Galleries by James Rogers

The staff of WHG wishes everyone a Happy Halloween this October 31st, Weird Photo Wednesday! We hope you all have many trick or treaters! For more information about this photo, click here. For many other unique photographs, see our Digital Collections.

Today's Weird Photo Wednesday photo shows a lot of things hanging from balconies. Perhaps tightie whities and other personal items were dried in other places, and trying to put rugs and other large items in a dryer would be difficult. For more information about this photograph, click here. For more unique and strange photos, see our Digital Collections.

Today's Weird Photo Wednesday gives a view of what Larimer street once was, a part of Denver's skid row. Now we have expensive restaurants, high end shops, Starbucks and a street that attracts tourists. But at one time, Larimer street had cheap hotels, cheap bars and people not so fortunate. The city is always changing and this photo gives a sense of what it was like 40 years ago. For more information about this photo, click here. For more unique and historical photos, see our Digital Collections.

Looks like baby is posing for a baby studio portrait. I don't think I'd be too happy as being portrayed as a floating baby lost at sea. Maybe it was the thing in the late 1800s. For more information about this photograph, click here. For more unusual images, see our Digital Collections.

Just in time for today's Obama - Romney presidential debate, we have a unique photograph from out undigitized collections. The summary reads: "Signs of Support for Nixon - Hundreds of Colorado Young Republicans are ready for the Nixon Rally today at 4:30 pm. The above group held their poster painting party Sunday at Denver Republican Headquarters". The photograph is from September 26th, 1968 and is in our undigitized collections under Richard Milhous Nixon. While not in our Digital Collections, we have lots more undigitized photographs available when you visit. So how many of you voted for Dick?!

Today's Weird Photo Wednesday is a scary view of Hoover Dam. Here we have a historical photograph with a unique viewpoint. Working at the top and around the dam requires people that aren't afraid of heights. For more information about this photo, please click here. For more unique and different photographs, see our Digital Collections.

Subtitled “Making a Difference in Colorado Since 1864” the exhibit, on view through  March 17, 2012, will illustrate the history of the contributions of the Loretto Community through photographs, art, and memorabilia. The focus will be on five areas of their history and accomplishments: Beginnings in Kentucky and Santa Fe; The Schools; Global Loretto; Social Entrepreneurship: Peace and Justice; and Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives.

Some of the signature pieces on view will include a replica of the very first high school diploma conferred in the Colorado territory in 1875 by St. Mary’s Academy to pupil Jesse Forshee, and images of Santa Fe’s world-renowned circular staircase built in 1880 by a carpenter whose identity remains among Santa Fe’s most oft-repeated mysteries.

The Sisters of Loretto were founded in Kentucky in 1812 and arrived in Colorado via Santa Fe in 1864 under the escort of Bishop Joseph Machebeuf, who recruited them as educators. It was on August 1, 1864 when three pioneers, Ignacia Mora, Beatriz Maes Torres, and Joanna Walsh, opened their first Colorado school, St. Mary’s Academy, still in operation today at 4545 South University Blvd. Overall, they opened 27 schools in Colorado and to this day their lives are dedicated to educating by working for justice and acting for peace because the gospel urges them.

Please visit www.lorettocommunity.org for more information on the Loretto Community
 

One man in a tub. A rooftop tub even. The question you may want to ask is how did he get the water up there? And is it warm enough? He does have a fabulous view of downtown Denver though! For more information about this photo, click here. For more weird photos, see our Digital Collections.

Eleanor Gehres must be smiling up in that library called heaven upon hearing that Marilyn is the 2012 winner. Can you think of anyone who has given more time, love, books and even her own poetry to our library?  Marilyn has spent so much time at the library that even regular employees ask her if she works in the Western History & Genealogy Department.

