In celebration of New Jersey Day, the anniversary of the founding of New Jersey in 1664, several of the state’s cultural agencies have put together a series of exhibits and programs for Friday, June 24, 2016, on the 1st Floor of 225 West State Street, Trenton, NJ.
SCHEDULE
9:00-4:00 Exhibitions open:
- Atlantus
- Recovered Public Treasures
12:00-1:00 Civil War Flags Unveiling Ceremony:
- Nicholas Ciotola, New Jersey State Museum, welcome/intro
- Dr. David Martin, NJCWHA, flags/battle history
1:00-1:30 New Jersey Day Program:
- Sara Cureton, New Jersey Historical Commission, welcome/intro
- Nicholas Paleologos, New Jersey Council on the Arts, the story of Atlantus
- Joseph Klett, New Jersey State Archives, overview of Recovered Public Treasures
Exhibit; acknowledgement of donor organizations
2:00-2:45 Lecture:
- Joseph R. Klett, “Back to the Archives: Reclaiming Public Records”
Descriptions of events:
Atlantus Exhibition – Atlantus is a trans-oceanic photography project inspired, in 2014, by the 350th anniversary of the naming of New Jersey in 1664. The American province was so called in honor of original proprietor Sir George Carteret, Bailiff of the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel. The exhibit was curated in “old” Jersey by photographer Martin Toft and Gareth Syvret at Archisle: the Jersey Contemporary Photography Programme. Atlantus asks how two places that share a name, on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, perceive each other within archives and cultural memory. It will be on display for several months, opening on New Jersey Day.
Recovered Public Treasures Exhibition – This one-day exhibition will feature a selection of recovered New Jersey public manuscripts from the pre-Civil War period. Since 2014, the State Archives has been involved in numerous cases relating to alienated records, resulting in the restoration of several hundred historical documents to public custody. To celebrate this, the Archives will display a selection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century treasures. These include monumental items from all three branches of government, as well as local records: enrolled laws relating to Indian lands and Revolutionary War damages, the 1752 answer to the Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery (major land-rights litigation), estate inventories of notable New Jerseyans, and other items.
Civil War Flags Unveiling Ceremony – The State Museum will hold its semiannual unveiling ceremony in the Civil Flags Gallery. The event will feature remarks by Nicholas Ciotola, Curator of Cultural History, and Dr. David Martin of the New Jersey Civil War Heritage Association. The story of each flag will be presented as it is uncovered for public display. Included in this rotation is a stunning regimental flag containing an ornate, hand-painted New Jersey state seal. The flag was presented to the Twenty-third New Jersey Volunteers by the Sunday Schools of Burlington County. In March of 1863, residents of Burlington City organized a grand concert to raise the private funds used to purchase this flag.
New Jersey Day Program – Sara Cureton, Executive Director of the New Jersey Historical Commission, will welcome attendees with brief remarks about New Jersey Day. Nicholas Paleologos, Executive Director of the New Jersey Council on the Arts, will speak about the Atlantus exhibition (see above). Its installation exhibit, and also circulation of reproductions of it to New Jersey’s public libraries, were supported by the Arts Council, the State Museum, and the State Archives. State Archives Executive Director Joseph Klett will offer an overview of the Recovered Public Treasures exhibition (see above). He will also publicly recognize organizations and individuals instrumental in the return of these invaluable historical resources.
Lecture: “Back to the Archives: Reclaiming Public Records” – Mr. Klett will give a forty-five-minute presentation on the recovery of alienated public documents during his career. He will discuss the challenges and complexities of legally claiming documents offered for auction or known to be in private hands, and securing their restoration to the people of New Jersey.
From: H-New Jersey