Good morning!

Next week, our president, Andy Treinen, will be recognized as a Nonprofit Visionary Leader Awards honoree. This recognition is no surprise for those of us who work with Andy every day. We see firsthand his passion and dedication to making the museum mean more to more people, to making the Frazier a place where everyone feels welcome and sees themselves in the stories of Kentucky. During the height of the pandemic, Andy led the way with innovative ideas like free membership for over 23,000 of our regional neighbors, education and entertainment content offered daily, now weekly, in Frazier Weekly; and Summer Beer Fest at Frazier, designed to bring people back downtown. We as a staff could not be more proud of Andy and thankful for his leadership.

Andy follows in the footsteps of our visionary founder, Mr. Owsley Brown Frazier. Mr. Frazier’s vision for a museum came from a single exhibition of his collection at the Kentucky History Museum in Frankfort. It was the “best-received, best-attended exhibit the museum had ever had.” In Mr. Frazier’s own words, “the Frazier Museum was an outgrowth of that success.” His original idea was to start a small museum in Louisville, but as fortune would have it, the British Armouries was looking for a partner in the United States to house some of their collection—and with that, Mr. Frazier’s small museum went from 10,000 square feet to the Frazier History Museum we recognize today. Collection pieces from that original exhibition can be seen at the museum; Simon Meiners shares some of Mr. Frazier’s favorites below.

Tomorrow will mark the tenth anniversary of Owsley Brown Frazier’s death. His loss was devastating not only to his family, friends, and those who worked for him, but for our community. As Mr. Frazier’s good friend and current Frazier board member Bill Stone was quoted in a 2004 Lane Report article, “If the good Lord had to endow a fortune to anyone, he picked the right person in Owsley.” From the University of Louisville to Bellarmine University, the Frazier Rehabilitation Institute, the Frazier History Museum, and beyond, Mr. Frazier’s generosity made a lasting impact and changed the landscape of Louisville.

Every day, Andy, the board of directors, and the staff strive toward the vision for the museum: “To be a compelling destination about Kentucky’s culture, its heritage, and its relationship to the world.” We hope Mr. Frazier would be proud of what his namesake offers to our community, and we work every day to be worthy of his vision of the Frazier History Museum.

In this edition of Frazier Weekly, Stephen Yates welcomes Luca Mariano master blender Jennifer Brandt to Sippin’ With Stephen, Amanda Egan writes about the upcoming August member Book Club, and Rachel Platt’s Bridging the Divide features the (Un)Known Project.

Enjoy!

Lonna Versluys
Director of Advancement
Frazier History Museum

This Week in the Museum

Five Founder’s Gallery Objects That Exemplify the Art of the Weapon

If you’re reading this article, then you—as one of our 40,000 Frazier Weekly subscribers!—know what the Frazier History Museum is: It’s the place where the world meets Kentucky.

But did you know the Frazier was originally an arms museum?

Our founder, Owsley Brown Frazier, was a wealthy businessman and philanthropist in Louisville. When a tornado struck the city during the 1974 Super Outbreak, it destroyed Mr. Frazier’s home, and a rare Kentucky long rifle he owned—a family heirloom made for his great-great-grandfather in Bardstown, Kentucky, in the 1820s and gifted to him by his grandfather in 1952—disappeared.

Mr. Frazier would never find the rifle. But his search for it would spark a passion for collecting antique weapons.

In 2000, the year he stepped down as vice-chairman of Brown-Forman, he loaned his arms collection to the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort for a special exhibition titled The Weapon as Art. The exhibition ran for two months, but it was attended by about 10,000 people. Inspired by the turnout, Frazier decided to found a museum where he could showcase his private collection on permanent public display.

Located at 829 West Main Street in downtown Louisville, the Owsley Brown Frazier Historical Arms Museum opened to the public May 22, 2004. Its stated mission was “to acclaim the artistry, craftsmanship, and technological innovation of weapons and their makers.”

The initial collection consisted of roughly 1,500 objects from the personal collection of Mr. Frazier, dating from 1492 to World War I, and approximately 350 objects borrowed from the Royal Armouries in Leeds, United Kingdom, dating from 1066 to the 1960s. Combined, the collections included guns, cannons, swords, daggers, and other historical arms and armor sourced from Flanders, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, as well as life-size tableaux of mannequins and horse figures depicting battle scenes from European history.