Marilyn confesses: "I developed a very serious relationship with libraries when I was 12 or 13.  I took books home and even slept with them. When people asked me why I always had a book with me, I said 'books are my passage into life. They help me to see the many sides of people that others don't see. ' "
 
Trying to pin down all that Marilyn Amer has done for libraries is like the proverbial problem of herding cats:

•    Trustee, DPL Friends foundation, 1976-1989

•    Creator & Co-Chair of the Rare and Not-So-Rare Book and Art Auction, 1982-2008

•    Denver Library Commissioner, DPL, 1998-2005

•    Co-Creator of the Poetry Project to bring major poets, such as Denise Levertov,   
Stephen Spender and John Ashbery to Denver for readings

•    Co-Creator of DPL's Authors on Stage, bringing leading national authors, such as 
Edward Abbey, Tony Hillerman, Calvin Trillin, John Updike, Toni Morrison, John Irving, Mary McCarthy to lecture in Denver

•    Created DPL's Local Authors Series, featuring such notables as Margaret Coel,
Tom The Professor, Sandra Dallas, Seymour Epstein, Bruce Ducker  

•    Helped establish the Eleanor Gehres Award, The Latino Award, Library People, Small Library Support

•     Continues to support library programs, such as Literacy (Read-A-Loud), Open Book (stories of/about illustrious women)

Marilyn Amer was raised in Flushing, New York. Her father, a traveling vaudeville soft-shoe dancer, settled down after his marriage to sell shoes at Bloomingdale's in N.Y.

Marilyn attended public schools P.S. 30, P.S. 79 and Flushing High School and received a B.A. at Queens College and an M.A, in English at the University of Denver. In 1965, she became an Adjunct Professor of English at the University of Colorado at Denver. For 31 years Marilyn taught courses in writing, drama, poetry and the novel. Overcoming the skepticism of some faculty members, she created and taught the first Woman's Study course in the 1990's, "Archetypes of Women," followed by “Sexuality/Textuality,” an examination of gender in writing.

Marilyn's passion for books led her to the Denver Public Library where she directed her time and energy toward creating programs yoking the library, literature and the community.  The Rare and Not-So-Rare Book Auction which "offered books ever so rare / and special items with not much wear/ maps, deeds and letters too/ crowds of bidders to tables drew (Amer)" raised thousands of dollars for Western History and other library departments during its 26 years of existence.

Marilyn has been married to Jules Amer, a prominent pediatrician, for 60 years. They have 3 children and 8 grand children whom they hope to inspire with love for literature and libraries.   
                                                                                              Tom The Professor
A professor of history at the University of Colorado, Denver, Tom The Professor has authored over thirty books about Denver and Colorado.  In 2011, the Library designated him the recipient of the Eleanor Gehres award for his support and contributions to the Western History collection.

Recipients of the Eleanor Gehres Award

1999    Eleanor M. Gehres
2000    Glenn R. Scott
2001    The Vida Ellison Trust: Frances and William Griffith and Jack Griffith, Trustees
2002    Carolyn and Don Etter
2003    Virginia and Bruce Rockwell
2004    Barbara Walton
2005    National Association of the 10th Mountain Division
2006    Wesley A. Brown
2007    Philip J. Panum
2008    Kay Wisnia
2009    Deborah A. Wadsworth
2010    The Colorado Railroad Museum
2011    Thomas J. The Professor
 

The Western History Department holds a fine collection of western art. Images of many of those works are now available to be viewed through the DPL Digital Collections. Recently added images also contain close-up snapshots of the artist’s signature when present, aiding researchers in identifying materials. Providing images of our art work is an ongoing project, and more will be added in the future, so check back frequently.

To browse the art, or to do a more in-depth search, click here. And as always, the reference staff is available to help.
 

For Weird Photo Wednesday we have a view of men struggling to either launch this weird balloon, or keep to it down to earth. And speaking of up, up and away, we want to say goodbye and have a safe trip to our departing reference librarian Jennifer Dewey. She is heading to New Zealand and will be missed greatly by staff and customers. Have a great new adventure Jennifer and have fun!

For more information about this photograph, click here. For more exciting and strange photographs, see our Digital Collections.

These two are posing, possibly up to no good? Today's Weird Photo Wednesday brings you two clown actors posing for Mr. Harry Rhoads. Make sure to zoom in to see more details. You can see Mr. Rhoads in the mirror! For more information about this photo, click here. For more photographs, see our Digital Collections.

This man seems to like the look of this long neck. I suspect that you wouldn't find this type of merchandise at the Goodwill store these days. Finding stuffed animals at Goodwill nowadays means teddy bears and other fluffy animals. For more information about this photo, please click here. For more unusual photographs, please see our Digital Collections.

