegible, the signature on the flyleaf of our little book is the authentic autograph of Frederick Roelker Wulsin (1891-1961). Clearly, I had far too quickly jumped to the conclusion that [...]

The mysterious Mr. Walsin: Or, following a trail of crumbs through the archives

We were putting together the presentation for a History 301 class due to visit the ASM Library in a few days. The instructor, Dr. Michael Brescia, wanted us to show his students a wide variety of resources and we wanted to display some of the best of the best; not just any old reference book [...]

Tohono O’odham Basketry

The Tohono O’odham today weave more basketry than any other American Indian tribe. It is estimated that there are 300-400 active weavers today. This number is still a far cry from generations past when essentially all women wove baskets for their families and communities, for tasks that included desert plant gathering to holding ceremonial saguaro [...]

On Buying Native Goods

For thousands of years the native people of the Americas have been making fine objects of great beauty. Historically most of these items were not viewed as art by their makers, but rather as utilitarian wares or ceremonial objects. The care in producing and the artistry in decorating these objects are undeniable, and it is [...]

Delbridge Honanie, 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner

The Southwest Indian Art Fair is proud to name Delbridge Honanie as its 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. Delbridge is a Hopi artist specializing in paint and wood carvings, born in 1946 in Winslow, Arizona. He grew up in Shungopavi Village, Second Mesa, on the Hopi Reservation and has spent the last 20 years living [...]

Bird Migration To ASM Archives

Today’s blog was written by Arizona State Museum’s archivist Amy Rule. She can be found working alongside the rest of the Library and Archives staff in the beautiful second floor reading room at ASM providing preservation and access to over 1500 linear feet of archival and manuscript holdings. Bird-lovers are heading out to Willcox, Arizona, to watch [...]

Snake Season in the Library

“Reports of rattlesnake bites in Arizona on rise,” proclaimed the Arizona Daily Star on August 21st. Recently, I had an encounter with a rattler—stepped on it while running one evening. So when ASM Archivist Amy Rule submitted her latest blog titled Snake Season in the Library I feared that even while at work I might have [...]

Whose Hand Made Those Markings?

Today’s blog was written by Arizona State Museum’s archivist Amy Rule. She can be found working alongside the rest of the Library and Archives staff in the beautiful second floor reading room at ASM providing preservation and access to over 1500 linear feet of archival and manuscript holdings. It is not every day that a [...]

A Slow Look, A Short Poem

Today’s blog is written by Lisa Falk, Arizona State Museum’s Director of Education, and this blog’s editor. People come to museums for a variety of reasons, but chief among these are to see objects, the art and artifacts on display. But according to those who study visitors in museums, visitors spend very little time actually [...]

A Surprise in the Archives

Today’s blog is written by Arizona State Museum’s archivist Amy Rule. She can be found working alongside the rest of the Library and Archives staff in the beautiful second floor reading room at ASM providing preservation and access to the over 1500 linear feet of archival and manuscript holdings. In my job as the archivist [...]

Subscribe

Subscribe by Email