In the past eighteen years, however, the museum has rebranded to focus on Kentucky and its place in the world. Consequently, a number of objects that were part of the museum’s permanent collection in 2004—many of them weapons—have since been deaccessioned.

Fortunately, some of these objects remain on display in the Founder’s Gallery on the second floor of the museum.

In honor of Mr. Frazier, who passed away ten years ago this week, I’d like to share images of five objects in the Founder’s Gallery that exemplify “the art of the weapon.” Although the objects all have fascinating histories—they date from the 1580s to the 1880s and hail from such remote places as St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Skeleton Canyon, Arizona Territory—their aesthetic qualities are what’s front and center.

To learn more about the objects, you can read the wall panels displayed in the Founder’s Gallery.

Sources

Crawford, Byron. “Unusual Weapons are Art in Exhibit.” Courier Journal. July 7, 2000: B1.

Karcheski, Walter J. Jr. Selections From the Frazier Historical Arms Museum. 2003.

Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist

1900s Bar The Knight Owl Pays Homage to Museum’s Founder

“With a greater knowledge of history, we can more fully appreciate the great difficulties, and the great opportunities, that lie ahead. By reconnecting with our past, we can renew a sense of who we are, what we stand for, and where we are headed. We hope that by the time you leave the Frazier Museum, you will share our vision and our passion for history.”

To the man who is responsible for the Frazier’s very existence and essentially everyone’s job here at the museum, a bit of reverence from our staff, to Owsley Brown Frazier, is logical. For yours truly, that admiration is amplified.

As the guy who walks by his portrait, reads his founding quote, and works in his office every day, I am both humbled and honored to carry his torch. Sitting in that office, I’m also often curious what he would think about what’s going on now at the museum with the Frazier name literally forged into metal on the side of the building. It matters to me and I hope he would be proud.

Mr. Frazier’s investment in our community has had an impact on education, healthcare, and athletics that will be felt for decades to come. It is our goal that his museum extends his legacy and tells his story much longer than that.

For that reason and so many others, our team thought it would be appropriate to honor Mr. Frazier in our new inclusive and permanent exhibition about Kentucky, The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall.

Our exhibition team gets all the credit here for the creative naming of our new 1900s bar located at the tail end of the exhibition. The Knight Owl is a tribute to Owsley and his love of historic arms. As many of you know, Mr. Frazier brought the Royal Armouries Collection to the Frazier from the UK for a period of ten years. We have several of Mr. Frazier’s favorite pieces on view in our Founder’s Gallery. We hope you’ll agree that the “K” at the beginning of “Knight Owl” just seemed appropriate.

It is just a small token of appreciation from our team, most of whom—myself included—never had the opportunity to meet the man who set the Frazier wheels in motion. With knowledge of his story, it is our job to seize the opportunities that lie ahead.

Here’s to you Owsley, the Knight Owl!

Andy Treinen
President & CEO

Sippin’ With Stephen: Cherry Bourbon Iced Teas With Luca Mariano Master Blender Jennifer Brandt

As the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, the Frazier History Museum shares stories of the people, places, and producers of the Kentucky Bourbon industry. To learn more, visit our Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center or tour our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist

This month’s Sippin’ With Stephen features Luca Mariano Distillery and their master blender, Jennifer Brandt. Luca Mariano is a distillery located in Danville, Kentucky. Jennifer and I discuss the history and products of Luca Mariano and, in keeping with Sippin’ With Stephen tradition, make a delicious cocktail using their Bourbon. The cocktail we make is a cherry Bourbon Iced Tea drink with Bourbon-soaked cherries. The recipe is below.

Cherry Bourbon Iced Tea

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Old Americana Bourbon or rye whiskey

• 3 Bourbon-soaked cherries

• 1 oz. fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 oz. simple syrup

• Unsweetened ice tea, to top

Instructions:

Add cherries and lemon juice into a mixing glass and gently muddle. Add the simple syrup and Bourbon, fill the glass with ice, and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass over fresh ice.

Ingredients (Bourbon-soaked Cherries):

• 2 lbs. fresh cherries, pitted and destemmed

• 1 (750 mL) bottle Old Americana Bourbon

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/3 cup lemon juice

• 2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

• 2 tbsp. ground nutmeg

• 2 (1/2 gallon) mason jars

Instructions (Bourbon-soaked Cherries):

Stuff the two half-gallon mason jars with cherries. In a large saucepan of medium heat, bring all other ingredients to a boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to combine ingredients. Turn off heat and let the mixture cool down before pouring over the cherries. Store the cherries in the refrigerator or a cool dark place.

