“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

(The envelope object for tonight was a card sent to Jane by Caroline Keck, conservator of paintings for the Brooklyn Museum, in 1964. See page 230.

(See page 230. The object is a card, blank on the reverse side, written to Jane by Caroline Keck, conservator of the Brooklyn Museum; it was mailed to Jane in early August, along with a copy of the book, Is Your Contemporary Painting More Temporary Than You Think? and a mimeographed list of various addresses furnishing technical help and supplies regarding the conservation of paintings. The list was also compiled by Caroline Keck; the book by Louis Pomerantz.

(Caroline Keck sent Jane the items to give to her in appreciation for a pen and ink drawing of a pigeon I gave to Caroline Keck. In July 1964 Jane worked at the Arnot Art Gallery, and Caroline Keck and her husband Sheldon spent some time there then, putting the gallery’s collection in shape. Jane liked Caroline Keck, and the two got along well. The drawing of the pigeon was among a group I had exhibited at the gallery at the time the Kecks were present; they saw it and admired it. I never met the Kecks, but told Jane to give the drawing to them.

(Caroline Keck’s mimeographed list is also printed on cream-tinted paper the size of this page. Louis Pomerantz’s small book has a rust red cover; the title is in reverse lettering, and this too has a cream tint.

(“Black print or lettering or writing in a right hand corner, extending outward toward the center.” See page 230. Jane said this data is correct, in that it referred to the Brooklyn Museum and Caroline Keck by name on the object, in the upper left corner. To Jane, this reading matter does project toward the center of the object.

(As noted on page 230, this copy is in a rusty red, much the same color as on the cover of Louis Pomerantz’s book. Caroline Keck’s handwriting on the object is in blue; hence no black appears on the object. Perhaps Seth interpreted the blue as black, however, then substituted it in the upper left corner.

(“A framework within a framework.” Somewhat vague, but we believe legitimate. Jane said the Kecks worked with frames and pictures while at the gallery in July 1964. A painting could be a framework, fitting within another framework—the frame. Could also be a generalization, referring to either the Arnot Gallery here in Elmira, or the Brooklyn Museum mentioned on the object, or both.

(The equalization, Jane believes, refers to the book by Louis Pomerantz, that along with the object and the mimeographed list were mailed to her by Caroline Keck from Brooklyn, NY, in August 1964. All three of these items refer to the conservation of paintings. The title page of Louis Pomerantz’s book shows that it was published by A Chicago Chapter Artists Equity Publication, 332 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago 4, Illinois. Artists Equity Association is dealt with in the book’s forward also.

(“Connection with a 1962 date, or 1964, or both.” Seth is correct with both dates. See page 230. The object is dated August l, 1964—Caroline Keck’s mimeographed sheet is also dated 1964. Louis Pomerantz’s book’s copyright is in 1962.

(“A connection with a telephone call," General data. Remember that the Kecks were called long distance in Brooklyn, NY, from Elmira, by the Arnot Gallery before they made the trip to Elmira to do conservation work, for instance.

(“and a stone framework. Rocky.” Probably another general reference to the object, in that the object’s author, Caroline Keck, was associated with both the Brooklyn Museum and the Arnot Art Gallery. Both edifices being made of stone, as well as with additions of brick, etc.

(On the page opposite the title page is a long detailed list of Louis Pomerantz’s previous experience, places of study, etc. He has studied extensively overseas, and worked there and in Canada as an art expert, and in Brooklyn with the Kecks. He has also been employed in various Midwest locations, Chicago, etc. Thus the foreign element mentioned above.

(The object itself also refers to a situation where Jane worked closely with another woman—namely Caroline Keck, when doing conservation work at the gallery in July 1964. See page 230.

(“A connection with light.” A reference to Caroline Keck, author of the object, and her husband, Jane said. The Kecks brought special equipment to the Arnot with them to examine the gallery’s paintings; among this equipment was a certain kind of light. Probably ultraviolet or infrared, though at this date Jane is not sure.

(“A hole in one. I do not know if this is a golf connection or to what it refers.” We know of no literal connection here. We speculate that it might refer to the Keck’s job as painting conservators, to repair damaged art.

(“An invitation to attend.” At this date Jane cannot recall. The Kecks are well known in their field, and it is possible some social affair was held for them while they were in Elmira and at the gallery doing their work. Jane could have been invited to attend. She knows she attended no such affair in their honor, but doesn’t know, now, whether she was asked to.

(“A fence or framework connection with the item.” Again, framework can refer to frames, paintings, etc., as explained. A fence can also enter in, in a more literal way: The Arnot Art Gallery, where Caroline Keck, the author of the object worked, is surrounded by a black iron fence.

(“Connection with a man also. With you and another man," Some distortion develops here, but we think this legitimate data. See the copy of the object on page 230. Note that Caroline Keck writes Jane that her son Larry appropriated my drawing for his own use. Jane looked at me when she gave this data, incidentally.

(The word “museum" has historical connotations, and the Kecks deal with old paintings, often of historic interest, so Jane is correct when she asserts that old paintings such as those the Kecks handled while in Elmira in August 1964, are also historical events.

(1st Question: What’s that connection about a book? “It seems as to be an old book. A bound one, with a dark color such as brown on the cover. The side of pages when the book is closed seem dusky in color, like old gold color. The book having a connection with a desk, and another location.” Again, distortion. Jane said that here she confused old paintings and old gilded frames, such as the Kecks worked with at the Arnot, with old books. Quite possibly the book is Louis Pomerantz’s modern one, as described. The cover of this book is a rusty red. Also it may have laid on a desk, and it was sent to Jane from another location—Brooklyn, NY.

(4th Question: Who is the other man referred to besides myself? “Something to do with an animal in a tree, that I do not understand.” I had been hoping Seth, or Jane, might come up with Caroline Keck’s husband, Sheldon, or her son Larry, who is named on the object itself. See page 230. Of course I was involved with another man, and this involvement Seth picked up—since my drawing was appropriated by Larry Keck, as noted on the object.

(This in turn leads Seth to some excellent data which is also amusing. The drawing I gave the Kecks was of a pigeon—the “animal in a tree.” The drawing merely showed a pigeon, no tree, and a pigeon is not an animal. Yet the data is very good.

(“The other man, a friend rather than a relative.” Here Seth, or Jane, veers toward Bill Gallagher again, it seems. I had not met either Caroline or Sheldon Keck, nor Larry who was in Brooklyn.