Posted in Artifact of the Month, Tar Heelia on July 17, 2012 | 9 Comments »
The accomplishments of North Carolina’s native son Kay Kyser have been well documented: UNC cheerleader, class president, and bandleader; host of the successful radio show Kay Kyser’s Kollege of Musical Knowledge from 1938 to 1949; big band leader with eleven number-one records to his name; star of seven feature films. Kyser’s rise to fame was [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Tar Heelia on June 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
If you’re a regular follower of the Artifact of the Month, you’ll remember that last month’s post featured Chang Bunker’s silverware. (And if you’re not a regular follower of the Artifact of the Month, why aren’t you?) This month we’re pleased to share another artifact that sheds some light on the everyday lives of Chang [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Tar Heelia on May 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The North Carolina Collection Gallery exhibit on Chang and Eng Bunker, the original “Siamese twins,” continues to fascinate and intrigue visitors. Among the items on display are artifacts from Chang and Eng’s many years on tour, a time when they were presented as walking curiosities to paying spectators in town after town. Figurines and advertisements [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, From the Stacks, History, Memorabilia Moment, Tar Heelia on April 16, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Look closely at the autographs on this first day cover and you’re sure to recognize some familiar names. Yes, that does say Jesse Helms, right alongside Terry Sanford and Jim Martin. And that’s Rufus Edmisten and Jim Hunt near the top. The scribble in the middle is John Edwards. The cover, our April Artifact of [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, From the Stacks, History, Memorabilia Moment, Tar Heelia on March 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
From now through the end of May, visitors to the NCC Gallery can view the exhibit “A Dialogue Between Old and New: Notable Buildings on the UNC Campus.” A quick stroll through the exhibit reveals how much architectural styles have changed since 1793 — but also how much student life has changed in that time: [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Tar Heelia on February 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
This blue-and-white sash, the February Artifact of the Month, was worn by Nannie Louise Davis in UNC’s 1936 commencement exercises. Badges at the shoulder and hip ornament the sash and gold tassels hang from the ends, rendering it an appropriately regal piece of regalia. Davis was a junior when she was elected marshal by her [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Memorabilia Moment, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on January 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Reminders of North Carolina’s agricultural roots are spread throughout the North Carolina Collection. One such example serves as the Gallery’s Artifact of the Month for January. A donor recently brought over several bags for different meal products from various mills across the state, and we have selected a few to highlight. This 11.5” x 4.5” [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Tar Heelia on December 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Ella Williams Graves Thompson created the December Artifact of the Month: a framed design of pressed flowers. According to a note accompanying the piece, Thompson gathered and pressed the flowers in 1882 during the first year of her marriage to George Nicholas Thompson of Caswell County. While pregnant with the couple’s first child in 1884, [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Just A Bite, Tar Heelia, Tar Talk on November 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The Artifact of the Month for November comes from the North Carolina Prison Department. Several patrons donated a total of ten Prison Department tokens to the NCC Gallery. Supposedly used between 1930 and 1970, the tokens were provided to prisoners in the North Carolina state prison system as canteen money for the purchase of cigarettes, [...]
Posted in Artifact of the Month, Tar Heelia on October 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
October’s Artifact of the Month is a surgical instrument used by Dr. Benjamin Abel Sellars (1816-1896), a native of Alamance County. An aging identification tag indicates that the tool may have been used in the 1850s when B.A. Sellars, as the doctor was more commonly known, moved to Randolph County to practice medicine. According to [...]
