Pre-Historic Googling

I saw this humorous caption on the photograph below and after, laughing out loud, I was reminded of how important those 3x5 index cards were in the art world.

When my gallery purchased a work of art the first thing we did was take an index card and give the object an inventory number and put down the artist and title for the work and what we paid for it, in addition to possible partners and commissions and possible depreciation. Then when the work was sold, we drew a line and listed the purchaser and what they paid. More detailed information regarding the object went on 4x6 sheets in a loose-leaf notebook and then, of course, file folders with the information sheets we gave clients and physical documentation. Here is the first inventory card my father made, as a model.

My wife, Penelope, at the Metropolitan Museum, during the 1970’s and the early 80’s worked with filing cabinets of cards like those you saw in the first photo where an accession number, date of the object, dimensions and physical properties were recorded. Additional information including publications was added over time. Here is an image of a Met catalog card from the Greek & Roman Department.

There was a set of cards in the pertinent department and another set in the central cataloging department, run at the time, by Marica Vilcek. Today, she is known far better for the Vilcek Foundation which she and her husband, Jan, established in 2000 to recognize the contributions of immigrants to the United States.

Another former curator at the Met was kind enough to send me an article called “Cabinet Fever” by Dana Hart written in 2015 about cataloging at the Met. The original central catalog, shown here, is another image taken by Ms. Hart from that article.

Each museum catalog card had a hole in the bottom that allowed cards with further information to be tied to the original. Thin but strong string was required. I delighted my wife with a birthday present of a ball of red string perfect for the purpose. It came from a nearby bakery which was used for their boxes. Those who have lived in New York will be acquainted with the bakery William Greenberg founded in 1946 and still in existence today.

In the early 80’s, Penelope acquired, from a patron, the first computer in the Museum, even before it’s official release. It was an Apple II-E which she was able to assemble herself and, with an intern, run a trial cataloging project. Before long cataloging was done on a computer in every department but the cards remain as a backup, when you are dealing with one and a half million works of art, cataloging takes time.

There are those who lament the loss of the use of pen and paper in favor of the computer. Which is better, one can certainly dispute, both having advantages and disadvantages. However, the images here were all found online, even the one of the Rosenberg & Stiebel inventory card which was posted by the archivist at the Frick where our archive is housed.

I am always fascinated with the changes that have occurred in my lifetime. Like everyone else, I like some and dislike others. Fear of new technology or any advance is human. Photography was going to destroy the fine arts of painting and drawing and now we worry about AI. As my mother-in-law used to say, “You’ve got to take the bitter with the better”.