Poor, poor teacher, no matter how long he goes through the lesson plan, it seems our lost student will never learn. Look how skinny he is! How can you expect his student to study and learn when he's not had a decent meal in years! Try as he might, there's no teaching this one!

For more information about this really strange and weird photo, click here. For more weird photographs, see our Digital Collections.

Who wouldn't want to hold a rooster over a doll? This is a beautiful studio portrait. Check out the detail using the zoom control. You can even see how calm the rooster is! And the young lady truly likes this rooster. For more information about this photo, click here. For more interesting and unique photographs, check out our Digital Collections. And no clucking!

This sad Weird Photo Wednesday photograph shows a lot of animal pelts, probably from, as the sign says, predatory animals. Could they be wolves and coyotes? It's hard to tell even zooming in with the zoom tool. You wonder how many animals of this type were in the area. For more information about this photo, click here. To see more weird photographs, visit our Digital Collections.

The Western History and Genealogy Department of the Denver Public Library is proud to house organizational records of Equality Colorado and other pioneering community groups, as well as collections of personal papers of notable gay Coloradans.

The contemporary struggle for GLBT rights may have begun at New York's Stonewall Inn and come of age on San Francisco's Castro Street, but the Coasts have no monopoly on the history of the movement. Colorado was a battleground during the Amendment 2 era in the early 1990s.

Come and check out some of the wonderful GLBT collections we have, as well as History Colorado and the Terry Mangan Library at The Center! We also have clipping files and many more GLBT collections in the department.

Anyone know what Beery in Viva Villa means? We don't, so for today's Weird Photo Wednesday maybe you can figure out what that slogan means. What we have today is a photo of the old Bluebird theater on Colfax. A very historic building and well known by locals and the local music scene. For more information about this photo, click here. For more weird, strange and unique photos, visit our Digital Collections or come on in and buy a great print in our new Ye Olde Digital Collections Photo Shoppe.

2012 Map Fair of the West to be held in conjunction with free lectures and exhibition at the Denver Public Library, July 28-29

The Map Fair of The West presented by the Rocky Mountain Map Society will be held Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29, 2012 at the Denver Central Library (Broadway x 14th). In conjunction with the fair, the Library will also be hosting a series of free lectures about the West and will have a special exhibition, highlighting pieces from Denver Public Library’s vast collection.

This year’s Map Fair of the West will feature eighteen international antiquarian map dealers from all over the world, exhibiting over ten thousand rare, authentic antique maps. For a $10 admission fee, visitors will be able to see beautiful, historically significant maps from the last five centuries, all available for examination and purchase. The event is not only a map collector’s paradise, but is also perfect for anyone interested in history or many magnificent examples of the printer’s art as decor. Dealer specialties will range from stunning early decorative maps of the Golden Age of Cartography and earlier, to pictorial maps of the twentieth century. Some of the most unique finds at the fair will include maps from the dawn of printing, depictions of the discovery and exploration of the new world as it occurred, the evolution of knowledge of the American West, ghost towns, gold rush, kitschy souvenir maps,  and much more. The public is invited to bring in a map or two of their own to obtain an expert opinion.  

Map Fair of the West Saturday, July 28, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday, July 29, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Admission: $10 Location: Denver Central Library, B2 Conference Center, Broadway x 14th

Free Lectures Saturday, July 28, 2 p.m. The Political Development of the Trans-Mississippi United States in Period Maps. Discussion led by Christopher W. Lane, proprietor of The Philadelphia Print Shop West, and nationally acclaimed expert on antique prints and maps. 

Sunday, July 29, 2 p.m. Sea of the West; The Mediterranean Sea of North America, that wasn’t. Discussion led by Don McGuirk, M.D., author of "The Last Cartographic Myth: Mer de l'Ouest" (a.k.a. Sea of the West)

Lectures are FREE and open to the public, and will take place at the Denver Central Library, Broadway x 14th, Level 5 Gates Meeting Room. Seating is limited.

Exhibit June 16-Aug 31, 2012 The special exhibit consists of twenty rare maps from the Western History collection.  Together, they demonstrate the historical cartography of the geographic features and political boundaries of what became the State of Colorado. Exhibit is FREE and open to the public, and will take place at the Denver Central Library, Broadway x 14th, Level 5 Gates Reading Room.

