Sunday, November 25, 2012

Unforgettable - but not now

Here's Stonehenge without a fence or sanitized path. You could touch the stones, lie on the altar slab and imagine all kinds of things in 1959. What an unforgettable experience!


I took these photos with the latest design Kodak Brownie 127, a 10th birthday present. 

Have you taken photos from viewpoints that are now forbidden? I often wonder if we really need to protect so many sites from visitor interaction. I'm told they have also fenced off areas in Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland where I once sat and let my imagination run wild. 


I mean, in these days when celebs can be photographed from five miles away, it can't be that hard to unobtrusively monitor to make sure people don't do something regrettable.

When I make school visits to talk about 'The History of Books', students can handle a Mesopotamian sales docket from 1800BC...





read Gregorian chant from a page written in 1280...


unwrap a land document written on vellum, complete with King George III's wax seal...




and handle many other treasures.

Are the risks of something being damaged worth taking? Absolutely!


'Peter's workshop was, without a doubt, the highlight of our library year!'
Ormiston College, August 2012 

Many thanks to staff and students!

All children and adults need rich experiences to savour.

Peter Taylor



3 comments:

Stutleytales said...

Oh, wow, Peter. What a treat for students and staff to handle your treasures. I've never experienced anything like it, so I can just imagine the thrill it gives others. Wish I was in one of your workshops :)

Peter Taylor said...

Many thanks for visiting. Though I do occasionally have to discourage children from rubbing the gold on 14th century pages with illuminated borders, or sticking their fingernails into George III's wax seal, they are very respectful.

I hope our paths cross one day.

I think I paid $14 for a 2nd century Roman stylus and it enhances the imagination to actually use it. What did the original owner write? Perhaps he was on Hadrian's Wall on the borders of Scotland, sending a message home to Italy - "Please knit and send more warm socks, and gloves would be useful, too."

Peter :)

letterlady said...

How wonderful that the children are able to see these things up close and very personal! Nowhere else in the world would that happen, I think. They will remember it all of their lives - maybe not actively (though some will), but when they see something in a museum they will remember and think - 'Wow - I actually held and smelled and felt and used one of these!'