Review of “The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives”
The diary is a place to put the most private of thoughts. Things you cannot keep inside yourself, but perhaps do not want to share with the world. They are glimpses into the minds of those who wrote them, to help better understand their struggles, victories, or simply the world in their opinions. The Morgan Library under the guidance of curator Christine Nelson has brought some of the most fascinating diaries in the Morgan private collection out of the vaults and on to display. The exhibit, “The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives,” showcases some of the rare books and documents the collection holds.
The exhibit set on the second floor in a white walled room might seem sparse at first. The lighting is just bright enough to read labels without squinting and the walls are simply adorned by colorful quotes of the authors of the diaries. The diaries are housed in glass display cases spread over the room with large font labels with a succinct paragraph explaining the books on display. However, it’s not the ambiance that truly matters, it is what is inside the cases -- diaries that range from the bizarre to the ordinary to the extraordinary.
In the collection are a number of famous people. There is a diary from John Steinbeck, detailing the outline of The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck also writes that he wonders how long he’ll be able to maintain this as he had at first written, “I have tried to keep diaries before, but they didn’t work out because of the necessity to be honest.” In another, E.B. White outlines The Trumpet of the Swan, including a number of sketches of his main character. Perhaps the most interesting of authors is Nathaniel Hawthorne who has five diaries on display including one he and his wife wrote together as well as of one of his daughter’s diary. In his personal diary, an excerpt is transcribed upon the label discussing an idea of the plot of a story, “the life of a woman, who by the old colonial law was condemned always to wear the letter A…” It should sound familiar; you probably read it in school. One of the more entertaining authors is Charlotte Brontë who has two diaries in the collection, the first turned to pages of sketches done in a boring school house according to the transcript on the label, the second in nearly microscopic print is the tale of a dark and stormy night. Other iconic people of history such as Henry David Thoreau, Tennessee Williams, and Bob Dylan are also included
The collection’s time span of three centuries adds to its impressive display. A large volume by 17th century pirate Bartholomew Sharpe has large colorful print detailing an adventure worthy of any Hollywood movie. Queen Victoria’s journal on her highland tour is also included, though closed so one can admire the gold gilded journal. Perhaps most interestingly included is the ship’s log of L. Raymond Hale of the ship Emily, who writes of the journey and the three days of whales along with a sketch of the whale. More recently is an account of the events of 9-11-2001 and of the last day of recoveries in December of 2001, that were given to the museum to display by those who wrote them. The exhibit does not delve into the modern journaling methods as reviewer Edward Rothstein mentions in his review in the New York Times.[i] Twittering, and other status like journals, as well as blogs are left out of this exhibit, to its betterment.
The exhibit also displays a variety of other types of diaries including closed diaries so one can admire the detail on the outside, such as the previously mentioned gold gilded diary of Queen Victoria. Various other diaries such as a calendar diary and a pocket notebook are also on display. One of the more interesting pieces in this display was the first erasable book. Rothstein in his review describes it, “It is the first erasable diary, a Renaissance iPad.” There is something powerful in walking into a room and viewing the handwritten documents, some elegant and cursive, others small and block letters, which perhaps is lost in reprints or digital transcriptions of these documents that you could get on your iPad or Kindle. They are the ‘true’ stories of these people through their own eyes. Occasionally the visitor will also find them treated to events happening at the time of the author’s life, that perhaps we recognize now as being monumental and they saw as anecdotal. One example of such is an 18th century Bostonian diary where the author briefly mentions an event of men tossing tea into the harbor and one can only imagine what further events he mentions that were revolutionary. This is the unfortunate part of this exhibit, which is simply the nature of books; you can only display at most two pages from each book.
While Ms. Nelson does a wonderful job of featuring pages that would most relate us to the author, there is a lingering wonder of what else might be included that perhaps would present the author in a different light. The exhibit does not seem limited though as the curious visitor can read more about the diaries in a gallery guide that is provided. Additionally there is an audio tour, which can be followed as well. The diaries are a fascinating display of the collection housed by the Morgan Library and present an intimate glimpse into the mind of some of the most interesting characters of history.
In my particular favorite, there is a page of equations and symbols. The diary of Albert Einstein, a travel diary written in 1922, features the notes on what was most bothering him. The label explains how throughout the diary is commentary on books that he has been reading but always coming back to and the inner problems of his mind, writing, “I’ve been thinking about the gravitation-electricity problem again.”
The exhibit will be on display at the Morgan Library on East 26th and Madison, until May 22nd, 2011. Information about visiting the museum can be found at themorgan.org.
[i] Rothstein, Edward. "'The Diary: Three Centuries of Private Lives'" The New York Times 22 Jan. 2011, New York ed., C1 sec. New York Times. 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
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