Stephen Yates
Community & Corporate Sales Manager

Engineer Steve Gardner to Discuss Impact of Coal Mining in Kentucky August 28

Coal in Kentucky: How it Shaped Our Commonwealth
Sunday, August 28, 3:30 p.m.

Join us as we explore the history and life of coal towns in Kentucky, from the early days to the present. We’ll travel through time to see how mining has shaped the Commonwealth, impacting the lives and communities across the state, from the early 1800s through today—and how its influence will continue in the future.

Steve Gardner—an engineer, owner, and manager of both mining operations and consulting firms who has also served on a volunteer mine rescue team—will be your tour guide. A specialist in natural resources and environmental issues, Gardner will bring the presentation to life with touchable artifacts and some take-home pieces. We will explore the evolution of technology in the mines as well as view artifacts from Mr. Gardner’s personal collection.

This presentation coincides with the Frazier Book Club’s selection of Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn. The event is open to the public, free with the cost of admission or membership to the museum, in our Second Floor Classroom. No RSVPs are necessary.

Become a member today at any level in order to receive free general admission all year long and to save money! Memberships start at $20!

Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator

Museum Store: Kentucky Icon Swaddle Blanket

Meet our new friend Archie: He was born and bred in Kentucky and he likes to rep his home state while also feeling warm and snuggly. With our Kentucky Icon swaddle blanket, Archie achieves his goals and still has time for a nap. Swaddle someone you love with a little bit of Kentucky! Available online or in the Museum Store.

Bridging the Divide

IDEAS xLab Conducting Survey on Impact of the (Un)Known Project

The Frazier has been a proud partner of the (Un)Known Project, with the On the Banks of Freedom installation at Ninth and Tenth Streets on the Louisville Riverwalk, and now ties to that project in our exhibition The Commonwealth: Divided We Fall. The spaces are a way to promote healing, reflection, and reconciliation by honoring the names and telling the stories, both known and unknown, of Black men, women, and children who were enslaved and hidden figures in Louisville and beyond.

If you are familiar with the Project, please keep reading and take this survey below. Thank you.—Rachel Platt, Director of Community Engagement

Have you engaged with the (Un)Known Project public art installation, participated in an art opening or event, or learned about (Un)Known Project through the news and social media? We’d love to understand how the (Un)Known Project has impacted you. Please take a few minutes to share your feedback!

We believe art and storytelling can transform people, spaces, and cultures—and your responses can help us understand how (Un)Known Project is doing just that.

Help us reach 500 responses and get entered to win (Un)Known Project apparel!

Launched in 2020 by artists Hannah Drake and Josh Miller as an effort of IDEAS xLab, (Un)Known Project uses art installations and experiences to honor the names and tell the stories of Black enslaved people in Louisville, Kentucky, and beyond. Partners include the Frazier History Museum, Roots 101 African American Museum, and Louisville Metro.

Josh Miller and Hannah Drake
Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, IDEAS xLab
Guest Contributors

History All Around Us

The history of photography is a fascinating thing going all the way back to Aristotle describing the camera obscura in the fourth century BCE. But what we consider photography truly started in the early nineteenth century with camera obscuras and wet-plate technology.

The “fathers” of modern photography are generally considered Joseph Niepce and Louis Daguerre. In 1826, with a little chemistry, often well known to painters and other artists of the time period, Niepce began experimenting with silver chloride and silver halide as a means of development of images. The problem that presented itself was that the paper was darkening around the image that Niepce wanted to capture so he added pewter coated with bitumen to the experiment. The exposure time, time to capture the photograph, was over eight hours.

Daguerre, fascinated by the experiments of Niepce, partnered with him and they both began experimenting with silver plated sheets of copper. Daguerre discovered one night after he left this silver-plated sheet of copper in a drawer with a broken thermometer it exposed the image that he had captured on the copper. Once he washed away the remaining bits of silver, the image was even more visible, thus creating the development process for photographs and commercial photography was born.

This silver-plated copper sheet became famously known as the daguerreotype. It went into widespread circulation for budding chemists to photographers and artists looking for a new medium. The pieces were not cheap and the equipment was even more expensive, making personal photographs exclusive and rare. Initially, many members of the public would only have their photographs taken upon their deaths. In a morbid way, this made exposures easier for photographers as the individual being captured would have to remain very still for the five to ten minutes that the photo was exposed. As development times improved, things became less expensive and daguerreotypes circulated within the public domain.

