Princeton University

Nassau notes

Friends of the Library present 75th anniversary exhibition

The Friends of the Princeton University Library are celebrating their 75th anniversary with an exhibition of holdings acquired with the group’s support from Sunday, Nov. 13, through Sunday, April 16, in Firestone Library’s main gallery.

The exhibition, titled “The Lure of the Library: The Friends at 75,” will include a kickoff lecture by renowned collector William Scheide, a member of Princeton’s class of 1936, at 3 p.m. on Nov. 13 in 101 McCormick Hall. The lecture will be followed by a reception at 4 p.m. in the Firestone main gallery.

“Individually and collectively, the friends have generously supported the University Library for three-quarters of a century by enabling Princeton University to acquire items that we may not otherwise have been able to collect,” noted La Nina Clayton, curator of the exhibition and the head of public services for Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. “With their support, we have been able to acquire rare books, manuscripts, archives, artifacts, historic maps, coins and graphic arts, some of which are included in the exhibition.”

Among these acquisitions featured in the exhibition are the Morris Parrish (class of 1888) collection of Victorian novelists, the Phillip Ashton Rollins (class of 1889) collection of Western Americana, the Robert Garrett (class of 1887) collection of Islamic manuscripts, the Grenville Kane collection of Americana and the Robert Taylor (class of 1930) collection of English and American literature.

One of the oldest such groups in the country, the friends’ membership includes more than 700 people who live around the world.

Two additional exhibition-related events will be held during the spring semester. Stephen Ferguson, curator of rare books, will discuss “Collecting Rare Books in University Libraries: How Did it Start at Princeton?” on Thursday, Feb. 16 (time and location to be determined). Patricia Marks, a 2003 graduate alumnus who is a member of the friends and a former editor of the Princeton University Library Chronicle, will present a talk titled “A Passion for Books: Collectors and Their Quarry” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in Firestone’s main gallery.

The main gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, until 8 p.m. Wednesdays and from noon to 5 p.m. weekends. Tours of the exhibition will be held on the following Sundays at 4 p.m.: Dec. 11, Feb. 12 and April 2.

For more information, contact Clayton at 258-3184 or rbsc@princeton.edu.

Events to connect Einstein, physics and music Nov. 13

A lecture and a concert exploring connections between Albert Einstein, music and physics are set for Sunday, Nov. 13, in Taplin Auditorium, Fine Hall.

The lecture, titled “Superstrings,” will begin at 2 p.m. Brian Foster, an experimental particle physicist at the University of Oxford, will begin with a discussion of Einstein’s life and involvement with music and then highlight some of today’s theories of particle physics that build on structures set forth by Einstein. At several points during the lecture, music inspired by the ideas being discussed will be performed by British violinist Jack Liebeck.

In addition to being a Nobel laureate in physics, Einstein was an accomplished violinist and an avid concert-goer. A description of his musical life in Princeton is available online at feynman.princeton.edu/~smithajs/JLprog.doc.

Following the lecture at 4 p.m., Liebeck will perform a concert of music by Beethoven, Debussy, Martinu and Strauss, accompanied by pianist Charles Owen.

The events are sponsored by Princeton’s Department of Physics as part of the World Year of Physics, a yearlong celebration of physics and Einstein organized by international physics organizations and recognized by the United Nations. The year is the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s “miracle year” in which he published three of his most influential papers.

Times columnist to discuss incompetence

Bob Herbert, an award-winning op-ed columnist for The New York Times, will speak at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in McCosh 50.

His address is titled “The Consequences of Incompetence: The All-Too-Human Costs of Bad Thinking and Poor Decision-making by People in High Places.”

Herbert is expected to discuss how recent events, including the war in Iraq and the damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina, have provided dramatic examples of the human consequences that can result from bad decision-making and outright incompetence by public officials and others in positions of authority.

Herbert’s columns focus on politics, urban affairs and social trends. He has won numerous awards, including the Meyer Berger Award and the American Society of Newspaper Editors Award for distinguished writing.

The talk, designated as the Stafford Little Lecture, is part of the University’s Public Lecture Series.

Aftermath of Abu Ghraib is topic

Torture, the Press and Human Rights After Abu Ghraib” is the topic of a lecture by journalist Mark Danner scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, in 16 Robertson Hall.

Danner, the author of “Torture and Truth: America, Abu Ghraib and the War on Terror,” is a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker and a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books. He is the Henry Luce Professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College and a professor of journalism at the University of California-Berkeley.

Danner has written extensively about the development of American foreign policy during the late Cold War and human rights violations during that time. He has won a MacArthur Fellowship, a National Magazine Award, two Overseas Press Awards and an Emmy.

The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Conference examines Andersen’s legacy

Hans Christian Andersen, the fairy tale author adored by generations of readers, will be the subject of a conference Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 10-12, at Cotsen Children’s Library.

The conference, titled “Hidden But Not Forgotten: The Legacy of Hans Christian Andersen in the 20th and 21st Centuries,” will assess the lasting impact of fairy tales such as “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Little Match Girl.” The conference, which will honor the bicentennial of Andersen’s birth, also will explore why the author’s work has been neglected by scholars outside of his native Denmark since World War II.

Nearly a dozen authors and scholars, many from outside the United States, will give presentations on Andersen’s legacy. In addition to academic papers, the conference also will include live storytelling by Storytelling Arts, a dramatic production performed by the Cotsen Players, excerpts from a children’s opera by the Westminster Conservatory Youth Opera Workshop and screenings of film adaptations of Andersen’s tales.

Coinciding with the conference is an exhibition at Firestone Library’s Milberg Gallery called “Wonderful Stories for Pictures: Hans Christian Andersen and His Illustrators,” featuring works by a number of artists who have interpreted Andersen’s tales. Among the books on display, which were published between 1890 and 2005, are illustrated editions of “The Princess and the Pea,” “The Red Shoes” and “The Nightingale.” The exhibition will be open until March 26.

For more information about the conference, contact Eric Johnson at 258-1148 or ejohnson@princeton.edu, or visit ccl.princeton.edu/Research/e396/hc_andersen.html.

Abstract painter Stephen Westfall to speak

Abstract painter Stephen Westfall will present a slide show on his work at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, in Room 219 at 185 Nassau St. Westfall is teaching advanced painting this fall as the Class of 1932 Fellow in the Humanities Council and Visual Arts. His work figures in many collections, including the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Albertina Museum in Vienna.

Veterans Day observance set

On Friday, Nov. 11, the Office of the Recording Secretary is sponsoring a gathering of University staff, faculty, students and alumni from 8:30 to 9 a.m. in the chapel in observance of Veterans Day.

The ceremony will include the presentation of the colors by the Princeton Army ROTC unit; the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “America the Beautiful” by Kenneth Grayson, foreman in the University electrical shop; and remarks by Thomas Breidenthal, dean of religious life, and retired Navy Cmdr. Bruce Freeman, a member of Princeton’s class of 1969.