A Day Of Folk Art, Central Park, Civil Discourse, And More

We were prepared to spend a couple hours at the American Folk Art Museum, on Columbus Ave. and 66th St., but it turned out to be much smaller than expected, and we were done within an hour. We spent the rest of the afternoon looking at a number of buildings in the area (next post), and then walking through Central Park, and beyond, to our next appointment, at the 92nd St. Y.

Beautiful quilt at the American Folk Arts Museum

To create the unusual visual effect, the maker utilized some 13,000

pieces of silk... 

1790 chest

Midway display

A whole wall and more of home-made parchesi boards

Now crossing Central Park; thinking of the boating scene from 
The Producers

Tall skinnies reflected in the lake

View to the northeast

Belvedere Castle

Polish king statue: King Jagiello, celebrating his victory
at the Battle of Grunewald, 1410; left over from the 1939
World Fair in NYC..."winter for Poland and France..."

Central Park obelisk, a gift from Napoleon, 1799...wait...no...

Statue of Hamilton, may be moved to Broadway...

So we were getting close to the Met, east side of the
Park, when we began noticing a pretty overwhelming
police presence, streets closed off (including 5th Ave.);
turns out President Biden was hosting a reception for
world leaders at the Met--the UN is in general session--
and there was about as much security as the world can
muster

Including a mounted light brigade just in case a charge was needed

Eventually we got to the 92nd Street Y (...MCA...), a pretty
famous civic/cultural destination

Daughter Rebecca had bought us tickets to the "conversation" with
Ken Burns and Sharon McMahon, concerning her new book...

An hour-long public chat on topics of great interest; Sharon McMahon
was new to us, but Ken Burns is of our vintage and one of the beacons
of our generation...

So nice to be in a crowd of people who have an interest in democracy
and civility...and who know American and world history inside and out...
thanks, Rebecca!

New York Public Library Treasures

We did the NYPL Treasures tour too...a large room devoted to special holdings of the library and to temporary exhibitions...

Mucha poster of Bernhardt's farewell tour...one expects he
was particularly sorry to see her go...

Over-sized batons from one of Toscanini's mega-concerts

in NYC

Pooh corner

Audubon corner

Quite a few of the most important books of 1850s America 

The Green Book...the guide to touring America for
African-Americans...in segregationist America

One of the real curiosities...this 7 foot high print,
by Durer and associates, the Triumphal Arch, commissioned
by the Emperor Maximilian; completed in 1517; this is the
third edition, 1799; Durer was one of the first truly independent
artists...but not that independent...

Dickens writing table and chair

Treasures room view

Some of the older books

First Folio...seems like we were just at the Globe; and at
Gray's Inn...

Vicki at the James Baldwin exhibit

Typewriter and page from humorist S. J. Perelman...famous at 
The New Yorker, Broadway, and Hollywood...

Adjacent to the Treasure room is the NYPL gift
shoppe, which has its own treasures...

Many such...

Interesting use of card catalogs...

New York Public Library

It's one of the great libraries of the world and a must-see for anyone with intellectual or bookish interests. And especially for a retired librarian like Vicki. We did the official tour and then the tour of the NYPL Treasures (next post).

Vicki waving from the steps

Still one of the world's largest marble buildings

One of the more ornate water fountains ever; alas,
fed by lead pipes; don't drink the water

Helpful model in the visitor center...just the research library...the
less famous main circulating library is across the the street...then 
there are the nearly 60 branch libraries...

Peering into the maps library

Nice ceiling treatments throughout

Now in the main reading room

Important quote from Milton

Main reading room, north

South

Blind Milton Dictating Paradise Lost to His Daughters, Mihaly
Munkacsy, in the Salomon reading room; lots of art throughout

Among the few old card catalogs

Now in the periodicals reading room, adorned with
paintings of all the old NYC periodicals publishing
houses...here, the old NY Times building

Absolutely the only person I saw reading an actual book

Still in the periodicals room, "City Hall and Publishers Row"

Outside now, looking at the two lions that guard the library entrance;
here, Fortitude...

And here Patience; both named by Mayor LaGuardia during the
Depression

Virtues as needed now as then, facing the onslaught of Republican
book-banners and book-burners

The library complex sits in or astride Bryant Park,
named for William Cullen Bryant...of Thanatopsis 
fame...poet, newspaper editor, etc...here is his monument
in the park