harry ransom center

Alice in Wonderland exhibit 2015 ....Historic Bible. a wonderful venue. Lucky Austin. This is on the U of T campus, so be sure to visit.

Calling all bibliophiles and history buffs: you must see the Harry Ransom Center while you're in town! Two floors of the Harry Ransom Center are free and open to the public (donations welcomed). The first floor holds its permanent and rotating exhibits. A Gutenberg Bible (one of only 5 in the U.S.) and the first photograph ever taken are there permanently. For the moment, they have a Frida Kahlo self-portrait (which was astonishing), and an exhibit dedicated to their expansive Alice in Wonderland/Lewis Carroll special collection. Until July, you can see some of Charles Dodgson's personal photographs, first and handwritten editions of Alice in Wonderland, plus explore the many variations of Alice in translation, toys and games, and film. This exhibit was very child friendly, with tons of fun activities for younger visitors. I did not have time to visit the archives upstairs, which goes to show that the first floor alone is so packed with info and artifacts that you can spend quite a bit of time down there. Additionally, the HRC staff were very friendly and helpful. The building itself is also quite nice and welcoming.

The HRC was changing over its exhibit but thankfully the Guttenberg Bible and the very first photograph are on permanent display, even during transition. I wish I was there to see a full exhibit but to see the Bible was worth it.

The excellent temporary exhibits are only the tip of the iceberg at the HRC. The holdings of this Center are rivaled by only a few of the world's great libraries. The University of Texas had money when others did not, and Harry Ransom (with assistance from others) put it to very good use. The HRC's collection of XX Century British Literature is virtually unequaled, and the Gernsheim Collection of Photography is one of the world's best. If you're not dazzled by what may be the first photograph ever, you should be dazzled by a Gutenberg Bible, and that's just within 100 feet of the door! The only downsides -- and that's not a fault of the HRC itself -- is that parking can be difficult (hey, it's Austin!) and those with mobility issues face a small challenge getting to the HRC itself. It's telling that the HRC is probably better known in academic circles OUTSIDE Austin, than in Austin itself.

The archives of the Harry Ransom Center are unparalleled -except for maybe the Library of Congress. I recently saw the exhibit of the making of Gone With the Wind. The collection of archives is fascinating and inspiring. Don't miss a walk around the UT campus while you are there.

Discovered the Ransome Center last year during the Gone With The Wind exhibit. Attended Alice in Wonderland exhibit yesterday. We are so fortunate to have this facility available to us! It's free to get in; take advantage of regular docent tours and donate if you can to support them.

We went for the Gone with the Wind exhibit. It was excellent, well organized and very educational. Been in the past for other exhibits and always a great experience.

Yes, I know some of us old people actually read the book and then saw the movie, but now days, I wonder how many of the young people have even seen the movie? It was shot 75 years ago and is clearly one of the all-time classic movies (and books) depicting an important part of American history. The exhibit is great and provides hundreds of artifacts that I never expected to see in person. One of the most amazing artifacts is Scarlett's dress made from her drapes. They have the actual dress used in the movie, along with other dresses. When I read the book I was surprised at how small Scarlett's waist was and how they had to cinch her up and tie the laces for her to get into her dresses with the tiny waists. When you see the dresses, it's clear that Vivian Leigh must have worn some type of cinched up corset to get into those dresses. The politics involved in making the movie were never made public and the Ransom Center exhibit goes into all the different groups who wanted the movie made in a way that would not disparage them. As certified project managers, my wife and I have been involved with many complicated projects and have been doing it since before we had sophisticated computers and software to help do the planning, organizing, and monitoring, and reporting. But this exhibit shows the paper plans that were used to develop the shooting schedules and how to determine the order in which to shoot the scenes and the decisions made. Spoiler Alert ( in case you haven't seen the movie). Clearly one major issue was that they only wanted to burn Atlanta once and they did. The planning and extra efforts to make that so realistic and overpowering are described along with when they decided to shoot it. I realize that current movie projects undoubtedly use the same types of planning to determine shooting sequences and timing, but I had never seen the sophistication of the old paper method used for a movie like Gone With the Wind. If you work in movies, then just this part of the exhibit would be a great thing to see on how it was done 75 years ago.Since we are docents in another museum in Austin, we were part of a group given a guided tour by a docent at the Ransom Center. She did an excellent job and was very knowledgeable about the exhibit as well as many other artifacts and the history of the time. I didn't set up the tour and don't know how often docents give tours, but if you can make arrangements for a docent there, I'd highly recommend it as she added so much to the tour. Knowing how difficult it is do tours, particularly to a group of history docents, we were all very impressed. So I highly recommend you check out this exhibit. One caveat, if you're an American who hasn't read the book or seen the movie, first, if you're interested in American history, you have to see the movie as part of your education. Secondly, see the movie before you go see the exhibit. As I recall, the movie was about 4 hours long, but it will be well worth it. If you haven't seen the movie, the exhibit won't mean as much to you. See the movie and then see the exhibit and you'll understand why I'm making such a strong case for seeing the movie first.

