Lily Mayfield's Practicum at Chicago History Museum

I am continuing in the research and recovery phase of my practicum at Chicago History Museum.  As I work to recover women's names, I often come across some interesting stories.  There was one woman who had been living in Europe with her husband.  The husband was heading back to the U.S. to find and set up their new home and then the plan was that the wife would follow later.  However, the husband ended up returning to the U.S. on the Titanic.  He never made it home.  The wife was heartbroken and died a year later.  There was also a story about a well known Chicago businessman who was in love with another woman.  It went on this way for years.  When his wife died, he was finally able to marry the woman he loved, but then he died a year later.   You might wonder where I am finding this information.  Well, it is sometimes surprising the level of detail that is written into obituaries!  Some of the stories come from there, oth...

       I have just wrapped the second week of my practicum at Chicago History Museum.  Touring the facilities and seeing the vastness of their archives was incredible.  The sensation of feeling honored and privileged to see behind the scenes at the museum has not yet worn off!  The photo archive that I am working in is substantial.  Vertical files and archival boxes are full of every photographic process.  As I mentioned in the previous post, I am working with the carte de visite collection.  It is a small portion of the photographic holdings, but even it is quite extensive.  So far, I have only worked my way through about half of the first filing cabinet drawer (and I am only working with the unnamed women in the collection)!  Already I am wondering if I will get all the way through the items needing to be addressed in this collection by the end of my practicum.  Regardless, at least I am making a dent in it!   ...

This summer, I am wrapping up my MLIS degree with a practicum.  I will be working at the Chicago History Museum from May through August.  The word thrilled hardly encapsulates the level of interest and excitement I have about this opportunity.  For one, the Chicago History Museum is major institution, rich in cultural heritage resources.  For two, I feel like this practicum addresses all my interests in the field of libraries and archives: women's history, photography, and reparative cataloging.   So, let me tell you what I will be working on this summer.  I will be working with a collection of carte de visites.  If you are not familiar with this particular photographic medium, let me fill you in.  They were all the rage in the latter half of the nineteenth century.  Patented in 1854 by Andre Disderi, the Carte de visite was a small portrait photograph, about the size of a business card, which one could leave behind upon visiting someone...