During the American Civil War, photographers Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner would go around the country photographing the tides of war. Oftentimes, they positioned deceased individuals to get more dynamic shots and in the developing lab “dodging” or “burning” sections of the photographs to create edits in the photographs before the development finished. This is where we get those terms within Photoshop today, which lightens or darkens certain areas of photographs that we may be editing.

As technologies evolved, exposure times got better and cameras became cheaper—even becoming readily available to the public. Kodak made its appearance on the scene in 1888 in Rochester, New York. Other forms of photography were also already on the scene such as cyanotypes and wet-plating which eventually led to dry-plating and film development. Cyanotypes were developed by John Herschel in 1842 in an effort to create “carbon copies” of his notes for other architects and engineers to use while buildings were being constructed (giving blueprints their distinctive color and names), but it was not used for photography until botanist Anna Atkins developed a photographic collection of plants in 1843. The process gave accuracy to the plants being photographed that botanists were losing while simply drawing the plants that they were observing. The distinctive blue (cyan) color made its way into the photographic world with stride as most other prints were silver/copper or black and white. Consumers loved it. Atkins eventually developed a book titled Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions.

Another form of photography, wet-plating, meant that the photographer practically had to carry their entire photographic studio with them because it required a bit of chemical knowledge and mixing of elements as well as a need to finish the developing process after the image was exposed. Handy in the 1880s was premixed bits of cotton with their appropriate chemicals making the cotton transparent and sticky. Once the photographer gathered the material onto the exposing plate they would then have to load it into their camera—all of this in the dark, by the way—before stepping out into the light, setting up their camera to capture the image desired, then returning to their darkroom to remove the wet-plate glass negative and develop it before it accidentally got exposed to more light. It was quite the process, and cumbersome, which is why it quickly fell out of fashion in favor of dry-plating technology.

Dry-plate technology made it so that the glass negative could be stored until it was needed for photographing. The glass was coated in a silver emulsion which reacted with light when exposed just like the wet-plate, but it was infinitely more transportable. From here we get the celluloid negatives that many of us are familiar with from taking photographs in the 1990s and early 2000s before digital photography took over.

As technology advanced and the celluloid film became king, photography took off in the early 1900s. Photographers such as Ansel Adams and Imogen Cunningham amongst others created a club in San Francisco dubbed f/64. Consisting of many artistic minds, the group focused on showing off photography’s ability to present the world “as is.” On the East coast, Alfred Stieglitz had a gallery focused on the photographic style of pictorialism which harkened back to photography as a full artistic medium rather than a simple point-and-shoot as the f/64 club was beginning to demonstrate.

Throughout the decades, photography has evolved both in the medium of art as well as becoming a prominent part of journalism and even modern day lives today. Cameras on cell phones keep getting better, but still do not quite hold up to the prestige of a handheld DSLR or for those photographers who still use film in the form of 8x10, 4x5, 120mm, or 35mm. Each aspect has their promise and style that influences the art medium as it continues to evolve over time.

Want to have fun with your own photographic experiments? You can make a camera obscura at home! You’ll need a box, piece of white paper, scissors, tape, and a pencil. First, cut your paper to fit inside the box and tape it on the inside. This will be your negative. Next, you’ll make holes in your box. The first hole should be a “pin” size so just use the tip of your pen or pencil; the second hole should be large enough that your eye can look through it like a viewfinder. Make sure to place these far enough apart that your head will not block the light coming from the small hole. Finally, tape up your box with heavy tape so that no light seeps into it. We only want light coming in from the pinhole and the view finder. There you go! Make sure to take your camera obscura to a darker room with the holes pointing toward a bright subject. Voila! You’ve “captured” the image. What many early photographers did at this point was finely trace the outline so that the image stayed on the piece of paper.

Cyanotypes are just as easy to make! You can go to your local craft store and purchase the cloth dipped in its chemicals. (Don’t worry: It’s totally safe). Then, take it outside on a sunny day and lay down the objects you want to capture over the cloth. Place a transparent piece of glass or plastic over the cloth and objects so they don’t blow away. Now wait. The longer you wait the better the image. Once you’ve gotten enough exposure time (times vary with sun exposure), take the cloth to your sink and rinse away the non-exposed area with water. Let it dry and you have your very own cyanotype!

References:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eastman-wet-plate-photography/

http://www.daguerreobase.org/en/knowledge-base/what-is-a-daguerreotype

https://theartling.com/en/artzine/what-are-cyanotypes-brilliant-blue-print/

https://www.lumas.com/history-photography/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/dry-plate

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/f64/hd_f64.htm

Sammie Holmes
Laboratory Manager, Corn Island Archaeology
Guest Contributor

Staff Picks

West of Ninth Eats: Sweet Peaches in Russell

As part of our West of Ninth: Race, Reckoning, and Reconciliation exhibition, we wanted to go west and explore, taking time to visit local restaurants, coffee shops, and breweries. Each month, we showcase a place our staff members have visited. We hope you will visit, too!

Welcome back, Louisville foodies!

We’ve almost reached one full year since the opening of our West of Ninth exhibition, which means one full year of writing West of Ninth Eats! Woohoo!

This installment, I will be reflecting on my lovely visit to Sweet Peaches at the corner of Eighteenth Street and West Muhammad Ali Boulevard in the Russell neighborhood.

Sweet Peaches is a restaurant and bakery, famous for cooking up delicious soul food for the whole family. They have a nice variety of food on both their breakfast and lunch menus, offering several options for vegetarians (like yours truly). Sandwiches, salads, and pizzas abound!

During my visit, I ordered “The Frenchie,” a French toast platter with your choice of sides. (Team breakfast for lunch!) I’m already a fan of French toast, but I can honestly say: it was one of the best I’ve had in a long time!

In addition to the fantastic menus, Sweet Peaches also recently underwent a makeover! Last summer, Sweet Peaches reopened with a new look after owner Pamela Haines completed the RTBI (Russell Technology Business Incubator) program. The program provides resources to Black and Latino-owned businesses in the area. For more information about the program, check out this article WDRB published following last year’s reopening.

Sweet Peaches also made headlines back in 2020 when owner Pamela Haines announced the restaurant would be offering free soup to community members in response to the challenges of COVID-19. Although many businesses (including Sweet Peaches) were being affected, Haines wanted to help in any way she could—and she certainly did. For more information about her efforts during the start of the pandemic, read this WHAS article.

During my visit, I had a chance to chat with Pamela Haines about her hopes for the future of the business. She envisions a space where people can come inside and learn important life skills ranging from mathematics to conflict resolution, all through a culinary lens.

I’d say: she is already well on her way there.

I could feel the heart of community as soon as I walked in the door.

The hours of operation are Wednesday–Friday, 12–5 p.m., and Sunday, 12–4 p.m.

Shelby Durbin
Education & Engagement Specialist

Membership

Remember to RSVP to Our Summer Book Club!

Summer Book Club discussions are eligible events for our ALL Member Exclusive Program: Frazier Frequent Flight. Be sure to become a member today so you can be one step closer to receiving free Frazier merchandise!

Join us on August 28 at 2 p.m. for our final book of the program. We will be discussing Coal Miner’s Daughter by Loretta Lynn.

During the Discussion: We will be announcing the door prize winners of a Gift Individual and Family membership as well as four Museum Parking Passes.

Post Discussion: Enjoy a presentation on Coal in Kentucky by a mining and engineering expert.

Act fast: RSVP to aegan@fraziermuseum.org by tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16.

Take this opportunity to dive into a good book!

Book Club Member Perks for each of our Summer Titles:

• ALL members are welcome to participate in this program.

• Enjoy your annual museum member benefit of 10% off in the Museum Store when you purchase the book(s)*.

• Members and (1) guest may be included in your RSVP**.

• A door prize entry (pulled at the final discussion of the Summer Book Club program.)

*All book selections are available to purchase through the Museum Store. The Book Woman's Daughter is currently sold out but can be found at Carmichael’s Bookstore. Mention Frazier Book Club to receive the book club discount on this title.

**The same guest cannot attend more than one book discussion.

Find more information about our Summer Book Club here.

Want to join our book club but not a member? Become a member today! As little as $20 will allow you access to our Summer Book Club and other member exclusive events throughout the year!* Did I mention that for the $20 Individual membership you would also get year-round access to the museum, a 10% discount in the museum store**, and discounted parking!?

*Not all member exclusive invitations apply to the Individual and Family membership levels.

**Exclusions apply.

Come experience more!

Amanda Egan
Membership & Database Administrator