An Afternoon at the Clements

The 2006 eGullet Heartland Gathering kicked off with a tour of the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the Clements Library at the University of Michigan. 

If you attended the University of Michigan, as I did, the Clements Library is one of those mysterious buildings that all students look at but most never dare to enter. The beautiful Italian Renaissance style building set on its spacious lawn is home to the American history and culture collections that span from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century, including the Culinary Archive.

Janice Longone herself gave us a tour of the current exhibit. Jan is a well-known food historian and antiquarian culinary publications dealer. She donated her extensive collection to the Clements and has, appropriately, become the Curator of American Culinary History. Her passion for our history from past through present shone as she shared stories about building her collection and the fascinating history and cultural context around each item.

The current exhibit highlights how patriotic symbols were used to sell foods and cookbooks, and even encourage war-time gardening. Exhibit items include the curious cookbook with recipes based on ration coupons, the frequent use of "Honest Abe" Lincoln's image to sell food products, tomatoes named after presidents, coffee named after the White House, and dinner party menus where every dish has maize as its main ingredient. But perhaps one of the most arresting objects is the "Every garden a munition plant" poster, a WWII war-time propaganda piece to promote home gardening.  (I will post a photo once I get permission from the Clements.)

So to all you local AA-Ypsi area readers out there: don't wait another day to satisfy your curiosity about the mysterious Clements Library.  Stop in for a visit and check out the "Patriotic Fare: Bunker Hill Pickles, Abe Lincoln tomatoes, White House Coffee & Uncle Sam Apples" exhibition. The exhibit runs through September 29th.

If you're not local, you can view some examples from the collection on the Longone Culinary Archive's website, including a sampling from the "Adventures in Gastronomy" radio show co-hosted by Shirley Smith and Jan Longone.

On Sunday September 17, the Culinary Historians of Ann Arbor are sponsoring a lecture by Jan Longone titled "The Longone Center for American Culinary Research: Past-Present-Future Lecture" 
Where: Clements
When: Sept 17, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
(doors open at 2:30 for exhibition viewing)

Next up: the 2006 eGullet Heartland Gathering marathon wine tasting with Ric Jewell of Zingerman's Roadhouse...

Comments

[Kate]

Just a little correction here--
the lecture by Jan Longone will be on Sunday, September 17 (not the 18th).

[Kitchen Chick]

Corrected.

I took the date off the Clements Library website. They must have made a typo. (Jan was very clear with me that it was Sunday. I'll email her that their site has the wrong date.)