Cabinet of Curiosities
The top floor of the library is a popular study spot, coveted for its peaceful bird’s-eye view of campus and, on a clear day, of the New York City skyline.
Ten stories below, unseen and unknown to most, is a well of hidden treasures.
Welcome to Hofstra’s Special Collections, a center for research and an incubator for curiosity and discovery.
Here, in the basement of Axinn Library, Religion Professor Sophie Hawkins and her students spent a semester building their own “Wunderkammer” – or “Wonder Cabinet.”
Hawkins’ class, called “Cabinet of Curiosities”, consisted of a series of projects that challenged students to look at items they had never seen before, make up stories about their origins, and conduct thorough research to discover the true purpose of the objects.
“I wanted to design an academic course that would allow for emergent interests and yet model a collaborative research ethic,” Hawkins said.
Students walked into a room filled with objects from all three areas of Special Collections: University Archives, the Long Island Studies Institute, and the Rare Books and Manuscripts collection. Their first order of business was to choose an item. Political memorabilia, headpieces, and stock certificates belonging to Kate and William Hofstra were just some of the many objects in the room. But something tiny caught Danielle Tesoriero’s eye. A walnut book.
“One of the other students in my class made up this ridiculous story about how gnomes had made it, and I was like ‘okay, well now I really want to know what this is,’” said the senior psychology major.
The book, tied in a little brown bow and packaged in a small burlap bag, housed an accordion of nut drawings. Tesoriero was determined to find out what exactly she was holding.
“Most of the time when I research something, I have a very specific question and Google knows the answer,” she said. “This was a little bit more of a random trip down the rabbit hole.”
She discovered these books were a common souvenir from the early twentieth century. A desire to dig deeper led her to find tourist shops and state fairs were not the only keepers of this curious item. She found a convent in Indiana where nuns put together walnut books in celebration of the institution’s 100th anniversary.
According to Geri Solomon, assistant dean for Special Collections, many natural history museums originated from the concept of a “Wonder Cabinet” – filled with objects belonging to wealthy Europeans who collected items from around the world.
“One way to get people to think outside the box is to intrigue them,” said Solomon. “We wanted the students to want to know more about these curious items. That’s the first step to successfully conduct research.”
The mystery certainly captivated journalism senior Frank Luisi. He had no idea what his object – a photo of a U-shaped piece of rusted metal - was. “That’s why I chose it. I had to find out.”
And he did. With only an image to work with, Luisi scoured documents in Special Collections until he found the answer. The photo was of an iron-age fibula or pin used to fasten garments.
“I was so happy,” said Luisi. “I could finally sleep.”
