[Famous Person] Slept Here

I really don't get the veneration of objects. I understand that there are enough people in the world who find a chair far more valuable because some notable's backside once polished the seat, but I am not one of them. I really don't care if a Ming Emperor once held that calligraphy brush or if the Third Earl of Sandwich took snuff from that very box. I think the ideas contained inside the Declaration of Independence are more interesting than the fact that we have the original document hermetically sealed at the Smithsonian.

Don't get me wrong: the snuffbox may be quite beautiful in its own right and something I might enjoy gazing at, but the fact that a notable once may have held it lightly and partaken of its contents does not increase its inherent value to me. The snuffbox may just as well have been held by the Fourth Earl of Nowhere. The ephemeral nature of most sorts of provenance leaves me cold.

Contrast that with objects where you can glean some piece of information about the owner. Henry VIII's suit of armor from his early 20's for instance (much more, er, impressive when viewed in profile). Mom and I just about giggled ourselves into the floor of the Tower of London when we first viewed this piece of history. You can learn a lot about the man just by glancing at its... pretensions.

And then there's this quote from Franklin about an object created by the late Elizabeth Zimmermann:

It's quite moving to pick up something you've seen Elizabeth hold in a video and realize every stitch in it came from her needles.

Again, I am pretty sure you would be able to learn something about Elizabeth Zimmermann from looking at something she created. That's a piece of history I really would be interested in for its provenance.

Posted: Monday - July 24, 2006 at 07:05 AM | |