Here’s a blog post from Fondren’s Lauren DuBois, Special Collections Librarian, and Jeanette Sewell, Database and Metadata Management Coordinator.
One of the best parts about the Gilbert Morris Cuthbertson Collection of Rare Books and Manuscripts is finding related items tucked in the pages of his books! We’ve found bookmarks, photographs, receipts, electric bills, letters, stamps, scraps of paper, and so much more.
Last week, we stumbled upon this catalog for Raid the Icebox I: a 1969-1970 exhibit featuring items selected by Andy Warhol from the storage vaults of the Museum of Art at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Warhol was invited to curate the exhibition by Dominique and Jean de Menil, founders of the Institute of the Arts and the Media Center at Rice. The exhibition opened here and then traveled to The Isaac Delgado Museum in New Orleans, finally ending in Providence at RISD.
Between the pages of Doc’s copy of the catalog, we found:
1) Andy Warhol’s signature on the title page (!)
2) One Raid the Icebox I exhibit tag published by the Institute for the Arts at Rice
3) Two small postcards announcing the exhibition dates and hours here on campus
4) One large postcard inviting Doc C to attend the exhibit preview
5) One Winter 1969 newsletter addressed to Doc C, detailing the new art center and community response to the new Institute space and Raid the Icebox I exhibit at Rice
Postcards, newsletter, tag, and signature found within the exhibit catalog
Like all of our rare books in the collection, this catalog and accompanying items will be available for viewing only in the reading room at the Woodson Research Center. Just reach out to one of our archivists to schedule an appointment.
You can learn more about this special exhibit on the RISD website here and find a related essay about Warhol’s art at BEST Products’ Indeterminate Façade store here. Happy reading!
What's in Woodson 