Posted on behalf of the New Jersey State Archives.
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, N.J. We hope you will join us!
Schedule
9:00-4:00 Exhibitions open:
- Atlantus: 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 photographers 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: 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has been involved in numerous cases relating to alienated records, resulting in the restoration of several hundred historical documents to public custody.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 18th- and 19th-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.
12:00-1:00 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 flab containing an ornate, hand-painted New Jersey State Seal. The flag was presented to the 23rd New Jersey Volunteers by the Sunday Schools of Burlington County. In March of 1863, residents of Burlington City organized a grant concert to raise the private funds used to purchase this flag.
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 Atalantus
- 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”
Mr. Klett will give a 45-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.
Delaware Valley Archivists Group 