The 2012 Map Fair of the West is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Map Society and Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. and is hosted by the Denver Public Library. The Map Fair of the West is being held in conjunction with a major international conference --  The Mapping of the North America: Westward Expansion, also sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Map Society and the Texas Map Society on July 26 & 27, 2012 at the University of Denver.

The Rocky Mountain Map Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and appreciation of maps and other items of cartographic interest. The Society was formed in 1991 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

More information: MapFairOfTheWest.org  

Weird Photo Wednesday brings you Colorado's, if not the world's, biggest shoe string ball. Please read the rich description of the photograph and make sure you zoom in to see all of the detail! Check out the quote from Jack Hughes as well. We love the wonderful descriptive quote. For more unusal photographs, check out more of our Digital Collections.

Recently, a sinkhole developed outside of Leadville, Colorado. While this photo shows a deep mine and is not connected to the sinkhole outside of Leadville, you may wonder, what other strange or weird holes lie beneath the wonderful mountains and plains of Colorado? For more information about today's Weird Photo Wednesday, click here. For more weird and strange photographs, check out our Digital Collections. 

Someone must have had some fast reflexes to get out of the way of the wood spear! Looks like lots of onlookers for this freaky and strange accident. I'm sure we can all make up some great stories! For more information about this photo, please click here. For more interesting and strange photographs, check out our Digital Collections. Don't forget, many of these photographs can be purchased and they would make wonderful gifts!

We've all encountered messes in our life. Here we have a young woman cleaning up after her mess. And it truly is a mess! She doesn't have our modern day conveniences such as paper towels or even a wet/dry vac! For more information about this photo click here. To see more weird messes check out the Digitial Collections.

Climb up with these fire fighters and you will most likely enjoy a spectacular view. But don't look down, especially if you have a fear of heights! Can you zoom in and see if there is any fear in their eyes? For information about today's Weird Photo Wednesday, click here. To see more unusual, and not so unusual, photographs visit our Digital Collections.

Does our lovely lady know who will be in the chamber after her?

Written on the back of our Weird Photo Wednesday photograph: "First to brethe [sic] death in the new lethal gas chamber at the Colorado State Penitentiary will be Walter R. Rep[p]in, 18, convicted at Colorado Springs Thursday of the murder of a taxicab driver and sentenced to pay with his life the week of January 6, 1934. Shown here is the we [sic] welded steel shell of the chamber made by a Denver iron works company and ready for shipment to Canon City. Margaret Fliedner is seated where Reppin will sit for the last time."

For more information about this photo, click here. For more strange and macabre photographs, check out our Digital Collections.

Comfortable (with a warm coat) and cozy in winter, but just a puddle in the summer. It was probably a very beautiful sight to see at night, illuminated by lights. And it seemed to hold a large amount of people. For more information about this photo, click here. For more great images, please see our Digital Collections.  

All things are beautiful, even worms! Here we have a judge looking to see which worm is the fattest, tastiest and most splendiferous for Colorado's fish. For more information about this photo click here. For more great images, see our Digital Collections. 

The Denver Public Library celebrated May Day by distributing Pocket Emergency Contact Lists and Emergency Quick Reference Guides to each of our library's 25 branches and to over 20 offices and departments in the system's Central location!
 
James Rogers and Abby Hoverstock, Senior Librarians in the Western History/Genealogy Department, have been working on creating a disaster plan for the department for over a year. After we created guides for our department, we decided to encourage colleagues throughout our library system to adapt the Pocket Guide template (courtesy of Alliance for Response) to their departments and branches. We also designed and created colorful, spiral bound Emergency Quick Reference Guides for staff at the Central building and modified a version for use at all the library's branches.
 
All of this work helps us in preparing for emergencies or disasters which may arise. Protecting our materials and staff is of paramount importance not only for the library, but for the city as well. 

For today's Weird Photo Wednesday we have a monument praising coal!

Today we have television ads saying how important coal is to our energy production and how clean coal is becoming. 

Back then, instead of a TV ad, we created a monument to coal and adorned it with a funny looking crown. Make sure to zoom in on the photo to see all the details. For more information about this photograph, click here. Check out all of our images in the Digital Collections.   

Some waxy figures for Weird Photo Wednesday. Maybe even a bit wooden! For more information about this photo, click here. For more interesting images, see our Digital Collections.