In procrastinating to see the Gone with The Wind exhibit earlier we went to see it on the last weekend on display. This was a collection donated to the HRC. But I did become a member a few weeks ago, but did not know I was able to see it before it was open to the general public. This place is free to the public. Turned out everyone was here to see it and was packed. Only the first floor has exhibits for viewing where all other stuff is store upstairs. We parked at Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum and walked here. When you walk in you are encountered with help desk and then the Gutenberg Bible and the First Photograph. The rest of the space is used for an exhibit including a small theater and down hallway see a painting done by Frida Kahlo.It is a nice place but does not have a huge exhibit rooms like the Blanton or any other museum. The grounds outside are nice but tightly located on the campus of the University of Texas, and recommend visiting this place on weekend or when school is out.

The Harry Ransom Center is located on the grounds of the University of Texas, The center is a archival library and museum. The exhibit that was on display in December was the Gone With The Wind Exhibit. This exhibit showcased numerous dresses and stills that were used in the production of the film and numerous memorabilia. The highlight of this exhibit was the tour given by one of the museum curators, he was informative, insightful and witty.

After seeing the piece on the GWTW exhibit on CBS Sunday Morning Show, I did something crazy. I booked a ticket and flew from SD to Austin to see the GWTW exhibit. I was not disappointed! I mainly went to see the costumes -3 originals and 2 reproductions from the film. They were absolutely stunning and wonderful to see up close and in person. Seeing the first photograph was an added bonus!

The exhibit did a wonderful job of putting the Making of GWTW into cultural context. It was fascinating to see all the telegrams and teletypes acquiring the rights, finding Scarlett, casting Clark Gable, finding the director, buliding the sets, etc. We loved seeing some of the actual dresses that Scarlett wore. We enjoyed watching the screentests. Many of the actresses weren't right for Scarlett! The HRC did a great job showcasing all the information!

Who would have believed that I could see a treasure such as the Gutenberg Bible AND see the makings of film treasure such as :Gone with the Wind?" A friend took me to visit this museum at the University of Texas, Austin, and I was fascinated by the whole experience. I had been to England several months before and had seen the Magna Carta, but how was I to know that I would then see the Gutenberg Bible. I marked a couple of things off my bucket list, that's for sure.Now, I'm from Virginia originally, and we got out of school to go see "Gone with the Wind." That alone placed the movie favorably in my mind. I had heard a bit about how the movie was made, but I had no idea how complicated the whole process was. I highly recommend the guided tour, for our guide really made the process come to life. There was a REAL movie buff in our group, however, that could answer any of the guide's probing questions. Here was someone that lived and breathed this movie. No telling how long she stayed at the museum...I would recommend taking the free tour first and then going around and reading the myriad of documents. Start on the wall by the steps on your left and wind around the displays. It's well done. As for parking, the garage across the street is reasonable priced. If you need lunch, there is a food court in a corner building across the street from the garage and across from the museum. It has a good selection, although you couldn't tell the food court was there. I asked someone where to eat. It seemed to be the only option close by.

Saw the GONE WITHT THE WIND exhibit. Fun. Lots of old notes by participants in the production. Interesting story of how Selznick struggled through the production. You learn how very difficult it is to make an epic movie--problems with directors, media, actors. Takes a huge and talented team to make such a movie.Loved seeing an original Gutenberg Bible, a great cultural treasure. This is a good museum with rotating shows. Have also seen shows about old telescopes and Edgar A. Poe. Always exceptionally well-done exhibits.

We came in for the gone with the wind exhibit. Come early for the screentest film, it filled up quickly on a Saturday. After the movie we wandered the vast exhibit. We were there from 1-4 pm watching and reading. Tons of neat history on the making of the movie. Of particular interest to us were the sections on censorship and talent scouting. The exhibit was carefully assembled and very well done. And free!